Cunningham, Laurie

Laurie Cunningham, (born March 8, 1956, London, England—died July 15, 1989, Madrid, Spain), professional football (soccer) player. In 1977 Cunningham joined West Bromwich Albion as a forward/striker. Albion featured two other players of African descent, Brendan Batson and Cyrille Regis, and the three of them were known as the “Three Degrees.” The presence of three black players on one squad was unheard of in the English Football League. The success of the trio and the exciting football played by Albion that season did much to open new opportunities for minorities in the English leagues. The same year, Cunningham became the first black player for England’s under-21 national team. Altogether, he earned six “caps” for playing on English national teams.

From 1979 to 1983, Cunningham played for the Spanish team of Real Madrid. He then played for short spells with several teams in Europe.