1898–99 Football League

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.

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 →

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

Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). 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 six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), 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

First Division

Season	1898–99
Champions	Aston Villa 4th English title
Relegated	Bolton Wanderers The Wednesday
Matches played	306
Goals scored	868 (2.84 per match)
Top goalscorer	Steve Bloomer (23 goals)
Biggest home win	Derby County 9–0 The Wednesday (21 January 1899)
Biggest away win	Liverpool 0–3 Aston Villa (15 October 1898) Nottingham Forest 0–3 Liverpool (26 November 1898) The Wednesday 0–3 Liverpool (31 December 1898)
Highest scoring	Derby County 5–5 Everton (15 October 1898)
Longest winning run	8 matches Aston Villa
Longest unbeaten run	17 matches Liverpool
Longest losing run	4 matches Everton Sheffield United Sunderland The Wednesday Wolverhampton Wanderers
Highest attendance	41,000 Aston Villa 5–0 Liverpool (29 April 1899)
Lowest attendance	1,000 Bury 1–1 Newcastle United (22 October 1898) West Bromwich Albion 2–0 Nottingham Forest (24 December 1898) West Bromwich Albion 6–2 Blackburn Rovers (21 January 1899)
Average attendance	10,004
← 1897–98 1899–1900 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Relegation
1	Aston Villa (C)	34	19	7	8	76	40	1.900	45
2	Liverpool	34	19	5	10	49	33	1.485	43
3	Burnley	34	15	9	10	45	47	0.957	39
4	Everton	34	15	8	11	48	41	1.171	38
5	Notts County	34	12	13	9	47	51	0.922	37
6	Blackburn Rovers	34	14	8	12	60	52	1.154	36
7	Sunderland	34	15	6	13	41	41	1.000	36
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	14	7	13	54	48	1.125	35
9	Derby County	34	12	11	11	62	57	1.088	35
10	Bury	34	14	7	13	48	49	0.980	35
11	Nottingham Forest	34	11	11	12	42	42	1.000	33
12	Stoke	34	13	7	14	47	52	0.904	33
13	Newcastle United	34	11	8	15	49	48	1.021	30
14	West Bromwich Albion	34	12	6	16	42	57	0.737	30
15	Preston North End	34	10	9	15	44	47	0.936	29
16	Sheffield United	34	9	11	14	45	51	0.882	29
17	Bolton Wanderers (R)	34	9	7	18	37	51	0.725	25	Relegation to the Second Division
18	The Wednesday (R)	34	8	8	18	32	61	0.525	24

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

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

Second Division

Season	1898–99
Champions	Manchester City
Promoted	Manchester City Glossop North End
Relegated	Blackpool Darwen
Matches played	306
Goals scored	1,103 (3.6 per match)
Top goalscorer	Walter Abbott (33 goals)
Biggest home win	Manchester City 10–0 Darwen (18 February 1899) Walsall 10–0 Darwen (4 March 1899) Loughborough 10–0 Darwen (1 April 1899)
Biggest away win	Luton Town 1–6 Leicester Fosse (14 January 1899) Lincoln City 1–6 Grimsby Town (8 April 1899)
Highest scoring	Grimsby Town 9–2 Darwen (15 April 1899)
Longest winning run	7 matches Glossop North End New Brighton Tower
Longest unbeaten run	13 matches Manchester City
Longest losing run	18 matches Darwen
← 1897–98 1899–1900 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Manchester City (C, P)	34	23	6	5	92	35	2.629	52	Promotion to the First Division
2	Glossop North End (P)	34	20	6	8	76	38	2.000	46
3	Leicester Fosse	34	18	9	7	64	42	1.524	45
4	Newton Heath	34	19	5	10	67	43	1.558	43
5	New Brighton Tower	34	18	7	9	71	52	1.365	43
6	Walsall	34	15	12	7	79	36	2.194	42
7	Woolwich Arsenal	34	18	5	11	72	41	1.756	41
8	Small Heath	34	17	7	10	85	50	1.700	41
9	Burslem Port Vale	34	17	5	12	56	34	1.647	39
10	Grimsby Town	34	15	5	14	71	60	1.183	35
11	Barnsley	34	12	7	15	52	56	0.929	31
12	Lincoln City	34	12	7	15	51	56	0.911	31
13	Burton Swifts	34	10	8	16	51	70	0.729	28
14	Gainsborough Trinity	34	10	5	19	56	72	0.778	25
15	Luton Town	34	10	3	21	51	95	0.537	23
16	Blackpool (R)	34	8	4	22	49	90	0.544	20	Not re-elected
17	Loughborough	34	6	6	22	38	92	0.413	18	Re-elected
18	Darwen (R)	34	2	5	27	22	141	0.156	9	Not re-elected

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

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.