Despite the relative closeness of the two clubs and the fact that Chesterfield were formed in 1867 (although the club's official history published in 2000 suggests the current club are not strictly the same as the club formed then) it is a bit surprising that we never met until Chesterfield joined us in the Football League in 1899/1900.
The first meeting was Chesterfield's first ever-home League game and around 5,000 saw goals from Herbert Munday and Billy Gooing cancelled out by a "scrimmage" and a Jimmy Hartley effort. Another "scrimmage" and David Pugh were the goalscorers in our 2-0 home win later that season. Both matches in 1900/01 finished as 2-0 home wins. Chesterfield only scored four times in the next 10 Football League meetings (Munday scoring them all!) although they did knock us out of the FA Cup, 2-0, in 1903/04. Munday scored once! Both matches in 1904/05 ended goalless, the first time that had ever happened to us.
Henry McCann scored a hat-trick for us in a 4-0 home win in January 1908 watched by an estimated crowd of just 1,000. The season though finished with us bottom and Chesterfield one place higher. We were expelled to the Midland League, which we won, twice beating Chesterfield Reserves, before being re-elected to the Football League for 1909/10, in place of Chesterfield! Although they won the Midland League the following season (beating our Reserves 6-0 on the way) there was no way back for them before war broke out.
We met four times in the First World War, all in 1916/17 winning once (although by 6-1), drawing 3-3 and twice losing once by 3-1 once 3-0.
Peacetime football saw a reformed Chesterfield once again win the Midland League (beating our reserves 8-0) but we joined them there for the 1920/21 season doing the double on our way to the title. This time there was a happy ending for both clubs as both were admitted as founder members of Division Three North.
Both sides were generally among the leading teams in the division throughout the 1920's but neither came close to gaining promotion with a third place for Chesterfield in 1923/24 (nine points behind the champions Wolves) and a second place for City in 1927/28 (eight points behind the champions Bradford Park Avenue) the best finishes. Matches between the sides were fairly even with seven City wins, the best by just 3-1 on two occasions with James Heathcote scoring a hat-trick in the victory in April 1925, seven Chesterfield victories (the best 3-0 in January 1922) and four draws.
The 1926/27 season saw us meet twice in a week at the end of the season to compete in Lincoln for the Lincoln Hospital Cup which we won 6-0, thus winning it back after Chesterfield's 4-0 success the previous season, and then away for the Chesterfield Hospital Cup which we lost 7-1! The clubs were further connected when ex-Chesterfield player Horace Henshall (who had scored twice against us in League games for them) took over as City Secretary Manager in May 1924 and he was followed in June 1927 by ex-Spireite Secretary Harry Parkes in a similar role at Sincil Bank. The Spireites once again knocked us out of the FA Cup in the Twenties with a 2-0 success in 1922, Harry Sillito being dismissed for violent play near the end.
In 1930/31 both clubs spent most of the season near or at the top of the season. The sides drew 1-1 at Sincil Bank but met at Saltergate on April 22nd with City top by one point with three games to play from Chesterfield who had just two left to play. A new record crowd of 20,092 saw John Lee and Albert Pynegar put the home side two up after 30 minutes. Billy Dinsdale pulled on back for us after 37 minutes and we equalised through Walter Lax just after half-time when his weak shot beat Bill Dolman. Pynegar scored his second, and Chesterfield's third, after 53 minutes before Dolman was penalised for bringing down Robert Whalley. The 'keeper redeemed himself though by saving Harry Kitching's penalty and Chesterfield won 3-2 to go top of the table. They won their final game, we lost one and won one but Chesterfield were champions by one point.
Our own promotion the following season saw us meet in Division Two in 1932/33. A 5-3 home win was followed by a 3-0 away defeat as Chesterfield were relegated and once again we followed them the following season. Back in Division Three North both sides won at home in 1934/35 whilst the following season saw Chesterfield win the title again. They won 1-0 at Sincil Bank on Good Friday with 'keeper Jack Moody keeping his sixth successive clean sheet, a club Football League record, but we won 1-0 there on Easter Monday to end their 10 game unbeaten run. We also knocked them out of the Division Three North Cup 3-0 away earlier in the season.
When war broke out again Chesterfield were still in Division 2 but we met several times throughout the seven war-time seasons. Our first "League" match saw us lose 8-0 at Saltergate in 1939 but we also had a 5-1 win in 1941/42.
Peacetime saw us meet again in Division Two in 1948/49 and the matches saw the two highest crowds to see us meet. An attendance of 18,418 were at Sincil Bank on Christmas Day for the 2-2 draw whilst 20,473 saw us lose 3-1 away on December 27th. Our final meetings up until the 1960's saw us draw 2-2 away and win 5-1 at home with goals from Ernie Whittle (2), Bob Gibson, Harry Troops and Horace Green in our title winning season of 1951/52.
