As I detailed in a previous article, I am unusual in being an adopted Mackem who grew up in the Potteries and caught the Sunderland bug watching the Lads in a Fifth Round FA Cup tie at Stoke in 1976.
Now, fifty years later, Sunderland are contesting their first Fifth Round tie in a decade and are back in the Five Towns. I am delighted that Port Vale are our opponents, not least because it allows me to revisit my favourite personal footballing story, involving my great uncle and a Sunderland legend
who also happened to hail from Stoke.
I have known for many years that two of my relations played for the Vale. One was goalkeeper John Poole, who was a stand-in for Ken Hancock, a star in Vale’s surprise FA Cup replay win over the Lads in 1962. Forty years earlier, my great uncle, Tom Davis, played 20-odd games at centre-half for the Valiants, and when I delved further into the archives a while back, I was astonished to discover that his home debut in November 1923 coincided with an improbable playing comeback of one of Sunderland’s finest talents of yesteryear, Arthur Bridgett.
Bridgett was one of a famous Staffordshire footballing family who earned 11 England caps in their 12-year stay on Wearside. Predominantly a winger, he nevertheless racked up a remarkable 116 goals in his 348 appearances for the Lads between 1903–12, including two in the famous 9–1 derby triumph of 1908.
By the time of my great uncle’s debut, Bridgett was 42 years old and back in the Potteries helping out with the reserves at the Vale when an injury crisis meant he took the field against Clapton Orient in November 1923, having not played competitively for 11 years.
Rolling back the years, he received the ball within the first two minutes, ran at a retreating defence and smoothly netted what proved to be the only goal of the game. Vale’s home at the time, the Old Recreation Ground in Hanley, is long gone, but the church of St John, which overlooked the ground, remains.
I was christened there, and I was amused to learn that it was apparently used by players during the games to see how much time was left. I can imagine Uncle Tom glancing up nervously as the game drew to a close and maybe enjoying a craic with the legendary match-winner at full-time.
Sadly I never met Tom, but at least I maintained the family footballing tradition, albeit my particular efforts at centre-half were comfortably outshone by my off-the-field enthusiasms for watching and researching the beautiful game.
Sunderland played only once at the ‘Old Rec’, a 2–0 defeat in a Third Round replay in 1936. That was a major upset considering the Lads were top of the old Division One (today’s PL) at the time and would go on to secure the title, whereas Vale were second bottom of Division Two (today’s Championship) and would be relegated at the end of the season. The North Mail described Sunderland’s defence on the day as ‘resolute as melting butter’, and the press were equally damning after our defeat at Vale Park in 1962.
Although we finally secured an FA Cup win at Vale at the third attempt in 2018, helped by a 38-second opening goal by George Honeyman, the warnings from history are clear and despite my origins and family connections my allegiance is unequivocal so here’s hoping the Lads’ full focus and application is present on Sunday and a first Sixth Round tie since 2012 can be secured!
