On this day in 1987, one Denis Smith was appointed as Sunderland manager, tasked with turning around our fortunes and getting us out of the Third Division. He was successful in his first season and would later take us back to the top flight in 1990 after *that* play-off against Swindon!
A native of Stoke-on-Trent, Smith enjoyed a long playing career for the Potters spanning between 1968 and 1982 before he joi