Derby Junction Football Club were an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. They were active in the 1880s and 1890s, notably being founder members of the

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

in 1890 and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

semi-finalists in 1888.Derby Junction
Football Club History Database; Accessed 09-03-08 They played at

Derby Arboretum Derby Arboretum is a public park and arboretum in the city of Derby, England, located about south of the city centre in the Rose Hill area. It was opened in 1840, following the donation of the land by local philanthropist Joseph Strutt, and t ...

.Up for the Cup: The F.A Cup in Nineteenth Century Derbyshire
Hartley, Roger; 2001; Accessed 09-03-08

History

Derby Junction first developed as an old boys' team for Junction Street School, and were renamed Derby Junction Street in 1885, at some point dropping 'Street'. Reports suggest the team began playing at some point in the early 1880s, although the club claimed a foundation date of 1870. Their run to the F.A. Cup semi-finals came in the 1887–88 season. They won all of their ties in the early rounds by one goal margins, received a bye in the fourth round, then beat Welsh side

Chirk Chirk () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the historic counties of Wales, traditional coun ...

to secure their place in the last eight. They were drawn at home to the holders,

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. The team spent a week at

Matlock Bath Matlock Bath is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It lies in the Derbyshire Dales, south of Matlock on the main A6 road, and approximately halfway between Buxton and Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census ...

to prepare for the tie, which was paid for by public subscription. In front of a crowd estimated at nearly 7,000, and with a bumpy and icy pitch acting as a leveller, the Juncs - given odds of 100/30 against to win the match - pulled off an unexpected 2–1 win, coming from behind with goals from S. Smith and W. Hopkins, to reach the last four. Their run came to an end in the semi-finals when they lost to eventual winners

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. The club folded in 1895 as

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

ism began to spread into the game. The club's final match was on Christmas Day 1895 - an 8–1 defeat to the

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

reserves.

Colours

In 1882, the club's colours were red and navy blue thin stripes on the shirt with white shorts and navy socks; at some time before 1887 they had switched to a green shirt with a gold sash, white shorts, and green socks. In 1887 the club changed its colours to amber and black, arranged in stripes, with white shorts and black socks. The club changed again in December 1891, to red and white jerseys, presented to the club by a Mrs Ragg, the wife of a club benefactor.

Ground

The club played on the Arboretum Field, originally using the Rose Hill Tavern for facilities.

Full F.A. Cup Results

1884 - 1885: 1885 - 1886: Note: The results archive on the official F.A. website shows Darwen as the home team for both the original tie and the replay. 1886 - 1887: 1887 - 1888: 1888 - 1889: 1889 - 1890: 1890 - 1891: Source:

References

{{reflist Defunct football clubs in Derbyshire Sport in Derby Association football clubs disestablished in 1895 1895 disestablishments in England Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1870 1870 establishments in England