Hermenegildo García Verde (27 October 1884 – 18 April 1965) was a Spanish-Argentine artist and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Spanish club

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

. He was one of the most important footballers in the amateur beginnings of

, being pivotal in the club's three back-to-back

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

finals between

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

and 1907. In addition to being an artist and footballer, he also practiced other sports such as

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, and he was the first

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

to swim across the Laguna Negra de Urbión.

Early life

Garcia was born into a deeply

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family. His father, Hermenegildo García Sanz (1850–1929), was an indiano linked to the

Integrist In politics, integralism, integrationism or integrism (french: intégrisme) is an interpretation of Catholic social teaching that argues for an authoritarian and anti- pluralist Catholic state, wherever the preponderance of Catholics withi ...

Party, and one of the supporters of the newspaper '' El Siglo Futuro'' who stood out for his charitable works, founding three schools for the poor in the

Province of Soria Soria is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. Demographics It is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja, Zaragoza, ...

. A defender of the traditional theses, he provided his children, including his namesake, with a strict

Christian education Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...

. As a child, he moved with his family from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where they first lived in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, although they spent every

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

and part of the

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 (INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial population. ...

and Derroñadas, the hometown of his father.

Footballing career

Hermenegildo was a pioneer in some

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s activities and artistic manifestations in the province of Soria, such as football, playing for Athletic Club of Bilbao between 1903 and 1909. In the 1904 Copa del Rey Final, Athletic were declared winners after their opponents,

Club Español de Madrid Club Español de Madrid was a Spanish football club based in Madrid. The club was originally formed in 1901 after a conflict between Sky Football members caused some of them to leave and create a new club. Español de Madrid collapsed in the summ ...

, failed to turn up. He was then a pivotal player in the Athletic side that reached the final of the

three times in a row between 1905 and 1907, however, they all ended in losses at the hands of

Madrid FC Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. In 1907, the best players from Athletic and

Unión Vizcaino Unión may refer to: Places * Unión, Paraguay * Unión Municipality, Falcón, Venezuela * Unión, Montevideo, Uruguay * Unión Cantinil, Huehuetenango, Guatemala * Unión, San Luis, Argentina * Unión Department, Córdoba Province, Argentina * Uni ...

came together to form Bizcaya, which was specially created to take part in the

1907 Copa del Rey The Copa del Rey 1907 was the 5th staging of the Copa del Rey, the Spanish football cup competition. The competition started on 24 March 1907, and concluded on 30 March 1907, with the Final Playoff, in which Madrid FC lifted the trophy for the ...

, and García was elected into the team's 11, featuring alongside the likes of

Juan Arzuaga Juan Sandalio Arzuaga Anitua (3 September 1880 – 26 August 1951) was a Spanish Association football, footballer who played as a Association football positions#Defender, defender for Athletic Bilbao, Athletic Club, and later a Manager (associatio ...

, the Sena brothers ( Miguel and

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

) and

José Irízar José Marcelino Yrízar Urbizu (5 October 1882 - 23 March 1935), better known as José Irízar was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Club and FC Barcelona. Although he always appeared as Irizar in the sports press, on h ...

, and he netted two goals in the tournament to help his side reach the final, which ended in a loss to Madrid thanks to a late goal from

Manuel Prast Manuel Prast Rodríguez de Llano was a footballer who played as a striker for Madrid FC between 1904–1908 and 1912–1914. He was a historical member of Madrid FC, playing a pivotal role in Madrid's four back-to-back Copa del Rey titles betwee ...

. When he moved to spend the

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

s in Madrid, he was the founder, midfielder, and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

, a team in which he stood out as one of the best players. In addition to being a footballer, he also practiced other sports such as

, and he was the first

to swim across the Laguna Negra de Urbión.

Later life

In Madrid, he was a student of

Eduardo Chicharro Eduardo is the Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte (name), Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and spor ...

and a classmate and friend of the Mexican

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

. He was also a friend of Gustavo de Maeztu and collaborated with

Joaquín Sorolla Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida ( va, Joaquim Sorolla i Bastida, 27 February 1863 – 10 August 1923) was a Spanish Valencian painter. Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes and monumental works of social and historical themes. Hi ...

so that he could paint some models from Soria. Since his family still had businesses and farms in Argentina, Garcia returned to Buenos Aires in 1916. During the trip, he met José Ortega Munilla and

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

, to whom he showed his highlight reel of the Soria colony and together they visited

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

. Hermenegildo and the Ortegas would develop a close friendship, despite their

ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied prim ...

differences. As a result of this relationship, Ortega Munilla would later publish the book of stories for children ''Los tres sorianitos'' (1922). García died in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

in 1965, at the age of 80, being buried in the family pantheon of the Soria cemetery.

Honours

Athletic Bilbao *

: **Winner (1): 1904 **Runner-up (3):

, 1906 and 1907

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:García, Hermenegildo 1884 births 1965 deaths Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Footballers from Buenos Aires RCD Espanyol footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Argentine expatriate men's footballers Athletic Bilbao footballers Atlético Madrid footballers Argentine people of Spanish descent