Derby County Memories

Derby County’s first game of the delayed 2020-2021 season will be at home to Barrow in the Carabao Cup first round on Saturday 5 September. Barrow were promoted as National League champions back to the English Football League after 48 years away following the curtailment of their 2019/20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cumbrian side were four points clear when the season was suspended in March but a vote by National League clubs decided to determine…

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This article will give a broad outline of the Rams’ post-war matches against Scottish opposition, highlighting what programmes were issued. Given the geographical proximity, games against clubs north of the border have actually been quite few and far between. For completion, I will list the pre-war games I’m aware of: 5.4.1890         Derby 5 Partick Thistle 1 1890s              Kilmarnock v Derby 26.4.1899       Hearts 2 Derby 2 14.12.1901      Dundee 1 Derby 2 1.1.1906          Dundee 1 Derby 1…

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Several clubs in the Premier League and Championship, including Derby, did not produce a programme for the behind closed doors games of June and July 2020. Consequently, several enterprising eBay sellers have created their own mini-programmes and teamsheets as a record of the games played. These could be considered a type of modern-day ‘pirate’ programme, similar to those produced by some fans for games in the early to mid-twentieth century. The older pirate programmes, or ‘souvenir’ issues, were unofficial productions…

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A few years ago when scanning programme covers, I came across the Charlton v Derby 16 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…

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1942/43 – “Anyone fancy playing for the Rams this week?” The abridged 1939-40 Football League season saw Derby lying 7th in the First Division after three games (home wins over Portsmouth and Aston Villa and a defeat at Sunderland). The Rams beat Villa literally the day before war was declared – so once it was confirmed, football was the last thing anyone cared about. There would follow a handful of friendly matches over the next 2/3 years but wartime competitive…

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When the subject of football memorabilia is raised with football fans, including those of Derby County, it is invariably collectable items such as matchday programmes and tickets that spring to mind along with badges, pennants and of course replica shirts. But, in my opinion, books about the club you support are just as collectable and equally rewarding; sometimes more so. Let’s be honest though; only on rare occasions have books about football received rave reviews from critics and none have…

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Derby County’s former manager James Michael Smith, known as Jim Smith or the Bald Eagle to Rams fans, sadly passed away on 10 December 2019 aged 79. He joined Derby in 1995 and resigned in October 2001, taking charge of 281 games. Based on league position in the top divisions, Jim Smith was the best manager the club have had in the last 30 years since Arthur Cox guided the Rams to fifth in the old Division 1 in the…

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This article first appeared in issue 21, the final edition, of Derby County Memories. If you enjoyed reading it, why not buy copies of the magazine? See the About section for further details. There were a number of key events at Derby County in the mid to late 1960s that paved the way for the incredible success that followed. The signing of Kevin Hector in September 1966 was a major development for a club that had been in the doldrums…

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Tim, a true gentleman, was probably too nice a person to bring the success that Rams fans craved, not helped by the board of directors at the time, seemingly content to see their cash-strapped club coast along in the old Second Division. His five year tenure might have been a frustrating one for him but he left behind a huge legacy. As well as bringing the splendid Alan Durban to the Baseball Ground, Tim was responsible for signing Kevin Hector,…

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In December 1950 the FA withdrew its ban on floodlit football which allowed English clubs to install floodlights. However, competitive games under floodlights were still banned by the FA and clubs that had installed these had to organise friendly matches to use them. One such match was Derby’s friendly at Aldershot on Monday 18 October 1954. Derby were a team in decline and on their way towards relegation to Division 3 North only two seasons after being relegated from the…

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