The history of the very good sport’s links between England (and all the UK ) and Argentine
by Eduardo García Sáenz.
Dear Readers,
I have decided to address the subject of very the good sports links between the UK and Argentina over the last three centuries, since the beginning in the nineteenth Century to present times.
As you may know the British were responsible for introducing many Sports to Argentina, such as cricket, football, rugby, polo, rowing, tennis, golf and hockey. This was in fact the result of those Sports already developed in the UK, or imported to the UK from elsewhere (polo, from India, for example), and then brought to Argentina.
This article covers two main chapters; the first begins with an overall description of some Sports in the UK and then follows their development in our country; also in this first part the Exchange between our countries specifically in regard to polo.
In the second chapter I will refer in depth to the salient points of seven polo teams from England and the interviews to Luke Tomlinson (Beaufort PC) and James Bein (Cowdray Park PC).
To begin, a synopsis of several sports in Great Britain.
CRICKET: England had a significant role since it’s first matches, and was host to four World Cups (1975/1979/1983 and 1999). Cricket is England’s national sport. The first Club was founded in 1778, the Marylebone Cricket Club.
FOOTBALL: also started in England in 1863 with the founding of the Football Association, but in fact play had started at Eaton and Harrow back in 1845, where the rules were established.
RUGBY: started in the town of that name in England in 1823, its first Club founded in 1843 was the Guy’s Hospital RFC. England hosted its first WC in 1991, and will do so again in 2015.
On the other hand Wales hosted its WC in 1999, and rugby is it’s national sport.
As an important sideline the Welsh settlers arrived in Patagonia in 1865, and established themselves it the towns of Trelew, Dolavon, Trevelin, Gaiman, Puerto Madryn and others, where they still strive today, caring for their language and cultural eventsLive.
HORSERACING: this began at Ascot in 1711, five kilometres from Windsor Castle, and currently is an annual event, covering a full week known as Ascot Week. The Derby was run at Epsom in 1780, also becoming an annual event.
TENNIS: played by Harry Gem for the first time on a croquet field, this formally took shape at the Old England Tennis & Croquet Club in 1877.
HOCKEY: begun at the Blackheath Football and Hockey Club in 1861, followed in 1871 at the Teddington Hockey Club and then the English Gentleman’s Field Hockey Association was founded in 1875. London organized the World Men’s Field Hockey World Cup in 1986.
FORMULA ONE: this car race takes place every year at Silverstone.
GOLF: first played in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1744 with the creation of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St.Andrew’s. Later this became known as “The Home of Golf”.
When I visited Cupar in 1980 with my rugby tour (Champagnat Club), I made a point of visiting these grounds, and was impressed by the closeness to the sea, and the architecture, leaving no doubt as to this really being the home of this sport.
The icing on the cake for BrItish sport, was hosting three Olympics, in 1908, 1948 and 2012. The Argentine newspaper “La Nación” front-paged both the inaugural and closing ceremonies, remarking “this event was a tribute to human emotion” and “London put it’s soul into the Olympics” on these occasions.
SPORTS IN ARGENTINA:
I will detail the important exchanges between the UK and Argentina in the game of polo, but prior to this I wish to mention some highlights depicting the influence of English, Scottish and Irish in the founding of our clubs.
The two most important factors brought to Argentina by the British immigrants were the building of the huge railway network and the knowledge provided for agricultural and cattle development. In the case of cattle they brought the Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn breeds, also Jerseys and a small amount of West Highland and Galloway Belted. Sheep of the Romney Marsh, Lincoln and Hampshire Down were introduced, as well as the Cheviots, Black Face, Leicester and Southdown. The horses was Hackney,Welsh Cob,Welsh Pony and Thoroughbred (Pur Sang ) .
Also ,a town named Londres (London ) was founded (1558) in the Province of Catamarca ,in honour of Mary Tudor I ,wife of the King Felipe II of Spain.
And now, the SPORTS :
Cricket: first organized in 1860, and the first clubs were the Buenos Aires Cricket Club (1864) and the Rosario Athletic Club (1867).
The most important tournament played is the North vs. South, which took place for the first time in 1891, in Buenos Aires.
Football: the Argentine Association Football league was founded on the 21st. February 1893. The first chairman was Alexander Watson Hutton, a Glasgow born Scotsman (1853-1936), and is known as the father of argentine football.
Between 1904 and 1929 we were visited by the following English and Scottish clubs: Southampton FC (1904), Nottingham Forest (1905), Everton FC (1909), Tottenham Hotspur FC (1909), Swindon Town FC (1912), Exeter City (1914), Third Lanark FC (1923), Plymouth Argyle FC (1924), Motherwell FC (1928) and the Chelsea FC in 1929.
