Middlesbrough FC was founded in 1876 by the members of the Middlesbrough Cricket Club during a meeting at Albert Park Hotel. While playing in the amateur North League, Middlesbrough FC performed exceptionally well winning the League and Amateur Cup in 1895. The club won its second North League title in 1897 and the Amateur Cup again in 1898. In May 1899, backed by local neighbours Newcastle United and Sunderland, they were admitted to the Second Division of the Football League, narrowly ahead of Blackpool. After three years in the Second Division, the club got promoted to the First Division and moved to its new home at Ayresome Park. In 1905 the club signed forward Alf Common to the squad on a record-breaking £1,000 transfer deal, the first ever four figure transfer deal in English Football. This decision paid off drastically as the team went from being ranked 17th in 1905 to 6th in 1907. After a decline in their fortunes the arrival of Steve Bloomer  saw the club rise to a third-place finish in 1913-1914.  It was not until the mid-1930s that the club had another successful spell with English internationals Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick the stars of team. After the Second World War, Middlesbrough settled as a mid-table club until it was relegated to Division Two in 1954. 

By 1966 they were in the Third Division.  Stanley Anderson became manager in that year and got the club back into the Second Division in his first season.  Just a year later, the club went to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and were defeated 2-1 by Manchester United.  Middlesbrough would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons. Jack Charlton became manager in 1973 and guided the team back to the top flight  as runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points. Middlesbrough won their first silverware as a professional side in the 1975–76 season, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its inaugural season after a two-legged final win over Fulham. The club experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough started to slip down the table and were relegated in 1982. By 1986 the club were back in the Third Division and so in debt that it had to go into liquidation. In order to rescue the club from going completely under, a group of businessmen came up with a large sum of money, within ten minutes of the deadline. This allowed for the club to be registered for the 1986-1987 season. Under new manager Bruce Rioch Boro got promoted back to the Second Division after only one season but were relegated the following year. Rioch was replaced by Colin Todd who took the team all the way to the finals in Wembley for the first time history, but it lost to Chelsea 1-0 in the Zenith Data Systems Cup.  Another successful spell came under former Manchester United captain Brian Robson who became manager in 1994.  The club reached their first League Cup Final in 1997, losing the reply 0-1 to Leicester City. The following year the club reached both the FA Cup and League Cup finals but lost both. That same year they were relegated on the final day of the season the first English club to lose both major cup finals and be relegated from the top division in the same season. However, the club won promotion back to the Premiership the following season where they remained a mid-table team for much of the decade. Its biggest achievement throughout the decade and winning the Carling Cup in 2004. On the international stage, the club was runners up in the UEFA Cup in the 2005-2006.  A slump in form saw the club relegated at the end of the 2008-09 season. They finally returned to the top tier of English football at the end of the 2015-16 season but lasted only one season before relegation back to the Championship where they remain.