Henry Forbes “Harry” Low, a Sunderland player in the club’s 1912/13 title-winning side, died at 38 in September 1920 after contracting pneumonia. He played all but one game that season and made 228 league and cup appearances for Sunderland.
Signed from Aberdeen in 1907 for £400, Low spent 12 years at Sunderland and scored 38 goals. He also played in all 10 of the club’s FA Cup fixtures in 1912/13; Sunderland lost the final 1-0 to Aston Villa.
In February 1917, Low enlisted in the Royal Navy as an able seaman and served aboard HMS Dido; he was honourably discharged after being wounded. He retired in May 1919 and became a pub landlord in Monkwearmouth. Low also withdrew from Scotland’s squad for a match in Ireland when it clashed with Sunderland’s second FA Cup replay; he helped the club reach the quarter-final and was never selected for Scotland again. The writer speculates that the SFA may have taken issue with his withdrawal.
