19 February 1949 – 2 May 2024
At Sunderland: 1 July 1964 - 1 July 1973
SAFC career 19 appearances
Club Historian Rob Mason pays tribute...
We were saddened to learn of the death of Derek Forster at the age of 75. Derek holds the record as Sunderland’s youngest-ever player. A goalkeeper, he was just 15 years and 185 days old when he debuted on the opening day of the 1964-65 season. Until September 2022 Forster also held the record as the top flight’s youngest-ever player. That record was taken by Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri. He was four days younger that Derek had been at the time of his debut when the young Gunner came on for the last two minutes of a game against Brentford. In contrast, Forster’s debut saw him play the full game. With Jim Montgomery injured, England Schoolboys international Forster took to the field for a topflight fixture with Leicester City, with the youngster’s opposite number being England’s future World Cup winning keeper Gordon Banks.
Forster stayed in the team for the first three games of the season and returned to the first team in the summer of 1967 when he featured in the first five games as Sunderland represented Vancouver Royal Canadians in North America. These games are not included in Derek’s total of 19 matches for Sunderland. In January 1968 Forster got his first league game for two and a half years. As with his debut it came against Leicester at home. Later in the season there were two more opportunities, at Anfield against Liverpool and against Wolves. Monty’s consistency meant there was just one more appearance for him in the next three seasons before 1971-72 provided the opportunity Derek had waited for. Three runs in the side brought a dozen games with a best sequence of five in a row, but after not appearing at all in the cup winning season of 1972-73, Forster moved on.
During the period 1964-65 to 1968-69 Derek had played in all 36 games Sunderland played in the FA Youth Cup earning winners’ medals in 1967 and 1969, saving a penalty in the 1966 final and helping the Lads to the semi-final in 1965.
Joining Charlton, Derek started the first seven games of the season, but only played twice more before Brian Clough stepped in to sign him for Brighton. Clough had still been at Sunderland when Derek debuted. Forster later returned to the north east to play for
Consett, Evenwood, Blyth Spartans and North Shields. Subsequently Derek enjoyed a 30 year career working with Sunderland city’s leisure department but retired after losing his left eye in 2007.
As a boy he had been centre-forward with Newcastle Schools’ Under 11s until one day the goalkeeper didn’t turn up, Forster took over and is so often the case with goalkeepers he then remained in that position. He was capped five times by England at Schoolboy level numbering Colin Todd, Colin Suggett, Joe Royle and Trevor Brooking amongst his teammates.
Derek Forster’s record as SAFC’s youngest-ever player was set 60 years ago this year and may last for many decades to come.