In 1893-94 Sunderland were defending Football League champions, and whilst they eventually had to settle for the runners up spot at the end of the campaign, the only time in four years that they did not take the title, the team still showed regularly why they were viewed as one of the very best.
Late October early November for example saw Tom Watson’s side demolish two very capable teams in the space of seven days. First up had been Derby County, who finished 3rd in the table despite being thumped
5-0 at Newcastle Road, and then after the Rams it was the Wolves’ turn on this day to come north – only for the reigning FA Cup holders to suffer the ignominy of an even heavier loss.
Somewhat surprisingly given the final score, it was actually Wolverhampton Wanderers that made the better start and in the first few minutes it was home goalkeeper Teddy Doig that was much the busier. It took around 20 minutes for the hosts to start warming up and once finally at it they went ahead through a stretching Davy Hannah header, with Jimmy Millar following it up shortly afterwards with a smart run and finish. Both goals were of the highest quality, and there was little surprise at who had scored them; this was the third game in four in which Hannah had notched, whilst Millar’s consecutive run now stretched to four games.
Millar actually continued the sequence for another week when he scored away at Aston Villa, and in 2025 he was inducted in the club’s Hall of Fame as part of the recent Founders Week celebrations. His great great nieces Ann Oswald and Lisa Edwards travelled to Sunderland and accepted the award on behalf of the family when they appeared pitch side at half time during the Premier League game against, appropriately enough, Wolves.
Davy Hannah then got another one before half time whilst his namesake Jimmy Hannah believed for a moment that he too had scored, only for the attempt to be deemed offside. Nevertheless, the Rokermen soon picked up where they had left off, doubling their total in the second half, with the fourth strike being one that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a recent episode of the Match of the Day. Hugh Wilson was the original Nordi Mukiele – his initial throw-in technique helped prompt a change in the laws of the game, and it remained a constant threat when it had to be changed – with this latest lob of the ball back into play finding John Scott, whose centre was put away on the rebound by Millar.
A punch drunk Wolverhampton team then allowed Millar to get his hattrick straight from the restart virtually, and it wasn’t long before Scott got involved in the scoring either, being given the easy task of converting a clever pass from Jimmy Hannah. Whilst the points had already seemed destined to remain on Wearside for a good while, it was this sixth strike that prompted Sunderland to take their foot off the pedal, and with their visitors happy just to avoid any more embarrassment the rest of the match was played half speed almost.
The goals had been concertinaed into a frantic 30-minute period either side of the break and underlined the explosiveness Watson’s men possessed. Another six were scored against Preston North End on New Years Day 1894 as Sunderland again hit top form, but a slow start prior to the arrival of Derby proved too difficult to overcome in the long run, and when Wolves hit back with a win of their own in the return fixture at Molineux it was becoming clear that second place would have to do for once.
Saturday 4 November 1893
Football League Division One
Sunderland 6 (D Hannah 25’, 35’, Millar 30’, 48’, 50’, Scott 54’)
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0
Sunderland: Doig; Meehan, Gibson; Dunlop, Auld, Wilson; J Hannah, Harvie, Millar, D Hannah, Scott
Newcastle Road, attendance 8,000
