History of Montevideo Cricket Club

Original Process
The Montevideo Cricket Club’s most immediate precedent was the Victoria Cricket Club, founded by a group of British citizens in October 1842 with the purpose of playing cricket. Its location was in the vicinities of the Arroyo Pantanoso, where the meat storage establishment of Samuel Lafone –one the club’s founders– was situated.
One year later, the club and local cricket practices did not seem to have many followers.

At the time, the people of Montevideo were more focused on Spanish-rooted sports such as bull fighting, sack races and soaped pole competitions. The siege of Montevideo in 1843 interrupted all social and sport activities within the city.
Foundation
On July 18th, 1861 –barely 31 years after the first Uruguayan constitutional oath– the Montevideo Cricket Club was founded in the Confitería Oriental, a place well-known for high society and business gatherings, located in the area currently occupied by the Hospital Militar. Its founders were the same behind the Victoria Cricket Club’s foundation, men linked to different activities in Uruguay, mainly trade.

Uruguayan historian Eduardo Acevedo asserts in his Historical Annals that the first cricket competition between the Buenos Aires Cricket Club and the Montevideo Cricket Club was supposed to take place in 1864. However, the political turmoil occurring at the time led to its suspension. First it was the Cruzada Libertadora headed by Venancio Flores north of the Río Negro, and later the collapse of Bernardo Berro's government, the Paysandú siege and the war between Uruguay and Paraguay.
Subsequent evolution
In 1862, the club made its first import purchase of cricketing equipment such as clubs and balls (there are no records of previous sport-items imports in Uruguay before this). One year later, the Bank of London opened a branch in Montevideo and all of its employees became members of the Montevideo Cricket Club.

Uruguayan historian Eduardo Acevedo asserts in his Historical Annals that the first cricket competition between the Buenos Aires Cricket Club and the Montevideo Cricket Club was supposed to take place in 1864. However, the political turmoil occurring at the time led to its suspension. First it was the Cruzada Libertadora headed by Venancio Flores north of the Río Negro, and later the collapse of Bernardo Berro's government, the Paysandú siege and the war between Uruguay and Paraguay.
In 1865, the Venancio Flores government called for tenders to provide Montevideo with drinkable water, a service which was finally taken over by the British company Montevideo Waterworks. This led to an increase of British citizens in Uruguay, all of which became members of the Montevideo Cricket Club. The postponed cricket competition between locals and Buenos Aires finally took place in 1868, an event which marked both the first sports encounter in the Río de la Plata and the first international cricket match played in South America.


A year later, the Montevideo Cricket Club and the Buenos Aires Cricket Club played the first international cricket match in Argentina. A very close bond was formed between both institutions and reached all sports practiced at the time (cricket, football, rugby, tennis, etc). The number of competitions organized by both clubs was unmatched by any other institution at the time.
The opening of The English High School in 1874 and The British Schools in 1885 contributed towards the mingling of the British community with Uruguayans. The latter would gradually enroll in sports circles once considered exclusive, thus increasing competitiveness and promoting the origin of new sports institutions. One was the Montevideo Rowing Club, founded in 1874 mostly by Montevideo Cricket Club members.
In 1875, the Montevideo Cricket Club played as local the first international rugby match against the Buenos Aires Cricket Club.

Another significant British flow of immigrants occurred after Uruguay purchased English railway equipment for the first time in 1876. A very important institution that resulted from this was the Central Uruguay Railways Cricket Club (CURCC), which would later become the seed for the Club Atlético Peñarol.
Sports in Uruguay definitely consolidated after the opening of The British Schools, which encouraged the formation of Uruguayan sports clubs such as the Club Nacional de Regatas in 1888. Previous to this, all sports clubs in Montevideo had been founded by foreigners.

In 1878, the Montevideo Cricket Club played the first football game in Uruguay against the crew of an English ship. That same year, the club also organized the first Uruguayan championship of athletic games.
In 1881, the Montevideo Cricket Club and the Montevideo Rowing Club played the first football game involving different clubs in Uruguay.

In 1888, the Montevideo Cricket Club introduced tennis and velocipedist practices (the origins of biking) in Uruguay.
In 1889, the Montevideo Cricket Club moved to its new headquarters in the intersection of Cardal and Larrañaga streets. For the opening of its new football court, a game between the national teams of Uruguay and Argentina was held (this event constituted the first of its kind in the Río de la Plata). Henry Stanley Bowles –a well known Montevideo Cricket Club athlete– scored the first goal. The celebration took place on the 70th birthday of Queen Victoria, whose portrait was placed on one of the VIP seats. Our team was formed by players from the Montevideo Cricket Club and the Montevideo Rowing Club.

In 1894, Montevideo Cricket Club members began to feel outcasted by cricket, rugby and football, and thus introduced golf in Uruguay after finding good links in the area of Punta Carretas.

In 1945, the club moved for the third time to the area of Sayago. That same year, the club participated in the first Argentine rugby championship of provinces.

In 1951, the Uruguayan Rugby Union was formed. Montevideo Cricket Club’s distinguished member and former president Carlos “Charlie” Cat was elected to be its first president.

In 1955, the Montevideo Cricket Club moved to its fourth headquarters in Carrasco.

In 1961, it celebrated an uninterrupted 100-year existence.

In 1996, the club moved to its fifth and current headquarters in the location of Solymar.

The Montevideo Cricket Club is a key milestone in the movement of sports in Uruguay as a result of its leading position in this area from the very beginning. The institution introduced and practiced cricket, rugby, football, Hockey, athletics, velocipedist practices and tennis, and encouraged many of these sports after our country was affected by wars. It also had a direct influence on the introduction of several other sports in Uruguay.