Born on this day is former Sunderland manager Alan Brown. He held the reins at the club between 1957 and 1964 before returning to Roker Park in February 1968. He would depart once again in 1972 and make way for Bob Stokoe who would lead Sunderland to FA Cup glory later that very season.
Brown was a disciplinarian manager and was often compared to a sergeant major. Although he had a reputation of being a formidable force at Roker Park, he oversaw Sunderland's first ever relegation from the First Division in 1958. The club was in turmoil when he took over, we were bottom of the First Division and wrapped up in a series of scandals.
The boyhood Sunderland fan, who hailed from Corbridge in Northumberland, saw this as an opportunity to turn his club's fortunes around and clean up our image, something he would eventually do, seeing Sunderland return to the top flight in the 1963/64 campaign. The club had a reputation for alleged fraud and bribery at the time, in 1968 Brown spoke on the issue of corruption saying, "On two occasions parents have said to me, when I came to the point of signing their lads, "Well, what about a bit of so and so?" My reply was, "Look, you can take your boy home if you like, but you won't get anything illegal here." Then they said, "Well, what about a suit of clothes for the lad?" I replied, "If and when he goes abroad with us he'll get his blazer and flannels like everybody else."
Brown was responsible for the arrival of club legend Charlie Hurley from Millwall but not all thoughts are good towards Brown, some resentment is still held by older fans as he was the manager who changed the shorts in our kit from black to white, something Stokoe reversed when he arrived on Wearside!
Despite his somewhat popularity and the fact that we stormed to promotion in 1964, Alan Brown resigned as manager after the season closed which came as a massive shock to all at the football club.
His return in 1968 was the setting for Sunderland's second relegation from the First Division in 1970, he tried to get us back to the big time but failed to do so and was dispensed with in November 1972 where he was replaced by former Newcastle defender Bob Stokoe, the shorts changed back to black and the rest, they say, is history!
