Sunderland-based schoolteacher James Allan founded the Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club on 17 October 1879. The name of the club was changed to Sunderland Association Football Club in 1881, after other professions were allowed to join. This increased the pool of players and improved the club's financial base. However, Allan grew dissatisfied with the changing attitude in the club towards professionalism. He left to found Sunderland Albion, and the two Sunderland clubs formed a rivalry that lasted until Albion's demise in 1892.
Sunderland were admitted into The Football League for the 1890–91 season. They replaced Stoke City, who had failed to be re-elected, becoming the first new club to join the league since its inauguration in 1888. During the late 19th century, they were declared the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor, the founder of the league, after a 7–2 win against Aston Villa. Sunderland won the league championship in the 1891–92 season, one season after joining The Football League. The club's 42 points were five clear of nearest rivals Preston North End, and this performance led The Times to describe the players as "a wonderfully fine team". Sunderland successfully defended the title the following season, aided by centre forward Johnny 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 until 1919–20, when West Bromwich Albion set a new record.
Sunderland came close to winning a third successive league championship in the 1893–94 season, finishing second behind Aston Villa. However, they regained the title in the 1894–95 season, ending the season five points ahead of Everton. After winning the English League Championship, Sunderland played against Heart of Midlothian, the champions of the Scottish League, in a game described as the Championship of the World title match. Sunderland won the game 5–3 and were announced "champions of the world". Sunderland came close to winning another league title in the 1897–98 season, when they finished as runners-up to Sheffield United. That season was their last at Newcastle Road, as they moved to Roker Park the following season. After coming second in 1900–01, the club won their fifth league title in the 1901–02 season, beating Everton by a three point margin.
In 1904, Sunderland's management was embroiled in a payment scandal involving player Andrew McCombie. The club was said to have given the player £100 (£7,700 today) to help him start his own business, on the understanding that he would repay the money after his benefit game. However, McCombie refused to repay the money, claiming it had been a gift. An investigation conducted by the Football Association concluded that the money given to McCombie was part of a "re-signing/win/draw bonus", which violated the Association's rules. Sunderland were fined £250 (£19,300 today), and six directors were suspended for two and a half years for not showing a true record of the club's financial dealings. Sunderland manager Alex Mackie was also suspended for three months for his involvement in the affair
On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, against north-east rivals Newcastle United. They won the game 9–1; Billy Hogg and George Holley each scored hat-tricks. The club won the league again in 1913, but lost their first FA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa. This was the closest the club has come to winning the league title and the FA Cup in the same season. 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 the 1922–23 season, when they were runners-up to Liverpool. They also came close the following season, finishing third, four points from the top of the league. The club escaped relegation from the First Division by one point in the 1927–28 season despite 35 goals from Dave Halliday. The point was won in a match against Middlesbrough, and they finished in fifteenth place. Halliday improved his goal scoring to 43 goals in 42 games the following season, an all-time Sunderland record for goals scored in a single season.
The club's sixth league championship came in the 1935–36 season, and they won the FA Cup the following season, after a 3–1 victory against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium. The remainder of the decade saw mid-table finishes, until the league and FA Cup were suspended for the duration of the Second World War. Some football was still played as a morale boosting exercise, in the form of the Football League War Cup. Sunderland were finalists in the tournament in 1942, but were beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£458,000 today) for Carlisle United's Ivor Broadis in January 1949. Broadis was also Carlisle's manager at the time, and this is the first instance of a player transferring himself to another club. This, along with record-breaking transfer fees to secure the services of Len Shackleton and Welsh international Trevor Ford, led to a contemporary nickname, the "Bank of England". The club finished third in the First Division in 1950, 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. Found guilty of making payments to players in excess of the maximum wage, they were fined £5,000 (£87,000 today), and their chairman and three directors were suspended. The following year, Sunderland were relegated from the highest division for the first time in their 68-year league history.
Sunderland's absence from the top flight lasted six years. The club came within one game of promotion back to the First Division in the 1962–63 season. Sunderland required only a draw in their final game against promotion rivals Chelsea, who had another game left to play after this match, to secure promotion. However, they were defeated, and Chelsea won their last game 7–0 to clinch promotion, finishing ahead of Sunderland on goal difference. After the close call in the previous season, the club was promoted to Division One in 1964 after finishing in second place. Sunderland beat Charlton Athletic in the final stages of the season, where they clinched promotion with a game to spare. At the end of the decade, they were again relegated to the Second Division after finishing 21st
Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973, in a 1–0 victory over Don Revie's Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. A Second Division club at the time, Sunderland won the game, mostly thanks to the efforts of their goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery, who saved two of Peter Lorimer's shots at goal in quick succession. Ian Porterfield scored a volley in the 30th minute to beat Leeds and take the trophy. Since 1973 only two other clubs, Southampton in 1976, and West Ham United in 1980, have equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.
By winning the 1973 FA Cup Final, Sunderland qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the club's only appearance in European competition to date. Sunderland beat Vasas Budapest 3–0 on aggregate, and were drawn against Lisbon club Sporting in the second round. They won the first leg at Roker Park 2–1 but were defeated 2–0 in the away leg, and were knocked out of the competition 3–2 on aggregate. After spending six seasons in the Second Division, Sunderland were promoted to Division One in the 1975–76 season; they topped the table over Bristol City by three points. However, Sunderland were relegated the following season back into Division Two, without their FA Cup Final winning manager Bob Stokoe, who had resigned because of health problems at the start of the season. The club celebrated its 100-year centenary in the 1979–80 season with a testimonial against an England XI side, which they lost 2–0.[45]
Sunderland appeared in their only League Cup final in 1985, but lost 1–0 to Norwich City. A camaraderie was forged between supporters of the two clubs in this match, and as a result, every time Sunderland and Norwich meet, the Friendship Trophy is contested. Sunderland are the current holders of the trophy, having beaten Norwich 1–0 on 2 December 2006. In 1987, Sunderland saw one of the lowest points in their history, when they were relegated to the Third Division of the English league for the first time. Under new chairman Bob Murray and new manager Denis Smith, the club was promoted the following season. In 1990, they were promoted back to the top flight in unusual circumstances. Sunderland lost to Swindon 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. They stayed up for one year before being relegated on the final day of the following season
Sunderland's last outing in a major final came in 1992 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. The early 1990s was a turbulent period for the club. In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football. 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, one of the longest tenures in Sunderland's history. After promotion from Division One in the 1995–96 season, Sunderland began their first season in the Premier League, but finished third from the bottom and were relegated back to the First Division. In 1997, Sunderland left Roker Park, their home for 99 years. Bearing fond memories of the stadium, former Sunderland player Len Shackleton said, "There will never be another place like Roker". The club moved to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000-seat arena that, at the time, was the largest stadium built in England after the Second World War. Capacity was later increased to 49,000.
Sunderland returned to the Premier League as First-Division champions in 1999 with a then-record 105 points. Two consecutive seventh place finishes in the Premier League were followed by two less successful seasons, and they were relegated to the second-tier with a then-record low 19 points in 2003. Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy took over at the club, and, in 2005, he took Sunderland up as champions for the third time in less than ten years. However, the club's stay in the top flight was short-lived; Sunderland finished on another new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season, and he was replaced temporarily by former Sunderland player Kevin Ball. The record-low fifteen-point performance was surpassed in the 2007–08 season by Derby County, who finished on eleven points.
Following the club's relegation, it was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium,[64] headed by ex-player Niall Quinn, who appointed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane as the new manager. Under Keane, the club rose steadily up the table with an unbeaten run of 17 games to win promotion to the Premier League,[67] and were named winners of the Championship after beating Luton Town 5–0 at Kenilworth Road on 6 May 2007. The club's form in the 2007–08 season was better than during their last season in the Premier League, as they finished 15th with 39 points. Following an inconsistent start to the 2008–09 season Keane resigned. First team coach Ricky Sbragia took over as caretaker manager, and his position was later made permanent. |