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Boscombe F.C.
Although there is no authentic information as to the exact date of the clubs foundation, there is proof that it was formed in the autumn of 1899 out of the remains of the older Boscombe St. John's Lads’ Institute F.C. . The club was originally known as Boscombe F.C.. The first President was Mr. J.C. Nutt.

In their first season 1889-90 Boscombe F.C. competed in the Bournemouth and District Junior League. They also played in the Hants Junior Cup. During the first two seasons they played on a football pitch in Castlemain Road, Pokestown. From their third season the team played on a pitch in King’s Park. In the season of 1905-06 Boscombe F.C. graduated to senior amateur football.

In 1910 the club was granted a long lease upon some wasteland next to Kings Park, as the clubs football ground, by their president Mr. J.E. Cooper-Dean. With their own ground, named Dean Court after the benefactor, the club continued to thrive and dominated the local football scene. Also in 1910 the club signed their first professional football player B. Penton.

Around about this time the club obtained their nickname 'The Cherries'. Foremost there are two tails on how the club gained this pet name. First, because of the Cherry Red striped shirts that the team played in and, perhaps more plausible, because Dean Court was built adjacent to the Cooper-Dean estate, which encompassed numerous Cherry Orchards.

For the first time during the season of 1913-14 the club competed in the F.A. Cup. The clubs progress was halted in 1914 with the outbreak of the war and Boscombe F.C. returned to the Hampshire league.

In 1920 the Third Division was formed and Boscombe were promoted to the Southern League, with moderated success.

Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club
To make the club more representative of the district, the name was changed to Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club in 1923. During the same year the club was elected to the Football League. The first league match was in Swindon on 25 August 1923, Bournemouth lost 3-1. The first league game at Dean Court was also against Swindon, Bournemouth gained their first league point with a goalless draw.

Initially Bournemouth struggled in the Football League, but eventually established themselves as a Third Division club. Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club remain on the records as the longest continuous Members of the Third Division.

But as a league club, Bournemouth had to wait until after the second world war before winning their first trophy. This was accomplished as they beat Walsall FC in the Third Division (South) Cup in the Final at Stamford Bridge.

A.F.C. Bournemouth
Under manager John Bond the club adopted the more streamlined A.F.C. Bournemouth name in 1972 which is, however, only a trade name. Their name prior to 1971 was Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club, which was notably the longest name in the football league. Many older fans still refer to the club as Boscombe, and the chant "Boscombe, back of the net" can still be heard at matches. In fact, officially the club is still registered under this name. With an ownership change in 1997, they became Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Football Club (1998)).

Their red and black kit introduced in 1971 was based on the old A.C. Milan strip. This was the era of Ted MacDougall, a prolific goalscorer who, in an FA Cup tie in November 1971, scored nine goals in an 11-0 win against Margate.