Extremely sad news is reaching many Sunderland fans tonight of the passing of one of our great players Gary Rowell, Seaham born and Sunderland fan.
It is fifty years to the day that he made his debut for Sunderland as an eighteen-year-old, coming off the bench for Mel Holden in the 71st minute and helping us to a last minute victory against Oxford, a poignant marker for a player who rightly is considered a Sunderland legend.
There is much to remember and applaud in Gary Rowell’s career.
His marvellous
role as one of the three so-called “Charlie’s Angels” along with Kevin Arnott and Shaun Elliott in the heroic attempt to beat the drop in the 1976/77 season.
The metronomic penalty taker who scored twenty-five of twenty-six spot kicks taken between 1977 and 1984.
The goal scorer extraordinaire with one hundred and three goals, from his first against Hull City in April 1976 to his last on March 17th 1984 against Watford. He was our top goal scorer in six of the nine seasons he played for us.
Of course his never to be forgotten hattrick against Newcastle on February 24th 1979 will remain an iconic memory for all who witnessed this and the stuff of legend for all who were too young but have been spell-bound by tales of that day ever since.
Few who were at Wembley in 1985 will ever forget his poise and the mutual respect that ensued, as he brought the trophy over to the massed ranks of Sunderland supporters at the end of that game, emotion etched on his face as he lifted it in acknowledgement to “his” fans.
A fuller appreciation will follow in the days to come, for now we respectfully pause for thought and send our sincere condolences to Gary Rowell’s family and friends.
He was, and will remain, “one of our own” as we live in the memory of a ‘Gary Rowell World’.
