The convention of 1870 being the inaugural premiership was applied retrospectively: in 1889, The Argus newspaper first published a table of historical premiers, and second and third-placed teams, dating back to 1870.
South Yarra was the permanent holder of the previous Challenge Cup, having won it in 1866, and decided it would be appropriate to provide a new trophy for competition.
[8] Conventionally, such a game would simply be considered a no-contest, but with the Challenge Cup at stake, Albert-park took to the field and scored two goals against no opposition as a formality and claimed a walkover victory.
[8] Albert-park also argued that it was entitled to claim victory because Railway had declined the options of playing short or fielding other club officials or members who were present.
Ultimately, the dispute was unresolved: there was no central body which could make a binding ruling on whether or not the walkover counted as a victory, and neither side conceded its opponent's point.
Albert-park was denied the chance to become the undisputed permanent holder of the Cup on 6 August, when its return match with the weak Railway club was cancelled due to inclement weather.