Manchester Athletic Club was formed on 9 September 1886. Its original home was close to Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Stretford, Manchester. The Club was responsible for organising the sporting events associated with the Royal Jubilee Exhibition at Old Trafford in 1887 in return for free training facilities for a year at the exhibition site, now the home of the White City retail park in Old Trafford, Manchester.

Following the exhibition, the Club continued to rent the facilities at Old Trafford until 1892, when the Club relocated to the new Fallowfield Stadium, alongside a velodrome used by Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, later the Manchester Wheelers' Cycling Club.

Manchester Athletic Club introduced club championships at the Fallowfield Stadium in 1894, with the most successful Club members going on to compete in the Amateur Athletics Association championships. Other innovations were the Withington Road Relay, held between Withington and Didsbury, Manchester, and the Heaton Park Relay in North Manchester.

Manchester Athletic Club merged with its rival club Manchester and District Harriers in 1977, becoming the Manchester Harriers and Athletic Club.