at Roker Park, Bingham continued his shipbuilding apprenticeship on the Sunderland shipyards. His speed and ball-control made him a popular player with the "Black Cats", and he gradually worked his way into Bill Murray's first team plans in 1950–51. He established himself as the first choice outside-right in 1951–52, however he lost his place to Tommy Wright in 1952–53. He made just 19 appearances in 1953–54, as Wright continued to hold on to his first team place. Bingham regained his place in 1954–55, scoring ten goals in 42 games, as Sunderland finished fourth in the First Division, four points behind champions Chelsea. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they lost to Manchester City at Villa Park. They slipped to ninth in 1955–56, and again exited the FA Cup at the semi-finals, this time losing 3–0 to Birmingham City. The 1956–57 campaign started poorly, and Bingham was dropped in October; he put in a transfer request, which was turned down. New boss Alan Brown signed outside-right Amby Fogarty from Glentoran, and led the club to relegation in 1957–58. Out of the first team, Bingham fell out with Brown, and left the club in the summer on a £8,000 transfer to top-flight Luton Town. In total he made 227 appearances and scored 47 goals during his time in the North East. Luton Town The "Hatters" finished 17th in the league in 1958–59, but reached the 1959 FA Cup Final after Bingham scored the winning goal in the semi-final clash with Norwich City. In the Wembley final, his corner set up Dave Pacey for Luton's consolation in a 2–1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Despite Bingham scoring 16 league goals to become the club's top scorer, Luton were relegated under Syd Owen in 1959–60. New manager Sam Bartram failed to keep Bingham at Kenilworth Road for long, and after three goals in 11 Second Division games, including a 35-yard volley against Liverpool at Anfield, he soon attracted attention from Everton and Arsenal. Everton He joined Everton for a fee of £15,000 in October 1960. Signed by Johnny Carey, Harry Catterick took charge at Goodison Park following a fifth-place finish in 1960–61. A fourth-place finish followed in 1961–62, and the "Toffees" won the league title in 1962–63. However Catterick signed Scotsman Alex Scott in February 1963 for £40,000, and so Bingham's days at Merseyside were numbered. During his time at Everton,