# Lawrence Morgan

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Australian sportsman (1915–1997)

For the former Speaker of the Navajo Nation Tribal Council, see [Lawrence T. Morgan](/source/Lawrence_T._Morgan).

Australian rules footballer

Lawrence Morgan Personal information Full name Lawrence Robert Morgan Born 5 February 1915 Died 15 August 1997(1997-08-15) (aged 82) Original team Yarrawonga[1] Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) Weight 84 kg (185 lb) Playing career1 Years Club Games (Goals) 1937–39 Fitzroy 34 (14) 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1939. Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Olympic medal record Equestrian 1960 Rome Eventing 1960 Rome Team eventing

**Lawrence Robert Morgan** (5 February 1915 – 15 August 1997) was an Australian sportsman who is the only person to play [VFL/AFL](/source/Australian_Football_League) football and win an Olympic gold medal.[2] He played his [Australian rules football](/source/Australian_rules_football) with [Fitzroy](/source/Fitzroy_Football_Club) during the late 1930s and won two gold medals in [equestrian](/source/Equestrian_at_the_Summer_Olympics) at the [1960 Summer Olympics](/source/1960_Summer_Olympics) in Rome.[3]

Morgan was born in the country and, as a child, raced horses over tree branches with his friend, fellow Olympic equestrian competitor [Bill Roycroft](/source/Bill_Roycroft).[4] When he came to Fitzroy in 1937 he played in the same side as the great [Haydn Bunton](/source/Haydn_Bunton_Sr.). He spent two further seasons at Fitzroy, both under coach [Gordon Rattray](/source/Gordon_Rattray), before leaving.

Morgan returned to the sporting scene in 1960, at the age of 45, when he competed for the Australian equestrian team at the Rome Olympics. Riding his horse 'Salad Days', Morgan won the Gold Medal ahead of countryman [Neale Lavis](/source/Neale_Lavis) in the Individual Three-Day Event to become the first Australian to win an equestrian gold medal. The former VFL player then teamed up with Lavis and Bill Roycroft to win Gold in the Team Event, best remembered for Roycroft's heroics in riding despite suffering concussion and severe injuries from a previous fall.

Although the Australian Olympic team consisted of big names like [Herb Elliott](/source/Herb_Elliott), [Dawn Fraser](/source/Dawn_Fraser) and [Murray Rose](/source/Murray_Rose), Morgan was the only dual gold medalist.

Morgan's biography, entitled *Too Tough To Lose*, was completed by his son Warwick Morgan, himself an accomplished horseman, and published in 2012 by Forty Degrees South Publishing (see External Links).

## 1937 Best First-Year Players

In September 1937, *The Argus* selected Morgan in its team of 1937's first-year players.[5]

Best First-Year Players (1937) Backs Bernie Treweek (Fitzroy) Reg Henderson (Richmond) Lawrence Morgan (Fitzroy) H/Backs Gordon Waters (Hawthorn) Bill Cahill (Essendon) Eddie Morcom (North Melbourne) Centre Line Ted Buckley (Melbourne) George Bates (Richmond) Jack Kelly (St Kilda) H/Forwards Col Williamson (St Kilda) Ray Watts (Essendon) Don Dilks (Footscray) Forwards Lou Sleeth (Richmond) Sel Murray (North Melbourne) Charlie Pierce (Hawthorn) Rucks/Rover Reg Garvin (St Kilda) Sandy Patterson (South Melbourne) Des Fothergill (Collingwood) Second Ruck Lawrence Morgan Col Williamson Lou Sleeth

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Trouble in Two Senior League Football Clubs"](https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11058976). *[The Argus](/source/The_Argus_(Melbourne))*. Melbourne, Vic.: National Library of Australia. 23 April 1937. p. 15. Retrieved 12 June 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Historial Vignette](http://corporate.olympics.com.au/news.cfm?ArticleID=6649) – "Lawrence Morgan dual gold medallist and [AFL](/source/Australian_Football_League) Champion", [Australian Olympic Committee](/source/Australian_Olympic_Committee) web site, accessed 10 December 2008

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; [Mallon, Bill](/source/Bill_Mallon); et al. ["Laurie Morgan"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161203162000/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/laurie-morgan-1.html). *Olympics at Sports-Reference.com*. [Sports Reference LLC](/source/Sports_Reference). Archived from [the original](https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mo/laurie-morgan-1.html) on 3 December 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Veitch, Harriet (May 2011). ["James William (Bill) Roycroft"](http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/roycroft-james-william-bill-13382). *Obituaries Australia*. Retrieved 20 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Football Season's Many Good Recruits, *The Argus*, (Tuesday, 7 September 1937), p.14.](https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11080747)

