Wilbur Cush

Wilbur W. Cush (10 June 1928 – 28 July 1981) was a Northern Irish football striker.

Billy 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.

He started his career in his native Northern Ireland with Glenavon F.C. In 1951/52 he helped Glenavon become the first club from outside of Belfast to win the Irish League and 5 years later followed it up with a second league title. 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 (J division County Armagh) and The Birches station County Armagh. He received the USC Long Service Medal.