They were a strong force in the FA Cup, appearing in three finals in six years around the turn of the 20th century, though lost all three, in 1898 (3–1 to Nottingham Forest),[2] 1899 (4–1 to Sheffield United)[3] and 1903 (6–0 to Bury).

Aided by the recruitment of Raich Carter and Peter Doherty, who had both been stationed in Loughborough during the war, Derby were one step ahead of the opposition when competitive football resumed with the 1946 FA Cup and won their first major trophy with a 4–1 victory over Charlton Athletic.

[6] The league restarted the following season after a break due to World War II and, under the management of Stuart McMillan, as well as twice breaking the British transfer record to sign Billy Steel and Johnny Morris to replace Carter and Doherty, finished fourth and third in the 1948 and 1949 seasons respectively, before a steady decline set in and the club was relegated in 1953, after nearly 30 years in the top flight, and again in 1955 to drop to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.

However, Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1980 after a string of managers, including former Manchester United boss Tommy Docherty, unsettled the club.

The financial backing of new chairman Robert Maxwell saw stars such as Peter Shilton, Mark Wright, Dean Saunders, Trevor Hebberd and Ted McMinn brought to the club and they finished fifth in the 1988–89 season.

At this time, local newspaper businessman Lionel Pickering became the majority shareholder of the club, taking control just before Maxwell's death in November 1991.

McFarland was sacked a year later after Derby missed out on the playoffs, and his replacement was Jim Smith – a manager whose track record at his previous clubs included four promotions and an FA Cup semi-final appearance.

[10] The club settled well into its new home as it recorded back-to-back top 10 finishes for the first time since their 1970s peak, before a sudden decline at the turn of the millennium saw three years of struggle.

Smith resigned to be replaced by former players Colin Todd, who lasted just three months, and John Gregory, before the Rams were relegated after a six-year stay in the top flight, in 2002.

In his first season, Davies took Derby to the Championship play-offs, where they beat Southampton on penalties in the semi-finals before defeating West Bromwich Albion 1–0 with a second-half Stephen Pearson goal at the new Wembley Stadium to secure a return to the Premier League and the associated £60 million windfall.

[12] In October 2007, Peter Gadsby stepped down as chairman to be replaced by former Hull City owner Adam Pearson, who immediately began searching for investment from overseas.

In January 2008, Derby was taken over by an international investment group led by General Sports and Entertainment, with Pearson remaining as de facto chairman.

[36] In September 2024, club owner David Clowes was reported to have held talks with unnamed potential investors about selling a majority stake in Derby County.

The shield was modified in 1946 when the rose and crown were removed and replaced with the letters "DC" (Derby County) and "FC" (Football Club) respectively.

The badge, right, was featured on the player's shirts from its introduction onwards, though the ram's head on its own was used from the late 1960s (the full shield, however, remained the club's official logo).

[41] Derby's mascot is a ram named Rammie, who also works to maintain the club's links with fans and the East Midlands in general, such as school visits to promote literacy and charity events.

Rammie is a very popular figure amongst Rams fans[46][47] and, in 2005, released his first DVD, which features the character reading from Aesop's Fables in the Derbyshire countryside.

Although the ground itself was good enough to hold the first FA Cup final match outside London, when Blackburn Rovers beat West Bromwich Albion 2–0 in the 1886 FA Cup final replay,[49] and a full England international, disputes over fixture clashes between the football and cricket clubs meant that when the opportunity to play at Sir Francis Ley's Baseball Ground arose, the club accepted.

At its peak during the late 1960s, the ground could hold around 42,000 – the club's record attendance achieved following the opening of the Ley Stand with a 41,826 crowd watching a 5–0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur on 20 September 1969.

Despite initially hoping to rebuild the Baseball Ground to hold 26,000 spectators, and rejecting the offer of two sites elsewhere in Derby, then-chairman Lionel Pickering announced in February 1996 the intention to move to a new, purpose-built stadium at the newly regenerated Pride Park, with the last first-team game at the Baseball Ground being in May 1997, a 1–3 home defeat to Arsenal, though it continued to host reserve matches until 2003.

Derby's new ground, named Pride Park Stadium, was officially opened by the Queen on 18 July with a friendly against Italian club Sampdoria following on 4 August.

"[54] During the 2007–08 Premier League season, Derby County fans were repeatedly referred to as the best in the country (England) due to their loyalty despite the club's disastrous campaign.

[63] Derby's celebrity supporters include actors George Clooney[64][65] and Robert Lindsay, former Labour MP Dennis Skinner,[66] Irish singer Niall Horan,[67] Blur guitarist Graham Coxon,[68] The Gaslight Anthem guitarist Alex Rosamilia,[69] adult film star Keiran Lee,[70] boxers Sandy Ryan and Zach Parker, and actor Jack O'Connell[71] It has been reported that O'Connell has persuaded other celebrities to support the club, including actress Angelina Jolie,[72] and model Cara Delevingne.

However, the club only competed in 21 consecutive seasons of Division One at this time as competitive football was suspended during 1940 and 1946 due to the outbreak of World War II.

Inaugurated in 2020 but delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hall of Fame is intended to recognise and honour players and managers that have achieved great success and made a significant contribution to the league since its founding in 1992.

Source:[84] To mark the 50th anniversary of Derby's First Division Championship, the BBC polled fans to identify the Rams' best players for the five decades since 1972.

[91] Following this, and an increased investment of £1 million per year from the club,[92] a number of players broke through to the first team squad ahead of the 2010–11 season, almost a third of the Derby squad were academy graduates, with Mason Bennett setting the club record for youngest first team appearance when he made his full debut with a start in a defeat at Middlesbrough on 22 October 2011 at the age of 15 years and 99 days old.

[96] Focus on the academy continued during the ownership of Mel Morris after his purchase of the club later that year and, at the end of the 2019–20 season Derby had given more first-team minutes to players aged under 21 than any other club in the Football League Championship, with academy graduates such as Max Bird, Louie Sibley, Jason Knight, Jayden Bogle, Morgan Whittaker and Lee Buchanan getting a total of 7,946 minutes in the league during the campaign.

"[98] Derby first competed in Europe when they entered the 1972–73 European Cup after winning the 1971–72 First Division Title,[99] reaching the semi-final stages, where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Juventus.

Derby's historically poor 2007–08 Premier League campaign saw the club set and equal several unwanted records in English football.