15 March 1960 - Sometimes, You Have To Spend Money To Make Money

On 15 March 1960, Manchester City paid a club record fee of £55,000 to acquire Denis Law for the first--but not last--time.

Twenty years old at the time, Law had spent the previous five years at Huddersfield Town, who were in the top flight when he signed for them in 1955, but were relegated to Division Two the following year. The drop opened up playing time for Law, who earned his first start in December 1956 and went on to score a total of  19 goals in 91 appearances for the Terriers.

That was enough to attract the interest of several clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool (whose manager, Bill Shankly was the boss at Huddersfield Town from 1956 to 1959). But City got his signature in March 1960 for £55,000, more than doubling the club's previous record of £25,000 set in 1950 when they bought Roy Paul from Swansea City.

Law spent a little over one year at City, scoring 21 goals in the 1960-61 season. In the summer of 1961, he left for Torino, who paid a then-British record fee of £100,000.

He returned to Manchester one year later to play for United, spending eleven seasons at Old Trafford, where he was named the 1964 European Player of the Year. But he rejoined City on a free transfer in 1973 for his last season. While there, he scored his last competitive goal in an April 1974 match that helped seal United's relegation that year.

29 December 1980 - Arrivederci, Gigi

On 29 December 1980, Luigi "Gigi" Peronace, the first football agent in England, died of a heart attack in Montevideo. He was 55 years old.

The Calabria-born Peronace (pictured at far left) held a variety of roles in football, including serving as a translator for Juventus managers William Chalmers and Jesse Carver. He also served as Carver's business manager at Tornio, but left there in 1954 to become the transfer manager at Lazio.

He moved into agency in 1957, when he was contacted by then-Leyton Orient manager Alex Stock, who was interested in taking charge of an Italian club. Peronace helped negotiate a deal with Roma and Stock became their manager later that year. That same year, he was involved in bringing Leeds United forward John Charles to Juventus for a British-record fee of £65,000 (almost double the previous record).

Peronace helped shatter that record when he negotiated the sale of Denis Law from Manchester City to Torino for £100,000. He then beat it again when he helped Law move back to Manchester (this time for Manchester United) for £115,000. Meanwhile, he was also involved in Jimmy Greaves' switch from Chelsea to AC Milan and Joe Baker's move from Hibernian to Torino, then later helped Liam Brady join Juventus from Arsenal.

He wasn't only an agent--in addition to serving as general manager for the Italian national team for the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship, he helped organize the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970 (it was later named the Gigi Peronace Memorial).

5 August 1970 - Hull City Pays The Penalty

On 5 August 1970, Manchester United and Hull City met in the semifinals of the Watney Cup, with the contest decided by England's first penalty shootout.

The Watney Mann Invitational, sponsored by the brewery of the same name, was established as a preseason tournament for the teams who scored the most in their Football League divisions the previous season, but were neither promoted nor playing in Europe. Two teams from each division participated and in 1970, the competition's first year, those teams were First Division sides Manchester United and Derby County, the Second Division's Hull City and Sheffield United, the Third Division's Fulham and Reading, and the Fourth Division's Aldershot and Peterborough United.

For the semifinal, Hull hosted Manchester United at Boothferry Park and took an early lead before Denis Law found a late equalizer. Still even at 1-1 after extra time, the match then went into a penalty shootout. Both FIFA and UEFA had just adopted the procedure for the 1970-71 season and the Watney Cup was England's first crack at it.

George Best added to his already impressive list of achievements by taking--and converting--the first kick. Denis Law earned the dubious distinction of being the first to miss a kick when Hull keeper Ian McKechnie made the first save. The day soon turned sour for McKechnie, though, as it was his own missed kick that sent Manchester United through to the final, where they lost to Derby County.

27 April 1974 - Law Sentences United To Relegation

On 27 April 1974, Manchester City defeated Manchester United 0-1 at Old Trafford, securing United's relegation to the Second Division. The match's lone goal was scored by former European Footballer of the Year Denis Law, who had spent the previous eleven seasons with United before moving to City on a free transfer in the summer of 1973.

United entered the match in 21st position on 32 points, three points behind Birmingham City, who were sitting above the drop in 19th place. At that time, wins earned two points each and United, with two matches left to play, had a match in hand. Thus, in order for United to avoid relegation, they needed at least a draw against City and a Birmingham loss.

