Willie Cunningham (footballer, born 1925)

William Carruthers Cunningham (22 February 1925 – 27 November 2000) was a Scottish footballer who played in both Scotland and England.

Willie Cunningham
Personal information
Full name William Carruthers Cunningham[1]
Date of birth (1925-02-22)22 February 1925
Place of birth Hill of Beath, Fife, Scotland
Date of death 27 November 2000(2000-11-27) (aged 75)
Place of death Preston, Lancashire, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing 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)
National team
1952 Scotland B 1 (0)
1954–1955 Scotland 8 (0)
Teams managed
1964–1965 Southport
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

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
  1. "Willie Cunningham". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
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