Willie Cunningham (Northern Irish footballer)

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

William Cunningham

Personal information
Full name	William Edward Cunningham
Date of birth	(1930-05-17)17 May 1930
Place of birth	Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland
Date of death	31 August 2007(2007-08-31) (aged 77)
Place of death	Dunfermline, Scotland
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Ardrossan Winton Rovers
1950–1954	St Mirren	61	(1)
1954–1960	Leicester City	127	(4)
1960–1963	Dunfermline Athletic	70	(4)
Total		258	(9)
International career
1951–1962	Northern Ireland	30	(0)
Managerial career
1964–1967	Dunfermline Athletic
1968–1972	Falkirk
1973–1974	St Mirren
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Born in County Antrim but raised in Scotland from a young age, 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 rejected an approach from the Scottish FA to become the Scotland national team manager in 1971.

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

He died, aged 77, on 31 August 2007.

Honours

Falkirk

• Stirlingshire Cup : 1969-70

External links

• Willie Cunningham at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database