Last modified: 2009-11-21 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: football | real club recreativo de huelva | stripes: horizontal (blue-white) | ring (gold) | crown: royal (closed) | crown (gold) | stripes: 6 (horizontal) | letters: blue | crh |
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![[Royal Huelva Recreation Club (Spain)]](../images/e/es@rcrh.gif)
image from the Vexilologia website, emblem by Luis Miguel Arias, 05 Aug 2009
Huelva is the cradle of football in Spain. The introduction of football in the town is linked to the massive immigration of Brits following the concession of the Rio Tinto mine to the "Matheson & Co." mining company. The first football match was played in Huelva in 1873 by English seamen; subsequently, the mining company organized matches on the factory grounds on Saturdays. On 23 December 1889, Alexander McKay and Guillermo Sundheim de la Cueva founded the "Huelva Recreation Club," the first football club in Spain, therefore the nickname of "El Decano" (The Doyen) still given to the club. The "Recre" also won the first trophy ever granted in Spain, defeating the local English team, 2-0. Under the "Spanish" name of "Club Recreativo de Huelva," adopted in 1903, the club took part to the first Spain championships, organized in Madrid in 1906 and 1907. In 1909, the club was awarded the title of "Real" by King Alfonso XIII, who accepted to serve as the Honour President of the club. A founding member of the Spanish Federation of Football Clubs, "Recre" was champion of Andalusia from 1903 to 1914. In 1920, the club defeated the Sporting Lisbon, being the first foreign team to win a match in Portugal.
"Recre" played for the first time in Spanish First League in 1978-1979 but fell down to the Second League at the end of the season. Close to suppression in the 1990s because of money shortage, the club reemerged in 1997, playing again in the Second League. Back in First League in 2002-2003, the club could not stay there either. In 2006, it won the Second League championship and joined for the third time the First League, ranking 8th in 2006-2007; in 2008, the club kept its seat in First League on the last day of the championship, which it could not achieve the next year, falling down again in the Second League.
Source: Club website
A much more detailed account of the club history and records, with references, is given on Wikipedia (in Spanish).
Ivan Sache, 05 Aug 2009
The flag of the club is horizontally divided into six blue-white-blue-white-blue-white stripes with the club emblem in the middle. The emblem is made of the blue interlaced intials of the club name, surrounded by a yellow ring, placed on a white shield outlined in blue; the shield is surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown all or.
Ivan Sache, 05 Aug 2009