I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
I bought this mug from the Ramtique after my first visit to the Baseball Ground in 1986. The Ramtique was a rather glamorous name for a small, single-storey brick building the size of a Portakabin squeezed in the corner between the Osmaston Road and Main stands. It was what passed as the Derby County club shop. Nothing grand – one counter, all stock on display – but a treasure trove for a 15-year-old Rams fan on his first trip to the stadium.
I lived in the south, over 200 kilometres away, and had only ever watched the Rams away. That was until a chance encounter with two Derby fans on the train back from a cricket match in London. It turned out they were season-ticket holders and went up for every home game. They invited me to join them if I ever needed a lift. Four months later, there I was, 21 December 1986, Derby County vs Grimsby Town. Christmas, it turns out, had come early.
“The mug screams of different times, when Derby were champions of England and on their way to the semi-finals of the European Cup”
They had seats in the upper deck of the Toyota Stand, so I made my way underneath to the Pop Side – the tight standing enclosure for home fans which ran the length of the pitch. Penned in by a high iron fence, it was dark, low, cold, cramped and loud – and I loved it.
In fact, I loved everything about the Baseball Ground. The strange double-decker box stand at the Normanton End, which for some reason didn’t run parallel to the pitch. How the main stand hugged the touchline so tightly that the managers’ dugouts seemed almost on it. How the front of the Pop Side was actually lower than the pitch, which appeared to be more mud than grass. I couldn’t even see the stand above me, the ball when it was kicked too high or the pocket of away fans to my right.
It helped that Derby won 4-0 that day. My hero Bobby Davison scored twice apparently, but I remember nothing of the game, just that I had never experienced anything quite like it. There were 14,440 there for a Second Division match and the sense of optimism was contagious. The Rams were on their way back to the big time.
We had won promotion from the Third Division the previous season and would carry that momentum through the second and straight back to the top. Close your eyes and you probably could have imagined Derby County – then champions of England – thrashing Real Madrid here 4-1 in the second round of the 1975/76 European Cup just a decade earlier. Our new signing Charlie George scored a hat-trick that great evening, Dave Mackay’s Mighty Rams humbling the six-time European champions of Paul Breitner, Günter Netzer and Amancio ‘The Wizard’ Amaro. The fall had been hard, but after two years in the Third Division, good times were around the corner.
Before meeting up for the long drive home, I had just enough time for that visit to Ramtique. I bought a scarf and this mug, which was taken out of kitchen-cupboard circulation long ago. It’s too precious. I love the cracks and the ceramic glaze which has ensured that while whole images on other Rams mugs down the years have faded, this one has endured. I don’t even mind that the ram is poorly drawn and a distant cousin of the proud ram of the actual logo. In that sense, it’s like Derby County themselves – it is the imperfections that have defined this great club down the years. The rosette and league trophy marking our triumphs in 1972 and 1975 scream of different times, when Derby were champions of England, when the likes of Eusébio’s Benfica were heavily beaten at the ramshackle Baseball Ground on our way to the semi-finals of the European Cup in 1973. It is a little piece of history that will always make me smile.
I’ve lost touch with my Surrey-based, cricket-loving, Derby-supporting friends, but they gave me an experience that will last a lifetime. The mug now sits on a shelf in my bathroom and holds sachets of Lemsip rather than cups of tea. But should we ever win promotion back to the top flight again, I may well dust it down for a little mug of champagne.