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton (1850-1931) was a great enthusiast of football in Argentina. He presented the LIPTON FOTTBALL CUP to be played annually between Uruguay and Argentina. However his true passion was yachting, and he took part in many regattas. Sir Thomas went on to found his now famous tea business in Sri Lank ( ex-Ceylan ) and in 1898 was knighted and awarded the Queen Victoria Order.
Rugby: the first match was played in 1874, between Mr. Trench and Mr. Hogg’s teams. The River Plate Rugby Union (today’s UAR) was founded in 1899, and the first members were the Buenos Aires Football Club, later merged with the BA Cricket & Rugby Club (1864) and the Rosario Athletic Club (1867). Its first President was Leslie Corry Smith, Oswald Anderson was the Hon. Secretary and the Hon, W.R.S. Baikie was Treasurer.
Rowing: the first clubs were the Bs.As. Rowing Club (founded November 12th 1873, by a British group headed by Lionel Sackville West) first located on the banks of Riachuelo and then moved to Tigre.
Another important club founded by the community is the Tigre Boat Club (17th. July1888), whose first President was N.Bouwer.
Tennis: Tomas Boadle founded the Bs As Lawn Tennis Club in 1892, with a court in the city of BS As on the corner of Ayacucho and Vicente López streets.
The Rio de la Plata Tennis Championship began in 1893, organized by the BA Lawn Tennis Club.
Golf: the first golf courses were built by founding members of the British community. These were the Hurlingham Club (22 November 1888); the course was inaugurated in 1893, designed by Mr.Fortune with a splendid layout. Another founding club is the San Andrés Golf Club (1892), initiated by V.G.G. Scroggie, who played the first game against W.H.Masters on the 13 of March 1892. The definitive course was designed by the Scotsman Mr. Mungo Park, and inaugurated on May 2, 1909.
Hockey: the Anglo-argentine community was very influential in the development of hockey. The first ladies field hockey was played on the 27 June 1908, between the Quilmes Girls High school, and the Alexander College, organized by Mrs. E.Ross.On the 12 July 1908 ,the english citizen Mr.Herbert Brookhouse organized the first match de varones ,between CASI and Belgrano Athletic C.
Yachting: the first sailing yacht to reach BuenosAires was “The Falcon “,18 Tn. Gross,in 1880 .This yacht was previously a fishing lugger in Penzance,and was of course built in England .The owner was E.F.Knight ,and he was accompanied by his friend Arturo Jerdein .Knight wrote a book ,”The cruise of the Falcon”,with a narrative of the whole voyage.
POLO : our great sport, successful in all latitudes.
We will cover the salient points of some information about Argentina polo and then go into detail about the visits from England to Argentina, and an overview of the seven English Polo clubs. In the words of the English historian Herbert Spencer, polo crossed the Atlantic from England to the Americas in 1872 and this was the beginning in Argentina, the U.S, Canada and others.
The first polo match was played on Monday, August 30th 1875 at the estancia “Negrete”, owned by David Shennan, close to the town of Ranchos, in the province of Buenos Aires. Six games took place, the teams were called City, Country, England, The World, Scotland and it was a round-robin playoff. Some of the players were Langley, Wanklyn, Methven, Walter Ford, Thompson, Welby, David Shennan (english), King, Dashwood, Hawes, Krabbe, O’Grady, Dick, Evans, another O’Grady, St.John and Belland.
In 1897 T.F.Dale wrote “The Game of Polo”, in which he tells us that England had 32 Polo Clubs, the Cirencester Club’s Secretary was F.J.Townsend, Esq., and Hurlingham Club had Cap. Walter Smythe as Polo Manager.
There were 19 club in Argentina, those still standing are the Venado Tuerto Polo &Athletic .C. (H.Miles), Hurlingham C. (Balfour) and Media Luna Polo C (Scott-Moncrieff). Obviously these names refer back to England.
The River Plate Polo Association (march 4th 1892) was the predecessor for the Argentina Polo Association. The three clubs mentioned above were founding members, and all have lovely clubhouses.
The first Argentine Polo Open was played by teams with English names: Hurlingham Club, The Casuals, North Santa Fe, The Locusts, Western Camps, The Borders, Bungs Gee, etc.
In 1896 a team called the Buenos Aires Polo Club toured England, some of the horses played surprised the locals, and were sold due to their quality matching that of the English horses.
