Sunderland were admitted into The Football League for the 1890-91 season, replacing Stoke City. During the late 19th century they were declared as the "Team of All Talents" by William McGregor, the founder of the English Football League, and between 1892 and 1902 the team won the league three times and were runners-up a further three times.
In 1913 Sunderland again won the league and lost their first FA Cup Final 1-0 to Aston Villa. It was the closest the club has ever gone to The Double.
The club's sixth (and to this day last) league championship came in the 1935-36 season, and the next season the club finally won the F.A. Cup after a 3-1 victory against Preston North End at Wembley Stadium.
Following the Second World War, the club suffered a downturn in fortunes, despite breaking a number of transfer records and being labelled 'The Bank of England Club'. In 1957 the club were implicated in a major financial scandal (the second in their history after the Andrew MacCombie scandal in 1904), resulting in an unprecedented fine of £5,000 and the suspension of the club chairman and three directors. In 1958 Sunderland were relegated from the top-flight for the first time in their 68-year league history.
Sunderland won their last major trophy in 1973 courtesy of 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the FA Cup Final. Sunderland, a second division club at the time, won the game thanks to an amazing double save of Jimmy Montgomery to deny Peter Lorimer, described by many as the greatest save at Wembley, and by some even as the greatest save of all time. Ian Porterfield scored a stunning volley in the 30th minute to stun Leeds and take the win.
In 1985 Sunderland appeared in their first ever League Cup final, losing 1-0 to Norwich City.
1987 saw one of the lowest points in Sunderland's history, as they were relegated to the third divsion of the English league for the first and only time. Under new Chairman Bob Murray and new manager Denis Smith the club were promoted as champions the following season. In 1990 they were promoted back to the top flight, after losing to Swindon Town in the play off final, but Swindon's victory being revoked after being found guilty of fiancial irregularities. They stayed up for one year before being relegated.
Sunderland's last outing in a major final came in 1992 when, as a second division club, they returned to the FA Cup Final. There was to be no repeat of the heroics of 1973, with Sunderland losing 2-0 to Liverpool.
The early 1990s was a turbulent period for the club. In 1995, they faced the prospect of a return the third-tier of English football. Peter Reid was brought in, and quickly turned things around. Reid's time in charge had a stabilising effect, he remained manager for seven years, one of the longest tenures in Sunderlands' history.
In 1997 Sunderland left Roker Park, their home for 99 years. They moved to the Stadium of Light, a 42,000-seat arena which, at the time, was the biggest new stadium built in England since WW2. The move saw a renaissance at the club, as attendances jumped dramatically. The Stadium capacity was later increased to 49,000.
Sunderland returned to the top-flight as champions in 1999 with a then record points total of 105 and had two good seasons in the Premier League, finishing seventh on both occasions. The following two seasons were not as successful and Sunderland were relegated back to the second-tier with what was then a record low points total of 19. Former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy took over at the club. He once again took Sunderland up as champions (the third time in under ten years), but the following season was a disaster; Sunderland finished on a new record-low total of 15 points. McCarthy left the club in mid-season and was replaced temporarily by Kevin Ball, a former player.
Following their relegation new hope was given to the club by ex-player Niall Quinn, along with his Drumaville Consortium, successfully launched a bid to buy out former chairman Bob Murray in July 2006. The consortium appointed former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane a former international team-mate of chairman Niall Quinn, as their new manager. Quinn had been in charge for the first few games of the season in a disastrous start. However, Keane completely turned the ship around and by March 2007 Sunderland were in position to earn promotion to the Premiership.
--Wikipedia
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