History of Santos FC (1912–1935) facts for kids
Santos Futebol Clube, often called "Santos" or "Peixe" (which means "Fish"), is a famous football club from Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. It was started on April 14, 1912, by three sports lovers: Raimundo Marques, Mário Ferraz de Campos, and Argemiro de Souza Júnior. In 1962, Santos began playing in big South American competitions. Since then, the club has won seven CONMEBOL trophies and even achieved a "quadruple," meaning they won four major titles in one season! In 1971, Santos helped create the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, which is Brazil's top football league.
How Santos Foot-ball Clube Began (1912)
Football came to Brazil thanks to a Scottish man named Thomas Donohue. The very first football game in Brazil was played in April 1894, near his workplace in Bangu. Later, in 1884, another Scottish man, John Miller, sent his 10-year-old son, Charles William Miller, to school in Southampton, England. Charles was a great athlete and quickly learned football. He even played for Southampton Football Club! When he returned to Brazil, Charles brought two footballs and the rules of the game. He then taught people in São Paulo how to play.
"SPORTS. A new football club. Several sportsmen of this city are committed to organize a powerful football club, having already bought a vast and splendid land owned by Mr. J.D. Martins, by the Andrade Aguiar street in Macuco, where the playing field will be installed for the new sport club. The club organizing committee is composed by the following three hard-working gentlemen: Mario Ferraz de Campos, Raymundo Marques and Argemiro de Souza Júnior. This committee, carrying out this arduously-required task, is relying on our great commerce for the acquisition of associates, having already achieved to enlist more than 200 people. Next Sunday, at 2 pm, there will be a meeting at the Concordia Club, where the basis of the new club shall be presented, elect its boardmembers and make other decisions for the purposes of the new sport club. It is sensible for the lack, among us, of a good club dedicated to the beautiful sport of football. We believe that the new club will fill that gap."
– Diario do Santos, 1912
In the city of Santos, Henrique Porchat de Assis introduced football at the Instituto Presbiteriano Mackenzie. Even though water sports like rowing were popular, football quickly became the most exciting sport. Santos was becoming a wealthy city, with its port growing into one of the biggest in the world, mainly for exporting coffee.
Because the city planned to start a statewide competition, people in Santos created two football clubs: Clube Atlético Internacional and Sport Club Americano. The first football match in Santos was played on November 1, 1902.
However, Atlético Internacional closed down in 1910 because of money problems and very bad results. They didn't even score a single goal in 1908! The Serra do Mar, a long mountain range, separated São Paulo and Santos by 76 kilometers. This made it expensive and difficult for Americano to play in the Paulista tournament. So, Americano moved its club to the city of São Paulo.
This left Santos without any football teams, which made many local students unhappy. A meeting was announced to create a new football team. It took place at the Concordia Club. The meeting lasted 14 hours and was led by Raymundo Marques Francisco, Mário Ferraz de Campos, and Argemiro de Souza Junior. Many names were suggested for the new club. But everyone agreed on Edmundo Jorge de Araujo's idea: Santos Foot-Ball Club.
So, the club was officially born at 2:00 pm on April 14, 1912. This was just 12 hours and 20 minutes before the famous Titanic ship sank into the Atlantic Ocean. The club's first president was Sizino Patuska. Santos' first playing field was the Campo da Ana Costa, which used to be Atlético Internacional's field.
The Early Years (1913-1917)
Santos played its first game on June 23, 1912, against a local team called Thereza Team. Santos won 2–1, with goals scored by Anacleto Ferramenta and Geraule Ribeiro. For their first official game on September 15, Santos played against Santos Athletic Club. Arnaldo Silveira scored Santos' first official goal in club history.
In early 1913, Santos was invited to play in the state championship by the São Paulo Football League. This was Santos’ first official competition. Their first match was on June 1 against Germânia, but they lost 8–1.
In 1913, the Campeonato Santista de Futebol took place for the first time. Santos, América, Escolástica Rosa, and Atlético competed. Santos, also known as the “black and white” team (Alvinegro), became the champion! They won all six of their games, scoring 35 goals and only letting in seven. This was the very first trophy in the club's history.
Three weeks later, on June 22, Santos won their first official match against a team that would become their biggest rival: Corinthians. Santos won 6–3 at Parque São Jorge, which was Corinthians’ home stadium.
A Strong Team Emerges (1917-1935)
Between 1917 and 1926, Santos was known as a good team, but they couldn't quite win the state title. They usually finished around fourth place. This changed in 1927. Santos became known for finding and developing young, talented players.
The team was called O ataque dos 100 gols (The 100-goal attackers). They were led by the club's first big star, Araken Patusca. He was the son of Santos' first president. Araken Patusca was also the first Santos player to be part of the Brazil national team in the first ever FIFA World Cup in 1930. He played one match against Yugoslavia.
Santos finished as runners-up in 1927, 1928, and 1929. In the 1927 season, they scored an amazing 100 goals in just 16 games! That's about 6.25 goals per match. This achievement showed the team's focus on "Technique and Discipline," which is even mentioned in the club's official song.
Santos then went through some up-and-down seasons as the club became professional. In 1933, the Santos president officially announced that the club was now a professional team.
This led to the club's first major success in 1935. Santos prepared very well for the Paulistão (the state championship), playing 14 friendly matches. They won seven, lost four, and drew three. A big highlight was when Santos beat Espanha 10–1 before the season started.
In the last match of the state competition, Santos defeated Corinthians 2–0 at the Estádio Parque São Jorge, which was Corinthians' home ground. Goals from Raul and the experienced Araken Patusca helped Santos win their first state title! This historic win was Santos' first big trophy and set a high standard for future teams.
Santos couldn't win the state title again the next season. However, the club remained undefeated in international matches during the 1930s, with seven wins and one draw. Their most important win was against the France national football team. The French team arrived in Santos on July 30 after the FIFA World Cup in Uruguay. They played a local team and lost badly, 6–1, with four goals from Feitiço. The French team thought they had played against the Brazilian national team (the Seleção), not just a local club. When they visited the clubhouse, they found out it was indeed the local Santos team!
