The 1888–89 season was the first season of competitive league football in the history of English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. They played in the inaugural season of the newly formed

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. The club finished in third place in the league, and as runners-up in the FA Cup. The team scored the first goal in Football League history when they took the lead against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on the league's opening day. This match, as with all other home games for Wolves, was staged at

Dudley Road Dudley Road was a football ground in Wolverhampton in England. It was the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers between 1881 and 1889, and was used during the first season of the Football League. History The ground began to be used in 1881 b ...

in Wolverhampton, the only league campaign in which the club have not been based at Molineux.

Results

Football League

A total of twelve teams competed in the inaugural Football League in the 1888–89 season. Each team would play every other team twice, once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Two points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. ;Final table ;Results by round

FA Cup

Players

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1888-89 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. seasons