With less than 10 minutes to play, the match was scoreless. Then City pressed forward and the ball found its way into the United box where Law instinctively backheeled it into the net. Law's teammates rushed over to congratulate him, but he refused to celebrate, realizing that he had just sealed the fate of the club he loved. United's supporters invaded the pitch and the match was stopped. The scoreline held, though, 0-1 to City.

As it turned out, Birmingham won their last match, so United would have gone down even if they had beaten City. Nevertheless, the goal is remembered as the one that sent them down to Division Two. In any event, they didn't stay down long, earning promotion back to the top flight at the first opportunity.

12 November 1881 - Manchester's Heathens and Saints

On 12 November 1881, Newton Heath FC defeated hosts West Gorton (St. Mark's) FC, 3-0, in a friendly. It was the first Manchester derby, as the Heathens later became known as Manchester United and the Saints later changed their name to Manchester City. The Ashton Reporter covered the match, calling it "a pleasant game."

With that first match, played at the invitation of West Gorton, there have been a total of 168 contests between the two teams. United currently have the advantage with 69 wins to City's 49 (there have been 50 draws). The derby's top scorers is United's Wayne Rooney with 11, while City's Joe Hayes and Francis Lee are tied for second at 10 goals each. 

A number of players have taken the pitch for both City and United, including Denis Law, Peter Schmeichel, and, most recently, Carlos Tevez.

City are currently on a four-match derby win streak, with United's last derby victory coming on 9 December 2012.

24 December 1956 - Denis Makes His Debut

On 24 December 1956, Denis Law made his professional debut for Huddersfield Town in a 1-2 away win over Notts County.

Manager Andy Beattie signed Law in April 1955 despite reportedly calling him an unlikely prospect who was "weak, puny, and bespectacled." Unsurprisingly, the young forward failed to get playing time for his first season there, which ended in relegation. But as the team struggled in Division Two at the start of the 1956-57 season, Beattie resigned in November and was replaced by his assistant Bill Shankly, who apparently had a higher opinion of Law.

Law made his first professional appearance at the age of 16 years and 303 days, making him the youngest first-team player in club history. Huddersfield went on to win 1-2 over Notts County, with both of their goals scored by forward Ron Simpson.

Law went on to star for Huddersfield over the next three seasons. Shankly left for Liverpool in 1959 and tried to bring Law with him, but Liverpool could not afford him. In 1960, he moved to Manchester City for a British-record fee of £55,000, then broke it when he moved from Torino to Manchester United for £115,000 in July 1962. There, he went on to win domestic and European trophies, including the 1964 Ballon d'Or.

15 March 1960 - Sometimes, You Have To Spend Money To Make Money

On 15 March 1960, Manchester City paid a club record fee of £55,000 to acquire Denis Law for the first--but not last--time.

Twenty years old at the time, Law had spent the previous five years at Huddersfield Town, who were in the top flight when he signed for them in 1955, but were relegated to Division Two the following year. The drop opened up playing time for Law, who earned his first start in December 1956 and went on to score a total of  19 goals in 91 appearances for the Terriers.

That was enough to attract the interest of several clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool (whose manager, Bill Shankly was the boss at Huddersfield Town from 1956 to 1959). But City got his signature in March 1960 for £55,000, more than doubling the club's previous record of £25,000 set in 1950 when they bought Roy Paul from Swansea City.

Law spent a little over one year at City, scoring 21 goals in the 1960-61 season. In the summer of 1961, he left for Torino, who paid a then-British record fee of £100,000.

He returned to Manchester one year later to play for United, spending eleven seasons at Old Trafford, where he was named the 1964 European Player of the Year. But he rejoined City on a free transfer in 1973 for his last season. While there, he scored his last competitive goal in an April 1974 match that helped seal United's relegation that year.

29 December 1980 - Arrivederci, Gigi

On 29 December 1980, Luigi "Gigi" Peronace, the first football agent in England, died of a heart attack in Montevideo. He was 55 years old.

The Calabria-born Peronace (pictured at far left) held a variety of roles in football, including serving as a translator for Juventus managers William Chalmers and Jesse Carver. He also served as Carver's business manager at Tornio, but left there in 1954 to become the transfer manager at Lazio.

