The 1898–99 season was the 25th season of competitive football by Rangers.
Overview Rangers played a total of 39 competitive matches during the 1898–99 season.Results For Season 1898/1899 in All Competitions, Rangers FitbaStats They finished top of Scottish League Division One with a one hundred percent record of 18 wins from 18 matches.
The club ended the season without any other trophies: in the Scottish Cup, despite beating Hearts and St Mirren en route to the final, they lost to Celtic 2–0.Scottish Cup–Final Tie., The Glasgow Herald, 24 April 1899Football. Scottish Cup Final., London Morning Post, 24 April 1899, via The Celtic Wiki Earlier in the season they had also lost in the final of the less important Glasgow Cup 1–0 to Queen's Park,Glasgow Cup–Final Tie, The Glasgow Herald, 14 November 1898 and at its end they lost in the minor Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup final, another 2–0 loss to Celtic,Saturday's Football., The Glasgow Herald, 29 May 1899 also finishing as runners-up to the same opponents in the supplementary Glasgow Football League.Glasgow Football League (First version 1895-1899), Scottish Football Historical Archive
Regardless of these setbacks, the perfect league campaign of 1898–99 remains a unique achievement in the annals of British football.The beginning of glory , Rangers FCRangers Team, 1898-99 (Mitchell Library, Glasgow Collection), The Glasgow StoryThe first great Rangers team whose 'perfect season' remains unique in British football 122 years on, Matthew Lindsay, Glasgow Times, 7 January 2021
Results All results are written with Rangers' score first.
Scottish League Division One DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 20 August 1898Partick ThistleH6–27,000Hamilton (3), Sharp, Neil, Millar 27 August 1898St MirrenA3–1A.Smith, Hamilton, McPherson 3 September 1898Heart of MidlothianA3–217,500Hamilton (2), Wilkie 10 September 1898Third LanarkH4–118,000Millar, McPherson, Campbell, Neil (pen.) 19 September 1898St Bernard'sA2–08,000A.Smith, Neil (pen.) 24 September 1898CelticA4–045,000Neil (pen.), McPherson, Campbell, Millar 26 September 1898Third LanarkA3–214,000Campbell (2), McPherson 1 October 1898Heart of MidlothianH3–125,000Hamilton (2), A.Smith 8 October 1898DundeeA2–17,500Hamilton, Wilkie 5 November 1898Partick ThistleA5–05,000Hamilton (2), Millar (2), Sharp 19 November 1898HibernianA4–310,000Millar, A.Smith, Hamilton, Neil (pen.) 26 November 1898ClydeH8–04,000Millar (3), Sharp (2), Gibson (2), Watson (o.g.) 3 December 1898St Bernard'sH5–23,000Campbell (4), Hamilton 17 December 1898DundeeH9–03,000Hamilton (3), A.Smith (2), McPherson (2), Gibson (pen.), Campbell 24 December 1898HibernianH10–07,000A.Smith (4), Hamilton (2), McPherson, Millar, Gibson (pen.), Campbell 31 December 1898St MirrenH3–25,000Campbell (2), A.Smith 2 January 1899CelticH4–130,000Hamilton (3), Campbell 7 January 1899ClydeA3–04,000A.Smith, Millar, Neil (pen.)
Scottish Cup DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 14 January 1899R1Heart of MidlothianH4–125,612Gibson (2), Neil (pen.), Hamilton 11 February 1899R2Ayr ParkhouseA4–15,000Hamilton (2), Campbell, A.Smith 18 February 1899ClydeH4–06,000Low, McPherson, Gibson (pen.), Hamilton 15 April 1899St MirrenA2–110,000McPherson, Millar 22 April 1899CelticN0–225,000
Appearances PlayerPositionAppearancesGoals Matthew DickieGK230 Robert HamiltonFW2325 Robert NeilDF227 Alex SmithFW2213 David CrawfordDF220 Neilly GibsonMF226 John CampbellMF2113 Jimmy MillarFW2112 John McPhersonMF208 David MitchellMF180 Nicol SmithDF170 Jock DrummondDF60 Jimmy E. MillarDF50 Andrew SharpMF43 Jack WilkieFW42 James SharpMF11 Tommy LowMF11 Jimmy OswaldFW10
League table
See also 1898–99 in Scottish football 1898–99 Scottish Cup List of unbeaten football club seasons Perfect season
References