Formed in the fall of 1899 as Boscombe FC, the club was essentially formed out of the ashes of the older Boscombe St John's Lads Institute football team in the area.
For decades they were a proud representation of their little seaside town, before adopting the name Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club in 1923 in an effort to represent the broader area.
The club would flit and flirt around the terraces of Dean Court under hand-painted "Boscombe" banners for decades to follow too.
1899: Boscombe FC team1899: Boscombe FC team (Image: Echo)
It was hard-scrabble lower-league anonymity, a world away from global superstardom as soccer luminaries, and that anonymity and sense of community forged a bond between them and their fans that lives on to this day.
They renamed simply as AFC Bournemouth in 1971, ditching their traditional set of white shirts and black dams for the famous red and black stripes of Italian giants AC Milan and beginning the adventures of their vivid modern era.
The 1980s were a thrilling and momentous period of national attention on the South Coast.
A young Harry Redknapp engineered a period of apparent overachievement for Bournemouth.
Cherries play Queen's Park Rangers at home in their semi-final tie in the Southern Section Cup at home after the war 1945-46 seasonCherries play Queen's Park Rangers at home in their semi-final tie in the Southern Section Cup at home after the war 1945-46 season (Image: Echo)
The Cherries scored one of the iconic FA Cup giant-killings in 1984 under Redknapp, beating holders Manchester United in a remarkable occasion at Dean Court.
Later that year Redknapp lifted the Associate Members' Cup the club's first ever major piece of silverware.
A surreal dash of magic and glamour was added to this part of the club's history by one of the most remarkable cameos in all of football in 1983.
The legendary George Best pulled on the red and black of Bournemouth during a short spell at the club.
May 1995: Cherries players celebrate staying upMay 1995: Cherries players celebrate staying up (Image: Echo)
To see a global footballing icon gracing the turf at Dean Court epitomised football's quirkish nature and irreplicable allure at the club during this period.
Redknapp then steered the club into the Second Division for the first time in the club's history in 1987. This was such an achievement, a further taste of the potential that lay latent in the club.
The turn of the century, though, brought storms that threatened to wipe that entire history away.
Come 2008, AFC Bournemouth was drowning in debt, into administration and bottom of the Football League. They started the 2008-09 season with a 17-point deduction.
The Great Escape April 2009: players celebrate in the changing roomThe Great Escape April 2009: players celebrate in the changing room (Image: Echo)
Extinction, having fans famously shake collection buckets outside the stadium to keep the club going, was a real threat.
Enter Eddie Howe. A former player forced into early retirement, Howe became manager at the tender age of 31.
Then, in what’s now local folklore, Howe achieved “The Great Escape.”
Inspired by fierce dressing-room camaraderie and club legend Steve Fletchers dramatically late winner against Grimsby Town, Bournemouth stayed in the Football League in their final home game of the season, prompting wild celebrations.
May 2015: AFC Bournemouth celebrate winning the Championship titleMay 2015: AFC Bournemouth celebrate winning the Championship title (Image: Echo)
The incredible escape was the touchpaper for an unprecedented and meteoric elevation. Howes progressive, attack-minded philosophy overhauled the club.
Promotion to League One was followed rapidly by another from the third-tier to the Championship. The clubs growing international reputation was epitomised in the summer of 2013, when the formerly bankrupt club hosted Spanish giants Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo for a pre-season friendly at a full Dean Court.
It was a pinch yourself moment for supporters who, just a few seasons earlier, had clubbed together to prevent their club from being liquidated.
In 2015, the ultimate dream was achieved. On a glorious afternoon at Charlton Athletic, the Championship title was secured as Bournemouth ascended to the Premier League for the first time in their 116-year history – a first promotion to the top-flight.
AFC Bournemouth celebrate promotion to The Premier league and winning the Championship with an open top bus parade along the seafront. Jason Tindall and Eddie HoweAFC Bournemouth celebrate promotion to The Premier league and winning the Championship with an open top bus parade along the seafront. Jason Tindall and Eddie Howe (Image: Echo)
The ensuing open-top bus parade along the south coast attracted tens of thousands of fans desperate to salute Eddie and his heroes, a sun-bathed celebration of an impossible dream.
After initially defying the odds, the Cherries established themselves among the elite, dynamic players like Callum Wilson thrilling on the biggest stage and bloodying the noses of the traditional heavyweights.
Today, as AFC Bournemouth stands top-flight, they are not just a football club, but an illustration of the power of community, of the value of resilience and of the romantic belief that anything is possible.