Matthew Balunas (7 January 1918 – 1 February 2006) was a Scottish footballer who played as a right back.
A member of North Lanarkshire's Lithuanian immigrant community,[2] Balunas spent almost his entire senior career (which only began in his mid 20s due to World War II) with Third Lanark,[3] winning two Glasgow Merchants Charity Cups[4][5] and featuring on the losing side in four Glasgow Cup finals.[6][7][8] He was considered to be a reliable, uncomplicated and defensive-minded player.[9]
References
- ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Lithuanians in Lanarkshire". Legacies: UK history local to you. BBC. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Neil Brown. "Third Lanark: 1946/47 - 1966/67". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
- ^ Exhilarating final at Hampden, Glasgow Herald, 12 May 1952
- ^ Charity Cup For Third | Rangers Beaten, The Glasgow Herald, 8 May 1954
- ^ Third Lanark's Weak Finishing, The Glasgow Herald, 1 October 1946
- ^ Glasgow Cup for Celtic, The Glasgow Herald, 28 September 1948
- ^ Easy Hampden Victory For Rangers, The Glasgow Herald, 29 September 1953
- ^ Matt Balunas | Former Third Lanark full-back in the post-Second World War era, The Herald, 20 February 2006