Denis Stewart was born in Newcastle, which at the time was not a big deal to fans of his hometown Sunderland, having come through the club’s youth system. Tourt actually started as a forward, which has served him well during his senior career as he describes himself as a “right-footed left-winger” but can also play forward.
His predatory instincts and positional awareness in front of goal helped him achieve a staggering 196 career goals.
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He was a member of Sunderland’s highly effective youth teams in the 1960s, making his debut as a 19-year-old in a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in 1968 under manager Alan Brown. A few months later, his first goal for Sunderland came in a home win against Stoke City on 1 March 1969. Alan Brown gradually eliminated many of the established players he had personally brought into the team in his first year as Sunderland manager and replaced them with youth players such as Dennis.
On reflection it’s been a strange season, with Sunderland finishing mid-table around Christmas but suffering some catastrophic defeats on the road, particularly in the capital, when it wasn’t just a couple of big-name strikers making big money when we came to town. Geoff Hurst scored six goals in an 8-0 win over West Ham, and a few weeks later Jimmy Greaves scored four in a 1-5-1 defeat on our next trip to London. It wasn’t over yet, as Bobby Tamblyn scored four goals for Chelsea in another 5-1 defeat in April. As the season came to an end, Sunderland were locked in another relegation battle, just four points above the relegation zone.
The following season saw Dennis establishing himself as a first-choice player, but it was not a good season for Sunderland as they rarely escaped the relegation spot and dropped into the Second Division at the end of the season. The club hoped to bounce back with promotion the following season, but that never materialized, and Dennis himself fell out with Alan Browne. After coming out, his salary was still relatively low and he wanted a new contract, but Alan Brown refused to approve it, while refusing to select the player for the first team and placing him in the reserve team for three months.
Dennis was back in the starting eleven every week during the 1971-72 season, at which point he began to develop in leaps and bounds. He continued to add goals to his game, reaching double figures in each of the next three seasons with Sunderland, and indeed reaching double figures in every season for whichever team he played for until 1982.
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He is a speedy winger who can test the speed of the full-backs, but also has excellent close control ability to bring defenders inside and out.
Although he considers himself a right-footed player, he can deliver beautiful crosses with his left foot, creating many goals for the grateful centre-forward.
Meanwhile, Alan Browne’s tenure as Sunderland manager was coming to an end, with the team falling to the bottom of the table in the winter of 1972-73, and when he left, a man who would change the lives of every player and the public consciousness of our 1973 FA Cup came in – Bob Stokoe.
While Alan Browne’s style of play was very strict about what players were allowed to do, Stokoe allowed his team to take the initiative and express themselves. Players like Dennis and Billy Hughes actually broke free and took their game to another level, with Sunderland beating some of the biggest teams in the country: Manchester City, Arsenal and then Leeds United in the final.
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Dennis himself scored three goals in our cup competitions and watched from the midfield line when Jimmy Montgomery made his famous double save at Wembley. Norman Hunt, standing next to him, turned and said, “Looks like today is your day, Dennis.”
Jim Montgomery 4
After winning the cup, Sunderland were expected to push for promotion in the 1973-74 season, but this did not happen.
He played well, scored a lot, including one in the Cup Winners’ Cup, and was ambitious for more. When Manchester City came calling in March 1974, he knew he wanted to leave and so our first Wembley hero left.
He won the League Cup with Manchester City in 1976 and scored a stunning goal against Newcastle, becoming a fan favorite at Maine Road over the years.
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He also had England caps during the Don Revie era, but winning the FA Cup with Sunderland in 1973 remains the biggest prize of Denis Stewart’s career.
It’s only fitting that Denis Stewart is our featured Sunderland great this FA Cup weekend.
