Everything You Need To Know About SAMCRO in Sons of Anarchy (2024)

The hit FX series Sons of Anarchy revolved around the shady business operations of the motorcycle club SAMCRO and the personal drama that unfolds in the lives of its members. From the very first episode, it was a club that couldn't stay out of trouble. Throughout the show, they were always colliding with the law and allowing the personal lives of its members to interfere with what was rarely a smooth operation. Despite all the loyalty and brotherhood that its members carried with one another, there had also been plenty of personal tragedy and even betrayal that occurred between them as well.

The club went through several trials and tribulations throughout the series. It was the portrayal of those struggles, however, that helped make them a group worth getting emotionally invested in. There is quite a long and storied history established behind the club and all that it does. But what exactly does its history entail? Perhaps more importantly, where does it stand after the series finale of both Sons of Anarchy and its spin-off series, Mayans M.C.?

What is SAMCRO & What Does it Mean?

Seeing how Sons of Anarchy is based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet, SAMCRO would represent the kingdom of Denmark. In the fictional world of Sons of Anarchy, SAMCRO (an acronym for "Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original") was the brainchild of Vietnam War veterans John Teller and Piermont "Piney" Winston and was originally founded in 1967. The club is one of 36 Sons of Anarchy charters within the United States (there are 12 others overseas) and was initially created with the sole intent of social and societal rebellion and hoped to serve as a more positive influence. The club had stationed itself in Northern California, eventually choosing to settle its operations in the state's town of Charming. Both John and Piney originally held the respective positions of the club's President and Vice President.

After the tragic death of the former and after the latter's health complications eventually forced him to step down from his position, John's brother, Clay, and son, Jax, took up the mantle of each of their places in the club's hierarchy. Under Clay's leadership, however, the club moved away from the initial vision and mission of rebellion that John and Piney had in mind at its inception. Instead, the club began to entangle itself with numerous shady figures. Becoming gun runners for various criminal organizations, the crew began forming alliances that they would only come to regret as the rest of the series unfolded.

Operating democratically, the club also operates under a strict series of rules and regulations to keep it running as orderly as possible. Certain rules are relatively straightforward, such as abiding by club votes, having no involvement with children, no dealing with drugs, and giving obligatory support to members in trouble. While these rules are meant to keep the members in line and prevent them from crossing any boundaries, there have been several times when the SAMCRO brothers have either bent or broken them entirely to satisfy their own needs. Jax, for example, deliberately broke the rule of never acting against the club's president when attempted and later succeeded in killing Clay. Even Clay had no problem breaking the golden rule of never taking out another member in his murders of Keith, and Piney, and even asking Tig to kill Opie when he was misled under the belief that Opie was a rat for the ATF.

Who is in SAMCRO?

Throughout the 1960s and well into the '80s and '90s, under John and Piney's original leadership, SAMCRO originally consisted of nine members, most of them being other Vietnam War veterans. These members consisted of Wally Grazer, Thomas "Uncle Tom" Whitney, Chico Villanueva, and Otto "Lil Killer" Moran, all of whom were deceased before the series picked up in 2008. At the start of the series, fellow founding member Keith McGee had since moved to Belfast and became the leader of SAMBEL (the group's Belfast charter), but eventually met his own death at the hands of Clay in Season 3 for his acts of betrayal. After the death of Clay in Season 6, however, at the end of the series, Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz (who ended up with a life sentence at Stockton State Prison in 1989 for the murder of three ATF agents) was left as the only surviving member of the First 9.

At the start of Sons of Anarchy, under Clay's leadership, the club had an entirely new set of members. This new lineup included Jax Teller and Opie Winston, the two sons of the club's founders. Even though he could no longer carry out his duties as Vice President due to his issues with emphysema, Piney remained an active patched participant in the club. Other new members included "Bobby" Munson, the violent "Tig" Trager, Scotsman "Chibs" Telford, Juan Carlos "Juice" Ortiz, and Kip "Half-Sack" Epps, who, being a prospect, was often handed the most undesirable tasks of the group and was often the butt of many of their jokes.

Several others joined the club throughout the series, but none of them played as big a role in the story as the ones previously mentioned. In the series finale, Jax managed to alter the SAMCRO bi-laws that would end the group's discriminatory membership policies against black people (which caused trouble for Juice when he realized he was partially of African American descent), allowing his friend T.O. Cross, leader of the Grim Bastards club, to become the group's first black member.

What Becomes of SAMCRO in the World of Sons of Anarchy?

• Sons of Anarchy and Mayans MC are both available to stream on Hulu.

At the end of Sons of Anarchy, it seemed that SAMCRO was in a much more secure position. With Jax having killed August Marks, this prevented the possibility of the crime boss coming after SAMCRO after they framed him for Pastor Jonathan Haddem's murder. When the Sons of Anarchy spin-off, Mayans M.C., caught up with the group, it could've been assumed that things in the group were running smoothly, until they weren't. Conflict arose in Season 2 with the death of SAMCRO member Allesandro Montez, whose body was found on Mayan territory, and created the possibility of an all-out war between the two groups. This also opened the door for characters like Chibs, and Tig, along with several others, to make returning guest appearances in the episodes that would follow.

Despite the initial intentions that John and Piney had in mind for SAMCRO, it was a club that was far from perfect. Despite their efforts to stay out of trouble, they would usually only end up creating more of it. Despite all the tragedies and major flaws of each of its members, however, perhaps that's what made viewers care about them so much to begin with. Not only would they be a far less interesting group without those struggles, but Sons of Anarchy would never have become the show that had audiences raving as much as they did.

Sons of Anarchy

TV-MA

Action

Drama

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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9

10

A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.

Release Date

September 3, 2008

Cast

Charlie Hunnam , Katey Sagal , Kim Coates , Mark Boone Junior , Tommy Flanagan , Ron Perlman , Johnny Lewis

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

7

Creator

Kurt Sutter

Number of Episodes

92

Network

FX

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu