Born on this day is former Sunderland winger Dennis Tueart. Despite being a boyhood Newcastle fan, Tueart began his career at Sunderland, making over 150 appearances for the lads.
Tueart made his debut in 1968, aged just 16! In the 1969/70 season, Sunderland were relegated to the Second Division and tried to bounce straight back up the following season. However, Alan Brown was unable to do so and we were stuck in the Second Division for a while.
Sunderland appointed Bob Stokoe in 1972, sitting second-bottom in the table. However, Stokoe quickly turned our fortunes around as we went on a monumental cup run. Tueart was a key player in our run to the 1973 final, with the winger playing in wins against the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal. He played the full 90 as we achieved cup glory against Leeds, going down in the SAFC history books.
After impressing on Wearside, scoring memorable goals such as a perfect hat trick against Swindon and a great goal against Vasas Budapest in the Cup Winners Cup, Tueart joined Man City in 1974. He became a hero in Manchester, and became a League Cup winner in 1976 against his boyhood club Newcastle. He actually scored in that game, an amazing overhead kick which has been voted the greatest goal in the history of the competition.
In 1978, Tueart joined American side New York Cosmos, where he played alongside greats such as Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and even Pele!
