The club was founded on 4 December 1887 by Willhem Friberg and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Today, a memorial on Heden in central Gothenburg reminiscent of this match. Another memorial has been erected inside the amusement park Liseberg. Örgryte IS came to dominate the childhood of Swedish football. In 1904 Örgyte IS met a friendly match between the English Corinthian FC, thanks for the hospitality donated a silver cup – Corinthian Bowl that next year became the prize in a contest between Sweden's best teams.