Laurence Paul Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was an English professional

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 ...

. A left winger, he notably played in England, France and Spain, where he became the first ever British player to sign for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. Cunningham had signed a schoolboy contract with Arsenal in 1970, but was released in 1972 as his style of play was deemed incompatible with the Gunners’ “give and go” tactics. In 1974 he was picked up by second tier side

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

where he remained for 3 years. But it was following his move to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in 1977 that his career really took off. There he played alongside

Cyrille Regis Cyrille Regis, MBE (9 February 1958 – 14 January 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a forward. His professional playing career spanned 19 years, where he made 614 league appearances and scored 158 league goals, most prolifical ...

and Brendon Batson under coach

Ron Atkinson Ronald Frederick Atkinson (born 18 March 1939), commonly known as "Big Ron" or "Mr. Bojangles", is an English former football player and manager. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was regarded as one of Britain's best-known football pundits. Nick ...

, becoming only the second trio of black players to be fielded in the top flight of English football. They became known as 'the Three Degrees' - a term coined by Atkinson in reference to the American soul group of the same name. His form at

the Hawthorns The Hawthorns is an all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F ...

later earned a move to Real Madrid, where he remained for five years, winning

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

once and the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

twice. After a spell in France with

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, he returned to England with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

in 1985, followed by a return to Spain with

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

. Cunningham signed with

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in 1988, where, as a member of the " 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 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

side in 1977 while playing for West Bromwich Albion, becoming the first black footballer to represent an England international team organised by the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

. 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 Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on the morning of 15 July 1989, at the age of 33.

Life and career

Born in

Archway, London Archway is an area of north London, England, in the London Borough of Islington north of Charing Cross. It straddles the A1 and is named after a local landmark, the high, single-arched Archway Bridge which crossed the road in a cutting to the ...

, he was the son of a former Jamaican race-horse jockey. Cunningham started in schoolboy football and was turned down by

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 ...

before joining

in 1974.Shea, Julian (2009),
From Brisbane Road to the Bernabeu
, BBC Sport, 15 July 2009. He joined

in 1977, where, under manager

Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...

, he teamed up with another black player,

, and the following year (under

) with Brendon Batson. This was the second time an English top-flight team simultaneously fielded three black players (the first being

Clyde Best Clyde Cyril Best, MBE (born 24 February 1951) is a Bermudian former football player. He was one of the first black players in First Division football in England, scoring 47 goals as a striker for West Ham United between 1968 and 1976. Early ...

Clive Charles Clive Michael Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games. Born in Dagenham, E ...

and

Ade Coker Ade Coker (born 19 May 1954) is a Nigerian-American former football player who played as a striker. Coker began with English club West Ham United then moved to the North American Soccer League and the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also ear ...

for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

in April 1972) 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 first black player to wear an England shirt at any levelFA PR— Laurie Cunningham''
/ref> in the England under-21s' friendly against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

on 27 April 1977, scoring on his debut. Whilst a West Bromwich Albion player he played in a benefit match for

Len Cantello Len Cantello (born 11 September 1951) is a former football midfielder. Career West Bromwich Albion: 1967–1979 Cantello joined West Bromwich Albion as an apprentice in 1967. Aged 18, Cantello played in the 1970 League Cup Final. Cantello scor ...

, that saw a team of white players play against a team of black players. He subsequently earned a full England

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

, making his debut against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

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

, 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 Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

for a place in the England squad for

Euro 1980 The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship finals tournament was held in Italy. This was the sixth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. It was the first European Championship to feature eight teams i ...

. Cunningham began the 1980–81 season with Real Madrid well, and was again called up for England for the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 i ...

Qualifier against Norway, only to be an unused sub as England won 4–0. In the next qualifier against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, 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 scored 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 Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in Paris, as Real Madrid lost 1–0. During pre season training for the 1981–82 season, a thigh injury kept Cunningham out of the majority of the season (only three goalless appearances in the league), his only real noteworthy contribution was in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

quarter final tie against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In the first leg, Cunningham scored a goal 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 Johannes Anthonius Bernardus Metgod (born 27 February 1958) is a Dutch former professional footballer who works as assistant manager of United Arab Emirates. Club career Playing as a centre-back, Metgod started his professional career in the 19 ...

to join

Uli Stielike Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born 15 November 1954) is a German former footballer and manager. Usually a central midfielder or sweeper, Stielike was well known for his stamina and footballing intelligence.Radnedge, Keir. (2004). The Complete Encyclope ...

as the two permitted foreigners, Cunningham spent most of the 1982–83 season on the sidelines, until he reunited with

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on loan in April 1983. He left Real after the 1982–83 season, joining

Sporting Gijón Sporting may refer to: *Sport, recreational games and play *Sporting (neighborhood), in Alexandria, Egypt Sports clubs *AC Sporting, a football club from Beirut, Lebanon *Alexandria Sporting Club, a sports club from Alexandria, Egypt *Real Sportin ...

and subsequently

. Cunningham only remained in France for one season in 1984–85, before heading back to England to join

, 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

in the second tier. He moved to

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

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

, where he managed to help the Dons beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup Final. Cunningham later moved back to Spain and Rayo Vallecano for the 1988–89 season. He scored the goal that secured their promotion to the Primera Division. Cunningham was killed in a car crash in

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 The Hawthorns is an all-seater association football, football stadium in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, with a capacity of 26,688. It has been the home of EFL Championship, Championship club West Bromwich Albion F ...

. In October 2013, the

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, ...

unveiled a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

outside

Brisbane Road Brisbane Road, originally known as Osborne Road, is a football stadium in Brisbane Road, Leyton, East London, England. It has been the home ground of Leyton Orient since 1937, before which it was the home of amateur football team Leyton F.C., w ...

. In September 2015,

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

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 Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

. Another statue by Ibbeson was unveiled in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

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 James Martin Hilary Graham-Brown (born 11 July 1951) is a former English professional cricketer and schoolteacher. He is now a playwright who writes under the pen name Dougie Blaxland. Early life and education Graham-Brown was born at Thetfo ...

, was first performed in 2019.

Tributes

File:Laurie Cunningham statue.png, Statue of Cunningham near

File:The Three Degrees statue - New Square, West Bromwich (48488490306).jpg, Statue of the Three Degrees by Graham Ibbeson, in

New Square File:Laurie Cunningham 1956-1989 football legend pioneering England International played for Leyton Orient FC 1974-1977.jpg, Blue plaque outside Brisbane Road

Career statistics

Honours

Real Madrid *

: 1979–80 *

: 1979–80, 1981–82 Wimbledon *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 1987–88

Bibliography

*Bowler, D., & J. Bains (2000), ''Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution''. *Paul Rees (2014), ''The Three Degrees The Men Who Changed British Football Forever''.

References

External links

Englandstats.com profileLaurie's Legacy
Waltham Forest Council – via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Laurie 1956 births 1989 deaths Footballers from Archway, London English footballers English expatriate footballers England international footballers England B international footballers England under-21 international footballers Association football wingers Leicester City F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Real Madrid CF players Sporting de Gijón players Olympique de Marseille players Rayo Vallecano players Road incident deaths in Spain West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Black British sportspeople English people of Jamaican descent Belgian First Division A players Ligue 1 players La Liga players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in Spain English expatriate sportspeople in France English expatriate sportspeople in Belgium FA Cup Final players