1889–1914: Growth from small rowing association to multi-sport club is credited as the founding force of Hammarby Roddförening. On 10 April 1889,
Hammarby Roddförening ("Hammarby Rowing Association") was established in
Södermalm, a district in the
Stockholm City Centre, with engineer
Axel Robert Schönthal, the first chairman, being credited as the founder. Originally, it solely competed against other local clubs in the sport of
rowing, with the races usually taking place on the watercourse
Hammarby Sjö, which the club took its name from. The members exclusively consisted of young men from the
working class, employed as industrial workers at one of the many factories in the Södermalm district. By 1897, the club had diversified into different sports following demands from its members, with the first other being
athletics, and it was renamed
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), or Hammarby IF for short. The new multi-sport club was officially established on 7 March said year, with Carl Julius Sundholm taking the inaugural chairman position.
1915–1957: Birth of the football section and golden years in hockey The sporting ground
Hammarby IP (also known as "Kanalplan") was built in Södermalm in 1915, officially opened on 15 September by
Gustaf VI Adolf, by then the Crown Prince of Sweden. Due to a lack of football pitches in Stockholm, several other local clubs proposed to merge with Hammarby IF to get access to the stadium. An offer from Klara SK was accepted and a football department was established the same year,
Hammarby IF Fotboll. In 1918, Hammarby also merged with Johanneshofs IF, a club from the neighbouring district
Johanneshov. The club ended as runners-up in the 1922 Svenska Mästerskapet, a cup by then held to decide the Swedish champions, losing 1–3 to
GAIS in the final. The club started playing ice hockey in 1921, with their team being made up by a group of bandy players during the first matches.
Hammarby IF Hockey would soon position itself as a giant in the early history of the sport in the country, playing in the top league from its inaugural season in 1922 until 1957. During that period, they were crowned
domestic champions eight times (in 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1945, and 1951). Famous cyclist
Sven Johansson joined Hammarby IF in 1937. Throughout his career, he won 11 individual Swedish Championship titles, and an additional 13 at club level. In 1939,
Hammarby IF Handboll was originally founded. The handball section would cease its operation in the 1950s, but was re-established in 1970 after a merger with local club Lundens BK.
1958–1990: Nyman era Lennart Nyman took over as chairman of Hammarby IF in 1965, a position he would hold for 25 years until 1990, as the longest-serving in its history. He was simultaneously the chairman of Hammarby's football section. In 1970,
Hammarby IF Damfotboll was established, making the club one of the pioneers in
Swedish women's football, and it was crowned
domestic champions in 1985. Until its first relegation from the top tier in 2011, the club was one of only two teams that had played all 24 seasons in
Damallsvenskan since the competition's foundation in 1988. The first
Midnattsloppet run was held in Södermalm in Stockholm in 1982, and has since been hosted annually by Hammarby IF. The number of participants varies between 20,000 and 40,000, who run 10 kilometres in the night time, but the number of spectators is usually much greater.
1990–: Success in bandy, football and handball In 1999, the club was reorganized into a legal format referred to in Swedish as an
alliansförening ("alliance association"), with each of the club's departments becoming a separate legal entity cooperating under the "Hammarby IF" umbrella. Hammarby won its first
Swedish Cup title in 2021, they played the final versus
BK Häcken at their home venue
Tele2 Arena. The game was tied after full time and ended up in a penalty shootout, where Hammarby won 5-4. Hammarby IF won three consecutive
Swedish championships in handball from 2006 to 2008, breaking the dominance of clubs from southern and western
Götaland that had won all domestic titles since 1978. ==Colours, badge and nickname==