1898–99 Small Heath F.C. season
| 1898–99 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Walter W. Hart | ||
| Secretary | Alfred Jones | ||
| Ground | Coventry Road | ||
| Football League Second Division | 8th | ||
| FA Cup |
Second round (eliminated by Stoke) |
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| Birmingham Cup | Second round (eliminated by Aston Villa) |
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| Staffordshire Cup | Second round (eliminated by Walsall) |
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| Lord Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup | First round (eliminated by West Bromwich Albion) |
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| Top goalscorer |
League: Walter Abbott (34) All: Walter Abbott (42) |
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| Highest home attendance | 10,000 (three matches) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 2,000 vs Darwen (26 November 1898) | ||
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The 1898–99 Football League season was Small Heath's seventh in the Football League and their fifth in the Second Division. With four games of the seasons remaining, they were in fourth place, two points below the promotion positions, but a draw and three defeats in those last four games left them with an eight-place finish in the 18-team league. They also took part in the 1898–99 FA Cup, entering at the third qualifying round and progressing to the second round proper (round of 16), at which stage they were eliminated by Stoke after a replay. In local cup competitions, Small Heath reached the second round of the Birmingham Cup and Staffordshire Cup, and lost to West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the Mayor of Birmingham's Charity Cup.
Twenty-three players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were thirteen different goalscorers. Walter Abbott scored 42 goals, of which 34 were scored in the league, a season's best for the Second Division. Both totals remain as of 2012[update] club records. Abbott, half back Alex Leake and forward Sid Wharton each played in all 40 league and FA Cup matches over the season, and three other players missed only one such game.
In the 1897–98 season, Small Heath sixth in the 16-team Second Division, nine points behind the promotion test match positions. After the test match series left two teams needing to play out a goalless draw in their final match for both to be promoted, which unsurprisingly is what happened, the Football League's Annual General Meeting agreed that the First Division be extended from 16 to 18 clubs and that the top two teams in the Second Division at the end of each season should automatically replace the bottom two teams in the First. A vote was taken on the teams to take the two additional places in the First Division; Small Heath came fourth in the vote, so remained in the Second Division for the 1898–99 season. They were again awarded exemption only for the first two rounds of the qualifying competition for the FA Cup.
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