## External links

- [Laurie Morgan's playing statistics](http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/L/Laurie_Morgan.html) from AFL Tables

- [Laurie Morgan](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/12454) at [Olympedia](/source/Olympedia)

- [Laurence Robert Morgan](https://olympics.com/en/athletes/laurence-robert-morgan) at [Olympics.com](/source/International_Olympic_Committee)

- [Laurence Morgan](https://sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame-member/laurence-morgan/) at the [Sport Australia Hall of Fame](/source/Sport_Australia_Hall_of_Fame)

- [Lawrence Morgan](https://www.olympics.com.au/olympians/lawrence-morgan/) at the [Australian Olympic Committee](/source/Australian_Olympic_Committee)

- [Article from the AOC website](http://corporate.olympics.com.au/news.cfm?ArticleID=6649)

- ["Too Tough To Lose - The Story of Laurie Morgan." Biography by Warwick Morgan. Forty Degrees South Publishing, Hobart, Tasmania, 2012](http://www.warwickmorgan.com/)

v t e Olympic equestrian champions in individual eventing 1912: Axel Nordlander (SWE) 1920: Helmer Mörner (SWE) 1924: Adolf van der Voort van Zijp (NED) 1928: Charles Pahud de Mortanges (NED) 1932: Charles Pahud de Mortanges (NED) 1936: Ludwig Stubbendorf (GER) 1948: Bernard Chevallier (FRA) 1952: Hans von Blixen-Finecke Jr. (SWE) 1956: Petrus Kastenman (SWE) 1960: Lawrence Morgan (AUS) 1964: Mauro Checcoli (ITA) 1968: Jean-Jacques Guyon (FRA) 1972: Richard Meade (GBR) 1976: Edmund Coffin (USA) 1980: Federico Roman (ITA) 1984: Mark Todd (NZL) 1988: Mark Todd (NZL) 1992: Matthew Ryan (AUS) 1996: Blyth Tait (NZL) 2000: David O'Connor (USA) 2004: Leslie Law (GBR) 2008: Hinrich Romeike (GER) 2012: Michael Jung (GER) 2016: Michael Jung (GER) 2020: Julia Krajewski (GER) 2024: Michael Jung (GER)

v t e Olympic equestrian champions in team eventing 1912: Nordlander, Adlercreutz, Casparsson, Åminne (SWE) 1920: Mörner, Lundström, von Braun, Dyrsch (SWE) 1924: van der Voort van Zijp, de Mortanges, de Kruijff, Colenbrander (NED) 1928: de Mortanges, de Kruijff, van der Voort van Zijp (NED) 1932: Thomson, Chamberlin, Argo (USA) 1936: Stubbendorf, Lippert, von Wangenheim (GER) 1948: Henry, Anderson, Thomson (USA) 1952: von Blixen-Finecke, Stahre, Frölén (SWE) 1956: Weldon, Rook, Hill (GBR) 1960: Morgan, Lavis, Roycroft (AUS) 1964: Checcoli, Angioni, Ravano (ITA) 1968: Allhusen, Meade, Jones (GBR) 1972: Meade, Gordon-Watson, Parker, Phillips (GBR) 1976: Coffin, Plumb, Davidson, Tauskey (USA) 1980: Blinov, Salnikov, Volkov, Rogozhin (URS) 1984: Plumb, Stives, Fleischmann, Davidson (USA) 1988: Erhorn, Baumann, Kaspareit, Ehrenbrink (FRG) 1992: Green, Rolton, Hoy, Ryan (AUS) 1996: Schaeffer, Rolton, Hoy, Dutton (AUS) 2000: Dutton, Hoy, Tinney, Ryan (AUS) 2004: Boiteau, Lyard, Courrèges, Teulère, Touzaint (FRA) 2008: Thomsen, Ostholt, Dibowski, Klimke, Romeike (GER) 2012: Auffarth, Jung, Klimke, Schrade, Thomsen (GER) 2016: Laghouag, Lemoine, Nicolas, Vallette (FRA) 2020: Collett, McEwen, Townend (GBR) 2024: Canter, McEwen, Collett (GBR)

Authority control databases International VIAF People Trove

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