Formed in 1886 in the village of Hill of Beath, Fife, the club was a senior team from 1897[3] until 1913, playing in the Scottish Cup between those years.

[6] The club only won one match - a 6–5 win at Kirkcaldy in which the Hearts scored three goals in three second-half minutes.

[7] The attraction of the Scottish League meant that clubs outside looked to alternative competitions to fill Saturday fixtures, but many of these were of short duration.

[13] In 1904, the club was the first opponent of Broxburn at its new Sports Field ground, in the East of Scotland Cup qualifying section; the tie had originally been played at Shamrock Park, because Sports Field was not ready, so Hearts of Beath protested the defeat on the basis that Shamrock Park had not been registered as Broxburn's home ground.

[19][20][21] The club originally played in light blue,[22] changing to maroon jerseys in 1898,[23][24] with white shorts and black socks.