| Season | 1897–98 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's football | ||||
| First Division | Sheffield United | |||
| Second Division | Burnley | |||
| Northern League | Stockton | |||
| Midland League | Mexborough | |||
| Southern League | Southampton | |||
| FA Cup | Nottingham Forest | |||
| FA Amateur Cup | Middlesbrough | |||
| Sheriff of London Charity Shield | Shared betweenCorinthian and Sheffield United | |||
| ||||
The 1897–98 season was the 27th season of competitivefootball in England.
| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| First Division | Sheffield United (1) |
| Second Division | Burnley |
| FA Cup | Nottingham Forest (1) |
| Home Championship |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
Sheffield United won theFirst Division to becomechampions of English football for the only time in their history.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield United(C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 31 | 1.806 | 42 | |
| 2 | Sunderland | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 30 | 1.433 | 37 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 41 | 1.390 | 35 | |
| 4 | Everton | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 39 | 1.231 | 35 | |
| 5 | The Wednesday | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 42 | 1.214 | 33 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 33 | |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 | |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 49 | 0.959 | 31 | |
| 9 | Liverpool | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 45 | 1.067 | 28 | |
| 10 | Derby County | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 28 | |
| 11 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 41 | 0.683 | 26 | |
| 12 | Preston North End | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 43 | 0.814 | 24 | |
| 13 | Notts County | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 46 | 0.783 | 24 | |
| 14 | Bury | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 51 | 0.765 | 24 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers[a] | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 24 | Qualification fortest matches |
| 16 | Stoke(O) | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 55 | 0.636 | 24 |
This was the final season of using 'Test Matches' to decide relegation and promotion between the divisions. TheSecond Division was won byBurnley; both they and runners-upNewcastle United were promoted to the expanded First Division, rendering the results of the end of season Test Matches meaningless. From the 1898–99 season onwards, automatic relegation and promotion of the bottom two/top two sides from each division was introduced.
Luton Town replacedBurton Wanderers.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley(C, O, P) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 3.333 | 48 | Qualification fortest matches |
| 2 | Newcastle United(O, P) | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 2.000 | 45 | |
| 3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 1.833 | 39 | |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 1.829 | 38 | |
| 5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 37 | |
| 6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 36 | |
| 7 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 33 | |
| 8 | Luton Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 30 | |
| 9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 30 | |
| 10 | Walsall | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 29 | |
| 11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 25 | |
| 12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 0.839 | 24 | |
| 13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 0.551 | 21 | |
| 14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 0.524 | 17 | Re-elected |
| 15 | Darwen | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 0.408 | 14 | |
| 16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 0.276 | 14 |