1888–89 Preston North End F.C. season
The 1888–89 season was Preston North End's first season in the Football League which had just been founded. Because of this Preston became one of the founder members of the Football League. Preston were very successful during the season as they went on to claim the league and cup double without being defeated which earned the squad legendary status in league football.
Final league table
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Preston North End | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 15 | 4.933 | 40 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 43 | 1.419 | 29 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 37 | 1.351 | 28 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 26 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 22 |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 46 | 0.870 | 22 |
| 7 | Accrington | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 48 | 1.000 | 20 |
| 8 | Everton | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 0.761 | 20 |
| 9 | Burnley | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 62 | 0.677 | 17 |
| 10 | Derby County | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 16 |
| 11 | Notts County | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 40 | 73 | 0.548 | 12 |
| 12 | Stoke | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 26 | 51 | 0.510 | 12 |
Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
Results
Preston's score comes firstLegend
Football League
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 8 September 1888 | Burnley | H | 5 – 2 | 5,000 | Gordon, Ross, Dewhurst |
| 2 | 15 September 1888 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 4 – 0 | 5,000 | Gordon, Ross, A Goodall, J Goodall |
| 3 | 22 September 1888 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3 – 1 | 5,000 | Gordon, Drummond |
| 4 | 29 September 1888 | Derby County | A | 3 – 2 | 6,000 | Robertson, Ross |
| 5 | 6 October 1888 | Stoke | H | 7 – 0 | 3,000 | Ross, Whittle, J Goodall, Dewhurst |
| 6 | 13 October 1888 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3 – 0 | 10,000 | Dewhurst, Edwards |
| 7 | 20 October 1888 | Accrington | A | 0 – 0 | 6,000 | |
| 8 | 27 October 1888 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 5 – 2 | 6,000 | Gordon, Ross, J Goodall |
| 9 | 3 November 1888 | Notts County | A | 7 – 0 | 7,000 | Gordon, Ross, J Goodall |
| 10 | 10 November 1888 | Aston Villa | H | 1 – 1 | 10,000 | J Goodall |
| 11 | 12 November 1888 | Stoke | A | 3 – 0 | 4,500 | Ross, Thomson, Robertson |
| 12 | 17 November 1888 | Accrington | H | 2 – 0 | 7,000 | Gordon, Dewhurst |
| 13 | 24 November 1888 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 5 – 2 | 10,000 | Ross, Robertson, Dewhurst, J Goodall |
| 14 | 8 December 1888 | Derby County | H | 5 – 0 | 4,000 | Inglis, J Goodall, Dewhurst |
| 15 | 15 December 1888 | Burnley | A | 2 – 2 | 8,000 | Ross, Thomson |
| 16 | 22 December 1888 | Everton | H | 3 – 0 | 8,000 | Dewhurst, J Goodall |
| 17 | 26 December 1888 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 5 – 0 | 5,150 | J Goodall, Ross, Gordon |
| 18 | 29 December 1888 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1 – 0 | 8,000 | J Goodall |
| 19 | 5 January 1889 | Notts County | H | 4 – 1 | 4,000 | J Goodall, Edwards |
| 20 | 12 January 1889 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2 – 2 | 10,000 | Dewhurst, Thomson |
| 21 | 19 January 1889 | Everton | A | 2 – 0 | 15,000 | J Goodall, Ross |
| 22 | 9 February 1889 | Aston Villa | A | 2 – 0 | 10,000 | Dewhurst |
FA Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R1 | 2 February 1889 | Bootle | A | 3 – 0 | 1,000 | J Goodall, Gordon, Thomson |
| R2 | 16 February 1889 | Grimsby Town | A | 2 – 0 | 8,000 | J Goodall, Ross |
| R3 | 2 March 1889 | Birmingham St George's | H | 2 – 0 | 8,000 | Holmes, Thomson |
| Semi final | 16 March 1889 | West Bromwich Albion | N | 1 – 0 | 22,688 | Russell |
| Final | 30 March 1889 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | N | 3 – 0 | 25,000 | Dewhurst, Thomson, Ross |