From the time he joined Wolves from Ellesmere Port Wednesday, it was clear Stan Cullis was not only a talented player but a born leader.
He captained Wolves at 19 and England when two days short of his 23rd birthday. As a centre-half, he dominated and had excellent ball control which he often used to dribble clear from danger – a tactic he would later frown upon as a manager. When Wolves were the talk of English football in the late 1930s they twice finished First Division runners-up and also lost the 1939 FA Cup final to Portsmouth when hot favourites. In the first League season after the War, Wolves failed again to win the title, losing their final game to Liverpool, the eventual winners. It was Cullis’s last game as a player but he would make up for all those near misses after he became manager in 1948, guiding Wolves twice to FA Cup final triumphs and three league titles as well as series of wins in prestige floodlit friendlies. When he was sacked in 1964 he had served the club for 30 years.
Date of birth: October 25, 1916. Died February 27, 2001.
Years with Club: 1934 to 1947 (as player).
Club signed from: Ellesmere Port Wednesday.
Appearances: 171.
