1890-91 in English football
Encyclopedia
The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive football
in England
.
started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary
scoring in each of the first six matches. By mid-January, Everton had completed all but one of their fixtures and were on 29 points, while Preston North End
were eleven points adrift with seven games still to play. Everton than had to sit out the next two months as Preston completed their fixture list until they were only two points adrift with one match each left to play. Both teams played their final games of the season on 14 March, with Everton losing 3–2 at Burnley
(Geary scored both Everton goals) and Preston going down 3–0 at Sunderland
. Everton were thus able to win the Football League Championship for the first time, by a margin of two points with fourteen victories from their 22 league games.
, for the second time England
played matches against Wales
and Ireland
on the same day, 7 March 1891, winning both comfortably.
left wing pairing of Edgar Chadwick
and Alf Milward
. For three of the débutantes, Leonard Wilkinson
(goalkeeper) of Oxford University
, Thomas Porteous
of Sunderland
and Elphinstone Jackson
of Oxford University
, this was their single England appearance. The final débutante was Albert Smith
of Nottingham Forest
, who made the first of 3 appearances at right-half.
of Darwen
and Jem Bayliss
of West Bromwich Albion
(both defenders) were not selected again. The other débutantes were Alf Underwood
of Stoke
at left-back, George Cotterill
of Cambridge University, who made the first of 4 appearances at centre-forward (scoring on his debut) and fellow forward Arthur Henfrey
(Corinthian) (who also scored on his debut). This was also Tinsley Lindley
's final England appearance, which he marked by scoring 2 goals, as England were comfortable 6–1 victors.
also beat Wales and Ireland, so, once again, the England v. Scotland match, played at Ewood Park
, Blackburn on 6 April 1891, was the championship decider. England selected an experienced team including four players from the Everton
side who had recently won the Football League
championship, although, rather surprisingly considering the venue, no players were selected from the Blackburn Rovers
side who had won the FA Cup in the final on 21 March. England took an early lead and were 2–0 up at half time and, although Scotland pulled a goal back through Francis Watt
late in the game, England managed to hang on in a close game to clinch victory and the championship.
* England score given first
Key
The Football League
The Football Alliance
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Events
EvertonEverton F.C. season 1890-91
-Regular Football League First team:-Other members of the title winning squad:Having finished the previous season as runners up Everton made just one signing of note during the summer when William Campbell was brought from Bootle to fill the centre half role, which had remained unsettled since...
started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with Fred Geary
Fred Geary
Fred Geary was an English professional footballer who played at centre forward for Everton in the 1890s, and made two appearances for England, scoring a hat-trick on his debut....
scoring in each of the first six matches. By mid-January, Everton had completed all but one of their fixtures and were on 29 points, while Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
were eleven points adrift with seven games still to play. Everton than had to sit out the next two months as Preston completed their fixture list until they were only two points adrift with one match each left to play. Both teams played their final games of the season on 14 March, with Everton losing 3–2 at Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
(Geary scored both Everton goals) and Preston going down 3–0 at Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
. Everton were thus able to win the Football League Championship for the first time, by a margin of two points with fourteen victories from their 22 league games.
National team
In the 1891 British Home Championship1891 British Home Championship
The 1891 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. Despite strong showings from all four teams, England eventually won the trophy with victories in all three games including, as at the 1890 and 1892 competitions, matches against Wales and...
, for the second time England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
played matches against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
and Ireland
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
on the same day, 7 March 1891, winning both comfortably.
Wales
England awarded six new caps for the Welsh game, including the EvertonEverton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
left wing pairing of Edgar Chadwick
Edgar Chadwick
Edgar Wallace Chadwick was a left-sided footballer who had a long and distinguished career with Everton during the 1890s...
and Alf Milward
Alf Milward
Alfred Weatherell Milward was a professional footballer who played in the 1893 and 1897 FA Cup Finals for Everton and in the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton.-Playing career:...
. For three of the débutantes, Leonard Wilkinson
Leonard Wilkinson
Leonard Rodwell Wilkinson was an English footballer who earned one cap for the national team in 1891. Wilkinson played club football for Oxford University.-External links:*...
