The club was formed in the mid-1870s as the "Galatea Football Club" before becoming known as "Ballarat Imperial" in 1878 with the first practice match taking place on Saturday 4th May 1878. In 1882, Ballarat Imperial FC and City FC agreed to merge clubs and become known as the Ballarat City Imperial FC and retain the colours of Ballarat Imperial FC. During an
1883 match against , Ballarat Imperial captain John Williams Mills was struck in the abdomen, but played out the remainder of the match. However, he died the following morning. In 1885, a second twenty (reserves) team was formed. The club was a provincial playing member of the
Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1885 until 1888, taking part in the Association's administration and competing regularly against Melbourne-based VFA clubs. The club's VFA positions were as follows - 1885 - 10th,
1886 - 15th,
1887 - 13th,
1888 - 14th. The club played against the
touring British footballers in 1888. George McKenzie was captain of Ballarat Imperials when they won six consecutive premierships between 1891 and 1896 and were runners up in 1897 and 1898. Ballarat Imperial was a founding member of the Ballarat Football Association in 1893, and was its dominant club through its early years, winning eleven of the first fourteen premierships. The club returned to prominence in the 1930s, winning three premierships in a row from 1935 to 1937. In 1937, it made an attempt to rejoin the VFA as a full member. However, it was felt that a second Ballarat-based team would have to be included to ensure that one VFA game could be played in Ballarat each weekend, and no willing co-applicant could be found. In 1905, Ballarat Imperials player, F James won the
Ballarat Football League's most popular player award, the Hutton Cup, receiving 40,514 votes via returned Hutton coupons. In 1938, the
Ballarat Football League and Ballarat Football Association merged and Ballarat Imperials then merged with the East Ballarat Football Club and played as Ballarat Imperials, finishing runner up to Sebastopol. The club went into recess just prior to the start of the 1939
Ballarat Football League season, although it played in the
Ballarat Football League B. Grade competition from 1948 to 1952 after
World War Two, it never returned to the
Ballarat Football League senior football competition and folded. ;Football Timeline • 1875 - Galatea Football Club formed • 1878 - 1882: Club known as Ballarat Imperial FC & played against other local teams. • 1883 - 1892: Played in the unofficial Ballarat Football Association. • 1885 - 1888:
Victorian Football Association • 1893 - 1914:
Ballarat Football League • 1915 - 1918: In recess due to
World War One • 1919 - 1938:
Ballarat Football League • 1939 - 1945: In recess due to
World War Two • 1948 - 1952:
Ballarat Football League - B. Grade == Premierships ==