Sócrates Quintana Montoto (18 December 1891 – 28 February 1984), was a Spanish 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 RS Gimnástica and Athletic Club de Madrid. He was one of the most important footballers in the amateur beginnings of RS Gimnástica, being one of the main architects of the team's football power in Madrid, competing head-to-head against the likes of Madrid FC and Racing de Madrid. In addition to being an artist and footballer, he also practiced athletics, a specialty in which he came to hold the national record of 110 meters

hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

Early life

Born in a small town in

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

, he grew up there until the age of 8, when in 1900, he moved with his family to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, the city in which he began to play football and his artistic training. In 1905 he was forced to abandon his studies for family reasons and began to work as a temporary worker in the General Directorate of Debt and Passive Classes in the Spanish finances, an institution in which he will continue working until his retirement, without ever abandoning artistic and sporting activity.

Club career

He began his career with RS Gimnástica in 1910, with whom he played for 4 seasons, featuring alongside José Carruana and the Uribarri brothers ( Eulogio and

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

). He played a pivotal role in the club's two Centro Championship titles between 1909 and 1911, plus a third one in 1913–14. He also helped his side to reach the 1912 Copa del Rey Final, which ended in a 0–2 loss to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

. In 1915, he joined Athletic Club de Madrid, forming a great midfield partnership with

Miguel Mieg Miguel Mieg Alonso (29 September 1896 – 19 April 1981), was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder for Athletic Club de Madrid. A historical member of Athletic Madrid in the late 1910s, he was one of the first footballers to play for t ...

and featuring alongside the likes of Pagaza and the Villaverde brothers (

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

and Senén). He retired in 1918.

International career

Like many other Athletic Madrid players of that time, he was summoned to play several matches for the Madrid national team during the 1910s, however, due to the little statistical rigor that the newspapers had at that time, the exact amount of caps he earned is unknown. He is one of the few players to have represented Madrid in the four initial editions of the

Prince of Asturias Cup The Prince of Asturias Cup (, ) was an inter-regional football competition contested by the regional selections of Spain – selections of players from clubs from the region in question, meaning that players did not need to be native to the region ...

between 1915 and 1918, an inter-regional competition organized by the RFEF, finishing as runner-up in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

and winning in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

and 1918, although he never came off the bench on the latter. In the 1917 edition, he formed a great partnership with the team's captain

José María Castell José María Castell García de la Cruz (24 September 1896 - 13 October 1981) was a Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder. Castell was one of the most important figures of Madrid FC at the beginning and middle of the 20th last century, as ...

and fellow Athletic teammate

in the midfield, which was a fundamental piece to claim the Prince of Asturias Cup trophy for the first time in the capital side's history.

Artistic career

In 1919, he applied to the Board for the Expansion of Scientific Studies and Research for a pension that would allow him to improve his training and travel abroad, which was granted to him in 1921, allowing him to travel for a year in

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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. On his return to Spain, he focuses on poster design, painting and xylography, a technique he had learned during his stay in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and he also begins to collaborate as an illustrator in the ''

Revista de Occidente ''Revista de Occidente'' (Spanish: ''Magazine of the West'') is a cultural magazine which has been in circulation since 1923 with some interruptions. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is known for its founder, José Ortega y Gasset, a Spanish phi ...

''. He came to illustrate hundreds of books throughout his life, most using photogravure and lithography techniques. He spent the years of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

separated from his family and due to his work in the Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Republic, he was transferred to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. In subsequent decades, he presented his works in a large number of exhibitions, both individual and collective, achieving critical acclaim. A recognition that translates into numerous awards, among which the Drawing Prize of the National Painting Contest and several awards at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts stand out. Quintana died on 28 February 1984 in Madrid at the age of 93. His last exhibition was held just a few days before his death, in his hometown of Mieres. Many of his paintings are preserved in Spanish museums and in the

Ateneo de Madrid The Ateneo de Madrid ("Athenæum of Madrid") is a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain that was founded in 1835. Its full name is ''Ateneo Científico, Literario y Artístico de Madrid'' ("Scientific, Literary and Artistic ...

Honours

Club

; RS Gimnástica * Centro Championship: **Champions (3): 1909–10, 1910–11 and 1913–14 *

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 footb ...

: **Runner-up (1): 1912

International

;

: **Champions (1):

**Runner-up (1):

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quintana, Sócrates 1891 births 1984 deaths People from Mieres, Asturias Footballers from Asturias Footballers from Madrid Spanish footballers Association football midfielders Atlético Madrid footballers Spanish male hurdlers Spanish artists