# 1890–91 Rangers F.C. season

The 1890–91 season is the 17th season of competitive football by Rangers.
The season saw the club play in a league set-up for the first time in its history.

## Overview

Rangers played a total of 20 competitive matches during the 1890–91 season. They were the joint winners of the first ever Scottish League, sharing the title with Dumbarton. The club's drew the championship play-off 2–2, so both were awarded the title and declared champions.
The club ended the season without the Scottish Cup after being knocked out by Celtic in the first round by 1–0.

## Results

All results are written with Rangers' score first.

### Scottish League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 16 August 1890 | Heart of Midlothian | H | 5–2 | 3,400 | Kerr (2), H.McCreadie, McPherson, Adams (o.g.) |
| 23 August 1890 | Cambuslang | A | 6–2 | | McPherson (4), Gow, Marshall |
| 13 September 1890 | Dumbarton | A | 1–5 | 4,000 | Hislop |
| 4 October 1890 | St. Mirren | H | 8–2 | | McPherson (5), Kerr (3) |
| 18 October 1890 | Cowlairs | H | 1–1 | | Hislop |
| 17 January 1891 | Vale of Leven | A | 3–1 | | McPherson (pen.), Hislop, Henderson |
| 24 January 1891 | Heart of Midlothian | A | 1–0 | 5,000 | Kerr |
| 7 February 1891 | Abercorn | A | 1–1 | | Marshall |
| 21 February 1891 | Cambuslang | H | 2–1 | 2,000 | H.McCreadie, McPherson |
| 28 February 1891 | St. Mirren | A | 7–3 | | H.McCreadie (2), Henderson (2), Kerr, McPherson, Sloan (o.g.) |
| 7 March 1891 | Third Lanark | A | 4–0 | | McPherson, Untraced (3) |
| 14 March 1891 | Abercorn | H | 2–0 | 5,000 | H.McCreadie, Henderson |
| 21 March 1891 | Celtic | A | 2–2 | 12,000 | A.McCreadie, Hislop |
| 28 March 1891 | Cowlairs | A | 2–0 | | Henderson, Hislop |
| 4 April 1891 | Vale of Leven | H | 4–0 | 2,000 | Hislop (2), Untraced (2) |
| 25 April 1891 | Dumbarton | H | 4–2 | 12,000 | A.McCreadie, Hislop, Kerr, McPherson |
| 2 May 1891 | Celtic | H | 1–2 | 10,000 | Henderson |
| 9 May 1891 | Third Lanark | H | 4–1 | | McKenzie (3), Hislop |

#### Championship play-off

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 21 May 1891 | Dumbarton | N | 2–2 | 10,000 | Hislop, H.McCreadie |

### Scottish Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 6 September 1890 | R1 | Celtic | A | 0–1 | 16,000 | |

## Appearances

| Player | Position | Appearances | Goals |
| David Mitchell | MF | 20 | 0 |
| Neil Kerr | MF | 20 | 8 |
| John McPherson | FW | 20 | 15 |
| David Hislop | FW | 20 | 10 |
| David Reid | GK | 18 | 0 |
| Donald Gow | DF | 18 | 1 |
| Robert Marshall | MF | 18 | 2 |
| Andrew McCreadie | DF | 17 | 2 |
| Hugh McCreadie | FW | 16 | 6 |
| James Henderson | FW | 14 | 6 |
| William Hodge | DF | 10 | 0 |
| James McIntyre | DF | 9 | 0 |
| John Muir | DF | 9 | 0 |
| Thomas Wyllie | MF | 5 | 0 |
| Archibald McKenzie | GK | 3 | 3 |
| John White | MF | 2 | 0 |
| William Wilson | MF | 1 | 0 |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dumbarton (C) | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 61 | 21 | +40 | 29 | Joint Champions |
| 1 | Rangers (C) | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 58 | 25 | +33 | 29 | Joint Champions |
| 3 | Celtic | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 21 | |
| 4 | Cambuslang | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 20 | |
| 5 | 3rd LRV | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 39 | −1 | 15 | |
| 6 | Heart of Midlothian | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 37 | −6 | 14 | |
| 7 | Abercorn | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 12 | |
| 8 | St Mirren | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 11 | Re-elected |
| 8 | Vale of Leven | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 27 | 65 | −38 | 11 | Re-elected |
| 10 | Cowlairs (R) | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 50 | −26 | 6 | Not re-elected |
| 11 | Renton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Expelled, record expunged |
* 1 2 Dumbarton and Rangers finished equal on points, and a play-off to determine the winner ended in a 2−2 draw so both teams were declared joint champions.
* 1 2 3 Celtic, 3rd LRV and Cowlairs were deducted four points each for fielding ineligible players.
* ↑ Cowlairs failed re-election to compete in the league for the next season.
* ↑ Renton were expelled from the league in September 1890 for professionalism and their record was expunged.