O ver the past 132 years, the Wear-Tyne, or Tyne-Wear, derby has been one of the most closely contested rivalries in England. The 154th edition of Sunderland vs Newcastle takes place this weekend, with the overall record standing at 53-51 in favour of the Magpies.

The Black Cats have won the past four meetings between the two sides to close the gap, and are bidding to equal Newcastle’s record of five successive victories at the Stadium of Light this weekend.

Like any great derby, this match has created its fair share of heroes over the years, some of them more unlikely than others. The latest man who seems to have inked his name into Wear-Tyne folklore is Adam Johnson, who has been key to Sunderland’s recent winning run, and the flying winger duly takes his place in our rundown of the North-East derby’s shining lights.

George Holley

The derby’s all-time top scorer, Holley notched 15 times in 22 appearances for Sunderland against Newcastle during his career with the Black Cats in the early part of the 20th century.

Holley’s greatest derby performance came in the 9-1 shellacking Sunderland inflicted on the Magpies at St James’ Park in 1908, when he bagged a hat-trick. The forward was the First Division joint-top scorer in the 1911/12 season with 25 goals, and helped Sunderland claimed the title the following year.

Jackie Milburn

One of Newcastle’s greats, Milburn bagged 11 goals in 15 Tyne-Wear derby outings to contribute to his overall tally of 200 strikes for the club, which has only been bettered by Alan Shearer.

A true Tyneside icon, and one of England’s great players full-stop, statues of Milburn litter the streets of Newcastle and St James’ Park has a stand named after him. It’s only fitting that he also shone in this most important of north-east fixtures.

Kevin Phillips

Sunderland’s outstanding striker of the Premier League era (along with Nicklas Bendtner, naturally), Phillips scored four times in derby matches, including a trio of vital goals in his annus mirabilis of 1999/2000.

Phillips scored 30 times in the Premier League for newly-promoted Sunderland, claiming both the league’s top scorer gong and the European Golden Shoe – the only Englishman to ever win the latter. The three he bagged against Newcastle will likely remain freshest in his mind.

The first was a splendid winner at a waterlogged St James’ Park. Having gone behind, Sunderland fought back to win 2-1 via Phillips’ exquisite lob in the 75th minute.

Later in the season, in the first ever derby at the Stadium of Light, Phillips’ brace helped Sunderland fight back from 2-0 down to claim a draw against their bitter rivals.

Peter Beardsley

The skilful forward grabbed four goals in total for Newcastle against Sunderland, with three of those coming in a 3-1 win for the Magpies on New Year’s Day 1985.

Beardsley could actually have scored four in that match if not for a missed penalty, but he was still decisive in a great derby match. As you’ll see in the video below, it was a storming game that featured four goals, two red cards, gloriously long penalty run-ups, two excellent finishes and proof that diving existed in England’s top-flight long before the Premier League arrived. For shame, Kenny Wharton, for shame.

PS: Make sure you check out the attempted subtitling of Beardsley at the end of that video…

Adam Johnson

The latest addition to the pantheon of Wear-Tyne derby heroes, Johnson has scored three times in Sunderland’s current four-match winning streak, with all of those goals coming in wins at St James’ Park.

The winger grabbed the second goal in 3-0 victories in both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons, but it was his 90th-minute winner earlier this season that will live longest in the memory. Johnson, whom Gus Poyet had almost substituted minutes before, led a break from a Newcastle corner before lashing home the only goal in a 1-0 victory.

Credit to the Newcastle fan who captured the footage below for not smashing his phone into pieces.

Shola Ameobi

The Mackem Slayer had to have a place on this list, with Ameobi’s seven goals against Sunderland putting him second only to Milburn in Newcastle’s rankings of derby day scorers.

The Nigerian opened his derby account in 2005, with a three-minute brace in the Magpies 3-2 win. Ameobi grabbed another two goals when Newcastle hammered their old rivals 5-1 in 2010, but it is perhaps his last-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at St James’ Park in 2012 that will stand out as his fondest derby memory.

What’s your favourite Tyne-Wear derby memory? Who will win Sunderland vs Newcastle? Let us know below and follow Just Football on Twitter:

Main photo credit: vagueonthehow via Flickr.

Second photo credit: Sam Judson via Flickr.