Story byManchester United manager Matt Busby, the first recipient, with the Football Sword of Honour presented to him in Manchester for "distinguished service to British and international football". (Photo by PA Images via ) | PA Images via Getty ImagesGav HendersonWed, March 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM UTC·10 min readIt was the 1963/64 season, an historic season for Sunderland as they would once again take their place in the top tier following their first ever relegation in 1957/58. Alan Brown had built a team that would go toe to toe with Don Revie’s Leeds United for the championship that season. It was a team that many thought was only a couple of players away from being a very very good team, but could they hold their own in the first division?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe FA Cup that season created a couple of good opportunities for Sunderland to test themselves against the best the top tier had to offer. In the 5th round they put the first division title holders Everton out of the competition, blowing them away by three goals to one in front of a packed Roker Park. In the 6th round they drew the current FA Cup holders Manchester United and for two of the three games it took to decide this tie, Sunderland would more than match the Busby Babes!An incident-packed, drama-filled game at Old Trafford in front of 61,700 fans that included 16,000 from Sunderland saw the Lads heading into the final knockings of the game three goals to one in front with goals from George Mulhall and two from Johnny Crossan (one of these a penalty).