The club was founded in 1864,[1] their name, Spanish for "gypsies", and primarily consisted of Old Etonians and Old Carthusians (men who had attended Eton or Charterhouse).

The club could still occasionally put out a strong side; Gitanos for instance gained a surprising 7–1 win over the Old Etonians - at the time the FA Cup holders - to open the 1879–80 season at Eton College.

[10] Only FA Cup performance: 1st Round – 1873–74 The club wore scarlet, violet, and white, in broad "stripes",[11] which in the context of the time referred to hoops.

[14] In 1891, an article in Fores's Sporting Notes reviewed a copy of the 1874 Football Annual and commented on how clubs had come and gone over time.

The 1874 annual listed less than 200 football clubs in all of England, and by 1891 the author asked "what has become of such old giants as the Gitanos, Harrow Chequers, Pilgrims, and Woodford Wells.