The Eagles – well, then ‘the Glaziers’ – recorded a first victory in the First Division just four days after their opening game: a famous 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
Just months earlier, Bert Head had taken the Glaziers to the promised land for the first time in the club’s 100-year-plus existence.
Assembling his side smartly, Head had brought together young players and clever new signings into a dynamic team which – by the time they had well and truly gelled – saw them seal promotion in the penultimate match of 1968/69.
Palace started 69/70 by embracing their tags as top-flight underdogs, with only a second-half equaliser from the Red Devils denying Palace a famous victory at Selhurst Park on their First Division debut.
But they recovered from that disappointment to put Sunderland to the sword in SE25 the following midweek.
The Black Cats had started the season with a 0-0 draw against a talented Coventry City outfit, but would go on to struggle in front of goal over the course of the campaign, netting just 30 times – a division low – all season.
That coincided with a winless run of 12 games at the start of the season, two of which came at the hands of Palace.
Yet Sunderland’s squad remained a talented one: Jimmy Montgomery, Richie Pitt, Bobby Kerr, Billy Hughes, Dennis Tueart and Ian Porterfield all appeared for the club during that season, four years before they all started in one of the biggest shock FA Cup final victories: that 1-0 win over Don Revie’s Leeds side at Wembley.
So it was to Palace’s utmost credit that they were able to win out 2-0 over Sunderland at Selhurst, courtesy of strikes from Tony Taylor and Cliff Jackson.
The following week, in the return league fixture at Roker Park, Palace came away with a creditable 0-0 draw – their fourth point in their opening four league games.
What’s more, Palace would retain their top-flight status by just a single point at the culmination of 69/70. The team who finished one point below them? Sunderland.
Truly, at this level, every result – no matter how early in the season – matters.