Most Sunderland supporters are acquainted with Mr Smith.
Regardless of age, you know the name, because Mr Smith, to this day, is inextricably linked to the club’s shift from top-flight elite, The Team of all the Talents, and ‘The Bank of England Club’ to a yo-yo club bouncing between second and first divisions, and occasionally the third.
While splitting Sunderland AFC’s history up into pre-Mr Smith and post-Mr Smith eras may be oversimplifying matters considerably, the fact remains that – at this
point in time in 1957 – Sunderland had only ever played first division football since being elected to the league in 1890-91.
We’d won the league six times, and the FA Cup once – and while the most recent of those league titles was 18 seasons ago, that near two-decade stint had been interrupted by the Second World War, with the football league having been abandoned very early in the 1939-40 season, and not beginning again until 1946-47.
Post-war Sunderland AFC was characterised by significant spending to try to recapture the glories of years gone by, hence the ‘Bank Of England Club’ moniker. However, spending was often misjudged and poorly thought through, with money being viewed in the boardroom as being the solution to most problems.
The likes of Ivor Broadis, Len Shackleton, Don Revie, Bill Holden, Ted Purdon, Billy Elliott, Ken Chisholm, Ray Daniel, James Cowan, Colin Grainger and Trevor Ford were among those to arrive for significant outlays.
Ironically enough, it was Ford – who left the club in 1953 – who seemed to ignite the touch paper for this chapter of Sunderland’s history, his autobiography containing revelations that he was involved in an illegal payments scandal while at Roker Park, with the club attempting to circumvent the maximum wage at the time by offering payments and other incentives to players.
31-year-old Ford brought the issue to light in an attempt to improve players’ earning potential; indeed, clubs including Sunderland, Manchester City and Fulham were advocating to the Football League to change its antiquated rules.
The maximum wage of a footballer was £17 per week in 1957, and to attract players to clubs, boards would typically enhance the package offered with accommodation or ’second jobs’, which was on the legal-er side of things.
Clubs found other ways to supplement players’ ‘on the books’ income, and in Sunderland’s case they’d pay far more than they needed to for items such as straw for the pitch, get credit notes, cash them in, and disperse the money to players. Inventive, yes. Legal, no.
With the authorities paying close attention to the additional payments being made to players, someone close to Sunderland’s affairs decided to blow the whole thing up – penning a letter to the Football League and the national press in January 1957 accusing the club of irregularities in control of the club, providing enough information and facts to demonstrate he was well connected with the club, and wanted to punish individuals.
The Football League acted quickly, conducting a two week investigation of Sunderland’s books, and took their initial findings to the Football Association – and on this day in 1957, the two governing bodies announced there would be a joint investigation.
The statement released by the joint committee stated:
Members of the FA Consultative Committee, having received a report of the investigations into the affairs of the Sunderland FC, carried out to date by the Football League, decided to appoint a joint commission consisting of three members from the FA and three from the Football League to hold an inquiry.
The investigation was soon to be in full swing, and on the evening of the 3oth January, the monthly board meeting at Roker Park saw intense press coverage as directors departed at different times. Following a 5pm start, Bill Martin rushed out of the ground at 7pm, leaving by car. At 7.30pm, Chairman Bill Ditchburn left, while at 7.35pm Syd Collings departed. Over the next hour, manager Bill Murray, directors Col. John Turnbull and Laurie Evans left, and lastly, at 8.30pm, vice chairman Stan Ritson, and directors Jack Parker and Mr Reed left the Roker Park offices.
The Journal reporter then went to Bill Martin’s home in Thornholme Road, asking whether he’d permit a photographer to take a picture of him for the next day’s paper.
Martin relied:
Don’t talk to me about Roker Park. I’ve had enough of it. And of you men!
Martin then ‘brushed past his black Scottish terrier, and slammed and locked his door’.
Sunderland AFC would never be the same again.
If you’re interested in the Mr Smith case, we’re digging through newspaper archives throughout our On This Week episodes of Haway The Podcast – starting with this episode, which discusses Mr Smith’s letter being recieved by the Football League and the press.
