Sunderland

James Allan taught in Sunderland's schools, and in 1879 he gathered fellow teachers into a club meant for nothing more than after-hours recreation, "Sunderland and District Teachers A.F.C." The name lasted a year. On 16 October 1880 the club opened itself to players outside the profession and became Sunderland Association Football Club. Professionalism followed in 1885, and by 1890 the club had joined the Football League.

Six league championships came before the First World War and just after it, the last in 1935–36, when Raich Carter drove the side to the title with 31 goals from midfield. The FA Cup arrived twice: in 1937, when Sunderland beat Preston North End 3–1, and in 1973, when Second Division Sunderland beat Leeds United 1–0, with goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery's save in that final still the match's defining moment. Montgomery went on to make 627 appearances between 1960 and 1977, more than anyone else in the club's history.

The club left Roker Park on 30 July 1997 for the Stadium of Light, its name a deliberate nod to the Davy lamp and the pits that once ran under the city. It holds 49,000. Fixtures against Newcastle United are known as the Tyne–Wear derby, the fixture that matters most on Wearside; Middlesbrough, across the Tees, ranks second.

The Academy of Light has sent out players who made their names elsewhere: Jordan Henderson left for Liverpool and captained England, and Jordan Pickford's move to Everton made him the most expensive British goalkeeper in history. Brian Robson passed through earlier still, 182 appearances between 1974 and 1981 before Manchester United and England claimed him. What Sunderland has not managed since 1936 is another league title, and the FA Cup has not returned since 1973.