History
The "Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata" was founded on 3 June 1887 as a civil association, and thus is the oldest surviving football club still participating in the Argentine Football League. The club also claims to be the oldest football club in the Americas, despite other football clubs, such as the Lima Cricket and Football Club, have older foundation dates. Its foundation came barely five years after the creation of the City of La Plata in 1882.
The first sports offered to its members were, as its Spanish name indicates, gymnastics and fencing. Clubs supporting these sports were common among the upper classes at the end of the 19th century (cf. the prior foundation of Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires in 1880). Later on, other disciplines were added, including track and field, football, basketball and rugby.
The institution changed name a few times: from April to December 1897 it was called a "Club de Esgrima" (in English, "Fencing Club") because fencing was the only activity practised at that moment. On 17 December 1897 it returned to its original name: "Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima" ("Gymnastics and Fencing Club"). From July 1952 to 30 September 1955, the club was named "Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de Eva Perón" ("Gymnastics and Fencing Club of Eva Perón"), because the city of La Plata itself had been renamed "Eva Perón" in 1952, after Eva Perón's death. The city returned to its previous name during the government of the "Liberating Revolution", and so did the club. However, it remained unduly identified legally as "Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata" ("Gymnastics and Fencing Club of La Plata"), a mistake that was corrected on 7 August 1964 after the new statute was approved.
Gimnasia y Esgrima was promoted to the first division after becoming champions of the División Intermedia of Argentine football in 1915. Later, in 1929, the club would become champions of the Primera División. Once in the professional era, Gimnasia became champions of the Argentine 2nd division in 1944, 1947 and 1952 and won the Copa Centenario de la AFA in 1994. Additionally, the squad has been a runner-up in the Primera División on five occasions. The club has remained at the top level of Argentine football for 69 seasons, giving it the eighth longest participation at this level.
Read more about this topic: Club De Gimnasia Y Esgrima La Plata (sports Club)
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