In hindsight the off the field activities of this season probably contributed to the “misery and bad luck” that the club would endure, until virtually the end of the millennium. As we shall see the final league position of 20th, our worst ever, escaping relegation by one place, was perhaps self inflicted. The tale we are about to tell has more twists than a snake, and it is mooted that it might well have been self inflicted.

The season stated on 18th August with an horrendous defeat 2-6 at Kenilworth Road. The score had been 1-0 to the home side at half time, and therefore it’s fair to say that the floodgates opened up after the break. In de­feating us by this massive margin, it meant that in two trips to Kenilworth Road we had 14 goals slammed past us. It was a “bad day at the office” for Len Shackleton, his first game as captain of Sunderland.

A home victory over Bolton Wanderers 3-0 was followed by a trip to St James’ Park, and the 81st Tyne Wear derby match. Sunderland played well and deserved to take something from the game, but a Davies goal, completely out of the blue with just three minutes re­maining, was hard to take.

Len Shackleton was awesome and it is reckoned that this was perhaps his finest ever game for Sunderland. The true sportsman he was, he brushed the defeat aside as he came off the pitch to enquire “how’s the test match going?”

The 1st September and a game to remember, in a season when there were precious few. Charlton Athletic arrived on Wearside, and were promptly dispatched 8-1. It was Sunderland’s biggest league victory ever. Theonly two comparable were the 1934 7-0 Box­ing Day rout of Everton, and the February 1930 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers. The Charlton goal was scored by Hewie in the last minute, a 30 yard screamer that flew past Bollands in the Sunderland goal. By this time Shackleton was “showboating”, and he had every right to. He was instrumental in Hannigan’s hat trick and indeed it was Shack who had started the rout in just two minutes. Strangely enough the second didn’t arrive until 29 minutes later, but in a devastating 38 minute spell we scored six. The Charlton manager, Jimmy Seed, had had enough. He promptly retired not long after.

If we thought that this was the catalyst for something special we were wrong. We won just two of the next 16 league games, and were in deep trouble. The Manchester City defeat at Maine Road in September had been interesting. At one point there were no fewer than four men off the pitch receiving treat­ment, three of whom were Sunderland play­ers. Shackleton had a rough time of it, sustain­ing a foot injury after only four minutes and was later booked for an uncharacteristically bad challenge. All four goals were scored in an 18 minute spell, with Sunderland’s conso­lation being a Daniel penalty on 62.

Sunderland then went goal crazy at home to Blackpool 5-2, that was 13 goals in their last two Roker Park games.A friendly against Servette from Switzerland then followed, and a 2-0 triumph, before league action took us to Goodison Park. We lost 1-2 and then succumbed to Tottenham one week later, with both Spurs goals coming in the last 11 minutes.

Unbeaten in 26 matches Manchester United arrived on Wearside on 13th October and whilst Sunderland played well, The Busby Babes triumphed 3-1. Sadly this game was the last we would see of some of those magical footballers on Wearside before the Munich Air Tragedy took the lives of some 23 people on 6th Febru­ary 1958. For posterity’s sake it’s well worth noting the two teams:

Sunderland: Bollands, Hedley, McDonald, Morrison, Daniel, Aitken, Bingham, Shackleton, Purdon, Fleming (pictured right), Hannigan
Manchester United: Wood, Foulkes, Byrne, Coleman, Jones, Edwards, Berry, Whelan, Taylor, Viollet, Pegg

Dennis Viollet stunned the 50,000 crowd on 18 minutes, giving the Red Devils the lead. Purdon equalised straight from the restart, but after 50 minutes Whelan restored United’s lead. On 71 Taylor wrapped it up for the visitors. And so Wearside said goodbye to some fine footballers, including of course the majestic Duncan Edwards.

By November we were in deep trouble and so Don Revie was recruited from Manchester City. Colin Grainger also came, from the Blades. A 0-6 thrashing at Deepdale prompted the transfer activity, but it had little effect. Revie was unfit and unable to make the home defeat by Chelsea, a match which had the Sunderland chair­man Ditchburn commenting “I suppose you’re going to say we need half a dozen Revies now.” The Pensioners game had incidentally witnessed a league debut for 17 year old Consett schoolboy John Maltby, a baptism of fire under the circumstances.

Revie made his debut in the 17th November defeat at Ninian Park, followed up by a home defeat by Birming­ham City.

There was light relief from league action with a visit from the brilliant Hungarian side Red Banner. Their lineup included the incomparable Hidegkuti, who was magnificent, along with Shack and Bollands in the Sunder­land goal. All in all it was an entertaining 2-2 draw and 22,698 people went home happy.

Only our second away point of the season was gained at Highbury, with Shackleton once again putting on a show. His cleverly judged lob ensured that we left the capital with some reward.

Just three days before Christmas the present no Sunderland fan wants, a 2-6 drubbing by the Magpies at St James’. The game was played in terrible conditions which were reflected in the crowd of only 27,790. Decem­ber 25th 1956 saw Sunderland play their final Christmas Day fixture ever, the opponents were Aston Villa. At Roker Park, the match was won 1-0, with Billy Bingham scoring the goal watched by just 18,543 spectators.

Into 1957 and a 1st January defeat at home to Wolves was followed up by a brilliant 4-0 FA Cup victory over Queens Park Rangers. The red and whites were three up after only 11 minutes, against a Rangers side then plying their trade in the Third Division South.

In advance of the fourth round, and a trip to West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland gained their first away vic­tory since April at Bloomfield Road. But once more the FA Cup was cruel to the red and whites. Having fallen behind 0-2 we managed to claw our way back into the game at 2-2 with only 15 minutes left, it was looking good for a replay at Roker. But we conceded a third, and in “going for it” laid ourselves wide open for the coun­ter attack. It duly came and the Throstles duly made it four.

We then had a bad defeat at Spurs 2-5, having led 1-0 with only 24 minutes to play. It left everyone dumb­founded and even the Tottenham goalkeeper Ted Ditchburn admitted “if Sunderland are not in the First Divi­sion next season I’ll eat my hat.” Sunderland were very unlucky not to get their fourth win in a row at White Hart Lane. It sounds daft when you look at the score, but it was correct. We should have won, but somehow capitulated big time.

The weather then played havoc with the fixture list and the red and whites went three weeks without a game. They returned, and promptly lost to Burnley at Turf Moor. The defeat wasn’t however surprising as the Clarets had gone 19 home league and cup games without defeat.

Fellow Lancashire team Preston North End visited one week later and with a run of 15 unbeaten games be­hind them the Lilywhites were expected to win against the struggling Wearsiders. They didn’t and we gained a valuable point in a goalless draw.

This was the start of a seven match unbeaten run for Sunderland, that undoubtedly saved our First Division skins. With away wins at both Chelsea and Birmingham, and home victories against Arsenal and Leeds we would survive, but only just. We lost our last three games.

The Birmingham game was a highlight for Sunderland’s wing half Stan Anderson. He scored the winner and then made his way to Catterick Army Garrison for his demob the following Wednesday. The game at home to Leeds United on 19th April was watched by 56,551 people. The interest was in John Charles’ last Wearside game before his big money move to Italy.

The next day we travelled to Old Trafford. In receiving a 0-4 hammering we secured for Manchester United their second successive league championship. The return with Leeds United at Elland Road two days later was Charles’ swansong for the Peacocks. He scored two in a 3-1 success. Prior to the last game Sunderland were flattened 1-8 by Darlington in the final of the Durham Senior Cup. It wasn’t as if we fielded a weakened team, four of our number were internationals!

On the final day of the season Sunderland fielded perhaps the oldest fullback combination in history. Arthur Hudgell (pictured left) was 36, and partner Jack Hedley 33. The combined age was 69 years and 267 days. Coupled with the fact that Len Shackleton was in the side, himself only two days away from his 35th birthday and it’s not sur­prising that a youth policy was introduced on Alan Brown’s arrival.

Cardiff City and Charlton Athletic would be unlucky and were relegated.

At the end of the season manager Murray resigned along with trainer Bert Johnston. Both had been at the club for nearly 30 years. Sunderland’s tally of just 32 points was our lowest since the 19th century, 1896/97 to be exact, but then there were only 30 games, not 42. Alan Brown arrived as manager, from Burnley, on 30th July 1957.

The pre-season training, in readiness for the new season, was apparently the most rigorous that club captain Don Revie had ever gone through, a sign of the strict discipline and fitness demanded of Brown.