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, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

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

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History Th ...

in 1890 and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

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 to ...

.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 The terms Old Boys and Old Girls are the usual expressions in use in the United Kingdom for former pupils of primary and secondary schools.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While these are traditionally associated with independent schools, they are ...

' 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. In 1882 the club's colours were red and navy blue thin stripes on the shirt with white shorts and navy socks, however by 1890 they had switched to a green shirt with a gold sash, white shorts, and green socks. They folded in 1895 as

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

ism began to spread into the game. 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 ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and 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 traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...

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

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

. The team spent a week at Matlock Baths to prepare for the tie, which was paid for by public subscription. With a bumpy and icy pitch acting as a leveller, the Juncs pulled off an unexpected 2–1 win 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 () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

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

Defunct football clubs in Derbyshire Sport in Derby Association football clubs disestablished in 1895 1895 disestablishments in England Defunct football clubs in England {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub