1890–91 Scottish Football League

Scottish Football League
Season	1890–91
Dates	16 August 1890 – 21 May 1891
Champions	Dumbarton and Rangers (both 1st title)
Relegated	Cowlairs (not re-elected)
Matches played	90
Goals scored	409 (4.54 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jack Bell (20 goals)
Biggest home win	Celtic 9–1 Vale of Leven (5 May 1891)
Biggest away win	Heart of Midlothian 0–5 Celtic (23 August 1890) Cowlairs 1–6 Dumbarton (25 October 1890) Cowlairs 0–5 Celtic (29 April 1891)
Highest scoring	Cowlairs 7–5 Abercorn (28 February 1891)
Longest winning run	8 games: Dumbarton
Longest unbeaten run	14 games: Dumbarton
Longest winless run	8 games: St Mirren
Longest losing run	7 games: Abercorn
1891–92 →

The 1890–91 Scottish Football League was the first season of the Scottish Football League. It began on 16 August 1890 and concluded on 21 May 1891. The league was won jointly by Dumbarton and Rangers who ended the season with an equal number of points.

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Season overview

Dumbarton and Rangers ended the league season with an equal number of points so a play-off match was organised at Cathkin Park in Glasgow on 21 May 1891 to determine the winner.^[1] The game ended in a 2–2 draw so both clubs were declared champions.

On 30 September 1890 after playing four games in the league, Renton was suspended by the Scottish Football Association for professionalism, and the club was subsequently expelled from the league with their record expunged.^[2] Celtic, 3rd LRV and Cowlairs were docked four points each for fielding ineligible players.^[3] At the end of the season, the bottom three teams had to submit applications to rejoin the league for the next season along with other non-league clubs. St Mirren, Vale of Leven and Cowlairs submitted applications along with non-league club Leith Athletic. In the election, Cowlairs lost their league position to Leith Athletic, with St Mirren and Vale of Leven being re-elected.^[4]

Clubs

The inaugural season of the Scottish Football League was contested by 11 clubs. This was reduced to 10 clubs after four games when Renton was expelled from the league for professionalism.

Glasgow
Cambuslang

Glasgow teams
3rd LRV
Celtic
Cowlairs
Rangers

Locations of teams in the 1890–91 Scottish Football League

Team	Home town/city	Home ground
3rd LRV	Glasgow	Cathkin Park
Abercorn	Paisley	Underwood Park
Cambuslang	Cambuslang	Whitefield Park
Celtic	Glasgow	Celtic Park
Cowlairs	Glasgow	Springvale Park
Dumbarton	Dumbarton	Boghead Park
Heart of Midlothian	Edinburgh	Tynecastle
Rangers	Glasgow	Ibrox Park
Renton	Renton	Tontine Park
St Mirren	Paisley	Westmarch
Vale of Leven	Alexandria	Millburn Park

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dumbarton^[a] (C)	18	13	3	2	61	21	+40	29	Joint Champions
1	Rangers^[a] (C)	18	13	3	2	58	25	+33	29	Joint Champions
3	Celtic	18	11	3	4	48	21	+27	21^[b]
4	Cambuslang	18	8	4	6	47	42	+5	20
5	3rd LRV	18	8	3	7	38	39	−1	15^[b]
6	Heart of Midlothian	18	6	2	10	31	37	−6	14
7	Abercorn	18	5	2	11	36	47	−11	12
8	St Mirren	18	5	1	12	39	62	−23	11	Re-elected
8	Vale of Leven	18	5	1	12	27	65	−38	11	Re-elected
10	Cowlairs^[c] (R)	18	3	4	11	24	50	−26	6^[b]	Not re-elected
11	Renton^[d]	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Expelled, record expunged

Source: ^[5]
Rules for classification: 1) Points;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Dumbarton and Rangers finished equal on points, and a play-off to determine the winner ended in a 2−2 draw so both teams were declared joint champions.
^ ^a ^b ^c Celtic, 3rd LRV and Cowlairs were deducted four points each for fielding ineligible players.
^ Cowlairs failed re-election to compete in the league for the next season.
^ Renton were expelled from the league in September 1890 for professionalism and their record was expunged.

