Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club
 | |||
| Full name | Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires | ||
| Nickname(s) | Biei | ||
| Founded | 8 December 1864[a] | ||
| Location | San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Argentina | ||
| President | Pablo Horacio Werner | ||
| Coach(es) | Ignacio Fernández Lobbe Martín Mato | ||
| League(s) | Torneo de la URBA | ||
| 2012 | 7th of Zona Reubicación | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club, sometimes known simply as Buenos Aires, is an Argentine sports club based in San Fernando, Buenos Aires. The club claims to be the oldest club still in existence in Argentina, with records of a cricket match played by the club in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, in 1831.[3] and Buenos Aires Football Club, which merged in 1951.[1]
Likewise, the Buenos Aires FC (established in 1886 as a rugby union club exclusively) was a founder member of the "River Plate Rugby Championship" (current Argentine Rugby Union).[5] Buenos Aires FC become part of BACC when both clubs merged in 1951.
Apart from rugby and cricket, the club hosts the practise of field hockey, football and golf.
History
Cricket origins
The exact date of establishment of the "Buenos Aires Cricket Club" is not clear because of the fire that destroyed most of the club's facilities and its archives. Nevertheless, there are records of a cricket match played by members of the club in the Recoleta district of Buenos Aires in 1831, where a flag with the legend "Buenos Aires Cricket Club" was displayed. That match was covered by English language newspaper The British Packet, published in Buenos Aires.[3][1]
The first president of the club was British consul Frank Parish, named in 1858. In April, 1868, BACC played its first club match facing Montevideo Cricket Club (MVCC) in the city of Montevideo. BACC won by 156–124. The rematch was played in Buenos Aires in 1869, where BACC defeated Montevideo again by 174–121.
On 8 December 1864, the club officially inaugurated its game field in Parque Tres de Febrero of Palermo, Buenos Aires, where the Galileo Galilei planetarium is placed nowadays. That day BACC defeated HMS Bombay team by 85 runs to 31, just 6 days before that ship would be destroyed in a fire on the River Plate, in a freak target practice accident.
In 1877 the BACC played its first match against Rosario Cricket Club.
Football and rugby pioneers
On 26 June 1867, several members of the club met on the Buenos Aires Cricket Club's field in Palermo, Buenos Aires to play what would be the first game of football ever played in Argentina. The game had been originally planned to be disputed in La Boca but had to be moved due to floods.
The game was such a success that some members would go on to found the Buenos Aires Football Club, which would be the first football club in South America. For years to come both clubs would share installations and members with BACC playing cricket in summer and BAFC playing football in winter.[6][7]
Rugby union rules were first adopted by Buenos Aires FC in 1874[1] but the club was dissolved one year later.[3][8]
In 1886 a new a new "Buenos Aires Football Club" was founded as a rugby union club exclusively. The club played against Rosario AC, being the first time two different clubs ever met for an interprovincial rugby game in the country.[9]
In 1899, along with Rosario AC, Belgrano AC and Lomas, Buenos Aires FC became a founding member of "The River Plate Rugby Championship", which would later become today's Argentine Rugby Union.
The first Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires championship was created the same year. Buenos Aires won 8 of the first 15 editions of this tournament. During the decades of the 1920, 1930 and 1940 the club would not win any title, finding a strong resistance in younger clubs such as CA San Isidro and San Isidro Club, which have won most of the URBA titles to date.
A new foundation
In 1948 the installations of the BACC were destroyed by the fire (some sources affirm it was intentional although those versions could never be confirmed). The fire destroyed most of the archives and documents of the club. Three years later, more precisely on 4 May 1951, both clubs BACC and BAFC decided to merge into one, under the name "Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club".[10][11] The recently created club had not a definitive location until 1952 when it moved to the Don Torcuato district, where Buenos Aires CRC established its headquarters. The club stayed there until 1987, when the lands were sold to Hindú Club. Buenos Aires would move again that same year to San Fernando, Buenos Aires, where it has remained up to present days.
In 1997 BACRC inaugurated the first purpose-built rugby union stadium in Argentina, erected in Los Polvorines, Greater Buenos Aires. A total of nine international games were played there by the Argentina national team. In 2005, the land where the stadium had been built, was sold to a Germany-based company.[12]
Field hockey
"Surí Hockey Club" was established as a women's field hockey club by a group of former students of the Northlands and St. Hilda's schools. In 1945 Surí ("rhea" in Quechua languages) began to play the tournaments organized by field hockey association, starting at third division. After many years playing its home games at different venues due to Surí did not have a stadium, the team finally joined BACRC in 1966, therefore changing its name to Buenos Aires.[1]
Buenos Aires and its predecessor Surí have been successful teams in Argentine hockey, winning a total of 7 Metropolitano championships between 1962 and 1988, 2 by Surí and 5 by BACRC.[13]
In 2007 the club inaugurated its synthetic grass hockey field in San Fernando. The women's field hockey team plays its home games venues there since then.[14][15]
Honours
Cricket
- Primera División (18): 1904–05, 1919–20, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42,
1949–50, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1975/76, 1976–77[16]
Rugby union
- Torneo de la URBA (10): 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909, 1915[b], 1958, 1959
See also
Notes
- ^ According to the club's website, the club was founded before 8 December 1864.[1] This date has been recognized by the Buenos Aires Rugby Union.[2] It is believed that the club was founded in 1831, with existing documentary evidence about a cricket match played by Buenos Aires that same year.[3][4]
- ^ 1900–1915: titles won by the Buenos Aires Football Club (then merged with Buenos Aires Cricket Club).
References
- ^ a b c d e "Historia del Club" at BACRC official website
- ^ Buenos Aires CRC on "Guía de Clubes", URBA website
- ^ a b c d Historia de Fútbol de AFA: Orígenes 1891/1899, by Carlos Yametti. Published by Edición del Autor (2011) – ISBN 978-987-05-9773-5
- ^ El Origen Británico del Deporte Argentino by Víctor Raffo, Gráfica MPS (2004) – ISBN 978-987-43-8107-1
- ^ "Hechos históricos de la Unión" at UAR website
- ^ "El fútbol nacional cumple años", Clarín, 20 June 2007
- ^ "140 años del primer partido de fútbol en la Argentina", by Eduardo Cantaro, 2007
- ^ Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina, by Jorge Iwanczuk. Published by Autores Editores (1992) – ISBN 9504343848
- ^ "Cuando el Rosario Athletic salió campeón... de fútbol" – CIHF
- ^ "El club de rugby más antiguo de la Argentina" at Rugbytime.com, 19 September 2008
- ^ "Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club" at Centro de Documentación, Investigación y Referencia Histórica-Deportiva, June 2009
- ^ "Adiós a un escenario de triunfos históricos", Clarín, 4 December 2005
- ^ "Ganadores campeonatos de primera división" – HSRA website
- ^ "Buenos Aires Cricket inauguró una cancha de césped sintético", El Comercio Online, 12 August 2007
- ^ "Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby ya tiene su cancha sintética", La Nación, 14 August 2007
- ^ "Todos los campeones 1897–2010" at Argentine Cricket Association website
External links
