'I met my Sunderland hero and he gave me a Wembley ticket'
An expat from Sunderland will never forget the day he met his SAFC hero. He got a Wembley ticket and a fascinating chat out of it.
Marc Hall was only 23 at the time but he had a meeting with Black Cats legend Bobby Gurney.
‘Happy to bask in his reflected glory’
Bobby was the Silksworth-born striker who scored for Sunderland in the 3-1 FA Cup Final win against Preston North End in 1937.
But it was in 1990 when he agreed to meet Marc at his home.
Marc remembered: “My grandmother was part of the Townswomen’s Guild and got to know Bobby’s wife.
“She arranged through his wife for me to have a chat with him about football in general and of course SAFC.
‘He came across as lovely man’
“I was in the army at the time and was back in Sunderland on a bit of leave. I wish I could remember anything about the chat we had but as I was young and daft, I was just happy to bask in his reflected glory and don’t remember much.
“He told me how he survived a cull at the beginning of his career and he told me about the goal he scored in the 1937 cup final.
“He came across as lovely man and showed me his England cap. As I left, he gave me a ticket for the play off final and I sat with some of his family at Wembley, not knowing at the time that whatever the result we were likely going up!”
Early days at Argyle House school
The match Marc referred to was the 1990 play-off final which Swindon won, but which famously saw Sunderland promoted.
Marc now lives in Western Australia but he told us: “I grew up in Sunderland, went to Argyle House, then later Belmont Comprehensive in Durham.
“I joined the Army (REME) in 1984 and trained as a vehicle mechanic.”
Now a resident in Perth, Western Australia
After a period as a police officer in Northamptonshire from 1995, Marc then ‘saw an advertisement from Western Australia’.
“The police force was recruiting British cops, so I applied. In November 2007 we moved to Perth and it’s where we’ve been ever since. I’m currently a sergeant in WA Police.
“Marc’s wife works for the Department of Health and their son is an avionics technician in the Royal Australian Navy.”
Marc contacted the Sunderland Echo after our recent story about the little Sunderland lad spotted walking behind his SAFC heroes on Seaham promenade.
We asked for other people to share their stories of meeting their heroes and we would still like to hear from more.
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