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Laurie Cunningham, the Leyton Orient legend, who made football a dance
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BACK in 2014 I was excited to read Paul Rees’s book The Three Degrees, about the 1978/79 football season when West Bromwich Albion became the first British football team to field three black players: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson.
As an Orient fan, I was particularly interested in reading about Laurie Cunningham’s part in this social change.
All three players were superb, and played in a time of dire racial tension when racism was highly politicised and active on the streets and terraces. The talent, grace, and style of all three men helped to change the opinions of many and opened the door to more black players in the football league but also to how we saw and related to each other.
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