Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday: The Steel City Derby Explained

Sheffield. The Steel City.

Two clubs, just a few miles apart, divided for more than 135 years.

Red and white versus blue and white. The Blades versus the Owls.

This is Sheffield United versus Sheffield Wednesday — one of English football’s oldest, fiercest, and most underrated rivalries.

The rivalry stretches from Victorian football to unforgettable occasions such as the Boxing Day Massacre and the 1993 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley — and well beyond the 90 minutes.

This is the Steel City derby.

The origins of the Steel City derby

On Friday 6th September, 1867, the Sheffield Independent newspaper reported the formation of a new football club in connection to The Wednesday Cricket Club, after a meeting was held at the Adelph Hotel the Wednesday before.

That announcement in a local newspaper began the story of one of the oldest and most respected football clubs in England. Even before the foundation of the Football Association in 1863, Sheffield had been at the forefront of what is now regarded as our national game - with the world's two oldest football clubs, Sheffield FC (formed 1857) and Hallam FC (formed 1860) leading a rising tide of interest in Association Football at the time.

The Wednesday Cricket Club was named after the day its players, primarily local craftsmen, took a half-day off work to play. The football club was founded in part to keep cricket players together and fit through the winter months.

On 1st February 1868, Wednesday played their first competitive football match as they entered the Cromwell Cup, a four-team competition for newly formed clubs. They went on to win the cup, beating the Garrick Club 1–0 after extra time in the final at Bramall Lane.

In 1876 they signed Scottish player James (Jimmy) Joseph Lang. Although he was not employed by the club, he was put on the payroll of a knife-making firm owned by a Wednesday board member that had no formal duties, allowing him to focus on playing. Effectively making him a paid professional, he is now acknowledged as the first professional football player in England.

By 1883, The Wednesday had emerged as the dominant footballing power in the city. Rapidly outgrowing the local stage and seeking opposition from further afield, they became regular entrants in the FA Cup.

The FA Cup’s growing popularity and talk of a new league pushed Wednesday towards professionalism, though the club was slow to embrace it. After missing the deadline for the 1886–87 FA Cup, several key players — including Billy Mosforth, Tom Cawley and Harry Winterbottom — joined local side Lockwood Brothers, whose entry had been accepted.

When some of those players then threatened to form a breakaway professional club, Sheffield Rovers, Wednesday faced a serious crisis. But after talks with Mosforth and an appeal from Cawley to give the club one final chance, Wednesday offered player payments. In April 1887, The Wednesday officially became a professional football club.

The move to professionalism helped push The Wednesday away from Bramall Lane, where many of their biggest matches had been played. Bramall Lane had originally been built for cricket and was controlled by the Sheffield United Cricket Club, who took a share of the gate receipts from football matches held there.

For Wednesday, that arrangement became a problem. So in 1887, they built their own ground at Olive Grove — taking their matches, their crowds, and their money with them.

And Bramall Lane was suddenly left with a major sporting venue, but no regular football tenant.

The conditions were now in place for a second major Sheffield club to emerge.

In March 1889, the Bramall Lane committee met at 10 Norfolk Row, and decided to form a new football club for the ground. That club became Sheffield United. They were also the first English sports club to use 'United' in its name.

There's another layer of irony in the nicknames. "The Blades" wasn't always a United identity — in the early years it was loosely attached to Sheffield sport in general, because of the city's steel and cutlery industry. Wednesday actually used it first. United were originally known as "The Cutlers." But when Wednesday moved to Owlerton in 1899 and eventually adopted the owl as their mascot, "The Owls" stuck — and United were finally able to claim "The Blades" as their own.

The two clubs first met on 15th December 1890 at Wednesday’s Olive Grove ground, with Wednesday winning 2–1 in a friendly. Their first competitive derby came on 16th October 1893, during the 1893–94 First Division season, and finished 1–1.

But the rivalry quickly became about more than results. It carried a geographical and cultural edge and the passion was intense almost immediately. When the clubs met in 1895, supporters on both sides reportedly produced funeral cards announcing the “death” of the other club — proof that this rivalry had teeth long before the modern derby-day noise arrived.

How the rivalry evolved

Both clubs competed at the very top of English football in their early decades. Wednesday won back-to-back First Division titles in 1902–03 and 1903–04, having already lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 1896. They later added two more league titles in 1928–29 and 1929–30, plus further FA Cup wins in 1907 and 1935.

United were no slouch either. Within a decade of being formed, they were crowned First Division champions in 1897–98, and they went on to win the FA Cup four times: 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. In those early years, many Steel City derbies were not just local bragging-rights matches — they were top-flight fixtures between clubs capable of competing at the very top of English football.

During the Second World War, only one Steel City Derby took place as the official leagues only returned to pre-war conditions by the 1946-1947 season.

On 17th September 1949, Wednesday beat United 2-1 in League Division Two.

The post-war decades were more uneven. Wednesday began the 1960s as a strong First Division side, finishing league runners-up in 1960–61 and reaching the FA Cup final in 1965–66, but by 1970 they had been relegated, and by 1975 they had fallen into the Third Division. It was not until the appointment of Jack Charlton as manager in 1977 that the club started to climb back up the league pyramid. Then Howard Wilkinson eventually took Wednesday back into the top flight in 1984, after an absence of 14 years.

