The mid-50s saw Derby drop to the third tier of the game for the first time in their history. Despite scoring 110 goals and recording 18 home wins, the fact that only one promotion place was available meant finishing second, five points behind title-winners Grimsby, condemned the Rams to another season at this level.

For season 1956/57, manager Harry Storer stuck with the players who had come so close the previous season with no major signings announced. Initial results were a little disappointing with only two wins in the opening five games but, once again, the goals were flowing with the regular forward line of Tommy Powell, Jack Parry, Ray Straw, Alf Ackerman and Dennis Woodhead responsible for most of those.  After seven games, Derby lay sixth in the table, four points behind leaders Hartlepools.

That gap had increased to eight points by the end of October after a run of four defeats in five but from that point on everything clicked and only one of the next 14 games was lost. The Rams finally topped the table after a 1-0 victory at Tranmere on March 23^rd – a position they held until the season’s end.

Derby had given their title rivals – Accrington Stanley and Workington – some hope come Easter when two games in 48 hours (at Chesterfield and Southport) had yielded just one point. A further advantage Derby held was that Workington and Accrington were due to face each other over Easter so at least one would drop points.

The players had the Sunday off but Easter Monday saw Chesterfield visit the Baseball Ground and, as other results had gone the Rams’ way, victory in the local derby would all but assure promotion. A big crowd was expected and the 29,886 in attendance turned out to be the highest of the season.

Derby issued their standard 16-page programme for the fixture costing 3d. With so many games being played over Easter, the stats page and league table were not up to date but everyone in attendance would have known what was on the line.

The club notes on page 3 are optimistic, if cautious, and special mention is made for top scorer Ray Straw who would go on to equal Jack Bowers’ club record of 37 league goals in a season. There’s a full page covering the visiting club and the pen-pictures include Keith Havenhand and Barry Hutchinson, both of whom would go on to play for Derby later in their career. There’s also a useful list of fixtures remaining for the clubs who could, mathematically, pip Derby to the title.

As for the match itself, the opening exchanges gave no indication of what was to come. Indeed, 10 minutes in and Jack Parry went down with a twisted ankle which, in these pre-substitute days, meant he had to hobble through the match as best he could. Effectively down to ten men, then, but Chesterfield’s away form was awful and it was the Rams who took the lead on 23 minutes when Straw’s shot deflected off Flockett’s foot and beat Ron Powell in the visiting goal. This was followed up, three minutes later, by Straw bundling home a Dennis Woodhead cross.

In the words of Derby Evening Telegraph reporter Wilf Shaw, “(at this point) the Chesterfield defence simply collapsed under the strain.” Barry Hutchinson headed a Tommy Powell cross into his own net on 41 minutes and, though he netted a penalty for the Spireites just before the interval, the one-way traffic continued after the break. Three minutes into the second half, Woodhead dribbled round two defenders before firing home (“the goal of the game” according to Shaw) and, 15 minutes later, Paddy Ryan’s diving header made it 5-1.

With the game safe, the pace dropped before goals from Powell and, to complete his hat-trick, Straw in the last seven minutes finished matters off.

7-1 to the Rams, then, and a great day was made even better when the news came through that nearest rivals Accrington had lost at home to Hull meaning that promotion would be assured with a win in the final home match of the season against Southport. Which, courtesy of another two Ray Straw goals on the day, was achieved.

Derby: Webster; McDonnell, Barrowcliffe; Mays, Young, Davies; Powell, Parry, Straw, Ryan, Woodhead

Chesterfield: Powell; Flockett, Sears; Whitehurst, Blakey, Hutchinson; Walker, Havenhand, Lewis, Smith, Cunliffe