Since the Second World War, over 30 players have represented both Derby County and Nottingham Forest.


There are some great names to have turned out for both clubs. That list includes John McGovern, Archie Gemmill, John O’Hare, Charlie George, Terry Hennessey, Colin Todd, Henry Newton, Peter Shilton and Dean Saunders amongst others.

Another of those is Alan Hinton, who made in excess of 250 appearances for Derby between 1967 and 1975, during which time Derby won the First Division twice under first Brian Clough and then Dave Mackay.

Hinton joined Derby directly from Forest in the late 1960s for a fee of £30,000, after well over 100 appearances for the Reds.

A shrewd signing by Clough, the winger went on to become a huge favourite at the Baseball Ground in the Rams’ glory years and he racked up over 60 goals.

Now 77 and living in America, Hinton recalled making the move across the A52 – admitting that the move rejuvenated his career.


He told RamsTV Meets: “I was at Forest for nearly four years and three of them were great. It went really well for the first three, but two things happened which were significant.

“It was pretty clear that Ian Storey-Moore was emerging as a top player and I had been left out of the England squad for the World Cup in 1966. I think it had a huge impact on me and I lost my form completely.

“Cloughie and Peter Taylor came in for me and did that old trick of rejuvenating my career, which they did for several players.

“After a slow start, I couldn’t handle them in the beginning, it went well. I got used to the way I had to work and they gave me a lot of confidence.

“Both Brian and Peter told me what a good player I was and the instruction to the other players was to give me the ball.”

He added: “After the first few months, I must admit I did wonder what I had done!

“I remember doing push-ups in the nettles behind the goal at Sinfin Lane. I wouldn’t do them as I didn’t know how it would make me a better player. I realised it wasn’t worth fighting against Brian in the end!”


Hinton says the local derby matches during his time as a player were more special than a regular game.

He remembers some memorable, albeit brief, coach journeys home after victories which more often than not ended with an evening in the local pub.

Even back then, he says the local derby matches were the first ones to look out for.

He said: “When I was at Forest and then at Derby, the first fixture you looked at was the local derbies.

“They were the special ones; the dressing was buzzing and the fans were as well.

“I remember when the local derby games came up, it was something more special than a regular game.

“If you got a good result the feeling on the coach back was brilliant; you wanted it to go on forever! The fans would be pipping their horns, waving to us and waving their scarves. It was lovely.”

He added: “We used to go to the pubs in the villages too. I don’t think the players can do that today; it’s something to treasure really looking back.

“The players of today don’t do it like we did; we wanted to be with the fans for a drink when we won. The local pubs were full and especially the ones we went to!”


Many will recall Hinton was one of the first players to wear white boots.

To this day, he takes pride in the fact they he is remembered so fondly for being something of a trend setter.

Hinton feels that, as a winger, he could get away with away with moving away from the normal black boots.

He said: “Hummel approached me to wear the boots and I got a thousand pounds.

“When you’re getting £200 and a few bonuses; you could’ve bought a house with that sort of money.

“I’ve had some fun with the stories talking about the white boots. I think was out of order for defenders to wear the boots; Colin Todd were them for a while and he didn’t look the same defender.

“I don’t think it was inappropriate for a winger not known for tackling to have them.

“I love the fact people remember me for the white boots. I love talking about it.”


Recalling his playing days with Derby from across the pond, Hinton describes his spell with the Rams as a ‘wonderful time’.

One thing he was keen to talk about was Derby’s former home, the Baseball Ground.

He said: “We loved the Baseball Ground; we knew every muddy patch on that pitch.

“I remember Peter Taylor stood in the tunnel apologising about the state of the pitch to the opposition and saying we could do nothing about it, when we’d watered it the day before!

“It was a wonderful time. I’ve been retired for over 40 years and there’s still the goals and match action on YouTube, it’s fantastic!”

Want to hear more from Alan Hinton? Watch the RamsTV Meets video embedded within this article to hear about his remarkable journey as a player.