José Figueroa y Torres (8 March 1857 – 11 June 1901), also known by his noble title of Viscount of Irueste, was a Spanish politician of the Restoration. He was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

pioneer in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, being the fundamental head behind the foundations of the very first legalized

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s club in the country, Cricket and Football Club of Madrid in 1879, serving the entity as its first-ever president.

Biography

Born in Marseille on 8 March 1857, he was the son of Ignacio Figueroa y Mendieta, and the brother of

Álvaro Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

(the Count of Romanones), Gonzalo and

Rodrigo Rodrigo () is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the la ...

. He was part of one of the most influential families in Spain during the Restoration period. He was the first president of the Cricket and Football Club of Madrid, founded in 1879, the first legally registered sports society in Spain. Recent studies place it as one of the proto-clubs that pioneered and expanded football in Spain, together with Exiles Football Club (1876) and the Rio Tinto English Club (1878). It is not known with certainty what the fate of this team was, although it seems that it disappeared a few years later. He premiered as a deputy in the in 1884, after being elected by the electoral district of

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. He married María Rosario Loring y Heredia on 3 April 1883, the third daughter of the Marquises of Casa Loring, Jorge Loring y Oyarzábal and Amalia Heredia Livermore. Between 1891 and 1892 he was a deputy for the Ourense district of Valdeorras. In 1896, he obtained a deputy act in the successive elections of 1896, 1898, 1899, and 1901 for the Jaén district of Baeza. He held the position of Director General of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce between September and December 1892. He was among the few people attending the execution of Michele Angiolillo on 20 August 1897, the murderer of

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish people, Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Spanish Prime Minister, prime minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the ...

. Shortly after, he took office on 12 September of that same year as of the province of Madrid, holding the position until October. During his tenure, he imposed fines on theater companies that finished their performances after one in the morning. Member of the Order of Santiago, he held the noble title of 3rd Viscount of Irueste. He died in the tower of Justice of the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on the night of 11 to 12 June 1901. Suffering from an illness, he vomited blood and at midnight he lost his life on the spot.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa y Torres, José 1857 births 1901 deaths Politicians from Madrid Spanish men's footballers Counts of Spain Spanish monarchists Members of the Congress of Deputies of the Spanish Restoration Members of the Senate of Spain Mayors of Madrid Madrid city councillors Spanish expatriates in France