Stan Mortensen

Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final.

He was also both the first player to score for England in a FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign and the first England player to score in the tournament proper.

South Shields-born Mortensen went to war in 1939 as a teenage wireless operator and overcame an injury—sustained when his RAF bomber crashed, leaving him as the only survivor—to be signed by Blackpool in 1941.

While stationed at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, he scored 13 times in 12 unofficial matches for Aberdeen, also turning out as a guest for Arsenal with an scoring record of 25 goals in 19 appearances.

During the war, he scored dozens of goals before making a strange piece of history by switching teams to play for Wales when they needed a reserve during a game against England on 25 September 1943.

Wales' Ivor Powell was injured and had to leave the field and, as England's reserve, Mortensen took his place in the Welsh side.

Wales lost 8–3, and Stanley Matthews later wrote of the game: "Nobody in the 80,000 crowd had any idea that Mortensen was going to change. When, a quarter of an hour later, the player in the red jersey returned to the field, a cheer went up from the crowd, who — not knowing the seriousness of Powell's injury — were under the impression the injured Welsh wing half was returning. Even when "Powell" went to inside-left, the onlookers did not suspect anything unusual, as team switches are often necessary after a player has been injured. Even some of the England players did not know that Mortensen was playing on the other side, and the football reporters, whose headquarters at Wembley are at the top of the main stand, did not know of the change until after half-time."

In a playing career spent mostly with Blackpool, Mortensen scored 197 league goals in 317 games.

In the FA Cup semi-final of 1947–48, Tottenham Hotspur were leading 1–0 with four minutes remaining when Mortensen equalised from a cross from Stanley Matthews.

Mortensen scored two more goals in extra-time as Blackpool reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time.

Mortensen had scored in every round thus far, seven goals in total.

In the final, Blackpool took an early lead from a penalty against Manchester United before Jack Rowley equalised.

Mortensen scored before half time to make it 2–1, becoming the first player in history to score in every round of the FA Cup in one season.

Rowley scored again in the second half, before two goals in the last ten minutes secured a 4–2 win for United.

Another record he still holds today is that he scored in twelve consecutive rounds of the FA Cup, including the defeat in the 1948 FA Cup Final.

The 1950–51 league season saw Mortensen break the record of scoring in the most consecutive matches, a record set by Irishman Jimmy Dunne twenty years earlier.

Although missing two games through injury during the span, Mortensen scored in 15-consecutive matches before a blank, but scored again for 16 goals in 17 matches.

He scored 25 goals in 22 games from December as he finished that season with 30 league goals.

He was top scorer every season during his time at the club.

He started his tenth season with the club before being transferred to Second Division Hull City.

Blackpool were back at Wembley for the 1951 FA Cup final.

Mortensen had scored five goals during the competition, but could not add to his tally as Blackpool suffered disappointment again.

A second-half brace from Jackie Milburn secured a 2–0 win for Newcastle United.

It was third time lucky for Mortensen and Blackpool as they reached their third final in five years in the 1952–53 season.

Mortensen wrote himself into the record books, although the final is commonly referred to as the "Matthews Final".

A 2–1 victory against Tottenham took them to their third Wembley final, with Bolton Wanderers their opponents.

Nat Lofthouse gave Bolton a second-minute lead, before a Mortensen shot was deflected in for the equaliser.

Bolton eventually led 3–1, before Matthews set up Mortensen who made it 3–2.

With two minutes, remaining Mortensen scored a twenty-yard free kick to bring the scores level at 3–3, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a FA Cup final at Wembley.

In injury time, Bill Perry converted a Matthews cross to seal a 4–3 win for Blackpool.

Mortensen's hat-trick became a fact retrospectively: his first goal was widely considered an own goal by Harold Hassell at the time.

Kenneth Wolstenholme, the BBC commentator, attributed the goal to Hassell, as did the Sunday newspapers the following morning.

In the book The Great English Final, author David Tossell states that only since the publication of the FA Yearbook two months later, which awarded Mortensen with all three goals, that the hat-trick became accepted as fact.

In the Charity Shield match at Highbury against Arsenal,  Mortensen put the FA Cup winners ahead.

However, Tommy Lawton, and a brace from Doug Lishman, resulted in a 3–1 for Arsenal.

After joining Southport, Mortensen announced his retirement from playing on 24 April 1958, at the age of 37.

"I have been having trouble with my knee and have had several injections," he said, after deciding against renewing his contract.

His 197 goals for Blackpool, all in the top flight, ranks him as the 33rd-highest goalscorer in history.

He is the second-highest top scorer for Blackpool, behind Jimmy Hampson.

Mortensen holds the record of scoring in the most consecutive league matches, with 15.