1979: Glenn Cockerill, £100,000 (£507,000)
Destination: Swindon Town
When Glenn Cockerill left for Swindon Town in November 1979, City did not simply edge beyond the figure established by Andy Graver 25 years earlier; they entered six-figure territory for the first time. Swindon paid £111,000 for the midfielder, a huge leap from the previous record and a reflection of the reputation Cockerill had built since joining City as a teenager in 1976. He had started out with Louth United before earning a professional deal at Sincil Bank, and by the time he left for the County Ground he had made 75 appearances in all competitions and scored ten goals.
His first spell with Swindon lasted less than two years before he returned to City in 1981, where he enjoyed arguably his most productive period, scoring 25 league goals in 115 appearances. A £120,000 move to Sheffield United followed in 1984, before Southampton signed him the following year. It was on the south coast that Cockerill spent the largest portion of his career, making 358 appearances in all competitions and later playing in the Premier League.
He subsequently represented Leyton Orient, Fulham and Brentford, finishing with more than 700 Football League appearances. Having waited a quarter of a century for Graver’s record to fall, City would not have to wait anything like as long for the next one.
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