About Bob Stokoe
Robert Stokoe was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east animosity between the region's footballing rivals, Newcastle United and Sunderland. As a player, he won an FA Cup winner's medal with Newcastle in 1955. As a manager, he guided Blackpool to victory in the 1971 Anglo-Italian Cup final. Two years later, he led Sunderland to success in the 1973 FA Cup final, and followed it up with promotion from the Second Division in 1975–76. Stokoe took the post of player-manager at Bury in December 1961 which, at 31 years of age, made him the second-youngest manager in the Football League. Although his first game in charge was lost 1–0 at home to Burnley, the following week seemingly liberated players won 3–2 away at Portsmouth, starting a run of 32 games, with only five defeats. This still was not good enough for the fans, however, who became disenchanted with life outside the top flight again, and the club's style of play under Stokoe was not to their liking.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.