A look back on seven incredible Derby County records that are unlikely to be broken any time soon.
Derby County Football Club was created in 1884. Since then, 140 years of history have been made in Derbyshire.
The Rams have won three major trophies in the club’s history so far, the first of which came in 1946 and saw them smash Charlton Athletic 4-1 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.
This was followed by two First Division titles in the 1970s under the guidance of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor.
Success has been harder to come by for Derby in recent years, though things are looking up since David Clowes saved the club from administration in 2022.
The Derbyshire outfit are once again competing in the Championship, with hopes of building on their recent resurgence.
Manager Paul Warne will be looking to create some history of his own at Pride Park, but some achievements may never be matched again.
In this article, Derby County News has examined many of the club’s records and has picked out seven that may last the test of time.
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Derby’s highest appearance maker ever – Kevin Hector
Kevin Hector is Derby’s all-time record appearance maker, having played 581 times for the Rams.
Hector joined Derby in 1966 from Bradford Park Avenue, going on to feature 430 times before departing in 1978.
The former striker returned to the club for a brief two-year stint between 1980-1982 before leaving for Shepshed Charterhouse.
No current Derby star comes close to matching Hector’s appearance record, with 35-year-old Craig Forsyth’s 315 the closet.
All-time top scorer, most goals in a season, most league goals in a season & most goals in a European match
Derby have not been the most prolific side in front of goal in recent history but they have had some sensational goalscorers over the years.
Steve Bloomer is the club’s all-time top scorer with 332, netting the majority of those goals in his first spell at Derby between 1891–1906.
After a brief stint with Middlesbrough, he returned to Derbyshire in 1910 where he finished his footballing career.
Despite scoring the most goals in Derby’s history, Bloomer does not feature in the remainder of their staggering goalscoring records.
Jack Bowers holds the record for most goals scored in a single campaign, finding the net 43 times in 1932/33 (35 in the league, eight in the FA Cup).
Bowers, along with Ray Straw, shares the record for most league goals scored in one campaign. The pair both netted 37 in the 1930/31 and 1956/57 seasons respectively.
Elsewhere, the aforementioned Hector holds the record for most goals scored in a European match.
The striker bagged five during a UEFA Cup meeting with Finn Harps on September 15th, 1976.
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Biggest Derby County win and record attendance
Accompanying Derby’s impressive goalscorers are some even more impressive scorelines.
At present, the club’s record league victory, and their biggest win ever is 9-0. That record was set against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 10th, 1891.
Derby achieved the same scoreline when they played Sheffield Wednesday on January 21st, 1899, in the First Division.
That record is unlikely to be broken and one that physically can no longer be surpassed is their record attendance.
Derby managed to squeeze 33,378 into Pride Park for a Premier League meeting with Liverpool on March 18th, 2000.
But the club’s all-time record attendance stands at 41,826, which was achieved against Tottenham Hotspur on September 20th, 1969, when they were still playing at the Baseball Ground.