Formed in 1878 as Lugar Boswell, the club were originally a Senior side playing such currently distinguished names as
Rangers and
Heart of Midlothian. The club made nine consecutive
Scottish Cup appearances in the 1880s and reached the fifth round of the competition in
1882–83, losing to eventual finalists
Vale of Leven. In March 1883, they recorded a 10–2 victory over Hearts which remains the Edinburgh club's record defeat. The following season, forward
Sam Thomson was capped twice for
Scotland. As success faded, the club then flitted between various Senior, Junior and even Juvenile leagues up to the Second World War. On reforming after hostilities, the club added the suffix Thistle and settled in Ayrshire Junior football. The
Jaggy Bunnets as they are nicknamed enjoyed a successful period in the 1950s. The club reached the semi-final of the
Scottish Junior Cup in 1952, losing to
Kilbirnie Ladeside after a replay with one tie attracting a then record attendance of over 30,000 to
Rugby Park,
Kilmarnock. In 1956, the club made it all the way to the final, with Thistle losing 4–1 to
Petershill at
Hampden Park in front of a crowd of 64,702. The current population of Lugar is 221. With the club in danger of folding in 2015, Lugar entered a partnership with the
Ayr United Football Academy where the SPFL club provided coaching staff and gave Ayr's pro-youth players game time in an adult footballing environment. In March 2016, Lugar announced that this arrangement would not continue beyond the end of the 2015–16 season and the club appointed Derek McMurdo as their new manager in the summer of 2016. ==Notable former players==