Full Name: Stanley Cullis
Born: 25th October 1915, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire

One of the few men to achieve success both as a player and a manager, Stan Cullis attended Cambridge Road School in Ellesmere and in the summer of 1930 joined local league side Ellesmere Port Wednesday, then signed for Wolves in February 1934 after several other clubs had watched him. Twelve months after signing he made his league debut, after captaining the third team and the reserve team,  his debut finished in a 3-2 home defeat by Huddersfield Town. He was appointed captain of the Wolves first team before he was 20 and in later years captained his country. With England he won 12 full caps plus a further 20 in wartime internationals when he formed a brilliant half-back line with Cliff Britton and Joe Mercer. He had appeared for Wolves in the last pre-war FA Cup final when the Molineux club lost 4-1 to Portsmouth at Wembley. Though he lost seven seasons football due to the Second World War, he was a first team regular in 1946/47 when League football resumed.

He retired from playing at the end of that season, having appeared in 171 League and Cup games for the club. Stan was approached by Hull City to take over as manager at Boothferry Park on his retirement from playing but Wolves' chairman, Jimmy Baker, persuaded him to stay on at Molineux as assistant to Ted Vizard, before being appointed manager in June 1948. He signed and developed a number of outstanding players and pioneered floodlit friendlies. Under his guidance, Wolves won three League titles in 1953/54, 1957/58 and 1958/59. They also won the FA Cup in 1949 and 1960, the FA Charity Shield and the FA Youth Cup, and they entered European competition in the late 1950's. Sadley, after 1961 things began to go wrong and attendances declined as Wolves found themselves near the foot of the 1st Division. Cullis was sacked in September 1964, his dismissal leading to bitter recriminations from Wolves fans and media alike. He then had a year out of the game before taking charge of Birmingham City. He led them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and League Cup. Fans were hoping he would lead their club back into the top flight, but it wasn't to be and in March 1970 he parted company with the St Andrew's club and retired from football.

Stan Cullis Wolves Playing Career