1937 - Fifty-Year Wait Finally Ends

Sunderland’s winning cup run began on 16 January 1937 with a 3–2 away victory over Second Division Southampton at The Dell. In the quarter-final, an injury-hampered Raich Carter scored in a hard-fought win over Wolves after two replays, and Sunderland then overcame cup giant-killers Millwall 2–1 in the semi-final to reach their first FA Cup final since the heartbreak of 1913. In the final at Wembley on 1 May 1937, watched by 93,495 spectators, Sunderland won 3–1 against Preston North End, with goals from Bobby Gurney, Raich Carter, and Eddie Burbanks securing the club’s first-ever FA Cup victory. Captain Carter later called it the proudest moment of his life, having brought the Cup home to his own people after a fifty-year wait.