Stan Mortensen (1941–1962, Blackpool, Hull City, Southport, Bath City, Lancaster City and England)

Born in South Shields in 1921, Stan Mortensen was a centre-forward whose career was shaped by the war years. He served in the RAF as a wireless operator-air gunner and survived a Wellington bomber crash near Lossiemouth in which the pilot and bomb aimer were killed, before signing for Blackpool in 1941. When league football resumed after the war he emerged as one of the most feared forwards in the country, quick, brave and a natural finisher.

He scored on his England debut in 1947 with four goals in a single match, and went on to win 25 caps and score 23 goals for his country. He was the first England player to score in the World Cup, and at club level he finished as Blackpool’s leading scorer for eleven consecutive seasons, a run that made him one of the highest-scoring forwards of the post-war era.

Mortensen reached three FA Cup finals in six years, losing the first two before finally winning the trophy in 1953. In that final he scored a hat-trick, and he remains the only player to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup Final. In 1947–48, on the way to the FA Cup final, he had also become the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup proper.

He left Blackpool in 1955 and continued playing into the early 1960s with Hull City, Southport and in non-league football, later returning to manage Blackpool. He died in 1991 at the age of 69, and a statue of him stands at the club he served for so long.

Career Honours

• FA Cup winner, 1953
• 25 England caps, 23 goals
• English Football Hall of Fame, 2003

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Stan Mortensen – Rookie Cards and Significant Others

Because Mortensen played in the 1940s and 1950s, his collectible cards are vintage trade and confectionery issues from the post-war period rather than modern sets.

One of Mortensen’s earliest widely catalogued issues is the 1948 Kiddys Favourites Popular Footballers #25, part of the first major post-war wave of cards to feature him. Other important early issues include the 1948 Turf Cigarettes Footballers #14 and the 1948–49 Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers #30.

The Barratt Famous Footballers series ran across several lettered editions through the 1950s and is the natural home for a collection of his cards. Early issues of this kind are scarce in good condition and command a premium when well preserved.

Key cards across his career:

• 1948 Kiddys Favourites Popular Footballers #25 — one of his earliest widely catalogued issues
• 1948 Turf Cigarettes Footballers #14 — early cigarette-card issue
• 1948 S&B Products Torry Gillick’s Internationals #11 — early trade issue listed by specialist catalogues
• 1948–49 Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers #30 — first of his Barratt cards
• 1950 Clifford Footballers #19 — early confectionery issue
• 1955–56 Barratt & Co. Famous Footballers Series A3 #33 — later Barratt issue, graded and catalogued

See the 2003 Hall of Fame Inductees or browse the full list.