Loading

  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

List Of Sunderland A.F.C. Players
Sunderland Association Football Club was founded in 1879, and turned professional in 1886. This list contains all players that have played 100 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included. This includes players who have set a club playing record, such as goalscoring or transfer fee records.

Jimmy Montgomery holds the record for Sunderland appearances, having played 627 matches between 1960 and 1977, followed by Len Ashurst who made 459 appearances. As of 21 March 2009, the player who has won most international caps while at the club is Charlie Hurley with 36 for Republic of Ireland. Alf Common became the first transfer to reach £1,000 after moving to Middlesbrough from Sunderland in 1905.

The goalscoring record is held by Bobby Gurney, with 227 goals in all competitions, in 390 appearances, scored between 1925 and 1950. Charlie Buchan is the next highest goalscorer, closely behind Gurney with 221 goals, in 411 games, from 1911 to 1925. Dave Halliday holds the record for the most goals scored in a season, set in 1928–29, with 43 league goals in 42 games in the First Division. Halliday also holds a high goalscoring ratio while at Sunderland, scoring 175 goals in 164 games, with a goal every 0.94 games. Defender Charlie Hurley was voted as Sunderland's "Player of the Century" in the club's centenary season in 1979.

Players

Players are listed according to the date of their first-team debut for the club. Appearances and goals are for first-team competitive matches only; wartime matches are excluded. Substitute appearances are included.

Players with name in bold are Sunderland record holders.
Players with nationality in bold won full international caps for their country while with the club.

