Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway A.C.

Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway
Full nameBuenos Aires and Rosario Railway Athletic Club
Founded1888[1]
Dissolved1896; 128 years ago (1896) (merged to form Belgrano Athletic Club)
GroundCampana
PresidentG. Hunt[2]
LeaguePrimera División
18935th

The Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway Athletic Club was a sports club established by workers of the homonymous railway company that operated in center and northern Argentina by then.[3]

The club had football pitch located in the neighbourhood of Belgrano, Buenos Aires, and also in the city of Campana, distant 75 km (47 mi) from the capital city. BA&RR was also a predecessor of current Belgrano Athletic Club.[4]

According with the list of clubs published on periodical River Plate Sport & Pastime in 1893, the colors of the club were yellow and black.[5] On the other hand, British-origin newspaper The Standard stated in August 1888 that sports practised at BA&RR were football, cricket, and tennis.[4]

History

According to existing records, the club played its first football match in August 1888 v 'Ferrocarril del Sud Club' (another railway team, formed by workers of Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway), that is taken as the date of establishment of BA&RR. That game is also recognised as the first football match played in the history of Campana, while the BA&RR is regarded as the first club formed in the city.[1] Although there are no records about the exact location of the BA&RR field, it is believed it was at the north of the city, near the railway workshops and the Paraná River, on the same place where the Campana Boat Club is located nowadays.[1] The BA&RR rented a land on Virrey del Pino and Superí in the neighborhood of Belgrano, Buenos Aires, where the club played its home games, apart from Campana.[6]

The BA&RR team was one of the four that took part in the first Argentine Primera División championship (which was also the first official competition outside the United Kingdom)[7][1] held in 1891. During that inaugural season, BA&R played 8 matches, with 2 wins and 4 loses.[8][9]

In the 1893 championship (the 2nd season so no tournament was held in 1892), BA&R made a poor campaign finishing last with no wins and 6 loses within 8 matches.[10] The team did not participate in the 1894 and 1895 seasons, and in 1896 some members of the club merged with St. Lawrence Club (a neighbour institution which had been formed shortime ago)[11] to form Belgrano Athletic Club, which took over the land (and field) rented by the BA&RR on Virrey del Pino and Superí to set their headquarters.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d El Buenos Aires & Rosario Railway, el primer club de nuestra ciudad by Joel Vallomy] on La Auténtica Defensa, 18 Jun 2017
  2. ^ "New committee of the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway Athletic Club for the 1891-92 season" on River Plate Sport & Pastime, 1891
  3. ^ A 135 años del primer tren que unió Buenos Aires con Rosario on Weekend, 1 Feb 2021
  4. ^ a b "Buenos Aires & Rosario Railway AC. Hechos Pioneros y Dudas" by Jorge Gallego on the CIHF, 30 Jun 2015
  5. ^ "List of clubs and their secretaries" on River Plate Sport & Pastime n° 134, published 24 Jan 1894
  6. ^ a b Historia on BAC
  7. ^ "Salvation army" by Tim Pears, The Guardian, Sunday 4 June 2006
  8. ^ Argentina 1891 by Osvaldo José Gorgazzi at RSSSF
  9. ^ Historia del Fútbol Amateur en la Argentina, by Jorge Iwanczuk - ISBN 950-43-4384-8
  10. ^ Argentina 1893 by Osvaldo José Gorgazzi at RSSSF
  11. ^ Clubes del barrio. Belgrano Athletic Club o BAC on Belgrano News