Throughout this fantastic season, Carter, Gurney, and Gallacher barely missed a game. Sunderland was in the ascendancy after losing to Arsenal on the first day of play; their next opponent was West Brom at The Hawthorns. We had faced off against the defending champions, Arsenal, in the 1934–1935 season, coming in second. However, manager Johnny Cochrane wasn’t going to sit back and enjoy himself; he went into the upcoming season determined to win the championship.
Goals were never going to be an issue with Bobby Gurney at centre forward and Raich Carter and “The Mighty Atom” Patsy Gallacher as inside forwards. There was defensive work to be done, as full-back positions were hammered down by Alexander Hall and Bill Murray, the future manager of Sunderland. Cochrane’s preferred defensive lineup would include of Scottish internationals Charles M. Thomson, Bert Johnston, and Alex Hastings at half-back.
Jimmy Horatio Thorpe, who had joined the team gradually after making his debut in 1930 at the age of seventeen, was in goal. Even with his diabetes, he managed to play twenty-six games this season before passing away tragically a few days after a particularly rough match against Chelsea in which other players had injuries. Specifically, Thorpe was “roughed up” and hit in the head. Eventually, a youthful Johnny Mapson would take over in goal, becoming the league’s top goalie at the end of the season.
Jimmy Connor, a fellow Scottish international, held a solid position on the left wing, while Len Duns, a native of Newcastle, faced competition with seasoned Bert Davis for the right wing spot. During this campaign, Duns played seventeen games and Davis played twenty-nine. At The Hawthorns, the player wearing jersey number seven was Bert Davis. Albion, with a front five full of goal-scoring potential and a defensive five as uncompromising as any in the division, were a formidable opponent, especially at home.
The match got underway quickly, with Tommy Green giving the Sunderland defenders a lot of trouble. Syd Rawlings, who was substituted in at the eleventh hour for the injured Glidden, gave West Brom the lead with fifteen minutes remaining as the Baggies were leading. It was a goal that was inevitable given Sunderland’s poor start to the match. Although the score may have encouraged the home team, it was the visitors who struck back, tying the score on eighteen minutes when Patsy Gallacher heroically finished a Connor cross and put the ball past Pearson in the Baggies’ net.
Although there had been no further goals at the half, Sunderland’s lead was growing.
For the first ten minutes of the second half, West Brom came out and took the lead from Sunderland. Carter found the net on minute fifty-one for Sunderland, who scored somewhat against the run of play, much like in the first half. Pearson bungled a shot that should have been saved in the West Brom goal. Sunderland took control of the game once more as they started to accumulate more possession and moved the ball quickly and skilfully. Gallacher scored his second goal on seventy-five minutes, displaying his timing and ability to spot a chance. Sunderland continued to win the game and launch their championship-winning campaign.
Even though Gallacher scored nineteen goals in the end, he wasn’t the leading scorer. Together, Carter and Gurney, his two teammates, finished the season with a combined total of thirty-one goals, topping the goal-scoring standings. Sunderland broke the previous record with 109 goals scored, with ten goals from Bert Davis and seven from Jimmy Connor. However, it was fortunate that they did not surrender seventy-four goals, which is a record for any winning side. This was the first of eight away victories, supplemented by four road draws, as Sunderland won six titles in a row, more than any other team except Aston Villa, who would be relegated at the end of this season despite also having six titles.
Gallacher ended up with nineteen goals, but he wasn’t the top scorer. His two colleagues, Carter and Gurney, topped the goal-scoring charts at the end of the season with a combined total of thirty-one goals. With 109 goals scored, including ten from Bert Davis and seven from Jimmy Connor, Sunderland eclipsed the previous record. Fortunately, though, they managed to hold off the record of seventy-four goals conceded by winning teams. With the exception of Aston Villa, who would be relegated at the end of this season despite already having six titles, Sunderland won six titles in a row, the first of eight away wins and four road draws.
First Division Date: April 9, 1935 Location: The Hawthorns Count: 24,396 Arsenal of West Bromwich 1-3 Sunderland Goal scorers: Rawlings (15 minutes) for West Brom; Gallacher (18 and 75 minutes) for Sunderland; Carter (51) for Sunderland. Harold Pearson, George Shaw, Bert Trentham, Jimmy Murphy, Bill Richardson, Jimmy Edwards, Syd Rawlings, Tommy Green, Teddy Sandford, Teddy “Ginger” Richardson, and Walley Boyes are the members of West Bromwich Albion. Sunderland: Bert Davis, Raich Carter, Bobby Gurney, Patsy Gallacher, Jimmy Connor, Jimmy Thorpe, Bill Murray, Alex Hall, Charlie M. Thomson, Jimmy Clark, and Alex Hastings.