Formed in 1879,[2] the club has won six top-flight titles (1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913, and 1936) in theFirst Division, and finished runners-up five times. The club has also won theFA Cup twice (1937 and 1973), and been runners-up twice (1913 and 1992), and won theFA Charity Shield in 1936. They were alsoFootball League Cup finalists in 1985 and 2014.
Nicknamed the Black Cats, Sunderland play home games at the 49,000-capacityStadium of Light, having moved fromRoker Park in 1997. The club has a long-standing rivalry with nearbyNewcastle United, with whom theTyne–Wear derby has been contested since 1898. They play in red and white-striped shirts and black shorts.[3]
Early years and the "Team of All Talents" (1879–1908)
The club was founded as Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. byschoolmasterJames Allan in what has commonly been believed to be October 1879.[4] However, evidence suggests that the club was not formally created until a year later, on 25 September 1880.[5] It was renamed as Sunderland A.F.C. and became open to more than just school teachers in October 1880.[5]
John Campbell, a part of the "Team of All Talents", and league top scorer in Sunderland's first three titles.
Sunderland joinedThe Football League for the1890–91 season.[6]Tom Watson became Sunderland's first manager when he was appointed in 1888.[7] During the late 19th century, they were declared the "Team of All Talents" byWilliam McGregor,[8] the founder of the league, after a 7–2 win againstAston Villa.[8] Sunderland won the league championship in the1891–92 season, one season after joining The Football League, and this performance ledThe Times to describe the players as "a wonderfully fine team".[9] Sunderland successfully defended the title the following season, aided by their Scottishcentre forwardJohn Campbell, who broke the 30-goal mark for the second time in consecutive seasons. In the process, they became the first team to score 100 goals in a season, a feat not matched until1919–20.
Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the1893–94 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the1894–95 season, with Campbell becoming league top scorer for the third time.[10] Sunderland then beat Scottish championsHeart of Midlothian in a game described as the "World Championship" match.[11][12][13] Their goalkeeperNed Doig set a 19th-century world record by not conceding any goals in 87 of his 290 top division appearances (30%).[14] From 1886 until 1898, Sunderland's home ground was inNewcastle Road.[15] In 1898, the club moved to what would become their home for almost a century,Roker Park.[16] Initially the ground had a capacity of 30,000.[16]
After taking Sunderland to three English League championship titles manager Watson resigned at the end of the 1895–96 season, in order to joinLiverpool.[17]Robert Campbell replaced him.[17] Campbell did not achieve the same playing success as Watson, as Sunderland failed to win any titles in his three seasons at the club.[18]
In December 1902,Arthur Bridgett joined Sunderland. He went on to captain the "Black Cats" for ten years and gain eleven England caps, making him the club's second most-capped England international behindDave Watson.[21]
Further league championship titles (1908–1945)
Sunderland's 1937 FA Cup winning side
On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, 9–1 against north-east rivals Newcastle United.[22] Under Irish managerBob Kyle and with ScottishCharles Thomson as captain, the club won the league again in 1913,[23] but lost their firstFA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa.[24]
Two seasons later the First World War brought the league to a halt. After the league's resumption, Sunderland came close to winning another championship in the1922–23 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool.[25] They also came close the following season, finishing third.[26] The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the1927–28 season despite 35 goals fromDave Halliday. Halliday improved his goal scoring to 43 goals in 42 games the following season,[27] an all-time Sunderland record for goals scored in a single season.[6]
The club's sixth league championship came in the1935–36 season under Scottish managerJohnny Cochrane.[28] They scored 109 goals during the season, withRaich Carter andBobby Gurney each scoring 31.[29] They followed this by winning the Charity Shield against FA Cup winners Arsenal.[30]
Despite winning the league, the season did not go without tragedy. The young goalkeeper of the team,Jimmy Thorpe, died as a result of being kicked after he had picked up the ball following abackpass againstChelsea. He continued to take part until the match finished, but collapsed at home and died in hospital four days later.[31] This incident led to a change in the rules, whereby players were no longer allowed to raise their foot to a goalkeeper when he had control of the ball in his arms.[32]
They won the FA Cup the following season, after a 3–1 victory against Preston North End atWembley Stadium.[33] Some football was still played during the Second World War as a morale boosting exercise, in the form of theFootball League War Cup. Sunderland were finalists in the tournament in1942.[34]
"The Bank of England" club, financial troubles and three cup finals (1945–1995)
Ian Porterfield's winning goal in the 1973 FA Cup Final
For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£803,000 today) forCarlisle United'sIvor Broadis in January 1949.[35] Broadis was also Carlisle's manager at the time, and this is the first instance of a player transferring himself to another club.[36] This, along with record-breaking transfer fees to secure the services ofLen Shackleton and the Welsh internationalTrevor Ford, led to a contemporary nickname, the "Bank of England club".[37] The club finished third in the First Division in1950,[38] their highest finish since the 1936 championship.
