On This Day – 15th July
Former West Bromwich Albion and Real Madrid left winger Laurie Cunningham had his life cut tragically on this day back in 1989. He was only 33 years of age when he was killed in a car accident in Madrid.
After being released by Arsenal at the age of 16, Cunningham started his professional career at Leyton Orient where he impressed and drew the attention of West Bromwich Albion.
Ron Atkinson signed him for £110,000 and only a month later, became the first black player to play for England at any level, bagging the winner in a game against Scotland Under 21’s.
In his time at West Brom, Cunningham was joined by fellow black players Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis. Nowadays this wouldn’t be given a second thought but at the time there weren’t many black players in the English game. The trio gained the moniker of ‘The Three Degrees’ after a famous band of the same name.
A mesmerising display from Cunningham against Valencia in the UEFA Cup for West Brom alerted the Spanish press to his talents. Real Madrid put in a bid for Cunningham for £950,000 in July 1979 and he moved to the Bernabeu..
In his first season, Real Madrid won a league and cup double and Cunningham put in a man of the match display away to Barcelona at the Nou Camp. At times, the Barcelona crowd gave Cunningham standing ovations, something unheard of between the two clubs.
It went downhill after Cunningham broke bones in his foot and was rushed back for the 1981 European Cup Final in 1981 against Liverpool. Liverpool beat Real by a single goal and as Cunningham was the clubs most expensive player, he bore the brunt of the criticism despite being injured.
He went out on loan to Manchester United and then moved to Wimbledon but after several injuries, he was a shadow of his former self.
In 1989, Cunningham moved to Rayo Vallecano and on the night of 15th July, he was involved in a fatal car accident and died at the age of 33.
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