Stan Cullis
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Stanley Cullis | ||
Date of birth | 25 October 1916 | ||
Place of birth | Ellesmere Port, England | ||
Date of death | 28 February 2001 | (aged 84)||
Place of death | Malvern, England | ||
Position(s) | Centre half | ||
Youth career | |||
1930–1933 | Ellesmere Port Wednesday | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1934–1947 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 152 | (2) |
1943 | → Gillingham (wartime guest) | ||
International career | |||
1937–1939 | England | 12 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1948–1964 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
1965–1970 | Birmingham City | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Stanley Cullis (25 October 1916 – 28 February 2001) was an English professional
During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964, Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the English game, winning the league title on three occasions, and playing a series of high-profile friendly matches against top European sides which acted as a precursor to the
Playing career
Cullis joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as a teenager after a trial at Bolton Wanderers, signing professionally within a week of his arrival. He quickly moved up through the youth and reserve ranks and made his senior debut on 16 February 1935 in a 2–3 defeat at Huddersfield Town. He had to wait until the 1936–37 season though before he became first choice, when he replaced Bill Morris, and swiftly became club captain.
Cullis led the team to become one of the top teams in England, finishing runners-up in the league in
He won a call-up to the
When England played
When competitive football resumed in England in 1946–47, Cullis played just one more season for Wolves, in which the club once again narrowly missed out on a first league title. He then announced his retirement as a result of injury and was appointed assistant to manager Ted Vizard, after having made 171 appearances in total for the club.
Management career
In June 1948, aged just 31, Cullis became manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers and presided over the most successful era in the club's history. In his first season in charge, he became the youngest manager to win the FA Cup at Wembley as Wolves beat Leicester City to win their first major trophy since 1908. Five years later Wolves overhauled local rivals West Bromwich Albion to win their first league title.
Cullis's team restored some pride to English football after the national team's thrashings at the hands of Hungary when they beat the star-studded Honvéd side in a 1954 friendly, and Cullis's comments that his team were "champions of the world" played a large part in the formation of European club competitions. They also played Moscow Spartak, Dynamo and Real Madrid (1957) in other floodlit friendlies.
Cullis led Wolves to two more league titles, in
After a short spell working as a sales representative, he did return to the game as manager of Birmingham City in December 1965, but could not reproduce the success he had enjoyed at Wolves. Cullis retired from football in March 1970, and took up a post with a travel agency in Malvern, his adopted home town.[citation needed]
Later life
Cullis died on 28 February 2001 at the age of 84.[5][6][7]
Tributes to Cullis include the naming of a stand (the Stan Cullis Stand) at Wolves' Molineux Stadium and a statue of him outside it; in 2003 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact as a manager.
Bill Shankly tribute
In his 1976 autobiography, Bill Shankly paid high tribute to Cullis, saying: "While Stan [Cullis] was volatile and outrageous in what he said, he never swore. And he could be as soft as mash. He would give you his last penny. Stan was 100 per cent Wolverhampton. His blood must have been of old gold. He would have died for Wolverhampton. Above all, Stan is a very clever man who could have been successful at anything. When he left Wolverhampton, I think his heart was broken and he thought the whole world had come down on top of him. All round, as a player, as a manager, and for general intelligence, it would be difficult to name anyone since the game began who could qualify to be in the same class as Stan Cullis."[citation needed]
Honours
Wolverhampton Wanderers (as player and manager)[8]
- First Division
- FA Cup
- Winners: 1960
- Runners-up: 1939
- Semi-finalists: 1951
- Winners:
- FA Charity Shield
- FA Youth Cup
- Winners: 1958
- Runners-up: 1953, 1954, 1962
Wolverhampton Wanderers career statistics
Player]
Club performance | League | Cup | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
England | League | FA Cup | Total | |||||
1934–35 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | First Division | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
1935–36 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
1936–37 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
1937–38 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
1938–39 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 1 | ||
1939–40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1946–47 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 0 | ||
Career total | 152 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 170 | 2 |
Manager]
Season | League | FA Cup | FA Charity Shield | Europe | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | ||||
1948–49 | First Division | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 79 | 66 | 46 | 6th | W
|
||
1949–50 | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 76 | 49 | 53 | 2nd | R5 | Shared | ||
1950–51 | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 74 | 61 | 38 | 14th | SF | |||
1951–52 | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 73 | 73 | 38 | 16th | R4 | |||
1952–53 | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 86 | 63 | 51 | 3rd | R3 | |||
1953–54 | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 96 | 56 | 57 | 1st | R3 | |||
1954–55 | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 89 | 70 | 48 | 2nd | QF | Shared | ||
1955–56 | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 89 | 65 | 49 | 3rd | R3 | |||
1956–57 | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 94 | 70 | 48 | 6th | R4 | |||
1957–58 | 42 | 28 | 8 | 6 | 103 | 47 | 64 | 1st | QF | |||
1958–59 | 42 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 110 | 49 | 61 | 1st | R4 | R/U | European Cup R2 | |
1959–60 | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 106 | 67 | 54 | 2nd | W
|
W | European Cup QF | |
1960–61 | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 103 | 75 | 57 | 3rd | R3 | Shared | European Cup Winners' Cup SF | |
1961–62 | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 73 | 86 | 36 | 18th | R4 | |||
1962–63 | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 93 | 65 | 50 | 5th | R3 | |||
1963–64 | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 70 | 80 | 39 | 16th | R3 |
See also
References
- ^ Spiers, Tim (25 October 2016). "Wolves legend Stan Cullis remembered: The early years". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ British Movietone (2 July 2015). "England v. Germany Football Match in Berlin 1938". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Øystein Holt. "Uoffisiell nettside for Fredrikstad Fotballklubb". ffksupporter.net. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Mr Cullis's Offer". The Herald. Glasgow. Reuter. p. 4. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
- ^ "Stan Cullis". The Telegraph. London. 1 March 2001. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ Brian Glanville (1 March 2001). "Obituary: Stan Cullis | Football". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ Longmore, Andrew (29 October 2000). "Back when Stan really was the man - News & Comment - Football". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Stan Cullis". leaguemanagers.com. League Managers Association.