18 December 1926 - Rochdale's Big Day

On 18 December 1926, Rochdale got their biggest margin of victory, beating Chesterfield 8-1. They got five goals from center forward Albert Whitehurst, who was in the midst of a record-setting year.

The match was a Third Division contest, played at Rochdale's Spotland Stadium. When the day started, the Dale were flying high in second place, despite having just finished back-to-back draws with Walsall and Rotherham United, but Chesterfield were only one spot lower in third, making a near top-of-the-table clash.

And although Chesterfield had a potent attack of their own--having beaten Barrow 8-1 the previous month--the day belonged to Rochdale. Whitehurst, in his fourth season there, delivered five of the goals, part of his club-record tally of 44 goals on the season.

The result kept Rochdale in second and dropped Chesterfield down to seventh, which turned out to be their finishing spots for the season. Whitehurst remained with the Dale for one more season before moving to Liverpool in 2008.

3 January 2004 - Plymouth Rocks Chesterfield

On 3 January 2004, Plymouth Argyle got off to a brilliant start against Chesterfield, scoring 5 goals in the first 18 minutes. They added 2 more to complete the 7-0 rout and match their biggest-ever margin of victory.

Playing before a crowd of 13,109 at Plymouth's Home Park, the hosts were celebrating their centennial year by sitting at the top of the Division Two table, while Chesterfield were third from bottom in the relegation zone. Plymouth quickly ended any thoughts of an upset, with Lee Hodges providing the opening goal in the 4th minute. But things soon turned much, much worse for Chesterfield and their keeper, Carl Muggleton.

Tony Capaldi doubled Plymouth's lead in the 11th minute, while Nathan Lowndes added a third one minute later. David Friio (pictured) then scored his first of the day in the 16th minute, with Lowndes netting another in the 17th.

Chesterfield, meanwhile, found it difficult to mount any effective attack because they could not hold on to the ball--they finished the match with a possession rate of only 22% . Friio, however, had no such difficulty and completed a hat-trick with goals in the 36th and 89th minutes. The 7-0 scoreline matched Plymouth's record margin of victory set in 1932 (and matched once before in 1994).

1 February 1936 - The Floodgates Opened

On 1 February 1936, the sides in the four levels of the English Football league pyramid set a collective record by scoring (or conceding) a total of 209 goals in a single day. Nine players scored hat-tricks and three players bagged four goals each.

The goals were scored in 44 different matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match. Highlights included Chester City's 12-0 win over York City and Chesterfield's 5-6 win at Crewe Alexandra, both of which were in Division Three North. In the top flight, Brentford rolled over Wolves 5-0 and West Brom flooded Liverpool 6-1, while the largest margin of victory in Division Two was West Ham's 6-0 win over Bury. The only scoreless League match that day was Aldershot's 0-0 draw with Bristol City in Division Three South.

Division One's last place team Aston Villa delivered the day's biggest upset by beating hosts Derby County, then in second place, by the score of 1-3. The win did little to change Villa's fortunes, however, as they finished second from bottom are were relegated to Division Two.

18 December 1926 - Rochdale's Big Day

On 18 December 1926, Rochdale got their biggest margin of victory, beating Chesterfield 8-1. They got five goals from center forward Albert Whitehurst, who was in the midst of a record-setting year.

The match was a Third Division contest, played at Rochdale's Spotland Stadium. When the day started, the Dale were flying high in second place, despite having just finished back-to-back draws with Walsall and Rotherham United, but Chesterfield were only one spot lower in third, making a near top-of-the-table clash.

And although Chesterfield had a potent attack of their own--having beaten Barrow 8-1 the previous month--the day belonged to Rochdale. Whitehurst, in his fourth season there, delivered five of the goals, part of his club-record tally of 44 goals on the season.

The result kept Rochdale in second and dropped Chesterfield down to seventh, which turned out to be their finishing spots for the season. Whitehurst remained with the Dale for one more season before moving to Liverpool in 2008.

3 January 2004 - Plymouth Rocks Chesterfield

On 3 January 2004, Plymouth Argyle got off to a brilliant start against Chesterfield, scoring 5 goals in the first 18 minutes. They added 2 more to complete the 7-0 rout and match their biggest-ever margin of victory.

Playing before a crowd of 13,109 at Plymouth's Home Park, the hosts were celebrating their centennial year by sitting at the top of the Division Two table, while Chesterfield were third from bottom in the relegation zone. Plymouth quickly ended any thoughts of an upset, with Lee Hodges providing the opening goal in the 4th minute. But things soon turned much, much worse for Chesterfield and their keeper, Carl Muggleton.

Tony Capaldi doubled Plymouth's lead in the 11th minute, while Nathan Lowndes added a third one minute later. David Friio (pictured) then scored his first of the day in the 16th minute, with Lowndes netting another in the 17th.

Chesterfield, meanwhile, found it difficult to mount any effective attack because they could not hold on to the ball--they finished the match with a possession rate of only 22% . Friio, however, had no such difficulty and completed a hat-trick with goals in the 36th and 89th minutes. The 7-0 scoreline matched Plymouth's record margin of victory set in 1932 (and matched once before in 1994).

1 February 1936 - The Floodgates Opened

On 1 February 1936, the sides in the four levels of the English pyramid set a collective League record by scoring (or conceding) a total of 209 goals in a single day. Nine players scored hat-tricks and three players bagged four goals each.

The goals were scored in 44 different matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match. Highlights included Chester City's 12-0 win over York City and Chesterfield's 5-6 win at Crewe Alexandra, both of which were in Division Three North. In the top flight, Brentford rolled over Wolves 5-0 and West Brom flooded Liverpool 6-1, while the largest margin of victory in Division Two was West Ham's 6-0 win over Bury. The only scoreless League match that day was Aldershot's 0-0 draw with Bristol City in Division Three South.

Division One's last place team Aston Villa delivered the day's biggest upset by beating hosts Derby County, then in second place, by the score of 1-3. The win did little to change Villa's fortunes, however, as they finished second from bottom are were relegated to Division Two.