John Cushley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Cushley | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 21, 1943 | |
| Place of birth | Hamilton, Scotland | |
| Date of death | March 24, 2008 (aged 65) | |
| Place of death | Bothwell, Scotland | |
| Playing position | Centre half | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1963–1967 1967–1970 1970–1972 1972–1976 |
Celtic West Ham United Dunfermline Athletic Dumbarton |
41 (0) 38 (0) 49 (0) 85 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
John Cushley (January 21, 1943 – March 24, 2008) was a Scottish football player who played for Celtic, West Ham United, Dunfermline Athletic and Dumbarton
He was born in 1943 in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, and joined Celtic in July 1960 as a centre-half in the team's reserves. He made his first team debut for Celtic in March 1963, in a match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Cushley found himself in the shadow of his teammate and former schoolmate, Billy McNeill, and many of his appearances for Celtic were dependent on McNeill's absence due to injury or international appearances. Nonetheless, Cushley played 41 games for Celtic, until he left the club in 1967 in a £10,000 transfer to West Ham United.[1]
In addition to his football career, Cushley was a teacher and a graduate in modern languages from the University of Glasgow. In 1964, he had acted as a Spanish translator when he and team manager Jimmy McGrory travelled to Spain in an unsuccessful attempt to sign Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano to Celtic.[2] During his two years in London with West Ham, Cushley also worked as a teacher.
In 1970, he returned to Scotland, playing for Dunfermline Athletic and Dumbarton before retiring in 1976, although he continued teaching, and joined Celtic's coaching staff as an education officer.[3]
In 2007, Cushley was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, the same illness that had claimed his Celtic teammate Jimmy Johnstone in 2006. He died at his home in Bothwell on March 24, 2008, aged 65.[2]
