Kevin HECTOR

When he signed for Derby County in September 1966 Kevin Hector was already a proven goal scorer. The slim built 21-year-old striker had totalled 113 league goals in 176 games for Bradford Park Avenue, having joined the Yorkshire club as a teenage trialist. For Derby the transfer fee of £40000 was a huge investment, representing a bold attempt to reverse the clubs ailing second division fortunes. Although Hector's natural balance and dazzling pace instantly ensured his popularity with the fans, a weak defence saw the "Rams" finish the 1966/67 season in 17th place, a position which cost manager Tim Ward his job.

The appointment of Brian Clough and the subsequent arrivals of centre forward John O'Hare and centre half Roy McFarland, enabled Derby to start the following campaign with a stronger side and from the outset Hector was in tremendous form. County won six of their first seven games, Kevin accumulating eight goals, including a hat-trick against Cardiff City and, four days later, two more against Rotherham United. Despite Clough making additional signings, Derby ended the 1967/68 campaign again at the wrong end of the table. Whilst Hector's speed and finishing abilities were the perfect outlet for O'Hare's neat flicks and passes, the defence, apart from McFarland, again frequently looked vulnerable under pressure.

As a consequence, although the "Rams" were the divisions third highest scorers, they conceded a whopping seventy-eight goals. The arrival of Dave Mackay from Tottenham in the summer of 1968 revitalised the entire club. Derby lost just five league games during the 1968/69 campaign and easily won the second division by seven points from Crystal Palace. Hector again had a great season. In addition to scoring braces in four games, he netted memorable League Cup replay goals against first division giants Chelsea and Everton, both at the Baseball Ground.

The game against Chelsea has long since been part of Derby County folklore. Losing 1-0 at half-time, a magnificent team performance saw the "Rams" dominate the second period, Kevin's close range goal in the final minutes giving them a 3-1 victory. By the time County played their opening games in the first division Clough had instilled in his team a belief to fear nobody. Forty-two games later they finished 4th, an amazing achievement for a side promoted just the previous season. Several of the best sides in the division were humiliated by Derby's scintillating displays; Tottenham were beaten 5-0, Liverpool 4-0 and Manchester United 2-0.

Some of the goals scored in those victories were stunning; the result of sweeping passing movements that set up decisive strikes. Kevin's second goal in the annihilation of the Merseyside club being a perfect example. The following season County stuttered early on and lost seven games in September and October. Their revival really got underway with five straight wins from mid January, and eventually they finished in ninth place. The "King", as Kevin had long since been christened by the Baseball Ground faithful, netted eleven goals including two in ten minutes in a 4-1 win at West Ham. Although the influential Mackay moved to Swindon in the summer of 1971, Derby remained unbeaten for 12 games at the start of the 1971/72 season.

Hector and O'Hare led the attack magnificently and netted 25 goals between them, thriving on Archie Gemmill's lung bursting running with the ball and Alan Hinton's pinpoint crosses. Clough's ability to bring out the best from his players was never better demonstrated, and Derby won the Championship having kept 23 clean sheets, using just sixteen players. In his first six seasons at the Baseball Ground Kevin totalled 88 league goals, never failing to reach double figures in any campaign. He also developed remarkable durability, missing just three league matches between the start of the 1967/68 season and the end of the Championship winning campaign. (Mike Cockayne)

In 1972/73 Derby slipped to seventh place in the table, Hector goals including double strikes against West Ham, Southampton and Ipswich. County also had their best FA Cup campaign for many seasons, losing to Leeds in the sixth round. Kevin scored a brace in a tremendous replay win against Tottenham and went one better in the fifth round as the"Rams" defeated Queens Park Rangers 4-2. In the European Cup the club reached the semi-final stage, losing 3-1 on aggregate to Juventus. The home game against the Portueguese side Benfica in the second round saw Derby put in a tremendous performance, cruising to a 3-0 victory on a water laden Baseball Ground pitch. Kevin notched his sides second goal and in all tallied four competion strikes. The much publicised dressing room furore that surrounded Clough's departure in October 1973 did little to quell Hector's scoring prowess.

