1890–91 Everton F.C. season

Everton
1890–91 season
Manager Dick Molyneux
The Football League League Champions
Top goalscorer England Fred Geary (20)
Highest home attendance 16,000 vs Preston (10 January 1891)
Lowest home attendance 8,000 vs Wolverhampton (13 September 1890) and Burnley (27 December 1890)
Home colours

Regular Football League First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Scotland Jack Angus 11 appearances in goal
Scotland Andrew Hannah 20 appearances at right back
Scotland Dan Doyle 20 appearances at left back – club captain
United Kingdom William David Kirkwood 19 appearances at centre back
England Johnny Holt 21 appearances at centre back
Scotland William Campbell 13 appearances at centre half
Scotland Alex Latta 10 appearances at outside right
Scotland Alec Brady 21 appearances at inside right
England Fred Geary ever present centre forward
England Edgar Chadwick ever present inside left
England Alf Milward ever present outside left

Other members of the title winning squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Wales Charlie Parry 13 appearances mostly at centre half
Scotland David Jardine 10 appearances in goal
United Kingdom Jack Elliott 7 appearances mostly at outside right
Scotland Duncan McLean 5 appearances mostly at right back
Scotland Tom Wylie 4 appearances mostly at outside right
Scotland Patrick Gordon 3 appearances mostly at outside right
Scotland Hope Robertson 3 appearances in mostly at outside right
Scotland Alex Lochhead 1 appearance at centre back
England Robert Smalley 1 appearance in goal

Having finished the previous season as runners up Everton made just one signing of note during the summer when William Campbell was brought from Bootle to fill the centre half role, which had remained unsettled sinceGeorge Farmer had been dropped the previous November. Robert Smalley's position in goal was also under threat from an emerging twenty-year-old Scot named Jack Angus while David Kirkwood having lost the battle to secure the inside right birth to Alec Brady, now shared the centre back duties with Charlie Parry

This settled look ensured that there were just two new faces in the opening day 4–1 victory at West Bromwich Albion, Campbell, who scored and Angus who kept goal in the side listed above as the most settled team used that season. The team remained unchanged through the first four games of the campaign, which were all won, before Latta missed the fifth game. Everton still won to take their winning start to five games before being held to a 2–2 draw at Aston Villa. Everton remained unbeaten for their first seven games but their first choice eleven did not play again as a run of three straight defeats saw the return of Robert Smalley for one game in place of Jack Angus, who died in 1891, becoming the only player ever to win a posthumous League champion's medal. It's not recorded whether Angus showed signs of an illness before being replaced in goal but Everton went out in November and signed David Jardine from Bootle as a replacement, being first choice keeper by the season's end.

Everton completed all bar one of their fixtures before the end of January and had to wait while the nearest challengers for the title, Preston played a series of games to close the gap at the top to two points. Everton's final game of the season was at Burnley on Saturday 14 March 1891 when almost half the 10,000 attendance was made up of visiting Everton fans. The team of Jardine, McLean, Doyle, Lochhead, Holt, Parry, Latta, Brady, Geary, Chadwick and Milward required only a draw but failed, losing 3–2. Preston would themselves have claimed a third consecutive title has they won their fixture at Sunderland but Evertonians, returning to Liverpool by train from Burnley were met with a delighted crowd at the station who informed them that Preston had lost 0–3 and that Everton had won the title for the first time.

There was no official honour for individual players for being crowned champions so the Everton directors had a medal minted for every player, including the now deceased Angus to mark the occasion. The Football League took up the idea the following year and medals have been presented to every championship winning side since.

The Football League

Date Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
6 September 1890 West Bromwich Albion A 4–1 Fred Geary (2), William Campbell, Alec Brady 5,600
13 September 1890 Wolverhampton H 5–0 Fred Geary (2), Alf Milward (2), Edgar Chadwick 8,000
20 September 1890 Bolton A 5–0 Fred Geary (2), Alf Milward (2), Alex Latta 12,000
27 September 1890 Accrington A 2–1 Fred Geary, Alf Milward 5,000
4 October 1890 Derby H 7–0 Fred Geary (2), Alf Milward (2), David Kirkwood, Alexander Brady, Edgar Chadwick 12,000
11 October 1890 Aston Villa A 2–2 Fred Geary (2) 5,000
18 October 1890 Bolton H 2–0 Alexander Brady (2) 12,000
25 October 1890 West Bromwich H 2–3 Johnny Holt, Alex Latta 9,200
1 November 1890 Notts A 1–3 Fred Geary 13,000
8 November 1890 Blackburn A 1–2 Edgar Chadwick 15,000
15 November 1890 Sunderland H 1–0 Hope Robertson 12,000
22 November 1890 Preston North End A 0–2 12,000
29 November 1890 Blackburn H 3–1 Fred Geary (2), Alexander Brady 11,000
6 December 1890 Wolverhampton A 1–0 Fred Geary 6,500
13 December 1890 Derby A 6–2 THOMAS WYLIE (4), Fred Geary, Alexander Brady 4,000
20 December 1890 Sunderland A 0–1 6,500
26 December 1890 Accrington H 3–2 Alf Milward (2), Edgar Chadwick 14,000
27 December 1890 Burnley H 7–3 EDGAR CHADWICK (3), Alex Latta (2), Alexander Brady, Alf Milward 8,000
1 January 1891 Aston H 5–0 Alexander Brady (2), Fred Geary, Edgar Chadwick, Alf Milward 9,000
3 January 1891 Notts H 4–2 Edgar Chadwick (2), Alf Milward, Fred Geary 12,000
10 January 1891 Preston H 0–1 16,000
14 March 1891 Burnley A 2–3 Fred Geary (2) 10,000

Football Association Challenge Cup

Date Round Opponents Home/

Away

Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
17 January 1891 First Sunderland A 0–1 21,000

Final league table

P WDLFAGDGAPts
1Everton2214176329342.17229
2Preston North End2212374423211.91327
3Notts County2211475235171.48626
4Wolverhampton Wanderers2212283950−110.78026
5Bolton Wanderers2212194734131.38225
6Blackburn Rovers221129524391.20924
7Sunderland2210575131201.64523[1]
8Burnley2293105263−110.82521
9Aston Villa[2]2274114558−130.77618
10Accrington[2]2264122850−220.56016
11Derby County[2]2271144781−340.58015
12West Bromwich Albion[2]2252153457−230.59612

Achievements

Despite being crowned champions the 1890/91 team actually picked up fewer points than the side who missed out on the title the previous season. Their title triumph came despite a record losing and winless away run in the middle of the season. The 1891 title side also equalled or set the following club records.

  1. Sunderland deducted two points for fielding unregistered player
  2. 1 2 3 4 Re-elected to the Football League

Sources

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