"England never lose when they deign to pick more than one Morley player in the same XV.”
This observation was made by Peter Jackson, Daily Mail sports writer, writing in Morley RFC's 125th anniversary special publication (2003).

Admittedly, he was going back a bit to 1900 when Morley hooker Jack (really John Henry) Shooter (top right), a coal miner, and Morley scrum half George Marsden (seated at front), born in Albert Road, played Rugby Union for England when they beat Ireland 15-4. Both were selected for the next match against Scotland which ended in a nil-nil draw.

They were also invited to join the Rockcliffe side - which was the equivalent of the Barbarians - on their tour of Wales.

A third Morley hero of old was Harry Bedford, Morley’s first international at the age of 20 in 1888, who also represented his country in 1889 and 1890. He became a pub landlord in Cudworth, near Barnsley, when his playing days were over.

Local historian George Atkinson, writing about those days, once recalled that around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, support in Morley was swinging towards Association Football, and George Marsden and Jack Shooter left to play for Hunslet.

In 1901 Morley reached the final of the Yorkshire Cup. “Victory might have rekindled that old enthusiasm, but defeat by Castleford 20-6 brought the end of Rugby Union Football in Morley until nearly 20 years and a Great War later,” George said.

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Update to Maroon Memories 3

Information provided by Chris Isherwood who is father to Morley's new fullback Thomas Isherwood. Chris played at Morley before moving to Canada. He is referering to the photograph of the Morley team on 1936 before they faced Otley.

H. Beeson is the grandfather of Thomas’ godmother, Bronwyn Gray (who grew up in Pudsey and now lives in Toronto, Canada) .
He is featured in the photo on the above news story on the club website.