Wilbur Cush

Who was Wilbur Cush?

Wilbur W. "Billy" Cush was a Northern Irish football striker.

He was born and died in Lurgan, Northern Ireland.

Cush represented Northern Ireland at the 1958 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in their first ever final stages World Cup match, a 1–0 win over Czechoslovakia in Sweden. In total he earned 26 caps and scored 5 goals for Northern Ireland.

He started his career in his native Northern Ireland with Glenavon F.C.. In 1956/57, he was named as the Ulster Footballer of the Year. He moved to Leeds United in 1957 and took over the captaincy from recently departed Leeds legend John Charles. Cush was a very versatile player who could play at centre-back and centre-forward. His performances at Elland Road earned him his call up to Northern Ireland for the 1958 World Cup. Overall at Leeds he made 90 appearances and scored 9 goals. In 1960 he moved to Portadown F.C. later moving back to his first club, Glenavon F.C., as a player and later a coach. With his football career over, Wilbur became a butcher in Lurgan. He died in 1981.

Wilbur Cush was also a platoon Sergeant in the Ulster Special Constabulary. He served in Lurgan and The Birches station County Armagh. He received the USC Long Service Medal.