HIS accolades include devising the official football rule book and dreaming up the rules for the FA cup.
Now, the Football Association wants to track down the living relatives of its Hull-born founder Ebenezer Cobb Morley.
The footballing hero was one of the eight "founding fathers" who created the rules of the beautiful game in 1863.
He also served as the FA's first secretary and second president.
A FA spokesman said: "Mr Morley is one of football's and Hull's greatest legends.
"He drafted the first 13 laws of Association Football and invented the rules for the FA cup.
"We are hoping to locate his family members and we feel someone in the city might be able to help."
The FA is searching all over the country to find the living descendants of Mr Morley, and its other seven founders, as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.
Relatives who are found and identified will be invited to a special event at Wembley in October, where the eight footballing legends will be honoured.
England manager Roy Hodgson has voiced his support for the nationwide hunt.
He said: "Football is part of the fabric of our society and without the vision of these eight men 150 years ago, it may not have come to exist.
"It is only right that we honour the founding fathers of this nation's favourite game."
Current England players, including Steven Gerrard, have also raised awareness of the search by creating a video, which can be viewed on the Mail's website.
Despite little being known about Mr Morley, the FA has confirmed he was born in Hull in 1831.
At the age of 22, he relocated to London with his family, before attending a series of meetings that led to the formation of the FA.
He then went on to devise the rules of football, with the help of Arthur Pember, Charles Alcock, Francis Campbell, John Alcock, Herbert Steward. George Wawn and James Turner, before his death in 1924.
Jane Clayton, cultural historian from the International Football Institute, is leading the search, which was launched on Wednesday.
She said: "This is an important historical search.
"Surprisingly, little is known about the individuals responsible for gifting us the most popular sport in the world.
"But we are confident that by October, through genealogical research and the public's help, we can trace some of the living descendants of the founding fathers of football."
Email foundingfathers@thefa.com with information on Mr Morley or the FA's other founders.
