The history of Hereford United Football Club covered the years from the club's formation in 1924 to 2014. For an overview of the club itself, see Hereford United F.C.
1924–1945
Before the formation of Hereford United there were four leading amateur clubs in Hereford and it was believed that a higher class of football could be sustained if they were to amalgamate. After a meeting in the city, both Hereford City F.C. and Hereford Thistle F.C. decided to remain independent while St Martins and RAOC (Rotherwas) decided to merge, and thus Hereford United was formed in 1924 with Dr E.W. Maples as chairman.
The new club joined the Birmingham Combination league and began playing their home matches at the local athletics ground on Edgar Street, where Hereford City also played their matches. The first competitive match was against Atherstone United in August 1924 which ended in a 2–3 defeat. The following week Hereford travelled to Kidderminster Harriers for an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, losing 2–7.
Hereford spent four seasons in the Birmingham Combination League, with a best finish of 4th. The club was well-supported with gates of over 2,000 for the big matches. One of the most notable players of the early years was Viv Gregory who was a prolific goalscorer, scoring 60 goals in one season. Indeed, Hereford managed to score over 100 goals in the 1926–27 and 1927–28 seasons. Hereford were elected to the Birmingham League for the 1928–29 season by virtue of their impressive league performances and reaching the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup. They finished 11th in their first season and had a record attendance of 5,000 for their second successive cup final match, a record which stood for eighteen years. Hereford's average league finishing position was 8th in the first half of the 1930s. A highlight was reaching the FA Cup first round for the first time in 1932–33, losing 1–2 to Accrington Stanley. By 1938–39 the standard of the Birmingham League had dropped with only 11 teams participating, and attendances at Edgar Street had also dropped. A public meeting was called and it was decided that the club would apply to join the Southern League, an application which was accepted. Subsequently, the club became a limited company.
1945–1966
Hereford's first season in the Southern League (1945–46) saw them finish second to Chelmsford City, a team who had been controversially awarded points for unplayed matches. Second place was again achieved in 1950–51 behind Merthyr Tydfil. In 1958–59 the Southern League was split into two sections: North-West and South-East. The winners of each section would contest a play-off to decide the winner of the league. Hereford won the North-West section but were beaten by Bedford Town in the play-off. A minor blip in 1964–65 saw the club relegated but this was quickly rectified with promotion the following season. Hereford's exploits in the FA Cup were steady performances to the First Round on several occasions before they reached the Second Round for the first time in 1948–49, losing 2–1 to Exeter. In fact Hereford managed to reach the Second Round six times in nine seasons. 1958–59 saw them reach the Third Round for the first time, quite an achievement for a Southern League club. In the Second Round they had defeated QPR 6–1 which was a record win by a non-league club over a league club at the time. Hereford played Sheffield Wednesday at Edgar Street in front of a record crowd of 18,114 but lost 3–0. This is still the highest attendance ever for the club. Hereford did not reach the Third Round again until 1965–66 where they were defeated 2–1 by Bedford Town.