Google Doodle honours Ebenezer Cobb Morley, man behind the rules of football

Thursday's Google Doodle is celebrating the 187th birthday of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the man famous for drafting the first written rules of football known as the 'Laws of the game'.

The English sportsman is widely known as the father of the Football Association and modern football. “He was responsible for turning brutal football into a beautiful game,” writes Google Doodle Videos.

Morley was responsible for the establishment of Football Association in 1862 playing for Barnes club. He played first ever match against Richmond in 1863.

Born on August 16, 1831, at 10 Garden Square, Princess Street in UK's Hull to a minister, Morley was a sports enthusiast and went on to study law. He moved to Barnes in 1858. He formed the Barnes Club and became a founding member of the Football Association in 1862. He became the association's first secretary in 1863 and second president in 1867. 

To understand how brutal and unruly the game used to be, Morley in his 13th rule had written 'No player shall wear projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta percha on the soles or heels of his boots.'

He was the first person to make the case for making football a more organized game.

“A meeting followed at Freeman’s Tavern where Morley was joined by members of football clubs across England, who all had input into the rulemaking before Morley drafted his list of 13 rules, which became the standard of play in England.

“Morley’s laws helped reduce violence on the field — although he did think players should be able to 'hack the front leg' — and formalized the crucial rule we now call offsides, which prevents players from permanently stationing themselves behind an opponent’s defensive line, waiting for a pass,” writes Google.