23 December 1889 - They Peaked A Bit Early

On 23 December 1889, Dr. Alexander Mackay and a group of British workers at the Rio Tinto mining company in the city of Huelva formed the Huelva Recreation Club. Now known as Recreativo de Huelva, it is Spain's oldest football club, earning it the nickname "El Decano" (the Dean).

The club enjoyed early success, winning twelve straight regional Andalusian titles from 1903 to 1914. Since then, however, the club's fortunes declined, with Huelva spending most of the seasons in their history in La Liga's Segunda, Segunda B and Tercera divisions. They have spent only five seasons in Spain's top flight, most recently from 2006-07 to 2008-09.

Huelva currently compete in the Segunda División, where, at present, they sit 16th out of 22 teams.