Russia Silver Sports Jeton 1896 - St. Petersburg Club of Sports Enthusiasts

13.05g. 34x37mm. 

A decorative enameled jeton suspended from a silver chain and hook, issued by the St. Petersburg Club of Sports Enthusiasts (Кружок любителей спорта. С.П.Б.). The front features the inscription 1896 over a background in the colors of the Russian flag, with silver ribbons reading: 

С.ПЕТЕР. КРУЖ. ЛЮБИТ. СПОРТА 

(Club of Sports Enthusiasts).  

Below is a small shield marked С.П.Б. К.Л.С. 

(St. Petersburg Club of Sports Enthusiasts). 

The reverse is plain. 

The St. Petersburg Club of Sports Enthusiasts (SPB KLS or “Sport”) was officially registered on June 15, 1896, though its origins date back to 1888 in the village of Tyarlevo near Pavlovsk. Initially formed as the “Society of Running Enthusiasts,” it expanded into a prominent multi-sport organization active in athletics, skiing, cycling, and team sports. 

Founded by Pavel P. Moskvin and chaired by A.P. Lebedev, the club received support from Prince Belosselsky-Belozersky and included among its members G.A. Duperron, later a key figure in the development of Russian football. 

KLS is best known for organizing the first officially recorded football match in Russian history, played on September 24 (O.S. September 12), 1897, against the Vasilyevsky Island Football Society. The match marked the official birth of Russian football. 

By 1900, the club had established a dedicated sports ground on Krestovsky Island, including a football field, tennis court, and running track, cementing its role in the early development of organized sports in Russia.