1896–97 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

Tottenham Hotspur 1896–97 football season

Tottenham Hotspur
1896–97 season
Stadium	Northumberland Park
Southern League	4th
United League	8th
FA Cup	Fifth Qualifying Round
Top goalscorer	Robert Clements (10)
1897–98 →

The 1896–97 season was the first season that Tottenham Hotspur turned professional, and they competed in two leagues during the season. The Southern League and the United League. In the FA Cup, Tottenham played three qualifying games and in the third, they went away to Luton, where they lost 3–0. There were also a total of 26 recorded friendly games played that season.

Tottenham turned professional in order to join the Football League but were rejected after coming bottom of a poll with just two votes. Instead, the club were then elected to the Southern League.^[1]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Charles Ambler
—	GK	ENG	Thomas Hatfield
—	DF		Jimmy Allen
—	DF	SCO	James Mair
—	DF	ENG	William Almond
—	DF	ENG	Stanley Briggs
—	DF	ENG	Lycurgus Burrows
—	DF		James Devlin
—	DF	ENG	E Markham
—	-		James Collins
—	MF	ENG	William Crump


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Charles Lanham
—	FW	ENG	Ralph McElhaney
—	FW		James Milliken
—	DF	SCO	Jack Montgomary
—	FW	ENG	Willie Newbigging
—	-		Ernie Payne
—	FW	SCO	Robertson
—	FW		Frank Wilson
—	FW	SCO	Billy Fleming
—	FW	ENG	Robert Clements

Competitions

United League

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Loughborough	14	6	1	7	29	31	−2	13
5	Rushden Town	14	6	1	7	25	42	−17	13
6	Kettering	14	4	4	6	23	24	−1	12
7	Wellingborough	14	3	3	8	17	39	−22	9
8	Tottenham Hotspur	14	1	4	9	25	34	−9	6

Source: ^[2]

Results

Millwall Athletic v Tottenham Hotspur

19 September 1896 1

Millwall Athletic

6–5

Tottenham Hotspur

Rushden Town v Tottenham Hotspur

2 November 1896 2

Rushden Town

2–0

Tottenham Hotspur

Woolwich Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

9 November 1896 3

Woolwich Arsenal

2–1

Tottenham Hotspur

Wellingborough v Tottenham Hotspur

20 January 1897 4

Wellingborough

2–2

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur v Woolwich Arsenal

25 February 1897 5

Tottenham Hotspur

2–2

Woolwich Arsenal

Tottenham Hotspur v Loughborough

27 February 1897 6

Tottenham Hotspur

1–2

Loughborough

Tottenham Hotspur v Rushden Town

4 March 1897 7

Tottenham Hotspur

5–1

Rushden Town

Tottenham Hotspur v Luton Town

13 March 1897 8

Tottenham Hotspur

1–2

Luton Town

Kettering Town v Tottenham Hotspur

15 March 1897 9

Kettering Town

1–1

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall Athletic

3 April 1897 10

Tottenham Hotspur

1–3

Millwall Athletic

Luton Town v Tottenham Hotspur

10 April 1897 11

Luton Town

2–1

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur v Kettering Town

17 April 1897 12

Tottenham Hotspur

1–1

Kettering Town

Tottenham Hotspur v Wellingborough

19 April 1897 13

Tottenham Hotspur

1–1

Wellingborough

Loughborough v Tottenham Hotspur

24 April 1897 14

Loughborough

3–2

Tottenham Hotspur

Southern League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
2	Millwall Athletic	20	13	5	2	63	24	2.625	31
3	Chatham Town	20	13	1	6	54	29	1.862	27
4	Tottenham Hotspur	20	9	4	7	43	29	1.483	22
5	Gravesend United	20	9	4	7	35	34	1.029	22
6	Swindon Town	20	8	3	9	33	37	0.892	19

Source: ^[3]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.

Results

Sheppey United v Tottenham Hotspur

5 September 1896 1	Sheppey United	3–3	Tottenham Hotspur	Isle of Sheppey, Kent
				Stadium: Botany Road

Wolverton v Tottenham Hotspur

12 September 1896 2

Wolverton

0–1

Tottenham Hotspur

Wolverton

Gravesend United v Tottenham Hotspur

3 October 1896 3	Gravesend United	1–3	Tottenham Hotspur	Gravesend, Kent
				Stadium: Overcliffe Ground

Tottenham Hotspur v Chatham

10 October 1896 4

Tottenham Hotspur

2–3

Chatham

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v Gravesend United

17 October 1896 5

Tottenham Hotspur

4–0

Gravesend United

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v Royal Ordnance

17 October 1896 6

Tottenham Hotspur

2–1
Game was void after Royal Ordnance resigned from the league.

