Orebro Syr.

The first years

The club was founded in 1908 when a group of 79 youngsters split from IFK Örebro following internal conflicts; Pelle Molin and Karl Graflund were the protagonists of the newly founded club. The club was first suggested to be named Örebro Idrottsförening (eng: Örebro athletic association) or Örebro Allmänna Idrottsklubb (eng: Örebro Public Athletic club), but the final choice was that the club should be called Örebro Sportklubb (ÖSK) and should play in all black.

In 1909 ÖSK won their first title, a local bandy tournament. The club's first football match was played the same year and in 1911 they first played league football in the Örebro League. ÖSK won the league for the first time in 1913.

In 1917 they participated in the Västmanland-Närkeserien and reached the semifinals in district championship.

In 1920 the first coach arrived, Hjalmar Bergman, and ÖSK participated in the cup for the national championship. ÖSK also played its first international match against B 93 Copenhagen.

1922 the club changed from all black to white shirts and black shorts.

Örebro SK celebrated 15 years anniversary in 1923 and Eyravallen, since 2005 known as Behrn Arena.

In 1925 Örebro finished last in Division 2 but were allowed to stay due to the fieldowner rule. In 1926 ÖSK was promoted to Division 1. After a first game draw, Örebro lost 0–4 to Westermalms IF in Stockholm and were relegated back to Division 2.

In 1928, when celebrating their 20th anniversary, ÖSK were relegated from Division 2 to Division 3. The third tier spell was believed to be 1-year only, but Örebro lost the play-off against Mariehovs IF. However, ÖSK returned to Division 2 in 1933 after winning Division 3 and in 1934 they finished second after IK Brage, only to be relegated back to Division 3 in 1936.

In 1939 Hungarian Konrad Kalman became new manager and Fritjof "Tjoffe" Olsson became the first ÖSK player to represent Sweden.

The club returned to Division 2 in 1940 after cruising through Division 3 undefeated and winning against IF Rune in the play-off. In the following year they finished runners-up in Division 2.

In 1946 ÖSK was promoted to Allsvenskan for the first time after defeating Surahammar in the play-off, however the spell in the top flight lasted for one season only as they were relegated in 1947. The club returned to Allsvenskan yet again in 1948, when they were celebrating their 40th anniversary, but like last time the spell was only one year.

After yet again defeating Surahammar, this time in the final league game, they returned to Allsvenskan and this time they were there to stay a bit longer after defeating IF Elfsborg with 2–0 in the last game of the season. In 1952 the club made their best season so far and ended up on eighth place, but the following year the club was relegated back to Division 2.

In 1958 Orvar Bergmark played for the club and won silver in the 1958 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by Sweden. One of the club's founding members, Karl Graflund, retired after 48 years as chairman and two years as secretary, due to illness.

Established in Allsvenskan (1960–1978)

Örebro SK returned to Allsvenskan in 1960 after defeating IFK Kristianstad and IFK Luleå in the play-off. The same year the club sold its stadium Eyravallen to the municipality of Örebro.

The club won the bronze medal in 1961 after finishing fourth. The derby against rivals Degerfors IF was attended by 20,066 spectators, which still stands as club record. In 1962 the club finished sixth position and Orvar Bergmark left the club to join AS Roma.

After finishing eighth both in 1963 and in 1964, sixth in 1965 and seventh in 1966, Örebro SK were an established mid table team but in 1967 they won their second bronze medal. After a good start but a poor following season the team had to settle with the fifth spot in 1968 but in 1969 they were close to win Stora Silvret (eng: big silver, runners-up) but just missed after losing the last game of the season. Instead, they finished fifth yet again in the very tight race for silver.

In 1970 the club was close to relegation, but stayed up after defeating the previous year's champions IFK Göteborg 1–0, sending the champions down to Division 2 instead. The game became known as the first instance of hooliganism in Sweden. Disgruntled IFK Göteborg fans stormed the pitch and removed the goal posts. Between 1971 and 1976 were stuck in the mid- to bottom range of Allsvenskan. In 1977 Örebro was close to relegation but secured a continued spell in the top flight in the last game of the season. That only lasted for one more year. After 18 straight seasons in Allsvenskan, Örebro was relegated to Division 2 in 1978.

Struggle in the second division (1979–1987)

Between 1979 and 1981 the club finished runners-up for three consecutive seasons, losing out to teams like IK Brage and AIK. After losing several players, the 1982 season become a disappointment with ÖSK finishing fifth of Division 2. Before the following season 1983 the board decided to push hard for a comeback to Allsvenskan. The club signed star manager Roy Hodgson, who in the last few years had won two gold medals to Halmstads BK and new players were brought in. However IFK Norrköping and Djurgårdens IF were the stronger teams in a tough second division and Örebro finished third.

In 1984 ÖSK, still managed by Hodgson, won Division 2 North. However, play-off against the runner up of Division 2 South was now required for promotion to Allsvenskan. Mjällby AIF proved too strong and ÖSK lost both games and at the end of the season Hodgson moved to Malmö FF, replaced by fellow Brit Stuart Baxter, who had just retired as a player for ÖSK. After finishing fourth in 1985, the 1986 season was close to end in disaster. The club was only saved from relegation by rivals Västerås SK who defeated Enköpings SK in the final day of the season. A new major attempt to reach Allsvenskan in 1987 including the signing of high-profile coach Rolf Zetterlund ended in disappointment as the club only finished third.