Club Cringan, a
centre half, started his senior career when he joined Sunderland from
Douglas Water Thistle in 1910. After five and a half seasons on
Wearside, and with English football suspended during
World War I, he returned to Scotland with Ayr United on a temporary transfer in January 1916. In the summer of 1917 he left the
Black Cats to join Ayr on a permanent basis, During this time the club won the
1918–19 and
1921–22 Scottish League titles and the
Scottish Cup in
1923. He eventually left the
Parkhead club in October 1923 when he joined Third Lanark. A year later he moved to Motherwell, where he moved away from top-level football following the
1924–25 season, with short spells outside the league with
Inverness Thistle and
Bathgate before retiring altogether.
International Cringan was first selected for the
Scottish national side on 26 February 1920, captaining the side in a 1–1 draw against
Wales. He was not selected again until 1923 but would eventually win a total of five international
caps, three as captain. Cringan also featured in four matches for a
Scottish Football League select side. ==Personal life==