1898–99 Football League

The Football League

Season	1898–99
Champions	Aston Villa
Relegated	Blackpool Darwen
New Clubs in League	Barnsley Burslem Port Vale, Glossop North End, New Brighton Tower
← 1897–98 1899–1900 →

The 1898–99 season was the 11th season of The Football League. Two teams were able to win the First Division title going into the final day of the season: Aston Villa and Liverpool; second-placed Liverpool travelled to Villa Park for the final match, needing a win to overtake Villa and win the title, but Villa won 5–0 to win their fourth First Division title.

Defending champions Sheffield United had the first poor title defence in English top flight history, finishing 16th out of 18, barely avoiding the two relegation places.

Final league tables

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics separated.

Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976–77 season.

During the first five seasons of the league, that is until the season, 1893–94, re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

First Division

Football League
First Division

Season	1898–99
Champions	Aston Villa (4th English title)
Relegated	Bolton Wanderers The Wednesday
FA Cup winners	Sheffield United (1st FA Cup title)
Matches played	306
Goals scored	868 (2.84 per match)
Top goalscorer	Steve Bloomer (Derby County), 23
Biggest home win	Derby County – The Wednesday 9–0 (21 Jan 1899)
Biggest away win	Liverpool – Aston Villa 0–3 (15 Oct 1898) Nottingham Forest – Liverpool 0–3 (26 Nov 1898) The Wednesday – Liverpool 0–3 (31 Dec 1898)
Highest scoring	Derby County – Everton 5–5 (15 Oct 1898)
Longest winning run	8 matches Aston Villa (8 Oct 1898 – 10 Dec 1898)
Longest unbeaten run	17 matches Liverpool (17 Dec 1898 – 23 Mar 1899)
Longest losing run	4 matches Everton (18 Mar 1899 – 15 Apr 1899) Sheffield United (31 Mar 1899 – 29 Apr 1899) The Wednesday (21 Jan 1899 – 25 Feb 1899) Sunderland (3 Dec 1898 – 31 Dec 1898) Wolverhampton Wanderers (12 Sep 1898 – 8 Oct 1898)
Highest attendance	41,000 Aston Villa vs Liverpool F.C. (29 Apr 1899)
Lowest attendance	1,000 Bury vs Newcastle (22 Oct 1898) West Bromwich Albion vs Nottingham Forest (24 Dec 1898) West Bromwich Albion vs Blackburn Rovers (21 Jan 1899)
Average attendance	10,004
← 1897–98 1899–1900 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Aston Villa	34	15	2	0	58	13	4	5	8	18	27	1.900	45	League Champions
2	Liverpool	34	12	3	2	29	10	7	2	8	20	23	1.485	43
3	Burnley	34	11	5	1	32	15	4	4	9	13	32	0.957	39
4	Everton	34	10	2	5	25	13	5	6	6	23	28	1.171	38
5	Notts County	34	9	6	2	33	20	3	7	7	14	31	0.922	37
6	Blackburn Rovers	34	9	5	3	41	23	5	3	9	19	29	1.154	36
7	Sunderland	34	11	3	3	26	10	4	3	10	15	31	1.000	36
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	9	5	3	30	13	5	2	10	24	35	1.125	35
9	Derby County	34	11	5	1	46	19	1	6	10	16	38	1.088	35
10	Bury	34	9	5	3	31	18	5	2	10	17	31	0.980	35
11	Nottingham Forest	34	6	6	5	22	18	5	5	7	20	24	1.000	33
12	Stoke	34	10	4	3	29	17	3	3	11	18	35	0.904	33
13	Newcastle United	34	9	3	5	33	18	2	5	10	16	30	1.021	30
14	West Bromwich Albion	34	11	1	5	28	9	1	5	11	14	48	0.737	30
15	Preston North End	34	10	4	3	29	14	0	5	12	15	33	0.936	29
16	Sheffield United	34	7	8	2	31	20	2	3	12	14	31	0.882	29	FA Cup Winners
17	Bolton Wanderers	34	6	5	6	24	21	3	2	12	13	30	0.725	25	Relegated
18	The Wednesday	34	8	2	7	26	24	0	6	11	6	37	0.525	24

Source:

