Derby County Memories

Although not a matchday programme, this piece of memorabilia commemorates a significant moment in the history of Derby County. To mark the club’s golden jubilee, a celebratory supper was held on Monday 1 October 1934 at the Drill Hall in Derby, located on the corner of Becket Street and Newland Street. The venue stood until its demolition in 1970; today, the site is occupied by Forester House. The following day, the Derby Evening Telegraph published a report of the event…

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Season 1974/75 will always, of course, be remembered for Derby’s second League title in four seasons but what of their FA Cup campaign? The Third Round draw (which was now being shown live on Match of The Day following the conclusion of the Second Round ties) sent the Rams down to East London and a potentially tricky tie at Orient, who were lying 16th in the Second Division. Derby ended 1974 in ninth place, having seen out the year with…

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Without a win in four matches, Derby County travelled to Elland Road on Saturday 1 December 1934 to face Leeds United. All eyes were on Hughie Gallacher, the prolific Scottish forward recently signed from Chelsea for £2,750 by Rams manager George Jobey. Gallacher, brought in to replace the injured Jack Bowers, was set to make his fourth consecutive appearance in black and white. The cover of the official matchday programme is dominated by an advertisement for Thorne’s Creamy Milk Chocolate…

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Having finished runners-up to title winners Sunderland the previous season, Derby had entered the new season as one of half a dozen clubs expected to challenge for honours and had started off in great form, having won three of their opening four games and scoring 13 goals in doing so. That included a four-goal haul for Jack Bowers in a 5-4 Baseball Ground success against Manchester United where the Rams had fought back from two goals down. On September 14th,…

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After 11 games of the 1938/1939 season, George Jobey’s Derby County side were flying high in Division One, sitting second with 16 points. They were level on points with leaders Everton, though the Toffees had a game in hand. On Saturday 22 October, the Rams hosted Manchester United at the Baseball Ground. United had endured a tough start to the season, winning just twice and languishing in 16th place on 8 points. The match marked the debut of Derby’s new…

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The 1930s had begun with an air of optimism around the club with George Jobey’s team lying in third place in the table, five points behind leaders Sheffield Wednesday, and on a run of 7 wins from their last 10 games. Adding to all the optimism, the Rams had coasted into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 5-1 home win over Second Division opponent Bristol City. The draw for the fourth round handed Derby another home…

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In late October of the 1945/1946 season, Ted Magner’s Derby County team made the journey to Somerton Park in South Wales to face Newport County in the Football League South. Just a week earlier, the Rams had comfortably triumphed 4-1 at the Baseball Ground, with Duncan (two), Doherty, and Powell all on the scoresheet. The Derby Evening Telegraph’s match report was headlined, “Newport Was a ‘Piece of Cake’ for the Rams,” penned by journalist Mark Eaton. He continued the culinary…

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Just under seven years (2,555 days, to be precise) since the outbreak of war put an abortive end to the 1939/40 Football League season, August 31, 1946, saw the resumption of the competition. There was much anticipation from the public as, though football had continued to be played throughout the war years, it had been on a regional basis, teams often filled with ‘guest players’ and often in grounds which had been damaged by enemy aircraft strikes (as the Osmaston…

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Derby County concluded the 1911/12 season as Division Two champions with 54 points, edging out Chelsea on goal average after both teams finished level on points. After spending four years at Middlesbrough, the legendary Steve Bloomer returned to Derby in 1910 and played a pivotal role in their promotion campaign, finishing as top scorer with 18 league goals (19 in all competitions) as well as scoring his 300th goal for the Rams against Huddersfield Town in September. After a mixed…

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George Jobey’s Rams suffered three consecutive away defeats at the start of the 1926/1927 season against Arsenal, Leeds, and Sheffield United. Their only victory came in the second game of the new campaign – a 2-1 win at home against Liverpool – leaving Derby second bottom of the league as they prepared to face Newcastle United at the Baseball Ground. The official 12 page programme is mostly advertising with the cover featuring a footballer standing next to a shield listing…

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