Club Atlético del Rosario

Rosario A.C. squad of 1884, the oldest photo of a rugby team in Argentina

The club was founded as a cricket institution by workers of the British company Central Argentine Railway that were building the Rosario–Córdoba line. Originally named "Rosario Cricket Club", it was established on March 27, 1867. The RCC and the Buenos Aires Cricket Club (established in 1864) are recognised as the first sports club of Argentina.[6]

During its first years of existence, the club had several fields that served for sports practice. The club rented a land on Presidente Roca and Jujuy streets, where many sports (such as baseball, bicycle races, cricket, croquet, football, polo, quoits, rugby, tennis) were practised. The "Justas Atléticas" (an annual athletics competition) were also held there.[5] Due to the variety of sports practiced, the club was referred to as "the Athletic Society" instead of "the Cricket Society". Finally, the club changed its name to "Rosario Athletic Club",[6] between May and August 1884.

Some highlights during those years were the first inter-club rugby union (29 June 1886) and association football (12 July 1887) matches, played against Buenos Aires Cricket Club teams.

In 1892, the club adopted the claret and light blue colors, as reported in local newspapers

In 1889 the club moved to its current location at Plaza Jewell, named after brothers Charles and Edward Jewell who gifted a 24,000 m2 land to the club. Officially inaugurated on August 30, Plaza Jewell is the oldest sports ground in Argentina.[5][4] In April 1892, Atlético del Rosario adopted "claret and light blue" as its official colors in a general meeting, remaining as club's colors since then.[5]

The team that won the international football Tie Cup in 1902

In football, the club had the honour to be the first club from Rosario playing in Primera División although the squad only participated in the 1894 championship.[7] Rosario A.C. was invited by the Argentine and Uruguayan Football Associations to participate in the Tie Cup, played by teams of Buenos Aires, Rosario and Montevideo. Rosario AC won the 1902 (defeating legendary Alumni by 2–1 in the playoff match), 1904 (beating Uruguayan CURCC 3–2) and 1905 (winning over CURCC again by 4–3) editions totaling 3 championships in 6 years. The line-up vs. CURCC in 1905 was: ER.S. Knight; R.O. Le Bas, G. Middleton; H. Talbot, M.O. Wells, R. Stuart; E.O. Le Bas, A.O Le Bas, G. Roberts, J.G. Parr, W. Stocks.[8] Rosario AC was also a founding member of "Liga Rosarina de Football", playing all its tournaments until 1916.

Apart from football, Rosario AC had an active participation in rugby union. On 28 June 1886 Rosario AC played the first inter-clubs match in Argentina, when the team faced Buenos Aires Football Club in the city of Rosario.[8][9]

Thirteen years later, in 1899, along with Buenos Aires FC, Lomas and Belgrano AC, the club would become a founding member of the "River Plate Rugby Championship", the origin of today's Argentine Rugby Union.[3][10] Rosario AC's rugby field is considered the oldest in Argentina, having been inaugurated in 1899.[11]

Rosario and Buenos Aires cricket teams posing together in 1916

In 1917 the football section was discontinued after a riot between supporters of Rosario Central and Newell's Old Boys in Plaza Jewell.[2]

In 1928 Atlético del Rosario, then playing in the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires championship, became a founding member of the Unión de Rugby de Rosario. As a founding member of the URBA and the URR, the club has the particularity of being a full member of both unions to this day. Field hockey was added as a sport in 1930, being played by women's teams and first. In 1955 the team started to play in the tournaments held by "Asociación Argentina Amateur de Hockey Sobre Césped", promoting to Primera División in 1959. The club won two championships in 1975 and 1978 but in 1991 it was relegated to the second division.

From 1956, Atlético would only take part in the local competitions, before rejoining URBA competitions in 1983. When playing in the URBA, the team uses CA San Isidro's home ground in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, in order to facilitate travel for the visiting teams. In 1991 Atlético was relegated to the second division, where it played the 1992 season promoting to Grupo I that same year. In 1994, Atlético del Rosario took part in the creation of Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires, which organized its own championships succeeding The River Plate Rugby Union. One year later Atlético won its four Primera División title, shared with Hindú Club. In 2000 the club won its 5th title and last to date, defeating CA San Isidro at the finals.[3]

In 2016, Atlético del Rosario reintroduced the practice of football in the club (more than 100 years after the sport had been abandoned), with the organization of internal tournaments.[12]

Beyond its sporting achievements, Atlético del Rosario is regarded as a founding member of many sports bodies in Argentina, they are:[5]

Notes

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