Awww what sad news. He was a proper gentleman.
You must log in or register to see media
RIP George Forster
- Thread starter Becs
- Start date
-
Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
-
Ah man what a shame, unfortunately I never got to meet the man.
He will have seen a lot of ups and downs, at least he went out on a high.
RIP
RIP
RIP Geroge. We used to go in the supporters shop before the matches at Roker Park and get a badge or old programme from a game from years ago.
Sunderland legend
'Til the end fella.
Sunderland legend
'Til the end fella.
Sad news. A complete gentleman.
RIP George
A Sunderland legend and his family should be very proud.
RIP George
A Sunderland legend and his family should be very proud.
Last edited:
Rip George,
I had the pleasure of meeting him at his birthday event at the stadium not long back.
Thoughts with his family and friends
I had the pleasure of meeting him at his birthday event at the stadium not long back.
Thoughts with his family and friends
Players should be wearing black arm bands in respect for this SAFC legend for their visit to Arsenal , he was so well respected as Mr SAFC it would be such a fitting tribute .
Club Historian Rob Mason pays tribute…
Everyone at Sunderland AFC is extremely saddened to learn that George Forster has passed away, just eight months short of what would have been his 100th birthday. There have been many legends in the history of Sunderland AFC and as a supremely dedicated supporter George was one of them.
George had been watching the Lads since 1934 when he would get what he described as the auto-car from Seaham to Sunderland and then the tram to Roker Park. At the age of 99, he had to settle for listening to night matches on the radio but he was still there at the last Saturday home match against Crystal Palace – and still as delighted as anyone when Sunderland won.
Fans love great players, but players love supporters too and no member of the red and white army was adored by as many players as George. An honorary member of the Former Players’ Association, George’s 99th birthday last October in the Founders’ Bar was attended by a host of former players who came to celebrate with George and his family and friends.
Upon joining the Supporters’ Association shortly after it was formed in 1965, George soon became vital to its well-being. Within a year he was sales manager and no trip to an away game was complete without George persuading you that you desperately needed to buy a new scarf or hat. It wasn’t until the final day of 2021 that he retired as Chairman of the Association after over 55 years’ service to the organisation. Whatever profits the association made went into subsidising away travel to help fans cheer on their side or were donated to the club. Donations from the association paid for things as varied as the installation of the first telephone connecting the directors’ box to the dug-out at Roker Park; in the days when the manager watched from the stand to the restoration of the world’s biggest oil painting of a football match, which hangs in the foyer of the Stadium of Light, to the funding of a series of blue plaques, which mark the sites of Sunderland’s former grounds.
In 2013, George was the recipient of a Barclays Premier League Unsung hero award while he was given a free season card after fronting the 2012-13 season card campaign. He was also a winner of the EFL Supporter of the Year award.
During the early 1950s, George lived in Peterborough where he befriended Sunderland’s all-time leading goalscorer Bobby Gurney who was managing ‘Posh’ at the time. George adored Gurney along with his other greatest heroes Charlie Hurley and Kevin Ball. Later while living in Burnley from 1957 to 1963 during the Clarets golden era when they won the league and reached the cup final he watched Jimmy Adamson who became Sunderland’s manager in 1976. Adamson once discovered George working late at night in the Supporters’ Association office beneath the Black Cat club at Roker Park. The newly appointed Adamson thought George was on the club payroll and complimented him on his conscientiousness for working so late at night. George had to point out that he’d already done a full day’s work at his ‘proper job’ and the hours he spent in the Association offices were all voluntary.
Over the years, George met many Sunderland managers, often being invited to have tea with them. He would always insist that the team was filled with ‘six-footers’ who would get stuck in. No one was happier than George to see Sunderland doing so well this season. He was red and white to the core and a supporter for a century. Indeed, George was the Supporter of the Century just as his hero Charlie Hurley was the Player of the Century. Rest in peace George, you will always be loved and never forgotten.
Everyone at Sunderland AFC is extremely saddened to learn that George Forster has passed away, just eight months short of what would have been his 100th birthday. There have been many legends in the history of Sunderland AFC and as a supremely dedicated supporter George was one of them.
George had been watching the Lads since 1934 when he would get what he described as the auto-car from Seaham to Sunderland and then the tram to Roker Park. At the age of 99, he had to settle for listening to night matches on the radio but he was still there at the last Saturday home match against Crystal Palace – and still as delighted as anyone when Sunderland won.
Fans love great players, but players love supporters too and no member of the red and white army was adored by as many players as George. An honorary member of the Former Players’ Association, George’s 99th birthday last October in the Founders’ Bar was attended by a host of former players who came to celebrate with George and his family and friends.
Upon joining the Supporters’ Association shortly after it was formed in 1965, George soon became vital to its well-being. Within a year he was sales manager and no trip to an away game was complete without George persuading you that you desperately needed to buy a new scarf or hat. It wasn’t until the final day of 2021 that he retired as Chairman of the Association after over 55 years’ service to the organisation. Whatever profits the association made went into subsidising away travel to help fans cheer on their side or were donated to the club. Donations from the association paid for things as varied as the installation of the first telephone connecting the directors’ box to the dug-out at Roker Park; in the days when the manager watched from the stand to the restoration of the world’s biggest oil painting of a football match, which hangs in the foyer of the Stadium of Light, to the funding of a series of blue plaques, which mark the sites of Sunderland’s former grounds.
In 2013, George was the recipient of a Barclays Premier League Unsung hero award while he was given a free season card after fronting the 2012-13 season card campaign. He was also a winner of the EFL Supporter of the Year award.
During the early 1950s, George lived in Peterborough where he befriended Sunderland’s all-time leading goalscorer Bobby Gurney who was managing ‘Posh’ at the time. George adored Gurney along with his other greatest heroes Charlie Hurley and Kevin Ball. Later while living in Burnley from 1957 to 1963 during the Clarets golden era when they won the league and reached the cup final he watched Jimmy Adamson who became Sunderland’s manager in 1976. Adamson once discovered George working late at night in the Supporters’ Association office beneath the Black Cat club at Roker Park. The newly appointed Adamson thought George was on the club payroll and complimented him on his conscientiousness for working so late at night. George had to point out that he’d already done a full day’s work at his ‘proper job’ and the hours he spent in the Association offices were all voluntary.
Over the years, George met many Sunderland managers, often being invited to have tea with them. He would always insist that the team was filled with ‘six-footers’ who would get stuck in. No one was happier than George to see Sunderland doing so well this season. He was red and white to the core and a supporter for a century. Indeed, George was the Supporter of the Century just as his hero Charlie Hurley was the Player of the Century. Rest in peace George, you will always be loved and never forgotten.
Agree. Given how well run the club is now I’m sure they will do something fitting
Excellent that thanks for posting and well done Rob Mason
Such sad news, George was an ever present running the supporters club busses when I was a lad. I started doing away matches with my mates when I was 16, and of course we thought we knew everything, but George kept us on the straight and narrow with his helpful guidance and advice.
Rest well George, you are a legend.
Rest well George, you are a legend.
Got to know George on Supporters club coaches back in the 70s, a true gentleman and loyal Sunderland fan. RIP
