Football League 1888/89
Preston North End won the 1888/89 Football League with 40 points, 11 points ahead of Aston Villa. Nobody went down. The season's 132 matches produced 586 goals, 4.44 a game.
Preston North End
Champions
586
Goals
4.44
Goals a game
59%
Home wins
Final table
| 1 |  Preston North EndPreston North End | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 15 | +59 | 40 |
| 2 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 29 |
| 3 |  Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 37 | +13 | 28 |
| 4 |  Blackburn RoversBlackburn | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 26 |
| 5 |  Bolton WanderersBolton | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 63 | 59 | +4 | 22 |
| 6 |  West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 46 | -6 | 22 |
| 7 | AccringtonAccrington | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 20 |
| 8 |  EvertonEverton | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 46 | -11 | 20 |
| 9 |  BurnleyBurnley | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 62 | -20 | 17 |
| 10 |  Derby CountyDerby County | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41 | 61 | -20 | 16 |
| 11 |  Notts CountyNotts County | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 40 | 73 | -33 | 12 |
| 12 |  Stoke CityStoke | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 26 | 51 | -25 | 12 |
▌ Champions. Two points for a win, one for a draw; clubs level on points are split by goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), as they were then. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →
The 1888/89 title race
The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →
Points, Sat 20 Apr 1889
1
Preston North End
40
2
Aston Villa
29
3
Wolves
28
4
Blackburn
26
Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.
1888/89 · Sat 20 Apr 1889
An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.
The 1888/89 scoreline grid
Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way. Select a square to see those matches.
Times it's happened
Never
Once
2
3–4
5–9
10+
First-ever results
As the first Football League season, every one of its 41 different results was new to the league.
Biggest wins
Highest-scoring matches
Most common results
How 1888/89 compares
At 4.44 goals a game, 1888/89 was the 2nd highest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 59% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 17% were draws and 24% away wins.