Full name Morton Peto Betts Parents Edward Betts Place of death Menton, France Education Harrow School | Position Goalkeeper Name Morton Betts | |
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Date of birth (1847-08-30)30 August 1847 Place of birth Bloomsbury, London, England Date of death 19 April 1914(1914-04-19) (aged 66) Died April 19, 1914, Menton, France | ||
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Morton Peto Betts (30 August 1847 – 19 April 1914) was a leading English sportsman of the late 19th century. He was notable for scoring the first goal in an English FA Cup Final.
Biography
Betts was the son of Edward Betts of Preston Hall, Aylesford, a civil engineering contractor, who married the sister of the railway entrepreneur Samuel Morton Peto, which is how he was given his name. He was educated at Harrow School and at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Betts' most notable moment came when he scored the winning goal in the 1872 FA Cup Final for Wanderers, the first ever final of the tournament. In the match, he played under the pseudonym "A.H. Chequer". This was because Betts used to play for Harrow Chequers (a team associated with Harrow School). Betts' goal was a relatively simple 'tap-in', coming as a result of Walpole Vidal's successful dribble through the Royal Engineers' defence.
Betts usually played football as a full-back, though his one appearance for England national team (against Scotland in 1877) was as a goalkeeper. By this time, he was with the Old Harrovians Football Club. For twenty years, Betts was a board member of the Football Association.
His sporting career also featured first-class cricket appearances for Middlesex County Cricket Club (one match) and Kent County Cricket Club (two matches). Switching between football and cricket duties frequently, he is also associated with Essex County Cricket Club. He played for Essex in 1884, before they became a first-class county, and he acted as secretary of the club from 1887 to 1890.
He spent his final years living in France, and died aged 66, shortly before the outbreak of World War I.