Through The Lens today takes a look at a rare glimpse of how Sunderland AFC were reported in the media in the 19th century.

A click on the image above will take you to a blow up of the first page of an article that appeared in The Golden Penny, a periodical of the time. It often featured football clubs and this one featured The Lads.

It gives a brief history of the club together with some cracking and rare images of both the team and individual players.

Fascinating!

Check back in a couple of days and I’ll feature page 2 of the article.