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The club was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. They originally wanted to name themselves directly after the cricket club as Derbyshire County FC, but objections from the local football association (who thought the name was too long) led them to choose Derby County FC. They initially played at the Racecourse Ground.
The Rams, as Derby County are known, were founder members of The Football League when it was launched in 1888. In 1891, they absorbed another Derby club, Derby Midland F.C., who had been members of the Midland League. In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground (so called because it was previously used for baseball), which became their home for the next 102 years, and adopted their traditional colours of black and white.
In 1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted (though World War I meant that they had to wait until 1919 to play First Division football again). After just two seasons, they were relegated yet again in 1921.
However, more successful times lay ahead, instigated by Derby's promotion in 1926. Despite not winning anything, the club became a formidable force, with constantly high finishes, from the late 1920s and all the way through the 1939-1940 season, which was abandoned due to World War II. For example, in the 1931-1932 season Derby County finished in second place in the First Division with 50 points behind Sheffield Wednesday on 60 points.
FA Cup triumph
The FA Cup restarted in the 1945-1946 season. Derby got to the final again, but this time managed to go all the way and win by beating Charlton Athletic 4-1 after extra time. (Derby's previous lack of success in the FA Cup — they also regularly lost at the semi-final stage — gave rise to a superstition that the club was subject to a gypsy curse, supposedly because of gypsy anger that the Baseball Ground was built on a gypsy camping ground. Prior to the 1946 final, Derby County players went so far as to ask the gypsies to lift the curse.)
The Football League restarted the following season and, despite the Cup win, Derby could not reproduce their pre-War form and were eventually relegated in 1953. Things went from bad to worse and in 1955 they were relegated to the Third Division North for the first time in their history. The third tier proved easy for Derby, though: they finished second at the first attempt and then bettered it by finishing first (and gaining promotion) the following season.
Clough and Taylor take over at the Baseball Ground
Brian Clough, OBE
In 1967, the now-legendary Brian Clough took over Derby County (in partnership with assistant manager Peter Taylor) and led them to their greatest glories. When Clough took over the team, the Rams were treading water in the Second Division and the club's only honour (the 1946 F.A.Cup win) was looking like a long time ago. There was little expectation that the young manager was going to lead his team to the club's first League Championship.
With Clough having clinched the influential signing of Dave Mackay, Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969 and won their first ever Championship in 1972. On May 8, 1972, Clough was famously in Spain with his Derby side as they were crowned champions with their season having already ended. Back home Leeds United and Liverpool failed to get the results necessary in their last games and the Rams clinched the title.
Though Derby did not retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, eventually losing to Italian side Juventus in a controversial match which was subject to subsequent allegations that the Italian club had bribed the match officials, leading Clough to call the Italians "cheating bastards".
Clough's frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment (which had led to Derby being threatened with expulsion from the League) eventually led to him falling out with the board of directors at the club, and Clough and Taylor both left in 1973, to widespread uproar from Rams fans, who demanded the board resign and Clough be reinstated.
Rams are champions again under Dave Mackay
With the high profile signings of Francis Lee and Bruce Rioch, Derby's League success was repeated in 1974-1975 season when they won the title again, this time under Dave Mackay. Before the 1975-1976 season the Rams made another big name signing in Charlie George, and that season saw the Rams face mighty Real Madrid in the European Cup. In one of the greatest games at the Baseball Ground, Charlie George scored a hat-trick as Derby ran out 4-1 winners. Progress in the competition was halted by a 1-5 loss in the second leg at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Declining fortunes
Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they went down to the Second Division in 1980.
Though they challenged well in their first season, Derby's stay in the Second Division was not a happy one and they were relegated to the now-national Third Division in 1984, their centenary year and just nine years after their last Championship.
Cox turns the club around
Arthur Cox
After the relegation, the club appointed former Newcastle United manager Arthur Cox to stop the rot - and stop it he did. After a two year stint in the Third Division, Cox's emerging side were promoted to the Second Division and won it at the first attempt, returning to the old First Division in 1987.
The club finished fifth in the 1988-1989 season, with the team now containing stars like Peter Shilton, Mark Wright, Dean Saunders and Ted McMinn. However, English clubs were banned from European competition at the time, so the Rams missed out on a place in the UEFA Cup that their high finish otherwise would have earned.
This was Cox's team at its peak; a lack of further investment from controversial chairman Robert Maxwell lead to a decline shortly after. With Maxwell soon dead from suspected suicide, the club was relegated back to the Second Division in 1991 (which became the First Division a year later when the First Division clubs broke away to form the FA Premier League). At this time, local newspaper businessman Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club.
