manager when he was appointed in 1888. On 5 April 1890, the Football League's founder, William McGregor, labelled Sunderland as "the team of all talents" stating that they had "a talented man in every position". Sunderland's games consisted of local competitions and the FA Cup. Additionally, they participated in friendlies with Football League clubs; they beat the League champions Preston North End on 28 April 1889. As their popularity grew, they applied for admission into the Football League. At the League's annual meeting that considered this application, Sunderland offered to pay towards other clubs' travelling costs, to compensate for the extra distance these club would need to travel. This offer secured their place in the Football League. They replaced Stoke, one of the original League founding members, who failed to be re-elected. In their second season in the Football League, Sunderland won the title, by five points over Preston North End. This success was repeated in the following season, when Sunderland won their second League title, this time 11 points ahead of their nearest contenders. That season also included an 8–1 win over West Bromwich Albion. They came close to winning three successive League championships in the 1893–94 season, when they finished as runners-up to Aston Villa. The club shared this period of success with Aston Villa; the battles between these clubs were the subject of a Thomas Hemy painting of the two clubs during the 1894–95 season This is one of the earliest recorded paintings of a competitive Football League match; entitled A Corner Kick, the painting now stands in the doorway of Sunderland's current stadium, the Stadium of Light. Sunderland achieved their third League title in four seasons in the 1894–95 season, and after their League championship success took part in a game with Heart of Midlothian, the champions of Scotland. The game was played on 27 April 1895, and was described as the "Championship of the World title match". Sunderland won the game 5–3 and were crowned "Champions of the World". The wealthy miner Samuel Tyzack, who alongside and shipbuilder Robert Turnbull funded the "team of all talents," often pretended to be a priest while scouting for players in Scotland, as Sunderland's recruitment policy enraged many Scottish fans. In fact, the Sunderland lineup in the 1895 World Championship consisted entirely of Scottish players (English-born Tom Porteous and Irish-born David Hannah were also involved in the period, but