Billy McCullough

For the communist and trade unionist, see William McCullough (Northern Ireland politician).

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

Personal information
Full name	William James McCullough[1]
Date of birth	(1935-07-27) 27 July 1935 (age 90)[1]
Place of birth	Carrickfergus,[1] Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Left back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
0000–1958	Portadown
1958–1966	Arsenal	253	(4)
1966–1967	Millwall	19	(0)
	Derry City
International career
1961–1966	Northern Ireland	10	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arsenal	1958–59[4]	First Division	10	0	1	0	—		11	0
	1959–60[5]	First Division	33	0	0	0	—		33	0
	1960–61[6]	First Division	41	0	1	0	—		42	0
	1961–62[7]	First Division	40	0	2	0	—		42	0
	1962–63[8]	First Division	42	3	3	0	—		45	3
	1963–64[9]	First Division	40	1	4	0	4[a]	1	48	2
	1964–65[10]	First Division	30	0	0	0	—		30	0
	1965–66[11]	First Division	17	0	0	0	—		17	0
Career total			253	4	11	0	4	1	268	5

1. Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup