On this day in 1979, Wes Brown was born in Manchester. The defender made 87 appearances in his five seasons on Wearside, helping to get us to the League Cup final in 2014. Brown had a unique path into football. Whilst some players begin playing at a very young age, the defender was more focused on karate! He failed at his black belt twice aged nine and told his dad he didn’t want to do it anymore. Then at 11 years old he joined his first Sunday league team and was picked up by Manchester...

Mick Buckley passed away on this day in 2013 at the age of 59. Mick made over 100 appearances for Sunderland between 1978 and 1983. Buckley was at Everton before Sunderland, making his debut as an 18-year-old and would go on to win the European Youth Tournament with England in 1971/72. He’d actually rejected advances from Manchesters United and City as a schoolboy, to play for Everton. The Salford-born midfielder became well-known for his tenacity and ability to win the ball back, and was a...

On this day in 1927, Dave Halliday scored a hat-trick in a 5-3 defeat away to Bury in the First Division, his first goal was his 200th in English and Scottish first class football. Halliday spent four years on Wearside between 1925 and 1929, scoring 165 goals in 175 games in all competitions. Before joining Sunderland, Halliday made a name for himself north of the border in Scotland with Dundee following brief spells with Queen of the South and St Mirren. Halliday joined the Dee in 1921,...