Laurie Cunningham


Laurence Paul Cunningham was an English professional footballer. A left winger, he notably played in England, France and Spain, where he became the first ever Englishman to play for Real Madrid.
After being turned down by Arsenal, he began his career at Leyton Orient in 1974, and moved on to West Bromwich Albion three years later, where he played alongside Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson under coach Ron Atkinson, becoming only the second trio of black players to be fielded in the top flight of English football. His form at West Brom later earned a move to Real Madrid, where he remained for five years, winning La Liga once and the Copa del Rey twice. After a spell in France with Olympique Marseille, he returned to England with Leicester City in 1985, followed by a return to Spain with Rayo Vallecano. Cunningham signed with Wimbledon FC in 1988, where, as a member of the infamous "Crazy Gang", he won the FA Cup in 1988 for the final trophy of his career.
Cunningham received his first international call-up to the England U21 side in 1977 while playing for West Brom, becoming the first black footballer to represent an England international team organised by the Football Association. He later earned 6 caps for the full national team between 1979 and 1980, becoming one of the first ever black England internationals.
While playing for Rayo Vallecano, Cunningham was killed in a car crash in Madrid on the morning of 15 July 1989, at the age of 33.

Life and career

Born in Archway, London, he was the son of a former Jamaican race-horse jockey. 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 with Brendon Batson. This was the second time an English top-flight team simultaneously fielded three black players and Atkinson collectively referred to Cunningham, Batson and Regis as "The Three Degrees" after the 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.
Whilst a West Bromwich Albion player he played in a benefit match for Len Cantello, that saw a team of white players play against a team of black players.
He subsequently earned a full England cap, making his debut against Wales in a Home International in 1979. He was to win a total of six caps for England.
In the summer of 1979, he made a historic move as the first British player to transfer to Real Madrid, who paid West Bromwich Albion a fee of £950,000. He scored twice on his debut and helped Real win the league and cup double. Despite this club success, Cunningham was overlooked by England manager Ron Greenwood for a place in the England squad for Euro 1980.
Shrugging off this disappointment and back at Real Madrid, Cunningham began the 1980–81 season well, and was again called up for England for the 1982 World Cup Qualifier against Norway, only to be an unused sub as England won 4–0. In the next qualifier against Romania, he came off the bench but was unable to help England avoid a 2–1 defeat. This was to be his last England cap. Back with Real Madrid, his early season form was good again scoring goals in the early rounds of the European Cup, but then he succumbed to injury, and required an operation on a broken toe.
Cunningham recovered just in time for the 1981 European Cup Final against Liverpool in Paris, as Real Madrid lost 1–0, and though he was clearly not match fit, played the whole match. During pre season training for the 1981–82 season, Cunningham's injury jinx continued, as a thigh injury kept him out of the majority of the season, his only real noteworthy contribution was in the UEFA Cup quarter final tie against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
In the first leg, Cunningham showed that he was not over the hill, with a goal and great performance in Real Madrid's 3–1 win. In the second leg, however, he was sent off shortly before half time for retaliation, as Kaiserslautern won 5–0 to inflict Real Madrid's worst ever result in European competition. Prior to this tie, a finally fit Cunningham had been summoned up for England duty again, but this would be the last time he made an England squad. Cunningham won a second Spanish Cup medal as he played in the final when Real Madrid beat Gijón 2–1, but it was a depressing campaign for him. For the next season, with Real Madrid signing Johnny Metgod to join Uli Stielike as the two permitted foreigners, Cunningham spent most of the 1982–83 season on the sidelines, until he reunited with Ron Atkinson at Manchester United on loan in April 1983. He left Real after the 1982–83 season, joining Sporting Gijón and subsequently Marseille.
Cunningham only remained in France for one season in 1984–85, before heading back to England to join Leicester City, although he played only half a season due to further injury. At the end of the 1985–86 season, Cunningham went back to Spain to play for Rayo Vallecano in the second tier. He moved to Charleroi in Belgium for the 1987–88 campaign, but was yet again struck down by injury, and in the new year was back in England on a short-term deal with Wimbledon, where he managed to help the Dons beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final.
After sharing in that glory, Cunningham again headed back to Spain and Rayo Vallecano for the 1988–89 season, enjoying an Indian summer and the season was topped off by scoring the goal that secured their promotion to the Primera Liga.
Cunningham was killed in a car crash in Madrid on the morning of 15 July 1989, at the age of 33. He was survived by his Spanish wife and their son.

Legacy

In November 2004, he was named as one of West Bromwich Albion's 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club's 125th anniversary celebrations. The club announced that Cunningham would feature in a mural of the former players to be displayed at The Hawthorns.
In October 2013, the Nubian Jak Community Trust unveiled a blue plaque outside Brisbane Road. In September 2015, English Heritage erected a blue plaque on Cunningham's childhood home at 73 Lancaster Road, Stroud Green, London.
In November 2017, a statue by Graham Ibbeson was unveiled in Coronation Gardens, Leyton, near Brisbane Road, paying tribute to Cunningham and his time at Leyton Orient. Another statue by Ibbeson was unveiled in West Bromwich town centre in May 2019. The work commemorates Cunningham's time at Albion alongside black teammates Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis, with a spokesperson for the organisers commenting that "the three players opened the gates to allow black players into football at a time when they were locked out".
A play based on his life, Getting the Third Degree by Dougie Blaxland, was first performed in 2019.

Career statistics

Honours

; Real Madrid:
; Wimbledon: