Sunderland Personalised Football Diary
Terrific Diary Gifts for Fans of Sunderland!
Sunderland FC was formed in 1879 by local school teacher James Allan. The club was originally called ‘Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club’, but when the Black Cats became more popular and members of other professions began to join, the team became known simply as Sunderland FC. Sunderland moved towards professionalism, but Allan was not happy with this direction and left the club. He formed Sunderland Albion FC, which became a bitter rival of Sunderland FC, but this breakaway club folded in 1892. The Black Cats went on to enjoy much early success, including several First Division titles, but results began to waver in the 1950s.
The club have always enjoyed impressive support and this did not decline in the more disappointing years. In fact, Sunderland FC was forced to move to the Stadium of Light in 1997 to try to accommodate a larger crowd. FC Benfica’s stadium has the same name in Portuguese - Estádio da Luz’ - but there is no relationship between the two clubs.
Our Personalised Sunderland Diaries feature twelve reproduced match reports on some of the best games from the past hundred years, beginning with the club’s sixth First Division title win in 1936. These A5 Diaries can start from the month of your choice and they make a fantastic gift for any fan of the Black Cats.
Diary Highlights
In addition to the 2-7 victory against Birmingham City in 1936 that guaranteed the Black Cats a sixth First Division title, these Personalised Sunderland Diaries incorporate promotion-clinching matches, outstanding FA Cup results and two local derbies.
In 1937, Sunderland FC was one of the strongest teams in the country. After winning the Championship in the previous season, the club reached the FA Cup final and beat Preston North End 3-1 to win the trophy for the first time. The Black Cats reached the final again in 1973, but by now they found themselves in a much weaker position. Based in the Second Division and up against high-flyers Leeds United, Sunderland went into the tie as underdogs. However, Ian Porterfield scored after thirty minutes and United were unable to reply. Sunderland lifted the FA Cup for the second time and although the Black Cats beat Chelsea in the 1992 quarter-finals - a match also featured in our A5 Diary - the 1973 win would be the club’s last trophy for many years.
Much of the Black Cat’s recent success has been based upon promotion into the Premiership. In 1998, Sunderland beat Sheffield United 2-1 on the way to the play-off finals. The Diary Gift also features two matches from the promotion-clinching season of 2004/2005, against Gillingham and Coventry respectively.
Diary Contents At A Glance
Our Sunderland Football Diaries feature newspaper reports on the following matches:
- 14th April 1936 - Birmingham 2 Sunderland 7 (First Division Champions)
- 2nd May 1937 - Sunderland 3 Preston 1 (FA Cup Final)
- 7th May 1973 - Sunderland 1 Leeds United 0 (FA Cup Final)
- 13th May 1980 - Sunderland 2 West Ham 0 (promoted to First Division)
- 19th March 1992 - Sunderland 2 Chelsea 1
- 14th May 1998 - Sunderland 2 Sheffield United 1
- 21st September 1998 - Sunderland 7 Oxford United 0
- 14th April 1999 - Bury 2 Sunderland 5 (promoted to Premiership)
- 19th November 2000 - Newcastle United 1 Sunderland 2
- 12th September 2004 - Gillingham 0 Sunderland 4
- 21st March 2005 - Sunderland 1 Coventry 0
- 26th September 2005 - Middlesbrough 0 Sunderland 2
Alternative Sunderland Football Gifts
These popular Personalised Diaries are just one of the gift ideas we have for fans of the Black Cats. We also offer Personalised Sunderland Calendars and Personalised Sunderland Football Books, as well as other general football gifts, such as Spoof Football Headlines and Personalised Football Commentaries.