Despite being formed in 1908 US Lecce's first stint in Serie A was in 1985. Lecce's first official name was Sporting Club Lecce, focusing on track-and-field and cycling besides football. In 1923/24 the club broke up, but in 1927 revived under the name Unione Sportiva Lecce. Their first colours were actually black and white, like Juventus, which is very different from their yellow and red stripes they have today.

Lecce's first season in Serie B was in the 1976/77 season after 17 years in Serie C. The same season they got promoted to Serie B they won their first trophy: Coppa Italia Serie C. The year later Lecce won the Anglo-Italian Semiproffesional Cup winning 4-0 over Scarborough in the final. 

Michele Lo Russo stands as the player with most apperances for the club (415) but he died in a car crash in 1982 with team mate Ciro Pezella.

Lecce, located in Apulia (or Puglia) gained their first promotion to Serie A in 1985 under trainer Eugenio Fascetti but got relegated in their first season. Some years followed were the 'Salentini' balanced between Serie A and B. In the season of 1993/94 they got the lowest achieved points ever in Serie A: 11. 

They gained some success during the mid-2000's where they played very attackingminded football. The most famous victories are the sensational 4-3 victory over Juventus in Torino and 2-1 victory over Inter in Lecce in 2004. The following season under Zdenek Zeman Lecce achieved a remarkable  score: 66-73. The second most scoring team in Serie A, but also the worst defense. This was first time that the worst defence in Serie A didn't get relegated.

Lecce had hereafter a few seasons in Serie B before returning to Serie A again after the 2009-10 season where they won the Coppa Ali della Vittoria (first place in Serie B).

Under trainer Luigi De Canio the 'Giallorossi' are hoping to stay here for the years to come.