Having netted a hat-trick in a 6-2 thrashing of Southampton early in the season, he added further three goal strikes against Burnley and Sheffield United. Kevin's final total of 19 goals during the 1973/1974 season helped ease new boss Dave Mackay into his job, Derby winning three of their last four games to clinch 3rd spot in the league. County got off to a slow start the following campaign, winning just one of their first seven games, but a fine unbeaten run of nine games at the end of the campaign clinched the clubs second League title in four years. Although Bruce Rioch topped the scoring with fifteen league goals, Hector finished with just two less, including a hat-trick in a 5-2 win against Queens Park Rangers. In the UEFA Cup he scored five goals in the "Rams" progression to the third round, his trio over two legs against Servette ensuring a 6-2 aggregate victory in the opening round of the competition. (Mike Cockayne)

The signings of firstly Charlie George and then Leighton James meant that Hector, in his tenth season with the club, was not guaranteed an automatic place in the side during the 1975/76 campaign. Kevin still managed to start twenty-nine league games, however, with a further three substitute appearances, and chipped in with nine goals. Although he scored his second brace of the season in the final game of the season against Ipswich Town, helping County romp to a 6-2 win, it was the first league campaign Kevin did not reach double figures.

The following season saw Hector grabbing the headlines in the UEFA Cup. He netted seven goals in a 16-1 aggregate win against Irish side Finn Harps, including five in a 12-0 massacre at the Baseball Ground. He also contributed vital goals against Brighton in the League Cup and Blackburn in the FA Cup but could only manage three goals - against Bristol City, Liverpool and Manchester City - in his twenty-nine league outings. Derby struggled at the start of the 1977/78 season, gaining just two points from the first five games which led to the departure of manager Colin Murphy. "Two points in five matches, that's why we let Murphy go, it's as simple as that" was Derby chairman George Hardy's reasoning.

Former Manchester United boss Tommy Docherty was appointed manager and he decided to dramatically change the side. His transfer dealings did little for his popularity with the supporters and although the "Rams" eventually finished the campaign in twelth place an amazing total of thirty one players appeared at some stage of the league campaign. Kevin played eight league games under Docherty, his final appearance being a 3-1 reverse at Bristol City on November 12th. No longer a part of the managers plans, Hector was transferred to American side Vancouver Whitecaps. (Mike Cockayne)

Kevin Hector returned to the Baseball Ground in October 1980. Derby had been relegated to the second division the previous May and manager Colin Addison hoped his experience would help the club regain its first division status at the first attempt. Although he was just days short of his 36th birthday and despite lacking a little of the speed which in seasons gone by had been one of his major attributes, Kevin still read the game remarkably well.

He appeared a further 56 times for the "Rams", scoring on seven occasions. For a player who was so popular with the Derby supporters, it was more than appropriate that Hector finally exited the Baseball Ground with a goal. He scored on his last appearance for the club, a 3-2 win against Watford on the closing day of the 1981/82 season in a game that Derby had to win to be sure of retaining their place in the Second Division. In all competitions Kevin played 589 times for the "Rams" including eight as a substitute, holding the clubs all time appearance record. Hector scored 201 goals, spread remarkably over sixteen years.

At his peak in the early seventies there were few better, or more consistent, goal scorers around. Surprisingly, he won just two England international caps, both as a substitute. At club level he was the cornerstone of Derby's rise to the summit of the English game, remaining the fans favourite at a time when the side contained a number of established internationals. Kevin Hector signed for the "Rams" when they were a struggling second division side. He retired when they again were in the second division. What happened to Derby County in the interim period is the stuff of dreams and legends - Kevin Hector can deservedly be described as a true Derby County legend. (Mike Cockayne)