Playing Career
Cullis joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as a teenager after a trial at Bolton Wanderers, signing professionally within a week of his arrival. He quickly moved up through the youth and reserve ranks and made his senior debut on 16 February 1935 in a 2–3 defeat at Huddersfield Town. He had to wait until the 1936–37 season though before he became first choice, when he replaced Bill Morris, and swiftly became club captain.
Cullis led the team to become one of the top teams in England, finishing runners-up in the league in 1938 and 1939. In 1939 Wolves had the chance to win The Double, but with only 5 wins in the last 11 matches the team lost the championship by 5 points to Everton, and reaching the FA Cup Final then losing 4–1 to Portsmouth saw Wolves become the third English club to achieve The Double Horror.
When the Second World War started it took away many of the best years of Cullis's career.
He won a call-up to the England team and made his international debut on 23 October 1937 in a 5–1 success against Ireland. Because of the outbreak of the war, he won only 12 full caps (once as captain), although he also played in 20 wartime internationals (10 as captain).
It was claimed that when England played Germany in Berlin on 14 May 1938, Cullis refused to join the rest of his team mates in performing a Nazi salute prior to the match. Cullis, the only player to refuse, was dropped from the team; England won the match 6–3.
During the conflict, he served as a PT instructor in both Britain and Italy, and also managed 34 wartime appearances for Wolves in regional competitions, as well as guesting for Aldershot, Fulham and Liverpool. Shortly after, he also managed briefly Fredrikstad in 1946.
When competitive football resumed in England in 1946–47, Cullis played just one more season for Wolves, in which the club once again narrowly missed out on a first league title. He then announced his retirement as a result of injury and was appointed assistant to manager Ted Vizard, after having made 171 appearances in total for the club.
Read more about this topic: Stan Cullis
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