The late 1950s saw a sharp downturn in Sunderland's fortunes, and the club was once again implicated in a major financial scandal in 1957.[39] Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of themaximum wage, they were fined £5,000 (£152,000 today), and their chairman and three directors were suspended.[35][40][41] The following year, Sunderland wererelegated from the highest division for the first time in their 68-year league history.[42]Sunderland's absence from the top flight lasted six years. After a close call in the previous season, the club was promoted to Division One in 1964 after finishing in second place. At the end of the decade, they were again relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st.[43]
The homecoming open top bus parade after victory in the 1973 FA Cup final
Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973, in a 1–0 victory overDon Revie'sLeeds United in the FA Cup Final.[44] ASecond Division club at the time, Sunderland won the game thanks mostly to the efforts of their goalkeeperJimmy Montgomery.[45]Ian Porterfield scored avolley in the 30th minute to beat Leeds and take the trophy.[45] Since 1973 only two other clubs,Southampton in 1976,[46] andWest Ham United in 1980,[47] have equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.
By winning the FA Cup, Sunderland qualified for theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the club's only appearance in European competition to date.[48] They beatVasas Budapest but then lost on aggregate toSporting of Portugal in thesecond round.[48] After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the1975–76 season, but were relegated again the following season, despite a late-season comeback which saw them win two matches 6–0 and 6–1.[49]
Sunderland appeared in their firstLeague Cup final in1985, but lost 1–0 toNorwich City.[50] In 1987, Sunderland saw one of the lowest points in their history, when they were relegated to theThird Division of the English league for the first time.[51] Under new chairmanBob Murray and new managerDenis Smith, the club was promoted the following season.[52] In 1990, they were promoted back to the top flight in unusual circumstances, losing toSwindon Town in the play-off final, but Swindon's promotion was revoked after the club was found guilty of financial irregularities and Sunderland were promoted instead.[53] They stayed up for one year before being relegated on the final day of the following season.[54]
Peter Reid was appointed Sunderland manager in 1995, and served until 2002
Sunderland's next outing in a major final came in1992 when, as a Second Division club, they returned to the FA Cup final. There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1973, as Sunderland lost 2–0 to Liverpool.[55]
New stadium, promotions and relegations (1995–2006)
In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football.[56]Peter Reid was brought in as manager, and quickly turned things around. Reid's time in charge had a stabilising effect; he remained manager for seven years.[57] After promotion from Division One in the1995–96 season,[58] Sunderland began their first season in thePremier League, but finished third from the bottom and were relegated back to theFirst Division.
