On 17 October 1879, according to the traditional date, a group of schoolteachers in Sunderland, in the north-east of England, decided to form a football team of their own. Today Sunderland celebrates 147 years, with six top-flight league titles, two FA Cups and a red-and-white striped shirt that is recognised instantly in any stadium.

A team born in the classroom

The founder was the Scottish schoolmaster James Allan, and the first name was Sunderland and District Teachers AFC. As the name suggests, at first only teachers played. About a year later, in October 1880, the club opened its doors to non-teachers and took the name Sunderland AFC. The first ground was Blue House Field in Hendon, and from 1886 the team played at Newcastle Road. It is worth noting that local historians have found evidence that the club was only made public in September 1880, but October 1879 remains the date that tradition honours.

Before the stripes there was blue

Few people know that Sunderland did not start out in red. In the early years the team wore an all-blue strip, which lasted until 1884. Then came a halved shirt, half red and half white. The red and white vertical stripes appeared in the 1887-88 season and have never really changed since. Today it is one of the most distinctive retro designs in English football.

The "Team of All Talents"

In the 1890s Sunderland were the dominant force in England. They won the league in 1892, 1893 and 1895, and the founder of the Football League, William McGregor, called them the "Team of All Talents" after a 7-2 win over Aston Villa. Further titles followed in 1902, 1913 and 1936. In 1898 the club moved to Roker Park, which opened on 10 September and remained home for almost a century. In 1937 the first FA Cup arrived.

How a cat earned its place on the shirt

The nickname The Black Cats has roots in 1805, when a gun battery on the banks of the River Wear was named the "Black Cat", the story goes, because of the meowing of a black cat. The animal appears in team photographs as early as 1905 and 1908. At the 1937 final a boy, Billy Morris, carried a black cat in his pocket for luck. The old badge combined a ship, elements of the town's coat of arms, the cat and a football. In 1972 the cat was removed, and the new badge appeared on the shirt in 1977. The name "Black Cats" became official through a supporters' vote in 2000.

Wembley 1973: the great upset

The fans' favourite moment came in 1973. Sunderland were in the second tier, yet they reached the FA Cup final and beat Don Revie's Leeds United 1-0. The goal was a volley by Ian Porterfield in the 30th minute, while goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery made saves that went down in history. The win gave the club what was until then its only European campaign, in the 1973-74 Cup Winners' Cup.

Sponsors, a new crest and the Stadium of Light

The first kit manufacturer was Umbro (1975-81), and the first shirt sponsor was Cowie's in 1983. Many remember the shirts carrying the logo of Vaux brewery, which stayed on the stripes from 1985 to 1999. In 1997 the club left Roker Park for the Stadium of Light, built on the site of the former Wearmouth Colliery. With it came a new quartered crest featuring the Penshaw Monument, the Wearmouth Bridge, a colliery wheel and the motto "Consectatio Excellentiae". Since 2024 the shirts have been made by Hummel. In May 2025, thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Tom Watson in the play-off final against Sheffield United, Sunderland returned to the Premier League after eight years.

Happy birthday to the Black Cats and to everyone who proudly wears the red and white stripes on the banks of the Wear. May the next chapters be just as full of emotion.

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Photo: Stadium of Light – Arne Müseler, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 de.