Remembering The Football Echo, the once treasured “read all about it” for SAFC

In the modern world, the rise of mass digital media has sent the traditional formula of the printed newspaper into decline.

In most cases, there is simply no need to buy a physical copy of what you can read online for free, especially when that information is liable to be out of date quickly.

If you want to read about Sunderland A.F.C, you can go onto popular forums, news websites and social media platforms, where information is relayed instantly and fresh at your fingertips.

But in the past we didn’t have the privilege of the internet, so we needed somewhere else to read up on all the news and details about SAFC.

That place was called The Football Echo, a special weekly edition which came alongside the Echo and run a service for over a century.

The Football Echo established itself as an icon of Sunderland’s football culture. It had its own mascot called Casey Ball, who famously would be happy, neutral or sad depending on SAFC’s results.

As the style of footballs changed over the years, he was updated likewise.

Naturally, the Football Echoes that were printed during Sunderland’s most memorable moments have become very valuable keepsakes, such as this one celebrating the 1973 Cup Win.

As stated above, at the turn of the 21st century, the rise of online media killed the purpose of the Football Echo as readily available information on the internet (including the Echo website itself) nullified the need for people to buy a physical newspaper to get up to date.

Why wait the next day when you could be reading the match report online within hours?

The Football Echo thus could not justify its running costs and it came to a sad end on December 29th, 2013.