ITALIAN super club Juventus would still be sporting a distinctive pink playing strip had it not been for a club currently plying their trade in the fourth tier of English football.

In 1903 Juve were looking for a new shirt design because their pink outfits were fading so much in the wash (true story). The club asked one of their team members, Englishman John Savage, if he had any contacts in England who could supply new shirts in a colour that would better withstand the elements, so Savage turned to a County-supporting friend who obliged by shipping out a batch of black and white jerseys.

Notts County is the world’s oldest professional football club but today in 2003 the Magpies came within a whisker of extinction after 141 years of existence.

Financial mismanagement meant the Meadow Lane club had been in administration for 450 days and the Football League was getting to the end of its tether, having already given the club three extensions on the time-frame to sort out their finances.

On this day the chairman of the Football League, Sir Brian Mawhinney, convened a meeting of the organisation’s board at which they had to decide whether County should be wound up.

“I’m sure they’re not going to look to throw out the world’s oldest league club,” said the chairman of the supporters trust, David Hindley, before the meeting. “But we’ve already been given three extensions by the Football League and I’ve still got a niggling feeling that they might want to make an example of us.”

The supporters trust were determined to raise £250,000 to help the club and at their home match with Luton Town, collection buckets were filling up rapidly, not least thanks to an unlikely donation from one of Nottingham Forest’s players. Forest striker David Johnson attended the game and at half-time threw £500 in cash into a passing bucket.



It seems Mawhinney was feeling charitable as well when he announced: “Notts County FC have been in administration longer than any other club in Football League history.

“By December this will have lasted for 18 months, which should be plenty of time to reach a satisfactory solution.

“The board has now considered this issue on nine occasions and has received numerous assertions from the administrator a financial solution was imminent, including a personal assurance at the League’s August board meeting.

“Despite this, the Football League has agreed to give Notts County another 13 weeks to resolve its financial difficulties, it is after all the board’s business to help its clubs stay in business.

“Based on the information provided to the League by the administrator, this should be ample time to finalise arrangements.

“Should the club fail to do so its membership of the Football League will be withdrawn.”

Thankfully it did not come to that and the club was out of administration by December. A key part of English football’s heritage, the world’s oldest professional club was saved by a £4.2m take over by the Blenheim Consortium’s £4.2m.

Here is a little montage about the club’s recent struggles. Today was also the day the first ever Football League matches were played, back in 1888, with Notts County among the 12 teams taking part. Read all about it here.

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