Widely recognised as one of the club’s greatest ever captains, Kevin Ball epitomised exactly what it meant to be association at Sunderland AFC during his 10-year captaincy.
Having racked up no fewer than 388 first-team appearances during his time at both Roker Park and the Stadium of Light, Ball became one of the most feared competitors in the English game.
A natural-born leader, Ball made 128 appearances for Portsmouth before moving to the north east in July 1990. In his first season on Wearside, the club were relegated from the top flight, however, Ball impressed during the campaign and won Player of the Year after scoring five times in 39 appearances.
The following season was another disappointing one for the club as the Lads failed to secure an immediate return to the top-flight, and also suffered Wembley heartache after losing the FA Cup final to Liverpool.
Peter Reid’s arrival in 1995 marked the dawn of a new era and the Evertonian brought immediate success by bringing top-flight football back to Roker Park.
Ball stood out once again as a star player and despite suffering relegation on the last day of the season, he scooped the Player of the Year accolade in 1997.
But heartbreak again followed for Sunderland a year later after they were cruelly beaten on penalties by Charlton Athletic.
However, in true Sunderland spirit the Lads responded a year later with vengeance and secured their return to the Premier League with a record breaking 105 points haul.
Ball was handed a testimonial ahead of the 1990-00 season against Italian giants Sampdoria to pay tribute to his long-standing service to the club.
Sadly, while the game highlighted his legendary status at the club, it also marked the end as Ball went onto play just 12 more times for Sunderland before moving to Fulham.
The versatile player then enjoyed two years at Burnley before bringing his playing career to an end.
Since then, Bally has returned to the club in a more senior role and was also appointed caretaker manager for the remaining 10 games of the 2005-06 season as well as another later temporary spell in charge in 2012-13.
Ball's extensive work behind the scenes at the Academy of Light also saw him play a pivotal role in producing England internationals Jordan Henderson and Jordan Pickford, amongst others.
On behalf of everyone at Sunderland AFC, we would like to wish Bally a very happy birthday!