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 signing, Scottish international David McCulloch who had arrived from Brentford for a club-record fee of £9,500. Ironically, Derby had beaten Brentford 3-1 just two weeks earlier, but McCulloch had been struggling for form, managing only two goals in 11 appearances before his move.

Although McCulloch wasn’t listed in Derby’s official programme for the match, he started in place of Jimmy Hagan – and Derby’s record signing made an immediate impact, inspiring the Rams to a superb 5–1 victory over Manchester United in front of 26,612 fans – the Baseball Ground’s biggest crowd of the season so far.

McCulloch’s debut performance earned glowing praise in the Derby Evening Telegraph, which described him as “a man who rarely wasted a pass and who reached the ball first in the air almost every time.” United’s centre-half, George Vose, struggled to contain the powerful Scot throughout.

The Rams opened the scoring when Jack Nicholas played a ball through the middle, which McCulloch nodded on for Dix to finish. McCulloch then marked his debut with a stunning goal of his own, catching the ball sweetly on the half-volley.

Despite the scoreline, the Derby Evening Telegraph noted that “victory was not so easy as the score might indicate.” United’s forwards showed spirit, pulling a goal back early in the second half when a quick move down the right wing set up Jack Smith to score. Smith fell awkwardly as he struck the ball and had to be stretchered off, and although he later returned to the field on the right wing he was unable to make any further impact.

Derby responded swiftly. Just four minutes later, Vose turned a McCulloch effort into his own net. Then, clever play by Stockill created a chance for Crooks to slot home Derby’s fourth. McCulloch capped a dream debut with his second goal – and Derby’s fifth – latching onto a cross from Dally Duncan.

While McCulloch’s debut rightly grabbed the headlines, several other Rams players had key roles in the emphatic victory. Jack Barker was described as “supreme against Manchester United – a fine general, a wonderful stopper, and the inspirer of countless attacks.” Ralph Hann also impressed, showing himself to be “vastly improved — a genuine worker and a brainy manipulator of the ball.” Jack Nicholas stood out as a “powerful figure in defence,” combining “reliable tackling and strong kicking” with a willingness to drive forward and join the attack.

Derby: Boulton, Barker, Howe, Nicholas, Hann, Crooks, Dix, Ward, Duncan, McCulloch, Stockill

Manchester United: Breedon, Carey, Roughton, Griffiths, Vose, Gladwin, Rowley, Wrigglesworth, Smith, Manley, Wassall

David McCulloch went on to finish the season as Derby’s joint top scorer, netting 16 goals alongside Ronnie Dix, as the Rams secured a respectable sixth-place finish in Division One. However, his time at the Baseball Ground was cut short. He made just 32 appearances for the club, with the outbreak of World War Two early in the 1939/1940 season halting competitive football and bringing his Derby career to a premature end. During the war, McCulloch appeared as a guest for several clubs, including Falkirk, Brentford, Aldershot, Chelsea, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and Swansea Town. Following the war, he signed for Leicester City before winding down his career in non-league football with Bath City and later with Irish side Waterford United.