The Sunderland rugby team which had nothing to wear - and the school which closed 25 years ago

Twenty five years have passed since all these stories were in the news but how many do you remember.

Join us for a news round-up from 1998.

The entire squad of a Sunderland rugby league team was stripped of nearly all their kit.

Only one team shirt remained after the gear was stolen and the squad of 15 players had to decide who would get to wear it. The club chairman’s car was stolen from a pub car park. It was later recovered but there was no sign of the rugby gear.

Wearside entered the charts after being put on a map of Britain’s rock and roll highlights.

Sunderland was mentioned as the birthplace of Eurythmics star Dave Stewart.

Durham also hit the right note with an entry about a barber’s shop where Prefab Sprout frontman Paddy McAloon used to get his hair cut.

End of an East End era

St John and St Patrick’s Church Primary School, in the East End, was due to close because of plunging pupil numbers.

It only had 42 pupils and four teachers when it faced its final days and the children marked the end of an era with a city carol service in Sunderland Minster, and also sang at the Adams shop in The Bridges.

Thirty-six youngsters from Pennywell Comprehensive in Sunderland were treated to a special football fun day as a reward for notching up perfect school attendance records during the Autumn term.

A telesales travel agency, Freedom Direct, was planning to create up to 70 jobs by setting up a call centre on the banks of the Wear on Sunderland Enterprise Park.

They swapped Ajax for the SoL

Five football-loving Dutchmen swapped the red and white of Amsterdam’s Ajax for the famous stripes of Sunderland.

The gang were treated to a tour of the Stadium of Light to round off a five-day stay in England following Peter Reid’s team.

Nick Elderbroek brought friends Ruby Drew, Ben Van Der Linden, Por Strombergen and Peer Strombergen with him on the footballing holiday.

They are all from Hillegom, which is about 20 miles from Amsterdam.

Pupils helped to open the largest primary school in County Durham. The £3million Easington Colliery Primary School caters for 630 pupils between four and 11. The new building was on the Whickham Street site of the former Easington Comprehensive.

Strike! The tenpin expert from Washington

Washington bowler John Mallows has become the first junior in the North East to score a perfect 300 in a single game of tenpin bowling.

Friends and staff at the AMF Bowling Centre, in Washington, were bowled over when the 16-year-old blasted strike after strike to get the perfect score during a league game there.

Retired pitmen in Washington will be able to see a poignant reminder of their once mighty industry.

The Glebe miners’ banner, damaged two years ago, has been restored and is now in Washington town centre library.

Is there a year that you would love to see in the spotlight? Tell us which year and we’ll do our best to unearth the news which made the headlines. Email [email protected]