Derby county recorded their best start to a league season last night for 63 years. The 1-0 away win over Blackpool saw the Rams take maximum points in their opening three games.
It was at the start of the 1948-49 season that the Rams last managed this, wins over Manchester United (2-1) Huddersfield Town (4-1) and a 2-1 win over Sheffield United Their next game ended the run of wins as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town, a side they had comprehensively beaten just seven days earlier.
The Rams went on to record a run in the 1948-49 season of 16 games unbeaten. They were finally beaten on the 17th November at St James Park Newcastle by three goals to nil. However they did go on to finish in third position in the first division (now Premiership) that season, a position they couldn’t better until the Championship winning era of Brian Clough in the 1971-72 season.
The side of 47-48 may not be well known to the modern Rams supporter, but those of you of an age, or into the history of Derby County will recollect, Bert Mozley, Tim Ward, Leon Leuty, William (Chick) Musson, Reg Harrison, Jackie Stamps and Bill Steel. Just some of the 23 players used in that season.
Some interesting facts came up when researching this article, for example Derby County beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening day of the season. Derby also broke the then British transfer fee to take Johnny Morris from Manchester United for a Princely fee of £24,500.
The League Champions of that season was Portsmouth and their attendance record, which stands to this day, was set when the Rams played them in the 6th Round of the FA Cup.
Derby now look to better the three wins on Saturday against Doncaster. If they win it will be the first time the Rams have won their first four games in over 100 years. The last time Derby County won more than three games in a row from the start of a season was when Edward VII was on the British Throne in 1905-06 season.
The Rams won five consecutive games in this season beating Bury on the opening day 3-1, followed by wins over Middlesbrough (1-0), Preston (3-0), Newcastle United (1-0) and Aston Villa (1-0). They eventually lost 4-1 away to Liverpool, the eventual league winners. The season also saw Steve Bloomer sold to Middlesbrough.
1948-49 SEASON
| Date | Opponents | V | Type | Res/KO | Venue | Att | View options | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 21 Aug | Manchester United | A | League | W 2-1 | Old Trafford | Table | |||
| Wed 25 Aug | HUDDERSFIELD TOWN | H | League | W 4-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 28 Aug | SHEFFIELD UNITED | H | League | W 2-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Wed 01 Sep | Huddersfield Town | A | League | D 1-1 | Leeds Road | Table | |||
| Sat 04 Sep | Aston Villa | A | League | D 1-1 | Villa Park | Table | |||
| Mon 06 Sep | Blackpool | A | League | D 1-1 | Bloomfield Road | Table | |||
| Sat 11 Sep | SUNDERLAND | H | League | D 2-2 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Wed 15 Sep | BLACKPOOL | H | League | W 3-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 18 Sep | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | League | D 2-2 | Molineux | Table | |||
| Sat 25 Sep | BOLTON WANDERERS | H | League | W 1-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 02 Oct | Liverpool | A | League | D 0-0 | Anfield | Table | |||
| Sat 09 Oct | PRESTON NORTH END | H | League | W 1-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 16 Oct | Everton | A | League | W 1-0 | Goodison Park | Table | |||
| Sat 23 Oct | CHELSEA | H | League | W 2-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 30 Oct | Birmingham City | A | League | W 1-0 | St. Andrews | Table | |||
| Sat 06 Nov | MIDDLESBROUGH | H | League | W 2-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 13 Nov | Newcastle United | A | League | L 0-3 | St. James Park | Table | |||
| Sat 20 Nov | PORTSMOUTH | H | League | W 1-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 27 Nov | Manchester City | A | League | L 1-2 | Maine Road | Table | |||
| Sat 04 Dec | CHARLTON ATHLETIC | H | League | W 5-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 11 Dec | Stoke City | A | League | L 2-4 | Victoria Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 18 Dec | MANCHESTER UNITED | H | League | L 1-3 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 25 Dec | Arsenal | A | League | D 3-3 | Highbury | Table | |||
| Mon 27 Dec | ARSENAL | H | League | W 2-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 01 Jan | Sheffield United | A | League | L 1-3 | Bramall Lane | Table | |||
| Sat 08 Jan | SOUTHPORT | H | F.A. Cup | W 4-1 | Baseball Ground | ||||
| Sat 22 Jan | Sunderland | A | League | L 1-2 | Roker Park | Table | |||
| Sat 29 Jan | ARSENAL | H | F.A. Cup | W 1-0 | Baseball Ground | ||||
| Sat 05 Feb | WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS | H | League | W 3-2 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 12 Feb | CARDIFF CITY | H | F.A. Cup | W 2-1 | Baseball Ground | ||||
| Sat 19 Feb | Bolton Wanderers | A | League | L 0-4 | Burnden Park | Table | |||
| Sat 26 Feb | Portsmouth | A | F.A. Cup | L 1-2 | Fratton Park | ||||
| Sat 05 Mar | Preston North End | A | League | D 0-0 | Deepdale | Table | |||
| Sat 12 Mar | EVERTON | H | League | W 3-2 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 19 Mar | Portsmouth | A | League | L 0-1 | Fratton Park | Table | |||
| Sat 26 Mar | MANCHESTER CITY | H | League | W 2-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 02 Apr | Middlesbrough | A | League | L 0-1 | Ayresome Park | Table | |||
| Sat 09 Apr | NEWCASTLE UNITED | H | League | L 2-4 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Fri 15 Apr | Burnley | A | League | L 1-3 | Turf Moor | Table | |||
| Sat 16 Apr | Chelsea | A | League | W 3-0 | Stamford Bridge | Table | |||
| Mon 18 Apr | BURNLEY | H | League | W 2-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 23 Apr | BIRMINGHAM CITY | H | League | W 1-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Wed 27 Apr | ASTON VILLA | H | League | D 2-2 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 30 Apr | Charlton Athletic | A | League | W 5-1 | The Valley | Table | |||
| Wed 04 May | LIVERPOOL | H | League | W 3-0 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||
| Sat 07 May | STOKE CITY | H | League | W 4-1 | Baseball Ground | Table | |||