Stan Cummins

Stan Cummins (born December 6, 1958 in Sedgefield, England) was an English footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward.

In 1970 Cummins, at age 11, was spotted by Middlesbrough Chief Scout Ray Grant playing for Ferryhill Grammar School. Some of Grant's other discoveries were Brian Clough, Mark Proctor and Tony Mowbray. Grant told Boro's Assistant Manager Harold Shepherdson that Cummins had the keenest football brain he had encountered in a boy and was the most naturally talented player he had seen since Hughie Gallacher. Shepherdson signed Cummins on Associate Schoolboy Forms for Middlesbrough at age 14, staving off competition from Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa to name a few clubs wanting his signature. Grant died in February 2006.

Cummins began his career with Middlesbrough in 1975 as an apprentice professional and was coached at youth level by former Scotland and Celtic great Bobby Murdoch. He was voted Boro's Young Player of the Year in 1976. Manager Jack Charlton gave him his debut in the old First Division (now called The Premiership) against Ipswich Town at Ayresome Park on November 27, 1976 at the age of only 17 and Cummins went on to become a firm crowd favorite. He played for Boro in a friendly match against Scottish club Hearts a few weeks earlier and scored in a 3-0 win. Cummins signed professional forms with the club on his 18th birthday. He gained renown as a diminutive, skilful striker/midfielder. While still only a teenager Jack Charlton suggested that Cummins would one day be the first player to be sold for one million pounds. However, that was not to be the case for in 1979 Trevor Francis became the first when Nottingham Forest bought him from Birmingham City. In 1977 Cummins had the honor of playing with 1966 World Cup Winner Sir Bobby Charlton in John Hickton's Testimonial Match against Sunderland at Ayresome Park. In the summer of 1977 he played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) at the age of 18 for the Minnesota Kicks against the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and his idol George Best, winning the Western Division Championship. In November of '77 Cummins scored his first league goal in Boro's 1-0 win against Aston Villa at Villa Park. By age 19 he established himself in Boro's first team and played in their F.A. Cup run of 1978 that ended with a quarter final defeat by Leyton Orient. In January of that year Boro beat Newcastle United 4-2 at St. James Park and Cummins scored Boro's fourth goal prompting match commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme to say another of his famous one liners. Immediately after the goal Wolstenholme said "That gives him (Cummins) ten out of ten and one for neatness". Cummins played against Scotland in Willie Maddren's Testimonial Match prior to their departure for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Former Boro colleague Graeme Souness also played. In January 1979 he was a member of the England U21 Squad versus Wales U21 along with Bryan Robson, Glenn Hoddle and Kenny Sansom coached by Dave Sexton and Terry Venables. He also used to write a weekly column for "Scoop", a soccer magazine, as did Kenny Dalglish, Glenn Hoddle and Peter Barnes.

Cummins joined Sunderland in November 1979 at the age of 20, for £300,000, the Club's most expensive signing in their 100 year history, scoring on his debut in the 3-1 win over Notts. County at Roker Park. He also won the "Daily Express" National Five-a-side Championship at Wembley Arena that same month. Cummins would also score vital goals for Sunderland in their promotion season of 1979/80. On February 9, 1980 he scored four goals and had 1 assist in the 5-0 win against Burnley at Roker Park. On April 5 he scored the only goal that beat Newcastle United in the local derby at Roker Park. It is the last time Sunderland have beaten Newcastle on home soil. He also scored in the 2-0 win against West Ham United to clinch promotion in front of 47,000 fans at Roker Park on May 12. The following season, he would score the goal which ensured Sunderland's First Division survival away to Liverpool at Anfield in the last game of the season. He was named Sunderland Player of the Year for 1981 and also the North-East of England Outfield Player of the Year for 1981. He was also the only Sunderland player to play in all 46 League and Cup games that season. In the summer of 1981 he returned to the NASL and played for the Seattle Sounders alongside Bruce Rioch and Alan Hudson, winning the Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup against the New York Cosmos, Glasgow Celtic and Southampton. He also played for the Sounders against the Washington Diplomats featuring Dutch legend Johan Cruyff.

In 1983, after his Sunderland contract had expired, Cummins joined Crystal Palace instead of Newcastle United and Kevin Keegan, a move he deeply regrets, returning to Sunderland a year later. He had played with Keegan in John Craggs's Testimonial Match in 1982 and enjoyed Keegan's style of play. His second spell at Roker Park was short-lived. He was a member of the Sunderland Squad who got to the 1985 League Cup Final at Wembley Stadium but couldn't play because he was cup-tied. He left the club following relegation in 1985 for the USA at the age of 26 and joined the Minnesota Strikers on a three year contract in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Strikers reached the 1986 MISL Championship only to lose 4 games to 3 (best of seven) to the San Diego Sockers. However they were crowned MISL Eastern Division Champions in 1988 and on April 8 Cummins scored a hat-trick in the Strikers 4-2 victory against the Chicago Sting and he was carried shoulder high from the playing field by his team-mates at the end of the game. The club folded at the end of the season and so Cummins joined the Kansas City Comets for the 1988/89 season. He played in all of the Comets games that season along with team-mate Greg Ion. An entertaining and skilful player, Cummins' career spanned 14 years, 10 years in the English Football League where he made 251 appearances in both League and Cup Competitions scoring 50 goals, 2 seasons in the NASL and 4 years in the MISL, USA. He retired as a professional player in 1990 and has a UEFA 'B' coaching certificate.

