Sunderland Retro Football Shirts

Sunderland AFC were founded in 1879 by James Allen and began life known as “Sunderland & District Teachers AFC”. The team was originally set up to provide recreational activities for teachers and their first competitive game was in 1880 where they lost 1-0 to Ferryhill Athletic. The team name was changed to Sunderland AFC in 1881 and non teachers were then allowed to join.

In 1890/91, Sunderland were accepted into the Football League and managed to win the League championship in the 1891/92 season. This began a period of huge success for the club who retained their title in the following season and then won it again in 1895, 1902 and 1913. The initial pre First World War period saw Sunderland achieving consistently high League finishes without actually winning everything. However, they eventually managed to secure their 6th and final League Championship to date in 1936 with all time record scorer Bobby Gurney being extremely prolific. The following season saw the club lift the FA Cup for the first time in their history with a 3-1 win over Preston North End.

This proved to be the last success for quite some time as the team slowly declined leading to their relegation in 1958 to division two. Following six years in division two, Sunderland gained promotion back to division one in 1964. After making little impact in the top division, the club once again sufferred relegation to division two in 1970. It was in division two that Sunderland created their own piece of history by becoming the first club outside the top tier of English football to win the FA Cup. In 1973, the team faced overwhelming favourites Leeds United at Wembley. An Ian Porterfield goal in the first half and a miraculous save from Jimmy Montgomery in the second half helped the team managed by Bob Stokoe to a memorable triumph.

The FA Cup final win meant that Sunderland qualified for European football for the first time in their history. Nevertheless, they were knocked out in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup 3-2 on aggregate to Sporting Lisbon. Sunderland once again gained promotion to division one in 1976 but were relegated in the following season in a period which saw several managerial changes and constant promotions and relegations. However, 1987 saw Sunderland reach the lowest point in their history when they were relegated to the third tier of English football. The club managed to bounce back with two promotions in three years taking them back to the first division.

Since then, apart from an FA Cup final appearance in 1992, the club yo-yoed between the Premier League and the first division on a frequent basis. Their best performances in the Premiership saw Sunderland finish in 7th place twice in a row between 1999-2001. Since then, the team has struggled to reach them heights with lower mid table Premier League finishes being the pinnacle of their achievements.