Club Atlético San Isidro

San Isidro (CASI)

Full name	Club Atlético de San Isidro
Union	Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires
Nickname(s)	Academia, Cebras
Founded	24 October 1902 (1902-10-24)
Location	San Isidro, Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ground(s)	Estadio del CASI, 5,000 capacity[1]
President	Gabriel Travaglini
Coach(es)	Enrique Pichot
League(s)	Torneo de la URBA
2013	4th of Top 14[2]
Team kit
Official website
www.casi.org.ar

The Club Atlético San Isidro is an Argentine sports club based in San Isidro in Greater Buenos Aires. Mostly known for its rugby union team (which is member of the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires), the club also hosts activities such as field hockey, football, golf, tennis, basque pelota, bowls, squash and swimming.^[3]

History

At the beginning of 1902, a group of young men started to practise football in a field placed in the lowest part of the hill (called "la barranca" in Spanish). That land was property of María Varela de Beccar, an aristocratic woman that allowed them to play there. Nevertheless, the frequent swells of the Río de la Plata interrupted the matches many times, causing the boys to stop playing the sport they loved. This circumstance plus the adding of a wide group of football enthusiasts that joined them to play, made the boys to think about founding a club.

That group of boys was encouraged by some respectable neighbours of the zone, such as Pedro Becco or Manuel Aguirre, and even Avelino Rolón (who was Intendent of San Isidro Partido in 1906). As a result, soon after Aguirre led part of the lands for an indefinite period of time, where "Club de Foot-ball San Isidro" was founded.

The football squad that won the Tie Cup in 1912.

By that time (May 1902) a group (formed by English natives and sons of British), most of them employees of Ferrocarril Central Argentino railway also began to play football in a field next to the railroad station. Those boys founded a club naming it "San Isidro Athletic Club". Soon after that foundation, in the house of Paterson family, Mr. Hudson, McCrindle, Drenan and Ruiz; and Fernando Tiscornia, Manuel Vernet y Pedro Becco (son) as representatives of both clubs, agreed to call to a general assembly with the purpose of merging both clubs into one.

That meeting was celebrated on 24 October 1902, in the "Vignoles hotel" of San Isidro. 33 members of both clubs attended to the meeting, giving their approval to the merge of both clubs, which result was the foundation of "Club Atlético San Isidro".^[4]

San Isidro played all the Primera División football championships during the amateur era in Argentine football from 1903^[5] to 1931,^[6] leaving when that sport became professional in Argentina. During its football years, San Isidro won one international title, the Tie Cup (played between the Argentine and Uruguayan champions of Copa de Competencia) in 1912, and four domestic tournaments: 3 Copa de Competencia Jockey Club and 1 Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires.

Despite its international success, San Isidro did not win any Primera División championship, being the runner-up in 1912, 1913, and 1915.^[7][8][9]

The first rugby team of San Isidro was formed in 1908, combining British-origin employees of the Ferrocarril Central Argentino and a few Argentine born, but it was dissolved in 1911 without having participated in any competition. Six years later, and due to an initiative by club president Rafael Cullen, San Isidro established a new rugby team, registering with the River Plate Rugby Union that same year. San Isidro won its first title in 1917, setting a record of 13 consecutive championships won (until 1930).^[10]

The club has achieved 34 local titles to date, which makes San Isidro the most successful team of Argentina. Within rugby community, San Isidro is mostly known for its acronym "CASI" instead of full name.

Uniform evolution

Football and rugby teams have worn different uniforms through the club's history. In football, the most representative uniform was the light blue jersey, which San Isidro worn during its tenure on Argentine Primera División until the team disaffiliated from the association when football became professional.

In rugby union, San Isidro adopted its traditional colors after club's first season playing the Unión de Rugby de Buenos Aires tournament, when then president Rafael Cullen chose the black and white which have remained since.^[11]

Football

1902–03

1903–09

1909–31

Rugby union

1907–11

1916–17

1918–present

Rivalry with San Isidro Club

Origin

In 1935 the club held the traditional meeting with the rival team after a match, where no women attended. During the dinner, one of the guests spilled a cup of wine over his pants, which he took off and continue eating. The rest of the players that were sat at the table showed their solidarity with him and also took their pants and continued with the dinner as if nothing had happened.

This was seen by a member of the club who related the incident to club's authorities. As a result, eleven players were suspended by CASI for periods from one to two years. Since the suspension was effective, the team lost the most games played, finishing 6th at the end of the season (Atlético del Rosario was the champion).^[12]

At the end of 1935 Julio Urien was elected president of CASI for a new period, therefore the banned players left the club to found their own institution, which they called San Isidro Club (mostly known for its acronym "SIC" within rugby community). Since then, both clubs developed a strong rivalry which has remained to date.^[13]

Highlights

• The first game CASI played SIC was on 9 May 1937. SIC won 3–0.
• The largest victory over SIC was a 51-7 on 25 August 2013.^[14]
• The most important derby played by CASI and SIC was the final of 2005 Torneo de la URBA championship, which CASI won 18–17 with a penalty in the last minutes, after 20 years without an URBA title.
• The largest defeat against SIC was a 55–18 on 28 August 2004.

Notable former rugby players

Antonio Bilbao La Vieja (left) and Claudio Bincaz (right), as they were covered on El Gráfico magazine in the 1920s.

• Antonio Bilbao la Vieja ^[15]
• Claudio Bincaz ^[16] (also a notable footballer for the club) ^[17]
• Arturo Rodríguez Jurado ^[16]
• Jorge Stewart ^[16]
• Ernesto Cilley ^[16]
• Nicanor González del Solar ^{[lower-alpha 1] [17]}
• Rodolfo O'Reilly ^{[lower-alpha 2] [18]}
• Alejandro Travaglini ^[19]
• Jorge Allen
• Gonzalo Beccar Varela ^[20]
• Eliseo Branca ^[21][22][23]
• Santiago Phelan^{[lower-alpha 3]} (1992-2003)
• Agustín Pichot^{[lower-alpha 4]} (1992–97) ^[24]

Honours

San Isidro football team in 1926.

The rugby team that won the Torneo de la URBA championship in 1922.

Football

• Copa de Competencia Jockey Club (3): 1911, 1912, 1913 ^[25][26][27]
• Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires (1): 1909 ^[28]
• Tie Cup (1): 1912 ^[29]

Rugby union

• Nacional de Clubes (1): 1995
• Torneo de la URBA (33): 1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, 1934,
  1943, 1949, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1985, 2005

Field hockey

Men's

• Metropolitano Primera División (4): 1908, 1921, 1926, 1948

Women's

• Metropolitano Primera División (5): 1943, 1944, 1966, 1967, 1969

Notes

References

External links

• Official Site (Spanish)

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