Building for success
The FA Premier League (or, more precisely, the money it brought) made it even more difficult for Derby to gain promotion to the Premier League, let alone stay there. Cox resigned in late 1993 citing health problems, and Roy McFarland returned as manager. Despite big spending however, McFarland failed to get the side anywhere near the top of the division and was sacked in 1995 after a pair of mid-table finishes. Jim Smith was appointed as the club's new manager. Although the season started slowly, the signing of Igor Stimac proved pivotal. Throwing his brief of 'a top-half finish' out the window, Smith guided the Rams to a second-place finish and, more importantly, the Premier League.
Premier Rams and Pride Park Stadium
Derby County moved into Pride Park Stadium in 1997
Progress continued in the next two seasons. The Rams finishing ninth and eighth places before before a slump in form saw the club finish 16th at the end of the 1999-2000 Premiership campaign. Another relegation battle followed in 2000-2001 when Derby narrowly avoided the drop by finished 17th in the Premiership - one place clear of relegation.
Jim Smith resigned as manager in October 2001 after rejecting an offer to become the club's director of football. He was replaced by assistant manager and former player Colin Todd. Todd remained in charge for just three months before he was sacked in the aftermath of a humiliating FA Cup Third Round home defeat against Division Three strugglers Bristol Rovers.
At the end of January 2002, John Gregory was appointed Derby manager less than a week after walking out on Aston Villa. Derby won their first two games under Gregory's management and also held title chasing Manchester United to a draw, suggesting that Gregory might be able to save Derby from relegation. But seven defeats from their final eight fixtures condemned Derby to relegation from the Premiership after six successive seasons of top division football.
Life outside the Premier League
Derby County's relegation back to The Football League saw the club enter a serious financial crisis - which forced them to sell many key players and build a team mostly of home-grown youngsters like Tom Huddlestone and Lee Grant. Gregory was suspended from his managerial duties over alleged misconduct and former Ipswich Town boss George Burley was drafted in as a temporary manager. An 18th place finish was secured. At the end of the season Gregory's contract was terminated and Burley received the job on a permanent basis.
The club's parent company went briefly into liquidation in October 2003 and the majority shareholder Lionel Pickering gave way to a new board of John Sleightholme, Jeremy Keith and Steve Harding, who bought the club for £3. The police are currently investigating whether any illegal payments were made at this time. Derby finished 20th in the 2003-2004 First Division campaign, but improved dramatically in the 2004-2005 season and finished 4th in the Football League Championship (the new name for the Football League First Division) and qualified for a promotion play-off spot, though lost in the semi-finals to Preston North End.
Soon afterwards, Burley resigned citing differences between himself and the board. He was replaced by Phil Brown. Brown failed to find much success in the job, however, and was sacked in January 2006, after a bad run of results, including a 6-1 hammering at Coventry City and an embarrassing 3-1 FA Cup exit to League One side Colchester. Terry Westley, the academy coach at the time, took over first team duties until the end of the season, when Derby finished 20th in the Championship - just two places above the relegation zone.
Enter Peter Gadsby
Peter Gadsby
Derby's Chairman, John Sleightholme, resigned in April 2006, saying his position had become untenable. The board did not replace him.
The rest of the board followed him later that month. A popular consortium of local businessmen led by former vice-chairman Peter Gadsby bought the club to huge popular acclaim, reducing the club's debt and returning Pride Park Stadium to the club's ownership in the process.
Davies had taken Preston to the Championship playoffs in both of his seasons as manager, and the Derby faithful will be expecting him to win promotion to the Premiership before too long. The Rams have been starved of success for too many seasons and Davies will be expected to succeed at Pride Park if his tenure there is to be a lengthy one.
There is also a significant amount of rivalry with Leeds United, despite Leeds not being geographically close to Derby. The rivalry is due to Derby and Leeds being two of the top English teams in the early 1970s.
The table below chronicles the achievements of Derby County every season, from their formation in 1884 to the present day. Details of Derby's final league position is given (from the 1888-1899 season, when The Football League was founded), along with which round they made it to in both the FA Cup, the League Cup (which began in the 1960-1961 season) and any European competitions that they had qualified for.
1 At the beginning of the 1892-1893 season, the Football League expanded to include a second division; the existing division (which Derby were playing in) was renamed the First Division
2 Derby qualified for the Fairs Cup, but were banned from competing due to financial irregularities
3 At the beginning of the 1992-1993 season, the clubs in the Football League First Division broke away to form the FA Premier League; as a result, the Football League's three remaining divisions were renamed: the Second Division (which Derby were playing in) became the First Division, the Third Division became the Second Division and the Fourth Division became the Third Division
4 At the beginning of the 2004-2005 season, the Football League renamed its divisions: the First Division (which Derby were playing in) became The Championship, the Second Division became League One and the Third Division became League Two