Sunderland returned to the Premier League as First Division champions in 1999 with a then-record 105 points.[63] At the end of the season Sunderland finished seventh, withKevin Phillips winning theEuropean Golden Shoe in his first top-flight season, scoring 30 goals.[64]
Another seventh-place finish in the 2000–01 season was followed by two less successful seasons, and they were relegated to the second-tier with a then-record low 19 points in 2003.[6][65] FormerIreland managerMick McCarthy took over at the club, and, in 2005, he took Sunderland up as champions for the third time in less than 10 years.[6] However, the club's stay in the top flight was short-lived as Sunderland were once again relegated, this time with a new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season, and he was replaced temporarily by former Sunderland playerKevin Ball.[66]
Drumaville Consortium takeover and Ellis Short era (2006–2016)
Former player Niall Quinn led the takeover of the club in 2006, and spent six more years at the club in the roles of manager, chairman and Director of International Development
Following Sunderland's relegation from the Premier League, the club was taken over by the IrishDrumaville Consortium,[6] headed by ex-playerNiall Quinn, who appointed formerManchester United captainRoy Keane as the new manager.[67] Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games[68] to win promotion to the Premier League,[69][70] Following an inconsistent start to the2008–09 season, Keane resigned.[71] Before the start of the following campaign, Irish-American businessmanEllis Short completed a full takeover of the club,[72] andSteve Bruce was announced as the next manager on 3 June.[73]
One of Bruce's first signings,Darren Bent, cost a club record fee of £10 million, broken a year later when they bought Ghana internationalAsamoah Gyan for around £13 million.[74] Sunderland started the2010–11 season strongly, but after Bent left for Aston Villa in January 2011 in a deal potentially worth £24 million, a record transfer fee received for the club,[75] they eventually finished 10th—which was still their highest top-flight finish for 10 years.[76] After being named Sunderland's Young Player of the Year for two seasons in a row,[77] local playerJordan Henderson was transferred to Liverpool at the end of the 2010–11 season, where he went on to win theChampions League among other achievements.[78][79]
Short replaced Quinn as chairman in October 2011, with Quinn initially becoming Director of International Development;[80] he left the club with immediate effect in February 2012.[81] Bruce was sacked in November 2011,[82][83] and replaced byMartin O'Neill.[84][85] O'Neill was sacked in March 2013[86] and ItalianPaolo Di Canio was announced as his replacement the following day[87] to widespread controversy.[88][89][90][91][92] Sunderland went on to avoid relegation with one game to go. Di Canio was sacked after a poor start to the 2013–14 season, and reports of a complete breakdown in relations with his players.[93]Gus Poyet was announced as his replacement,[94] and led Sunderland to the2014 Football League Cup Final, where they were defeated 3–1 byManchester City.[95] In March 2015 Poyet was sacked,[96] and veteran DutchmanDick Advocaat was appointed,[97] saving the club from relegation.[98] Eight games into the 2015–16 season he resigned from the position.[99]Sam Allardyce was appointed the next manager in October 2015, and the club was again saved from relegation at the end of the season.[100]
Divisional movements and ownership changes (2016–present)
In July 2016, Allardyce left the club to be announced as manager for theEngland national team,[101] andDavid Moyes was appointed as his replacement.[102] Under Moyes, Sunderland made the worst ever start to a Premier League season, taking just two points from their opening 10 matches.[103] The club was relegated for the first time in 10 years at the end of 2016–17, finishing bottom of the table,[104] and Moyes resigned.[105] In June 2017, goalkeeperJordan Pickford, a product of Sunderland's academy, was transferred to Everton for a fee of £25 million, rising to a possible £30 million—a record for a British goalkeeper.[106]
Jack Ross was appointed as the new manager in May 2018.[112] In the club's first season in League One they got to the final of theEFL Trophy and finished 5th and reached the play-off final, but lost toCharlton Athletic at Wembley. After a disappointing start to the following 2019–20 season, Ross was sacked.[113] He was replaced by formerBolton Wanderers managerPhil Parkinson.[114] Sunderland finished the season in 8th place, their lowest ever league position, with the final standings ultimately being determined by points per game due to football's suspension due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[115]
Parkinson was sacked in November 2020 and was replaced byLee Johnson the following month.[116][117] Later that month, the club reached an agreement withKyril Louis-Dreyfus for him to purchase a controlling stake in the club.[118] The takeover was completed on 18 February 2021.[119] In May 2021, the club again fell short of promotion after losing toLincoln City 3–2 on aggregate in the semifinals of the play-offs.[120]
