This was the second season where the FA Cup, or the Football Association Challenge Cup, used a series of qualifying rounds in order to determine qualifiers for the actual Cup competition itself.
See 1889–90 FA Cup for details of the rounds from the first round onwards.
^The replay had ended 6 minutes early, with the score 2–1 to Town; the remaining time was played out before an inter-association match at Town's Clifton Lane ground, and Town scored a third goal. "Rotherham Town v Rotherham Swifts". York Herald: 8. 3 December 1889.