On this day in 1926, Bobby Gurney scored on his Sunderland debut. Gurney first signed for Sunderland in 1924, as a youth player from Bishop Auckland, after catching the eye of another Sunderland legend of the day, Charlie Buchan. Local lad Bobby would establish himself in the Sunderland professional squad towards the back end of the 1920s, playing all three of the forward positions, although his natural place was in the centre. As the Sunderland team of the 1930s began to take shape, the Son...

On this day in 1911, Charlie Buchan made his debut for Sunderland in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur away from home in the First Division. The attacker was famous for his immense skill, ball control and, his speciality, the glancing header. He was a player with quick thinking beyond his years, this was often a drawback, as his teammates would struggle to keep up with him! Buchan made just six England appearances, despite being a world class goalscorer but scored four goals for his national...

On this day in 1969, former defender/forward Lee Howey was born in Sunderland. Howey played for the Lads between 1993 and 1997, helping us to win the the First Division in 1996 along the way. Both Howey brothers grew up in Sunderland with their dad, Norman, a massive Sunderland fan who regularly took the lads to Roker Park. Lee joined Terry Butcher’s Sunderland side in 1993 after impressing with Bishop Auckland. A physically imposing target man, Howey had been an Ipswich Town youngster but...