Alumni Athletic Club (football)
Encyclopedia
Alumni Athletic Club, or simply Alumni, was an Argentine
football team which took part in its football league during the Amateur era
. Although officially founded in 1898, the team had been formed in 1893 when a group of students from the Buenos Aires English High School joined to Alexander Watson Hutton
(who is considered the "father" of Argentine football) to form a team in order to participate in the championship organized by the Argentine Association Football League (then Asociación del Fútbol Argentino
(which had been created that year).
The squad participated until 1911 and finally was disbanded in 1913 due to internal problems. During its run in primera división, Alumni obtained 10 championships and many national and international cups, becoming one of the most important clubs in the history of Argentine football.
Professor Alexander Watson Hutton
arrived to Buenos Aires. Hutt, considered “the father” of Argentine football, had been hired as Director of Saint Andrew’s Scots School but resigned short later due to the institution did not have funds to acquire sports facilities, which were considered by Hutton as an essential component of his teaching methods.
Therefore Watson Hutton decided to create the Buenos Aires English High School (BAEHS) to put in practise his ideas about education, with a special predilection for football. The BAEHS opened on February 1, 1884. To start with the practice of football in Argentina, Waton Hutton brought William Watters from Scotland, to work as a trainer. Some versions state that it was Watters who brought the first football from Great Britain
to Argentina.
In 1891 Alec Lamont, from Saint Andrew’s, worked out in order to create a ligue. Therefore the Argentine Association Football League, was established, registering the following teams: Saint Andrew's Scots School, Old Caledonians, Buenos Aires al Rosario Railway, Belgrano Football Club and Buenos Aires Football Club. Nevertheless, this new tournament was badly criticized and was boicoted by most of the clubs. The title was obtained by Saint Andrew's.
With the finalization of the 1891 tournament, so the Argentine Association Football League was defuncted. As a result, in 1892 no championship was disputed. On February 21, 1893, Watson Hutton created a new football organism with the same name (AAFL), which is considered by the Argentine Football Federation as its only predecessor, as well as Watson Hutton is regarded as its first president.
In the 1893 tournament participated five teams: Lomas Athletic Club, Flores Athletic Club, Quilmes Rowers, English High School y Buenos Aires al Rosario Railway. At the end of the tournament, Lomas AC became the first champion in the history of Argentine football.
formed by their current and former students. As a result, on October 3, 1898, Club Atlético English High School was founded. The school bought its first facility in the Coghlan neighborhood, near to train station, with the purpose of practicing physical activities as it was required
stadium) was won by Alumni 2-1 becoming new Argentine football champion. Alfredo Brown and Lett were the scorers. That was the 11th and last title by Alumni.
and Racing
, respectively. After those absences, and based on the rules for the competition, the AAF disaffiliated Alumni. Many of its players were to Quilmes, which finally would obtain the title that year.
There were two main reasons for Alumni's demise: the first cause was the shortage of players due to the fact that Alumni rarely admitted players outside the English High School. The second reason was that Alumni was losing a lot of money (due to the fact that the club often donated its incomes to benefit) and it seemed unlikely that the team could fulfil its matches for 1912 season.
Alumni played its last game in 1911 and was definitely dissolved on April 24, 1913. All the members were invited but only 7 assisted to the meeting.
Once the team was disbanded, the assets ($ 12.322,29) were donated to eight public institutions, the Hospital Británico and the Patronato de la Infancia were among them
Domestic
International
The most prominent Alumni's player was Jorge Brown
, who was team's captain during two periods: first from 1903 to 1906, and then from 1910 until its dissolution. Five brothers of Jorge were also players for Alumni: Alfredo
, Eliseo
, Carlos
, Juan and Ernesto
, and his cousin Juan Domingo
as well.
Other notable player was the goalkeeper José Buruca Laforia, who arrived to the club in 1905 and remained until 1907. Juan McKechnie (1891–94, 1900–04) was other remarkable goalkeeper giving services to the team.
Alumni was also famous due to its notable strikers thus many of them were the top scorers of the first division championships. Amongst them were Alfredo and Eliseo Brown, Carlos and Ernesto Lett and Arnoldo Watson Hutton.
