Sunderland Association Football Club Quiz

Answer: Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C.

A Scottish schoolmaster called James Allen founded Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. in 1879. The following year the club's current name was adopted when it became open to players from all walks of life.

Answer: Roker Park

Roker Park was opened in September, 1898, for a game against Liverpool. In March, 1933, a record crowd of 75,118 packed into the stadium for a match against Derby County. The stadium hosted four games during the 1966 World Cup, including a quarter final between USSR and Hungary. Following the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989, new ground regulations saw the capacity of Roker Park slashed to a mere 22,500, and the club decided to move on to new pastures, with the Stadium of Light opening in July, 1997.

Answer: Tom Watson

Tom Watson was appointed Sunderland's first manager in 1889, and led them to three league titles, in 1891-92, 92-93 and 94-95. In 1896, he left the club to become manager of Liverpool. Sunderland went on to win further championships in 1901-02 and 1912-13, with a sixth arriving in 1935-36.

Answer: Red & White Stripes

Sunderland began wearing shirts of red and white vertical stripes in 1887, and they have worn them in every season since then. For the mast majority of seasons since then, the shirts have been accompanied by black shorts.

Answer: Preston North End

Sunderland didn't have an easy time of it reaching the 1937 F.A. Cup Final. After a narrow away win at Southampton in round three, they needed a replay to see off Luton Town in round four. A comfortable home win over Swansea Town (now Swansea City) in round five, set up a quarter-final clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, which took three games to resolve.

A victory over Millwall in the semi-final at neutral Huddersfield saw Sunderland heading off to Wembley Stadium to face Preston North End. In front of 93,945 fans, Sunderland fought back from a goal down to win 3-1, with goals from Bobby Gurney, Raich Carter and Eddie Burbanks.

Answer: Charlie Buchan

Charlie Buchan signed for Sunderland in 1911, and, over the course of the next 14 years, scored 209 league goals for the club in 379 appearances. He moved to Arsenal in 1925, where he scored another 49 league goals before retiring in 1928. After taking up a new career as a journalist, he edited "Charlie Buchan's Football Monthly" from 1951 until his death in 1960.

Answer: A gun battery on the River Wear was nicknamed the Black Cat Battery after a soldier heard a black cat wailing during the night

There has been a long association between the city of Sunderland as well as Sunderland A.F.C. with black cats, with various stories as to the origin, but the one about the gun battery is the one that the club itself swears by. It only became the official nickname of the club after they moved into the Stadium of Light, as their previous nickname referred to their former home ground, and had thus become redundant.

Answer: Ian Porterfield

In season 1972-73, Sunderland were in the second division whilst Leeds United, managed by Don Revie, were a major powerhouse in English football, and the holders of the F.A. Cup, having won it in 1972. Sunderland, managed by Bob Stokoe, had upset Arsenal in the semi-finals, but were rank outsiders for the final, played in front of 100,000 fans at Wembley. Ian Porterfield gave the underdogs a shock lead in the 32nd minute, then goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery performed heroics to keep Leeds at bay, and secure the trophy for Sunderland for only the second time in their history (the first was in 1937).

Answer: Newcastle United

Fortunately for Sunderland fans, bitter rivals Newcastle have not managed to put eight goals past them in a Tyne-Wear derby. Sheffield Wednesday in 1911, West Ham in 1968 and Watford in 1982 all did so, whilst, in the 21st century, Southampton became the fourth team to defeat them 8-0, in 2014.

Answer: Sweden

Sebastian Larsson is a midfielder who joined Sunderland from Birmingham City in 2011. During six years on Wearside, he scored 12 goals in 176 league appearances for the Black Cats, and won 59 caps for Sweden. He joined Hull City in 2017 following the expiration of his contract.