(goalkeeper) of Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
, Thomas Porteous
Thomas Porteous (footballer)
Thomas Stoddard Porteous was an English footballer who played as a right back, for Sunderland and also one appearance for England.-Early career:...
of Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
and Elphinstone Jackson
Elphinstone Jackson
Elphinstone Jackson was an English amateur footballer who made one appearance as a full back for England in 1891.__FORCETOC__-Career:...
of Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
, this was their single England appearance. The final débutante was Albert Smith
Albert Smith (footballer born 1869)
Albert Smith was an English international footballer, who played as a right half.-Career:Born in Nottingham, Smith played professionally for Nottingham Forest, and earned three caps for England between 1891 and 1893....
of Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, who made the first of 3 appearances at right-half.
Ireland
For the Irish match, for which England selected a predominantly Midlands based team, another five players made their debut, of which Joseph MarsdenJoseph Marsden
Joseph Thomas Marsden was an English footballer who played for Darwen and Everton. He also earned one cap for the English national side in 1891.-External links:*...
of Darwen
Darwen F.C.
A.F.C. Darwen is a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, North West England. The team, formed in 1870 as Darwen F.C., currently play in the Division One of the North West Counties League. They play their home games at the Anchor Ground.-History:...
and Jem Bayliss
Jem Bayliss
Albert Edward James Matthias 'Jem' Bayliss was an English football player who played for West Bromwich Albion, as well as the English national side.He captained the West Bromwich Albion side which won the 1888 FA Cup Final....
of West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
(both defenders) were not selected again. The other débutantes were Alf Underwood
Alf Underwood
Alfred "Alf" Underwood was an English footballer who played 130 times for Stoke in the 1880s and 1890s.-Career:...
of Stoke
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
at left-back, George Cotterill
George Cotterill
George Huth Cotterill was an English amateur footballer who made four appearances for England as a forward in the 1890s, captaining the side on his last two appearances.-Education:...
of Cambridge University, who made the first of 4 appearances at centre-forward (scoring on his debut) and fellow forward Arthur Henfrey
Arthur Henfrey
Arthur George Henfrey was an English footballer who made five appearances for England between 1891 and 1896 playing initially as a forward and later as a half back...
(Corinthian) (who also scored on his debut). This was also Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley was an English footballer. He was considered one of the 19th century's great centre forwards. His passes and shots at goal were very precise, he was very clever and an excellent team player. An elegant and technically superb player.He was the son of Leonard Lindley who was a lace...
's final England appearance, which he marked by scoring 2 goals, as England were comfortable 6–1 victors.
Scotland
ScotlandScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
also beat Wales and Ireland, so, once again, the England v. Scotland match, played at Ewood Park
Ewood Park
Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...
, Blackburn on 6 April 1891, was the championship decider. England selected an experienced team including four players from the Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
side who had recently won the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
championship, although, rather surprisingly considering the venue, no players were selected from the Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
side who had won the FA Cup in the final on 21 March. England took an early lead and were 2–0 up at half time and, although Scotland pulled a goal back through Francis Watt
Francis Watt
Francis Clifford Watt was a Unionist Party politician in Scotland.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Central at a by-election in December 1941, and held the seat until his defeat at the 1945 general election by the Labour Party candidate.-References:...
late in the game, England managed to hang on in a close game to clinch victory and the championship.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score |
Comp | England scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 March 1891 | Newcastle Road, Sunderland (H) | 4–1 | BHC | John Goodall John Goodall John Goodall was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre-forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and also became Watford's first manager in 1903... (Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... ) (7 mins), Jack Southworth Jack Southworth John Southworth , was a footballer who played in the early days of professional football for Blackburn Rovers and Everton as well as being capped three times for England... (Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.... ) (30 mins), Edgar Chadwick Edgar Chadwick Edgar Wallace Chadwick was a left-sided footballer who had a long and distinguished career with Everton during the 1890s... (Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... ) (35 mins) & Alf Milward Alf Milward Alfred Weatherell Milward was a professional footballer who played in the 1893 and 1897 FA Cup Finals for Everton and in the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton.-Playing career:... (Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... ) (37 mins) |
|
| 7 March 1891 | Molineux Molineux stadium Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the... , Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region... (H) |