In February 2022, formerNorwich City managerAlex Neil was appointed as head coach, following Johnson's dismissal after a 6–0 loss to Bolton in January.[121] After finishing fifth inLeague One at the end of the season, Sunderland qualified for the playoffs.[122] In the semi-finals, they beatSheffield Wednesday 2–1 on aggregate,[123] and went on to beatWycombe Wanderers 2–0 in the final to secure a return to the second flight of English football for the first time in four years.[124]Tony Mowbray took over as head coach in August that year following Neil's departure to manage Stoke City.[125] Sunderland ended the season in 6th, and were knocked out of the playoff semi-final byLuton Town.[126] Mowbray was sacked in December 2023 and replaced byMichael Beale,[127] who was himself sacked after 12 games, the shortest managerial stint in Sunderland's history;[128] interim managerMike Dodds ended the2023–24 season in 16th.[129] French managerRégis Le Bris was announced as head coach in June 2024, joining fromLorient.[130]
In 2023,Stewart Donald officially left Sunderland, whenJuan Sartori bought the remainder of his shares.[131] According to Sunderland, Louis-Dreyfus owns 64% of the club, while Sartori owns the remaining 36%.[132]
Sunderland played in an all bluestrip from their formation until 1884,[6] when they adopted a red and white halved strip.[133] They assumed the current strip of red and white stripes in the1887–88 season.[134] Their badge included a ship, the upper part of theSunderland coat of arms, a black cat, and a football in front of Sunderland's red and white stripes.[135] In 1972 the badge was changed,[136] removing the black cat but still including a ship, a football and the background of red and white stripes.[137] This badge was first used on the match day shirt in 1977, replacing the simple black 'SAFC' initials which had been used since 1973.[138] The top section and border of the badge was coloured in blue until 1991, when it changed to black.[138]
To coincide with the move from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light in 1997, Sunderland released a new crest divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured their traditional red and white colours, but the ship was omitted. The upper left section features thePenshaw Monument and the lower right section shows theWearmouth Bridge.[139] A colliery wheel at the top of the crest commemorates County Durham's mining history, and the land the Stadium of Light was built on, formerly theMonkwearmouth Colliery. The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland, and a banner displaying the club's motto,Consectatio Excellentiae, which means "In pursuit of excellence".[139]
Sunderland's club badge until 1972
Sunderland's club badge, originally using a blue background rather than black, used from 1972 to 1997
Sunderland have had eight grounds throughout their history; the first was atBlue House Field inHendon in 1879. The ground was close to the place where Sunderland formed, at Hendon Board School; at that time the rent for use of the ground was £10 (£1,300 today).[35][140] The club then used a number of fields, one of which was near The Cedars road,[141] before relocating toGroves Field inAshbrooke in 1882 for one season.[142] The club's third stadium wasHoratio Street inRoker, the first Sunderland stadium north of theRiver Wear; the club played a single season there before another move,[143] this time toAbbs Field inFulwell for two seasons. Abbs Field was notable for being the first Sunderland ground to which they charged admission.[144]
Sunderland moved toNewcastle Road in 1886. By 1898, the ground reached a capacity of 15,000 after renovations, and its rent had risen to £100 (£14,100 today) a year.[35][145] Near the turn of the 20th century, Sunderland needed a bigger stadium. They returned to Roker and set up home inRoker Park. It was opened on 10 September 1898, and the home team played a match the same day against Liverpool,[146] which they won. The stadium's capacity increased to 50,000 after redevelopment with architectArchibald Leitch in 1913. Sunderland were nearly bankrupted by the cost of renovating the Main Stand, and Roker Park was put up for sale but no further action was taken. On 8 March 1933, an overcrowded Roker Park recorded the highest ever attendance at a Sunderland match, 75,118 againstDerby County in a FA Cup sixth round replay.[6] Roker Park suffered a bombing in 1943, in which one corner of the stadium was destroyed. Aspecial constable was killed while patrolling the stadium. By the 1990s, the stadium was no longer large enough, and had no room for possible expansion.[147] In January 1990, theTaylor Report was released afterovercrowding atHillsborough Stadium resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.[148] The report recommended that all major stadiums must be converted to an all-seater design.[149] As a result, Roker Park's capacity was reduced. It was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place.[146]
In 1997, Sunderland moved to their present ground,Stadium of Light inMonkwearmouth, which was opened byPrince Andrew, Duke of York. Built with an original capacity of 42,000, it hosted its first game against Dutch teamAjax.[61] The stadium bears a similar name to the Portuguese clubBenfica's groundEstádio da Luz, albeit in a different language. A stadium expansion in 2000 saw the capacity increase to 49,000. ADavy lamp monument stands outside the stadium, and a miners banner was presented to the club by theDurham Miners' Association,[150] as a reminder of theMonkwearmouth Colliery pit the stadium was built on.
