Plans are well underway for the launch of the Sunderland AFC Hall of Fame.
This takes place on Friday 14 June at the Stadium of Light and is set to be a highlight of the red and white calendar. Eleven of the most famous names in the entire history of the club will be honoured by becoming the first inductees.
Niall Quinn, Player of the Century Charlie Hurley and club founder James Allan have already been named as the first three people to enter the Hall of Fame.
Following last Saturday’s FA Cup final, today SAFC announce that the only two players ever to lift the FA Cup for Sunderland will also be inducted at the inaugural Hall of Fame dinner.
Raich Carter and Bobby Kerr were cup winning captains in 1937 and 1973, and of course all of Wearside hopes that next weekend the Lads can triumph at Wembley once more.
Skipper of the glorious 1973 FA Cup winners, Bobby Kerr will attend the Hall of Fame dinner along with Quinn and Hurley. Receiving the award on behalf of Carter, who died in 1994, will be his son, also called Raich Carter.
In the opinion of many, Carter was the finest footballer ever to represent the club. The scorer of the second goal in the 3-1 cup final win in 1937, Carter had scored 31 times the previous season as he helped Sunderland to a sixth league title. One of England’s greatest ever inside-forwards his cup win with Derby in 1946 made him the only man to win the FA Cup on either side of World War Two.
At 5’4” Kerr remains the smallest player to captain an FA Cup winning team. A sensation when he came onto the scene in 1966-67 with seven goals in ten games (including two in a derby victory), Kerr’s career was halted by a broken leg suffered in a cup-tie against Leeds United.
Despite breaking his leg for a second time, Kerr was there in ’73 to raise the cup against Leeds in the most famous of cup finals. Despite those injuries the midfield general played 433 times for the club, a tally bettered by only five people.
The presence of Bobby Kerr, Niall Quinn and Charlie Hurley along with the son of Raich Carter and Great Grandson of James Allan means the inaugural Hall of Fame dinner is already set to be an extremely special occasion.
With six further inductees to be announced during the rest of this month the event is one that will bring together the greatest names of the rich history of the club stretching back to the very beginning to the Stadium of Light era.
To take your place alongside the Red & White royalty at this most prestigious first Hall of Fame dinner contact the commercial team on 0371 911 1555 or email commercial@safc.com. Tickets cost £75 +VAT
