Billy McCullough

Last updated

Personal information
Full name William James McCullough [1]
Date of birth (1935-07-27) 27 July 1935 (age 88) [1]
Place of birth Carrickfergus, [1] Northern Ireland
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Left back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
0000–1958 Portadown
1958–1966 Arsenal 253 (4)
1966–1967 Millwall 19 (0)
Bedford Town
Cork Celtic
Derry City
International career
1961–1966 Northern Ireland 10 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William James McCullough (born 27 July 1935) is a former footballer who made more than 250 appearances for Arsenal in the Football League and was capped 10 times for Northern Ireland.

Contents

Career

Born in Carrickfergus, McCullough first played for Portadown, before being signed in 1958 for £5,000 by London club Arsenal. [2] A left back, he soon made his debut for the club, against Luton Town on 26 December 1958. He only played ten matches that season, but after Len Wills was moved to right back at the start of 1959-60, McCullough became Arsenal's' regular left back.[ citation needed ]

McCullough became known for his consistency and fitness – he wore the No. 3 shirt for Arsenal for the next six seasons, missing only a handful of matches. Although Arsenal had reached third place in his first season at the club, for the rest of his career in the side the club dwelled in mid-table and never challenged for honours.[ citation needed ]

He won his first cap for Northern Ireland in a friendly against Italy on 25 April 1961, which Northern Ireland lost 3-2. He went on to appear ten times for his country, scoring no goals, with his final cap coming against England in a 2-0 defeat on 22 October 1966.

By 1965-66, McCullough had competition for his place, in the shape of the young Peter Storey. When Bertie Mee took over at Arsenal at the end of that season, looking to build a young side, he transfer listed the 31-year-old McCullough during the close season.[ citation needed ] He had played 268 matches in total for Arsenal, scoring 5 goals. [2] He was sold to Millwall in August 1966, and later had spells at Bedford Town, Cork Celtic and Derry City. [3]

Club statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeague FA Cup EuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 1958–59 [4] First Division 10010110
1959–60 [5] First Division33000330
1960–61 [6] First Division41010420
1961–62 [7] First Division40020420
1962–63 [8] First Division42330453
1963–64 [9] First Division401404 [lower-alpha 1] 1482
1964–65 [10] First Division30000300
1965–66 [11] First Division17000170
Career total2534110412685

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