Lanus

Lanus Athletic Club was an Argentine sports club club located in the Lanus district of Greater Buenos Aires.

While initially established as a cricket club, Lanus later added a football team. That squad competed officially during the first years of football in Argentina, playing in the top division, Primera Division, from 1897 to 1899, and then returning in 1913 before being dissolved in 1914.

Along with other clubs that practised football in the Lanus district (such as Lanus United and Talleres), Lanus A.C. is considered a predecessor of Club Atletico Lanus, founded in 1915.

History

The club was established by employees of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway (BAGSR), a British-origin company that operated in the country, at the end of 1887 to play cricket. The club, named "Barracas Instituto Cricket Club", changed to "Lanus Cricket Club" in September 1888. In June 1895, a meeting of members gave their approval to rename the club as "Lanus Athletic Club" to include other sports such as football. The club registered to the Argentine Football Association that same year.

Lanus played its home games at the BAGSR workshops (Los Talleres, today Remedios de Escalada neighborhood), wearing a dark green and gold shirt. In its first year in official competitions (which was also Lanus' best performance during its short tenure on Primera) was in 1897, when the team shared the first position with Lomas Athletic Club after winning 10 matches and lost 2, so both teams had to play a final game in order to decide a champion. As the playoff ended in a draw, a second game was scheduled. It also ended in a draw so a third match had to be played. Finally, Lomas beat Lanus 10 with goal by William Stirling. After a poor campaign in 1899, Lanus disaffiliated after playing only two matches in the season.

In August 1908 the club changed its name again, becoming "Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway Athletic Club", and then "Club Atletico del Ferrocarril Gran Sud" (Spanish translation of t