1888-89 in English football
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The 1888-1889 season was the 18th season of competitive 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^{citation needed}, 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 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 are to play their home matches at Bramall Lane

National team

England finished second in the 1889 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	Opponents	Score*	Comp	England scorers
23 February 1889	Victoria Ground, Stoke-on-Trent (H)	Wales	4-1	BHC	Billy Bassett (West Bromwich Albion) , John Goodall (Preston North End), Jack Southworth (Blackburn Rovers) & Fred Dewhurst (Preston North End)
2 March 1889	Anfield, Liverpool (H)	Ireland	6-1	BHC	Alf Shelton (Notts County), John Yates (Burnley) (3), Joe Lofthouse (Accrington) & John Brodie (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
13 April 1889	Kennington Oval, London (H)	Scotland	2-3	BHC	Billy Bassett (West Bromwich Albion) (15 & 17 mins)

* England score given first

Key

• H = Home match
• BHC = British Home Championship

Honours

League table

The Football League

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Burnley, Derby County, Notts County and Stoke all re-elected to the Football League.

External links

• Details of England v Wales game
• Details of England v Ireland game
• Details of England v Scotland game

Seasons in English football v • d • e
1884–85 | 1885–86 | 1886–87 | 1887–88 | 1888–89 | 1889–90 | 1890–91 | 1891–92 | 1892–93
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