IT is with sadness that we report the death of former Hammer John Cushley at the age of 65.

John passed away peacefully in the early hours of Monday, March 24, 2008.


Born in Hamilton on January 21, 1943, John was a centre-half who joined Celtic in
July 1960, making his debut against Kilmarnock in March 1963.

Over the next four years he made a total of 41 appearances for the Glasgow giants, playing mainly in the reserves as understudy to the great Billy McNeil, before moving south in the summer of 1967 to West Ham United.

It would not insult the memories of John, a likeable and popular character in the dressing room (where he was known as ‘Wilbur’), to say that the move didn’t work out as hoped for either him or the club. Bought by Ron Greenwood for £25,000 (when the club record was £65,000 paid for keeper and fellow Scot Bobby Ferguson just a few months earlier) as a replacement for Ken Brown, Cushley struggled to establish himself alongside Bobby Moore.

After making his debut in the 2-3 home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on August 19, 1967, things rarely got any better for Glaswegian John, although in fairness Ferguson also floundered at times in a shaky defence that leaked too many goals.

After a run of 27 games, Cushley was dropped by Greenwood, who paid a new club record £80,000 fee to bring Alan Stephenson from Crystal Palace as his next No.5, in March 1968. Cushley remained at Upton Park for another couple of years, making only another 11 appearances as cover for injuries, before playing the last of his 46 league and cup games in the claret-and-blue against Ipswich Town at the Boleyn on March 14, 1970.

Three months later he eventually returned to Scotland when he joined Dunfermline Athletic in a £10,000 deal. He moved on to Dumbarton in 1972.

After hanging up his boots, John became Modern Languages graduate of the University of Glasgow and enjoyed a successful career in teaching.
In recent years he returned to Celtic as the club's Education Officer.

He retired last summer through ill health after having being diagnosed with
Motor Neurone Disease.

The thoughts are with John's wife, Mary, his family and friends at this very sad time.