Results

Home \ Away	ABC	CAM	CEL	COW	DUM	HOM	RAN	STM	VOL	3RD
Abercorn		2–5	1–5	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	5–1	6–0	2–4
Cambuslang	4–5		3–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–6	3–2	8–2	2–2
Celtic	2–0	5–2		2–0	1–0	1–0	2–2	3–2	9–1	1–1
Cowlairs	7–5	1–1	0–5		1–6	1–2	0–2	4–2	3–2	2–2
Dumbarton	5–1	5–0	2–2	1–1		3–1	5–1	5–1	4–0	5–1
Heart of Midlothian	1–1	2–2	0–5	4–0	0–4		0–1	1–0	8–1	4–1
Rangers	2–0	2–1	1–2	1–1	4–2	5–2		8–2	4–0	4–1
St Mirren	4–2	2–3	1–0	5–2	2–4	3–2	3–7		1–1	3–2
Vale of Leven	2–1	2–1	3–1	2–1	1–3	2–4	1–3	5–2		1–2
3rd Lanark RV	2–1	1–2	2–1	3–0	1–3	4–0	0–4	5–3	4–1

Source: ^[6]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship play-off

Rangers defeated 3rd Lanark RV 4–1 in their final league match on 9 May 1891^[7] to move level with Dumbarton on 29 points, and a play-off was organised to determine which team would be crowned champions. However, the match finished as a draw and, with no more dates available for a further replay before the end of the season, it was decided that Dumbarton and Rangers would be declared joint champions.^[8]^[9]^[10]

21 May 1891

Dumbarton	2–2	Rangers
Miller Taylor	^[1]	A. McCreadie Hislop

Cathkin Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 10,000^[11]^[12]

Referee: J. Marshall


Dumbarton:
GK		John McLeod
RB		Daniel Watson
LB		Alex Miller
RH		Tom McMillan
CH		Dickie Boyle
LH		Leitch Keir
OR		Jack Taylor
IR		James Galbraith
CF		John Miller
IL		James McNaught
OL		Jack Bell


Rangers:
GK		David Reid
RB		Donald Gow
LB		William Hodge
RH		Robert Marshall
CH		Andrew McCreadie
LH		David Mitchell
OR		David Hislop
IR		James Henderson
CF		Neil Kerr
IL		John McPherson
OL		John Allan^[a]

^ Some sources credit an appearance to Hugh McCreadie rather than John Allan, but contemporary reports contradict this; consequently the goal by 'McCreadie' must have been scored by Andrew.

References

^ ^a ^b "Scottish Football League & Scottish Premier League - Play-offs and Test Matches 1891-date". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ "Scottish Football League Expulsions 1890-1953". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ "Scottish Football League & Scottish Premier League - League point deductions and awards 1890-date". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ "Scottish Football League - Re-elections 1891-1951". Scottish Football Historical Archive. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ "1890-1891 SFL". SPFL. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ Graham, Alexander (2005). Football in Scotland: A Statistical Record 1873–2005. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books. p. 9. ISBN 1-86223-123-0.
^ "Rangers 4 - 1 Third Lanark, Scottish League (09/05/1891)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ On This Day In Football History: 21 May 1891, Russell MdFadyen, The North Section, 21 May 2019
^ Thursday, 21 May 1891, Scottish League History
^ Football. | League Championship–Rangers v. Dumbarton. The Glasgow Herald, 22 May 1891
^ "Rangers 2 - 2 Dumbarton, Division One (old) Play-offs (21/05/1891)". Fitbastats.com. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
^ "Dumbarton 2-2 Rangers, Thursday, May 21st, 1891". The Sons Archive. Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.

