Sunderland & Sunderland Albion

Albion

Sunderland AFC joined The Football League for the 1890–91 season, the first 'new' club (ie not one of the original 12- they replaced Stoke) to join since the  inauguration of the league in 1888. Their first 5 seasons in League football were a spectacular success:

1890–91- 7th
1891–92- champions
1892–93- champions
1893–94- 2nd
1894–95- champions
And yet, even as the seeds of this strength were being sown, there was a challenge to Sunderland's position as the principal team in the town. 
Sunderland had been founded in 1879 as Sunderland and District Teachers' Association Football Club, by James Allan, a Scotsman. Sunderland first played competitive football in 1884 (entering the FA Cup).
The 1888  a rift occurred between Sunderland and James Allan (who was by then club treasurer). Allan and a number of other members were disheartened by the way the club was developing. Something of a 'final straw' was the FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough in December 1887. Sunderland won the tie 4-2 in a thrilling replay but were subsequently disqualified for fielding players who did not meet the FA's stringent guidelines on the use of professionals. The players in question, Monaghan, Richardson and Hastings had recently been signed from Scotland, and did not meet the eligibility criteria. 
Charles Alcock issued a telegram on 29th December confirming Sunderland's expulsion. 

Sunderland Daily Echo 28.12.87

James Allan

James Allan was instrumental in the founding of a new club, Sunderland Albion, in March 1888. Several former Sunderland players were to feature for Albion.

Here is a summary of their rather short existence: 

Season	FA Cup	Football Alliance	Northern League
1888-89	R1
1889-90	R1 disq.	3rd
1890-91	R2	2nd	3rd
1891-92	R2		6th

Acknowledgements to F.C.H.D 

Sunderland v Sunderland Albion, 1888-89.

It could be argued that during this stage of Albion's existence the conduct of Sunderland was entirely designed to deprive their new neighbours of funds.  At this point Albion were still playing on an unenclosed ground ( at Blue House Field, one of Sunderland's former homes) and not charging admission. They needed funds to establish themselves commercially, and there was also a possibility that Albion could have taken over Newcastle Road. Sunderland delayed moving to their new ground for this very reason.

In December 1888 the teams were drawn to face each other in both the FA Cup (4th Qualifying Round) and the Durham County Cup. 
Sunderland withdrew from both competitions, claiming that they couldn't field a strong team, their Scottish professionals still being ineligible on residency grounds.
It is possible, however, that the refusal to play Albion was motivated by a reluctance to give them a good payday.
In fact, when public pressure led to the arrangement of 2 'friendlies' Sunderland would only play on the condition that the gate receipts went to charity.
The eagerly awaited matches took place in December 1888 and January 1889:

01.12.88
Sunderland	2	0	Sunderland Albion
Davison, A.Peacock
		Newcastle Road, attendance: c 15,000
W. Kirtley	GK		Angus
J. Oliver	RB		McFarlane
R. McDermid	LB		Munro
McKechnie	RH		Richardson
J. McLauchlan	CH		Moore
Gibson	LH		J. Stewart
J. Smith	OR		Kilpatrick
A. Davison	IR		S. Stewart
Breckonridge	CF		McClellan
W. Peacock	IL		Gloag
A. Peacock	OL		Hastings

This was Albion's first defeat in 14 games.
The second match was reportedly played for a trophy:

12.01.89
Sunderland	3	2		Sunderland Albion
uk, uk, Breckonridge		uk, uk,
		Newcastle Road, attendance: c 10,000
Team unchanged.			Line up unknown but featured 2 loanees from Accrington- Barbour and Brand.

It was a controversial match that did nothing to reduce the ill feeling between the 2 parties.
Albion were 2-0 up at half time, but Sunderland rallied and drew level. With 2 minutes remaining Albion goalkeeper Angus made a clearance that cannoned off Breckonridge and, according to many witnesses, flew over the crossbar. Referee Mr Stacey of Sheffield awarded a goal (this was in the pre-net era of course). Albion's players left the field in protest. Mr Stacey waited until the 90 minutes was up and blew for time.
Supporters expressed their disapproval of Albion's conduct by attacking them with a barrage of stones both at the pavillion and as they left the ground in their transport. James Allan ( now secretary of Albion) was one of 2 people to sustain serious injuries, a stone striking him in the eyeball.  

The Newcastle Courant 19.01.89

In the 1889-90 season Albion were disqualified from the FA Cup.  Having beaten Bootle 3-1 away, they faced a protest, which was upheld, that they had fielded ineligible players.  Unsurprisingly the 2 players involved were Scottish.

 Sawers was not registered with the club  and McKechnie was also deemed ineligible. I don't understand the rationale given by contemporary press reports that he was ineligible having 'played against Port Glasgow Athletic'.

Albion made unsuccessful attempts to join the Football League in 1889, 1890 and 1891. They withdrew their application in 1892. Their repeated failure to be elevated to a more lucrative level ultimately led to their demise in August 1892. 

Sunderland v Sunderland Albion, 1892.

In the weeks leading up to the 1892 meetings there was something of a thaw in relations between the clubs.  The chairman of Sunderland had attended an Albion match at Hendon, and Albion officials had travelled to watch Sunderland play Villa in the Cup semi final at Bramall Lane.

18.04.92
Sunderland	6	1	Sunderland Albion
Campbell, J. Hannah (3) , Miller, Smith		Gillespie
		Newcastle Road , attendance 10,000
E. Doig	GK		W. Kirtley
T. Porteous	RB		J. Dewar
D. Gow	LB		J. Rae
H. Wilson	RH		G. King
W.Gibson	CH		W. Crozier
J. Murray	LH		P. McCracken
J. Hannah	OR		J. Mackie
J. Smith	IR		J. Gillespie
J.M Campbell	CF		R. Buchanan
J. Miller	IL		J. Strachan
D. Hannah	OL		J. Burns

The press noted that former favorite 'Stonewall' Kirtley was given a particularly warm reception by the Sunderland supporters. He was, according to the Sunderland Echo, the only Sunderland man in either team. 

