Derby County Memories

The Texaco Cup was a tournament played in the 1970s between clubs from England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland that had not qualified for European competition. It was one of the first examples of corporate sponsorship in football, backed by the American petroleum company who were keen for additional exposure after acquiring the Regent filling station chain. Matches were played during the same weeks as the European competitions, rounds consisted of two-legs and penalty shoot-outs settled drawn ties. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the first Texaco Cup…

Read More Read More

David Moore recalls the remarkable impact made by the manager who, he believes, has never quite had the recognition he deserved for his achievement in emulating Harry Storer by quickly stabilising the club and then lifting it out of the third tier of English football the following season. The mid-1980s saw a remarkable transformation in Third Division Derby’s fortunes under the shrewd managership of Arthur Cox. At the time I was living in a leafy village close to Chester. A…

Read More Read More

The Watney Mann Invitation Cup (the Watney Cup to supporters) was a pre-season tournament held in the early 1970s contested by the two highest scoring teams in the four divisions of the Football League the previous season that had not been promoted or involved in European competition. Sponsored by the Watney Mann brewery, it was the first tournament in England to sell its naming rights. The Rams were invited to take part in the inaugural competition and faced Fulham at Craven Cottage in the first round…

Read More Read More

All in the Game was a football skills competition broadcast on ITV between 1976-1977 that featured players from English and Scottish clubs competing in ‘It’s a Knock-Out’ style events. The show was devised by the then Bristol City manager, Alan Dicks, who was convinced that the theme could be used to help City financially in their push to the First Division. The four preliminary rounds, two semi-finals and final were shown by ITV in seven 30 minute programmes in July…

Read More Read More

Back in my days editing The Ram between 2008/09 and 2010/11, it often felt like it was just deadline after deadline because of how a programme production week was structured. And to a certain extent that’s because it was, as we had to do a section each day in order to stick to print schedules. Tuesday and Wednesday were when we completed the vast majority of each edition, and that’s where you’re reliant on other departments for ensuring that their…

Read More Read More

A couple of years ago when scanning programme covers I came across the Charlton v Derby January 1965 issue which had the back page neatly cut out. Assuming it had been damaged by a previous owner removing a form, or perhaps a photo of a favourite player, I thought nothing of it, added it to my spares pile and made a note to buy a replacement. Several months later a copy was purchased on eBay but when it arrived the…

Read More Read More

On Saturday 26 January 2019 the Rams play Accrington Stanley, currently 14th in League One, in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Crown Ground (known as the Wham Stadium under a sponsorship deal). Having come back from 2-0 down at home to Southampton in round 3 to draw 2-2, Derby needed extra-time and penalties in the televised replay to beat the Saints at St Mary’s Stadium after another 2-2 draw. According to Accrington Stanley’s official website, the…

Read More Read More

Determining a value for any type of memorabilia, especially for scarce football collectables, can be a difficult task. Rare items often command high prices when sold at auction or on eBay and are worth whatever a buyer is prepared to pay at that point in time. Derby County Memories have recorded the sale prices of selected Rams-related memorabilia sold on the open market over the last five years, which includes programmes, tickets, shirts, badges, and property owned by former Derby…

Read More Read More

Derby County’s first Christmas game was at home to Bolton Wanderers at the County Ground on Boxing Day 1888. Until Bolton were relegated in 1899 they provided the Christmas opposition every year; in 11 meetings, the Rams won six to Bolton’s one. Derby’s first league game on Christmas Day was in 1894, a 4-1 win at Sheffield United. Two years later, the first Christmas Day fixture at the Baseball Ground saw Steve Bloomer hit a hat-trick in an 8-1 win…

Read More Read More

Items from the Gerald Mortimer Collection sold for a combined price of over £25,000 at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall on Friday 31 August 2018. A Derby County directors’ minutes book from 1888, the year the Football League was formed, was bought by the club for £4000 (estimate £1000-£2000). It is now on display at Pride Park along with a 1934 supper card commemorating the club’s jubilee, also bought by Derby County, selling for £400. The card is signed by 8…

Read More Read More