Worthing FC and Sussex football pay tribute to stalwart Morty

He died peacefully last week with his family by his side.

Club chairman Barry Hunter said “Morty dedicated the vast majority of his life to Worthing Football Club and led us through a significant part of our history.

"He will be forever remembered by the club and the club will be forever grateful for his dedication and love. Our thoughts are with his daughters Claire and Deborah, son-in-laws Robin and Alistair and grandchildren, Alex, Magnus and Frankie.”

Worthing plan to celebrate Morty’s life, and at last Friday’s game with Concord, a minute’s silence was observed.

Numerous other football figures and clubs have paid tribute to Morty, including Bognor – where he was a frequent visitor when not watching Worthing – and Horsham, who said he’d been a huge help to them when they were without their own ground.

Ian Hart, Herald columnist and former WFC youth team manager and club director, said: “It's not just a sad day for his family and friends, but for football locally.

"He's been a constant in my own personal Worthing FC journey since I first went to watch the club in the old Athenian League in the 1970s.

“He had his own strong opinions and was steadfast in them and we certainly always didn't agree on everything, but that was sometimes half the fun, we'd often end a disagreement both smiling.

“I rememeber him telling me shortly before we boarded a bus for an FA Youth Cup away tie about his latest appointment for the first team’s manager. After my inital reaction when he said the person’s name he said "Harty, the look on your face speaks volumes, I will put you down as a don't know" … unfortunately it turned out to be the wrong choice but we both laughed about it later.

“Recently no visit to Woodside was complete without going to have a coffee with him in the boardroom, where, even into his 90s he was still as sharp as a tack and extremely witty, I will certainly miss him.”