The club has had a historically large and passionate following, with the club seeing attendance figures larger than other more fashionable clubs. For instance a 2019 by theInternational Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) showed that over the prior 5 seasons (2013 to 2018) Sunderland recorded the 38th highest average attendance in world football with an average of 39,249 fans at theStadium of Light. Sunderland's average attendance were higher over that period than perennial title challengers such asJuventus FC in Italy andFC Porto in Portugal.[151][152] Despite relegation from thePremier League in 2017 the club has continued to post large annual average attendance figures, recording over 30,000 for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, enough for 16th in the country.[153][154] Following relegation fromthe Championship at the end of the2017–18 season, Sunderland subsequently broke theLeague One division attendance record on 26 December 2018 in a match againstBradford City with a total of 46,039 fans.[155][156][157]
Popular songs, music and chants
A song Sunderland fans sing every game before kickoff and has been described as the anthem of the club is a rendition of "Can't Help Falling in Love" byElvis Presley, with "Sunderland" being sung repeatedly after "but I can't help falling in love with you."[158][159] "Dance of the Knights" fromSergei Prokofiev's balletRomeo and Juliet is traditionally played before the teams take the field; the club's walk-on song is "Ready to Go" byRepublica, with the crowd typically singing its chorus. Also, during Gus Poyet's tenure, Sunderland supporters started singing "Things Can Only Get Better" byD:Ream.[158] The fans launched a campaign to get the song back into the charts, to coincide with their team's 2014 League Cup Final.[160] A day after the Final, the song re-entered theUK Dance Chart at number 19.[161]
Two of the most famouschants by Sunderland supporters are "I'm Sunderland till I die" and "We're by far the greatest team, the world has ever seen"—with the former being chosen as the title of the Netflix showSunderland 'Til I Die.[162] One of the oldest Sunderland chants is "Ha'way the lads" which was sung at Sunderland games as far back as the 1960s.[163]
According to aYouGov poll in 2014, supporters of Sunderland showed a tendency towardsleft politics.[164] They sometimes sing a version of "The Red Flag" during games.[165]
Ain't No Stopping Us Now, was SAFC's official release when the club reached the 1992 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. The song featured the first team squad and was released on A Love Supreme Records.
Cheer Up Peter Reid was released by fans in 1996 after the terrace chant about the manager became popular. It sold 40,000 copies and peaked at 41 in the UK charts, and was number one in the NME Indie Charts. The proceeds of Cheer Up Peter Reid were donated to cancer charities. Another chant became a recording when A Love Supreme released Niall Quinn's Disco Pants in 1999. It reached number one in the NME Indie Charts.
Fanzines and fan produced material
ThefanzineA Love Supreme was first published in 1989 and has won nine awards for Fanzine of the Year.[166] A Love Supreme has its base opposite theStadium of Light, where its staff design the magazine, update their website, social media and create and sell their own range of fan related merchandise and provide coach travel for SAFC fans to every away game. Since 2010 the online fanzineRoker Report has operated on theSB Nation blogging network.[167] Roker Report has since grown in popularity amongst Sunderland fans, producing daily articles and interaction with fans. In 2016 Roker Report started a podcast called RokerRapport which has three or four episodes weekly. They occasionally interview current and former footballers, managers, owners and prominent fans of Sunderland. Since 2013 an independent podcast called Wise Men Say was created and was initially one episode weekly; however, it has since grown in popularity and now does three episodes weekly. In 2021 we began publishing opinion pieces on wisemensay.co.uk with a team of writers producing a wide range of features and informative articles. And, in 2021, the Wise Men Say Podcast was nominated Club Podcast of the Year at the 2021 Football Supporters Association Awards. In 2022, Wise Men Say reached 2million downloads through its host platform Acast.[168] The club also previously had an official monthly subscription magazine, called theLegion of Light, which season ticket holders received for no cost.[169] Others in the past have beenIt's The Hope I Can't Stand,Sex and Chocolate,Wise Men Say, andThe Roker Roar (laterThe Wearside Roar).[170]
Supporters clubs and officially recognised organisations
According to the club there are over 70 branches of official Supporters' Clubs in England and around the world, including North Korea.[171][172] The Official clubs are represented collectively by a Branch Liaison Council that was formed in the 1970s.[173] In addition the club has had a SAFC Liaison Group (SLG) since 1994 that works with fans on club issues and an independent supporters group, the Red & White Army (RAWA).[174][175]
Traditionally, Sunderland's two main rivals have beenNewcastle United andMiddlesbrough, against whom theTyne–Wear derby andTees–Wear derby are competed for respectively. Although both are generally geographically close, Newcastle are considered their main rivals. The club were rivals with fellow Sunderland-based teamSunderland Albion in the 1880s and 1890s, a breakaway club formed by Sunderland's founder James Allan,[176] until the club was made defunct. A more recent rivalry is withCoventry City, sparked by acontroversial match in 1977 which, combined with results elsewhere, relegated Sunderland from the First Division but kept Coventry up.
