The first, against Blackburn Rovers, marked the opening of Accrington Stanley's new stadium; the other was a benefit match for Patsy Gallacher, against a representative team from the Scottish Football League.

The highest attendance of the campaign was 42,653, who saw Burnley beat Bolton Wanderers 3–1 on 26 February 1921; the lowest was 22,000, for the match against Sunderland on the final day of the season.

[6] Team captain Tommy Boyle claimed that his side was capable of building on its success of the previous season and winning the league championship,[6] despite Burnley not having won a trophy since their FA Cup victory in 1914.

[7] Burnley's only pre-season friendly games were two intramural practice matches, between the first team and the reserves,[8] the second of which was watched by a crowd of around 10,000 at the club's home ground, Turf Moor.

Full back Tom Bamford, who had not played a match for Burnley since before the First World War thanks to the emergence of Len Smelt, left the club and joined Rochdale in September 1920.

Inside forward Jack Lane was brought in from Cradley Heath in December 1920, followed by full back John Pearson from the same club two months later.

Two players who had been signed at the beginning of the season left Burnley in April 1921; McGrory moved to Stoke City on a free transfer and Birchenough was released after playing two league matches.

[18] The season began inauspiciously for Burnley as they lost 4–1, but the match did see eventual top scorer Joe Anderson score the first of his 25 league goals of the campaign.

[20] Haworth subsequently made several changes to the team; goalkeeper Jerry Dawson and full back Tommy Boyle were reinstated, and Freeman and James Lindsay were dropped in favour of Billy Nesbitt and Benny Cross respectively.

[1] Burnley picked up their first win on 6 September 1920, beating Huddersfield Town 3–0 at Turf Moor with goals from Bob Kelly, Boyle, and Nesbitt.

[9] Burnley's winning streak carried on into November, with goals from Kelly, Boyle and Cross helping the side to defeat Newcastle United 3–1 at home and 2–1 away to lift them to second place in the league.

[9] After the next game, a 2–2 draw with Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park on 20 November 1920, Burnley moved to the top of the table on goal average, 11 weeks after having been at the bottom.

[17] A win and a draw against Liverpool,[28] followed by a 2–0 victory over Preston North End, took Burnley into the Christmas period three points clear at the top of the league.

[30] Burnley continued their good form into 1921, beating Preston North End away before achieving two victories against local rivals Blackburn Rovers.

[31] The result saw Burnley equal the Football League record of 22 matches unbeaten, held by Sheffield United and Preston North End.

Burnley firstly drew 1–1 away against a Bolton Wanderers team who were unbeaten at home,[35] in front of a then-record crowd of 54,609 at Burnden Park,[36] before beating Arsenal 1–0 at Turf Moor.

[38] A late Cross goal gave Burnley a 1–0 win over Manchester United at Turf Moor, extending the team's unbeaten record to 30 matches.

[17][41] Beset by injuries to the forward line,[42] the team suffered its fifth league defeat of the campaign on 9 April 1921, losing 2–0 away at West Bromwich Albion.

[47] At half time during the final match of the season, the championship trophy was paraded around the Turf Moor pitch accompanied by a marching band.

Source:[50] Burnley's first match outside the league in the 1920–21 season was a friendly on 22 September 1920 against a Blackburn Rovers XI to mark the opening of Accrington Stanley's new stadium at Peel Park.

In the third round, Burnley were handed an away tie at Hull City, who were struggling in the Second Division and had won only two league matches in the previous five months.

[53] In April 1921, Burnley won the East Lancashire Charity Cup for the second consecutive season, beating Blackburn Rovers 8–2 on aggregate over two legs.

This success was followed by a 2–1 friendly victory over a Scottish Football League XI in a benefit match for Celtic winger Patsy Gallacher.

[56] Burnley's opponents were Tottenham Hotspur, who had finished sixth in the First Division and beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup final.

[57] The game was not without controversy, as the Burnley players claimed that the second goal should have been disallowed despite the Tottenham goalscorer being onside, maintaining that the whistle had already been blown by the referee.

[61] The Burnley board had planned a tour of Spain to take place shortly after the culmination of the league campaign; the trip had to be cancelled when the club received notice from the Spanish Football Federation that one of their intended opponents, Barcelona, had been suspended from all matches.

[67] The majority of the championship-winning team remained intact going into the 1921–22 season, although players such as David Taylor and Weaver found themselves less involved in first-team matches.