1891–92 Scottish Football League

March 2026 Scottish Football League 1891–92 15 August 1891 – 24 May 1892 Dumbarton2nd title Cambuslang and Vale of Leven (not re-elected) 132 594 Jack Bell (23 goals) Leith Athletic 10–0 Vale of Leven (19 September 1891) Clyde 3–10 Heart of Midlothian (3 October 1891) Clyde 10–3 Vale of Leven (15 August 1891)Clyde 3–10 Heart of Midlothian (3 October 1891) 12 games:Dumbarton 14 games:Celtic 22 games:Vale of Leven 9 games:Vale of Leven 1890–91 1892–93 The 1891–92 Scottish Football League was the second season of the Scottish Football League after its formation in 1890. A total of 12 clubs (3rd LRV, Abercorn, Cambuslang, Celtic, Clyde, Dumbarton, Heart of Midlothian, Leith Athletic, Rangers, Renton, St Mirren and Vale of Leven) took part in the competition. Dumbarton and Rangers were the defending champions having shared the title the previous season. The competition began with the first matches held on 15 August 1891 and concluded on 24 May 1892. The league was won by Dumbarton who won the title outright for the first time on 7 May 1892 after they drew 1–1 away to Abercorn in their final match.http://www.fitbastats.com/dumbarton/game.php?gameid=38031 Abercorn 1 - 1 Dumbarton, Scottish League (07/05/1892) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 Clubs Scotland South 330 right Locations of clubs in the 1891–92 Scottish Football League Scotland South 6 55.848054 -4.437221 AbercornSt Mirren left Scotland South 6 55.800982 -4.184891 Scotland South 6 55.945287 -4.564554 Dumbarton right Scotland South 6 55.938998 -3.232491 Scotland South 6 55.975117 -3.166243 Leith AthleticHearts right Scotland South 6 55.988706 -4.578927 Vale of Leven left Scotland South 6 55.970846 -4.584627 Scotland South TransparentPlaceholder.png 56.02 -4.584627 Renton right Scotland South 6 55.864237 -4.251806 GlasgowCambuslang right Scotland South TransparentPlaceholder.png 6 55.514719 -4.498792 90 Glasgow teams3rd LRVCelticClydeRangers right In the close season after the league's successful first year, the Scottish Football League held its annual general meeting. As per the rules, the bottom three teams from season 1890–91 (St Mirren, Vale of Leven and Cowlairs) were put up for re-election to the league. Clyde and Leith Athletic both applied to join the league while league members agreed to increase the number of teams to 12. St Mirren, Vale of Leven, Clyde and Leith Athletic were all elected to join the league and would compete in the new season beginning on 15 August but Cowlairs failed re-election and instead became founding members of the Scottish Football Alliance.http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/reelections.htm Scottish Football League - Re-elections 1891-1951 Scottish Football Historical Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150414174453/http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/reelections.htm 14 April 2015 18 May 2020 Renton competed for the first few months of the previous season but were expelled by the Scottish Football Association for professionalism however the club successfully appealed its suspension and was readmitted to the league for this season.http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/expulsions.htm Scottish Football League Expulsions 1890-1953 Scottish Football Historical Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150414220908/http://scottish-football-historical-archive.com/expulsions.htm 14 April 2015 27 July 2019 Club Home town/city Home ground 3rd LRV Glasgow Cathkin Park Abercorn Paisley Underwood Park Cambuslang Cambuslang Whitefield Park Celtic Glasgow Celtic Park Clyde Glasgow Barrowfield Park Dumbarton Dumbarton Boghead Park Heart of Midlothian Edinburgh Tynecastle Park Leith Athletic Leith Bank Park Rangers Glasgow Ibrox Park Renton Renton Tontine Park St Mirren Paisley Westmarch Vale of Leven Alexandria Millburn Park Season overview The league began on 15 August 1891. Both defending champions Dumbarton and Rangers opened the season with victories against Cambuslang (2–0)http://www.fitbastats.com/dumbarton/game.php?gameid=38014 Cambuslang 0 - 2 Dumbarton, Scottish League (15/08/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 and Renton (4–1) respectively.http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/game.php?gameid=80371 Renton 1 - 4 Rangers, Scottish League (15/08/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 On the same day, Clyde defeated Vale of Leven 10–3 in what would be the joint highest-scoring game of the season.http://www.fitbastats.com/clyde/game.php?gameid=71591 Clyde 10 - 3 Vale of Leven, Scottish League (15/08/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 Rangers suffered an early season set back when they lost the first Old Firm derby of the season to rivals Celtic 3–0 on 22 Augusthttp://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/game.php?gameid=77053 Celtic 3 - 0 Rangers, Scottish League (22/08/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 and, after a 3–1 defeat to Dumbarton two weeks later, they were effectively out of the running in 10th place with three defeats from their opening four games.http://www.fitbastats.com/rangers/game.php?gameid=38016 Rangers 1 - 3 Dumbarton, Scottish League (05/09/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 Heart of Midlothian defeated Dumbarton 3–1 at Tynecastle Park on 29 August to take the early season lead two points clear at the top.http://www.fitbastats.com/hearts/game.php?gameid=19776 Heart of Midlothian 3 - 1 Dumbarton, Scottish League (29/08/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 They would stay there until 19 September when a 5–1 reverse at Boghead Park saw Dumbarton leapfrog them to go top.http://www.fitbastats.com/dumbarton/game.php?gameid=19779 Dumbarton 5 - 1 Heart of Midlothian, Scottish League (19/09/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 However, a run of three straight wins – culminating in a 10–3 defeat of Clyde – saw Heart of Midlothian three points clear of Celtic, Dumbarton and Leith Athletic on 3 October.http://www.fitbastats.com/hearts/game.php?gameid=19782 Clyde 3 - 10 Heart of Midlothian, Scottish League (03/10/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 Dropping points to St Mirren and Vale of Leven allowed the chasing pack to catch up but it was Dumbarton who made the biggest impact. By the time they went top on 7 November after a tight 3–2 win against Renton, they had won five games in a row - a run that would extend well beyond the new year.http://www.fitbastats.com/dumbarton/game.php?gameid=38022 Renton 2 - 3 Dumbarton, Scottish League (07/11/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 On Boxing day they again defeated Renton 2–1 to move five points clear of Heart of Midlothian and 10 clear of third-placed Celtic but the Glasgow side had six games in hand, enough to catch and pass the league leaders.http://www.fitbastats.com/dumbarton/game.php?gameid=38026 Dumbarton 2 - 1 Renton, Scottish League (26/12/1891) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 Dumbarton would play just two games in the new year before a crucial tie at home to Celtic on 23 April 1892. The Glasgow side had been unbeaten in all competitions after their opening day loss to Heart of Midlothian racking up 23 wins in 25 games – winning the Glasgow Cup and the Scottish Cup in the process – before a 2–1 loss away to Leith Athletic.http://www.fitbastats.com/celtic/game.php?gameid=77061 Leith Athletic 2 - 1 Celtic, Scottish League (18/04/1892) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 That left Dumbarton on 32 points, one clear of Heart of Midlothian with a game in hand and six clear of Celtic who had two games in hand on the league leaders. John Miller scored the only goal in front of 12,000 spectators at Boghead Park to put Dumbarton in pole position to claim the title.http://www.sonsarchive.com/matchdetails.php?id=144 Dumbarton 1-0 Celtic, Saturday, April 23rd, 1892 Sons Archive 18 May 2020 5 July 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190705112923/http://www.sonsarchive.com/matchdetails.php%3Fid%3D144 dead A 6–0 humbling of Rangers 11 days later – in which the league's top scorer Jack Bell scored a hat-trick – put Dumbarton on the brinkhttp://sonsarchive.com/matchdetails.php?id=146 Dumbarton 6-0 Rangers, Wednesday, May 4th, 1892 Sons Archive 18 May 2020 21 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200821042748/http://sonsarchive.com/matchdetails.php?id=146 dead and, in their final match of the season on 7 May, a 1–1 draw with Abercorn was enough to secure a second league title. On the same day, Vale of Leven drew 1–1 with Renton in their final match as they finished bottom of the table, failing to win a single game throughout the league season.http://www.fitbastats.com/valeofleven/game.php?gameid=88178 Vale of Leven 1 - 1 Renton, Scottish League (07/05/1892) Fitbastats.com 18 May 2020 At the league's annual general meeting on 3 June 1892, it was voted that the number of competing clubs would reduce from 12 to 10 for the next season. The bottom three clubs, St Mirren, Cambuslang and Vale of Leven, had to submit applications to rejoin the league for the next season. The league also received applications from four non-league clubs: Kilmarnock, Cowlairs, Northern and St Bernard's. In the election, St Mirren received the most votes and retained their league status meaning Cambuslang and Vale of Leven lost their league places. League table main WDL complete 5 2005 Football in Scotland: A Statistical Record 1873–2005 Alexander Graham Cleethorpes Soccer Books 10 1-86223-123-02019 Scottish Football Tables 1890 - 2019 Cleethorpes Soccer Books 8 978-1-86223-405-5 DUM CEL HOM LEI RAN REN LRV CLY ABE STM CAM VOL 6 C REE NRE NRE 18 1 3 79 28 16 3 3 62 21 15 4 3 65 35 12 1 9 51 40 11 2 9 59 46 8 5 9 38 44 8 5 9 44 47 8 4 10 63 62 6 5 11 45 59 5 5 12 43 60 2 6 14 21 53 0 5 17 24 99 Dumbarton Celtic Heart of Midlothian Leith Athletic Rangers Renton 3rd LRV Clyde Abercorn St Mirren Cambuslang Vale of Leven C 2 1) Points; QR green1 Champions red2 Re-elected red1 Not re-elected Results main FBR grey 3RD ABC CAM CEL CLY DUM HOM LEI RAN REN STM VOL 3rd LRV 1–1 3–1 1–3 3–2 2–5 3–2 0–3 2–2 1–1 2–3 9–2 Abercorn 2–4 3–1 2–5 3–3 1–1 1–3 3–2 0–1 3–3 1–1 6–3 Cambuslang 1–1 0–2 0–4 3–5 0–2 3–3 1–3 0–6 1–1 1–1 1–0 Celtic 5–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 2–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 3–0 2–1 6–1 Clyde 3–3 7–3 2–0 2–7 4–1 3–10 1–2 1–3 1–3 4–1 10–3 Dumbarton 2–0 8–1 5–2 1–0 8–2 5–1 6–0 6–0 2–1 4–2 8–0 Heart of Midlothian 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 3–2 4–2 2–2 7–0 Leith Athletic 3–1 3–2 3–0 2–1 1–0 1–3 2–2 3–1 2–3 4–2 10–0 Rangers 2–3 6–2 2–1 1–1 1–5 1–3 0–1 3–2 5–2 2–3 7–0 Renton 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–4 2–1 2–3 0–3 3–0 1–4 5–2 3–0 St Mirren 1–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–4 2–3 2–5 3–1 3–4 2–1 6–4 Vale of Leven 0–2 0–3 0–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 2–2 0–3 1–6 1–1 2–2 complete See also 1891–92 in Scottish football References Association football Scotland Category:1891–92 in European association football leagues 1891-92 Category:1891–92 in domestic association football leagues Lea