Sunderland also share good relations and a mutual friendship with Dutch clubFeyenoord; this was developed after Wearside shipbuilders found jobs in Rotterdam during the 1970s and 80s.[177] The club also has good relations and a mutual friendship withNorwich City, with matches between the two clubs being known as theFriendship Trophy, following good rapport in the1985 Milk Cup final.[178]
In 2001, the chairmanBob Murray established theFoundation of Light charity, to help educational development through football, and offers learning centres in addition to scholarships.[179][180] The organisation engaged 280 children within a year, and three years after foundation opened a £1.6m facility along withdouble-decker buses redeveloped as classrooms.[181][182]
In popular culture
Sunderland were the subject, together withAston Villa, of one of the earliest football paintings in the world when in 1895 the artist Thomas M. M. Hemy painted a picture of a game between the teams at Sunderland's then groundNewcastle Road.[183]
One of the earliest football paintings in the world, Thomas MM Hemy's "Sunderland v.Aston Villa 1895" depicts a match between the two most successful English teams of the decade.
In 1996, a group of Sunderland fans under the name Simply Red and White released a song called "Daydream Believer (Cheer Up Peter Reid)" to the melody of "Daydream Believer" dedicated to the managerPeter Reid. The song peaked at number 41 in the UK Singles & Album Chart.[185][186] The fans recorded the song due to the fact the manager often had a dour demeanour, whilst the team was doing well, and even won promotion at the end of the season.[187][188]
Sunderland has been through hard times in the past, and has survived; as before, we will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and come out fighting. Sunderland looks to the future, not the past, and we shall soon be back in the Premier League.[189][190]
In 1998 and following the demolition of Roker Park, playwright Tom Kelly and actor Paul Dunn created a one-man play called "I Left My Heart at Roker Park" about a fan struggling with the move and what Roker Park meant for him – the play originally ran in 1997, and has had a few revivals since.[191][192]
In 2018, Netflix released an eight-part documentary calledSunderland 'Til I Die. It documented the events around Sunderland's2017–18 season which saw them relegated from theEFL Championship.[194] As a result of the success of the first series, a second season was confirmed, despite opposition from many club members.[195] The opposition was mostly to do with players fearing the series would cause their failures being associated with them for the rest of their careers.[196]
A Black Cat logo on the exterior of the Stadium of Light
Sunderland's official nickname is "The Black Cats". The name was made official in a public vote in 2000.[197] Despite the nickname being made official only relatively recently, the black cat has been used as an emblem of the club throughout most of its history. Photographs exist of players holding a black cat which made Roker Park its home in the 1900s and 1910s, and which was fed and watered by the football club.[198] The club's first official badge featured a black cat sitting prominently in its centre and since the 1960s the emblem of the Sunderland A.F.C. Supporters Association has been a black cat.[199][200] A Sunderland supporter, Billy Morris, took a black cat in his chest pocket as a good luck charm to the 1937 FA Cup final in which Sunderland brought home the trophy for the first time and reference has also been made to a "Black Cat Battery", anArtillery battery based on theRiver Wear during theNapoleonic Wars.[201]
Before this when the team still played at Roker Park, they were known as the Rokerites. This was made obsolete after the club left Roker Park for the Stadium of Light in 1997.[201] Other nicknames used by the media and include theMackems (believed to be related to the ship building industry and a name for inhabitants of Sunderland) or the Wearsiders, as a reference to the river that the city and broader region ofWearside sits alongside, and in contrast to theirTyneside rivals Newcastle United.[202][203][204][205]
As well as club nicknames, names have been used to define memorable periods in the club's history. The "Team of All Talents" moniker was used during Sunderland's successful period in the 1890s,[6] and Sunderland were known as the "Bank of England club" during the 1950s. This was in reference to the club's spending in thetransfer market at the time, which saw the transfer-record broken twice.[6]
The holder of the record for the most league appearances isJimmy Montgomery, having made 527 first team appearances between 1961 and 1976.[206] The club's top league goal scorer isCharlie Buchan, who scored 209 goals from 1911 to 1925;[207]Bobby Gurney is the record goalscorer over all competitions with 228 goals between 1926 and 1939.[208]Dave Halliday holds the record for the most goals scored in a season: 43 in the1928–29 season in the First Division.[207] As of October 2014John O'Shea is the most capped player for the club, making 100 appearances for theRepublic of Ireland.[207]
The club's widest margin of victory in the league was in the 9–1 win against Newcastle United in the First Division in 1908. Sunderland's biggest ever win in the FA Cup was an 11–1 victory againstFairfield in 1895.[209] Their heaviest defeats in the league were 8–0 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1911,West Ham United in 1968,Watford in 1982 andSouthampton in 2014[209] Sunderland joined the top division in England, The Football League, in the1890–91 season and were not relegated until1957–58 (a span of 67 years, although only 56 seasons of competitive football were played due to the suspension of league football between 1915–1919 and 1939–1946 due to the First and Second World Wars). In October 2015, Sunderland defeated rivals Newcastle United for the sixth consecutive time, a new record.
