"Laurence Cunningham" redirects here. Not to be confused with Lawrence Cunningham.
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Laurie Cunningham
Cunningham (right) playing for Real Madrid in 1981
Personal information
Full name
Laurence Paul Cunningham
Date of birth
(1956-03-08)8 March 1956
Place of birth
Archway, London, England
Date of death
15 July 1989(1989-07-15) (aged 33)
Place of death
Madrid, Spain
Position(s)
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
(1)
1987
Charleroi
1
(0)
1988
Wimbledon
6
(1)
1988–1989
Rayo Vallecano
19
(1)
Total
348
(67)
International career
1977–1978
England U21
6
(2)
1978
England B
1
(0)
1979–1980
England
6
(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Laurence Paul Cunningham (8 March 1956 – 15 July 1989) was an English professional footballer who played as a left winger. He notably played in England, France, and Spain, where he became the first-ever British player to sign for Real Madrid.
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.[1] In 1974, he was picked up by second-tier side Leyton Orient where he remained for three years. But it was following his move to West Bromwich Albion in 1977 that his career really took off. There 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. They became known as the Three Degrees – a term coined by Atkinson in reference to the American soul group of the same name.[1] His form at the Hawthorns 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 Marseille, he returned to England with Leicester City in 1985, followed by another spell in Spain with Rayo Vallecano. Cunningham signed with Wimbledon 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 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. He later earned six 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.[2]
^ ab"The electric trailblazer who met a tragic end in Madrid". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
^"Cunningham killed in car crash". The Observer. 16 July 1989. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
Commons has media related to LaurieCunningham. LaurieCunningham at Englandstats.com Profile on football-england.com Laurie's Legacy, Waltham Forest Council...
Cantello Testimonial Match, (West Bromwich Albion XI v Cyrille Regis & LaurieCunningham XI), was a testimonial football match that took place in May 1979...
in 1996. The game was the last that former England international LaurieCunningham would play in England, before his death in Spain in 1989. Liverpool...
Santillana ensured Real won the first leg 1–0 in Spain. Two goals from LaurieCunningham and Francisco García Hernández secured a 2–0 victory in the second...
Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player Abe Cunningham, American drummer...
Segunda División B. Due to a tragedy Rayo Vallecano turned out to be LaurieCunningham's last club; he was killed in a car crash just outside Madrid in 1989...
League Young Player of the Season: 2023–24 The previous five were LaurieCunningham, Steve McManaman, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate...
crash claimed the life of his friend and former teammate LaurieCunningham in 1989. He and Cunningham had been involved in a similar crash two years earlier...
Lawrence anniversary plaque: June 2013 Pete Robinson Plaque: July 2013 LaurieCunningham plaque: October 2013 Dr John Alcindor plaque: July 2014 George Africanus...
at the University of Notre Dame Lawrence Cunningham (Coronation Street) LaurieCunningham (Laurence Cunningham, 1956–1989), English footballer This disambiguation...
1954 – David Wilkie, Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer (d. 2024) 1956 – LaurieCunningham, English footballer (d. 1989) 1956 – David Malpass, American economist...
1939), footballer Stan Cullis (1916–2001), footballer and manager LaurieCunningham (1956–1989), footballer Tom Daley (born 1994), youngest diver ever...
follow him and team up with fellow black players Cyrille Regis and LaurieCunningham, leaving in a deal worth £28,000. Although not by any means the first...
making Beckham the third Englishman to play for the club, after LaurieCunningham and Steve McManaman, the latter of whom he succeeded in his position...
soon signed Brendon Batson from his former club, to play alongside LaurieCunningham and Cyrille Regis. Never before had a team in the top division of...
Global Information
