The club was founded in 1880[3] and entered the Scottish Cup for the first time in 1881–82, losing to the 5th Kirkcudbrightshire Rifle Volunteers F.C.

[8] The game did not finish as Moffat walked off in protest at the refereeing;[9] Moffat complaining that "a committee, composed mainly of Dumfries gentlemen, appointed a Dumfries referee for a match between a Dumfries club and strangers",[10] Oddly, the same situation arose in the final of the same competition against the same club in 1887, when the referee disallowed a claim for a foul by Moffat that the ball had been pulled out of goalkeeper J. Kirk's hands during a scrimmage on the goal-line.

The club's first Churchill Cup win in 1888 was as a result of beating Mid-Annandale in a final that saw 21 goals; eight in the original match (said to be the "roughest on record"[13]) and 13 in the replay, which ended 7–6 to Moffat.

[16] The club drew twice with Queen of the South Wanderers in the third round, which, under the rules in place at the time, meant both teams went through, and after beating Carfin Shamrock F.C.

In the original match with East End, played at home, Moffat was handicapped by an illness to top scorer Easton, but took a two-goal lead within the first ten minutes; the Dundee side equalized with ten minutes to go, and Moffat was denied the win late on by East End goalkeeper M'Intosh "saving miraculously".

Moffat went behind early, and equalized through an own goal, but, in a game criticized for its physicality, with M'Hardy of East End allowed to stay on the pitch despite being repeatedly warned by the referee for rough play, the Dundee side won through with some ease.

That it was against the students of Edinburgh University who lived in Dumfries and Galloway demonstrated the calibre of opponent the club was now seeking out.

[23] By the end of that season the club was "practically defunct", with the committee "finding it impossible to carry on its affairs".