| Season: | 1888–89 |
| League Result: | 10th (16 Points) |
| Cup1 Result: | Second Round |
| League Topscorer: | Alex Higgins (12) |
| Pattern B1: | _derby1886-88 |
| Leftarm1: | 00aef0 |
| Body1: | 692109 |
| Rightarm1: | 00aef0 |
| Socks1: | 000000 |
| Nextseason: | 1889–90 |
The 1888–89 season was Derby County's first season in the Football League which had just been founded. Because of this they became one of the founder members of the Football League. They finished in 10th position with 16 points.
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston North End | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 74 | 15 | 4.933 | 40 | |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 43 | 1.419 | 29 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 37 | 1.351 | 28 | |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 26 | |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 63 | 59 | 1.068 | 22 | |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 46 | 0.870 | 22 | |
| 7 | Accrington | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 48 | 1.000 | 20 | |
| 8 | Everton | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 0.761 | 20 | |
| 9 | Burnley | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 62 | 0.677 | 17 | |
| 10 | Derby County | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 16 | |
| 11 | Notts County | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 40 | 73 | 0.548 | 12 | |
| 12 | Stoke | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 26 | 51 | 0.510 | 12 |
Derby County's score comes first
| Win | Draw | Loss |
See main article: 1888–89 Football League.
| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 September 1888 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 6 – 3 | 3,000 | L Plackett (2), Cooper (2), Bakwell (2) | |
| 2 | 15 September 1888 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1 – 2 | 3,700 | H Plackett | |
| 3 | 22 September 1888 | Accrington | H | 1 – 1 | 3,000 | Higgins | |
| 4 | 29 September 1888 | Preston North End | H | 2 – 3 | 6,000 | H Plackett, Wright | |
| 5 | 6 October 1888 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0 – 5 | 5,500 | ||
| 6 | 13 October 1888 | Accrington | A | 2 – 6 | 3,000 | Higgins, L Plackett | |
| 7 | 20 October 1888 | Everton | H | 2 – 4 | 2,000 | Chatterton, Bakwell | |
| 8 | 27 October 1888 | Everton | A | 2 – 6 | 5,000 | L Plackett, Needham | |
| 9 | 3 November 1888 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1 – 4 | 6,000 | Lees | |
| 10 | 24 November 1888 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0 – 2 | 3,000 | ||
| 11 | 8 December 1888 | Preston North End | A | 0 – 5 | 4,000 | ||
| 12 | 22 December 1888 | Notts County | H | 3 – 2 | 2,500 | Bakwell, Higgins, Unknown | |
| 13 | 26 December 1888 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2 – 3 | 3,500 | Higgins (2) | |
| 14 | 29 December 1888 | Aston Villa | A | 2 – 4 | 4,000 | Bakwell, Spilsbury | |
| 15 | 12 January 1889 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3 – 0 | 2,000 | Cooper, L Plackett, Higgins | |
| 16 | 19 January 1889 | Burnley | A | 0 – 1 | 3,000 | ||
| 17 | 26 January 1889 | Stoke | H | 2 – 1 | 2,500 | L Plackett, Cooper | |
| 18 | 2 March 1889 | Burnley | H | 1 – 0 | 3,000 | Cooper | |
| 19 | 9 March 1889 | Aston Villa | H | 5 – 2 | 3,000 | Higgins (4), Cooper | |
| 20 | 16 March 1889 | Notts County | A | 5 – 3 | 5,000 | Bakwell, Higgins, Cooper (2), Lees | |
| 21 | 6 April 1889 | Stoke | A | 1 – 1 | 4,000 | L Plackett | |
| 22 | 15 April 1889 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0 – 3 | 4,000 |
See main article: 1888–89 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 2 February 1889 | Derby Junction | H | 1 – 0 | 4,000 | Higgins | |
| R2 | 16 February 1889 | Aston Villa | A | 3 – 5 | 2,000 | Cooper (2), L Plackett |
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| FW | George Bakewell | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 6 |
| HB | E.W. Bellhouse | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GK | Harold Bestwick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | Enos Bromage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | William Chatterton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| HB | G. Clifton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Lewis Cooper | 15 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 10 |
| FB | Archibald Ferguson | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| FB | H. Harbour | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | Ernest Hickinbottom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Alex Higgins | 21 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 12 |
| FB | William Hopewell | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FB | Arthur Latham | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| FW | John Lees | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| GK | Joseph Marshall | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| HB | Issac Monks | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HB | Haydn Morley | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Thomas Needham | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| GK | Ruben Pitman | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Harry Plackett | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| FW | Lawrence Plackett | 22 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 8 |
| FB | Frank Roulstone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HB | Walter Roulstone | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| HB | J. Smith | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| FW | Benjamin Spilsbury | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| HB | Albert Williamson | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| HB | Levi Wright | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Book: Brown, Tony. The Football League Match by Match 1888-89 to 1892-93. 2010. SoccerData. 978-1-899468-44-7.