# 1890–91 in Scottish football

1890–91 in Scottish football was the 18th season of competitive football in Scotland. This season saw the introduction of the Scottish Football League with ten teams competing.

## League competitions
### Scottish Football League

Dumbarton and Rangers were declared joint champions after drawing a play-off game 2–2 at Cathkin Park, Glasgow on 21 May 1891. Renton started the season as members of the Scottish Football League, but were expelled for professionalism (the game was still officially amateur at this stage). Also, Celtic, Third Lanark and Cowlairs were all docked four points for fielding ineligible players.
| 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.

## Other honours
### Cup honours
#### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup | Hearts | 1 – 0 | Dumbarton |
| SFL Charity Cup | Dumbarton | 3 – 0 | Celtic |
| Scottish Junior Cup | Vale of Clyde | 2 – 0 | Chryston Athletic |

#### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Orion | 4 – 1 | Caledonian |
| Ayrshire Cup | Kilmarnock | 7 – 1 | Hurlford |
| Border Cup | Selkirk | 4 – 3 | Hawick Rangers |
| Buteshire Cup | Bute Rangers | 6 – 1 | St Blane's |
| Dumbartonshire Cup | Dumbarton | 4 – 1 | Vale of Leven |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hearts | 3 – 0 | Armadale |
| Fife Cup | Cowdenbeath | 2 –1 | Lassodie |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee Our Boys | 6 – 2 | Dundee East End |
| Glasgow Cup | Celtic | 4 – 0 | 3rd LRV |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Airdrie | 2 – 1 | Albion Rovers |
| Linlithgowshire Cup | Armadale | 2 – 0 | Bo'ness |
| North of Scotland Cup | Camerons | 4 – 2 | Inverness Union |
| Perthshire Cup | Dunblane | 4 – 2 | St Johnstone |
| Renfrewshire Cup | St Mirren | 4 – 0 | Port Glasgow Athletic |
| Stirlingshire Cup | East Stirlingshire | 4 – 1 | Grangemouth |

## Edinburgh Exhibition

The Edinburgh Exhibition Contest was held to coincide with the 112th International Exhibition held at Meggetland, Edinburgh.
Rather than a one-off tournament, a series of nine games were arranged. The Edinburgh Evening Dispatch newspaper awarded silver cups to the winners of each match.
All matches were played at the exhibition's sports grounds at Meggetland.

## Scotland national team

| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 21 March | The Racecourse, Wrexham (A) | Wales | 4–3 | BHC | Bob Boyd (2), James Logan, Robert Buchanan |
| 28 March | Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) | Ireland | 2–1 | BHC | James Low, Tom Waddell |
| 4 April | Ewood Park, Blackburn (A) | England | 1–2 | BHC | Frank Watt |
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* BHC = British Home Championship
| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| England (C) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 6 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | −1 | 2 |
| Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 15 | −9 | 0 |