Laurie Cunningham
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laurence Paul Cunningham | ||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Archway, London, England | ||
| Date of death | 15 July 1989 (aged 33) | ||
| Place of death | Madrid, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left winger | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1977 | Leyton Orient | 75 | (15) |
| 1977–1979 | West Bromwich Albion | 86 | (21) |
| 1979–1984 | Real Madrid | 44 | (13) |
| 1983 | → Manchester United (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1983–1984 | → Sporting Gijón (loan) | 30 | (3) |
| 1984–1985 | Marseille | 30 | (8) |
| 1985–1986 | Leicester City | 15 | (0) |
| 1986–1987 | Rayo Vallecano | 37 | (3) |
| 1987 | Charleroi | 1 | (0) |
| 1988 | Wimbledon | 6 | (2) |
| 1988–1989 | Rayo Vallecano | 19 | (1) |
| Total | 348 | (67) | |
| National team | |||
| 1977–1978 | England U21 | 6 | (2) |
| 1978 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | England | 6 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
|||
Laurence Paul "Laurie" Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was an England international footballer. Cunningham was reported to be the first black player to represent England at any level (having played at under 21 level). However, in May 2013, The Football Association amended their records, so that now Benjamin Odeje holds this record, having represented England seven years earlier at schoolboy level.
Born in Archway, London, Cunningham started in schoolboy football and was turned down by Arsenal before joining Leyton Orient in 1974. He joined West Bromwich Albion in 1977, where, under manager Johnny Giles, he teamed up with another black player, Cyrille Regis, and the following year (under Ron Atkinson) with Brendon Batson. This was the second time an English top-flight team simultaneously fielded three black players (the first being Clyde Best, Clive Charles and Ade Coker for West Ham United against Tottenham Hotspur in April 1972) and Atkinson collectively referred to Cunningham, Batson and Regis as "The Three Degrees" after the legendary U.S. soul singing trio.
West Bromwich Albion became one of the most attractive and exciting English sides in the late 1970s and Cunningham soon attracted attention. He became the second black player to wear an England shirt at any level in the England under-21s' friendly against Scotland at Bramall Lane on 27 April 1977, scoring on his debut.
...
Wikipedia