English High School AC

Alexander Watson Hutton

When the Scottish educationalist Alexander Watson Hutton became aware that the Saint Andrew's Scots School (Buenos Aires) of which he was director, had insufficient funds to promote sporting activities he resigned and established his own institution - The Buenos Aires English High School.
Watson Hutton was such a strong believer in the importance of sports in education that he even 'imported' a Scottish football coach- a certain William Watters of whom I can find no further information. The claim that Watters brought the first footballs to Argentina is spurious, as games were played as early as the 1860s.  

 In February 1893, Watson Hutton was responsible for the foundation of a second incarnation of The Argentine Association Football League.

English High School won its first title in 1900. That year also saw English High School awarded the Herald Trophy. This was an award by the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper based on a readers' vote for the most popular team in Buenos Aires.

The result was :

English High School AC - 6,942 votes
Quilmes - 3,467 votes
Belgrano Athletic - 3,358

In 1901 the Association rules were changed- it was stipulated that teams must not have the names of schools. Consequently the club members chose a new name- Alumni AC (alumni is Latin for former pupils).
Alumni dominated Argentinian club football for the following decade. 

The Brown Brothers

The earliest decades of Argentine football are often described as the 'English Period', although the 'Scottish period' might be more accurate. As we have seen, the first championship saw two entirely Scottish teams , St Andrews and  Old Caledonians taking the top two places. (Old Caledonians were the 'works' team of Bautaume & Peason, the company building the drainage system of Buenos Aires). 

The 'father of Argentine Football', Alexander Watson Hutton, was from Scotland. 

His Club Atletico English High School evolved into Alumni Athletic Club- winners of 9 championships between 1900 and 1911. 

The Alumni team of this period featured  the seven Brown brothers, Jorge Gibson, Ernesto, Eliseo, Alfredo, Carlos Carr, Tomas and Diego Hope,  grandsons of a Scottish settler. The first five played for Argentina, as did their cousin Juan D Brown.

The Brothers...

Jorge Gibson Brown -El Patriarcho
Palermo, Lanus, Alumni AC, Quilmes,Argentina   1902-13, 23 appearances, 4 goals.

Alfredo Brown

Alumni AC, Argentina 1906-11. 9 appearances, 4 goals

Ernesto Brown - El Pacifico

Alumni AC, Argentina 1902-12, 12 appearances, 1 goal

Carlos Brown

Alumni AC, Argentina 1903-05. 2 appearances

Elisio Brown
Alumni AC, Argentina 1906-11 , 10 appearances, 6 goals

The Cousin...

Juan D. Brown*
Alumni AC, Quilmes, Agentina  1906- 16, 36 appearances, 2 goals

*  middle name is given variously as Dodds or Domingo

Argentine Association Football League 1891

British sport and games tend to physically develop the youth of the country and to impose an admiration for that fair play which sport breeds.
The Standard  (Buenos Aires English-language newspaper)

Between 1870 and 1914 six million Europeans arrived in Argentina, and with more than half settling permanently by 1914 a third of the population was foreign-born, including 30,000 British.
By 1867 there was already a large British community  in Buenos Aires,  some of whom decided to form a football team to practise the sport, founding the Buenos Aires Football Club on Thursday 9th May 1867.

Today there will be a football match at Palermo; we believe it will be the first kick ever given in Buenos Ayres, and we understand that half town will be there if the weather proves favourable. The kick at the Boca never came off owing to the floods ...
The Standard  25 May 1867

This game was cancelled due to poor weather conditions, being postponed for June 26th, when the first match in Argentine football history was played. The venue was the Buenos Aires Cricket Club's field. Both teams (of 8 players each), named Colorados and Blancos, were made up of members of the Buenos Aires Football Club.

Glaswegian schoolteacher Alexander Watson Hutton is often referred to as the father of Argentine football. Hutton first taught football at St Andrew's School in Buenos Aires in the early 1880s.In 1893 Hutton established The Argentine Association Football League.

This tournament was organized two years earlier by another, short lived, Argentine Association Football League (president, F.L. Wooley), the first football league outside Europe. Five clubs competed but only one season was ever played.

Saint Andrew's

Table:
1. Old Caledonians                   8   6   1   1     13 
2. Saint Andrew's                    8   6   1   1     13 
3. Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway  8   3   1   4     7
4. Belgrano FC                       8   2   1   5     5
5. Buenos Aires FC                   8   1   0   7     2

Playoff:

13.09.1891
Flores Polo Club.
Saint Andrew's                   3:1  Old Caledonians                  
goals: Moffatt (3)                    goal:Wilson

After extra time
Saint Andrew's:F.V.Carter;L.C.Penman;G.A.Waters;F.Francis;H.Barner;A.Buchanan;J.Caldwell;Charles Douglas Moffatt;A.Lamont;E.Morgan;J.Buchanan.
Old Caledonians: W.Gibson;M.Scott;J.Riggs;W.Angus;R.Phillips;R.Smith;H.White;J.Clark;R.Sutherland;E. L. Wilson;R.Corsner.
Referee:         J. Wilson.