1897 Joe Knowles transferred to Tottenham
A local lad from Monkwearmouth, Joe, a stocky full-back, played only once for Sunderland before moving down south to White Hart Lane.
After a season back in local non-league football in South Shields, he signed for QPR in their first professional season, where he was described as “a brilliant defender”.
1973 John Tones transferred to Arsenal
One of the players who always features in quiz questions about who appeared for us in the earlier rounds of the 1973 FA Cup run, John never established himself in the first team under either Brown or Stokoe.
This transfer produced a splendidly barking letter to the Echo claiming that, as Tones was obviously a good player because Arsenal had bought him, this transfer proved beyond any doubt that Sunderland AFC had no ambition whatsoever.
However, considering that our next signings were Rod Belfitt and Danny Hegan, the writer might actually have had a point.