The long-serving Herbie Fecitt who joined Rovers in 1882 and stayed there until 1891, winning two FA Cup medals in the process. Fecitt also scored 13 goals in 21 league games from his inside left position before leaving for Northwich Victoria and later served Rovers as a member of the backroom staff into the next century. © Cottontown

The team was reliant on the goals of Jack Southworth who was capped by England for the first of three times at the end of the season. In all, he scored 21 goals in the league and cup that season in just 26 games. Another reliable member of the time was his brother James who played as a right back and so didn’t actually net at all in his 23 appearances, in fact he never scored for Rovers in a major competitive match. Other mainstays in the side was Jimmy Forrest, goalkeeper Herbie Arthur, right back Joe Beverley (the Olympic England international), the Scottish right-half Jimmy Douglas (who had been at Rovers since 1880), inside left Herbie Fecitt and the inside left Nat Walton (who would in a few years change his main position…to goalkeeper!). All of those eight players mentioned had played for Rovers in at least one of the mid-eighties FA Cup winning sides. Since then, the other players to be regulars this season that had joined were centre half Billy Almond (acquired from the soon-to-be extinct Witton club), the speedy Scottish left back John Forbes who would appear in over a hundred league games for Rovers and the left winger Billy Townley who would soon make FA Cup history. A player on the way out was Fergie Suter, the man who started a riot after fighting with an old team mate in a game against Darwen. Darwen would soon also be in the Football League; however that was to be the curtain on the career of the Scottish full back that had joined Rovers all those years ago for ‘personal reasons’ all those years ago. Suter was to make just one league appearance; as a goalkeeper, thrown into the action when Arthur couldn’t play due to injury. Suter had been a stone mason by trade yet while at Darwen claimed English stone was too tricky for him to work with and apparently gave up the trade. Despite never seeming to change his mind he continued to earn well with Darwen and Blackburn Rovers where it was quite obvious he was a paid professional player, well before it was permitted by the FA.

The first league campaign for Rovers was actually one of the more successful ones in their history. It all began on 15th September 1888 with the visit of Accrington to their Leamington Street Ground. A crowd of over 5,000 assembled for a frankly amazing first league game. Unfortunately the first goal in Blackburn league match was scored by the opposition when John Kirkham netted for the Owd Reds. Jack Southworth soon got things on level terms with Rovers’ first ever league goal, apt that it should be a Blackburn lad to have had that honour. Despite this equaliser, Rovers did not go on to win the match and in fact needed another equaliser two minutes from time by Fecitt to rescues a point. That made the final score 5-5. It was a fantastic beginning to league football for Blackburn Rovers. Just one last thing to mention; Jack Southworth wasn’t the only member of his family to score, his brother John also managed a goal; unfortunately in the wrong net. So, on the same day that Jack Southworth scored the first ever Rovers goal, his brother John scored the first ever own goal!

Despite the new league competition, the FA Cup was still considered to be the most important competition and that didn’t fully change until well into the second half of the twentieth century. As impressive as winning a league would always be, it still could not match the glamour of the FA Cup. Certainly in the town of Blackburn for whom most of the largest crowds seen down the years have been for FA Cup games.