Bolívar

Foundation

Until well into the 1980s there was controversy regarding the club's foundation date. The year 1927 was considered accurate until it became clear that it had been founded in 1925, the year of the country's centenary.

The club was born on 12 April 1925, by a group of friends who had the idea of forming a social club whose objective was to practice sport, especially football. They met in a modest colonial house in La Paz, specifically on Junín street and less than two blocks from Plaza Murillo, where it was decided to create the club with an unusual name, Bolívar. This was contrary to the usual names of Bolivian teams back then, as most of them were created with English names. Names such as Franz Tamayo or Antonio José de Sucre were considered, but in homage to the Liberator Simón Bolívar, the group decided on the name Bolívar.

Despite the fact that the founders had as a dominant passion for the practice of football, as was the style at the time, they decided to add the additional denominative of "musical literary club"; that is, the club was originally founded with the name of "Club Atlético Literario Musical Bolívar" which was soon diluted by the strength of the football team and its distinctive achievements, being reduced only to Club Bolívar.

Don Humberto Bonifacio was in charge of the club's management on a provisional basis, until the first president was elected by a democratic election. The first president was Carlos Terán, who was accompanied by Ernesto Sainz, Héctor Salcedo, Rafael Navarro, and Felipe Gutiérrez.

Amateur era

In 1927, two years after its founding, Club Bolívar officially enrolled in La Paz Fútbol Association. This would be the first time Bolivar participated in an official championship, where the club finished runner-up behind Nimbles Sport.

The club's first international friendly match was played on 3 June 1927, against Coquimbo Unido of Chile in La Paz, losing 2–1.

Bolívar was the first Bolivian team to make an international tour and play outside Bolivia. In December 1930 and January 1931, the team played five matches in Chile. In 1931 the tournament was fulfilled with poor performances by teams that did not have good youth divisions, limiting the championship to only four teams. That same year, on 8 July, Bolívar obtained its first international victory against Gimnasia y Tiro de Salta, winning 2–1 in La Paz.

A fundamental event in this first part of the club's history occurred in 1932 when Bolívar achieved the first championship in its history played in two series. The captain of that Bolívar squad was Mario Alborta, who was also captain of the Bolivia national team. The contest began on May 26, but had to be suspended for a month due to the events of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, more specifically the Battle of Boquerón, which was fought from 7–29 September. The La Paz Football Association established that the location and score of the moment were recognized in the final table. For this reason, Club Bolívar was declared champion of that year.

In the following two years, 1933 and 1934, the tournaments were suspended until the end of the war event facing the country. After the war, the championship was restarted a year later, in 1935. The team was champion for the second time in 1937.

Bolívar won a four-time championship, winning back-to-back titles from 1939 to 1942. That team was led by players like Walter Saavedra, Nicolas Terrazas, Guillermo Baldellón, Germán Huaranca, Rodolfo Plaza Montero, Alfredo "Guardiaco" Molina, and Hernán Rojas.

1947 is an important year for Bolívar and for Bolivian football, because of winger Víctor Agustín Ugarte's debut with the club. He made his debut against Ferroviario and that same year he debuted in the Bolivia national team. Many people consider him the best Bolivian player in history.

Professional era

In 1950, the Asociación de Fútbol de La Paz became professional, and Bolívar was the first champion of the now professional league. Under the presidency of Armando Gamarra and under the leadership of Víctor Agustín Ugarte, Mario Mena and the participation of players like Argentine Ramón Guillermo Santos, it was crowned champion after a 3-0 victory over Litoral.

With José Fiorilo they won the 1953 title, and for the first time a team achieved the professional title undefeated with 11 victories and a whopping 40 goals in 14 matches.