George Capwell
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George Lewis Capwell (born 1902[1]) was an American citizen that on the 1920s was the head of the Empresa Electrica del Ecuador (Ecuadorian electrical company). He was a big sports fan, specially of Baseball and Boxing, and because of that he decided to create a sports club for the employees of the company.
That is how on April 28 1929, in Guayaquil the famous Club Sport Emelec was born.
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[edit] Irony
The sports played at the club initially reflected the founder’s interests, with baseball (Capwell himself was the catcher) and boxing (potential members had to fight, and survive against, an experienced club boxer in order to gain membership).
It was widely known that Mr. Capwell disliked football, or soccer as it is called in the USA, but he agreed to have a football team due to the persistent requests of his employees. That was how the seed was planted for one of the most famous and loved football teams in Ecuador.
The new team began play in 1929. It won its first title, a local league made up of business-backed teams in Guayaquil, in 1933. Emelec’s popularity rose quickly and they soon developed a fierce rivalry with fellow Guayaquil team Barcelona.
Club Sport Emelec is one of the most successful football teams in Ecuador, with 10 national championships, which is extremely ironic if you keep in mind that the club's founder did not even liked the sport.
[edit] The George Capwell Stadium
Several years after the creation of the Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador sports club, it's founder, George Lewis Capwell, decided that it was time for the club to have its own Baseball stadium, so in 1942 Guayaquil's Municipal authorities donated 4 city blocks for the construction of the first private sports stadium in Ecuador. A year after that, in 1943, Emelec's staff officially named and initiated the construction of the George Capwell Stadium.
The beautiful George Capwell Stadium opened its doors for the first time on October 21 of 1945, the inaugural game was a Baseball match between Emelec and Oriente, and George Capwell played as a catcher for the "Azules" (Emelec). Although Emelec's president did not like football and their stadium was not initially intended to be a football field, soon after the inauguration the first football match was held. Emelec won 5 - 4 against an all stars team from the cities of Manta and Bahia.
The 1947 Copa America competition was held exclusively at George Capwell Stadium, and an undefeated Argentina became South America's champion with an all star team that included names like Alfredo Di Stefano, Lostau, and Mendez. Ecuador finished in 6th place. (Brazil did not participate on this competition.)
After the birth of Guayaquil's Estadio Modelo Isidro Romero Carbo, the George Capwell Stadium was closed for many years because it became obsolete, and in several occasions was almost destroyed for various projects that luckily for the club were never actually completed.
It wasn't until 1991 that with the leadership of Nassib Nehme that the George Capwell Stadium was reopened, to become once again the house of Emelec. Since its reopening the stadium has been enlarged twice and a new and final change has been scheduled for 2008, to reach a final capacity of 45,000 spectators.
At the moment the official capacity of the stadium according to the FEF (Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol) is 18,000 spectators. However, that number has not been changed even after the two enlargements were finished. It is said that the true capacity of the stadium at the moment is 30,000 spectators.
[edit] Other Sports
Emelec is not only one of the most important football clubs in Ecuador, but it is by far the most important sports club of the country. In their trophy room Emelec has hundreds of cups and medals that have been gained over the years in many different sports disciplines. The list includes:
- 33 Consecutive National Boxing Championships
- 13 Baseball National Championships
- 11 Male Basketball National Championships
- 18 Female Basketball National Championships
- 7 Cycling National Champsionships
- 5 Tae Kwon Do National Championships
- 5 Judo National Championships
- 1 Weight Lifting World Championship by Johnny Constante
[edit] Corporacion Capwell
The Capwell Corporation, or La Corporación Capwell in Spanish, is a group of Club Sport Emelec members that are running in the upcoming club elections and for the moment are firm candidates to be elected as the new managers of the club for the next 4 years.
[edit] References
- ^ Who's Who in Latin America, 7 vols, 1945-51
