formed in 1862. The club predates The Football Association and initially played a game of its own devising, rather than association football. At the time of its formation, Notts County, like most sports teams, were considered to be a "gentlemen-only" club. Notts County are considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern game and are the oldest of the world's professional association football clubs (there are older professional clubs in other codes of football, and Sheffield F.C., an amateur club founded in 1857, are the oldest club now playing association football). In November 1872, the Notts County full-back Harwood Greenhalgh played for England against Scotland in the first-ever international match, thereby becoming the club's first international player. In 1888, Notts County, along with 11 other football clubs, became a founding member of The Football League. They finished their first league season in 11th place, but avoided the dubious honour of the wooden spoon, which went to Midlands rivals Stoke City. However, the club did achieve their highest ever league finish of third in 1890–91, an achievement they repeated 10 seasons later.