Despite having competed for the FA Cup in 130 of its 144 years, Derby have had comparatively few ties against clubs referred to in modern parlance as “non-league”. Season 1955/56 however, the Rams’ first-ever in the third tier of English football, saw no fewer than three of those ties take place.

In the 1940s and 1950s, the North-East of England could lay genuine claim to the title of “hotbed of football”. Newcastle and Sunderland were giants of the professional game and the area was dominant in the amateur sphere where North-East clubs had won or been finalists in 7 of the previous 15 FA Amateur Cup finals. The trophy, which had been competed for since 1893, had been won in season 54/55 by Bishop Auckland who had been beaten in the previous season’s Final by local rivals Crook Town in a second replay, these three matches watched by an aggregate crowd of 200,000.

Back to season 55/56, then, and Derby’s new status required them to enter the FA Cup draw at the First round stage. A total of 32 non-league clubs joined the 48 clubs from the Football League’s third tier for the draw with games due to be played on November 19^th. Perhaps the stand-out tie which emerged from that draw saw the Rams paired with Crook Town of the Northern League (who had beaten Spennymoor United in the final qualifying round) with the fixture to be played at Crook’s compact Millfield ground. Had live TV coverage been around back then, this would have been a shoo-in to be chosen as it possessed all the characteristics for a potential giant-killing act.

Crook had played at Millfield since 1898 and, despite only having one grandstand (seating 500 spectators) and grass banking around the rest of the ground (partial terracing was not installed until the early 1960s), it was a packed crowd of 9,818 who squeezed in paying total gate receipts of £970 (this being the modern-day equivalent of £32,000).

For the match, the Crook Town Supporters Association issued their standard 4 page programme featuring copious advertising with team line-ups and some brief club notes on the inner pages. This paucity of content may be the reason so few of these were retained as it remains one of the hardest post-war Derby away programmes to find and copies will easily fetch a three-figure sum on the market.

The match itself kicked off at 2pm and the Rams went straight on the front foot, Ray Straw’s 5^th-minute headed goal silencing the home crowd before, 12 minutes later, Jack Parry netted a second from close-range. However, going two goals down only seemed to spur the home team on and they slowly regained their poise helped by the Derby players persistently giving possession away in their own half. On 31 minutes, Crook pulled a goal back from Jimmy McMillan before achieving parity right on half-time as centre forward Kenny Harrison powered a header past Rams ‘keeper Terry Webster.

“As gloomy as Hamlet” was how the DET’s reporter Wilf Shaw described the Derby dressing room at the interval and things went from bad to worse when in the opening minutes of the second half, Webster retaliated to what he felt was an unfair challenge and the referee, Mr. Oxley, pointed to the spot. Thankfully for the Rams, though, Crook skipper Bobby Davison (a coal miner by trade and no relation to the Rams striker of the 80s) completely mishit the resultant spot-kick which bounced twice on the pitch before going wide of the post.

The narrow escape seemed to wake the Rams players up, and they gradually regained control of the game. A loud shout for a penalty was turned down and Jesse Pye’s 30 yard shot didn’t as much rebound off the crossbar as almost destroy it. Indeed, it had to be replaced after the game and, to this day, is still kept under the main stand at Millfield as a quirky souvenir. After several other narrow escapes, the referee blew for full-time and Crook had managed to hold out for a replay. This took place four days later at the Baseball Ground, kick-off 2pm again.

This time, however, the Rams made no mistake and two goals each from Parry and Straw along with one from Pye eased Derby to a 5-1 win in front of a crowd of 14,729. On to the second round and a home tie with Boston United of the Midland League in a match which would ultimately result in an (unwanted) record that the Rams hold to this day!

Crook would go on to lift the Amateur Cup again in 1959, 1962 and 1964, however their fortunes would start to dwindle as finances played more and more of a key role even at their level. Today, the club still play at Millfield, which still has grass banking around more than half the perimeter and remain one of the longest-tenure clubs in the Northern League currently in Division One and gates averaging 300 – a far cry from the heady days of the mid-50s.