Many Alumni footballers were usually called to play for Argentina national team. Moreover, four of Brown brothers were repeatedly called together for a match, as well as five of Brown cousins took part of Alumni squad for the Brazil
tour from June 2, to July 14, 1907.
Being lined-up mostly with Alumni players, the Argentina national team won the Copa Lipton four consecutive times: 1906 (8 players from Alumni), 1907 (7), 1908 (5) and 1909 (7). The squad also obtained the Copa Newton in 1906 (with 7 players from Alumni), 1907 (4), 1908 (7) and 1909 (3). Argentina won the Copa de Honor Gran Premio de Argentina in 1909 (7) and 1911 (6).
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
football team which took part in its football league during the Amateur era
Amateur Era in Argentine football
The amateur era in Argentine football lasted between 1891 and 1931.-History:The first league tournament outside the United Kingdom took place in Argentina in 1891, it was dominated by British expatriate players and teams. The Scottish influence is evident in the names of the league's first winners...
. Although officially founded in 1898, the team had been formed in 1893 when a group of students from the Buenos Aires English High School joined to Alexander Watson Hutton
Alexander Watson Hutton
Alexander Watson Hutton was a Scottish teacher and sportsman and is considered the father of Argentine football. In 1893 he founded the "Argentine Association Football League", which is now known as the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino...
(who is considered the "father" of Argentine football) to form a team in order to participate in the championship organized by the Argentine Association Football League (then Asociación del Fútbol Argentino
Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association is the governing body of football in Argentina. It organises the Argentine football league and the Argentina national football team. It is based in Buenos Aires...
(which had been created that year).
The squad participated until 1911 and finally was disbanded in 1913 due to internal problems. During its run in primera división, Alumni obtained 10 championships and many national and international cups, becoming one of the most important clubs in the history of Argentine football.
The Buenos Aires English High School
On February 25, 1882, ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Professor Alexander Watson Hutton
Alexander Watson Hutton
Alexander Watson Hutton was a Scottish teacher and sportsman and is considered the father of Argentine football. In 1893 he founded the "Argentine Association Football League", which is now known as the Asociación del Fútbol Argentino...
arrived to Buenos Aires. Hutt, considered “the father” of Argentine football, had been hired as Director of Saint Andrew’s Scots School but resigned short later due to the institution did not have funds to acquire sports facilities, which were considered by Hutton as an essential component of his teaching methods.
Therefore Watson Hutton decided to create the Buenos Aires English High School (BAEHS) to put in practise his ideas about education, with a special predilection for football. The BAEHS opened on February 1, 1884. To start with the practice of football in Argentina, Waton Hutton brought William Watters from Scotland, to work as a trainer. Some versions state that it was Watters who brought the first football from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to Argentina.
First official match
By 1890 football in Buenos Aires was not regulated by any Federation although there were many institutions where this sport practiced, such as Buenos Aires English High School, Saint Andrew's Scots School, Flores Collegiate, Flores English College, Old Caledonians Football Club, Saint John's Football Club, Scotch Club and Buenos Aires Football Club.In 1891 Alec Lamont, from Saint Andrew’s, worked out in order to create a ligue. Therefore the Argentine Association Football League, was established, registering the following teams: Saint Andrew's Scots School, Old Caledonians, Buenos Aires al Rosario Railway, Belgrano Football Club and Buenos Aires Football Club. Nevertheless, this new tournament was badly criticized and was boicoted by most of the clubs. The title was obtained by Saint Andrew's.
With the finalization of the 1891 tournament, so the Argentine Association Football League was defuncted. As a result, in 1892 no championship was disputed. On February 21, 1893, Watson Hutton created a new football organism with the same name (AAFL), which is considered by the Argentine Football Federation as its only predecessor, as well as Watson Hutton is regarded as its first president.
In the 1893 tournament participated five teams: Lomas Athletic Club, Flores Athletic Club, Quilmes Rowers, English High School y Buenos Aires al Rosario Railway. At the end of the tournament, Lomas AC became the first champion in the history of Argentine football.
