Noel Cantwell

Noel Cantwell led Manchseter United to the FA Cup in 1963 and the league championship in 1966-67, and also played 36 times for the Republic of Ireland, scoring 14 goals. Signed by Matt Busby for £29,500 ( a record at the time for a full back), he was touted as a possible replacement for Busby, but his first managerial job was at Coventry and a highly successful tenure at Peterborough followed. Cantwell then headed west to take charge of the New England Teamen in the USA, although he finished back at Peterborough.

Cantwell was also a good cricketer, playing five times for Ireland as a middle-order batsman between 1956 and 1959. His one first-class appearance was for them against Scotland at Edinburgh in 1956 when he scored 31 and 17*.
Cricinfo staff

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack obituary

CANTWELL, NOEL EUCHARIA CORNELIUS, who died on September 8, 2005, aged 72, was a left-handed batsman who played five times for Ireland at cricket, including the annual first-class match against Scotland in 1956, when he made 31 and 17 not out in a drawn game at Edinburgh. In 1958 he top-scored with 40 in a two-day game against the New Zealand tourists, earning praise from Wisden for both his sound defence and bold hitting, and an invitation to play for Essex: he turned them down, saying he didn't want to spend the whole year in England. Cantwell won far greater fame at soccer as a solid full-back who could also play up front, winning 36 international caps for the Republic of Ireland and captaining Manchester United to victory in the 1963 FA Cup final before turning to management.