Thomas Morrison (16 December 1874 – 26 March 1940), also known as Ching Morrison, was a footballer for Glentoran, Burnley, Celtic and Manchester United, and for the Ireland national team.
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Club career
Morrison made his first appearance for Glentoran on 18 April 1891, in a Charity Cup game against Ulster at Solitude. He scored in that match which was abandoned with the Glens trailing 4–1. The following season (1891–92) saw Morrison score 11 goals in just nine games, including a hat-trick in the Irish League against Ligoniel. Two seasons later, he was part of Glentoran's Irish-League winning side before moving to English football.
Morrison transferred to Burnley in March 1894 and made his debut in a game on 10 March against Derby County; he scored one goal in a 3–1 victory. Early the following season he was dismissed by the Burnley committee for misconduct.
Morrison had another spell with Glentoran and a largely unsuccessful stint with Celtic in Scotland. He is credited by the club's manager Willie Maley with being the first native Irishman to play for Celtic, meaning that a Protestant from East Belfast was the first Irish signing for a club with an overwhelmingly Catholic Irish reputation. He won the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup soon after arriving in 1895, scoring in the win over Rangers in the final, and played a small part in helping the Bhoys win the 1896 Scottish Football League championship with five appearances, but made only eight more over the next seven months.
