Georges de Saint-Clair

Georges de Saint-Clair Stevenson (16 February 1845 – 12 February 1910) was a French author and sports leader who is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the development of sport in France, founding the forerunner of the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques in 1887, and then serving the entity as its first president from 1889 until 1890. He was also a rugby referee.

Early life and education Georges de Saint-Clair was born in Geneva on 16 February 1845, to a French father, a diplomat, and a Scottish mother, being educated there in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, thus developing a deep interest in sport. As the son of a well-off family, he was sent abroad to complete his studies in Britain, being the first Frenchman admitted to said college, where he spent the next four years, from 1862 to 1866. After the signing of peace, he settled permanently in his father's homeland to devote himself fully to the development of sport in France and introduce a taste for physical exercise in said country. He structured the club and not only made it known (first articles in Le Figaro in 1885), but also turned it into a serious club,

Saint-Clair portrayed in Pierre de Coubertin's 1909 book Une campaigns de vingt-et-un ans. This entity quickly accepted other sports into its ranks, and two years later, on 31 January 1889, this structure expanded its views by becoming the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques ("Union of French Athletic Sports Societies"), the first sports governing body in France. On 18 March 1894, the 49-year-old Saint-Clair refereed the third final of the French Rugby Union Championship, in which Stade Français claimed a 18–0 victory over Inter-Nos.

Writing career

At the end of the 19th century, Saint-Clair wrote and edited several works on sport, including Les sports athlétiques et les exercices de plein air ("Sports Athletics and Outdoor Exercises"), which he published with P. Arnould in 1887. In 1895, he published Petite Bibliothèque Athlétique, the first French book entirely devoted to Rugby, which had his portrait on the frontispiece. In that same year, the book Les Sports Athlétiques was published, written by Reichel, Mazzucchelli, and a certain "Eole", which might be a pseudonym of Saint-Clair.

Later life and death At some point, Saint-Clair was the vice-consul of France in Edinburgh. In January 1907, the Academy of Sports awarded him the title of "founder of athletics in France".

Saint-Clair died in Paris on 12 February 1910, at the age of 64, the victim of a long illness, and his funeral took place in Versailles, where he was buried in the Saint-Louis cemetery, after a ceremony at the Temple des Batignolles. Following his death, the local press stated that he was "the sportsman to whom we can rightly attribute the great athletic movement which, at the present time, seems to be leading new generations". At the time of his death, the USFSA had a thousand clubs and more than 1,500 members.

Works Les sports athlétiques et les exercices de plein air (1887) Les règles du rugby (1890) Le rugby en 1894 (1894) Petite Bibliothèque Athlétique (1895)