George Cummings (footballer) explained

George Cummings
Fullname:George Wilfred Cummings
Height:5 ft 11+1/2 in[1]
Position:Left back
Birth Date:5 June 1913
Birth Place:Falkirk, Scotland
Death Place:Birmingham, England
Youthclubs1:Thornbridge Waverley
Youthclubs2:Thornbridge Welfare
Years1:
Clubs1:Grange Rovers
Years2:1932–1935
Clubs2:Partick Thistle
Caps2:114
Goals2:1
Years3:1935–1949
Caps3:210
Goals3:0
Years4:
Totalcaps:324
Totalgoals:1
Nationalyears1:1934–1935
Nationalteam1:Scottish League XI
Nationalcaps1:2
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:1935–1939
Nationalteam2:Scotland
Nationalcaps2:9
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:1944
Nationalteam3:Scotland (wartime)
Nationalcaps3:1
Nationalgoals3:0

George Wilfred Cummings (5 June 1913 – 9 April 1987) was a Scottish footballer of the 1930s and 1940s, who played as a left back.

Club career

Cummings was the captain of Aston Villa's great post-World War II defence,[2] having signed for the club in November 1935 from Partick Thistle,[3] where he had made a total of 138 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal,[4] and won a Glasgow Cup medal with the Jags in 1934.[5]

At Villa Park, Cummings gained a Second Division championship medal in 1938 and a Football League War Cup tankard in 1944, also guesting for several teams (including hometown club Falkirk) during the conflict.[3] [6] He was the Villans club captain from 1945 to his retirement in 1949, and was popular with supporters due to his never-say-die spirit and no-nonsense defending. He played 421 times for the club in total, including wartime competitions – his peacetime total being just over half of that.[6]

On retirement as a player he was a youth coach at Aston Villa for three years, and also worked for the Dunlop Rubber Company and Hardy Spicer Ltd. in Birmingham.

International career

Cummings represented both Scotland (nine caps, three while at Partick Thistle) and the Scottish League XI (two caps),[7] also playing in an SFA tour of North America in 1935 and in one wartime international in 1944.[8] [9]

Notes and References

  1. News: Villa have talent to succeed . Sunday Dispatch Football Guide . London . 23 August 1936 . vi . Newspapers.com.
  2. https://www.lerwill-life.org.uk/astonvilla/profiles/avcummings.htm George Cummings
  3. A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players. John Litster. Scottish Football Historian magazine. October 2012.
  4. http://partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com/page/Players+C Players C
  5. http://partickthistleahistory.wikifoundry.com/page/1934+-+GCF+v+Rangers Partick Thistle Win The Glasgow Cup
  6. http://www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/324.html George Cummings
  7. Web site: [SFL player] George Cummings ]. 5 December 2011 . London Hearts Supporters' Club .
  8. Web site: [Scotland player – including unofficial matches] George Cummings ]. London Hearts Supporters' Club . 20 January 2014.
  9. Book: Mitchell, Andy . The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939 . Amazon . 2021 . 9798513846642.