On 14 February this year it will be half a century since a shy, unaffiliated, nine-year-old lad had a Valentine’s Day encounter with the phenomenon that is Sunderland AFC that left him hooked and obsessed
and destined for a lifetime of joys, wonders and sorrows following a club with no notion of mid-table mediocrity!
On 14 February 1976, Sunderland were playing an FA Cup Fifth Round tie at the old Victoria Ground against Stoke City, the nearest club to my home in the Potteries. A couple of months earlier I had watched my first ever game when Stoke’s visitors were champions-to-be, Liverpool. My only memory of that occasion was the thrill of standing in a big open terrace, typical of many of the old grounds, alongside my Dad, Grandad and Uncle.
Crucially, I think, not one of the menfolk in my family supported a particular team and only my Grandad regularly attended games. His allegiance was an unlikely split, to modern eyes, between Stoke and in particular Stanley Matthews, a contemporary and idol of his and their local rivals Port Vale who he had backed fervently at Villa Park in an FA Cup semi-final defeat in 1954.
He missed no opportunity to tell me how Vale had been robbed by a late penalty converted by West Brom’s Potteries-born and former Vale player Ronnie Allen.
I think my Grandad must have perceived enough enthusiasm in me to take me along to the Cup game and this time we were positioned in the opposite end of the ground, the Boothen End.
When I think of that day all I can see is the distant view of the open terrace where I had previously stood. It struck my eyes and ears as a huge mass of human energy singing songs of love and devotion for this team I had barely heard of called Sunderland.
The sheer noise and passion of the supporters made a massive impression on me (I recall nothing of the game itself by contrast) and over the following weeks I began scanning the newspapers (especially the sports finals, for readers of a certain age) for Sunderland’s results.
My school was full of Liverpool and Manchester United ‘fans’ along with a few Stoke supporters and even fewer Port Vale stalwarts. Undoubtedly my adopted Mackem status must have seemed very weird to them all.
In fact, looking back, I think that was mentioned occasionally…
On reflection my newfound passion, centring firmly on Sunderland but also football in general, served as an effective coping mechanism for difficulties I was experiencing in my formative years. I saw the Lads play in the Midlands and North-West, fortunate to have parents, particularly my Dad, who were happy to ferry me to games.
Record keeping and compiling scrapbooks became avid hobbies and Sunderland players became my heroes to be mimicked when I was kicking a ball around.
Each time, when I was older, standing in amongst those packed SAFC away ends I felt that raw energy and emotion I had viewed with distant awe and wonder on that momentous day in Stoke half a century ago.
14 February 1976 – FA Cup Round 5 – Stoke City 0 Sunderland 0
Stoke: Shilton, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Bloor, Robertson, Greenhoff, Moores, Hudson, Salmons: unused sub:
Sunderland: Montgomery, Malone, Bolton, Towers, Clarke, Moncur, Kerr, Ashurst, Holden, Robson, Finney: unused sub:
Attendance: 41,176 (Stoke’s highest gate that season)
The replay was the following Wednesday at Roker with the Lads winning 2-1 with 47,583 watching on. They lost the Quarter-Final 0-1 to Crystal Palace in front of Roker’s penultimate 50,000+ crowd.
