The 1911 Argentine Primera División final was the playoff that determined the winner of 1911 season of Argentine Primera División. It was contested by Alumni and Porteño, in order to decide a champion after both teams had finished tied on points (23 points in 16 matches played) at the end of the tournament.Argentina 1911 by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at RSSSF.com Although Alumni finished the season with a much larger goal difference (+33) than Porteño (+14) the Argentine Football Association committee decided that a final should be held in order to crown a champion.
It was the second league final contested by Alumni after the 1906 season when the team had won the championship after beating Lomas A.C. 4–0.Argentina 1906 by Osvaldo Gorgazzi at RSSSF.com On the other hand, C.A. Porteño played their first final in Primera División. The match was held in neutral venue (Estadio GEBA of Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires, then one of the main sports venues in the city). Alumni defeated Porteño 2–1 to win their 10th. league title.
The final is notable for having been the last official match played by Alumni, before being dissolved two years later.
Qualified teams Team Previous finals app. Alumni 1906 Porteño (none)
Venue
Estadio GEBA, owned by Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires. was (along with Sociedad Sportiva Argentina) one of the main football venues in the 1900s and 1910s, having held matches of the Argentina national team and some club matches during that period. The football team of the club (that played in Primera División from 1911 to 1917) also used the stadium (which had a capacity of 10,000) for its home games.
From 1925 on, the stadium mainly hosted rugby union matches. During 45 years it would be the most frequent venue for that sport, with the Argentina national team playing there its international games. In 1927, the stadium hosted its first international rugby match when Argentina played v the British Isles during their second visit to the country.El Gráfico No. 424, 20 August 19271927 Argentina on British Lions website (Archive, 21 Jan 2012)"Lions (segundo viaje olvidado)" by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby, 24 May 2017"El estadio de Maldonado" on Viejos Estadios website
Nowadays, Estadio GEBA is used for music concerts, having hosted many artists performing there."Estadio GEBA sede Jorge Newbery" on Entradasx.com
Background
Alumni did not start the 1911 season as they used to do, suffering some defeats to C.A. Estudiantes (12) and Belgrano A.C. (0–2). Although Alumni thrahsed Quilmes (7–0) in the next fixture, the team suffered other defeats at the hands of Porteño (0–2) and Racing Club (considered by many historians its successor) (1–3), which had promoted to Primera División the previous year.
Nevertheless Alumn recovered again from those defeats, and won eleven consecutive games (including several hammerings over Racing, River Plate, and San Isidro) to finish the tournament in the first position.
On the other hand, Porteño would not win their first match until the 6th fixture, when they beat Alumni 2–0 and won other notable match including a 5–1 over Quilmes and a 4–1 to River Plate. Both teams finished in the last position with 23 points. Despite Alumni largely surpassed Porteño on goal difference, the Argentine Football Association decided that a final should be held to decide a champion.
Match details
GK Emilio BolinchesDF Juan Domingo BrownDF Jorge BrownMF Peel YatesMF Ernesto BrownMF J.H. LawrieFW V. WeissFW Alfredo Brown FW Juan G. Brown FW Ernesto LettFW Arnold Watson Hutton
GK Juan José RithnerDF Héctor ViboudDF J. CucchiMF B. BerissoMF Domingo BacigaluppiMF O. DastugueFW Mario GenoudFW Anacarsis Galup LanúsFW Antonio PiaggioFW Antonio MárquezFW F. Debenedetti
Aftermath
In the evening there was a banquet at the now-defunct German restaurant Aue's Keller, located at Bartolomé Mitre 650. it was organised by C.A. Porteño in honor of their victors Alumni.
The final is notable for having been the last official match played by legendary Alumni.El último partido del gran Alumni by Lucio Ortiz on Diario Uno By the time of the final, Alumni was the most successful team of Argentine football, having won a total of 22 titles (10 leagues, 5 national cups, and 7 international cups).Alumni A.C., El Eterno Campeón by Jorge Gallego at the CIHF"Alumni: en el nombre del fútbol" on Clarín, 21 April 2003EL ALUMNI ATHLETIC CLUB at the BAEHS (archived) But on those times some players were already carrying the weight of a thousand battles on their shoulders and were thinking about retirement."100 años de la despedida de Alumni." by Ricardo Gorosito on La Pelota no dobla blogsite. 4 May 2011. After the final, Alumni retired from official competitions and did not field a team for the 1912 season.La historia de Belgrano y Alumni, los finalistas del torneo de rugby by Hernando De Cillia and Jorge Ciccodicola on Página/12, 26 Oct 2024
After Alumni quit the Association, many of its players such as Jorge G. Brown, Juan D. Brown, Ernesto Brown,A 140 años del natalicio de Ernesto Alejandro Brown 7 Jan 2025 and Gottlob Weiss joined Quilmes Atlético Club,Quilmes: el primer campeón aún vigente en el fútbol de AFA by Raúl Ramírez on CIHF another team with British origins,"Reseña histórica", by Por Selza Lozano, El Sol, 18 Dic 1997 – published on Quilmes A.C. unofficial website which finally would win the first league title for the club in 1912.Argentina 1912 on RSSSFAlumni, Cuna de Campeones y Escuela de Hidalguía by Ernesto Escobar Bavio – Editorial Difusión, Buenos Aires (Published 1953) In successive years, Alumni players would occasionally reunite to play exhibition matches.Asociación Amateurs de Football: Memoria y Balance General 1923 at Biblioteca AFA
The club was officially dissolved on 24 April 1913 at the headquarters of Maipú street 131 Buenos Aires. At the meeting, chaired by Dr. Luis J. Rocca, the liquidation of the institution was decided upon, as "there were no fifteen members who wished to continue with the club." Ernesto A. Brown proposed allocating the funds to various charities, which was approved unanimously; the British Hospital of Buenos Aires was the most favored.
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