Founded in 1877 as St. Luke's F.C. by pupils of a Blakenhall school who had been gifted a football by their headmaster, the club renamed itself Wolverhampton Wanderers two years later. In 1888, Wolves became one of the twelve founding members of the Football League, the world's first domestic football competition, cementing their place in the very foundations of English football.

The 1950s were the golden age under manager Stan Cullis, with three First Division titles in 1953-54, 1957-58, and 1958-59. Their famous floodlit friendlies against top European sides such as Honved and Spartak Moscow are credited as a catalyst for the creation of the European Cup. The club has also won the FA Cup four times. However, the 1980s through the 2000s brought a painful decline that saw Wolves drop as far as the fourth tier of English football.

The modern revival began in 2016 with new Chinese ownership and a bold recruitment strategy built around Portuguese football networks. The club earned promotion back to the Premier League in 2018 and has since established itself as a top-flight fixture, albeit with ongoing battles to maintain that status.

In 2016, Fosun International, the Chinese conglomerate, completed a 30-million-pound takeover of the club. A subsidiary of Fosun had acquired a 20% stake in Gestifute, the agency of super-agent Jorge Mendes, establishing a recruitment pipeline that would transform the club.

Through Mendes's network, Wolves appointed manager Nuno Espirito Santo (now at West Ham) and signed the likes of Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota, and Willy Boly, winning the Championship in 2017-18. In the Premier League, the club achieved consecutive seventh-place finishes and reached the Europa League quarter-finals. At one point, the squad was so dominated by Portuguese players that it earned the nickname "Portuwolves." While the club has since diversified its scouting network, the Gestifute relationship continues to influence key dealings.

Molineux has been Wolves' home since 1889, making it one of the oldest continuously used grounds in English football. Its record attendance of 61,315 was set in a 1939 FA Cup tie against Liverpool. In the 1950s, its pioneering floodlight system made it the stage for legendary midweek European encounters that captivated the nation.

Modernised through various phases since the 1990s, the current all-seater capacity stands at 31,750 following the completion of the Stan Cullis Stand in 2012. Plans for expansion to 46,000 have been discussed but are currently on hold. The compact configuration, with stands built close to the pitch, generates a distinctive and intimidating atmosphere on matchdays.

After Gary O'Neil was sacked following a winless opening ten matches in 2024-25, Vitor Pereira steadied the ship and kept Wolves up. However, a poor start to 2025-26 led to Pereira's dismissal in November with the club bottom of the table.

Rob Edwards was appointed from Middlesbrough on a three-and-a-half-year deal. A former Wolves player with 111 appearances across four seasons, Edwards brings a deep connection to the club. He favours a back-three system, typically 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2, with aggressive high pressing and attacking wing-backs providing width. "I want my teams to be aggressive and on the front foot," Edwards has stated. "I want control -- as far away from our goal as possible."