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1888–89 in English football

18th season of competitive Football Association (FA) in England

Field	Value
country	England
season	1888-89
division1	[Football League](1888-89-football-league)
champions1	Preston North End
domestic	[FA Cup](1888-89-fa-cup)
dchampions	Preston North End
prevseason	1887–88
nextseason	1889–90
flagicon	yes

The 1888–89 season was the 18th season of competitive association football in England.

Overview

A new competition, The Football League, started this season. The Football League was open to clubs all over the United Kingdom, but the first twelve entrants (Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke (now Stoke City), West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers) were all from the Midlands or North of England (in later years the competition became the de facto English league, though some clubs from outside England still compete in it). Each club in the League played each other twice (once at home and once away) and would be awarded two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. From these points, a league table was drawn up. Preston North End were in first place at the end of the season and thus became the first ever Football League champions. They did not lose a match all season (a feat only accomplished once since, by Arsenal in 2003–04) and also won the FA Cup.

The Football League is still going today and now has 72 clubs in three divisions (down from an all-time high of 92 clubs in four divisions). Since the 1992–93 season, it has become only the second-most important league competition, behind the FA Premier League in the English football league system.

Events

Sheffield United F.C. formed on 22 March 1889 from the Sheffield United Cricket Club in a meeting at the Adelphi Hotel. They played their home matches at Bramall Lane

National team

Main article: 1888–89 British Home Championship

England finished second in the 1888–89 British Home Championship, which was won by Scotland.

John Yates, of Burnley, scored 3 goals against Ireland in his only appearance for England.

Date	Venue	Score	Comp	England scorers
23 Feb 1889	Victoria Ground, Stoke-on-Trent	4–1	[BHC](1889-british-home-championship)	Billy Bassett (West Bromwich Albion), John Goodall (Preston North End), Jack Southworth (Blackburn Rovers) and Fred Dewhurst (Preston North End)
2 Mar 1889	Anfield, Liverpool	6–1	BHC	Alf Shelton (Notts County), John Yates (Burnley) (3), Joe Lofthouse (Accrington) and John Brodie (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
13 Apr 1889	Kennington Oval, London	2–3	BHC	Billy Bassett (West Bromwich Albion) (15, 17 mins)

Key

BHC = 1888–89 British Home Championship

1889 British Home Championship table

Honours

Competition	Winner
FA Cup	Preston North End (1st FA Cup title)
The Football League	Preston North End (1st English title)*

Indicates new record for competition

[[FA Cup]]

Main article: 1888–89 FA Cup

Final

Date	Home team	Visitors	Score	Venue
30 Mar 1889	Preston North End	Wolverhampton Wanderers	[3–0](1889-fa-cup-final)	Kennington Oval

The Football League

Main article: 1888–89 Football League

League table

(1st English title) Bolton – Notts County 7–3 (9 Mar 1889) Blackburn Rovers – Accrington 5–5 (15 Sept 1888)

Stadia and locations

Accrington Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Burnley Derby County Everton Notts County Preston North End Stoke West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers

Team	Location	Stadium	Stadium capacity
Accrington	Accrington	Thorneyholme Road	n/a
Aston Villa	Birmingham	Wellington Road (Perry Barr)	n/a
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Leamington Road	600–700
Bolton Wanderers	Bolton	Pike's Lane	n/a
Burnley	Burnley	Turf Moor	n/a
Derby County	Derby	Racecourse Ground	n/a
Everton	Liverpool	Anfield	n/a
Notts County	Nottingham	Trent Bridge Cricket Ground	n/a
Preston North End	Preston	Deepdale	n/a
Stoke	Stoke-on-Trent	Victoria Ground	n/a
West Bromwich Albion	West Bromwich	Stoney Lane	n/a
Wolverhampton Wanderers	Wolverhampton	Dudley Road	n/a

Top scorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals	Matches played	Goals per match
1	England John Goodall	Preston North End	21	21	1.00
2	Scotland James D. Ross	Preston North End	18	21	0.86
3	England Albert Allen	Aston Villa	17	21	0.81
4	England John Southworth	Blackburn Rovers	16	21	0.76
England Harry Wood	Wolverhampton Wanderers	16	17	0.94
6	England Thomas Green	Aston Villa	14	21	0.67
7	Scotland James Brogan	Bolton Wanderers	13	22	0.59
England David Weir	Bolton Wanderers	13	22	0.59
9	England Frederick Dewhurst	Preston North End	12	17	0.71
England Herbert L. Fecitt	Blackburn Rovers	12	17	0.71
Scotland Alexander Barbour	Accrington	12	19	0.63
Scotland Alexander Higgins	Derby County	12	21	0.57
England Thomas Pearson	West Bromwich Albion	12	22	0.55

References

''Fußball-Weltzeitschrift'' No. 10, Jan/Feb 1988.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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