Name Nationality Position Date from Date to Appearances Goals Notes Club source National source
James McMillan  Scotland Defender 1884 1886 5 0
Will Gibson  Scotland Midfielder 1888 1896 102 7
Thomas Porteous  England Defender 1889 1894 93 0
Ned Doig  Scotland Goalkeeper 1890 1904 456 0
James Gillespie  Scotland Forward 1890
1891		 1892
1897		 148 52
John Auld  Scotland Defender 1890 1895 115 15
John Scott  Scotland Forward 1890 1896 113 29
Johnny Campbell  Scotland Forward 1890 1897 215 151
John Harvey  Scotland Midfielder 1890 1897 108 12
Jimmy Millar  Scotland Forward 1890
1900		 1896
1904		 260 122
Hughie Wilson  Scotland Midfielder 1890 1899 258 46
Donald Gow  Scotland Defender 1891
1893		 1892
1897		 113 1
Jimmy Hannah  Scotland Midfielder 1891 1897 172 78
Billy Dunlop  Scotland Defender 1893 1898 146 6
Robert McNeill  Scotland Defender 1894 1900 157 0
Matthew Ferguson  Scotland Defender 1896 1902 182 5
Sandy McAllister  Scotland Defender 1897 1904 223 5
Colin McLatchie  Scotland Midfielder 1898 1902 129 32
Dick Jackson  England Defender 1898 1905 167 10
James Farquhar  Scotland Midfielder 1899 1907 196 18
Andrew McCombie  Scotland Defender 1899 1904 164 6
Billy Hogg  England Forward 1899 1909 302 86
Alf Common  England Forward 1900
1901		 1904
1905		 43 11
Jimmy Watson  Scotland Defender 1900 1907 225 0
Jimmy Gemmell  England Forward 1900 1912 228 46
Dusty Rhodes  England Defender 1902 1908 119 5
Arthur Bridgett  England Forward 1902 1912 347 116
George Holley  England Forward 1904 1919 316 155
Tommy Tait  Scotland Defender 1906 1912 195 3
Henry Forster  England Defender 1907 1911 112 0
Gavin Jarvie  England Defender 1907 1911 102 0
Harry Low  Scotland Midfielder 1907 1915 227 37
Albert Milton  England Defender 1908 1914 139 0
Charles Thomson  Scotland Defender 1908 1915 264 8
Billy Troughear  England Defender 1909 1912 108 0
Jackie Mordue  England Forward 1908 1920 294 80
Francis Cuggy  England Midfielder 1909 1921 189 4
Harry Ness  England Defender 1911 1919 102 0
Charlie Buchan  England Forward 1911 1925 411 221
Henry Martin  England Forward 1912 1922 213 23
Bert Hobson  England Defender 1913 1922 172 0
John Poole  England Defender 1913 1924 152 2
Ernie England  England Defender 1919 1930 351 0
Billy Ellis  England Midfielder 1920 1927 202 32
Bobby Marshall  England Forward 1920 1928 207 73
Charlie Parker  England Defender 1920 1929 256 12
Arthur Hawes  England Midfielder 1921 1927 147 39
Arthur Andrews  England Defender 1921 1931 244 2
Warney Cresswell  England Defender 1922 1927 190 0
Albert McInroy  England Goalkeeper 1923
1934		 1929
1935		 227 0
William Clunas  Scotland Midfielder 1923 1930 272 44
Bobby Gurney  England Forward 1925 1950 390 227
Dave Halliday  Scotland Forward 1925 1929 175 164
Bill Murray  Scotland Defender 1925 1936 328 0
Jock McDougall  Scotland Defender 1929 1934 184 3
Patrick Gallacher  Scotland Forward 1929 1938 309 108
Alex Hall  Scotland Defender 1929 1939 238 1
Harry Shaw  England Defender 1930 1935 217 5
Jimmy Thorpe  England Goalkeeper 1930 1936 139 0
Jimmy Connor  Scotland Forward 1930 1939 284 62
Alexander Hastings  Scotland Midfielder 1930 1946 304 8
Bert Johnston  Scotland Defender 1931 1939 166 0
Charlie Thomson  Scotland Defender 1931 1939 264 8
Bert Davis  England Forward 1932 1936 162 40
Sandy McNab  Scotland Defender 1932 1938 113 6
Raich Carter  England Midfielder 1932 1939 281 132
Eddie Burbanks  England Midfielder 1935 1948 156 30
Len Duns  England Forward 1935 1952 248 54
Johnny Mapson  England Goalkeeper 1935 1954 387 0
Jimmy Gorman  England Defender 1937 1939 103 1
Dickie Davis  England Forward 1946 1953 154 80
Fred Hall  England Defender 1946 1953 224 1
Tommy Reynolds  England Midfielder 1946 1953 171 18
Bill Walsh  England Defender 1946 1953 105 1
Willie Watson  England Defender 1946 1954 223 17
Jack Stelling  England Defender 1946 1956 272 8
Arthur Hudgell  England Defender 1947 1957 275 0
Len Shackleton  England Forward 1948 1957 348 101
Tommy Wright  Scotland Midfielder 1949 1954 180 54
Harry Kirtley  England Forward 1949 1955 101 18
Trevor Ford  Wales Forward 1950 1957 117 70
Billy Bingham  Northern Ireland Forward 1950 1958 227 46
Jack Hedley  England Defender 1950 1958 295 0
George Aitken  Scotland Defender 1951 1958 267 3
Stan Anderson  England Defender 1952 1964 447 35
Ray Daniel  Wales Defender 1953 1957 153 7
Billy Elliott  England Midfielder 1953 1958 212 26
Willie Fraser  Scotland Goalkeeper 1954 1958 143 0
Joe McDonald  Scotland Defender 1954 1958 155 1
Charlie Fleming  Scotland Forward 1955 1958 122 72
Colin Grainger  England Forward 1957 1960 124 14
Ambrose Fogarty  Republic of Ireland Midfielder 1957 1963 174 43
Charlie Hurley  Republic of Ireland Defender 1957 1969 401 26
Peter Wakeham  England Goalkeeper 1958 1962 151 0
Colin Nelson  England Defender 1958 1964 168 2
Jim McNab  England Midfielder 1958 1967 323 18
Len Ashurst  England Defender 1958 1970 459 4
Cecil Irwin  England Defender 1958 1971 350 1
Martin Harvey  Northern Ireland Midfielder 1959 1972 357 5
Nick Sharkey  Scotland Forward 1960 1966 117 62
Jimmy Montgomery  England Goalkeeper 1960 1977 627 0
