Eddie Cunningham - Utility forward
Wales RLHeritage No | 298 |
Date Of Birth | 22/02/1951 |
Place Of Birth | St Helens |
Clubs | Batley Bulldogs, Widnes Vikings, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Wigan Warriors |
Regions | Lancashire |
Honours | Wales RL, Great Britain |
Eddie Cunningham had won a Challenge Cup winner's medal with St Helens before his little brother Kieron was even born! The Cunninghams, which included middle brother Tommy, are such a legendary Saints family, it's hard to remember that Eddie actually started at Wigan, playing 107 games, scoring 45 tries and winning a Lancashire Cup Final before moving to St Helens for a bargain fee of £5000 in February 1975. He helped Saints to the Championship that year before winning a Challenge Cup Final winners medal a year later. After 144 appearances and 75 tries for St Helens, where he was the club's top try scorer for two seasons in a row, he moved to Leeds for a season and then back over the Pennines to Widnes, where he picked up another Challenge Cup winners medal in 1981, scoring two tries and picking up the Lance Todd Trophy after being named man of the match. In total, he ended up on 157 tries in 359 appearances for all clubs, finishing his career at Batley. He made his Welsh debut in the famous "Battle of Brisbane" in the 1975 World Championship, whilst he also played once for Great Britain. During his rugby career and after retiring, he worked in the health industry in a 40-year career, primarily as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Practitioner and was, for a year, St Helens RLFC's mental health ambassador.
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