Cullen Football Club were founded in September 1890. At that time they played their games on the Cullen Links, on what is now the 17th fairway of Cullen’s golf course. They entered their first competition the following month, in the Banffshire Charity Cup, along with Gordon Highlanders, Dufftown, Keith, Portsoy Thistle and Buckie Union (union of Buckie FC and Thistle FC, who would later go on to become Buckie Thistle). The cup was won by Keith.

The popularity of football boomed in those early years, with the arrivals of Cullen Renton in 1893, and Cullen Caley in 1900. Games were often split between the Cullen Links and within the grounds of Cullen House, with such an occasion recorded on 13th April 1899. That day Cullen Renton won 6-2 against Buckie Caley at the Links, while Cullen FC lost out to Buckie Union 2-1 at Cullen House. In 1901 Cullen FC entered the Banffshire Junior League as ‘Cullen Royals’, their new name taken from the Royal Burgh status of the town. With both Renton and Caley disappearing over the following years, the Royals were briefly joined by Cullen Wednesday Juniors in 1912, although they were set to play in a separate Wednesday Banffshire Junior League. In 1922 Cullen Royals switched to the newly formed Buckie & District Junior Football League, with a brief name change to ‘Cullen Orion’ for one year, before dropping the moniker altogether and returning to ‘Cullen FC’. The team would last until 1927, when they would withdraw from the league and enter a 4 year hiatus.

In 1931 the club had reformed as ‘Cullen Celtic’, after being donated a strip from Glasgow Celtic. They returned to their familiar colour of blue a few years later, renaming yet again, this time to ‘Cullen Seaweeds’. This coincided with the formation of the Buckie and District Welfare League in 1934, also known as the Trades League, which was ran by Buckie Thistle. This lasted until 1939, with the beginning of World War II causing heavy disruption to the league’s numbers, leading to its temporary closure. Cullen switched to the Banff & District FA that year under the name ‘Cullen FC’, which saw 2 cup final defeats to local rivals, Portsoy. Further disruption followed though, and in 1940 a new, more localised Welfare League was formed between Cullen, Portsoy, Portknockie, Argosians (Buckie), Home Guard Hibs and Service XI. Little information exists for the years that followed, as World War II hit it’s peak.

Cullen FC rejoined the Buckie and District Welfare League in 1946, which had reformed the year before following the end of the war. They won the Brown Cup that year, their first known title, beating an undefeated Buckie Rovers 4-3 in the final. In 1953 the club moved to their new pitch at Logie Park, where they have remained ever since. It was a difficult period for local football though, with only 6 teams entering the league that season. The Buckie and District Welfare League would struggle on until 1960, when it entered into abeyance for 5 years.

Cullen Football Club were reformed in 1965, alongside the revival of the Buckie and District Welfare League, in place for the 1966 season. Teams joining Cullen that season were Findochty Wanderers, Buckpool United, Hamilton United, Portgordon United, Portsoy, Buckpool Athletic, Arradoul, Keith Dynamos, Portknockie and the Buckie Legion. Cullen enjoyed some success in 1967, winning the Duncan Cup and Consolation Cup. With 4 cup final defeats over the following 6 years, the club finally returned to winning ways in 1973, capturing the Duncan Cup and Maitland Trophy, as well as the Ferguson Shield in 1975.

In 1986, Cullen FC became champions of the Buckie and District Welfare League for the first time, beating Portgordon to the title, and losing only 1 game in the process. They followed this up by winning the prestigious Tom Gordon Trophy a month later, beating top teams from the Elgin, Strathspey, Speyside and Buckie leagues, beating Grantown 4-1 in the final. In 1987 they successfully defended their league title, again losing just 1 game. They also won 6 out of the 11 cups, making it the most successful season in the club’s history;
- Won the Ross Cup with a 4-0 win over Portknockie.
- Won the WM Lamont Cup with a 2-1 win over Buckie United.
- Won the Ian Banks Cup with a 3-0 win over Portsoy.
- Won the Ferguson Shield with a 3-2 win over Portsoy.
- Won the St Valery Trophy with a 7-2 win over Buckie United.
- Won the Duncan Cup with a 3-0 win over Portgordon.

The dominance continued in 1988, with Cullen winning the league for the third year running, and securing 4 cups;
- Won the Watson/Robertson Cup with a 3-0 win over St Marnans.
- Won the Duncan Cup with a 2-0 win over St Marnans.
- Won the Ian Banks Cup with a 4-1 win over St Marnans.
- Won the Billy Lamb Memorial Cup with a 6-1 win over Portgordon.

The club’s successes dwindled through the 90’s, but cup wins came on 3 more occasions. In 2001, the Buckie and District Welfare League disbanded, ending a long and wonderful history which began in 1934. The member clubs moved on to join the more competitive Moray & District Welfare FA, which Cullen FC have been part of ever since. In 2003 the club won the Moray & District First Division title, gaining promotion to the Premier Division. Cullen were undefeated in the league that season, winning 17 and drawing 3 of the 20 games played. They scored an impressive 117 goals in the process, an average of almost 6 goals a game. They also won the First Division Cup, and beat Premier Division sides to win the WJ Tewnion Memorial Trophy, securing an impressive treble. In 2008 Cullen reached the final of the Highland Welfare Cup, also known as the Tom Hunter Trophy, a national competition covering the north of Scotland, but were unfortunate in defeat. More recent years have saw the club endure a rollercoaster of promotion and relegation between Moray’s 2 leagues, with a positive 2015 seeing the club finish 2nd in the Moray & District First Division, and runners-up of the Mike Simpson Cup. Cullen's most recent silverware came in the form of the Moray & District First Division title in 2019.