56 Fun Facts About Sunderland

Sunderland were founded around 1880 by James Allan as a club for which group of people?

Teachers: founder James Allan taught at Hendon Board School, and in October 1880 the club opened to non-teachers and dropped the word from its name.

Football League founder William McGregor called Sunderland the 'Team of All Talents' after a 7-2 win over which club, his own?

Aston Villa: McGregor, a Villa committee man, said in 1890 that Sunderland had 'a talented man in every position', and they won three League titles in the next five years.

In 1892-93 Sunderland became the first team to do what in a Football League season?

Score 100 goals: Sunderland hit the century in a 30-match season while retaining the title in 1892-93, and no League side matched it until 1919-20.

After their 1895 title, Sunderland beat which Edinburgh club, then Scottish champions, in a so-called 'World Championship' match?

Hearts (Heart of Midlothian) lost 5-3 at Tynecastle in April 1895 to a Sunderland line-up made up entirely of Scottish players.

Sunderland's first manager left in 1896 for which Merseyside club, where he won two more League titles?

Liverpool doubled his salary to £300 a year to lure him from Wearside, and his titles there in 1901 and 1906 made him the first manager to win the League with two clubs.

Sunderland's record league win, a 9-1 derby rout in December 1908, came away at which ground?

St James' Park: Sunderland beat Newcastle United 9-1 there on 5 December 1908, Billy Hogg and George Holley both scoring hat-tricks, yet Newcastle still ended the season as champions.

League champions Sunderland lost the 1913 FA Cup final at which London venue?

Crystal Palace: more than 120,000 watched Tommy Barber score the only goal there, so the champions missed the Double by losing to the very side that finished second to them in the League.

Whose 43 goals in 42 games in 1928-29 set Sunderland's record for a single season?

Dave Halliday, bought in 1925 to replace Charlie Buchan, hit 43 league goals in 1928-29; a year earlier his 35 had only just kept Sunderland up, by a single point.

Which two Sunderland players scored 31 goals each in the 109-goal 1935-36 title season?

Raich Carter and Bobby Gurney hit 31 league goals apiece in a 109-goal title season, though the champions also let in 74, and a year later both men scored in the FA Cup final.

The 1936 death of Sunderland goalkeeper Jimmy Thorpe prompted which rule change?

Kicking a held ball was banned: Thorpe was kicked while holding the ball against Chelsea and died four days later; when Sunderland won the title that spring, his medal went to his widow.

Sunderland won their first FA Cup in 1937 by beating which club, whose side included Bill Shankly?

Preston North End: Sunderland came from 1-0 down at half-time to win 3-1 at Wembley on 1 May 1937, Eddie Burbanks scoring the third, for the club's first FA Cup.

Ivor Broadis's 1949 move from Carlisle to Sunderland made him the first in football to do what?

Transfer himself as manager: Carlisle's player-manager arranged his own £18,000 sale in 1949, picking Sunderland over other suitors because, he said, they treated players the best.

Sunderland's 1950s nickname 'the Bank of England club' referred to what?

Heavy spending in the transfer market: Sunderland broke the British transfer record twice around 1950, yet the expensive side never won a trophy and was relegated in 1958.

Who volleyed the only goal of Sunderland's 1973 FA Cup final win over Leeds?

Ian Porterfield cushioned a corner on his thigh and volleyed in with his right foot, and Second Division Sunderland held on to beat the Cup holders 1-0.

Which two Second Division clubs have won the FA Cup since Sunderland's 1973 triumph?

Southampton (1976) and West Ham (1980): Bobby Stokes' late goal sank Manchester United and Trevor Brooking's header beat Arsenal, both strong First Division favourites, as Leeds had been in 1973.

In the 1973-74 Cup Winners' Cup, Sunderland beat Vasas before losing to which Lisbon club?

Sporting CP: after a 2-1 win at Roker Park, Sunderland lost the second leg 2-0 in Lisbon and went out 3-2 on aggregate in the second round.

Which 1985 League Cup final opponent later shared a 'Friendship Trophy' with Sunderland?

Norwich City beat Sunderland 1-0 in the 1985 Milk Cup final through a Gordon Chisholm own goal, and the friendly mixing of both sets of fans led to the Friendship Trophy.

Why were Sunderland promoted in 1990 despite losing the play-off final?

The winners were demoted over payments: ten days after beating Sunderland 1-0, Swindon were punished for 35 irregular payments, so Sunderland went up in their place, only to drop straight back down in 1991.

The Stadium of Light was built on the site of what?

