Born on this day in 1964 is John Kay, a player who will always be remembered for his hardened play style which helped bring Sunderland to the 1992 FA Cup final.
An exciting young defensive prospect during the early '80s, John rose through the ranks of Arsenal, but was released after three years and arrived at Wimbledon on a free transfer. At Wimbledon he eventually grew in stature on the pitch and he spent three mostly prosperous years at The Dons, making an impressive 63 appearances. However, he didn't get off to the best of starts. Just one year into his time at the club, he found himself on loan to Middlesbrough, where he struggled.
Following this brief spell in 1985, he returned to his parent club and here he racked up most of his Wimbledon appearances. He continued to develop into a hard tackling, hard working player, and in the summer of 1987, his good performances were rewarded with a move to Roker Park.
This is where John really came into his own. He was at the club for a whole 9 seasons, making 199 appearances in red and white. He quickly became a fan favourite for his no-nonsense style of defending. His nickname 'The Tractor' came from his particularly harsh tackle on Leeds defender, Peter Haddock. Leeds manager Howard Wilkinson famously said that the afflicted player's leg "looks like it had been run over by a tractor". Of course, such a memorable moment stuck in the minds of those there that day, and it remains something to laugh about even now, shown best with ALS' John Kay "Red and White Tractor" T-shirt, which was only discontinued after COVID...
Two years on from the tractor incident, John Kay made great contributions to Sunderland's great '92 FA Cup run which saw the lads reach the final. Sadly, due to injury, Kay missed the final and the lads went on to lose 2-0 to Liverpool who at the time were in the division above us. We made a limited addition 'John Kay Fan club' badge, which is still shown on display in our shop today!
His final touch of class came in his final game for the lads, when they took on Birmingham in 1993. After tragically breaking his leg, instead of making a fuss and writhing around on the floor, he instead chose to sit up in the stretcher and pretend to row himself off the pitch, further cementing his place in SAFC folklore.
After what was definitely the peak of his career, and an uneasy time at Preston and Shrewsbury, he joined non-league outfit Scarborough, where he saw out the rest of his playing days. He retired in 1999 after an impressive 98 appearances for the seaside club. His time at Sunderland will always be remembered for his immortal moments on (and while leaving) the pitch.
John Kay, the Red and White Tractor.
