On This Day (26 April 1897): A Last Hurrah For Campbell And Co!

Sunderland AFC spent most of its early years enjoying success, so 1896/1897 was something of a shock, with the team taking things to the wire before avoiding what would’ve been a humiliating relegation. Football League champions in 1891/1892, 1892/1893 and 1894/1895, our reign of dominance had ended abruptly with a sharp drop off in performances. Fifth in 1895/1896 was bad enough but following the campaign, secretary Tom Watson departed for Liverpool and in his absence the downward spiral continued apace, with his replacement Robert Campbell unable to get a regular tune out of an ageing squad.

Maybe Watson had seen the writing on the wall or didn’t have the heart to break up a group of players that had served him so well during the build up to and early years in the league, but with Campbell handed the job of freshening things up, his time in charge saw him on the back foot from the off. A former shipyard storekeeper, Campbell had at one point been lodging at Watson’s home and initially started helping the club as a trainer, then took over the ‘A’ team before getting his big promotion. His new task would’ve been made all the harder had the club been plunged into the second tier, so retaining our top our flight status was the immediate priority.

Following Watson was an unenviable task but it appeared as if he had the backing of the Wearside community and in early April 1897, he was gifted a “handsome timepiece” by local football representatives. Grateful for the support he’d given non-league clubs in the town, the group also presented Mrs Campbell with a gold broach as a sign of their gratitude — but out on the pitch, opponents weren’t always as generous. Sunderland endured a difficult transitional period and whilst a late surge of form avoided the ignominy of finishing dead last in 1896/1897, the Lads remained in trouble due to the prospect of a series of difficult ‘Test Matches’.

These games saw the top two teams in the Second Division going head to head with the bottom two in Division One, and they had the club teetering on the edge of relegation for a few weeks yet. A defeat and a draw to Division Two winners Notts County heaped even more pressure on clashes with second-placed Newton Heath, and a 1-1 draw in Manchester on Saturday 24 April set up a decisive return at Newcastle Road two days later when victory — alongside a favourable result at Turf Moor in the Notts County/Burnley fixture — was needed to secure survival. Burnley had been the only team to finish below Sunderland in the table and in March had conceded a vital second half equaliser to Robert Campbell’s half-brother Johnny when they’d visited the Lads.