The Last Football Game at Derby by Edward Garner has just been published by Just Done Productions – Publishing R180
HAVE you ever questioned this: Why are football matches between local teams frequently referred to as ‘Derby games’? Examples spring easily to mind. Liverpool against Everton, the two Manchester or Sheffield clubs battling it out, or indeed pairing almost any of the many London teams. There are other examples, at Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol, and as we move into the lesser leagues, more and more of these games come to light. But, why Derby? What ever happened in that town to gift its name in such a memorable fashion?
This book will answer that question and more. It is a fascinating reminder that history (and truth) is sometimes stranger than fiction.
‘A disgrace to civilization and humanity’ Derby Mercury
“While modern day football bears little resemblance to the older style, there are features that, unfortunately, blighted both. Heavy drinking, by both sportsmen and spectators, remains a feature and so too does violence, on and off the arena. It would be true to say that nothing today has, at least so far, matched the degree and regularity of the near-riots that besmirched Derby’s streets, putting people’s lives and limbs in danger and caused much damage to property.
One only had to be respectably dressed to incur the mindless wrath and abuse, physical and verbal, of the more aggressive gangs of drunken youths roaming the streets seeking to publicly humiliate their so-called betters; a threat still with us. The first game was weaned on brute force, nourished in ferocious passion and earned the town an unhealthy reputation. And when it was finally suppressed, it was, ironically, largely achieved by a dramatic flourish of violence, only this time measured, disciplined and authorised by Parliament.
Just how old the contest was, and indeed those special Tuesday games nationally, has long been debated by historians. Certainly many years, adding up to centuries. In written terms, that at Derby went back over a century before 1846, the year of its suppression. That the sport itself, in its many unregulated forms, dated back to the 13th century is a matter of record. Contests specifically identified as Shrove Tuesday or Ash Wednesday confrontations, and therefore special in the community calendar, came later.
However, there are arguments that might show that these encounters, at least as played at Derby, reached back further, conceivably even into prehistoric times. Then, of course, there was no Shrovetide, but, nonetheless, still a time of the year of special significance. A match of extreme antiquity, remarkably similar to Derby’s own, was once played in a region of France. There it was believed, with seemingly good reason, it went back into the mists of pagan ritual.
Those who might wish to query a tradition or folk memory crossing the boundary between the prehistoric and historic need only consult archaeology or folk history to come across examples where this has happened, or at least give rise to serious thought.
While Shrovetide contests were to be found all over the country, contemporary references to the event at Derby make the claim that its particular form of play was unique to that town. Unfortunately, none of those sources explain that singularity. I have speculated on what that uniqueness might be and, if correct, then indeed it was an ancient ritual. However, it has to be emphasised that it is purely speculation and concede there is too little archival or aural evidence available to give a yea or nay.
Derby’s Tuesday football game remains one of the best documented, if not the best, we have. Despite giving its name to the vocabulary of national and international football, it is curious that its story has never been fully explored before. This is an attempt to fill that gap and at the same time affords an opportunity to weave a little more substance and richness into the tapestry of the town’s history.
Edward Garner
March 2008
Derby-born and educated at the old Derby Central Grammar School, Edward Garner has had an interesting life, being at various times a journalist, soldier, teacher, author and traveler. He lives in Pietermaritzburg.
This is his seventh book, each one being described as ‘the last’. Despite that, he is presently working on another one.
Copies of The Last Football Game at Derby can be ordered online http://www.justdone.co.za
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A5 128 pages, black and white illustrations
Keywords: Football, Soccer, Derby, England, History, Sport
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