Two local lads were born on this day, David Corner in 1966 and David Rush in 1971, both fulfilled their childhood dreams of walking out the tunnel at Roker Park with the famous red and white shirts on. However, one would have a legacy he'd rather forget and would take an early retirement.
DAVID CORNER
A boyhood Sunderland fan, his dreams came true of representing the Lads when Len Ashurst handed him his debut in 1984 against Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest but was substituted after Peter Davenport bagged a hattrick for the East Midlands side. After just three more appearances on top of that, Ashurst decided to start Corner in the 1985 Milk Cup final at Wembley against Norwich City, still very inexperienced and only the tender age of 18, it was obviously a dream come true for the ginger haired defender.
His start came about after skipper Shaun Elliott was suspended, but his Wembley experience turned out to be a Wembley nightmare, an attempt to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick saw him robbed and the Canaries would go on to score from it. The ball was crossed in to Asa Hartford whose shot was deflected past Chris Turner off defender Gordon Chisholm. He would carry most of the blame for that Wembley defeat and it would show, stories of him taking a good hiding in the town from still bitter fans, although it wasn't all bad, recently Look North's Jeff Brown wrote a play called 'Cornered' which detailed the whole ordeal.
He would be loaned out to Cardiff the year after to gain first team experience but on his return would fail to make an impression on new boss Denis Smith and would leave for Leyton Orient in 1988 and then onto Darlington the following season. He hung up his boots in 1994 after a few seasons playing for Gateshead. After retiring as a footballer, he became a Policeman, saying , "I was the most hated man in Sunderland for supposedly losing the cup final, so I thought I'd get a job where I'm hated anyway!"
DAVID RUSH
Another boyhood Sunderland fan who made it in the first team, debuted in 1989 by Denis Smith against Fulham in the League Cup. Rush captained Sunderland Schoolboys before having a brief spell in Notts County's academy before returning to Wearside. Although a standout talent at youth level, he never really established himself in the first team, his best season being that of the 1991/92 campaign which saw SAFC reach the FA Cup final, only to lose to Liverpool. Rush would make 72 appearances for Sunderland, scoring 13 goals. His wife also bought him a pair of ALS Byrne socks and a Byrne bobble hat as part of his Christmas present!
He joined Oxford United in 1994 where he would become a fans favourite and promotion to Division One (second tier) as runners up to Swindon Town. He would end his career in 1999 at Hartlepool United after a brief spell dogged by illness at York City.
