Les Sportifs de l'Ovalie and the Importance of the French influence in the process of incorporation and implantation of rugby in Catalonia (1911-1923)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20868/mhd.2023.25.4938Keywords:
Catalan rugby, origins, institutionalization, implantation, France.Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of French influence in the cultural transmission and implantation of rugby in Catalonia, and to assess the role played by French expatriates, together with some young locals who had lived in France, in the process of expansion and development of Rugby in Barcelona. After the first pre-Union matches and competitions, in which the French community had a decisive influence, and within a context of associative effervescence, the institutionalization of this sport was the next natural step. Consequently, Spanish Rugby Union was established in Barcelona in 1922, later followed, in 1923, by Catalan Rugby Football Union.
The research was based on analysis of the specialized press of the time and has been complemented with an exhaustive review of the documentation of public and private archives, such as that of the former Gobierno Civil de Barcelona, the archive of the Unió Esportiva Santboiana, and the Futbol Club Barcelona.
The results of the research show how this case of indirect sportification, together with the prominence taken by the Unió Esportiva Santboiana –the oldest rugby club in Spain– brought out the latent state in which the oval sport was in the Barcelona, inspiring the formation of several clubs in a very short period with an indisputable French presence. This fact coincides with the introduction and growth of rugby in other countries in southern Europe.
Downloads
References
Alayo, Joan Carles. «El procés d’electrificació de Catalunya. Recursos naturals i actuacions empresarials. 1896-1936». En: Simposio Internacional. Globalización, innovación y construcción de redes técnicas urbanas en América y Europa, 1890-1930. Universitat de Barcelona, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Barcelona, 23-26 de enero de 2012.
Bausil, Albert, y Jean Vidal. Le Rugby Catalan. Vingt-cinq années de Sport au Pays du Soleil. Perpiñan: Imprimerie de l’Indépendant, 1924.
Bravo, José. Historial deportivo del R. C. D. Español, 1900 a 1953. Barcelona: R.C.D. Español, 1953.
Collins, Tony. The oval world: a global history of rugby. Gran Bretaña: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016.
Comité Olímpico Internacional. Congrès Olympique de Lausanne, 2-7 Juin 1921. París: V. Barré, 1921.
Confederació Esportiva de Catalunya. Confederació Esportiva de Catalunya. Barcelona: M. Bonet, 1922.
Curtin, Jennifer. «Before the ‘Black Ferns’: Tracing the Beginnings of Women’s Rugby in New Zealand.» The International Journal of the History of Sport, n.o 33 (2017): 1-15.
Joris, Vincent, y Terret, Thierry. «Le rugby et la France pendant la Première Guerre mondiale». Stadion, International journal of the History of Sport 32, n.o 1 (2006): 103-18.
Pedro, Mireia. L’Abans. Sant Boi de Llobregat. Recull gràfic 1892-1965. El Papiol: Efadós Editiorial, 1999.
Pociello, Christian. Le Rugby o la guerre des styles. París: Éditions A.M. Métailié, 1983.
Pujadas, Xavier, y Carles Santacana. «El club deportivo como marco de sociabilidad en España. Una visión histórica (1830-1975)». Hispania LXIII, n.o 214 (2003): 505-21.
———. «Esport, catalanisme i modernitat. La Mancomunitat de Catalunya i la incorporació de la cultura física en l'esfera pública catalana. (1914-1923)». Acàcia, n.o 4 (1995): 101-21.
———. «Prensa, deporte y cultura de masas. El papel del periodismo especializado en la expansión social del deporte en Cataluña hasta la guerra civil (1890-1936)». Historia y Comunicación Social 17 (2012): 141-57.
———. "Entrevista a Rosa Aleu". Vídeo, 30 de mayo de 2019. Barcelona. Archivo de la Universitat Ramon Llul.
Toran, Rosa. Michel Reynard. Una vida de compromís. Del rugbi a la deportació. Sant Boi de LLobregat: Ajuntament de Sant Boi de Llobregat Memòria Històrica, 2020.
Torrebadella, Xavier, Javier Olivera, y Mireia Bou. «Origen i institucionalització de l’associacionisme gimnasticoesportiu a Espanya al segle XIX (1822-1900)». Apunts: Educació Física i Esports, n.o 119 (2015): 7-54.
Unió Esportiva Santboiana. 50 anys de rugby: 1921-1971. Sant Boi de LLobregat: Unió Esportiva Santboiana, 1971.
Waquet, Arnaud, y Joris Vincent. «Wartime Rugby and Football: Sports Elites, French Military Teams and International Meets During the First World War». The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, n.o 3-4 (2011): 372-92.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who submit to this journal agree to the following terms:
- Author(s) keep copyright and guarantee to the journal the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International as initial publication in this journal.
- Author(s) can establish additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (for example, to an institutional archives or to publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- It is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (e.g, in institutional open archives or on their own website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as a citation earlier and more of published work (See the Effect of Open Access).
