Mickley, Northumberland, is
not a very large village. It is known, historically, as the birthplace of the famous
engraver, Thomas Bewick (at nearby Cherryburn Farm); but should, perhaps, be
even better known for spawning one of the most celebrated football figures the
region has ever produced: Bob Stokoe.
The man is a Sunderland
legend, of course, having managed the Wearsiders to that most unexpected FA Cup
Final victory over the then mighty Leeds United in 1973. But he is closely
linked with Newcastle United, too, having won the cup with the black ‘n’ whites
as a player in 1955. In between these two momentous occasions he managed a
string of lower league clubs with a varying degree of success.
Robert Stokoe was born at
Mickley on 21st September 1930 into a typical North-East mining
community – in fact he was the son of a miner. He joined Newcastle United in
1947 as an apprentice, scored on his debut in 1950, and went on to play 288
matches for the club – mainly at centre-half, and punctuated by that 3-1 Cup Final
win over Man City in 1955. He left for Bury in 1960, joining initially as
player-manager, then concentrating on management.
He remained at Bury for five years – famously refusing a
bribe, he claimed, from Leeds manager Don Revie to ‘throw’ a match. He then
managed Charlton, Rochdale, Carlisle and Blackpool, before quietly taking
charge at Sunderland in 1972. Then a second tier club, they shocked the
football world by beating the imperious Leeds United 1-0 in the ’73 Cup Final –
and a stunned nation watched Stokoe dash across the Wembley turf on the final
whistle adorned in raincoat and trilby to embrace match hero, ‘keeper Jim
Montgomery.
After he left Sunderland in 1976, he moved in and out of
various posts over the following decade – and, astonishingly, was never sacked at
any of the twelve clubs he managed. He retired in 1987 – ironically overseeing
Sunderland’s only ever relegation to the third tier of English football.
He died in Hartlepool in 2004, aged 73.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment