1888–89 FA Cup

The 1888–89 FA Cup was the 18th edition of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup.

1888–89 FA Cup

Tournament details
Country	England Wales Ireland
Defending champions	West Bromwich Albion
Final positions
Champions	Preston North End (1st title)
Runner-up	Wolverhampton Wanderers

Qualifying rounds

Following the formation of the Football League, this season saw the introduction of qualifying rounds, with League clubs given the right to request automatic exemption to the first round proper. However, officials at Bolton Wanderers , Everton, Notts County and Stoke failed to apply for the necessary exemptions and so those clubs were entered at the first qualifying round stage. Everton withdrew from the competition after being drawn to meet Ulster in Belfast in their first match, while Stoke became the first League club to be eliminated by non-League opponents when they fell to Warwick County at the Victoria Ground also in the first qualifying round. Ultimately only Notts County successfully progressed to the competition proper after Bolton Wanderers lost to Linfield Athletic in Belfast in the third qualifying round.

The nine non-League clubs progressing from the qualifying rounds were Wrexham, Sheffield Heeley, Chatham, Grimsby Town, South Shore, Old Brightonians, Linfield Athletic, Sunderland Albion and Small Heath but 14 other sides were given byes to the first round in order to bring the number of teams up to 32. These were Old Westminsters, Witton, Bootle, Swifts, Nottingham Forest, Halliwell, The Wednesday, Birmingham St George's, Walsall Town Swifts, Crewe Alexandra, Old Carthusians, Derby Junction, Notts Rangers and Long Eaton Rangers.

For information on all matches played from the first qualifying round to the fourth qualifying round, see 1888–89 FA Cup qualifying rounds.

First round proper

Home Club	Score	Away Club	Date
Burnley	4–3	Old Westminsters	2 February 1889
Swifts	3–1	Wrexham	2 February 1889
Notts County	2–0	Old Brightonians	2 February 1889
Nottingham Forest	2–2	Linfield Athletic	2 February 1889
Aston Villa	3–2	Witton	2 February 1889
Bootle	0–3	Preston North End	2 February 1889
Accrington	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	2 February 1889
Chatham	2–1	South Shore	2 February 1889
Grimsby Town	3–1	Sunderland Albion	2 February 1889
Crewe Alexandra	2–2	Halliwell	2 February 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers	4–3	Old Carthusians	2 February 1889
Derby County	1–0	Derby Junction	2 February 1889
Notts Rangers	1–1	The Wednesday	2 February 1889
Birmingham St George's	3–2	Long Eaton Rangers	2 February 1889
Small Heath	2–3	West Bromwich Albion	2 February 1889
Walsall Town Swifts	5–1	Sheffield Heeley	2 February 1889

Replays

Home Club	Score	Away Club	Date
Nottingham Forest	Walkover	Linfield Athletic
Blackburn Rovers	5–0	Accrington	9 February 1889
Crewe Alexandra	1–5	Halliwell	9 February 1889
The Wednesday	3–0	Notts Rangers	9 February 1889

Second round proper

Home Club	Score	Away Club	Date
Blackburn Rovers	Walkover	Swifts
Aston Villa	5–3	Derby County	16 February 1889
The Wednesday	3–2	Notts County	16 February 1889
Chatham	1–1	Nottingham Forest	16 February 1889
Grimsby Town	0–2	Preston North End	16 February 1889
Halliwell	2–3	Birmingham St George's	16 February 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers	6–1	Walsall Town Swifts	16 February 1889
West Bromwich Albion	5–1	Burnley	16 February 1889

Replay

Home Club	Score	Away Club	Date
Nottingham Forest	2–2	Chatham	23 February 1889

Second replay

	Score		Date	Venue
Chatham	3–2	Nottingham Forest	28 February 1889	Kennington Oval

Third round proper

Home Club	Score	Away Club	Date
Preston North End	2–0	Birmingham St George's	2 March 1889
Blackburn Rovers	8–1	Aston Villa	2 March 1889
Chatham	1–10	West Bromwich Albion	2 March 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers	3–0	The Wednesday	2 March 1889

Semi-finals

	Score		Date	Venue
Preston North End	1–0	West Bromwich Albion	16 March 1889	Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	16 March 1889	Alexandra Road, Crewe

Replay

	Score		Date	Venue
Blackburn Rovers	1–3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	23 March 1889	Alexandra Road, Crewe

Final

Further information on this match: 1889 FA Cup Final

	Score		Date	Venue
Preston North End	3–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	30 March 1889	Kennington Oval

References

• FA Cup Results Archive