Following our relegation to Division Four in 1962/63 we met regularly until Chesterfield won promotion in 1969/70. Highlights for us were few and far between with just three wins including a 5-2 home win in 1963/64 helped by a Bert Linnecor hat-trick with nine defeats, the worst being 4-0 in January 1970, our worst ever against them. The crowd of 2,383 who saw our 3-1 home defeat in 1963 is the lowest at Sincil Bank for a Lincoln v Chesterfield game since official attendances were first published in 1925.
Our own promotion season of 1975/76 included a 6-5 aggregate League Cup win over Chesterfield, John Ward scoring all four in our 4-2 home leg win and the following season we completed the double with a 4-1 away win followed by a 3-2 home success. The 1978/79 season was a disaster for the Imps with our 1-0 home defeat to Chesterfield being our 19th game without a win. We did, however, gain only our second away of the season there in April with Glenn Cockerill scoring twice and Phil Neale the other. Ged Creane became one of our youngest players when he made his debut and the corner count was apparently 17 to the home side and just four to the Imps!
A double followed again in 1981/82, Tony Cunningham scoring in both matches, which ended 2-0, with the away match being the final one in our 16-match run which had put us amongst the promotion chasers. Chesterfield were relegated the following season and we again did the double, 3-1 away, 2-0 at home. The 1985/86 season saw the next games with the lowest official Saltergate crowd for matches between us (2,631) seeing the Boxing Day 2-2 draw with our last home win before relegation coming in the 2-1 success in March.
Like the 1960's, the 1990's saw us meet regularly and again matches were in favour of Chesterfield. Bob Cumming and Tony Brien were sent off for fighting in the 0-0 draw at Saltergate in October 1989, one of four successive draws between the sides whilst we only won two of the next 10 meetings but one was by 5-1 away in April 1992. Tony Lormor, Sean Dunphy, David Puttnam, Matt Carmichael and Jason Kabia scored with Darren Chapman making a brief substitute appearance to also join our small list of under 18-year-old debutants. Our other win was 2-0 at Sincil Bank in March 1999. Of our six defeats only the 3-0 at Chesterfield in November 1998 was the only one by more than a single goal. We did though beat Chesterfield in cup competitions, once in the Leyland DAF Trophy 3-0 in 1989/90 and 2-1 in the Autoglass Trophy in 1993/94.
Since the turn of the century meetings have been limited to two Football League meetings in 2000/01, which saw us draw 1-1 at Sincil Bank before we won 2-1 at Saltergate with goals from Peter Gain and Justin Walker, before we locked horns again in the 2007/08 campaign.
We did, however, knock the Spireites out of the LDV Vans Trophy 4-1 in a Northern Area Semi Final in 2000/01 and our last competitive game before November 2007 again saw us eliminate them from that competition 4-3 in a dramatic game in 2003/04. Gary Fletcher (as he then was) put us ahead in the first minute only for Chris Brandon to equalise before half-time. Two minute after the restart Simon Yeo put us back in front but a quickly taken Paul Warhurst free-kick again levelled the scores. Paul Mayo put us back in front with an 85th minute penalty but Brandon equalised again two minutes from time. This took the tie into 'silver goal' extra-time and Fletcher netted again after 95 minutes with what proved to be the winner.
The 2007/08 season saw Chesterfield record an emphatic double with a Jack Lester hat-trick helping the Spireites to a 4-2 win at Sincil Bank whilst the return fixture at Saltergate again saw the Derbyshire side net hit the goal trail, this time running out 4-1 victors on a Friday night, but City bounced back the following year with goals from Stefan Oakes, Adrian Patulea and former Spiriete Janos Kovacs securing a 3-1 Sincil Bank win; Danny Hone was red carded in the early stages of the second half before Lester grabbed a late consolation. The game at Saltergate ended one apiece with Patulea equalising another Lester goal in what turned out to be the Romanian's last game for the Imps.
Lester was in the action again on Boxing Day 2009 as his late penalty miss at Sincil Bank saw City emerge 2-1 victors after goals from Cian Hughton and Delroy Facey (their first for the Club) put the Imps in front before substitute Scott Boden pulled one back for the Spireites. The return fixture, the last at Saltergate between the two sides, finished 2-1 to Chesterfield with Moses Swaibu's first City goal proving to be just a consolation effort.
Earlier this season the first meeting between the two teams at Chesterfield's new b2net Stadium saw the Spireites secure another 2-1 home success. The game saw Ben Hutchinson score his first goal for the Imps whilst it was Ian Pearce's 15th and last outing as a City player.
Adapted from an original article by Gary Parle
