Sunderland Kits — History, Manufacturers & Collector Archive

Last updated 29 May 2026

Est. 1879 · Sunderland · The Black Cats · Stadium of Light

Sunderland AFC

Founded in 1879 by a group of teachers in Hendon, Sunderland became one of the dominant clubs of early English football. Six First Division titles. Two FA Cups. Then the long years. They have been to League One and back. They have been the subject of a documentary that the whole country watched. They are still here. 189 Sunderland kits in the ShirtSociety archive.

1879 1973 FA Cup Phillips era The fall Kit history Collector notes

1879: teachers, Hendon, and a different kind of football club

Founded 1879 · Hendon · Six First Division titles

Sunderland AFC was formed by a group of teachers from the Sunderland and District Teacher Training College, initially named The Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club. The red and white stripes were adopted early and have remained the club's identity ever since, one of the most recognisable strips in English football.

Through the 1890s and 1900s, Sunderland were one of the premier clubs in England. They won the First Division in 1892, 1893, 1895, 1902 and 1913, earning the nickname "Team of All the Talents" for a side that dominated the pre-war era. The sixth title came in 1936. Six championships in total, all in the game's first half-century.

Roker Park · 1898–1997 · The Roker Roar

From 1898 to 1997, Sunderland played at Roker Park, a ground that became famous for the noise its crowd could generate. The "Roker Roar" was a genuine factor in home matches: the enclosed ground and passionate support created an atmosphere that visiting teams found difficult. The ground hosted three World Cup matches in 1966.

When Roker Park was demolished in 1997, many of its parts were ceremonially embedded in the foundations of the new Stadium of Light. The connection between the two grounds is literal. The club's history does not stop at any boundary.

5 May 1973: Porterfield, Montgomery, and the impossible win

FA Cup final · Wembley · Sunderland 1–0 Leeds United · Second Division

Sunderland entered the 1973 FA Cup final as a Second Division club. Leeds United were the First Division side and heavy favourites, managed by Don Revie, and one of the best teams in Europe at the time. The occasion was supposed to be a formality.

Ian Porterfield scored in the 31st minute. The goal came from a volley at the edge of the area, controlled and struck cleanly. Leeds pushed for an equaliser throughout the second half and came close: Trevor Cherry and Peter Lorimer forced a double save from Sunderland goalkeeper Jim Montgomery that is still shown as one of the greatest saves in Cup final history. Montgomery pushed away Cherry's header and recovered in time to divert Lorimer's follow-up over the bar.

Sunderland held on. At the final whistle, manager Bob Stokoe ran across the pitch in his suit and trilby hat to embrace Montgomery. The image became one of the enduring photographs of English football.

The goal

Ian Porterfield, 31st minute. A volley from the edge of the area, struck across goalkeeper David Harvey. It stood as the only goal of the game.

The save

Jim Montgomery's double stop from Cherry and Lorimer with the score at 1-0 in the second half. Often described as the finest save in Wembley history.

The run on the pitch

Bob Stokoe, in suit and hat, sprinting full-length across the Wembley pitch to embrace his goalkeeper. The photograph defined both men's careers.

1999 to 2003: Phillips, Quinn, and the Premier League peak

Kevin Phillips · 1999–2000 · European Golden Boot · 30 Premier League goals

Peter Reid built a Sunderland side in the late 1990s that reached the Premier League and stayed competitive. The partnership that defined that period was Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn: Quinn's height and positioning, Phillips's movement and finishing. They worked as a unit that gave opposing defences a problem neither could solve alone.

In 1999-2000, Phillips scored 30 Premier League goals and won the European Golden Boot, the first and only English-based player to win the award in the Premier League era. Sunderland finished seventh that season. For a club that had been in the lower divisions not long before, it was remarkable.

