On 15th May 2004 Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City secured the Premier League title and a feat not seen in English Football for 115 years. Arsenal’s unbeaten league season was met with widespread praise and the players’ position in English football folklore was cemented. The names of Pires, Vieira, Bergkamp and Reyes will bring back memories of tantalising football and of a time when Arsene Wenger was considered a genius rather than a joke. What was rarely mentioned as Arsenal’s triumph was celebrated was the even more impressive record of Preston North End during the 1888/89 season.

The English Football League’s first season in 1888 saw Preston win both the First Division and FA Cup without losing a game. The initiative of Chairman/Manager William Sudell meant Preston had largely been fielding a professional team in the years preceding 1888. While paying players was against Football Association rules prior to 1885 Sudell would sign talented players from areas like Scotland and employ them in highly paid work within Preston. Preston had considerable success but the procedures of North End and several other Lancashire clubs frustrated clubs who were still abiding by the FA’s insistence on amateurism. North End were expelled from the FA Cup in 1884 after complaints regarding the professionalism of Preston from Upton Park FC. While professionalism was legalised in 1885 there was still no organised national league until 1888. Preston continued to have success including an English record 26-0 win against Hyde in the FA Cup that still remains the largest margin of victory in the history of English football.

As the Football League’s inaugural season began Preston’s squad was composed entirely of players either born in Preston, Scots and a handful of Welshmen. North End’s reliance on Scottish players is shown by the composition of their starting XI in the 1889 FA Cup Final. The team was composed of one Welshmen, four Englishmen and six Scots. Welsh goalkeeper R.H. Mills-Roberts started playing in cup games for Preston in 1887. A fascinating character, Mills-Roberts was house surgeon at Birmingham General Hospital while still on the books at Preston and as a result only played in one league game for Preston during the 1888/89 season. Robert Holmes, R.H. Howarth, Fred Dewhurst were all born in Preston while John Goodall was born in London to Scottish parents. Goodall moved to Scotland when he was 3 years old and spent the majority of his youth north of the border. Preston’s Scottish contingent in the FA Cup final starting XI consisted of John Graham, Alexander Sanders-Robertson, John Gordon, James Ross, Sam Thomson and George Drummond. The majority of the Scots were notably signed years before professionalism was legalised in English football, arousing suspicion amongst other clubs of malpractice at Deepdale.

Preston’s season started with 6 straight wins in dominant fashion. 25 goals were scored in the 6 games, the highlight being a 7-0 win against Stoke. Jimmy Ross and John Goodall’s lethal partnership up front that would define the season was obvious in the early stages of the season. Ross finished with 19 goals in 21 games while Goodall finished with 20 goals in 20 games. 2 draws in the next 4 games were sandwiched outside of a 7-0 demolition away at Notts County and a 5-2 win against Wolves. 4 straight wins were followed by a 2-2 draw against local rivals Burnley. After the disappointing draw with Burnley John Goodall scored in 4 straight wins as North End prepared to clinch the title before the final day. A 2-2 draw with Blackburn preceded a 2-0 win away at Everton before a 2-0 win against Aston Villa on the final day of the season secured Preston’s unbeaten league season. By the time Preston had won the league title the FA Cup had only just completed its first round. Preston’s 3 victories in round 2 (2-0 away at Grimsby), round 3 (2-0 win against Birmingham St.Georges) and the semi-final (1-0 against West Bromwich Albion) were far less impressive than many of their league victories but they still found themselves in the FA Cup final preparing to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Kensington Oval.

The Preston XI that lined up at the Oval on 30th March 1889 would have been unaware of the long term significance of their achievement if they were to win the FA Cup and complete the undefeated season. Preston beat Wolves 3-0 through goals from Fred Dewhurst, Jimmy Ross and Sam Thomson. It would have been understandable if contemporaries had presumed that the undefeated season would be a regular occurrence as it had been achieved by a team in the first professional English football season.

Why did Preston’s unbeaten league record stand alone for 115 years? The obvious explanation is that Preston were so far ahead of everyone else by the time professionalism was legalised that other clubs had to play catch up in the first few seasons of professional football. Once other teams had caught up to Preston financially it became harder for teams to build significantly better squads. The introduction of the maximum wage in 1901 also had a monumental role in ensuring Preston’s undefeated season was not repeated. It is no coincidence that the two undefeated teams in English First Division history both played at times in football history when the disparity between the richest teams and the poorest teams was at its highest.