Derby County Football Club is an English association football club based in Derby, which competes in the Football League Championship during the 2012–13 season. The club was founded in 1884, by William Morley, as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club; it has spent all but four seasons in the top two divisions of the English football league. The club's competitive peak came in the 1970s when it had two spells as English League Champions and competed in major European competitions on four separate occasions, reaching the European Cup semi-finals, as well as winning several minor trophies. The club was also a strong force in the interwar years of the football league and also won the 1945–46 FA Cup.
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Derby County are founder members of the Football League, which was created in 1888. Over the years Stoke have played in the First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Third Division North, Premier League and the Championship. As of 2008 Derby compete in the second tier of English football, the Championship.
Derby's first opponent was Bolton Wanderers on 8 September 1888 a game which Derby won 6–3. Their most regular opponents have been Wolverhampton Wanderers having met 134 times whilst Stoke best record is against Bolton Wanderers, Derby beating the Trotters 57 times. The most league defeats inflicted upon City is against Liverpool who have triumphed over Derby 66 times while the most drawn matches have come against Stoke City with the two teams sharing the points on 37 occasions.