The 1894–95 season was the 24th season of competitive
football in England
Association football, Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first footba ...
.
League competitions
Football League
Following the collapse of
Middlesbrough Ironopolis and the resignation of
Northwich Victoria, three new teams were admitted to the Second Division, bringing it to 16 teams. These new teams were
Bury,
Leicester Fosse
Leicester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English f ...
and
Burton Wanderers.
Southern League
The
Southern League, a competition for both professional and amateur clubs, was founded in 1894 under the initiative of
Millwall Athletic (now simply Millwall), to cater for teams in southern England, who were unable to join
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
. The nine founder members were:
*
Chatham
*
Clapton
*
Ilford
Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...
*
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
*
Millwall Athletic
*
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
*
Royal Ordnance Factories
*
2nd Scots Guards (later withdrew and were replaced by
Southampton St Mary's)
*
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded as Swindon A ...
Events
* 1 September 1894 – On the opening day of the Football League season, an extraordinary game between
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
and
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
was played
over three halves. The referee appointed for the match,
Tom Kirkham, was running late so John Conqueror took charge. When Kirkham arrived, Sunderland were 3–0 ahead after the first half but the decision was made to start the match again at 0–0, annulling what was played so far. The decision did not bother Sunderland in the end, as they officially ran out 8–0 winners.
* 13 October 1894 – The
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is an association football match between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, two clubs based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is the longest running top-flight local derby, derby in England, with its fi ...
is contested for the first time. 44,000 watch
Everton beat
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
3–0 in a league clash at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...
.
Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
League tables
First Division
Second Division
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1894-95 in English football