Founded in 1870 and nicknamed the Churchmen, the club's origins lay in connection with the recently built St Luke's Church on Parliament Street. Their regular home ground on Peet Street was situated just north of the church; they also staged some important games at the County Cricket Ground. They moved to the Vulcan Ground in 1890. St Luke's were one of the founder members of the Derbyshire Football Association in 1883. By the 1880s, they were entering the Derbyshire, Sheffield & Hallamshire and Birmingham Senior Cup competitions. In the 1884–85 Birmingham Cup, they recorded a 13–1 away victory over Sawley Rangers. In November of that season, they lost 3–1 to the recently formed Derby County in a Derbyshire Cup tie at the County Ground; 3,000 people watched what was both the latter's first competitive match and their first home win. St Luke's enteredthe FA Cup for the first time in 1884-85, and were drawn against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the first round. After drawing 1–1 at Wolves' Dudley Road ground in front of a crowd of 3,100, St Luke's won the replay in Derby 4–2. In the second round, they lost 1–0 against Walsall Swifts. They played in the FA Cup for the next three seasons but lost in the first round on each occasion. In 1885-86, Wolves gained revenge with a 7–0 win. In 1886-87 they faced Walsall Town, drawing 3–3 at home but losing 6–1 in the replay at The Chuckery. In their final appearance in 1887-88, St Luke's lost 3–2 to local rivals Derby Junction, who went on to reach the semi-finals of the competition. Qualifying rounds were introduced the following season, and St Luke's were subsequently unsuccessful in reaching the competition proper, reaching the 2nd qualifying round twice and the 3rd qualifying round on one occasion. Along with other local amateur clubs, St Luke's struggled to compete for players and support following the emergence of Derby County, and particularly once the latter became a founder member of the Football League in 1888. St Luke's joined the Combination as a founder member for the 1890–91 season, but they failed to complete their fixtures and their record was expunged;. They scratched their Derbyshire Cup tie and the following season, 1891-1892, scratched before the draw of the first round. On St. Luke's demise, St. Luke's Sunday School took the decision to shorten their name from 1892-1893. A cul-de-sac called Olive Street was built across the site of their former ground. Goalkeeper WE Parsons appears to have played the most competitive games for the club having played 33 games G Halksworth appears to have scored the most competitive goals for the club, scoring 11 goals
