Willie Cunningham (footballer, born 1925)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Carruthers Cunningham[1] | ||
Date of birth | 22 February 1925 | ||
Place of birth | Hill of Beath, Fife, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 27 November 2000 | (aged 75)||
Place of death | Preston, Lancashire, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
Position(s) | Right back | ||
Youth career | |||
Crossgates Primrose | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1946 | Dunfermline Athletic | 3 | (0) |
1946–1949 | Airdrieonians | 93 | (9) |
1949–1963 | Preston North End | 437 | (3) |
1963–1965 | Southport | 12 | (0) |
Total | 545 | (12) | |
International career | |||
1952 | Scotland B | 1 | (0) |
1954–1955 | Scotland | 8 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1964–1965 | Southport | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William Carruthers Cunningham (22 February 1925 – 27 November 2000) was a Scottish footballer who played in both Scotland and England.
Born in Hill of Beath, Fife, Cunningham began his career as a centre half with Dunfermline Athletic, combining part-time football with a mining job in the local colliery. He moved to Airdrieonians and scored 9 goals in 93 appearances for the Diamonds before a £5,000 fee took him south to Preston North End on 28 June 1949.
Cunningham had by this stage converted to playing as a full-back and made his North End debut against Grimsby Town at Deepdale on 24 August 1949. 12 years later he made his four hundredth league appearance in a goalless draw against Bolton Wanderers on 18 April 1961, the last of the 1953–54 Cup Final team still playing for the club.
Cunningham was capped eight times for his native Scotland – including captaining the side during the 1954 World Cup finals. On leaving Preston in 1963 he had a brief spell as player/manager at Southport before returning to Deepdale as Reserve Team trainer.
References
- ^ "Willie Cunningham". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
External links
- Willie Cunningham at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- International appearances at londonhearts.com Scotland section
- Use dmy dates from May 2011
- 1925 births
- 2000 deaths
- Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players
- Airdrieonians F.C. (1878) players
- Preston North End F.C. players
- Southport F.C. players
- Scottish footballers
- Scotland international footballers
- Scottish football managers
- Southport F.C. managers
- 1954 FIFA World Cup players
- Scotland B international footballers
- Sportspeople from Fife
- Scottish Football League players
- English Football League players
- Association football fullbacks
- People from Hill of Beath
- People educated at Beath High School
- Scottish Junior Football Association players
- Crossgates Primrose F.C. players