The newspaper The Standard wrote on 30/6/1897 about THE ARGENTINE HORSE, and tells of the visit of Coronel Truman, to authorize the purchase of argentine horses to be shipped to South Africa.
The 1898 The Casuals, umpired by Col. Truman and Capt. Ferrar, belonging to the Cavalry Remount Commission of Great Britain, won Argentine Open.
1912 saw the beginning of the sale of argentine polo ponies to England on a regular and organized basis. Mixed-blood breeds started replacing the local criollo breed, used in the first years of polo.
“El Gráfico” magazine of July 14, 1923, has a report on Joseph Albert Monroe Hinds, first President of the AAP, and he held the post in 1922 and 1923.
“I believe that in Argentina, where horse riding is a habit, polo is due to become a successful sport. The Argentine camp man has to his advantage being a great rider, spending much time with his ponies. We have good horses and riders, huge pampas, and a large young population eager to play. There is no doubt about the future of the game in Argentina, it is the ideal place for the game. If the spectators knew that it is us. Argentines, who are supplying polo ponies to England. In one year alone we have sent over three hundred ponies, very much appreciated for their training and appearance”.
Mr. Hinds also informed that there were 19 clubs and three hundred players. The best performers according to Hinds were Lewis Lacey, David Miles, John Miles, Jack Nelson, “Bunny” Land, Capt. Padilla, Leonardo Lacey, M.Andrada and B.Naylor.
Argentina won at the 1924 Polo Olympics, thus confirming Mr.Hind’s prediction. The team was A.Kenny, Jack Nelson, Capt.Padilla and Juan B.Miles.
Special mention must be made of the royal visitors. Prince Edward, later King Edward VIII, as reflected on the front page of El Gráfico magazine. The 23/5/1925 issue portrays the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) playing polo at the Ranelagh Club together with the Maharajah of Jadphur.
We can also mention that Edward VIII’s brothers Prince Albert (later George VI), Prince George (Duke of Kent) and Prince Henry (Duke of Gloucester) also played polo.
Prince Charles was in Argentina and played at Hurlingham Club.
Lord Cowdray (third viscount of Cowdray, Weetman John Churchill Pearson 1910-1995, who lost his left arm at Dunkirk in WW II, also visited Argentina.
Susan Barrantes writes in her book “Polo” that “the sport in England was in a crisis when Lord Cowdray appeared after the war, and with amazing energy began to support the sport. With three of his five sisters, and his brother in law John Lakin, Lord Cowdray he organized the first tournament at Cowdray Park. Begun in 1949 as the Challenge Cup, this tournament became a springboard for an English team to travel to Buenos Aires”.
Another side effect of this trip was that Lord Cowdray purchased more than fifty argentine ponies that became, for many years, the backbone of his team of horses at his Club. With this generous support lord Cowdray not only gave polo breath of fresh air, along with making Cowdray Park the centre of Polo for Europe.
At the One Hundred and Fifty Commemoration of Independence of Argentina, the British Commonwealth Team visited Buenos Aires, took part in the Argentine Open. It played against Tortugas Aurora (won 11-10) and Coronel Suárez, subsequent tournament Champion(lost 19-6).
The players were Capt. Patrick Kemple (6, born Rhodesia, today Zimbabwe), John Sinclair Hill (9, Australia), Major Ferguson (5/1931-2003, played for Guards PC), Paul Whiters (6/Cowdray Park PC), coach Rao Rajah Hanut Singh (Cowdray Park PC).
Other visitors were Lord P.Beresford (Lord Patrick de la Poer/belonged to the Royal Horse Guards), and the Marquis of Waterford (John Hubert de la Poer Beresford).
Prince Philip of Edinburgh visited Argentina in 1966 and put together his team Windsor Park, to play the Hurlingham Open, where he lost to Hurlingham Selection (9-8). Windsor Park included Prince Philip, Daniel Gonzalez, Horacio and Alberto Heguy.
Susan Barrantes writes “ the Duke of Edinburgh played ain important role in English Polo, he was a five goal player, tough enthusiastic and competitive. During the sixties he captained a successful team, Windsor Park”
Susan goes onto say “ between the sixties and seventies English polo took on a renewed energy thanks to players and horsemen from Argentina. The English change their training methods. Ponies became lighter, and were handled in a different manner. Gradually the argentine influence changed both play and horses for the better, and allowed great players such as Paul Whither (7), the Beresford brothers(5 handicaps /Guards PC) , Ronald Ferguson (5/Guards PC), and later Julian and Howard Hipwood (both 9 handicaps) and also Alan Kent (8)”.