v t e Scottish Football League (1890–2013)
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Divisions	Premier Division (1975–1998) First Division (1975–2013) Second Division (1975–2013) Third Division (1994–2013)
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Clubs	Abercorn Aberdeen Airdrieonians (1878) Airdrieonians (2002) Albion Rovers Alloa Athletic Annan Athletic Arbroath Armadale Arthurlie Ayr Ayr Parkhouse Ayr United Bathgate Beith Berwick Rangers Bo'ness Brechin City Broxburn United Cambuslang Celtic Clackmannan Clyde Clydebank (1914) Clydebank (1965) Cowdenbeath Cowlairs Dumbarton Dumbarton Harp Dundee Dundee United Dundee Wanderers Dunfermline Athletic Dykehead East Fife East Stirlingshire Edinburgh City (1928) Elgin City Falkirk Forfar Athletic Galston Greenock Morton Gretna Hamilton Academical Heart of Midlothian Helensburgh Hibernian Inverness Caledonian Thistle Johnstone Kilmarnock King's Park Leith Athletic Linthouse Livingston Lochgelly United Meadowbank Thistle Mid-Annandale Montrose Motherwell Nithsdale Wanderers Northern Partick Thistle Peebles Rovers Peterhead Port Glasgow Athletic Queen of the South Queen's Park Raith Rovers Rangers Renton Ross County Royal Albert Solway Star St Bernard's St Johnstone St Mirren Stenhousemuir Stirling Albion Stranraer Third Lanark Thistle Vale of Leven
Seasons	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13
Anglo-Franco-Scottish Friendship Cup Clubs Stadia Yearly awards Monthly awards Representative team List of players

v <abbr style=";background:#0000ff;color:#ffffff;;background:none transparent;border:none;box-shadow:none;padding:0;" title="Discuss this template">t</abbr> e Scottish Football League original clubs, 1890–91
3rd LRV Abercorn Cambuslang Celtic Cowlairs Dumbarton Heart of Midlothian Rangers Renton St Mirren Vale of Leven

v t e Top division football seasons in Scotland
Football League	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93
Division One	1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15
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Premiership	2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Winners	List of champions Winning managers

v t e 1890–91 in Scottish football
« 1889–90 1891–92 »
Domestic leagues	Football League
Domestic cups	Scottish Cup Final Junior Cup
Related to national team	Results British Home Championship
Club seasons
Scottish Football League	3rd Lanark RV Abercorn Cambuslang Celtic Cowlairs Dumbarton Heart of Midlothian Rangers St Mirren Vale of Leven
Other teams	Hibernian Kilmarnock Queen's Park

v t e Rangers F.C. matches
Scottish Cup Finals	1877 1879 1894 1897 1898 1899 1903 1904 1905 1909 1921 1922 1928 1929 1930 1932 1934 1935 1936 1948 1949 1950 1953 1960 1962 1963 1964 1966 1969 1971 1973 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1989 1992 1993 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2008 2009 2016 2022
Scottish League Cup Finals	1947 (April) 1949 (March) 1951 1957 1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1970 1975 1978 1979 (March) 1981 1982 1984 (March) 1984 (October) 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1996 1998 2002 2003 2005 2008 2009 2010 2011 2019 2023 (February) 2023 (December)
SFL Championship Play-offs	1891 1905
Scottish Challenge Cup Finals	2014 2016
European Cup Winners' Cup Finals	1961 1967 1972
UEFA Europa League Finals	2008 2022
European Super Cup	1972 (unofficial)
Other matches	1901 Glasgow International Exhibition Cup Final 1902 British League Cup Final 1946 Southern League Cup 1946 Victory Cup Berwick Rangers 1–0 Rangers (1967) 1971 Ibrox disaster Rangers 2–2 Celtic (1987) Dubai Champions Cup (1987) Progrès Niederkorn 2–0 Rangers (2017)