Royal Ordnance

Northumberland Park, London

Chatham v Tottenham Hotspur

31 October 1896 7

Chatham

1–2

Tottenham Hotspur

Kent

Tottenham Hotspur v Sheppey United

7 November 1896 8

Tottenham Hotspur

3–2

Sheppey United

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v Swindon Town

14 November 1896 9

Tottenham Hotspur

3–1

Swindon Town

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v Millwall Athletic

28 November 1896 10

Tottenham Hotspur

1–3

Millwall Athletic

Northumberland Park, London

Reading v Tottenham Hotspur

5 December 1896 11	Reading	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Reading, Berkshire
				Stadium: Elm Park

Millwall Athletic v Tottenham Hotspur

25 December 1896 12	Millwall Athletic	4–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Isle of Dogs, London
				Stadium: The Athletic Grounds

Swindon Town v Tottenham Hotspur

9 January 1897 13	Swindon Town	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Swindon
				Stadium: County Ground

Tottenham Hotspur v Northfleet United

13 February 1897 14

Tottenham Hotspur

5–0

Northfleet United

Northumberland Park, London

New Brompton v Tottenham Hotspur

20 February 1897 15	New Brompton	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Gillingham, Kent
				Stadium: Priestfield Road

Northfleet United v Tottenham Hotspur

6 March 1897 16	Northfleet United	2–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Northfleet, Kent
				Stadium: Stonebridge Road

Tottenham Hotspur v Reading

20 March 1897 17

Tottenham Hotspur

4–4

Reading

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v New Brompton

27 March 1897 18

Tottenham Hotspur

6–0

New Brompton

Northumberland Park, London

Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

29 March 1897 19	Southampton	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Southampton
				Stadium: County Ground

Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverton

1 April 1897 20

Tottenham Hotspur

2–0

Wolverton

Northumberland Park, London

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

8 April 1897 21

Tottenham Hotspur

2–2

Southampton

Northumberland Park, London

FA Cup

Tottenham Hotspur v Old St. Stephens

12 December 1896 3Q	Tottenham Hotspur	4–0	Old St. Stephens	Northumberland Park, London
	Clements Payne			Attendance: 2,000

Tottenham Hotspur v Maidenhead

6 January 1897 4Q	Tottenham Hotspur	6–0	Maidenhead	Northumberland Park, London
	McElhaney Newbigging Payne Crump			Attendance: 2,000

Luton Town v Tottenham Hotspur

16 January 1987 5Q	Luton Town	3–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Luton
				Attendance: 5,000

References

^ Phil Soar. Tottenham Hotspur The Official Illustrated History 1882-1995. Hamlyn. p. 20.
^ Soar, Phil (1995). Tottenham Hotspur The Official Illustrated History 1882–1995. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-58706-1.
^ Phil Soar. Tottenham Hotspur The Official Illustrated History 1882-1995. Hamlyn. p. 233. ISBN 0-600-58706-1.

v t e Tottenham Hotspur F.C. seasons
1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. seasons

1896–97
1897–98
1898–99
1899–1900
1900–01
1901–02
1902–03
1903–04
1904–05
1905–06
1906–07
1907–08
1908–09
1909–10
1910–11
1911–12
1912–13
1913–14
1914–15
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

1896–97 in English football

« 1895–96

1897–98 »

FA competitions

FA Cup
- Qualifying rounds
- Final

Football and Southern Leagues

Lower leagues

Related to national team

Home Championship

Club seasons
First Division	Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Burnley Bury Derby County Everton Liverpool Nottingham Forest Preston North End Sheffield United Stoke Sunderland The Wednesday West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackpool Burton Swifts Burton Wanderers Darwen Gainsborough Trinity Grimsby Town Leicester Fosse Lincoln City Loughborough Manchester City Newcastle United Newton Heath Notts County Small Heath Walsall Woolwich Arsenal
Southern League	Chatham Town Gravesend United Millwall Athletic New Brompton Northfleet Reading Royal Ordnance Sheppey United Southampton St Mary's Swindon Town Tottenham Hotspur Wolverton L & NWR
Others	Brentford Burslem Port Vale Thames Ironworks