When Tom Keetley signed for Notts County in 1929 for £750, many would scarcely believe it would take 92 years to replicate his 39 league goals in a season.
The likes of Les Bradd, Mark Stallard, and Lee Hughes have all become household names and have cemented themselves into Magpies history, however, none have come close to achieving this incredible feat.
But on a cold, windy night in North Manchester, a man signed from Gateshead in the summer for £50,000 managed just that - Macaulay Langstaff writing himself into Notts folklore as one of the greatest goal-scorers the world's oldest professional football club has ever seen.
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Having previously scored 180 league goals for Doncaster Rovers, a club record that still exists to this day, Keetley also holds the record for the most goals in a singular game, netting six goals against Ashington in the Division Three North campaign on February 16, 1929.
But when secretary manager Horace Henshall brought the 31-year-old to Meadow Lane in 1929, it did not take him long to get his first goals in the black and white of Notts County, scoring a hat-trick on his debut in a 3-1 win over Bristol City. Despite only making 20 appearances in his first season with the club, Keetley still managed to score 12 times that campaign.
However, the 1930-31 season was to be the one where he truly wrote his name into Notts County folklore, scoring an incredible 39 league goals from 34 appearances and a further two goals in four FA Cup appearances, scoring four against Fulham while also claiming hat-tricks on three further occasions, winning promotion from the Division Three South back to Division Two.
Similarly to Langstaff’s exploits witnessed this season, none of his 41 goals in all competitions came from the penalty spot.
Keetley's prolific form continued into the following campaign, scoring 28 goals in 29 appearances in the league and scoring in both of the Magpies' FA Cup fixtures. Keetley also recorded five hat-tricks in the space of 11 appearances, including hat-tricks in three consecutive away games.
The 1932-33 season turned out to be Keetley's last at Meadow Lane, managing 15 goals in 20 appearances, finishing his Magpies career with 94 league goals in 103 matches, while also scoring four goals in the FA Cup in seven games.
Tom Keetley would move on to Lincoln City the following season, having made his final appearance for Notts at Meadow Lane on April 29, 1933, exactly 90 years to the day after Notts play their final home game this season against York City.
When comparing Keetley's season to the current Notts number nine, both scored on their debut, with Langstaff scoring twice on the opening day of the season against Maidenhead at Meadow Lane - netting a further four goals in his first month at the club which saw him scoop the Player of the Month award for August.
The 26-year-old netted his first hat-trick for the club in their 5-0 away win over Dagenham at the start of September, scoring a further three times to become the first player in National League history to win the Player of the Month award in consecutive months.
Langstaff was unable to add to his goal tally in the cup competitions however, with Notts knocked out in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round by Coalville Town before being knocked out on penalties by Maidstone in the FA Trophy.
His goal-scoring exploits soon grabbed the attention of national media, ending 2022 on 20 goals for Notts, starting the new year in typical goal-scoring fashion - netting on New Year's Day away to Oldham.
Langstaff would go on to score nine goals in the Magpies' seven-game winning run that spanned the end of January till the end of February, including a second hat-trick of the season against Yeovil which took him onto 30 goals for the campaign.
Following Luke Williams' side's second defeat of the campaign against Dagenham and Redbridge, Langstaff has scored in every game since - captaining the side on two occasions in the wins over Dorking Wanderers and Eastleigh, with his latest strike at Altrincham on Tuesday evening taking him out on his own as the club's top scorer in a league season.
With five games left to play, several records are still attainable for this simply remarkable player, and we all know that Keetley will be right behind the Notts number nine in his quest to get Notts back where they feel they belong.
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