on the court. After the player was taken to the locker room, the match restarted, but soon the news of his death interrupted the confrontation, which was 23–21 to the football club. Enveloped in a deep atmosphere of commotion after the tragedy, the presidents Eduardo Góis Trindade, of football, and Augusto Frederico Schmidt, of rowing, promoted the merger of the clubs, made official on 8 December of that year. Still, in 1942, Botafogo Football Club once again became state champion, a feat that Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas would repeat in the next three years, in 1943, 1944, and 1945. The Glorioso also won the 1947 tournament, establishing a hegemony in Rio de Janeiro. 1950s and 1960s: National pioneer The first edition of the Carioca Women's Basketball Championship was played in 1952 and three years later Botafogo won its first state title. The club was also runner-up in the 1956 and 1959 seasons. In the 1950s the club only obtained conquests thanks to the women, but the 1960s had titles from both sexes. The women's team, led by Martha, won the state championship four times in 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1963; the men's team won the Carioca Championship three times from 1966 to 1968. In 1967, Botafogo went down in history as the first Rio de Janeiro club to win the national basketball championship by winning the Brazil Cup, the country's main competition at the time. The final match was played at the Club Municipal gymnasium, against Corinthians, which had been champion the previous two years. The match began with an advantage for the São Paulo club, but Botafogo recovered and dominated the action from the second half on. With a shot by Raimundo and a missed free throw by Amaury at the end of the game, apart from the 23 points of the top scorer César, the Glorioso won by 85–84 and took the trophy. With the Brazilian title, Botafogo secured a spot in the 1967 Sudamericano Championship, in Chile. The team from General Severiano finished the tournament in third place. Soon after, the Glorioso showed interest in hosting another edition of the Sudamericano Championship, considered the official one, which was scheduled to take place the same year; however, due to a lack of competitors, the 1967 tournament did not take place. Thus, Botafogo was declared South America's representative for the 1968 FIBA Intercontinental Cup in the United States.