Born on this day is a man who needs no introduction, 1973 FA Cup winning captain and all round club legend, Bobby Kerr.
Bobby Kerr is a name which every Sunderland fan recognises, the 'Little General' earned his reputation as a tough tackling and hard working midfielder soon established himself as a fans favourite at Roker Park after joining Sunderland's academy in 1964, making his debut on Wearside two years later.
The moustachioed Scotsman would create his own style of play, hence the nickname, which included an extremely high work rate, complete lack of fear of anything and being a natural leader, even if he was just over 5ft 4'!
He had a few set backs early on in his career, breaking his leg not once, but twice - however, that wouldn't stop him going on to be one of Sunderland's all time top appearance makers! He would spend the vast majority playing in the red and white of Sunderland before a fall out with manager Jimmy Adamson in 1978 would see him depart for Blackpool before returning to the North East with Hartlepool.
Although he wouldn't make a name for his goal scoring for Sunderland, his first would come on his debut in December 1966, scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win against Manchester City. In total, Kerr would make 427 competitive appearances for the club, scoring 67 goals during his time on Wearside.
His more than decade spell at Roker Park brought him only two major honours, the Division 2 title in 1976 and of course the now famous 1973 FA Cup win, in which he led the side as captain in both campaigns. The latter being one of football's most memorable and remarkable moments as Sunderland, then in the Second Division defeated the former champions, Leeds United, managed by Don Revie. He would somehow never be honoured with a Scotland cap, although he was considered for national team selection, unfortunately for him, he was around at the time of the so-called 'golden generation' of Scottish football.
Kerr would net a brace for Sunderland in a 3-0 victory over Newcastle in 1967, his breakout season and soon establish himself as a regular, being made captain by Alan Brown. Over the course of his career, he never played a season with less than 40 appearances and would also feature in all nine games in the 1973 FA Cup run.
He would go on to own a series of pubs around Sunderland and is still involved in the SAFC community.
