The formation of the club dates back to 1878, when two Larkhall pit sides joined together to form one team. These pits were owned by a Capt. Johns and he named the team after his boat the Royal Albert. The club spent over fifty years in Senior football, and qualified for the Scottish Cup on twenty occasions. Their greatest run came in the 1890–91 competition where they reached the fifth round before losing to Celtic in front of a record crowd of 5,000 at their Raploch Park ground. In the same season, centre half John Clelland became the clubs' one and only full Scotland international when he was capped against Ireland in March 1891. Royal Albert also have the distinction of scoring the first ever penalty kick in Scottish senior football, James McLuggage scoring against Airdrieonians in a local cup tie on 6 June 1891.