Creation of Athletic Club
In 1898 the Minister of Justice and Public Instruction ruled that teaching of physical exercises would be obligatory for all the national schools programs. Furthermore, it was required that each School had to create a sports clubSports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
formed by their current and former students. As a result, on October 3, 1898, Club Atlético English High School was founded. The school bought its first facility in the Coghlan neighborhood, near to train station, with the purpose of practicing physical activities as it was required
1911/12 Season
During its last tenure in the first division, Alumni won 11 matches, lost 4 and drew 1, finishing in the first position along with Estudiantil Porteño. To proclaim a champion, a match between both teams had to be played. The game (hosted in Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos AiresGimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires, Gymnastics and Fencing of Buenos Aires , is a sports and social club headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina....
stadium) was won by Alumni 2-1 becoming new Argentine football champion. Alfredo Brown and Lett were the scorers. That was the 11th and last title by Alumni.
Dissolution
Alumni won a total of 10 titles in the Argentine Primera División. Despite being registered for the 1912 tournament, the team did not played again anymore. Alumni would have played vs Estudiantes de Buenos Aires the first fixture but that never happened. Alumni did not attend the other two matches against QuilmesQuilmes Atlético Club
Quilmes Atlético Club is a sports clubs of Argentina, based on the Partido de Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province. Quilmes is one of the oldest clubs of Argentina, having been founded in 1887. Its football squad currently plays in the Primera B Nacional Division....
and Racing
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football...
, respectively. After those absences, and based on the rules for the competition, the AAF disaffiliated Alumni. Many of its players were to Quilmes, which finally would obtain the title that year.
There were two main reasons for Alumni's demise: the first cause was the shortage of players due to the fact that Alumni rarely admitted players outside the English High School. The second reason was that Alumni was losing a lot of money (due to the fact that the club often donated its incomes to benefit) and it seemed unlikely that the team could fulfil its matches for 1912 season.
Alumni played its last game in 1911 and was definitely dissolved on April 24, 1913. All the members were invited but only 7 assisted to the meeting.
Once the team was disbanded, the assets ($ 12.322,29) were donated to eight public institutions, the Hospital Británico and the Patronato de la Infancia were among them
Honours
- Primera División: (10) 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1911
- Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos AiresCopa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos AiresCopa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires is a defunct Argentine domestic cup competition. It was contested fifteen times between 1905 and 1936, it was abandoned on one occasion in 1910.-List of champions:*1905: Alumni*1906: Alumni...
: (2) 1905, 1906 - Copa Jockey ClubCopa de Competencia Jockey ClubCopa de Competencia Jockey Club is a defunct football tournament which took place in Argentina between 1907 and 1933.-History:The Copa de Competencia Jockey Club was first awarded in 1906 to the winners of the Argentine qualifiers for the final of the Tie Cup competition which was played between...
: (3) 1907, 1908, 1909
International
- Tie CupTie CupThe Tie Cup is a defunct international football tournament played between representatives of the Argentine league , Rosario league and the Uruguayan football Association...
: (6) 1901, 1903, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909 - Copa de Honor CousenierCopa de Honor CousenierCopa de Honor Cousenier is a defunct international football club tournament which was played 13 times between representatives of the Argentine and Uruguay football associations between 1905 and 1920.-History:...
: (1) 1906
Primera División statistics
- 1893 - 4th of 5 teams.
- 1895 - 6th out of 6 teams
- 1900 - Champions (changed name to Alumni)
- 1901 - Champions
- 1902 - Champions
- 1903 - Champions
- 1904 - 2nd of 6 teams
- 1905 - Champions
- 1906 - Champions
- 1907 - Champions
- 1908 - 2nd of 10 teams
- 1909 - Champions
- 1910 - Champions
- 1911 - Champions (disbanded)
Players
Jorge Brown
Jorge Gibson Brown was an Argentine footballer who was one of the most important figures in the early years of Argentine football. He won 10 league titles and captained the Argentina national team between 1908 and 1913....
, who was team's captain during two periods: first from 1903 to 1906, and then from 1910 until its dissolution. Five brothers of Jorge were also players for Alumni: Alfredo
Alfredo Brown
Alfredo Carrow Brown was an Argentine international footballer who played as a forward.-Early life:Brown was an Argentine of Scottish origin....
, Eliseo
Eliseo Brown
Eliseo Brown was an Argentine international footballer who played as a forward.-Early life:Brown was an Argentine of Scottish origin....
