[5][6][7] While early hooligan firms of Sunderland fans appeared as far back as the 70s and the 80s, like the Vauxies (named after the Vaux Breweries), who were active in the late 70s and early 80s, the most famous hooligan firm is the Seaburn Casuals, named after the Seaburn area near Roker Park stadium.
A few days before a game in 1994, police snatched a pile of weapons, drugs worth thousands of pounds, and were preparing for a showdown with Nottingham hooligans.
[1] Before the 1998 FIFA World Cup, 26 Seaburn Casuals hooligans were arrested in a police raid after a military-issue smoke bomb was let out at a local pub after a fight with bouncers.
[7] In March 2002, the Seaburn Casuals fought with hooligans from the Newcastle Gremlins in a pre-arranged clash near the North Shields Ferry terminal, in what was described as "some of the worst football related fighting ever witnessed in the United Kingdom".
The fans then attacked the police, pelting them with missiles including bottles, cans and wheel trims.