page_title: History of Sunderland A.F.C.
section_title: Early years and "The Team of all Talents": 1880–1913
hierarchical_section_title: History of Sunderland A.F.C. / Early years and "The Team of all Talents": 1880–1913
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the earliest football paintings in the world, Thomas M.M. Hemy's "Sunderland v. Aston Villa 1895", also titled "A Corner Kick", depicts a match between the two most successful English teams of the decade. The venue is the Newcastle Road ground in Sunderland, and the game finished 4-4. This painting is currently exhibited (behind glass) at Sunderland's Stadium of Light. Hemy specialized in marine paintings, but also painted urban scenes such as this one. He was born on a ship from England to Australia in 1852, spent parts of his life in Newcastle upon Tyne and London, and died on the Isle of Wight in 1931. Information about the artist: Searle Canada
context_page_description: Sunderland Association Football Club are an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. They were formed in 1879, and played several years in the FA Cup and local cup competitions before joining the Football League in the 1890–91 season in place of Stoke. They played in the top league in England until the 1957–58, season when they were relegated into the Second Division. Sunderland are England's sixth most successful club of all time, having won the English League championship six times: in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902, 1913 and, most recently, in 1936. They have also been runners-up on a further five occasions: in 1894, 1898, 1901, 1923 and 1935.
  Sunderland have also won the FA Cup twice, in 1937 against Preston North End and in 1973 against Leeds United. They were finalists in 1913 and 1992, where they were beaten respectively by Aston Villa and Liverpool. They were finalists in the 1985 and 2014 Football League Cup Final, where they were beaten respectively by Norwich City and Manchester City. Their other honours include two Charity Shields, in 1902 and 1935.
context_section_description: Sunderland AFC began life as "Sunderland & District Teachers Association Football Club", and was announced to the world on 27 September 1880 by The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. Founded  by James Allan, a teacher at Hendon Board School. His object was to provide "recreational amusement" for the area's schoolteachers. Their first recorded competitive game was against Ferryhill Athletic on 13 November 1880, which they lost 1–0. Their first kit was an all blue strip, a contrast to the red and white stripes they play in currently. Their first ground was the Blue House Field in Hendon, close to James Allan's school, and they would change their home four times in seven years before settling at Newcastle Road in 1886.
  On 16 October 1880 the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette announced that, and after just 20 days in existence, the club's name had been changed to Sunderland Association Football Club; and non-teachers were allowed to join. They turned professional in 1885, the same year that the club recruited a number of Scotsmen, their first internationally capped players. Founder James Allan left Sunderland in 1888 because of his dislike for the "professionalism" that had been creeping into the club, and subsequently formed Sunderland Albion. Tom Watson became Sunderland's first manager when he was appointed in 1888. On 5 April 1890, the Football League's founder, William McGregor, labelled Sunderland as "the team of all talents" stating that they had "a talented man in every position".
  Sunderland's games consisted of local competitions and the FA Cup. Additionally, they participated in friendlies with Football League clubs; they beat the League champions Preston North End on 28 April 1889. As their popularity grew, they applied for admission into the Football League. At the League's annual meeting that considered this application, Sunderland offered to pay towards other clubs' travelling costs, to compensate for the extra distance these club would need to travel. This offer secured their place in the Football League. They replaced Stoke, one of the original League founding members, who failed to be re-elected. In their second season in the Football League, Sunderland won the title, by five points over Preston North End. This success was repeated in the following season, when Sunderland won their second League title, this time 11 points ahead of their nearest contenders. That season also included an 8–1 win over West Bromwich Albion.
  They came close to winning three successive League championships in the 1893–94 season, when they finished as runners-up to Aston Villa. The club shared this period of success with Aston Villa; the battles between these clubs were the subject of a Thomas Hemy painting of the two clubs during the 1894–95 season This is one of the earliest recorded paintings of a competitive Football League match; entitled A Corner Kick, the painting now stands in the doorway of Sunderland's current stadium, the Stadium of Light. Sunderland achieved their third League title in four seasons in the 1894–95 season, and after their League championship success took part in a game with Heart of Midlothian, the champions of Scotland. The game was played on 27 April 1895, and  was described as the "Championship of the World title match". Sunderland won the game 5–3 and were crowned "Champions of the World". 
  The wealthy miner Samuel Tyzack, who alongside and shipbuilder Robert Turnbull funded the "team of all talents," often pretended to be a priest while scouting for players in Scotland, as Sunderland's recruitment policy in Scotland enraged many Scottish fans. In fact, the whole Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship was made from entirely Scottish players.
  Sunderland were the subject, together with Aston Villa, of one of the earliest football paintings in the world - possibly the earliest - when in 1895 the artist Thomas M. M. Hemy painted a picture of a game between the teams at Sunderland's then ground Newcastle Road.
  In their first three league titles, John Campbell from Scotland was th
caption: One of the earliest football paintings in the world, Thomas MM Hemy's "Sunderland v. Aston Villa 1895" depicts a match between the two most successful English teams of the decade.
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