List of Sunderland A.F.C. seasons

Statue of former Sunderland manager Bob Stokoe, who took the club to their second FA Cup victory in the 1972–73 season

Sunderland Association Football Club was founded in 1879 as Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club by James Allan. They turned professional in 1885. Sunderland won their first Football League championship in the 1891–92 season two years after joining the league . They won the Football League First Division on three occasions in four seasons; in 1892, 1893 and 1895, separated by a runner-up spot in 1894. In the 1901–02 season, Sunderland won their fifth Football League First Division championship. They came close to completing the "league and cup double" in the 1912–13 season, winning the league but losing to Aston Villa in the 1913 FA Cup Final. The team's next success came in the 1935–36 season when they won the League Championship and also the Charity Shield. They had not won the FA Cup until the 1936–37 season when they defeated Preston North End in the 1937 FA Cup Final. Sunderland entered The Football League in 1890 and were not relegated from the top division until the 1957–58 season; a total of 58 seasons in the highest division of England. Their next trophy came in the 1973 FA Cup Final as they beat Leeds United 1–0. They reached the 1985 Football League Cup Final but finished as runners-up to Norwich City after being beaten 1–0. In the 1986–87 season Sunderland were relagated to the Football League Third Division for the first time in their history under the management of Lawrie McMenemy, they however, returned to the second division the following season. Their first appearance in the Premier League came in the 1999–2000 season after being promoted as champions from Division One. In winning promotion the club gained 105 points, which was a record at the time. Sunderland gained just 15 points in the 2005-06 season, which set the record for the lowest number of points in a Premier League season, which has since been eclipsed by Reading.

Sunderland have won the League Championship six times, the FA Cup twice, and the Charity Shield three times (including the Sheriff of London Charity Shield). They have been runners-up in the League Championship five times, in the FA Cup twice and in the League Cup once. In European competitions, Sunderland have reached the second round stage of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The table details the club's achievements in all national and European first-team competitions, and records their top league goalscorer, for each completed season.

