It's 50 years since Sunderland's fabled 1973 FA Cup triumph at Wembley, when Bob Stokoe's feted side wrote their names into footballing history. The final in May of that year saw Sunderland become the last team to bring the famous old trophy to the North-East, when they pulled off an incredible shock to defeat Don Revie's Leeds United beneath the Twin Towers.
It was the year that stars such as Ian Porterfield, Dennis Tueart, Jimmy Montgomery, Dave Watson, and Bobby Kerr, became Wearside legends. But while the final was the culmination of their cup run, Sunderland's road to Wembley began back in January at Third Division Notts County, and ChronicleLive has been retracing their journey every step of the way 50 years on.
They needed two attempts to see off the Magpies in the third round, remembered in part one and part two of our series. Their fourth round tie against Charlie Hurley's Fourth Division Reading also went to a replay, with the initial tie ending in a draw at Roker Park as recalled in part three before they got the job done at Elm Park as recalled here in part four.
