The club started its existence in the early 1870s as Glenbuck Athletic, founded by Edward and William Bone, with a strip of white jersey and black shorts.

The name "Cherrypickers" is of obscure origin, beginning as a nickname in the first years of the 20th century, but may have derived from local men from Glenbuck or Muirkirk serving in the 11th Hussars (The "Cherry Pickers") in the Boer War.

Another possible source was the fact that almost all of the men associated with the club, players and officials, worked in the local pits where one of the jobs was sorting the good coal from stones and other material as it passed on a conveyor belt.

Seven players from Glenbuck were chosen to play at an international level for Scotland: Willie Muir (vs Ireland in 1907); Sandy Brown (vs England in 1902 and 1904); George Halley (Scottish League vs Football League in 1910); Johnny Crosbie (vs Wales in 1920 and England in 1922); Bob Shankly (vs Republic of Ireland in 1938); Bill Shankly (capped thirteen times between 1938 and 1943).

Alex McConnell was selected in a squad in 1897 to play against England, but signed for an English team, Everton, two days later; at the time, this made him ineligible to represent Scotland.