Sunderland's record home attendance is 75,200, set during a sixth round FA Cup replay against Derby County on 8 March 1933.[210]
Record goalscorers
Ten Sunderland players have scored 100 goals or more in league competitions.[5] They are as follows:
Bobby Gurney holds the record number of goals in all competitions with a combined total of 228 in league and cup games.[211]
Transfers
The biggest transfer fee Sunderland have ever received for one of their players is £30 million forJordan Pickford, who moved toEverton in July 2017.[106] This was also the biggest fee Sunderland have received for a player produced by the Sunderland academy. The biggest transfer fee paid by Sunderland is £13 million forAsamoah Gyan, who was bought fromRennes on 31 August 2010.[212]
The first sponsor to appear on Sunderland kits was Cowie's, the business group of then chairmanTom Cowie, between 1983 and 1985.[214][215] The club was sponsored by theVaux Breweries between 1985 and 1999, with drink brands such as Lambtons sometimes appearing on kits. Subsequently, the club were sponsored by Sunderland car dealership company Reg Vardy from 1999 to 2007.[214] Sunderland were sponsored by the Irish bookmakerBoylesports, who signed a four-year contract with the club in 2007 estimated to be worth £8 million.[216] In April 2010, Sunderland signed a two-year shirt sponsorship deal withtombola, a local online bingo company.[217] On 25 June 2012, Sunderland announced the strengthening of their partnership with the Invest in Africa initiative, with the initiative becoming the club's shirt sponsor for two years. The project is closely linked withTullow Oil.[218] However, after a year the club announced a new sponsorship deal with South African companyBidvest. On 1 June 2015 Sunderland announced a new sponsorship withDafabet to appear on the kits for the following season.[219]
The first kit manufacturer to appear on Sunderland kits wasUmbro, between 1975 and 1981. French brandLe Coq Sportif produced kits between 1981 and 1983.Nike's first stint as kit manufacturer came between 1983 and 1986, before kits fromPatrick (1986–88),Hummel (1988–94), Avec (1994–97) andAsics (1997–00). Nike returned between 2000 and 2004.Diadora produced kits for a solitary season, 2004–05, andLonsdale made kits between 2005 and 2007. Umbro returned for five seasons between 2007 and 2012, beforeAdidas became the club's kit manufacturer for the first time in 2012. Nike then returned for a third time as Sunderland's kit manufacturer in 2020.[138]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^Due to financial irregularities,Swindon Town (play-off final winners) were prevented from taking their place in the top division, which was awarded to the losing finalists, Sunderland.
Further reading
Paul Days; John Hudson; Bernard Callaghan (1 December 1999).Sunderland AFC: The Official History 1879–2000. Business Education Publishers Ltd. p. 336.ISBN978-0-9536984-1-7.
Garth Dykes; Doug Lamming (November 2000).All The Lads: A Complete Who's Who of Sunderland A.F.C. Polar Print Group Ltd. p. 312.ISBN978-1-899538-14-0.
Rob Mason (October 2005).Sunderland: The Complete Record. Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd.ISBN978-1-85983-472-5.