Monkwearmouth Colliery, a deep pit that closed in 1993, occupied the riverside site, and a colliery wheel at the top of the 1997 club crest recalls it.

Which member of the royal family opened Sunderland's Stadium of Light in 1997?

Prince Andrew performed the official opening in 1997; the ground's name was revealed only hours before its first match, a 0-0 draw with Ajax that July.

Sunderland's 105 points in 1998-99 stood as an English league record until which club reached 106?

Reading took 106 points in the 2005-06 Championship, passing the 105 that Peter Reid's Sunderland won a year after losing a play-off final on penalties.

Which Sunderland striker won the European Golden Shoe in 1999-2000 with 30 goals?

Kevin Phillips, released by his first club and once a non-league player at Baldock Town, scored 30 Premier League goals in 1999-2000 to become the first Englishman to win the Golden Shoe.

Which former player headed the Drumaville Consortium that bought Sunderland in 2006 and hired Roy Keane?

Niall Quinn, the club's former striker, fronted the Irish Drumaville Consortium's 2006 takeover, briefly managed the side himself, then appointed Roy Keane, who won the Championship in his first season.

Which Ghana international did Sunderland sign for a then club-record £13 million in 2010?

Asamoah Gyan arrived from Rennes in August 2010 for about £13 million, a club record, yet barely a year later he had left on loan for Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

Which Italian was controversially appointed Sunderland manager in March 2013?

Paolo Di Canio's appointment on 31 March 2013 led vice-chairman David Miliband to resign over the Italian's past political statements; he kept Sunderland up, then was sacked that September after 13 games.

Gus Poyet's Sunderland lost the 2014 League Cup final 3-1 to which club?

Manchester City came from behind at Wembley on 2 March 2014 after Fabio Borini's early goal, Yaya Touré and Samir Nasri scoring before Jesús Navas added a late third.

Which manager left Sunderland in July 2016 to take the England job?

Sam Allardyce lasted 67 days as England manager after leaving the Stadium of Light in July 2016; David Moyes succeeded him at Sunderland and the club was relegated that season.

Jordan Pickford's 2017 £30 million move from Sunderland to Everton was then a record fee for what?

A British goalkeeper: the £25 million fee, rising to £30 million, bought a Sunderland academy product who had been sent out on loan six times, starting at non-league Darlington.

Netflix's first 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' series followed a season that ended how?

Relegation: filming began in 2017 in the hope of a promotion push, but Sunderland sank into League One under Simon Grayson and Chris Coleman, their second straight drop.

In December 2018 Sunderland set a League One attendance record against which club?

Bradford City: 46,039 watched the Boxing Day 2018 game, a League One record, so a third-tier fixture drew the biggest league crowd in English football outside the Premier League that season.

Which club beat Sunderland in the 2019 League One play-off final at Wembley?

Charlton Athletic won 2-1 at Wembley on 26 May 2019, Patrick Bauer scoring in stoppage time after Naby Sarr's early own goal had put Sunderland ahead; Sunderland finally went up in 2022.

Sunderland's lowest-ever finish, eighth in League One in 2020, was settled how after the season was halted?

On points per game: Sunderland had 59 points, exactly as many as Wycombe, but Wycombe had played two games fewer, so the average lifted them to third while Sunderland ended eighth.

Which head coach was sacked in February 2024 after just 12 games, the shortest reign of any permanent Sunderland manager?

Michael Beale signed a two-and-a-half-year deal in December 2023 to replace the popular Tony Mowbray, yet was sacked two months and 12 games later, the shortest reign of any permanent Sunderland manager.

Who scored Sunderland's stoppage-time winner in the 2025 Championship play-off final?

Tom Watson, a 19-year-old substitute playing his last game before joining Brighton, curled in a 95th-minute winner to beat Sheffield United 2-1 after Eliezer Mayenda's equaliser.

Which club sold Habib Diarra to Sunderland for a club-record fee in July 2025?

Strasbourg sold the Senegal midfielder for a reported £30 million, a Sunderland record, because the newly promoted club needed a replacement for Jobe Bellingham, who had just left for Dortmund.

Before adopting red and white in the 1880s, Sunderland's first kit was what colour?

All blue: Sunderland won their first trophy, the Durham Challenge Cup of 1884, in blue, yet dropped the colour that December for red-and-white halves; the famous stripes followed later in the decade.

The 1997 club crest shows the Penshaw Monument and which other local landmark?

The Wearmouth Bridge faces the Penshaw Monument on the crest drawn for the 1997 move, a redesign that dropped the ship from the old badge in favour of local landmarks.

'The Black Cats' became Sunderland's official nickname how, in 2000?

