I love this story of when Bob Stokoe got the shock of his life and appeared in a special TV show
Bob Stokoe thought he was on his way to a TV interview 40 years ago - but instead he got the shock of his life.
The Messiah who took Sunderland to FA Cup glory in 1973 was expecting to sit down for an eve-of-Cup Final show with Sunderland soccer legend Bob Gurney for a chat about his 25 years in the game.
But Bob was instead in for an amazing tribute night to recognise his retirement from the game he loved.
His surprise guests waited at Newcastle’s Station Hotel, and as soon as Bob stepped in front of the cameras a fleet of taxis whisked them to the City Road studios.
The whole surprise event was run along the line of ‘This Is Your Life’.
Bob was surprised to see his wife Jean, other members of his family, and Sunderland’s 1973 FA Cup winning team in the studio.
That shock victory over Leeds United provided the centre-piece of the programme, with many guests and Sunderland fans in the studio audience sharing their memories of the day.
In the days and weeks before the programme, a search was under way to find some of the people who had appeared in a 1973 documentary about the cup win.
The Sunderland Echo at the time said: “They looked about 12 or 13 so by now they are probably married and, for all we know have some little Roker fans of their own.”
We hope you will share your own memories about life in 1986 and here are a few more reminders about what was going on at the time.
Two thousand children took part in an I-spy competition which was held as part of the activities at an antiques show and flea market at Seaham Harbour. Also among the attractions was a visit by the Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Hodgeston, and the Sunderland lifeboat.
More than 740 people took part in the Red House Fun Run and the winner on the ten-mile course was Gary Hutchinson who completed it in 59 minutes. But everyone was a winner as hundreds also turned out to watch.
Urgent repairs were needed to 55 schools and three colleges in Sunderland in 1986 and experts estimated the bill for the work would be £3million.
Tell us about your memories of life in the area in 1976 by emailing [email protected]