William James McCullough (born 27 July 1935) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who made more than 250 appearances for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

10 times for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Career

Born in

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

, McCullough first played for

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

, before being signed in 1958 for £5,000 by London club

. A

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he soon made his debut for the club, against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

on 26 December 1958. He only played ten matches that season, but after

Len Wills Leonard Edward Wills (8 November 1927 – September 2010) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Arsenal. Life and career Born in Hackney, London, Wills first played for the youth teams of non-league Eton Manor, befo ...

was moved to right back at the start of 1959-60, McCullough became Arsenal's' regular left back. McCullough became known for his consistency and fitness – he wore the No. 3 shirt for Arsenal for the next six seasons, missing only a handful of matches. Although Arsenal had reached third place in his first season at the club, for the rest of his career in the side the club dwelled in mid-table and never challenged for honours. He won his first cap for

in a friendly against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 25 April 1961, which Northern Ireland lost 3-2. He went on to appear ten times for his country, scoring no goals, with his final cap coming against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a 2-0 defeat on 22 October 1966. By 1965-66, McCullough had competition for his place, in the shape of the young

Peter Storey Peter Edwin Storey (born 7 September 1945) is a former England international footballer. Able to play at full-back or more commonly as a defensive midfielder, he picked up a reputation in the Football League as an aggressive player in the 1960 ...

. When

Bertie Mee Bertram Mee OBE (25 December 1918 – 21 October 2001) was an English footballer who played as a winger for Derby County and Mansfield Town. Mee was also a manager, noted for leading Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971. Playing career Bor ...

took over at Arsenal at the end of that season, looking to build a young side, he transfer listed the 31-year-old McCullough during the close season. He had played 268 matches in total for Arsenal, scoring 5 goals. He was sold to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

in August 1966, and later had spells at Bedford Town,

Cork Celtic Cork Celtic F.C., originally Evergreen United F.C., was an Irish football club based in Cork. They played in the League of Ireland between 1951 and 1979 and played their home games at Turners Cross. In 1974, they were League of Ireland champion ...

and Derry City.

References

General * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:McCullough, Billy 1935 births Living people People from Carrickfergus Association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland international footballers Association football fullbacks Portadown F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players Cork Celtic F.C. players Derry City F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players