In December 1999 the club published an official history, which we can't recommend highly enough (and not just as the writer of these FAQs contributed some little bits to it!); this is available from the club shop, the official website and "all good booksellers".
As you will probably gather from reading posts on the newsgroups, Sunderland supporters are very proud of our history; herewith are the "Reduced Sunderland Chronicles", a precis of our fortunes over the years.
Founded 1879 by a group of schoolteacher, the club was one of the earliest to turn professional in the North-East, and the first to import top Scottish players. We were elected to the Football League in 1890, and were dubbed "The Team of all the Talents" by the founder of the Football League, William McGregor.
Our League record over this period was, simply, unparalleled. Five League Championships, three runners-up and fourth three times, with the team finishing out of the top half of the table in only four seasons.
In the FA Cup we reached the semi-final three times, and our first FA Cup Final in 1913; had we beaten Aston Villa, we would have won the double (this is still the only FA Cup Final to have been played between the top two teams in the League).
Again, a very impressive League record in the 20s and 30s, finishing in the top half of the table in 15 out of 20 seasons. The twenties were the "nearly" decade, with the club spending large amounts on new players but never quite managing a consistent Championship team.
In the thirties a carefully but slowly assembled side was runners-up in 1935, League Champions in 1936 and FA Cup Winners in 1937. In 1936 we became the last side to maintain continuous membership of the First Division. when Villa and Blackburn were relegated.
After the Second World War attendances soared, and Sunderland's aggregate gates passed 1,000,000 in a season on three occasions. The crowds were not matched by performances on the field, with only two FA Cup semi-finals and two places in the top four to show for a lot of high spending.
Sunderland became known as the Bank of England club, however League investigations into financial irregularities led to hefty fines and suspensions; the aftermath of this was that relegation followed for the first time ever in 1958.
The return to Division 1 took 6 years, and the promise of 1964 remained totally unfulfilled for the rest of the 60s, Sunderland finishing in the lower half of Division 1 every season. In 1970, Sunderland were relegated for the second time, and did not really make a sustained challenge to get out of the Second Division for several seasons.
There was the magical, most incredible FA Cup Final win of all time in 1973, Porterfield's goal, Monty's save and unbridled joy on Wearside, eventual promotion in 1976 followed by relegation at the hands of Coventry a year later. The decade finished with another promotion, clinched with a home win against FA Cup Winners West Ham.
With hindsight, the early eighties were a lot better than they seemed at the time, and Alan Durban was perhaps unlucky not to be given more time. Two "big name" managers in M*M*****y and B*****r spent heavily but achieved disastrous results. In between, Denis Smith achieved two promotions but was unable to keep the team in the top flight.
The decimation of the mining and shipbuilding industries had a great impact on our traditional support, and even three Wembley appearances gave little overall cause for celebration. However, we still kept the faith.
By the mid nineties we had an increasingly dilapidated stadium, were becalmed in the second flight and appeared to have lost our chance of staying in the top flight with relegation in 1991. By the turn of the century things are totally different, with a new stadium, a team in the top half of the Premiership and an increasing reputation across the UK and even abroad. The future looks bright - the future is red and white!
This section of the FAQ will, when we get a new supply of circular tuits, try and cover questions such as our record wins/defeats, highest/lowest/crowds, some of the record sequences of wins/draws/defeats. Any suggestions for further subjects for inclusion would be gratefully received.
The first team to have points deducted for playing an ineligible player
The first team to score 100 goals in a season (from 30 games)
The last team to maintain continuous membership of the First Division
The only team to have been relegated on away goals
The only team to sack its manager after a Pools Panel verdict
The team to have scored the most goals at Wembley and lost
The last team to win the League Championship wearing striped shirts
The only team to have a winger arrested for nicking gas pipes
The team to have gained the most points without winning automatic promotion.
The alt.sports.soccer.sunderland FAQ was originally written by Steve Lynch in June 1999 with the second version coming out in December 1999, and the current FAQs were produced from these by Dave Hillam in January 2000, and updated onto this website in May 2000. Excerpts (more like great chunks, actually) were taken from the uk.sport.football FAQ with the kind permission of Camel J.
The FAQs are maintained by Dave Hillam , who would be more than happy for you to mail him any feedback about this FAQ.
Particular thanks go to Camel J, Chris Applegate, Ian Hamilton and Ian McKay, and also to the many other people who have sent suggestions, minor corrections and words of encouragement
It's not easy to predict every question you may have. Ask the newsgroups. If its sensible, you'll get an answer. It may even find its way into this FAQ, if its relevant, helpful and common.
No, the FAQ is constantly changing. At least, that's the theory of it.
If you would like something added, then just mail me to ensure that it gets looked into.
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Cheers