Seasons

Season	League									FA Cup	League Cup[A]	Europe / Other		Top league goalscorer
	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos					Name	Goals
1884–85	n/a									QR
1885–86	n/a									QR
1886–87	n/a									QR
1887–88	n/a									Disq[B]
1888–89	n/a									QR
1889–90	n/a									R1
1890–91	FL	22	10	5	7	51	31	25	7th	SF				Johnny Campbell	19
1891–92	FL	26	21	0	5	93	36	42	1st	SF				Johnny Campbell	29
1892–93	Div 1[C]	30	22	4	4	100	36	48	1st	QF				Johnny Campbell	29
1893–94	Div 1	30	17	4	9	72	44	38	2nd	R2				Jimmy Millar	20
1894–95	Div 1	30	21	5	4	80	37	47	1st	SF				Johnny Campbell	19
1895–96	Div 1	30	15	7	8	52	41	37	5th	R2				Johnny Campbell	15
1896–97	Div 1	30	7	9	14	34	47	23	15th[D]	R2				James Gillespie Jimmy Hannah	8
1897–98	Div 1	30	16	5	9	43	30	37	2nd	R1				John Brown Jim Leslie Hughie Wilson	8
1898–99	Div 1	34	15	6	13	41	41	36	7th	R2				Jim Leslie	9
1899–1900	Div 1	34	19	3	12	50	35	41	3rd	R2				Colin McLatchie	10
1900–01	Div 1	34	15	13	6	57	26	43	2nd	R1				Geordie Livingstone	12
1901–02	Div 1	34	19	6	9	50	35	44	1st	R2				Jimmy Gemmell Billy Hogg	10
1902–03	Div 1	34	16	9	9	51	36	41	3rd	R1		Sheriff of London Charity Shield[E]	W	Jimmy Gemmell Joe Hewitt Jimmy Millar	7
1903–04	Div 1	34	17	5	12	63	49	39	6th	R1				John Craggs Billy Hogg	12
1904–05	Div 1	34	16	8	10	60	44	40	5th	R1				George Holley Walter Watkins	9
1905–06	Div 1	38	15	5	18	61	70	35	14th	R3				Arthur Bridgett	17
1906–07	Div 1	38	14	9	15	65	66	37	10th	R3				Arthur Bridgett	25
1907–08	Div 1	38	16	3	19	78	75	35	16th	R1				George Holley	23
1908–09	Div 1	38	21	2	15	78	63	44	3rd	QF				George Holley	18
1909–10	Div 1	38	18	5	15	66	51	41	8th	R3				George Holley	20
1910–11	Div 1	38	15	15	8	67	48	45	3rd	R1				Tim Coleman	19
1911–12	Div 1	38	14	11	13	58	51	39	8th	R3				George Holley[F]	25
1912–13	Div 1	38	25	4	9	86	43	54	1st	RU				Charlie Buchan	27
1913–14	Div 1	38	17	6	15	63	52	40	7th	QF				George Holley	15
1914–15	Div 1	38	18	5	15	81	72	41	8th	R1				Charlie Buchan	23
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.
1919–20	Div 1	42	22	4	16	72	59	48	5th	R3				Charlie Buchan	21
1920–21	Div 1	42	14	13	15	57	60	41	12th	R1				Charlie Buchan	27
1921–22	Div 1	42	16	8	18	60	62	40	12th	R1				Charlie Buchan	21
1922–23	Div 1	42	22	10	10	72	54	54	2nd	R2				Charlie Buchan	30
1923–24	Div 1	42	22	9	11	71	54	53	3rd	R1				Charlie Buchan	26
1924–25	Div 1	42	19	10	13	64	51	48	7th	R2				Bobby Marshall	18
1925–26	Div 1	42	21	6	15	96	80	48	3rd	R5				Dave Halliday	38
1926–27	Div 1	42	21	7	14	98	70	49	3rd	R3				Dave Halliday	35
1927–28	Div 1	42	15	9	18	74	76	39	15th	R4				Dave Halliday	35
1928–29	Div 1	42	20	7	15	93	75	47	4th	R3				Dave Halliday	43[G]
1929–30	Div 1	42	18	7	17	76	80	43	9th	R5				Bobby Gurney	15
1930–31	Div 1	42	16	9	17	89	85	41	11th	SF				Bobby Gurney	30
1931–32	Div 1	42	15	10	17	67	73	40	13th	R4				Bobby Gurney	16
1932–33	Div 1	42	15	10	17	63	80	40	12th	QF				Bobby Gurney	15
1933–34	Div 1	42	16	12	14	81	56	44	6th	R4				Bobby Gurney	21
1934–35	Div 1	42	19	16	7	90	51	54	2nd	R4				Bobby Gurney	30
1935–36	Div 1	42	25	6	11	109	74	56	1st	R3		Charity Shield[H]	W	Raich Carter Bobby Gurney	31
1936–37	Div 1	42	19	6	17	89	87	44	8th	W		Charity Shield	RU	Raich Carter	26
1937–38	Div 1	42	14	16	12	55	57	44	8th	SF				Raich Carter	13
1938–39	Div 1	42	13	12	17	54	67	38	16th	R5				Raich Carter	15
1939–40[I]	Div 1
The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the Second World War.
1945–46	n/a[J]									R5
1946–47	Div 1	42	18	8	16	65	66	44	9th	R3				Jackie Robinson Cliff Whitelum	17
1947–48	Div 1	42	13	10	19	56	67	36	20th	R3				Dickie Davis	12
1948–49	Div 1	42	13	17	12	49	58	43	8th	R4				Dickie Davis	10
1949–50	Div 1	42	21	10	11	83	62	52	3rd	R4				Dickie Davis	25
1950–51	Div 1	42	12	16	14	63	73	40	12th	QF				Trevor Ford	16
1951–52	Div 1	42	15	12	15	70	61	42	12th	R3				Trevor Ford Len Shackleton	22
1952–53	Div 1	42	15	13	14	68	82	43	9th	R4				Trevor Ford	20
1953–54	Div 1	42	14	8	20	81	89	36	18th	R3				Tommy Wright	18
