When the programme for the game between Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday dropped through the letter box we had high hopes that we could cover the debut game of another one of Football’s Black Pioneers. But doubt crept in, there was no sign of Tony Cunningham on the team sheet (not unusual) but he also didn’t feature as one of the eighteen (white) faces in the team photo.
The team photo shows just how much times have changed but had we got the wrong programme (it has been known to happen)?
A quick check of the English National Football Archives, our ‘go to’ source for such things, confirmed that Tony Cunningham did indeed play at Fulham on 11th November 1983.
We could have saved ourselves the trouble of checking ENFA by looking at the relevant chapter of Football’s Black Pioneers, that would have cleared up the mystery straight away! Tony played for Barnsley against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 5th November. It must have been an impressive display (maybe there were fireworks?!) because Tony signed for Wednesday in time to make his debut just six days later at Craven Cottage).
In the only change to the published Wednesday line up, Tony appeared wearing the No.10 shirt. He couldn’t have got off to a better start, scoring in the 28th minute.
Tony went on to score 5 goals in 28 League appearances (including 2 as substitute) that season and help Wednesday win promotion to the top flight. But it wasn’t enough to secure Tony’s place in the team for the 1984/85 season as manager Howard Wilkinson went out and secured the services of Lee Chapman during the summer who would take over Tony’s position in the team. The writing was on the wall and Tony moved to Manchester City (then in Division 2). His dream of playing in the top division of the Football League was put on hold – until he signed for Newcastle United in February 1985.
Tony made a total of 495 Football League appearances in a career that lasted until 1993/94. Scoring 117 goals was a pretty decent return.
When he retired, probably uniquely among our first black players, Tony undertook education that led to him becoming a solicitor.
So, not one but two successful careers – professional footballer and solicitor.