| 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 | ||
| Position | Right back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Crossgates Primrose | |||
| 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 Scottishfootballer who played in both Scotland and England.
Born inHill of Beath,Fife, Cunningham began his career as a centre half withDunfermline Athletic, combining part-time football with a mining job in the local colliery. He moved toAirdrieonians along withWillie Kelly[2] and scored 9 goals in 93 appearances for theDiamonds before a £5,000 fee took him south toPreston 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 atDeepdale on 24 August 1949. 12 years later he made his four hundredth league appearance in a goalless draw againstBolton Wanderers on 18 April 1961, the last of the1953–54Cup Final team still playing for the club.
Cunningham was capped eight times for his nativeScotland – including captaining the side during the1954 World Cup finals. On leaving Preston in 1963 he had a brief spell as player/manager atSouthport before returning to Deepdale as Reserve Team trainer.
Preston North End
