Throughout its seven seasons,Sons of Anarchyshowed parts of the title club’s history, including some of the members of the First 9, the founding members of the club. Created by Kurt Sutter,Sons of Anarchytakes viewers to the town of Charming, California, where the title club provides safety to the town’s residents, but also brings trouble from time to time. Leading the club at the beginning of the show are President Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and VP Jackson “Jax” Teller (Charlie Hunnam), with the latter becoming the club’s president a couple of seasons later.
Sons of Anarchyfollows the lives of the members of SAMCRO, with the main focus being Jax and the many ups and downs in their personal lives and within the club. Despite the focus ofSons of Anarchybeing the current members of the club, it took some time at different points in its seven seasons to mention parts ofSAMCRO’s history. The club was founded by Jax’s father, andthe founding members of the club are known asthe First 9, some of whom were featured on the show in different capacities.
6John “JT” Teller
JT Was Jax & Thomas’ Father
John Teller was one of the two founders of SAMCRO, as well as Jax’s father. JT served in the 25th Infantry Division of the United States Army along with his best friend, Piney. When they returned from Vietnam after serving two years, JT and Piney saw the deterioration of the country and faced discrimination and economic hardship. This was key to JT’s decision to form the club, along with the hope of rediscovering the brotherhood he found in Vietnam.Together with Piney, JT founded the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original, a.k.a. SAMCRO.
JT settled SAMCRO’s clubhouse (as seen throughout the show) and took over the garage and automotive repair business with Clay. Unfortunately, as the club was facing financial trouble, JT and the rest of the First 9 made their seed money on the black market, including running illicit substances and smuggling contraband goods. In his personal life, things weren’t going well, and after the death of his and Gemma’s (Katey Sagal) second son, Thomas,JT started writing his manifesto.
In his manuscript, titledThe Life and Death of Sam Crow: How The Sons of Anarchy Lost Their Way,JT detailed his original vision and plan for SAMCRO, and expressed his disappointmentin what the club had become. JT shared in his manifesto that what started the club’s downfall was its involvement in the gun-running business, which is why Jax tried to end this years later. Unfortunately, this desire for SAMCRO to change its ways and other unknown reasons led Clay and Gemma to plan JT’s death, with Clay sabotaging his bike.
JT was hit by a semi-truck on August 11, 2025, and he was dragged 178 yards. JT lived for two days in the hospital, but eventually succumbed to his severe injuries.Sons of Anarchykicks off with Jax finding JT’s manifesto, and he does his best to fulfill his father’s wishes for SAMCRO.
5Clarence “Clay” Morrow
Clay Became Jax’s Stepfather
Clay was also one of the First 9, and he was very close to JT at some point. Clay was the youngest member of the First 9 and one of three who weren’t war veterans, though he did serve in the military when he joined the Army Airborne in 1969 and served in Vietnam until 1972. When he returned from Vietnam, he reconnected with the club and became a full-patched member. Along with JT, he opened the Teller-Morrow auto shop, which he continued to run throughoutSons of Anarchy, andit was he who pushed for the club to get into the gun-running business.
As mentioned above,he and Gemma conspired against JT and planned his death, with Clay sabotaging JT’s bike to make his death look like an accident. It’s unclear exactly when Clay and Gemma’s affair began, but their relationship continued for many years afterJT’s death. Clay succeeded JT asSAMCRO’s President, and some time later, he married Gemma, becoming Jax’s stepfather. Unfortunately, Clay wasn’t the best leader, and his time as President was defined by betrayal, lies, and lots of murder.
After reading his father’s letters and learning of Clay’s involvement in JT’s murder (but not Gemma’s, as she burned the evidence), Jax knew Clay had to die per the club’s rules. After a couple of obstacles, the club voted in favor of his death, and soClay was killed by Jax inSons of Anarchyseason 6, and it was made to look as if the Irish had killed Clay and Clay had killed them.
