This is the first detailed account of Bury Football Club's most illustrious and successful period. Between 1900 and 1903 ‘The Shakers' twice won the FA Cup, capping things off by recording a 6-0 victory at the 1903 Final, and thus winning the competition without conceding a goal - a feat equalled only by the great PNE side of the 1888-89 season and the Wanderers in 1873.

Add in the capture of the Lancashire Senior Cup victory in 1903 to the successes in the Manchester Senior Cup in both 1900 and 1903 then clearly this was no ordinary side. But who were the players who achieved so much, what sort of football did they play and how did they achieve such success?

Discover more as Bury start the new century by beating Burnley and Notts County. Learn why the largest crowd ever to assemble at Gigg Lane did so, enjoying a thrilling cup-tie against holders Sheffield United where the resistance of the Blades keeper William ‘Fatty' Foulke was only finally broken by a magnificent Billy Richards effort.

If that was exciting enough for the Bury fans of the day it was nothing to compared to what came next. Two down on ninety seconds their side had hauled themselves back into the semi-final replay with Nottingham Forest, but with less than a minute remaining seemed set to exit the competition when up popped Jasper McLuckie to bullet a header home. Twenty minutes later and Charlie Sagar's second meant ‘The Shakers' were Crystal Palace bound.
Standing in the way of a first FA Cup success were Southampton, but they were to be swept away by a truly magnificent Bury performance. Three goals up in half an hour, Bury cruised to a 4-0 victory in a game where Sagar and Jack Plant showed the sort of form that had seen them awarded England International Honours that season.
Arriving back in Bury the team were given a glorious reception from the town's citizens who packed every nook and cranny in a desperate attempt to see their conquering heroes with what was then the most sought after Trophy in the world.
It was to be a scene rightly repeated just three years later. A sublime effort by Sagar had again overcome Sheffield United, before a penalty from one of football's first goal-scoring full-backs Jimmy Lindsay had also seen off Notts County. Aston Villa were swept away in the semi-final before Bury travelled back to South London to face slight favourites Derby County.

However after long serving George Ross, who played brilliantly on the day, pushed home the opening goal on 25 minutes there was only going to be one winner.

When four goals followed in the first 15 minutes of the second half it became simply a matter of how many Bury might grab, and whether they could prevent Derby becoming the first side to score against them in the competition. They succeeded and after Joe Leeming had scored his second to make it 6-0 only the crossbar prevented Billy Wood making it 7-0. It had been a truly brilliant performance.
With descriptions of every match, player profiles and some great photographs the author has gone some small way to bringing to life a truly great football side.