Sheffield & District Football League

Sheffield & District Football League
Country  England
Founded 1889

The Sheffield & District Football League was an English association football league based around Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

History

The league was founded in time for the 1889/90 season, being one of the first ever league competitions.[1] The first season was not completed, with Kilnhurst becoming the first champions in 1891. Chesterfield Town, a forerunner of the present Chesterfield F.C, won the 1892 title, and Wednesday Wanderers, the reserve team of Sheffield Wednesday, lifted the shield in 1893.

The 1893/94 competition saw the league split into two divisions of five, with the two group winners, Wednesday Wanderers and Mexborough, meeting in a play-off to decide the title winners, with the Mexburians winning the game 1-0 at Oakwell. The 1894/95 competition was again split in two, with the six strongest teams being placed into the top division, with the winners Mexborough being awarded the Wharncliffe Charity Cup. Below the top division that year, there was a shield competition for another nine sides, with Eckington Works beating Wath in a play-off final.

The league was disbanded in the summer of 1895,[2] with the Sheffield Association League effectively taking its place a year later.

Participants

The clubs that competed in the league were -

Club Years
Ardsley 1893/94 - 1894/95
Attercliffe 1889/90, 1892/93 - 1894/95
Barnsley St. Peters 1890/91 - 1894/95
Carbrook Church 1890/91 - 1891/92
Chesterfield Town 1891/92 - 1894/95
Clinton 1889/90
Doncaster Rovers 1894/95
Ecclesfield 1889/90 - 1892/93
Eckington Works 1889/90 - 1894/95
Exchange 1889/90
Kilnhurst 1889/90 - 1894/95
Kiveton Park 1891/92 - 1892/93
Melville 1891/92
Mexborough 1890/91 - 1894/95

Club Years
Montrose 1890/91
Owlerton 1889/90 - 1891/92
Penistone Athletic 1892/93
Rotherham 1892/93
Sheepbridge Works 1892/93, 1894/95
Sheffield 1893/94
Sheffield Strollers 1893/94 - 1894/95
Wednesday Wanderers 1892/93 - 1894/95
Staveley 1894/95
Walkley 1889/90
Wath 1892/93 - 1893/94
Wombwell Town 1894/95
Worksop Town 1892/93 - 1894/95

Champions

Season
1889–90 Season not finished
1890–91 Kilnhurst
1891–92 Chesterfield Town
1892–93 Wednesday Wanderers
1893-94 Mexborough
1894-95 Mexborough

References

  1. Sheffield Independent, 22 August 1889, page 5
  2. Sheffield Independent, 17 July 1895, page 8