Results

Home \ Away	AST	BLB	BOL	BUR	BRY	DER	EVE	LIV	NEW	NOT	NTC	PNE	SHU	STK	SUN	WED	WBA	WOL
Aston Villa		3–1	2–1	4–0	3–2	7–1	3–0	5–0	1–0	3–0	6–1	4–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	7–1	1–1
Blackburn Rovers	0–0		4–1	0–2	0–0	3–0	1–3	1–3	4–2	3–3	6–0	2–2	2–1	4–1	3–2	2–0	4–1	2–2
Bolton Wanderers	0–0	0–2		2–0	0–1	2–1	2–4	2–1	0–0	0–2	0–1	2–2	3–0	0–2	6–1	0–0	3–3	2–1
Burnley	2–4	2–0	2–0		2–1	2–1	0–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–0	1–1	1–0	5–0	1–1	4–2
Bury	2–1	3–2	3–1	1–1		0–0	3–1	3–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	5–2	1–2	0–0	1–1	0–2
Derby County	1–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	1–2		5–5	1–0	3–1	2–0	4–2	1–0	1–0	1–1	4–2	9–0	4–1	6–2
Everton	1–1	2–1	1–0	4–0	0–1	1–2		1–2	3–0	1–3	1–2	2–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	2–0	1–0	2–1
Liverpool	0–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	4–0	2–0		3–2	0–1	0–0	3–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	4–0	2–2	1–0
Newcastle United	1–1	1–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–0		0–1	1–2	2–1	1–2	3–0	0–1	2–2	3–0	2–4
Nottingham Forest	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–1	1–2	3–3	0–0	0–3	2–0		0–0	2–2	2–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–0	3–0
Notts County	1–0	5–3	2–1	2–2	4–1	2–2	0–1	1–1	3–1	2–2		1–0	2–2	2–0	5–2	1–0	0–0	0–2
Preston North End	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–0		1–0	4–2	2–3	1–1	4–0	2–1
Sheffield United	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–1	4–1	2–1	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1		1–1	2–0	2–1	5–0	1–0
Stoke	3–0	0–1	2–3	4–1	1–1	0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	4–1		1–0	1–0	2–1	2–4
Sunderland	4–2	0–1	0–0	0–1	3–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–0		2–0	2–0	3–0
The Wednesday	4–1	1–2	1–0	1–0	3–2	3–1	1–2	0–3	1–3	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–3	0–1		1–2	3–0
West Bromwich Albion	0–1	6–2	1–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	3–0	0–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–0	0–1	1–0	2–0		1–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers	4–0	2–1	1–0	4–0	1–2	2–2	1–2	0–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	0–0	4–1	3–2	2–0	0–0	5–1

Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

Aston Villa

Blackburn Rovers

Bolton Wanderers

Burnley

Bury

Derby County

Everton

Liverpool

Newcastle

Nottingham Forest

Notts County

Preston North End

Sheffield United

The Wednesday (Sheffield)

Stoke

Sunderland

West Bromwich Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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Locations of the Football League First Division teams

Second Division

Football League
Second Division

Season	1898–99
Champions	Manchester City (1st title)
Promoted	Manchester City Glossop North End
Failed re-election	Blackpool Darwen
Matches played	306
Goals scored	1,103 (3.6 per match)
Top goalscorer	Walter Abbott (Small Heath), 33
Biggest home win	Loughborough 10–0 Darwen (1 Apr 1899) Walsall 10–0 Darwen (4 Mar 1899) Manchester City 10-0 Darwen (18 February 1899)
Biggest away win	Lincoln City 1–6 Grimsby Town (8 Apr 1899) Luton Town 1–6 Leicester Fosse (14 Jan 1899)
Highest scoring	Grimsby Town 9–2 Darwen (15 Apr 1899)
Longest winning run	7 matches Glossop North End (25 Feb 1899 – 8 Apr 1899) New Brighton Tower (26 Nov 1898 – 7 Jan 1899)
Longest unbeaten run	13 matches Manchester City F.C. (1 Oct 1898 – 27 Dec 1898)
Longest losing run	18 matches Darwen (12 Nov 1898 – 21 Mar 1899)
← 1897–98 1899–1900 →

