Sunderland's 'oldest fan' dies aged 101 after following SAFC for 94 years

Arnold Landau was a keen fan who passed his love of the Black Cats to all his family.

He watched the FA Cup homecoming parade in 1937 after Sunderland beat Preston North End 3-1 in the final.

Four decades later, he was at Wembley with his sons when Sunderland beat Leeds 1-0 to lift the Cup in 1973 – sitting just behind Dave Watson’s mother.

But his life achievements went even further.

He went into business at 14

He left school at 14 to help his twice widowed mother build a family business. Over the decades which followed, he built up the thriving furniture firm F Clarks of Olive Street.

He was a ‘caring and loyal boss’ who always looked after his staff. He was a big hearted gentleman who liked to help others, said his son Ronnie who will pay tribute to his dad at his funeral next week.

Generous, warm-hearted and ‘amazingly good at table tennis’

Ronnie said: “It means a lot to us to know how fondly he is remembered. Over the past few days, I’ve received countless messages containing so many different ways of describing him: ‘warm- hearted’ was the most common, also ‘big-hearted’, ‘ ‘young at heart’, ‘larger than life’.

"I could also add ‘outspoken’, ‘excitable’, ‘complex and frequently misunderstood’, ‘amazingly good at table tennis’, ‘generous-spirited’, ‘hyper’, ‘opinionated and capable of being brutally frank’, but always, always with a quick and mischievous humour and a cheeky, impish smile.”

Arnold was a long-time SAFC season ticket holder who passed on his love for The Lads to his family. His grandson Rafi who teaches Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is often seen wandering the campus in a 1999 Sunderland shirt.

He lived in Sunderland and Washington

Arnold, a father-of-four, grandfather of seven and great grandfather of 12, lived in various parts of Sunderland including Salem Avenue until he was 6, then Brookside Terrace, Nilverton Avenue, Ryhope Road, Queen Alexandra Road, Killingworth Drive, before moving on to Washington and eventually Buckinghamshire.

He went to West Park Central Secondary School but left at 15 to support his widowed mother Fanny in running the family business and making a huge success out of it.

During the Second World War, he served on the ground staff in the Royal Air Force and worked on radar. He saw service in Germany and Belgium soon after D-Day, said Ronnie.

He gave his time to charities

Arnold lived in Sunderland until his mid-60s when he left to be nearer family in Buckinghamshire and his wife Mary.

Ronnie added: “My father was a fundamentally good man who gave a lot of his time to charitable causes through the Rotary Club and later Probus (he was President of a North East Rotary Club).”

Arnold’s 100th birthday had many highlights including Sunderland Football Club sending a football as well as a birthday card and both were signed by the team to thank him for his loyal support, as shown in the attached video.

The surprise left Arnold ‘genuinely surprised and utterly delighted to be remembered by SAFC’.

Arnold also supported cricket, rugby and tennis at Ashbrooke and was president of Birtley Rotary Club from 1984 to 1985.