6–1 | BHC | Tinsley Lindley Tinsley Lindley Tinsley Lindley was an English footballer. He was considered one of the 19th century's great centre forwards. His passes and shots at goal were very precise, he was very clever and an excellent team player. An elegant and technically superb player.He was the son of Leonard Lindley who was a lace... (Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... ) (2), Billy Bassett Billy Bassett William Isiah Bassett was an English association footballer, director and club chairman who served West Bromwich Albion for over half a century.-Playing career:... (West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands... ), George Cotterill George Cotterill George Huth Cotterill was an English amateur footballer who made four appearances for England as a forward in the 1890s, captaining the side on his last two appearances.-Education:... (Cambridge University), Arthur Henfrey Arthur Henfrey Arthur George Henfrey was an English footballer who made five appearances for England between 1891 and 1896 playing initially as a forward and later as a half back... (Corinthian) & Harry Daft Harry Daft Harry Butler Daft was an English footballer who played for Notts County, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1894, as well as making five appearances as a left winger for the national side... (Notts County Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system... ) |
|
| 6 April 1891 | Ewood Park Ewood Park Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The... , Blackburn (H) |
2–1 | BHC | John Goodall John Goodall John Goodall was a footballer who rose to fame as a centre-forward for England and for Preston North End at the time of the development of the Football League, and also became Watford's first manager in 1903... (Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... ) (20 mins) & Edgar Chadwick Edgar Chadwick Edgar Wallace Chadwick was a left-sided footballer who had a long and distinguished career with Everton during the 1890s... (Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... ) (30 mins) |
Key
- H = Home match
- BHC = British Home ChampionshipBritish Home ChampionshipThe British Home Championship was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the 1883–84 season until the 1983–84...
The Football LeagueThe Football LeagueThe Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 63 | 29 | 2.172 | 29 |
| 2 | Preston North End Preston North End F.C. Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One... |
22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 44 | 23 | 1.913 | 27 |
| 3 | Notts County Notts County F.C. Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system... |
22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 52 | 35 | 1.486 | 26 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at... |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 50 | 0.780 | 26 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001.... |
22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 47 | 34 | 1.382 | 25 |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.... |
22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 52 | 43 | 1.209 | 24 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 51 | 31 | 1.645 | 23 |
| 8 | Burnley Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888... |
22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 52 | 63 | 0.825 | 21 |
| 9 | Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... |
22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 58 | 0.776 | 18 |
| 10 | Accrington Accrington F.C. Accrington Football Club were an English football club from Accrington, Lancashire, who were one of the founder members of The Football League. Accrington F.C. was formed following a meeting at a local public house in 1876... |
22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 50 | 0.560 | 16 |
| 11 | Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English... |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 47 | 81 | 0.580 | 15 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands... |
22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 34 | 57 | 0.596 | 12 |
The Football AllianceFootball AllianceThe Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.It was formed by 12 clubs as a rival to the Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season, also with 12 member clubs...
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts... |
22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 57 | 39 | 33 |
| 2 | Sunderland Albion Sunderland Albion F.C. Sunderland Albion Football Club was an English association football club based in Sunderland, England formed in 1888 as a rival to Sunderland A.F.C.-Summary:... |
22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 69 | 28 | 30 |
| 3 | Grimsby Town Grimsby Town F.C. Grimsby Town Football Club is an English football club based in the seaside town of Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire, England, who compete in the Conference National. They were formed in 1878 as Grimsby Pelham and later became Grimsby Town... |
22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 43 | 27 | 27 |
| 4 | Birmingham St George's Birmingham St George's F.C. Birmingham St. George's F.C. was a football club based in Birmingham, England. They were formerly known as Mitchell St. George's F.C., a merger of Mitchells and St. George's in 1881 , changing to their new name in 1888... |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 64 | 62 | 26 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... |
22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 66 | 39 | 25 |
| 6 | Darwen Darwen F.C. A.F.C. Darwen is a football club from Darwen in Lancashire, North West England. The team, formed in 1870 as Darwen F.C., currently play in the Division One of the North West Counties League. They play their home games at the Anchor Ground.-History:... |
22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 64 | 59 | 23 |
| 7 | Walsall Town Swifts Walsall F.C. Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second... |
22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 34 | 61 | 21 |
| 8 | Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra F.C. Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club... |
22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 59 | 67 | 20 |
| 9 | Newton Heath Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... |
22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 37 | 55 | 17 |
| 10 | Small Heath Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the... |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 58 | 66 | 16 |
| 11 | Bootle Bootle F.C. Bootle Football Club is an English football club based in Bootle, Merseyside. The club are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division and play at New Bucks Park.-Previous clubs in Bootle:... |
22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 40 | 61 | 13 |
| 12 | The Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the... |
22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 39 | 66 | 13 |
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points