4Piermont “Piney” Winston
Piney Was Opie’s Father
Piney was JT’s best friend, co-founder of SAMCRO, and Opie’s (Ryan Hurst) father,Jax’s best friend. While it would have made sense for Piney to become SAMCRO’s President after JT’s death, he couldn’t due to health issues, so Clay took over while Piney remained as VP until Jax was old enough to take over that spot. However, as the club’s oldest member, he served as senior club adviser, and by the time of the events ofSons of Anarchy, he attended all club meetings but rarely went on runs with the rest.
Piney knew about the letters and tried to use them against Clay, but the latter killed Piney and framed the Lobos Sonora for it.
Piney never trusted Clay, and he remained a member of the club to have a vote, so he could keep Clay under control when he became President. Maureen Ashby’s letters from JT, which were the ones that revealed the truth about JT’s death to Jax, were what led to Piney’s demise. Piney knew about the letters and tried to use them against Clay, but the latter killed Piney and framed the Lobos Sonora for it, thus causing even more conflict for SAMCRO.
3Leonard “Lenny The Pimp” Jankowitz
Lenny Was In Prison Throughout Sons Of Anarchy
Lenny met JT and Piney in boot camp, as he also fought in the Vietnam War. He reconnected with them after a mission in Hanoi, and when JT and Piney founded the club, they knew they needed someone like Lenny, whojoined as SAMCRO’s first Sgt-at-Arms. Lenny earned his nickname “The Pimp” as he was very popular with women, so much so that he made a business out of it. In 1989, Lenny was charged with the murder of three ATF agents, and by the time of the events ofSons of Anarchy,he was serving a life sentence at Stockton State Prison.
Lenny was played by Sonny Barger, a founding member of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels.
Despite being in prison, Lenny continued working for the club, forming an alliance with the Russian Mafia, and he was often visited by his SAMCRO brothers, especially when they needed his help. Lenny made sporadic appearances throughoutSons of Anarchy, always helping the club from prison and showing his undying loyalty to the club despite his circumstances.
2Keith McGee
Keith Was Killed By Clay
Keith (Andrew McPhee) arrived in the US in the 1960s and met JT, Piney, and Lenny when they returned from Vietnam. Keith joined the newly formed Sons of Anarchy, and in the 1970s, he returned to Belfast with JT and Clay to form SAMBEL.Keith became the President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Belfast charter, and after JT’s death, he took care of Maureen Ashby, with whom JT had a daughter named Trinity. Keith and Maureen eventually married, and Keith became the link between SAMCRO and the IRA.
Keith’s partnership with Jommy O’Phelan to let SAMCRO out of the True IRA’s gun-running business is what ultimately led to his death, as Keith didn’t want anything to happen to the club, but Jimmy wanted the opposite.Keith was revealed as a traitor to the club, with Clay stripping him of his patch and pushing him off a roof for his betrayal.
1Walter “Wally” Grazer, Thomas “Uncle Tom” Whitney, Chico Villanueva & Otto “Lil Killer” Moran
Some Of The First 9 Didn’t Make It To Sons Of Anarchy
The rest of the members of SAMCRO’s First 9 are Wally, Tom, Chico, and Otto,all of them dying before the events ofSons of Anarchy. Wally left home when he was 16 and turned to crime to support himself. He met an unspecified member of SAMCRO after selling him some stolen goods, and he was invited to meet the club. After joining them, he brought his friend Tom, whom he thought would fit in.Wally struggled with cirrhosis in his final days and killed himself in 1986.
Little is known about Tom’s time in the club, but he was arrested and sent to prison, where he was stabbed to death in 1995. Chico served in the Marines doing a tour in Vietnam, and when he returned, he ran drugs for his cousins. Chico met SAMCRO while enjoying a ride and was asked to join the club.Chico was SAMCRO’s contact with the Mayans, and he died in 1976. Otto met the club on a Memorial Day run in La Honda, and they agreed to let him ride to see if he was worthy of joining.
Otto proved himself worthy of being part of SAMCRO when he got them several gigs, got them extra money, and established good connections for the club. However, Otto also had a gambling problem and had a large debt.Otto was found dead in the Sacramento River in 1985, and though foul play was initially suspected, it was never confirmed.
