Reading Football Club was established in 1871 when the inaugural meeting of the club was held at the Bridge Street Rooms. Initially, the club played at the Reading Recreation Ground, but Reading Cricket Ground, Coley Park and Caversham Cricket Ground also hosted matches before a permanent home was found in the shape of Elm Park. The team themselves only played friendless and cup matches in these early days but found success when they won the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup in the 1877-78 season. Finally, in 1894, they became founder members of the Southern League and, under the chairmanship of J.B Messer, became a limited liability company and went professional.

The club struggled in their first, tentative steps in professional football, but did enjoy some success by winning the Second Division Championship in 1911, before banding together with the other Southern League clubs to form an official Division Three (South), which the club won in 1925-26. But this was a rare glimpse of success as the Royals continued to struggle, fluctuating between the leagues, suffering relegation from Division Two in 1931 and the frustration of twice finishing second in Division Three (South) (1948-49 and 1951-52), but remaining in the league as only the Champions were promoted in those days.

In 1957-58 they were founding members of a non-regional Division 3, but suffered relegation into Division 4 in the 1970-71 season. After continuing to fluctuate between the lower leagues from the on, disaster almost struck in the 1982-83 season as the club not only had to fight off relegation, but also a merger with Oxford United and the sale of Elm Park. The appointment of former player Roger Smee as chairman and Ian Brantfoot as boss put paid to those ideas, but the pairing brought little more on-field success as promotion to Division 2 in 1985-86 was followed by relegation back into Division 3 in 1987-88.

In 1990, however, John Madejski came to the club's rescue. Under he and manager Mark McGhee the club installed a thriving youth system and adopted a policy of exciting, attacking football which paid dividends as they were named Division Two Champions in the 1993/94 season and became the first team to ever finish second in Division One and not be promoted in 1994/95 after losing out to Bolton 4-3 after extra-time in one of the most thrilling play-off finals ever to grace Wembley.

Relegation came in 1997/98 after a series of managerial entrances and exits, but since the opening of the Madejski Stadium at the start of the 1998/99 campaign there's been no stopping the Royals. Promotion back to Division One came at the end of the 2001/02 season, and when Alan Pardew left the club to take the vacant manager's post at West Ham in September 2003, Steve Coppell stepped in, eventually steering the club to promotion, the newly re-titled Championship title and a record 106 points in the 2005/06 season.