Founding & Early Years (1894–1905)

Lore & Background

In the late 1890s, Scottish brothers Billy and Matthew Gillespie played on opposite sides in the fixture on three occasions. The first meeting between the clubs to take place at the highest level of English football occurred in December 1906, a 3–0 City win in a First Division match for which the gate receipts exceeded £1,000, a very large figure for the era. At this time City were suffering the after-effects of a financial scandal in which the club were found guilty of making off-balance sheet payments to players.

As a result, seventeen players were suspended and banned from ever representing the club again, including the core of the team which had won the 1904 FA Cup. When the suspensions ended in January 1907, four players (Jimmy Bannister, Herbert Burgess, Billy Meredith and Sandy Turnbull) joined United, where they helped United gain their first league title in 1908. In contrast to modern antipathy, the transfers were generally welcomed for helping a fellow Manchester club. The following season Turnbull became the first player to be sent off in a derby.