SUNDERLAND A.F.C.
Founded: 1879


Also Known As:
SUNDERLAND & District Teachers (1879)
SUNDERLAND AFC (1880-)




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SUNDERLAND A.F.C. (Association Football Club)
Included Info: Brief History, Club/Stadium Info, Team Jersey & Much More...

BRIEF HISTORY of SUNDERLAND FOOTBALL CLUB (reproduced from 'Wikipedia' pages)

Founded in 1879 as 'Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C.' by schoolmaster James Allan, Sunderland joined The Football League for the 1890–91 season. They replaced Stoke, who had failed to be re-elected, becoming the first new club to join the league since its inauguration in 1888. Sunderland won the league championship in the 1891–92 season, one season after joining The Football League. 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 fourth league title in the 1901–02 season, beating Everton by a three-point margin. On 5 December 1908, Sunderland achieved their highest ever league win, against north-east rivals Newcastle United. They won the game 9–1. The club won the league again in 1913, but lost their first FA Cup final 1–0 to Aston Villa, in a very tough loss. 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 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. For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£555 thousand 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 club". 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 (£105,000 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. 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.

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. Sunderland appeared in their first League Cup final in 1985, but lost 1–0 to Norwich City. 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. 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. In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return to the third-tier of English football. 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. 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. The 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. Sunderland's 1999–2000 season started at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea beat them 4–0. 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. Following Sunderland's relegation from the Premier League, the club was taken over by the Irish Drumaville Consortium, 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, 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. After a run of one draw and four defeats in the opening five league games of the 2013–14 season, Gus Poyet was announced as a new replacement for manager on 8 October 2013. Despite Sunderland losing 4–0 at Swansea in his first game in charge, Poyet brought a turnaround in Sunderland 's fortunes as they brought their way back into contention for survival with wins against Newcastle, Manchester City and Everton, before thrashing Fulham 4–1 (with Adam Johnson scoring the first hat trick from a Sunderland player since 2010). Poyet also led Sunderland to the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City after a dramatic penalty shootout win at Manchester United in the semi-final. Sunderland were defeated 3–1 by City in the final.


CLUB FACTS & INFORMATION

Official Name
--
Sunderland A.F.C.
Club Nickname
--
The Black Cats
Year Founded
--
1879 (138 years ago)
English County
--
Tyne and Wear
Current Ground
--
Stadium Of Light
Ground Location
--
Sunderland, England
Club's Owner
--
Ellis Short
Club Chairman
--
Ellis Short
Current Manager
--
Simon Grayson
Current League
--
Championship
Last Season
--
Premier League, 20th place
(relegated to Championship)


HOME COLORS

Red, White & Black
AWAY COLORS

Green, Darker Green
w/Yellow Trim
INTERESTING STADIUM FACTS & INFORMATION


STADIUM OF LIGHT
Kier Hardy Way, Sunderland,
Tyne and Wear, SR5-1SU, England


OPENED: ......... 1997
SURFACE: ........ Grass
COST: .............. $27 Million
CAPACITY: ...... 49,000
RECORD: ......... 48,353 (2002 vs Liverpool)
OWNER: ........... Sunderland A.F.C
OPERATOR: ..... Sunderland A.F.C
FIELD SIZE: ..... 115 Χ 75 yards (105 x 69 meters)



HOME JERSEY
AWAY JERSEY


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** NOTE ** The 1915-16 thru 1918-19 League Seasons cancelled due to World War I.




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