1888–89 St. Mary's F.C. season
| 1888–89 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Honorary President | Canon Basil Wilberforce | ||
| Secretary | F. A. Delamotte | ||
| Ground | Southampton Common | ||
| Hampshire Junior Cup | Winners | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: N/A All: Frank Bromley / F. A. Delamotte (4) |
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| Highest home attendance | Reported as 5,000 – 7,000 (Hampshire Junior Cup semi-final at the County Ground |
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1888–89 was the fourth season for St. Mary's Football Club (St. Mary's F.C.) based in Southampton in southern England. The club retained the Hampshire Junior Cup for the second consecutive year.
The highlight of the season was the Hampshire Junior Cup and, in particular, the semi-final match which required four matches to get past Cowes. This match generated so much interest in the town that the crowds at the County Ground reached "unprecedented" levels, with some reports claiming up to 7,000 present for the fourth match.
By the end of the season, the Saints' main local rivals, Woolston Works had disbanded leaving St. Mary's as Southampton's most prominent and well-supported football club.
At the start of the season, the St. Mary's captain, Ned Bromley had moved to London to study dentistry; his role as captain was taken over by George Carter, although Bromley remained with the club, and continued to play in important matches, travelling from London by train.
George Muir was on teacher-training at Winchester so relinquished the role of club secretary which was taken over by new recruit, F. A. Delamotte.
Ned Bromley's career came to an end shortly after the 1889 final of the Hampshire Junior Cup, when he was seriously injured in a six-a-side tournament.
At the start of the season, St. Mary's were still based on Southampton Common, although they hired the County Ground or the Antelope Ground for more popular friendly matches, as well as for Hampshire Junior Cup matches, for which the common was unsuitable as the pitch was not enclosed and thus no entrance fee could be charged. The published match reports frequently omitted any mention of where the match was played or of the names of the players.
The players continued to wear white shorts, black knee-length socks and "white tunics" with a red sash worn diagonally, although, unlike in earlier years, the sash was worn consistently on the left shoulder.
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