Willie Cunningham (Northern Irish footballer)

For other people named Willie Cunningham (disambiguation)|Willie Cunningham, see Willie Cunningham (disambiguation).

Willie Cunningham

Personal information
Full name	William E. Cunningham
Date of birth	(1930-02-20)20 February 1930
Place of birth	Mallusk, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Date of death	31 August 2007(2007-08-31) (aged 77)
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1950–1954	St. Mirren	61	(1)
1954–1960	Leicester City	127	(4)
1960–1963	Dunfermline Athletic	70	(4)
Total		258	(9)
International career
	Northern Ireland	30	(0)
Managerial career
1964–1967	Dunfermline Athletic
1968–1972	Falkirk
1973–1974	St. Mirren
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William "Willie" E. Cunningham (20 February 1930 – 31 August 2007) was a former Northern Ireland international footballer and manager.

Born in Antrim, he signed for St. Mirren in 1950 and played there until 1954 when he left for Leicester City. He joined Dunfermline Athletic in 1960 and was a member of the Scottish Cup-winning team which beat Celtic 2-0 in 1961. After retiring from playing, he went into management with Dunfermline Athletic and Falkirk. He returned to manage St. Mirren in 1972, but resigned in 1974 for personal reasons. Before leaving, he recommended Alex Ferguson as his successor.

He played 30 matches for Northern Ireland, and was a member of their 1958 FIFA World Cup team.

He died, aged 77, at the end of August 2007.

External links

• Profile on St. Mirren Historical Database
• Newcastle Fans profile