Antonio Bilbao La Vieja (1892–1980) was an Argentine

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer. He spent his entire sports career at San Isidro and served as the Argentina national team in 1927.

Biography

Antonio Bilbao was born in Buenos Aires, the son of Antonio Gervasio Bilbao and Edelmira Felisa Rosende Mitre, of Creoles origin. His distant ancestors hailed from

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, and N� ...

, Spain. He achieved prominence as an Argentine architect, undertaking his first project to construct a significant neighborhood park in

La Tablada La Tablada is a city in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and is part of the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. Overview La Tablada initially developed around the Buenos Aires Western Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Oeste de Buenos Aires) ...

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...

. Bilbao held the position of Assistant Professor of Architecture Theory at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

. He was also a member of the Scientific Society Argentina.

Sport career

Bilbao embarked on his sports journey as a player for

Estudiantes de La Plata Club Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "Students from La Plata"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata , is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, wh ...

. Subsequently, he joined San Isidro, where he held the roles of captain and coach for the club. Additionally, he assumed the position of head coach for the

Argentina national rugby union team The Argentina national rugby union team (Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...

. During the 1950s, Bilbao actively participated as a member of the executive committee of the

Argentine Rugby Union The Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby, abbreviated "UAR") is the governing body for rugby union in Argentina. It is a member of World Rugby, with a seat on that body's Executive Council, and a founding member of Sudamérica Rug ...

Titles

All of these victories were achieved with

Club Atlético San Isidro The Club Atlético de San Isidro (mostly known for its acronym CASI) is an Argentine sports club based in the city of San Isidro in Greater Buenos Aires. Originally established as a football club, San Isidro has gained recognition for its rugby ...

: *

Torneo de la URBA The URBA Top 13 (formerly "Torneo de la URBA", named "Top 13" since the 2022 season)1892 births 1980 deaths Argentine people of Basque descent Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent Argentine people of Irish descent Argentine rugby union players Rugby union players from Buenos Aires Argentine architects B