While still a pro. in 1989 Cummins coached a youth team called the Mustangs. In 1990 he and friend Ken Viers formed a Youth Academy of eight teams. In 1991 its name was changed to Liverpool and the replica uniforms of the Liverpool F.C. of England were provided by former 'Boro' legend Willie Maddren. Liverpool U15 boys won 16 trophies in four years before every player went to college on a soccer scholarship. In 1992 Cummins also coached a men's amateur team consisting of most of the premier youth coaches such as Andy Barney and Huw Williams. They reached the last eight of the National Amateur Indoor Championship in 1992 and 1993. The Academy had a very successful five years before Cummins disbanded it in 1994 due to his work commitments. During the last year of the Academy Cummins worked full time for a restoration company and coached his eight teams as well. By the end of the season Cummins found doing both to be too much. Some players went on to college and high school and Cummins recommended the rest to coaches of quality. He then concentrated fully on his day job. As a premier youth coach Cummins was well respected by his peers (evident by being asked by them to be their coach on the men's team). Also about 85% of his players that started with him in 1990 stayed with the Academy until the end in '94. That spoke volumes about his coaching ability. However, he was renowned for arguing with referees over (in his opinion) their lack of knowledge of the basic rules of the game for most refs were just young teenagers and it got him into trouble on several occasions. He also caused controversy by mixing his teams within the rules of the indoor five-a-side establishment. Opposing recreational coaches found his teams very difficult to beat because of this for they only had one team to work with. The establishment allowed a 20 player roster per team and allowed players to play on different teams providing they were of age and the teams were in different leagues. The establishment still does. Cummins monopolised the system and invited his younger players of quality to play up in older leagues, especially if their older brother was on that older Liverpool team. In his mind it was better for them that way than waiting around after their game for their older brothers game to conclude. He felt that it tested them against older, stronger, bigger and technically better players. Parents trusted his judgement where their children were concerned. He even did it with his own sons. It turned them into better players because of this. As long as it was within the rules to do so Cummins chose that option to coach by.

During Cummins' last game of the '94 outdoor program in Missouri he accused the referee of being biased towards the opposition because her brother was playing for them. It was a conflict of interest and it was also the deciding game for the championship between the two teams. They had to beat Liverpool to win the league. The game ended 1-1. During the summer of '94 after the Academy had dispanded Cummins heard a rumor that the chairman of the Missouri league was on a 'witch hunt' to discredit him because the referee was the chairman's daughter. He accused Cummins of playing three ineligible players in two of his games. Prior to those games Cummins asked the league scheduler if he could play some of his Liverpool under-13 boys who played in Kansas on his Liverpool under-14 boys team who played in Missouri because he was going to be short of players on that team for a few weeks due to other commitments. He was told that he could but only three. On the game days Cummins gave the referee his team sheet and player ID cards as proof of their age and club. He used the Liverpool '81 (U13) ID cards for those three as proof of age and club. The ref. took them and they played. Administratively under the By-Laws Cummins was supposed to get issued new cards for those three players and register them to be eligible to play in the State of Missouri as well as Kansas even though the cards would have on them the same information about age, name and club except for instead of Liverpool '81 they would read Liverpool '80. Cummins didn't realise that. He thought that his '81 cards of who they were, their ages and what club they represented would suffice. It was enough for the chairman to accuse Cummins of irregularities and summoned him to attend a hearing by a three man panel, of which the chairman was one along with his vice-chairman, to answer the accusations. Cummins refused to attend because he knew it was a 'kangaroo court'. He admitted making an administrative error unknowingly by not getting new ID cards for the players in question but refuted the allegation of deliberately cheating. So therefore because of his absence the panel went ahead with the hearing and found Cummins guilty on a technicality of playing three ineligible players in the two games. Liverpool had their points deducted from those games that they won and the league title was awarded to the team that the chairman's son played for. Cummins was banned for one year from coaching Youth Soccer in the KC area even though he never received anything officially in writing and heard about the outcome of the hearing by word of mouth from Ken Viers. Cummins had no desire to coach Youth Soccer again after that. He stated that the action taken by the league chairman against him was very petty and not warranted to that degree but he had disbanded his Academy before hand anyway so it didn't make one bit of difference to Cummins and the chairman didn't achieve anything at all except to embarrass himself.

During trips to England in 2002 through 2004 Cummins voluntarily coached in the Albany Northern League Division Two for Norton and Stockton Ancients, Shotton Comrades and Willington F.C. respectively. In July 2005, at the age of 46, he was asked to help coach his home town soccer club Ferryhill Athletic but one week after accepting he suffered a heart attack and under doctor's orders had to decline. Cummins has resided in the state of Kansas, USA since 1988 and became an American citizen in 1992, giving him dual citizenship. It is called the Right of Abode.

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