Season 1888-89
The 1888–1889 Football League was the first edition of the Football League, which ran from the autumn of 1888 until the spring of 1889. It was also the first national football league anywhere in the world.
The twelve original members were Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers who agreed to play a twenty-two game format whereby each team would host each of their eleven rivals once with two points awarded for a win and one point awarded for a drawn game. The team with most points at the completion of the season would be declared Champions of England while the team with the fewest points would be forced to seek re-election to the league for the following season.
Preston North End completed their twenty-two game programme without defeat and were declared the inaugural champions while Stoke finished with the fewest points, although their application for re-election proved successful.
Preston North End also won the FA Cup in 1889 becoming the first team to complete the English League and Cup double.
Season 1888-89 matches (grid view)
Season matches ordered by date
| 1. |  | Preston North End |   |
| 2. |  | Aston Villa |  |
| 3. |  | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
| 4. |  | Blackburn Rovers | |
| 5. |  | Bolton Wanderers | |
| 6. |  | WBA | |
| 7. |  | Accrington | |
| 8. |  | Everton | |
| 9. |  | Burnley | |
| 10. |  | Derby County | |
| 11. |  | Notts County | |
| 12. |  | Stoke | |
Full standing - Home, Away, Total
| Home | Away | Total | ||||||||||||||||||
| # | Club | T | W | D | L | GD | P | T | W | D | L | GD | P | T | W | D | L | GD | P | |
| 1. | | Preston North End | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 39:7 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 35:8 | 0 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 74:15 | 40 |
| 2. | | Aston Villa | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 44:16 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 17:27 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 61:43 | 29 |
| 3. | | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 30:14 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 20:23 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50:37 | 28 |
| 4. | | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 44:22 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 22:23 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 66:45 | 26 |
| 5. | | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 35:30 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 28:29 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 63:59 | 22 |
| 6. | | WBA | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 25:24 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 15:22 | 0 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40:46 | 22 |
| 7. | | Accrington | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 26:17 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 22:31 | 0 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48:48 | 20 |
| 8. | | Everton | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 24:17 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11:29 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 35:46 | 20 |
| 9. | | Burnley | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 21:19 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 21:43 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 42:62 | 17 |
| 10. | | Derby County | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 22:20 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 19:41 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41:61 | 16 |
| 11. | | Notts County | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 25:32 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 15:41 | 0 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 40:73 | 12 |
| 12. | | Stoke | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 15:18 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 11:33 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 26:51 | 12 |
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