Willie Cunningham (footballer, born 1925)

Willie Cunningham

Personal information
Full name	William Carruthers Cunningham
Date of birth	22 February 1925
Place of birth	Hill O'Beath, Scotland
Date of death	27 November 2000 (aged 75)
Place of death	Preston,Lancashire
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Fullback
Youth career
	Crossgates Primrose
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1946	Dunfermline Athletic	3	(0)
1946–1949	Airdrie	93	(9)
1949–1963	Preston North End	440	(3)
1963–1965	Southport	12	(0)
Total		548	(12)
National team
1954–1955	Scotland	8	(0)
Teams managed
1964–1965	Southport
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

William Carruthers Cunningham (22 February 1925 – 27 November 2000) was a Scottish professional international footballer who played in both the Scottish and English leagues.

Born in Hill O'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 Airdrie 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.

External links

• Neil Brown profile
• International appearances at londonhearts.com Scotland section