Preston North
End
The first Football League champions
were Preston North End. They scored forty points from
eighteen wins and four draws, and were undefeated in
that first season. Aston Villa were second with
twenty-nine points, while Stoke were bottom with
twelve points.
Preston also got to the Cup Final. On they way they
achieved the big beat Hyde 26-0 - the biggest victory in
the history of the competition. In the Final they lost 1-0
to West Bromwich Albion.-
The following season Preston became the first team to win
the ‘double’ - the FA Cup and the League. They stayed
unbeaten in the league a record which was finally equalled
by Arsenal in 2003/4
Record Final
The 1889 a crowd of 22,000
watched the FA Cup Final at the Oval. Many thousands of
fans travelled down to London from Lancashire. The kick-off
was even delayed until 4.00pm to allow people to
watch the University Boat Race first.
Back in Preston, thousands waited outside the local
newspaper offices. When the result came through at 5.55,
the cheer could be heard for many miles.