Derby County FC was formed in 1884 as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Derby initially played at the Racecourse Ground. They  were founder members of The Football League when it was launched in 1888. In 1895 the club moved to a new stadium, The Baseball Ground, which became their home for the next 102 years, and adopted their traditional colours of black and white.  On 16 April 1898, Derby appeared in their first FA Cup Final at Crystal Palace, but lost 3-1 to rivals Nottingham Forest: they were losing finalists again in 1899 and 1903. Derby were relegated to the Football League's Second Division for the first time in 1907, but regained their First Division place in 1911.  In 1914 they were relegated again, but instantly won the Second Division to get promoted (though World War I meant that they had to wait until 1919 to play First Division football again). After two seasons, they were relegated yet again in 1921. However, more successful times lay ahead instigated by Derby's promotion in 1926. The club became a formidable force with high finishes from the late 1920s and all through the 1930s. In the 1945-1946 season Derby won the FA Cup Final beating Charlton Athletic 4-1 after extra time. The League restarted the following season after a break due to World War II, but Derby could not reproduce their pre-War form and were relegated in 1953. In 1955 they were relegated to the Third Division North for the first time in their history. Derby clinched the Division Three North championship in 1957 and consoliated its position in the Second Division over the next decade. In 1967, Brian Clough took over and led them to most successful period. Derby were promoted to the First Division in 1969, finished fourth in 1970 and won their first ever Football League Championship in 1972. Though Derby did not retain their title the following season, they did reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. Clough's frequent outspoken comments against football's establishment eventually led to him falling out with the board of directors at the club, and he left in 1973. Despite the departure, Derby's League success was repeated in 1974–1975 season when they won the title under Dave Mackay. However, Derby's form declined towards the end of the 1970s and they went down to the Second Division in 1980 and to the Third Division in 1984.  

The club returned to the First Division in 1987 under Arthur Cox, and after initial success, finishing fourth in 1988-1989, they returned to the Second Division in 1991 where they remained until 1996.   The club were promoted to  the Premiership (now the top tier of English football) in the following season and remained  in the top tier until relegation in 2002.  They returned to the Premier League in 2007  but a disastrous series of results led to their immediate return to the First Division.   In January 2009 Nigel Clough was appointed manager of the club that his father had managed with such distinction. Unfortunately history did not repeat itself and Nigel was sacked  nine games into the 2013–14 season. He was replaced by former England manager Steve McClaren. McClaren led the club to a 3rd-place finish in the 2013-14 season, but lost the play-off final to QPR. Derby failed to finish in the play-offs the following season, which saw McClaren sacked as local-businessman Mel Morris assumed control. Morris oversaw a level of spending unprecedented in Derby's history over the following three years, breaking the clubs transfer record four times, but also saw an unprecedented managerial turnover as they went through six managers between June 2015 and May 2017. During this period Derby qualified for the play-offs twice, but failed to get past the semi-finals on both occasions. Amid financial turmoil,  and with a 12 point deduction after the club was placed into administration, and a futher 9 points due to breaches of League profitability and sustainable rules, manager Wayne Rooney could not prevent relegation to League One at the end of the 2021/22 season.