Sunderland’s Greatest Homegrown Forwards: The Pre-War Icons.
Part two of this historical series will cover legendary names such as Gurney, Gallacher, and Carter!
Part two follows the same criteria as our assessment of Sunderland’s homegrown post-war footballers, determining whether we’ve produced any players who have scored more than Gary Rowell’s 103 goals for the club.
Raich Carter
278 appearances, 128 goals
Carter is one player that rose through the ranks at Sunderland and scored more goals than Rowell did.
Carter, born in Hendon, is widely regarded as one of Sunderland’s best players. He won the league and FA Cup as captain, and he also represented Sunderland and England as a schoolboy.
When he left school at the age of fourteen, he did not immediately join for Sunderland. In fact, he turned them down on the recommendation of his guardian (his uncle after his father’s death) because he wanted the young Carter to acquire a craft.
As a result, he began working as an apprentice electrician while also playing for an amateur team.
He signed amateur forms for Sunderland in 1931, at the age of seventeen, and also had a trial with Leicester City, which turned him down.
He eventually signed as a professional for Sunderland. Can this rule Carter out? It almost feels like heresy to do so, but I’ll leave it to others to decide.
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