The second match was affected by bad weather, which kept the attendance down and also led to the game being played as 2 halves of 40 minutes each. 

27.04.92
Sunderland Albion	0	8	Sunderland
		Scott (2), Campbell (3), J.Hannah, D. Hannah,?
Blue House Field Hendon, attendance 3,000
W. Kirtley	GK		E. Doig
J. Dewar	RB		T. Porteous
J. Rae	LB		J. Murray
G. King	RH		H. Wilson
W. Crozier	CH		J.R Auld
P. McCracken	LH		W.Gibson
J. Mackie	OR		J. Hannah
J. Gillespie	IR		D. Hannah
R. Buchanan	CF		J.M Campbell
J. Strachan	IL		J. Miller
J. Burns	OL		J. Scott

Sunderland Albion were financially dependent on their main backers, The Wear Glass Company. The Company itself was under pressure as a result of a workers' strike. In August 1892, having withdrawn their application to join the Football League, Albion's AGM decided to wind up the club. Their demise came in the summer that separated 2 League Championship winning seasons for Sunderland.

The Football Alliance 1889-92

After the demise of the Combination the clubs who were not yet members of the exclusive Football League continued to look for a means of ensuring their survival. So the Football Alliance came into being. The Football Alliance owed it's relative success to the close resemblance it bore to the Football League. As we have seen, the Combination faltered because it did not go to the lengths that the League did to ensure fixity of fixtures.Those running the Alliance had learned from both the failure of the Combination and from the success of the League. 12 members meant a manageable season of home and away fixtures (just like the League). The catchment area was wider than that of the League, but the clubs were all from the midlands and the north.
10 of the 12 clubs involved in the first season of the Alliance had played in the Combination the previous year.
Final table- 1889-90:

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	The Wednesday	22	15	2	5	70	39	32
2	Bootle	22	13	2	7	66	39	28
3	Sunderland Albion	22	13	2	7	64	39	28
4	Grimsby Town	22	12	2	8	58	47	26
5	Crewe Alexandra	22	11	2	9	68	59	24
6	Darwen	22	10	2	10	70	75	22
7	Birmingham St George's	22	9	3	10	62	49	21
8	Newton Heath	22	9	2	11	40	44	20
9	Walsall Town Swifts	22	8	3	11	44	59	19
10	Small Heath	22	6	5	11	44	67	17
11	Nottingham Forest	22	6	5	11	31	62	17
12	Long Eaton Rangers	22	4	2	16	35	73	10

The Wednesday reached  the FA Cup final but were trounced by Blackburn Rovers.
Players winning international honours whilst in the Alliance (1889-90)
England- Tinsley Lindley (Nottingham Forest)  
Wales- Dr. Alfred Owen Davies, Richard Owen Jones, William Lewis (Crewe Alexandra)
Joseph Davies John Doughty (Newton Heath) 
Walter Gwynne Evans (Bootle)

A traffic developed between the Alliance and the League. During it's 3 year existence the Alliance was a de facto second division of the League.

At the end of the 1888-89 season the bottom 4 clubs in the Football League had all applied successfully for re election  (Burnley, Derby County, Notts County and Stoke) and no new clubs were admitted.
In 1889-90 when Stoke finished bottom of the  Football League they moved into the Alliance, when they won the Alliance in 1890-91 they were rewarded with 'promotion' back to The Football League.
Final Table 1890-91- the previous season's top  2 occupied the bottom 2 places:

		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Stoke	22	13	7	2	57	39	33
2	Sunderland Albion	22	12	6	4	69	28	30
3	Grimsby Town	22	11	5	6	43	27	27
4	Birmingham St George's	22	12	2	8	64	62	26
5	Nottingham Forest	22	9	7	6	66	39	23*
6	Darwen	22	10	3	9	64	59	23
7	Walsall Town Swifts	22	9	3	10	34	61	21
8	Crewe Alexandra	22	8	4	10	59	67	20
9	Newton Heath	22	7	3	12	37	55	17
10	Small Heath	22	7	2	13	58	66	16
11	Bootle	22	3	7	12	40	61	13
12	The Wednesday	22	4	5	13	39	66	13
Nottingham Forest  deducted 2 points

Players winning international honours whilst in the Alliance (1890-91):
England- Tinsley Lindley , Albert Smith (Nottingham Forest), Joseph Marsden (Darwen) 
Wales- William Hughes (Bootle), William Lewis (Crewe Alexandra)

The Wednesday 1891-92

When, in preparation for the 1892–93 season the Football League was expanded to 2 divisions there was an almost blanket movement of clubs from the Alliance:

Football Alliance 1891–92
1	Nottingham Forest	Elected to Football League First Division
2	Newton Heath
3	Small Heath	Elected to Football League Second Division
4	The Wednesday	Elected to Football League First Division
5	Burton Swifts	Elected to Football League Second Division
6	Grimsby Town
7	Crewe Alexandra
8	Ardwick
9	Bootle
10	Lincoln City
11	Walsall Town Swifts
12	Birmingham St George's	Disbanded

Forest reached the semi final of the FA Cup, taking West Bromwich Albion to a second replay before being beaten 6-2. 

Players winning international honours whilst in the Alliance (1891-92):

England-Jackie Pearson (Crewe Alexandra)

Wales- Smart Arridge, William Hughes (Bootle), Caesar  Jenkyns (Small Heath), William Lewis, Benjamin Lewis (Crewe Alexandra), John Owen (Newton Heath)