'There can never be too many Kevin Balls' - why Sunderland legend's Freedom of the City is so well deserved

Nevertheless, here are some of those facts and figures anyway.

He signed for SAFC from Portsmouth in June 1990, making his debut in a draw against Tottenham at Roker Park in the old First Division. Opponents that day included Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne.

Over nine years, "Bally" would make 388 Sunderland appearances scoring 27 goals and become club captain. He left for Fulham in 1999, later joining Burnley.

But he was back at Sunderland almost as soon as he had retired from playing. He became a highly qualified coach and was caretaker manager twice, as well as coaching and mentoring many young players; Jordans Pickford and Henderson among them.

His last position at SAFC was as club ambassador, until leaving the role in February 2022.

Reasons for the esteem and coming to Sunderland

Although clearly a good player, others in the club's history were more naturally blessed with footballing skill: Shackleton, Gurney, Hurley, Watson, Phillips, Defoe. But only Charlie Hurley and Niall Quinn seem to match the esteem in which Kevin Ball is held by supporters.

The reasons for this, on and off the field, are his tenacity, work ethic, fearlessness, down-to-earth personality, generosity and sheer will-to-win.

"Competitiveness" is often a euphemism in football and Ball during his time at Sunderland garnered 72 yellow cards and five reds (one was rescinded). But this really was competitiveness, not nastiness. Winning was what mattered.

Despite being a southerner, born in Hastings in East Sussex in 1964, he has become perhaps the biggest adopted Mackem there ever was. Simple politeness and an unassuming personality have contributed to this.

However, when he arrived on Wearside he knew virtually nothing about the place. SAFC manager Denis Smith persuaded him to take a look.

Kevin recalls: "Denis said to me 'why don't you come up and have a chat?' Denis was ahead of his time. He brought myself and my wife Sharon up and we met him and his wife at Durham.

"He took us all round Sunderland and showed us places where we might live. The nice bit for me was when he took us to the seafront. In my ignorance I hadn't even researched where Sunderland was. I'd just thought 'I want to go and play there.'

"For me that was a pivotal moment, because I grew up by the sea and thought 'This was meant to be'.

"I thought we were going to talk contracts when Denis said 'Alright. I'll take you back to the station and I'll ring you in a couple of days'.

"I wondered why he'd dragged us all the way up here. But when I thought about it afterwards, he was purely and utterly finding out if I was the sort of person he could work with - and thankfully I was. Then my great times at Sunderland started."

Highlights - Bally’s best football memory

Those great times included reaching the 1992 FA Cup final, Championship wins in 1996 and 1999, a quite beautiful diving header in a 3-0 win over Chelsea and some other fine goals besides.

Many also remember a spectacular tackle on Duncan Ferguson late in a 2-1 win at Newcastle in 1999, which actually pinged the ball 35 yards onto the Sunderland crossbar, giving fans the longest three seconds of their lives. It was like a scene from a bad film; but real.

Less fun were two relegations and the heroic failure in the incredible 1997-98 play-off defeat to Charlton at Wembley.

Asked what his playing highlight was, he answers without hesitation: "Definitely when we won the Championship with 105 points (1998-99).

"It was a culmination of not one year's effort but a lot of years' effort, whether it had been from the beginning under Denis Smith, to the first promotion under Peter Reid and everything that went on in between.

"At the end of that season (1998-99), because we'd already won promotion and still had games to go, it had stuck in my mind that we lost the Tranmere (1995-96) game and ended on a damp squib."

Three years later, with the league won and 102 points already secured, Sunderland faced Birmingham City at home on the season's final day. This time there would be no let-up and Bally led his team to a 2-1 win before lifting the trophy.

He said: "I felt a massive sense of satisfaction. So many clubs win promotion, then for the rest of the season they're on their 'holidays'; but that's not the way I am.

"It was such a magnificent occasion. Celebrating with all your teammates is great, but I still think one of the best moments was getting a cup of tea from Audrey the tea lady.

"I was quite calm after the game. Yes, I was excited too, but it was job done. She brought me my pot of tea and put it down. I looked at the lads and just thought 'brilliant'."

He happily looks back at the pictures of the occasion, but still feels a pang when looking at the Vaux Brewery-sponsored kit the players are wearing. The closure of the brewery later that year still saddens him.

Formative years and latest years

Aged about 11 he was presented with a trophy by Kenny Swain, then a star in Chelsea's team. Swain had travelled some distance to be photographed with the kids and Ball was impressed. He told Swain this a decade or so later when they were teammates at Portsmouth.

Ball remembers: "I said 'If I ever become a footballer I'm going to do what he does. Years later I took the photo into training and showed him."

After his playing days, he threw himself into all of his roles at SAFC with his trademark gusto; always bringing the most from himself and others.

Since leaving the club he still avails himself to charitable causes and fans still want to talk to him.

However, he isn't currently directly involved with football, even though he is still only in his 50's and has what journalists are obliged to call a wealth of experience. It seems odd that the game hasn't managed to give him something to get his teeth into.

Whatever. He has earned his Freedom of the City and his decision to come to Sunderland 34 years ago has proved an incontestably good one; for all concerned.

Not everyone in football manages to understand that clubs like Sunderland are not merely businesses or football teams. They are part of people's lives, identities and personal history.

His generosity of spirit makes his Freedom of Sunderland universally popular, because in life generally, not just in football, there can never be too many Kevin Balls.