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The Southern League, a competition for both professional and amateur clubs, was founded in 1894 under the initiative of Millwall Athletic (now simply Millwall), to cater for teams in southern England, who were unable to join the Football League. The nine founder members were:
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1 September 1894 – On the opening day of the Football League season, an extraordinary game between Sunderland and Derby County was played over three halves. The referee appointed for the match, Tom Kirkham, was running late so John Conqueror took charge. When Kirkham arrived, Sunderland were 3–0 ahead after the first half but the decision was made to start the match again at 0–0, annulling what was played so far. The decision did not bother Sunderland in the end, as they officially ran out 8–0 winners.