Back Row – left to right – Kirtley, McMillan, Lumsdon, Singleton, Murdoch
Middle Row – McDonald, James Allan (Founder), Hall, Grayston, W Allan
Front Row – Leslie, Wade, Innes

Sunderland moved over the River Wear to the North side of the City where they remain to this day.

Horatio Street was an open field with a claypit and brickworks at the North End. Also know as the “Clay Dolly Field” only the South side of Horatio Street was fully built then and ran along the line of Givens Street. Appleby Terrace now covers much of the old pitch.

There were no changing facility and therefore the players got kitted out at The Wolseley Hotel on the sea front at Roker, on the bottom corner of Gosforth Street.

This is probably the closest Sunderland Football club ever got to Roker beach.

Sunderland AFC played 7 fixtures at Horatio Street; the first was against Castle Eden, an 8 v 1 victory, on 29 September 1883. The last encounter resulted in a 0 v 1 defeat against The District team on 26 April 1884.

The location did howvere provide us with the oldest known picture relating to the football club, the team picture featured on this page. Sunderland played in all Blue, although the socks were what was basically akin to Cricket shin pads.