1954–55	Div 1	42	15	18	9	64	54	48	4th	R4				Ken Chisholm	18
1955–56	Div 1	42	17	9	16	80	95	43	9th	SF				Charlie Fleming	29
1956–57	Div 1	42	12	8	22	67	88	32	20th	R4				Charlie Fleming	25
1957–58	Div 1	42	10	12	20	54	97	32	21st	R3				Alan O'Niell	13
1958–59	Div 2	42	16	8	18	64	75	40	15th	R3				Don Kichenbrand	21
1959–60	Div 2	42	12	12	18	52	65	36	16th	R3				Ian Lawther	17
1960–61	Div 2	42	17	13	12	75	60	47	6th	QF	R2			Ian Lawther	24
1961–62	Div 2	42	22	9	11	85	50	53	3rd	R4	QF			Brian Clough	29
1962–63	Div 2	42	20	12	10	84	55	52	3rd	R5	SF			Brian Clough	24
1963–64	Div 2	42	25	11	6	81	37	61	2nd	QF	R2			Johnny Crossan	22
1964–65	Div 1	42	14	9	19	64	74	37	15th	R4	R4			Nick Sharkey	18
1965–66	Div 1	42	14	8	20	51	72	36	19th	R3	R3			Neil Martin George Mulhall	8
1966–67	Div 1	42	14	8	20	58	72	36	17th	R5	R2			Neil Martin	20
1967–68	Div 1	42	13	11	18	51	61	37	15th	R3	R4			Colin Suggett	14
1968–69	Div 1	42	11	12	19	43	67	34	17th	R3	R2			Colin Suggett	9
1969–70	Div 1	42	6	14	22	30	68	26	21st	R3	R2	Anglo-Italian Cup	Grp	Gordon Harris	7
1970–71	Div 2	42	15	12	15	52	54	42	13th	R3	R2			Joe Baker	10
1971–72	Div 2	42	17	16	9	67	57	50	5th	R4	R2	Anglo-Italian Cup	Grp	Dennis Tueart Dave Watson	13
1972–73	Div 2	42	17	12	13	59	49	46	6th	W	R2			Billy Hughes	15
1973–74	Div 2	42	19	9	14	58	44	47	6th	R3	R3	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	R2[K]	Vic Halom	18
1974–75	Div 2	42	19	13	10	65	35	51	4th	R4	R2	Texaco Cup	Grp	Bryan 'Pop' Robson	19
1975–76	Div 2	42	24	8	10	67	36	56	1st	QF	R2	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Grp	Bryan 'Pop' Robson	13
1976–77	Div 1	42	11	12	19	46	54	34	20th	R3	R3			Bob Lee	13
1977–78	Div 2	42	14	16	12	67	59	44	6th	R3	R2			Gary Rowell	18
1978–79	Div 2	42	22	11	9	70	44	55	4th	R4	R2	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Grp	Gary Rowell	21
1979–80	Div 2	42	21	12	9	69	42	54	2nd	R3	R4	Anglo-Scottish Cup	Grp	Bryan 'Pop' Robson	20
1980–81	Div 1	42	14	7	21	52	53	35	17th	R3	R2			Gary Rowell	10
1981–82	Div 1	42	11	11	20	38	58	44[L]	19th	R4	R3			Gary Rowell	9
1982–83	Div 1	42	12	14	16	48	61	50	16th	R3	R3			Gary Rowell	16
1983–84	Div 1	42	13	13	16	42	53	52	13th	R4	R3			Colin West	9
1984–85	Div 1	42	10	10	22	40	62	40	21st	R3	RU[M]			Clive Walker	10
1985–86	Div 2	42	13	11	18	47	61	50	18th	R4	R2	Full Members Cup	QF	Eric Gates	9
1986–87	Div 2	42	12	12	18	49	59	48	20th[N]	R3	R1	Full Members Cup	R2	David Buchanan Mark Proctor	8
1987–88	Div 3	42	27	12	7	92	48	93	1st	R2	R1	Football League Trophy	AQF	Marco Gabbiadini	21
1988–89	Div 2	46	16	15	15	60	60	63	11th	R3	R2	Full Members Cup	R2	Marco Gabbiadini	18
1989–90	Div 2	46	20	14	12	70	64	74	6th[O]	R3	QF	Full Members Cup	R1	Marco Gabbiadini	21
1990–91	Div 1	38	8	10	20	38	60	34	19th	R3	R3	Full Members Cup	QF	Marco Gabbiadini	9
1991–92	Div 2	46	14	11	21	61	65	53	18th	RU	R2			Don Goodman	11
1992–93	Div 1[P]	46	13	11	22	50	64	50	21st	R4	R1	Anglo-Italian Cup	Grp	Don Goodman	16
1993–94	Div 1	46	19	8	19	54	57	65	12th	R4	R3	Anglo-Italian Cup	Grp	Phil Gray	14
1994–95	Div 1	46	12	18	16	41	45	54	20th	R4	R2			Phil Gray	12
1995–96	Div 1	46	22	17	7	59	33	83	1st	R3	R2			Craig Russell	13
1996–97	Prem	38	10	10	18	35	53	40	18th	R3	R3			Craig Russell Paul Stewart	4
1997–98	Div 1	46	26	12	8	86	50	90	3rd[Q]	R4	R3			Kevin Phillips	29
1998–99	Div 1	46	31	12	3	91	28	105	1st	R4	SF			Kevin Phillips	23
1999–2000	Prem	38	16	10	12	57	56	58	7th	R4	R3			Kevin Phillips	30
2000–01	Prem	38	14	12	11	46	41	57	7th	R5	QF			Kevin Phillips	14
2001–02	Prem	38	10	10	18	29	51	40	17th	R3	R2			Kevin Phillips	11
2002–03	Prem	38	4	7	27	21	65	19	20th	R5	R4			Kevin Phillips	6
2003–04	Div 1	46	22	13	11	62	45	79	3rd[R]	SF	R2			Marcus Stewart	14
2004–05	Chmp[S]	46	29	7	10	76	41	94	1st	R4	R2			Marcus Stewart	16
2005–06	Prem	38	3	6	29	26	69	15	20th	R4	R3			Liam Lawrence Anthony Le Tallec Tommy Miller Dean Whitehead	3
2006–07	Chmp	46	27	7	12	76	47	88	1st	R3	R1			David Connolly	13
2007–08	Prem	38	11	6	21	36	59	39	15th	R3	R2			Kenwyne Jones	7

