Happy Birthday SAFC - 125 Years Old - October 2004

[My Boy Harry]

Happy Birthday. :wink:

[My Boy Harry]

[My Boy Harry]

[David Brent]

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again, some sunny day


The glory days will be back, perhaps not in my lifetime


Stuff like this makes me proud

Long Live the Lads

[My Boy Harry]

[David Brent]

[My Boy Harry]

Sunderland 7 v 0 Liverpool
Roker Park, Sunderland
7 December 1912

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: A Shellcross, Leek

Sunderland: Butler, Troughear, Milton, Cuggy, Thomson, Low, Mordue, Buchan, Hall, Holley, Martin
Liverpool: Campbell, Longworth, Crawford, Loud, Peake, Ferguson, Purcel, Metcalf, Parkinson, Miller, McKinlay

The 1912/13 season was one of both elation and heartache for Sunderland AFC. The ultimate high was the League championship, the low an FA Cup Final defeat by Aston Villa. The double had been so near and yet so far.

The campaign witnessed some memorable thrashings, none more so than the game at Roker Park against Liverpool. The 7 v 0 scoreline was the biggest that the club had so far recorded at Roker Park, our tenancy was only 14 or so years old. You had to go back to St James Park and December 1908 for the only time this scoreline had so far been topped by the club in the 20th Century.

Wearside and the red half of Merseyside had first met in 1894. The first 32 fixtures had produced 18 Black Cat victories. The highlight of meetings for both sets of fans so far had been the amazing 5 v 5 Roker Park draw in 1907. As far as Sunderland fans were concerned that game would now pale into insignificance.

Newspapers of the day commented that the score could quite easily have been doubled, however the Liverpool custodian Campbell was in breathtaking form and stood between Wearside and a double figure hiding.

The cause of Liverpool’s defeat was quite simply Buchan & Mordue. Everything they touched turned to gold. The Liverpool half backs were “simply useless against the home forwards” it was reported.

Liverpool, somehow, kept us at bay for 15 minutes. Then the floodgates opened. Buchan notched the first after a miskick by Longworth, and 5 minutes later Mordue ran through on goal to crack a beauty past Campbell. Mordue and Buchan made it 4 by half time. Cuggy was very ably supporting the 2 hotshots.

As if to make matters worse the second half was just a few minutes old when McKinley was forced to leave the field with a badly bruised leg. Down to 10 men the Scousers only option was to try and stem the flow of goals. They failed

One long 40 minute bombardment ensued. Buchan helped himself to another 3 and an entry into the Sunderland AFC record books. It was the first time that one of our players had scored 5 goals in a league match. A feat that would not be matched until 1935 by Bobby Gurney.

The incomparable Buchan top scored for Sunderland that season, and would do so in every campaign to 1923/24.

[My Boy Harry]

Sunderland 8 v 2 Blackburn Rovers
4 February 1931
Roker Park, Sunderland

As the snow fell all across the North East on the morning of 4 February 1931, you could forgive football fans for not braving the elements. Those who stayed at home missed a treat.

Sunderland created their own avalanche. Seven nil up at half time, The Black Cats would eventually triumph 8 v 2 against a shell shocked Rovers side.

The 1930/31 season had everything, bar a trophy, and although we would end up in 11th place Football League wise, that fact disguised some remarkable matches, including a losing FA Cup Semi final. 99 league goals were scored at Roker Park that season and 75 in matches away from Wearside, to produce an aggregate 174 goals. If you wanted entertainment, you watched Sunderland AFC.

Sunderland opened the Blackburn game at a blistering pace and by the time the match was 15 minutes old, led 4 v 0. True, the visitors fielded a weakened defence, but its fair to say that with the red and whites in this form, no-one could have stopped them.

Devine, recently secured from Newcastle United, played exceptionally well at inside right, and his supply of inch perfect balls, particularly to Eden, was a feature of the game. Eden by the way was handicapped by a leg injury, but still scored 3!

Leonard scored after 5 minutes, with Bobby Gurney opening his personal account 3 minutes later. A second for Leonard on 11 provided the impetus for Eden to crack home after 14 minutes. The points were now won.

By the 40th minute both Leonard and Eden had hat tricks.

The half time team talk either did Blackburn Rovers some good or disturbed Sunderland’s rhythm. Either way Rovers pulled one back through Bruton on 53 minutes and the same man notched again 20 minutes later. In between Devine slotted the ball home on 66.

Strangely enough it was widely reported that Connor was the best forward on display. Whilst he didn’t score his unselfish play led to 5 of the Sunderland goals.

Blackburn’s second goal was a penalty, given after a supposed infringement by McDougall. To round a poor day for the visitors they even missed a spot kick, shooting wide of the post.

Just 3 days later Leeds United visited Roker Park and found Sunderland in similar form to the Rovers game, as they crashed 4 v 0.

Sunderland: Middleton, Murray, Shaw, Morris, MacDougall, Hastings, Eden, Devine, Gurney, Leonard, Connor
Blackburn Rovers: Downs, Gorman, Whyte, Imrie, Healless, Roscamp, Bruton, Puddefoot, Bruton, McLean, Cuncliffe

[David Brent]

Niall Quinn MBE