Derby County will become the latest club to play 5,000 professional league matches this weekend.
The Sky Bet League One fixture at Morecambe on Saturday (10th September, 3pm kick-off) will see the Rams reach the impressive milestone in what will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the sides.
As one of the Football League’s 12 founding members in 1888, hitting the illustrious 5,000 mark is another impressive landmark in the club’s long and proud history.
Preston North End were actually the first club to reach 5,000 league matches, ironically against the Rams in July 2020, when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal in a 1-0 success at Deepdale in the COVID-19 interrupted 2019/20 campaign.
This weekend will be a momentous one, not only for Derby County but also for football in general, as 134 years ago, on 8th September 1888, the world’s first football league kicked off with the Rams joining the other 11 founding clubs in playing the first ever league fixtures anywhere in the world.
Derby achieved the 4,000 mark back in May 1999 with a trip to Arsenal’s old home Highbury under the late Jim Smith and will now reach the latest big milestone when they travel to Morecambe.
A special feature on achieving 5,000 league matches will appear in the Wycombe Wanderers edition of The Ram on 17th September, including in-depth analysis from Club Historian Andy Ellis.
In addition, supporters are being invited to send video messages of their favourite Derby County moments to feature in RamsTV’s Matchday Live show ahead of the Morecambe match and full details can be found across the club’s social media channels.