By a public vote: the 1997 move from Roker Park had left the club without an official nickname, so in 2000 it put five options to supporters and The Black Cats won.

Which Elvis song do Sunderland fans sing before every kick-off, adding the club's name?

Can't Help Falling in Love: fans call it 'Wise Men Say' after its opening line and chant 'Sunderland' after the title line; by tradition, Prokofiev's 'Dance of the Knights' heralds the teams.

The 1996 fan single 'Cheer Up Peter Reid' was set to the tune of which song?

Daydream Believer: the Monkees hit was first a terrace chant about the manager, and it caught on so well that fans recorded it as Simply Red and White and reached number 41 in the UK chart.

Sunderland fans share a friendship with which Dutch club, forged by Wearside shipbuilders who went abroad for work?

Feyenoord: Wearside shipbuilders who found jobs in Rotterdam in the 1970s and 80s brought the bond home, and a 'Feyenoord Mackems' supporters' branch grew out of it.

Roker Park's record crowd of over 75,000 in March 1933 came in an FA Cup replay against which club?

Derby County: 75,118 packed Roker Park for the FA Cup sixth-round replay in March 1933, and the biggest crowd the ground ever held went home beaten, 1-0.

Which Sunderland-born England midfielder came through the club's academy before being sold in 2011?

Jordan Henderson joined Sunderland's academy at eight and was sold in 2011; eight years later he lifted the Champions League as captain of the club that bought him.

Which goalkeeper made more appearances for Sunderland than any other player?

Jimmy Montgomery, Sunderland's goalkeeper throughout the 1960s and 1970s and the hero of the 1973 FA Cup final with his double save, set the club's all-time appearance record.

Which Sunderland manager's dash across the Wembley pitch in 1973 is captured in a statue outside the Stadium of Light?

Bob Stokoe ran down the pitch in his raincoat and trilby to celebrate with his goalkeeper after the 1973 FA Cup final, and a statue of him in mid-run was unveiled outside the ground in 2006.

Which manager led Sunderland to their sixth league title in 1935-36?

Johnny Cochrane, manager from 1928 to 1939, saw his side finish second to Arsenal in 1935, then win the 1935-36 title by eight points and the club's first FA Cup a year later.

Which Welsh striker did Sunderland sign for a British-record £30,000 in October 1950?

Trevor Ford cost a British-record £30,000 in October 1950, yet the costly centre-forward won nothing on Wearside and was sold to Cardiff City three years later.

Which former Bolton manager replaced Jack Ross as Sunderland boss in October 2019?

Phil Parkinson signed a two-and-a-half-year contract in October 2019, two months after leaving Bolton, but oversaw Sunderland's lowest-ever league finish and was sacked 13 months later.

From which French club did Sunderland appoint head coach Régis Le Bris in June 2024?

Lorient: Le Bris had just taken the Breton club down from Ligue 1 when Sunderland hired him in June 2024; within a year he had won promotion via the play-offs.

Which 23-year-old became Sunderland chairman in 2021, later raising his stake to 64%?

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, son of a former Marseille owner, took over at 23 with Sunderland in League One; four years on, having bought out Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven to hold 64%, he saw them reach the Premier League.

A giant replica of which piece of miners' equipment stands outside Sunderland's Stadium of Light?

A Davy lamp: the chairman said the stadium's name honours the lamps local miners carried to work, and the giant replica at the entrance was put there to underline the point.

Which defender nicknamed 'The King' was voted Sunderland's Player of the Century in 1979?

Charlie Hurley arrived in October 1957 and within months suffered the club's first relegation, yet 'The King' stayed 12 seasons and fans voted him Sunderland's Player of the Century in 1979.

Which brewery sponsored Sunderland's shirts from 1985 to 1999?

Vaux: the Sunderland brewery's name was on the shirt from 1985 until it closed in 1999, after which local car dealer Reg Vardy took over until 2007.

Sunderland's sponsor Betdaq gave its 2019-20 shirt space to what?

A children's cancer charity: after one season Betdaq's parent company ended its football sponsorships, so the betting firm gifted its place on the shirt to Children with Cancer UK.

Whose volley beat Newcastle in April 2015, Sunderland's fifth straight win over them?

Jermain Defoe's 22-yard first-half volley won it 1-0 and left him in tears; a 3-0 win that October made it a record six wins in a row over Newcastle.

Which 1998 six-part BBC documentary followed Sunderland two decades before Netflix's series?

Premier Passions began filming with Peter Reid's side comfortably mid-table in December 1996, then followed five months of decline that ended in the drop on the final day of Roker Park's last season.