Ayr had spent 13 seasons in the Scottish Football League Division Two,[2] with a best finish of third place which they managed on three occasions.

played both in their early years and in their first season they competed in the Scottish Cup for the first time, although they were put out in the First Round by Kilmarnock Athletic and the following season they recorded a 20-0 (twenty) over Dreghorn Black Watch in the Ayrshire Cup.

had also played in these exhibition matches against Sunderland, Preston North End and Bolton Wanderers.

The club's reserve side also had some success, with the 'Ayr Strollers' winning the 1887-88 Scottish Second XI Cup.

's departure from Beresford Park, saw Ayr Parkhouse move in, and eventually developed a rivalry between the two clubs as the team from south of the river grew.

A further important event in the club's history took place in 1888, when Ayr took on Canada and won convincingly 4–0 at the new Somerset Park.

Between March and April 1897 Somerset Park was closed as the club changed the orientation of the pitch and to include a tarmacadam cycle track as well as a new grandstand.

This was the format the ground would stay until the 1920s when it was changed to its current layout (by Ayr United).

won the Ayrshire Cup meaning the trophy would come back to the county town for the first time after defeating Stevenston Thistle 2–1 in a replay at Rugby Park.