The first competitive match was played on 3 February 1875 against Teddington in Bushy Park, winning by two goals to one and the club remained unbeaten until 26 January 1878.

The first of the "home grown" players came into the 1st Xl in 1984 and started the turnaround in the club's on-pitch fortunes by winning the Surrey Cup in 1986 and finishing 6th in the London League.

At the end of the 2009/-10 season, they won promotion to the Women's England Hockey League for the first time in their history, after their second successive championship triumph, finishing top of SCWHL Division 1.

In addition, Surbiton Ladies have played in two successive Investec Women's Cup finals whilst in the Conference East, losing 4–1 to Premier Division opposition on both occasions (Bowdon Hightown in 2010–11; and the University of Birmingham in 2011–12).

The 2012/13 season began with a poor run of results for the men's team that saw Surbiton rooted to the bottom of the National Premier League.

With the shock transfer of captain Tim Deakin to struggling rivals East Grinstead during the winter break, Surbiton faced the unenviable task of rebuilding their season without their talismanic defender.

However, new coach Todd Williams and his relatively young squad turned their fortunes round to finish the season in second place, qualifying for the play-offs and beating already-crowned champions Beeston 6-1 along the way.

This victory was not to be the high point of the season, as the squad then qualified for the EuroHockey League for the first time in their history by beating Canterbury 5–2 in the play-off semi-final.

Further club refurbishment over the summer also included an expanded kitchen facility and an increase in the number of changing rooms and toilets.

The current shorts sponsor (as of October 2013) is Weybridge based specialist gym (Locker 27), which the Men's 1st XI occasionally use for strength and conditioning training.

Surbiton was originally involved in many of the developments which mark out hockey as a different pitch game from any other – the striking circle, two umpires, and stopping the ball before a penalty corner shot, for example.

The club was also instrumental in taking hockey to schools and universities during the latter part of the 19th century, whilst International and Divisional matches were also played on its original ground at Balaclava Road in Surbiton.

The Keeper of the Banana and associated rituals continue into the 21st Century and such is the size of the club that this has given birth to other touring sides, the most notable including the Lastminute Crusaders and Pirates of Kazakhstan.