History of Sunderland A.F.C.

[5] Their first ground was the Blue House Field in Hendon, close to James Allan's school, and they would change their home four times in seven years before settling at Newcastle Road in 1886.

[16][18] The wealthy miner Samuel Tyzack, who alongside and shipbuilder Robert Turnbull funded the "team of all talents," often pretended to be a priest while scouting for players in Scotland, as Sunderland's recruitment policy enraged many Scottish fans.

In fact, the Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship consisted entirely of Scottish players[19][18] (English-born Tom Porteous and Irish-born David Hannah were also involved in the period, but both were raised in Scotland and recruited from local clubs there).

[27] However, over the following decades it was continually expanded, and at its peak would hold an official crowd of over 75,000 in a sixth round FA Cup replay against Derby County on 8 March 1933.

[32] In 1904 Sunderland were involved in a financial irregularity, when the club's board of directors gave their right back Andy McCombie £100 (£13,600 today) to start a business, with the view that his benefit game would enable him repay the money.

[42] Other prominent players of that period's Sunderland was George Holley, who was league top scorer in the season before the title, and Scottish Charles Thomson who captained the club.

Sunderland finished in eighth place in 1914–15 Division One season,[43] before World War I forced the break-up of the team as men went off to fight on the continent.

Sunderland were two points clear at the top of the table, but without Buchan and Clunas they travelled to Arsenal and were beaten 2–0, a defeat which helped cost them the title race for that season.

The young goalkeeper of the team, Jimmy Thorpe, died as a result of a kick in the head and chest after he had picked up the ball following a backpass in a game against Chelsea at Roker Park.

He continued to take part until the match finished, but collapsed at home afterwards and died in hospital four days later from diabetes mellitus and heart failure 'accelerated by the rough usage of the opposing team.

'[56] The tragic end to Thorpe's career led to a change in the rules, where players were no longer allowed to raise their foot to a goalkeeper when he had control of the ball in his arms.

They beat Preston North End 3–1 in the final as Bobby Gurney, Raich Carter, and Eddie Burbanks all scored goals at Wembley Stadium.

[34][74] For Sunderland, the immediate post-war years were characterised by significant spending; the club paid £18,000 (£803,000 today) for Carlisle United's Ivor Broadis in January 1949.

[75] 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".

[80] In January 1957, a letter was delivered to The Football Association (FA) from "Mr Smith", in which the author made allegations that Sunderland were making illegal payments to players.

[81] The FA sent an investigation team, which found evidence of illegal payments in the Sunderland accounts, including a £3,000 (£91,000 today) bill, supposedly for straw to cover the pitch.

[34][81] The investigators uncovered a string of similar accounting glitches; contract companies were purposely charging Sunderland excessive fees for services, and later sending credit-notes to redress the balance.

[92] An intriguing interlude came about in 1967, when Sunderland spent a summer in North America playing in the United Soccer Association, a league which imported various international clubs.

[93] At the end of the game Sunderland manager Stokoe ran onto the pitch to embrace his goalkeeper, a gesture perpetuated by the statue currently standing outside the Stadium of Light.

[94] Only two other clubs, Southampton in 1976,[95] and West Ham United in 1980,[96] have since equalled Sunderland's achievement of lifting the FA Cup while playing outside the top tier of English football.

[110] Lawrie McMenemy was brought in as manager in 1985,[110] but Sunderland reached the lowest point in their history in 1987, when they suffered relegation to the Third Division after losing a two-leg play-off to Gillingham.

However, in that season Sunderland embarked on a run leading to the FA Cup final, where they lost 2–0 to Liverpool,[118] They had previously beaten Chelsea in a quarter-final replay.

[132] In recognition of the historical importance of the mining industry in the club's main area of support, a Davy Lamp currently stands outside the stadium.

They were the lowest scoring team in the Premier League,[147] with 29 goals, ending the season in seventeenth place and being knocked out of both English Cup competitions in their first rounds.

[151] In the 2003–04 season Sunderland finished third in Division One,[152] and only a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace prevented them from reaching the play-off final for a promotion place.

[164] Despite promising early results, the team continued to struggle and narrowly avoided relegation from the Premiership on the last day of the season, after which Sbragia resigned from his post.

Irish-American tycoon Ellis Short completed a full takeover of the club from the Irish Drumaville Consortium,[165] and Steve Bruce was announced as the new manager on 3 June 2008.

Despite the £5 million signing of Danny Graham in January, Sunderland suffered a further slump, taking just 3 points from eight games, and with the threat of relegation looming, manager Martin O'Neill was sacked on 30 March, following a 1–0 home defeat by Manchester United.

The appointment prompted the immediate resignation of club Vice Chairman David Miliband due to Di Canio's "past political statements".

[180] Although he had a rough start to his tenure as Sunderland manager, suffering a 4–0 defeat to Swansea in his first match in charge,[181] Poyet ended up securing Premier League safety in the penultimate game of the season.