United won the Second Division title in 1952–53 after relegation in 1949, and spent the next three decades moving between the First and Second Divisions. Promotions followed in 1960–61 and 1970–71, but by 1981 the club had fallen to the Fourth Division. They bounced back immediately as Fourth Division champions in 1981–82. After another promotion in 1983–84 and relegation in 1988, United then won back-to-back promotions to return to the top flight in 1989–90.

By the start of the 1990s, both clubs had found their way back to the top flight — and in 1992, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday became founding members of the inaugural Premier League season.

Iconic Steel City derby moments

Over the years, the Steel City derby has produced its fair share of unforgettable bragging rights. So before we look at the rivalry today, here are some of the matches that helped define it.

FA Cup, second round. January 1925. Bramall Lane.

One of the most eagerly anticipated cup derbies took place at Bramall Lane in January 1925. It had been 25 years since the clubs last met in the FA Cup, and local expectations were high.

National newspapers built up the tie heavily, with Wednesday cast as underdogs. Around 40,000 fans packed Bramall Lane as heavy rain turned the pitch into a muddy swamp.

Despite the conditions, United used home advantage to edge a chaotic 3-2 win.

The Blades went on to win the FA Cup that season, beating Cardiff in the final — the last major trophy in the club’s history.

Sheffield United 7–3 Sheffield Wednesday — 8 September 1951

One of the most famous matches at Bramall Lane saw United win 7–3 in front of over 51,000 fans in 1951. Both sides went all-out in this Second Division clash, with Wednesday chasing an instant return to the First Division and United also pushing for promotion.

Wednesday led early, but United turned it around to lead 2-1 at half-time. After Wednesday made it 2-2, the game exploded — United scored five more to seal a brutal 7-3 win.

The return match at Hillsborough drew 65,000 fans, one of the biggest derby crowds ever, but United again came out on top, winning 3-1.

Despite the derby defeats, Wednesday still won promotion thanks largely to Derek Dooley scoring 47 goals in all competitions, while United finished mid-table.

The Boxing Day Massacre — 26 December 1979

The 100th Steel City derby — and the first outside the top two divisions — still had everything on the line.

Wednesday had spent four seasons in the third tier, while United were there for the first time in their history and favourites for instant promotion.

But in front of nearly 50,000 fans at Hillsborough, Wednesday tore them apart 4-0, matching United’s biggest derby win from 1951. Known as the Boxing Day Massacre, it also gave birth to one of Wednesday’s most famous chants: “Hark now hear The Wednesday sing.”

Managed by Jack Charlton, Wednesday surged to automatic promotion, while United collapsed to mid-table before dropping into the fourth division a year later.

The 1993 FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley — 3 April 1993

Ask any fan born before the 1990s and they’d probably call this the most famous Steel City derby of all.

Both clubs had been founding Premier League members the year before and now found themselves in an FA Cup semi-final — one of two derby semi-finals alongside Spurs vs Arsenal.

Originally set for Elland Road, the match was moved to Wembley after complaints the London clubs would gain an unfair advantage before the final.

In front of 75,000 fans, Wednesday led after 62 seconds through Chris Waddle before United equalised before half-time.

After a tense second half with few clear chances, the game went to extra time where Wednesday finally won 2-1.

Wednesday later lost to Arsenal in an FA Cup final replay.

A rivalry beyond football

In the 1990s, the rivalry was tested by one of the most controversial ideas in Sheffield football history: merging the two clubs. Financial pressures had sparked arguments that one united Sheffield club could be stronger than two struggling ones, but supporters saw it as erasing more than a century of identity. A local newspaper poll reportedly showed 98% of fans were against the idea.

And incredibly, the idea never completely disappeared. In 2025, after Wednesday entered administration and were put up for sale, Sky Sports reported it had emerged that the American owners of Sheffield United had contacted the administrators to enquire about a possible deal involving their city rivals. The enquiry reportedly asked about Wednesday’s valuation, finances, and assets at Hillsborough. But let’s face it, fans would never let this happen even if there was truth in it.

The Steel City derby today

The rivalry has taken a bittersweet turn in recent years. According to head-to-head records, the sides have met 148 times, with Sheffield United winning 53, Wednesday winning 48, and 47 ending in draws. United currently hold the upper hand, with an eight-game unbeaten run in the fixture, including four straight derby wins.

The most recent derby was grim, but historically significant. On the 22nd of February 2026, Wednesday were condemned to the earliest relegation in EFL history decided on the pitch after a 2–1 defeat to United at Bramall Lane. At the time, Wednesday had a negative points tally and only one league win, after a chaotic campaign under controversial former owner Dejphon Chansiri, during which the club entered administration and were deducted 18 points by the EFL.

Three days later, the crisis deepened when the James Bord-led consortium pulled out of its proposed takeover, leaving administrators searching for another buyer. But by May 2026, Wednesday had exited administration after a completed sale to Arise Capital Partners, an American consortium led by David Storch, Michael Storch and Tom Costin.

Wednesday’s relegation to League One means the future of the derby fixture is currently uncertain. But if history is any guide, Sheffield’s two clubs will eventually find their way back to the same division — and when they do, the Steel City derby will roar back to life. It always does.