On this day all the way back in 1890, Sunderland AFC played the first football league game of their long and (mostly) successful time in the top tiers of the English game. The lads lost 3-2 to Burnley at their home ground of Newcastle Road, to a large attendance of approximately 8,000.
Our goals came from John Spence and Johnny Campbell - plus the latter also set up Spence's goal. The clinical striker has an amazing record in front of goal for SAFC, scoring an incredible 152 goals in 215 games.
The 15,000 capacity stadium was home to the lads for 12 years, in which time, Sunderland were hugely successful. They won the league championship three times and embarking on a home run that saw them undefeated in 81 games and scoring 270 goals in the process. The success led them to be dubbed "The Team of All Talents", and Sunderland went on to be the first English side to be crowned World Champions.
The team that kickstarted Sunderland AFC's illustrious history lined up like this: Kirtley, Porteous, Oliver, Wilson, Auld, Gibson, Spence (1), Millar, Campbell (1), Hannah D, Scott.
Comments