George Herd  Scotland Midfielder 1961 1969 318 55
Johnny Crossan  Northern Ireland Forward 1961 1969 318 55
George Mulhall  Scotland Forward 1962 1969 289 66
Bobby Kerr  Scotland Midfielder 1964 1979 432 69
John Lathan  England Midfielder 1968 1974 111 23
Colin Todd  England Defender 1966 1971 191 3
Billy Hughes  Scotland Midfielder 1967 1977 335 81
Ian Porterfield  Scotland Midfielder 1967 1977 270 20
Gordon Harris  England Midfielder 1968 1971 135 16
Dennis Tueart  England Midfielder 1968 1974 218 56
Mick McGiven  England Defender 1969 1973 126 12
Richie Pitt  England Midfielder 1969 1973 145 7
David Watson  England Defender 1970 1975 212 33
Dick Malone  Scotland Defender 1970 1976 282 2
Gary Rowell  England Forward 1972 1984 296 103
Jack Ashurst  Scotland Defender 1972 1979 165 3
Joe Bolton  England Midfielder 1972 1981 325 12
Vic Halom  England Forward 1973 1976 138 42
Bobby Moncur  Scotland Defender 1974 1976 101 2
Bryan Robson  England Forward 1974
1979
1983		 1976
1980
1984		 182 68
Tony Towers  England Forward 1974 1977 124 22
Jeff Clarke  England Defender 1975 1982 218 6
Bob Lee  England Forward 1976 1979 122 33
Barry Siddall  England Goalkeeper 1976 1982 192 0
Kevin Arnott  England Midfielder 1977 1982 152 18
Shaun Elliott  England Defender 1977 1986 368 11
Mick Buckley  England Midfielder 1978 1983 135 8
Rob Hindmarch  England Defender 1978 1984 128 3
Gordon Chisholm  Scotland Defender 1978 1985 235 16
Chris Turner  England Goalkeeper 1978 1986 224 1
Stan Cummins  England Midfielder 1979 1985 165 32
Colin West  England Forward 1981 1985 122 28
Nick Pickering  England Midfielder 1981 1986 209 18
Barry Venison  England Defender 1981 1986 205 3
Paul Bracewell  England Midfielder 1983
1989
1995		 1984
1992
1997		 270 6
Mark Proctor  England Midfielder 1983 1987 138 23
Eric Gates  England Forward 1984 1990 219 55
Paul Lemon  England Midfielder 1984 1990 126 19
Gary Bennett  England Defender 1984 1995 443 25
Frank Gray  Scotland Defender 1985 1989 169 8
Reuben Agboola  Nigeria Defender 1985 1991 170 0
Gordon Armstrong  England Midfielder 1985 1995 416 61
Steve Doyle  Wales Midfielder 1986 1988 115 2
Iain Hesford  England Goalkeeper 1986 1989 112 0
John MacPhail  England Defender 1987 1990 153 22
Marco Gabbiadini  England Forward 1987 1991 185 87
John Kay  England Defender 1987 1993 239 0
Gary Owers  England Midfielder 1987 1994 320 27
Richard Ord  England Defender 1987 1998 284 8
Colin Pascoe  Wales Midfielder 1988 1992 149 25
Tony Norman  Wales Goalkeeper 1988 1995 227 0
Thomas Hauser  Germany Forward 1989 1991 65 11
Paul Hardyman  England Defender 1989 1992 129 12
Brian Atkinson  England Midfielder 1989 1995 169 6
Kevin Ball  England Defender 1990 1999 388 27
Don Goodman  England Forward 1991 1994 132 47
Craig Russell  England Forward 1991 1997 175 34
Michael Gray  England Defender 1992 2004 410 17
Alec Chamberlain  England Goalkeeper 1993 1996 108 0
Phil Gray  Northern Ireland Forward 1993 1996 134 41
Andy Melville  Wales Defender 1993 1999 236 14
Martin Smith  England Midfielder 1993 1999 145 28
Dariusz Kubicki  Poland Defender 1994 1997 150 0
Martin Scott  England Defender 1994 1999 126 11
Michael Bridges  England Forward 1996
2004
2004		 1999
2004
2005		 113 23
Alex Rae  Scotland Midfielder 1996 2001 136 15
Niall Quinn  Republic of Ireland Forward 1996 2002 220 69
Allan Johnston  Scotland Midfielder 1997 1999 101 20
Nicky Summerbee  England Midfielder 1997 2000 108 8
Chris Makin  England Defender 1997 2001 142 1
Jody Craddock  England Defender 1997 2003 168 2
Kevin Phillips  England Forward 1997 2004 235 130
Darren Williams  England Defender 1997 2004 238 6
Thomas Sørensen  Denmark Goalkeeper 1998 2003 197 0
Gavin McCann  England Midfielder 1998 2003 135 13
George McCartney  Northern Ireland Defender 1998
2008		 2006
2012		 203 0
Kevin Kilbane  Republic of Ireland Midfielder 1999 2003 123 9
Julio Arca  Argentina Defender 2000 2006 177 23
Kevin Kyle  Scotland Forward 2001 2006 109 19
Marcus Stewart  England Forward 2002 2005 119 39
Gary Breen  Republic of Ireland Defender 2003 2006 115 7
Grant Leadbitter  England Midfielder 2003 2009 113 11
Danny Collins  Wales Defender 2004 2009 163 3
Dean Whitehead  England Midfielder 2004 2009 200 14
Craig Gordon  Scotland Goalkeeper 2007 2012 95 0
Kenwyne Jones  Trinidad and Tobago Forward 2007 2010 101 28
Kieran Richardson  England Midfielder 2007 2012 149 15
Jack Colback  England Midfielder 2008 2014 136 5
Phil Bardsley  Scotland Midfielder 2008 2014 176 11
Steed Malbranque  France Defender 2008 2011 112 2
Lee Cattermole  England Midfielder 2009 2019 258 10
Darren Bent  England Forward 2009 2011 60 35
Asamoah Gyan  Ghana Forward 2010 2012 37 11
Simon Mignolet  Belgium Goalkeeper 2010 2013 101 0
Craig Gardner  England Midfielder 2011 2014 100 14
Sebastian Larsson  Sweden Midfielder 2011 2017 203 14
John O'Shea  Republic of Ireland Defender 2011 2018 256 4
Steven Fletcher Scotland Scotland Forward 2012 2016 108 23
Adam Johnson England England Midfielder 2012 2016 141 22
Jordan Pickford England England Goalkeeper 2015 2017 35 0
Didier Ndong  Gabon Midfielder 2016 2018 54 1
Lynden Gooch  United States Midfielder 2016 2023 246 25

