In January 2021, 'A Sunderland Discovery!' was published on From the Vaults. This discovery was the complete club rugby kit belonging to Alfred George Hudson who played for Sunderland from its foundation in 1873 until his retirement in 1885. During this time, he scored the two tries which ensured victory for Sunderland in the inaugural Durham County Cup.
Since this article was published, the full story of Alfred's career has been thoroughly researched and this story is currently available in a publication produced by club historian Keith Gregson as part of Sunderland F C's recent 150th anniversary celebrations.
The kit remains with the descendants of Alfred who have been keen to help the rugby community assess its historic importance. Both Keith (for the club) and researchers at the World Rugby Museum would like to discover if other similar examples of early rugby club kit have survived in the hands of descendants or at the clubs themselves. To this end a series of blogs is planned in which the individual elements of Alfred's kit will feature in the hope that other examples from the same period (or hopefully earlier) have survived.