Stadium of Light · 1997 · Wearside · 49,000

The Stadium of Light opened in July 1997 on the site of the former Monkwearmouth Colliery. The name references the flame used in mining lamps, a direct acknowledgment of the industrial history of Wearside. With a capacity of 49,000 it became the largest stadium in the north of England outside of Manchester.

2017 onwards: three seasons in the third tier

Premier League relegation · Championship · League One · Netflix · Back again

2016–17 and 2017–18

Relegated from the Premier League in 2017 after consecutive final-day escapes in the two previous seasons. Dropped straight through the Championship a year later. Sunderland were in League One for the first time since 1987.

Sunderland 'Til I Die

Netflix's documentary followed the club through the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. The series made the club's struggles visible to an audience well beyond the North East, and the supporter loyalty it documented became the defining image of the club during this period.

The return

Under new ownership from the Louis-Dreyfus family and with a rebuilt squad, Sunderland returned to the Championship via the League One playoff in 2022. The Nike kits of the early 2020s and the Hummel kits from 2024 mark this second chapter at the top of the second tier.

Kit history: from Asics to Hummel

1992–94

Hummel

Early Premier League years. Hummel's signature chevron sleeve pattern on red and white stripes.

1994–97

Avec

Mid-1990s. Avec produced the kits during a period that included relegation and promotion between the top two divisions.

1997–2000

Asics

The stadium-opening era. Asics provided the kits as the club moved into the Stadium of Light and built toward the Phillips-Quinn peak.

2000–05

Nike

The Phillips and Quinn years. Then Diadora for 2004-05, one of the shorter manufacturer stints in the archive.

2005–07

Lonsdale

The most unusual entry in the Sunderland kit timeline. Lonsdale, primarily known as a boxing brand, supplied the kits for two seasons. The designs are functional and uncelebrated, which makes them a curiosity for collectors.

Browse Lonsdale-era kits

2007–10

Umbro

Roy Keane's tenure and beyond. Clean Umbro designs through a period of mid-table Premier League stability.

2010–19

adidas

The longest manufacturer run in recent decades, spanning Premier League survival battles, relegation, and the early League One period. adidas three stripes on red and white.

2019–24

Nike

The Netflix era and the League One-to-Championship return. Nike's template kits in red and white for the club's most-watched period.

2024–

Hummel

Full circle: Hummel return after thirty years, bringing more bespoke design to the red and white stripes. Chevrons back on the sleeves.

Collector notes

Asics · 1999–2000

Sunderland 1999-00 home kit

The Golden Boot season. Phillips scored 30 league goals wearing this shirt, winning the European Golden Boot, a record for an English-based player that still stands. The Asics era is undervalued compared to later Nike and adidas production.

Nike · 2000–01

Sunderland 2000-01 home kit

First Nike season. Sunderland finished 7th in the Premier League this year, the high point of the modern era. The clean red and white stripes with Nike branding sit comfortably alongside the best English second-tier kit production of the period.

Umbro · 2007–08

Sunderland 2007-08 home kit

Roy Keane's first full season as manager. Umbro returned after the Lonsdale interlude with a clean stripe design. The Umbro years produced some of the better-looking Sunderland shirts of the decade.

Lonsdale · 2006–07

Sunderland 2006-07 home kit

The Lonsdale shirts are the oddity of the Sunderland archive. A boxing brand producing Premier League kits for two seasons is genuinely unusual. The shirts are plainly made and entirely without pretension. Depending on your preference, depending on your preference, is either their flaw or their charm.

adidas · 2012–13

Sunderland 2012-13 home kit

The adidas era produced consistent, well-constructed stripe designs. The 2012-13 version with its three-stripe trim and clean Sunderland badge represents the standard for this manufacturer period: good production at a time when the club was still in the Premier League.

Hummel · 2025–26

Sunderland 2025-26 home kit

Current. Hummel's return brings bespoke design back after years of generic template production. The chevron detailing on the stripes gives the shirt an identity the Nike template years lacked. For collectors, the best of the current generation.

Browse all 189 Sunderland kits