Francisco Maria Churruca Iriondo Azpiazu Alcorta (born 1 April 1936), also known as Patxi, is a Spanish former

jai alai Jai alai (: ) is a sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by Serafin Baroja in 1875, is also of ...

player. A native of

Mutriku Mutriku ( es, Motrico) is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country in northern Spain. It has a population of around 5000 and provides access to the Bay of Biscay. It is the site of the worl ...

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

, Basque Country, he is regarded as the game's greatest player and has been called "the

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

of jai alai." He retired in 1983, saying "I knew it was time to quit when my eyes were quicker than my legs." He was referenced in the television series

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

(set in the world of 1960s American advertising), in a storyline involving a client's elaborate plan to promote jai alai as the "new national pastime" with Patxi as its figurehead.Week 4: Will This Be the Funniest Season of Mad Men Yet?
Slate, September 6, 2009

References

1936 births Living people People from Debabarrena Spanish pelotaris Sportspeople from Gipuzkoa Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Pelotaris from the Basque Country (autonomous community) {{Spain-sport-bio-stub