He moved into agency in 1957, when he was contacted by then-Leyton Orient manager Alex Stock, who was interested in taking charge of an Italian club. Peronace helped negotiate a deal with Roma and Stock became their manager later that year. That same year, he was involved in bringing Leeds United forward John Charles to Juventus for a British-record fee of £65,000 (almost double the previous record).

Peronace helped shatter that record when he negotiated the sale of Denis Law from Manchester City to Torino for £100,000. He then beat it again when he helped Law move back to Manchester (this time for Manchester United) for £115,000. Meanwhile, he was also involved in Jimmy Greaves' switch from Chelsea to AC Milan and Joe Baker's move from Hibernian to Torino, then later helped Liam Brady join Juventus from Arsenal.

He wasn't only an agent--in addition to serving as general manager for the Italian national team for the 1978 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship, he helped organize the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970 (it was later named the Gigi Peronace Memorial).

5 August 1970 - Hull City Pays The Penalty

On 5 August 1970, Manchester United and Hull City met in the semifinals of the Watney Cup, with the contest decided by England's first penalty shootout.

The Watney Mann Invitational, sponsored by the brewery of the same name, was established as a preseason tournament for the teams who scored the most in their Football League divisions the previous season, but were neither promoted nor playing in Europe. Two teams from each division participated and in 1970, the competition's first year, those teams were First Division sides Manchester United and Derby County, the Second Division's Hull City and Sheffield United, the Third Division's Fulham and Reading, and the Fourth Division's Aldershot and Peterborough United.

For the semifinal, Hull hosted Manchester United at Boothferry Park and took an early lead before Denis Law found a late equalizer. Still even at 1-1 after extra time, the match then went into a penalty shootout. Both FIFA and UEFA had just adopted the procedure for the 1970-71 season and the Watney Cup was England's first crack at it.

George Best (pictured) added to his already impressive list of achievements by taking--and converting--the first kick. Denis Law earned the dubious distinction of being the first to miss a kick when Hull keeper Ian McKechnie made the first save. The day soon turned sour for McKechnie, though, as it was his own missed kick that sent Manchester United through to the final, where they lost to Derby County.

27 April 1974 - Law Sentences United To Relegation

On 27 April 1974, Manchester City defeated Manchester United 0-1 at Old Trafford, securing United's relegation to the Second Division. The match's lone goal was scored by former European Footballer of the Year Denis Law, who had spent the previous eleven seasons with United before moving to City on a free transfer in the summer of 1973.

United entered the match in 21st position on 32 points, three points behind Birmingham City, who were sitting above the drop in 19th place. At that time, wins earned two points each and United, with two matches left to play, had a match in hand. Thus, in order for United to avoid relegation, they needed at least a draw against City and a Birmingham loss.

With less than 10 minutes to play, the match was scoreless. Then City pressed forward and the ball found its way into the United box where Law instinctively backheeled it into the net. Law's teammates rushed over to congratulate him, but he refused to celebrate, realizing that he had just sealed the fate of the club he loved. United's supporters invaded the pitch and the match was stopped. The scoreline held, though, 0-1 to City.

As it turned out, Birmingham won their last match, so United would have gone down even if they had beaten City. Nevertheless, the goal is remembered as the one that sent them down to Division Two. In any event, they didn't stay down long, earning promotion back to the top flight at the first opportunity.

12 November 1881 - Manchester's Heathens and Saints

On 12 November 1881, Newton Heath FC defeated hosts West Gorton (St. Mark's) FC, 3-0, in a friendly. It was the first Manchester derby, as the Heathens later became known as Manchester United and the Saints later changed their name to Manchester City. The Ashton Reporter covered the match, calling it "a pleasant game."

Since that first match, played at the invitation of West Gorton, there have been 152 competitive matches between the two teams. United currently have the advantage with 62 wins to City's 41 (there have been 49 draws). The derby's top scorers are City's Joe Hayes and Francis Lee, tied at 10 goals each. United's top derby scorer is Bobby Charlton with 9.

A number of players have taken the pitch for both City and United, including Denis Law, Peter Schmeichel, and, most recently, Carlos Tevez.

United are currently on a three-match derby win streak. City's last derby win was on 2 February 2008, which completed a City double over United that season.