Pos	Team	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Manchester City	34	15	1	1	64	10	8	5	4	28	25	2.629	52	Division Champions, promoted
2	Glossop North End	34	12	1	4	48	13	8	5	4	28	25	2.000	46	Promoted
3	Leicester Fosse	34	12	5	0	35	12	6	4	7	29	30	1.524	45
4	Newton Heath	34	12	4	1	51	14	7	1	9	16	29	1.558	43
5	New Brighton Tower	34	13	2	2	48	13	5	5	7	23	39	1.365	43
6	Walsall	34	12	5	0	64	11	3	7	7	15	25	2.194	42
7	Woolwich Arsenal	34	14	2	1	55	10	4	3	10	17	31	1.756	41
8	Small Heath	34	14	1	2	66	17	3	6	8	19	33	1.700	41
9	Burslem Port Vale	34	12	2	3	35	12	5	3	9	21	22	1.647	39
10	Grimsby Town	34	10	3	4	39	17	5	2	10	32	43	1.183	35
11	Barnsley	34	11	4	2	44	18	1	3	13	8	38	0.929	31
12	Lincoln City	34	10	5	2	31	16	2	2	13	20	40	0.911	31
13	Burton Swifts	34	7	5	5	35	25	3	3	11	16	45	0.729	28
14	Gainsborough Trinity	34	8	4	5	40	22	2	1	14	16	50	0.778	25
15	Luton Town	34	8	1	8	37	31	2	2	13	14	64	0.537	23
16	Blackpool	34	6	3	8	35	30	2	1	14	14	60	0.544	20	Failed re-election
17	Loughborough	34	5	4	8	31	26	1	2	14	7	66	0.413	18	Re-elected
18	Darwen	34	2	4	11	16	32	0	1	16	6	109	0.156	9	Failed re-election

Source:
Notes:

Results

Home \ Away	BAR	BLP	BPV	BRS	DRW	GAI	GLP	GRI	LEI	LIN	LOU	LUT	MCI	NBR	NWH	SMH	WAL	WOO
Barnsley		2–1	2–1	2–0	6–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	3–4	1–0	9–0	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	7–2	1–1	2–1
Blackpool	3–1		0–4	3–0	6–0	4–0	1–2	3–6	2–2	3–0	2–1	2–3	2–4	1–2	0–1	1–1	1–2	1–1
Burslem Port Vale	2–0	6–1		4–1	3–1	2–1	1–2	2–0	0–2	2–1	3–0	4–1	1–1	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–0
Burton Swifts	5–0	3–1	2–0		4–0	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	5–1	2–6	0–2	1–2
Darwen	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2		0–3	0–2	0–2	3–0	1–2	0–1	4–1	0–2	2–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4
Gainsborough Trinity	2–0	7–0	3–2	1–2	2–2		2–4	5–1	4–0	2–2	3–0	2–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–0	0–1
Glossop	1–0	4–1	0–0	5–0	5–0	5–1		4–2	1–3	2–0	4–0	5–0	1–2	5–0	1–2	1–2	2–0	2–0
Grimsby Town	0–1	2–1	3–1	1–3	9–2	0–2	1–1		1–0	1–1	5–0	5–0	1–2	2–2	3–0	2–0	2–1	1–0
Leicester Fosse	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–0	4–0	1–0	4–2	2–0		3–2	1–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–0	0–0	2–2	2–1
Lincoln City	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–0	2–2	1–6	3–1		6–0	2–0	3–1	1–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0
Loughborough	2–0	1–3	0–3	1–0	10–0	0–0	1–3	1–3	0–3	2–4		4–1	1–3	6–0	0–1	1–1	1–1	0–0
Luton Town	4–1	3–2	0–1	3–0	8–1	4–2	0–2	3–1	1–6	2–0	2–2		0–3	2–3	0–1	2–3	3–2	0–1
Manchester City	5–0	4–1	3–1	6–0	10–0	4–0	0–2	7–2	3–1	3–1	5–0	2–0		1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1
New Brighton Tower	2–1	4–0	1–0	2–2	7–0	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–0	4–1	3–0	4–0	0–1		0–3	4–0	6–0	3–1
Newton Heath	0–0	3–1	2–1	2–2	9–0	6–1	3–0	3–2	2–2	1–0	6–1	5–0	3–0	1–2		2–0	1–0	2–2
Small Heath	3–1	5–0	1–2	4–1	8–0	6–1	1–1	2–1	0–3	4–1	6–0	9–0	4–1	3–2	4–1		2–1	4–1
Walsall	1–1	6–0	1–1	7–1	10–0	6–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	3–2	7–0	6–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0		4–1
Woolwich Arsenal	3–0	6–0	1–0	2–1	6–0	5–1	3–0	1–1	4–0	4–2	3–1	6–2	0–1	4–0	5–1	2–0	0–0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Maps

Barnsley

Blackpool

Burslem Port Vale

Burton Swifts

Darwen

Gainsborough Trinity

Glossop

Grimsby Town

Leicester Fosse

Lincoln City

Loughborough

Luton Town

Manchester City

New Brighton Tower

Newton Heath (Manchester)

Small Heath (Birmingham)

Walsall

Woolwich Arsenal

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Locations of the Football League Second Division teams

See also

• 1898–99 in English football
• 1898 in association football
• 1899 in association football

References

• Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane's, London & Sydney, 1980.