The 1890–91 season was the 20th season of competitive
football in England
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
.
Events
Everton started the 1890–91 season in superb form with five straight victories, with
Fred Geary scoring in each of the first six matches. By mid-January, Everton had completed all but one of their fixtures and were on 29 points, while
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...
were eleven points adrift with seven games still to play. Everton then had to sit out the next two months as Preston completed their fixture list until they were only two points adrift with one match each left to play. Both teams played their final games of the season on 14 March, with Everton losing 3–2 at
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...
(Geary scored both Everton goals) and Preston going down 3–0 at
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
.
Everton were thus able to win the Football League Championship for the first time, by a margin of two points with fourteen victories from their 22 league games.
National team
In the
1891 British Home Championship, for the second time
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
played matches against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on the same day, 7 March 1891, winning both comfortably.
Wales
England awarded six new caps for the Welsh game, including the
Everton left wing pairing of
Edgar Chadwick and
Alf Milward
Alfred Milward (12 September 1870 – 1 June 1941) was a professional footballer who played in the 1893 and 1897 FA Cup Finals for Everton and in the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton.
Early career
Born in Great Marlow, Milward was one of ...
. For three of the débutantes,
Leonard Wilkinson
Leonard Rodwell Wilkinson (born 15 October 1868) was an English footballer who earned one cap for the national team in 1891. Wilkinson played club football for Oxford University.
External links
*
1868 births
Year of death unknown
Engli ...
(goalkeeper) of
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Thomas Porteous of
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
and
Elphinstone Jackson
Elphinstone Jackson (9 October 1868 – December 1945) was an English amateur footballer who made one appearance as a full back for England in 1891. He was one of the founders of the Indian Football Association (IFA).
Career
Jackson was born in ...
of
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, this was their single England appearance. The final débutante was
Albert Smith of
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, who made the first of 3 appearances at right-half.
Ireland
For the Irish match, for which England selected a predominantly Midlands based team, another five players made their debut, of which
Joseph Marsden of
Darwen
Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners".
The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the south ...
and
Jem Bayliss of
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...
(both defenders) were not selected again. The other débutantes were
Alf Underwood of
Stoke at left-back,
George Cotterill of
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, who made the first of 4 appearances at centre-forward (scoring on his debut) and fellow forward
Arthur Henfrey (
Corinthian) (who also scored on his debut). This was also
Tinsley Lindley's final England appearance, which he marked by scoring 2 goals, as England were comfortable 6–1 victors.
Scotland
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
also beat Wales and Ireland, so, once again, the England v. Scotland match, played at
Ewood Park
Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facil ...
,
Blackburn
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...
on 6 April 1891, was the championship decider. England selected an experienced team including four players from the
Everton side who had recently won
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
championship, although, rather surprisingly considering the venue, no players were selected from the
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
side who had won the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
in the final on 21 March. England took an early lead and were 2–0 up at half time and, although Scotland pulled a goal back through
Frank Watt late in the game, England managed to hang on in a close game to clinch victory and the championship.
* England score given first
Key
* H = Home match
* BHC =
British Home Championship
The British Home Championship
* sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp
* gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta
* cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...
League tables
The Football League
The Football Alliance
References
External links
Details of England v Wales gameDetails of England v Ireland gameDetails of England v Scotland game
{{DEFAULTSORT:1890-91 in English football