Cunningham regarded by many as the best black player England has ever produced and pal Batson insists he would shine today
Keep track of all the latest breaking news throughout the day FOR Brendon Batson, there is a simple way to explain just how good the late Laurie Cunningham was.
“Laurie could have played in any era, as all great players can. He would have graced football stadiums up and down the country and internationally if he was playing today,” Batson said of his former West Brom team-mate.
Cunningham is widely considered the greatest black player England have produced and, at the same time, an unsung hero and pioneer who inspired future generations.
His goalscoring Under-21 debut against Scotland in 1977 was long thought to be the first appearance by a black player for England at any level, before the story emerged of Benjamin Odeje playing for England schoolboys at Wembley six years earlier. But Cunningham’s landmark remains the big one.
A flamboyant winger, Cunningham helped disprove the stereotype of “black players being lazy, not liking the cold and not wanting to train” – and he defied horrific racism to break It is 40 years ago this month that Viv Anderson became the first black player to win a full England cap. In the latest of our series looking at the influential black players to have graced the Three Lions, the Mirror remembers Laurie Cunningham, by common consent the best black player to have worn the shirt.
through in the 1970s. He burst onto the scene as a teenager at Leyton Orient and helped make West Brom one of England’s most exciting sides before becoming the first British player to join Real Madrid in 1979.
All his achievements, though, did nothing to silence the bigots whose abuse, from the schoolboy pitches to the streets, had become the norm for black players and went totally unpunished.
Batson (right) said: “What Laurie had to cope with was the volume. It just kept on increasing the higher he played in England. To the credit of the players of that era, they showed great strength of character to keep coming forward in increasing numbers.”
Batson joined West Brom in 1978, teaming up with the late Cyrille Regis and Cunningham, to form a ground-breaking trio famously nicknamed the Three Degrees. Batson said: “I thought
that three black players in one team would help the situation but it seemed to inflame it, and that is what happened with England.
“There was a very strong right-wing element to the England supporters at the time. The flag of St George had a different meaning then.
“It was an intimidating atmosphere for black players to enter into but it wasn’t unusual for us, so Laurie coped with it.”
Batson recalls slipping on a banana as he ran out for his Baggies debut at Birmingham and both he and Regis once being showered with them during a warm-up at West Ham.
Batson had no intention of letting racists “drive me away” while Regis’s response was to keep sticking the ball in the net.
PFA trustee Batson added: “Laurie was an introvert off the pitch but an extrovert on it. He had no fear in receiving the ball under pressure with the crowd baying and a defender coming at him aiming to do his worst.
“Everyone talks about that fantastic game 5-3 against Manchester United. That is one occasion of Laurie at his best. March 8, 1956 Archway, London July 15, 1989 (aged 33) Madrid, Spain 5ft 11in
Winger
Years
1974–77 Leyton Orient ....... 75 1977–79 West Brom ............ 86 1979–84 Real Madrid ......... 44 1983 Man Utd (loan) ............. 5 1983–84 Sp Gijon (loan) .... 30 1984–85 Marseille ............. 30 1985–86 Leicester City ....... 15 1986–87 Rayo Vallecano .... 37 1987 Charleroi ........................ 1 1988 Wimbledon ................... 6 1988–89 Rayo Vallecano .... 19 Total 348 INTERNATIONAL CAREER 1977–78 England U21 ........... 6 1978 England B ...................... 1 1979–80 England ................. 6 Goals 15 21 13 1 3 8 0 3 0 2 1 2 0 0 The one a lot of people didn’t see was the Valencia UEFA Cup tie, which sold him to Real Madrid. I would defy any fullback in the game to mark Laurie that night because he was out of this world.”
After a brilliant start in Spain, where he won a league and cup double in his first season, injuries derailed his Madrid career while he won the last of his six England caps in 1980.
He showed flashes of his old self again when he helped Wimbledon to a shock FA Cup final win over Liverpool in 1988 and then Rayo Vallecano to Spain’s top flight as his remarkable, nomadic journey continued.
But tragedy struck when Cunningham was killed in a car accident in Madrid aged just 33 in July 1989.
In a powerful documentary about his life, Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand, John Barnes and Paul Ince are among recent England stars who spoke about the impact Cunningham had on them growing up.
Batson added: “When you look back you realise he was part of that opening of the door to bigger and better things.”