Cummings was born in Sunderland, County Durham and started his football career at Hylton Colliery Juniors.
[3] Such was his quality as a centre-half he was invited to Strasbourg in 1947 to represent Great Britain in a junior international tournament.
In the same year he signed a professional contract with Burnley,[4] also opting to continue his apprenticeship as a mining engineer.
[3] In March 1963 he was appointed player-manager of Mansfield Town leading them to promotion from Division Four at the end of the season.
[5] After retiring from football he went on to becoming a licensee and ran pubs in and around Burnley, including the Shooters Arms in Nelson.