Chesterfield Football Club – The Spireites
Chesterfield Football Club was formed in 1866 which makes them the fourth oldest club in the Football League.
The club did not turn professional until 1891, however, and had to wait until 1899 before being elected into Division Two.
The club had a brief spell being known as Chesterfield Town but this period saw them lose their league status in 1909 when they failed in their bid for re-election.
Chesterfield regained league status in 1921 when Division Three North was formed, a division they won in 1931 to climb back into the second division.
Although the Spireites could only manage two seasons at that level before suffering relegation they returned to Division Two as champions again in 1936. This time the club enjoyed a longer stay in the second division, managing eight seasons before dropping back to Division Three North in 1951.
Since that date the club have spent their time alternating with reasonable frequency between the bottom two divisions of the Football League. The Spireites briefly threatened a return to the second division in the early 1980’s with successive finishes of 4th and 5th in Division Three but have not managed such an impact since.
Chesterfield have a poor League Cup record having only made it as far as the 4th round on one occasion in 1965 but they did manage to win the 1981 Anglo Scottish Cup. The clubs’ finest cup run was undoubtedly the FA Cup of 1997 when they made it all the way to the semi finals, however.
Although the Anglo Scottish Cup was claimed after defeating somewhat mundane opposition, Bury and Notts County, in the semis and the final Chesterfield had knocked out Glasgow Rangers in the quarter finals, thrashing them 3-0 at Saltergate in the second leg after a 1-1 draw at Ibrox.
To reach the 1997 FA Cup semi finals the Spireites defeated Bristol City, Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Wrexham. In the last four they were paired with Middlesbrough and their clash at Old Trafford would go down as one of the competitions greatest and most dramatic games.
Goals from Andy Morris and a Sean Dyche penalty put Chesterfield 2-0 in front and when Middlesbrough had a man sent off it looked as though there would be a third division side in the final for the first time ever. Boro pulled a goal back before the games’ crucial moment arrived.
Jonathan Howard, with the goal gaping, sent a shot against the underside of the bar. The ball bounced down well behind the goalline before being cleared. Somehow neither referee or linesman felt able to award the goal and Boro were reprieved.
The game eventually went to extra time and Boro took a 3-2 lead only for Jamie Hewitt to equalise in the last minute to take the game to a replay. Unfortunately Chesterfield’s challenge was spent and they went down to a 3-0 defeat.
The 1925-26 season was one to remember for Jimmy Cookson as he set the clubs’ goalscoring record with 44. During that season he scored four goals in three seperate games, against Accrington Stanley, Ashington and Wigan Borough.
The clubs’ record overall goalscorer is Ernie Moss, however, who bulged the net 161 times for Chesterfield during three spells spanning three decades from 1969 to 1986.