Early years and the "Team of All Talents" (1879–1908)
The club was founded as Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C. by schoolmaster James Allan in what has commonly been believed to be … See more

Attendance and following
The club has had a historically large and passionate following, with the club seeing attendance figures … See more

Sunderland were the subject, together with Aston Villa, of one of the earliest football paintings in the world when in 1895 the artist Thomas M. M. Hemy painted a picture of a game … See more

Sunderland played in an all blue strip from their formation until 1884, when they adopted a red and white halved strip. They assumed the current … See more

Sunderland have had eight grounds throughout their history; the first was at Blue House Field in Hendon in 1879. The ground was close … See more

In 2001, the chairman Bob Murray established the Foundation of Light charity, to help educational development through football, and offers learning centres in addition to … See more

Sunderland's official nickname is "The Black Cats". The name was made official in a public vote in 2000. Despite the nickname being … See more