Statistics are correct as of 4 May 2024

Footnotes

A.   : Club's most capped player with 36 appearances for Republic of Ireland.
B.   : First player to be transferred for £1000.
C.   : All-time top scorer.
D.   : Most goals in a season (43) in 1928–29 season.
E.   : Named Sunderland's player of the century.
F. ^ : For a full description of positions see football positions.
G. ^ : The Date from column includes data of the year the player made his debut for the club, also including data of multiple spells at the club by a player.
H. ^ : The Date to column includes data of the year the player made his last appearances for the club.
I. ^ : All entries in this column are sourced to the player's individual page from The Stat Cat or Soccerbase.
J. ^ : Club's first professional captain.
K. ^ : Most capped player for England of those playing for both Sunderland and the national side simultaneously.
L. ^ : Top goalscorer for England of those playing for both Sunderland and the national side simultaneously.
M. ^ : Represented England at both cricket and football.
N. ^ : Only player to have captained Sunderland, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough.
O. ^ : All-time appearance record-holder
P. ^ : Captained 1973 FA Cup winning team.
Q. ^ : Scored 1973 FA Cup winning goal.
R. ^ : Served as Chairman-Manager before appointment of Roy Keane as manager in 2006–07 season.
S. ^ : Post-war leading goalscorer.
T. ^ : Club record transfer sale, £30,000,000, to Everton.
U. ^ : Club record transfer purchase, £13,600,000, from Lorient.
V. ^ : First non-British born player to represent SAFC at Wembley stadium as-well as the first German to play for the club.