Born on this day in Northumberland is former Sunderland player Ron Guthrie, a left back and a member of the 1973 FA Cup winning team. He made 81 appearances for the Lads, scoring 2 goals, the first of which came against Luton Town in that magic Cup run.
Before he was employed as an SAFC player, he plied his trade up the road for his local side, Newcastle United. He was a fringe player with the Mags and after coming through as a young lad in 1963, in a ten year spell he only managed just over 50 appearances before making that ever controversial move.
Bob Stokoe brought him in in January of 1973 and it was just as well for the sturdy full back as he received the first and only honours of his career with us. His goal in the sixth round meant that it was worth brining the full back in. Perhaps looking back on his largely goalless career, this strike against Luton is the best of his career, though there are not too many to choose from.
Ultimately, after the high of the FA Cup triumph, the rest of Guthrie's Sunderland career was relatively disappointing. Over the next two seasons we should really have got promoted, indeed many people fancied us to do so - sound familiar? A 6th place finish and a 4th place finish were just not good enough to get back to the top flight. Resultingly, there was an exodus in 1975 and one of the players out of the door was Guthrie.
He went on to Gateshead United and then, in a very left field move, ended up playing for Lusitano, a South African side who he spent a summer with before returning to his native Tyneside for the 1977/1978 season with Blyth Spartans. With Blyth, he enjoyed yet more FA Cup success, well, not exactly, but he was part of the non-league side's appearance in the 5th round, and thus making Guthrie the first player to play in every round of the FA Cup from the four preliminary rounds right through to Wembley.
Guthrie got the assist for the winning goal against Stoke, the 3-2 victory the biggest giant killing of the season (if you count Stoke as a giant). Blyth nearly overcame Wrexham in a well attended clash at St James's, but it was a bridge to far.
He moved on to North Shields where he finished his career. For a lad from Newcastle, his biggest achievement came in red and white and he is deeply interwoven into the club's history as a part of that legendary 1973 team. After playing football, Ron became a milkman.
