Sunderland’s record defeat was on 25 February 1884 in Bolton - even today the club is too embarrassed to mention the whole affair

 

Sunderland’s record defeat was on 25 February 1884 in Bolton when they faced a Great Lever side packed with many players who were, in defiance of the rules at time, being paid for their efforts.

On 25 February 1884 the Bolton side Great Lever’s advertised opponents on a Woodside pitch almost devoid of grass were a combined Durham side. This was clearly an attempt to attract a decent crowd as in reality the visiting side were Sunderland AFC, formed in September 1880 and yet to make a name in football. Both sides played a 2-3-5 formation and Sunderland were assisted by Robinson of PNE.

John Goodall, who had moved only weeks before from Kilmarnock Athletic to Lancashire and who was to go on to become of the all-time greats, was unfortunate when his shot got stuck in the mud but long before the close the travelling team were well beaten and the final score was 11-0 with the Great Lever centre scoring at least two and playing a role in another four. The result remains Sunderland’s record defeat but has never been acknowledged as such by the Wearside club.

Stat Cat website

‘In February, Sunderland took on a team outside the North-East for the first time, but this did not go well at all. On Saturday 23^rd February 1884, a day when Sunderland beat Hamsterley Rangers 3-1 at home in the Durham Challenge Cup (*), they advertised the fact that they were travelling to Lancashire to play some noted clubs from the area, such as Great Lever, Blackburn Rovers ad Blackburn Olympic Association Football in the North-West was probably more advanced than anywhere else in the country at the time. Only Great Lever were played, in a match on 25^th February that had been arranged by the Reverend Hindle, whose brother kept a hotel in Accrington. No reports ever got back to the North-East newspapers and in the North-West press, Great Lever’s opposition were billed as ‘Durham.’

The subterfuge was uncovered in the Athletic News, by Alfred Grundy, indignant secretary of the new Durham FA, who patently did not want the FA to be associated with the match and emphatically stated that it was Sunderland AFC who were the opposition. The reason was obvious, Sunderland lost 11-0. Even when the club held its AGM at the end of the season, this significant match – Sunderland had previously travelled no more than about 30 miles for a game – was not mentioned and not included in the published playing record for the season.’

It is not just the club officials in the past it appears who don't want to mention what happened 140 years ago. In recent times there have been a stack of Complete Record Books by Rob Mason, Mike Gibson and Barry Jackson and not one mentions 25 February 1884. 

 

·         Sunderland went on to win the Durham Challenge Cup – their first major trophy – by beating Darlington in a replayed final.