8 September 1888: First Football League matches played

After messing about with friendlies, 'Tests' and cup matches for the last couple of decades, football got serious today in 1888, with the start of the world's first football league.

For the first couple of decades after 1863, when the game was first codified, football was an amateur game, played by foppish toffs in public schools, with a penchant for calling the game “soccer” to distinguish it from “rugger”.

Then northerners got in on the game – and they wanted paying. So, in 1885, the Football Association bowed to the inevitable, and legalised professionalism, after some of its biggest teams threatened to form their own breakaway association.

Clubs played in cup competitions and friendlies, but the organisation was chaotic – teams would often cancel games, or just not turn up. The professional teams wanted a reliable income, so in 1888 William McGregor, secretary of Aston Villa FC, sent a letter to four other clubs inviting them to form a league where "ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England" could "combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season", and asking for their suggestions for which other clubs to invite.

And so it was that Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton Wanderers came together to form the Football League – the first national league in the world.

The first matches were played on this day in 1888. Over 10,000 spectators headed to Anfield – then home to Everton – to see their team beat Accrington 2-1. And at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa's Gershom Cox scored the league's first own goal, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.

Preston beat Burnley 5-2, and would end the season as champions, going unbeaten for 22 games – a feat that would not be repeated until 2003-2004, when Arsenal ended the season without defeat.

Stoke lost 2-0 to West Brom, and ended the season at the bottom of the table, but were re-elected for the following season. Bolton lost 3-6 to Derby, while Blackburn and Notts County wouldn't meet until the following week.

The league proved so successful that in 1892 it was expanded to 28 teams, and split in to a 16-team first division and a 12-team second division.

Recommended

Latest issue
Investments

Latest issue

Latest issue of MoneyWeek magazine.
31 Mar 2023
The best offers for switching banks – get up to £200 free cash
Personal finance

The best offers for switching banks – get up to £200 free cash

Looking to move bank accounts? You can now bag as much as £200 for switching current accounts.
16 Mar 2023
Investment trusts for your ISA
Investment trusts

Investment trusts for your ISA

Depending on your investment aims, these are the investment trusts to consider for your ISA
7 Mar 2023
What is an investment trust?
Too embarrassed to ask

What is an investment trust?

“Active” investment funds come in two main varieties, one of which is investment trusts. But what exactly is an investment trust?
2 Mar 2023

Most Popular

Will energy prices go down in 2023?
Personal finance

Will energy prices go down in 2023?

Ofgem’s price cap is now predicted to fall to around £2,000, based on average typical use, for the first time since 2022. We have all the details.
31 Mar 2023
Best areas for buy-to-let in the UK
Buy to let

Best areas for buy-to-let in the UK

If you’re thinking of getting a buy-to-let property you’ll want to know the areas in the country with the highest rental yields
29 Mar 2023
The best one-year fixed savings accounts - March 2023
Savings

The best one-year fixed savings accounts - March 2023

Earn over 4% on one-year fixed savings accounts.
30 Mar 2023