, Carlos
Carlos Brown (footballer)
Carlos Carr Brown was an Argentine international footballer.-Early life:Brown was an Argentine of Scottish origin....
, Juan and Ernesto
Ernesto Brown
Ernesto Alejandro Brown was an Argentine international footballer who played as a left back. He was nicknamed El Pacifico for his assured performances for both club and country.-Early life:...
, and his cousin Juan Domingo
Juan Domingo Brown
-Early life:Brown was an Argentine of Scottish origin.Juan Domingo Brown had five cousins who were also Argentine international players – Alfredo, Carlos, Eliseo, Ernesto and Jorge...
as well.
Other notable player was the goalkeeper José Buruca Laforia, who arrived to the club in 1905 and remained until 1907. Juan McKechnie (1891–94, 1900–04) was other remarkable goalkeeper giving services to the team.
Alumni was also famous due to its notable strikers thus many of them were the top scorers of the first division championships. Amongst them were Alfredo and Eliseo Brown, Carlos and Ernesto Lett and Arnoldo Watson Hutton.
Many Alumni footballers were usually called to play for Argentina national team. Moreover, four of Brown brothers were repeatedly called together for a match, as well as five of Brown cousins took part of Alumni squad for the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
tour from June 2, to July 14, 1907.
Being lined-up mostly with Alumni players, the Argentina national team won the Copa Lipton four consecutive times: 1906 (8 players from Alumni), 1907 (7), 1908 (5) and 1909 (7). The squad also obtained the Copa Newton in 1906 (with 7 players from Alumni), 1907 (4), 1908 (7) and 1909 (3). Argentina won the Copa de Honor Gran Premio de Argentina in 1909 (7) and 1911 (6).
Uniform
The English High School uniform was based on what students wore at school: a white t-shirt with horizontal red stripes. When the team changed its name in 1901 so the uniform was changed to vertical red stripes. The shorts were white in most of the cases, but Alumni also used a black model and other in navy blue.Records and facts
- The first Argentine football team that defeated a foreign club, a South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n squad in 1906. - Achieved three or more consecutive championships in three different times: 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903; 1905, 1906 and 1907; 1909, 1910 and 1911.
- Eliseo BrownEliseo BrownEliseo Brown was an Argentine international footballer who played as a forward.-Early life:Brown was an Argentine of Scottish origin....
was the top scorer four consecutive times: 1906 (8 goals), 1907 (24), 1908 (19) y 1909 (17). - The first club from Rio de la PlataRío de la PlataThe Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
which obtained the national championship, the Cup Tie Competition and the Copa de Honor Cousenier within the same season. - In 1904 the Club Barracas CentralBarracas CentralClub Atlético Barracas Central is an Argentine football club from Barracas, Buenos Aires in Argentina. A club once coached by Emilio Baldonedo, Barracas had previously claimed the 1944 and 1948 titles of the Primera Amateur Division and also the 1974 and 1981 titles of the Primera Division D...
adopted the red and white uniform colors based in Alumni. Other clubs that took the red and white colors honoring Alumni were Estudiantes de La PlataEstudiantes de La PlataClub Estudiantes de La Plata , simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history....
in 1906 and Unión de Santa FeUnión de Santa FeClub Atlético Unión is a sports club from Santa Fe, the capital city of the province with the same name in Argentina. The club, founded in 1907, has a strong rivalry with Colón de Santa Fe....
in 1907. - The traditional Uruguay national football teamUruguay national football teamThe Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
light blue color was adopted after River Plate F.C.River Plate F.C.River Plate Football Club was a sports club from Uruguay, founded in 1897 in Montevideo, the country's capital.River Plate is considered one of the four giants of the first era in Uruguayan football, alongside rivals Montevideo Wanderers and the current two bigs: CURCC and Club Nacional de Football...
wore a jersey that color when defeated Alumni 2-1, on April 10, 1910. Until then Uruguay had worn a jersey similar to ArgentinaArgentina national football teamThe Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
. - The Club Atlético Alumni, located in Villa MaríaVilla MaríaVilla María is a city in Córdoba Province, Argentina, and the head town of the General San Martín Department. It is located in the center of rich agricultural land. The area leads the country in production of milk...
, Córdoba, ArgentinaCórdoba, ArgentinaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, choose its name to honour Alumni A.C.