Key

Key to league record:

• P = Played
• W = Games won
• D = Games drawn
• L = Games lost
• F = Goals for
• A = Goals against
• Pts = Points
• Pos = Final position

Key to divisions:

• FL = Football League
• Div 1 = Football League First Division
• Div 2 = Football League Second Division
• Div 3 = Football League Third Division
• Prem = Premier League
• Chmp = The Championship
• n/a = Not applicable

Key to rounds:

• DNE = Did not enter
• Disq = Disqualified
• QR = Qualifying round
• Grp = Group stage
• R1 = Round 1
• R2 = Round 2
• R3 = Round 3
• R4 = Round 4
• R5 = Round 5

• QF = Quarter-finals
• SF = Semi-finals
• AQF = Area quarter-finals
• ASF = Area semi-finals
• AF = Area final
• RU = Runners-up
• WS = Shared
• W = Winners

Champions

Runners-up

Promoted

Relegated

Divisions in bold indicate a change in division.
Players in bold indicate the top scorer in the division that season.

Footnotes

A. ^ : The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.

B. ^ Sunderland were disqualified from the FA Cup after beating Middlesbrough 4–2 in a third qualifying round replay, Middlesbrough protested that Sunderland had paid three of their players, they were disqualified for "professionalism".

C. ^ The Football League expanded to two divisions in 1892, absorbing most of the teams from the Football Alliance. The league previously known simply as the Football League became the Football League First Division.

D. ^ Sunderland retained their place in Division One by winning one and drawing two of four test matches, playing home and away against Notts County and Newton Heath.

E. ^ The Sheriff of London Charity Shield was a football competition in England, which lasted from 1898 to 1907, it was last won by Newcastle United. It was made defunct, and succeeded by the Charity Shield.

F. ^ Holley was joint-top Division One scorer with Harry Hampton and David McLean of Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday respectively.

G. ^ Club record for most league goals (43) scored in a season.

H. ^ The Charity Shield was first played for in 1908. In its early years, the match took place at the end of the season, but was subsequently moved to September or October of the following season. From 1959 onwards it has been played in August, prior to the beginning of the league programme. It was renamed the FA Community Shield in 2002.

I. ^ The 1939–40 season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled. Sunderland's record at the time of the annulment was W1 D0 L2 F6 A7 Pts2.

J. ^ The FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.

K. ^ Sunderland qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after winning the 1973 FA Cup Final, they made it to the Second Round where they won the first leg of their match against Sporting Clube de Portugal 2–1. They were beaten 2–0 in the second leg, and were knocked out, beaten 3–2 on aggregate.

L. ^ The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.

M. ^ Lost to Norwich City 1–0 in final at the old Wembley Stadium.

N. ^ Relegated through promotion relegation play-offs, after being beaten on the away goals rule in a 6–6 draw over two legs against Gillingham. This was also the first time they had been relegated to the third tier of English football.

O. ^ Swindon Town were initially promoted to Division One through the play-offs after beating Sunderland 1–0 at the old Wembley Stadium. However, Sunderland were instead promoted as Swindon had made illegal payments that season.

P. ^ With the advent of the Premier League, the second tier of English football became known as the First Division.

Q. ^ Lost 7–6 on penalties, after being level at 4–4 after extra time, to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final at the old Wembley Stadium.

R. ^ Lost 5–4 on penalties after finishing 4–4 on aggregate in play-off semi-finals to Crystal Palace.

S. ^ In 2004–05 the Football League First Division had been renamed the Football League Championship as part of a re-branding exercise by the Football League.

References

General

• Days, Paul (August 1999). Sunderland AFC: The Official History 1879-2000. Business Education Publishers Ltd. pp. 1–336. ISBN 0953698416. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
• All statistics for seasons are retrieved from individual seasons pages, and top scorers, from appearances section on their individual season page. "Sunderland AFC - Statistics, History and Records". The Stat Cat. Retrieved 2008-08-10.

Specific