President - Frank Grey Smith
Vice-Presidents - Murdoch, G. Aitken, JJ Morris, A. Hunt
Secretary - W. Lynar
Treasurer - H. Morrison
Committee - W. Bailey, A. Hunt, G. Hallett, H. Tuckfield, JJ Morris
Captain - Howard King
Vice-Captain - George Strachan
For the second time Melbourne moved to a new home ground at the Friendly Societies' Ground (near the present day AAMI Park) but welcomed their new home with their worst season ever to that point. The ground was the first time that a field had been specially prepared for an Australian Rules team.
Prahran merged with St. Kilda and Hotham changed their name to North Melbourne. Rules were changes to allow the umpire to face the players as he threw the ball into play, making it easier to spot infringements.
A match against Carlton scheduled for Saturday 31 March as a tribute for an ill-cricketer was cancelled when Melbourne were unable to field a team. A game against Brittannia on 21 July was called off when only 14 Brittannia players turned up.
The match against New Zealand Natives may have been at Rugby. In August the football club played rugby against a visiting Maori side and the Maoris won 3 tries to nil. In July the club was reportedly in dispute with the promoters of a tour of English footballers who had pulled out of a match on the MCG on Saturday 21 July. The promoters pulled out when the MCC tried to charge an admission price for the match. The visitors played in Ballarat instead.
During the season the club won four matches out of 19, and scored 52 goals while conceding 117.
VFA Matches
| Date | Opposition | Result | ||
| 10 March | Geelong | LOSS | ||
| 22 April | Williamstown | WIN | ||
| 5 May | Port Melbourne | LOSS | ||
| 12 May | North Melbourne | WIN | ||
| 19 May | Ballarat | LOSS | ||
| 24 May | Carlton | LOSS | ||
| 2 June | University | WIN | ||
| 9 June | Richmond | LOSS | ||
| 30 June | Geelong | LOSS | ||
| 7 July | Essendon | WIN | ||
| 14 July | Fitzroy | LOSS | ||
| 28 July | South Melbourne | LOSS | ||
| 4 August | Fitzroy | DRAW | ||
| 11 August | University | WIN | ||
| 18 August | St Kilda | LOSS | ||
| 25 August | North Melbourne | LOSS | ||
| 1 September | South Melbourne | LOSS | ||
| 8 September | Port Melbourne | LOSS | ||
| 15 September | Carlton | LOSS | ||
| 22 September | Essendon | LOSS | ||
| 29 September | Geelong | LOSS | ||
Other Matches
| Date | Opposition | Result | ||
| 28 April | Clifton | WIN | ||
| 26 May | Public Schools | WIN | ||
| 16 June | Queensland | WIN | ||
| 18 June | Ipswich | WIN | ||
| 20 June | Queensland | WIN | ||
| 23 June | New South Wales | WIN | ||
| 15 August | New Zealand Natives | DRAW | ||
| 6 September | Sydney | WIN | ||
Players
George Aitken, A. Agg, H. Barker, G. Benson, E. Brooks, R. Brown, Kenny Burn, W. Burns, F. Burton, T. Carah, Comber, Bob Ewing, Ferguson, Eddie Fox, F. Franks, W. Franks, J. Garton, F. Gillett, Greenhill, Ed Griffith, F. Hallett, George Hallett, H. Harper, Howard, D. Huggins, James Kelly, R. Kelly, Keogh, A. King, Howard King, E. Lording, E. Lynar, Madden, A. McCrindle, J. McGowan, A. McKenzie, McLaren, McNamara, Howard Morrison, P. Murphy, Parry, P. Parsons, Fred Plant, E. Reynolds, F. Rivers, A. Rusden, W. Smith, C. Spooner, G. Strachan, Walker, WP Wallace, J. Wiseman.
Goalkickers
A. King 6, Ferguson 5, J. McGowan 5, J. Garton 4, Ed Griffith 4, R. Kelly 4, A. McKenzie 4, A. Rusden 4, E. Brooks 3, A. McCrindle 3, Kenny Burn 2, G. Benson 1, Comber 1, F. Franks 1, Greenhill 1, H. King 1, G. Strachan 1, Wiseman 1, Unknown 1
Ladder
| Position | Team | Wins | Losses | Draws |
| 1st | South Melbourne | 15 | 2 | 2 |
| 2nd | Geelong | 12 | 3 | 4 |
| 3rd | Williamstown | 13 | 6 | 1 |
| 4th | Carlton | 11 | 5 | 3 |
| 5th | Richmond | 11 | 8 | 2 |
| 6th | Port Melbourne | 12 | 9 | 1 |
| 7th | North Melbourne | 8 | 7 | 5 |
| 8th | Ballarat | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| 9th | St. Kilda | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| 10th | Essendon | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| 11th | Fitzroy | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| 12th | South Ballarat | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 13th | Footscray | 5 | 10 | 0 |
| 14th | Melbourne | 4 | 14 | 1 |
| 15th | Ballarat Imperial | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 16th | University | 0 | 14 | 1 |
Second 20
| Date | Opposition | Result | Score | Goalkickers |
| 19 May | St Kilda | WIN | 2.8 - 0.6 | |
| 26 May | Fitzroy | LOSS | 2.4 - 3.4 | |
| 23 June | Kilmore | 5-1 | ||
| 7 July | Essendon | LOSS | 1.9 - 6.8 | |
| 17 September | Geelong | UNKNOWN | ? | |
Media
Melbourne Punch - 29/03/1888
Sydney Mail - 28/04/1888
Sydney Mail - 16/06/1888
Sydney Mail - 30/06/1888
Sydney Mail - 05/07/1888
The Age - 11/07/1888
Geelong Advertiser - 13/07/1888
Sydney Mail - 21/07/1888
Herald - 21/07/1888
Sydney Mail - 11/08/1888
Sydney Mail - 17/08/1888
Sydney Mail - 18/08/1888
Sydney Mail - 08/09/1888
Sydney Mail - 15/09/1888
The Australasian - 13/04/1889
Origins of Australian Football: Volume 3 by Mark Pennings
Links
Blueseum 1888 page
footytimeline.com 1888
VFA Tables
YarraYarraBand 1888 Second 20 page