Abdón Porte (1893 – 5 March 1918) was a Uruguayan
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 lea ...
who played as defensive
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
.
Nicknamed ''El Indio'' he won many titles with his club
Nacional
Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to:
Airlines
* Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002
* Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961
Bank
* Banco Nacional, a ...
, and also a
Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
with the
Uruguay national team. He committed suicide on 5 March 1918, by shooting himself in the center of the field at
Estadio Gran Parque Central
The Estadio Gran Parque Central is the stadium of Club Nacional de Football. It is located in Montevideo, Uruguay, near Nacional headquarters (exactly between the streets Carlos Anaya, Jaime Cibils, General Urquiza and Comandante Braga), in the L ...
, an incident still remembered by the sport community of Uruguay.
Club career

Porte arrived in Montevideo in 1908, where he played for
Colón, then moving to defunct club Libertad. He was later transferred to
Nacional
Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to:
Airlines
* Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002
* Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961
Bank
* Banco Nacional, a ...
, debuting on 12 March 1911,
["Una historia de amor por Nacional"]
, ''El Observador'', 5 March 2015 v. Dublin F.C. Porte played as a right back.
Playing for Nacional, Porte gained notability being also team's captain. He was defined as a fierce midfielder and good at stopping rival players and heading the ball. He played a total of 207 games for Nacional, winning 19 titles with the club.
Porte was cited by writer Xosé de Enríquez in his book ''Hacia el Campo van los Albos'':
[Decano.com: Extracto de "Hacia el campo van los albos" by Xosé de Enríquez, 2000]
/ref>
Porte would play his last match v. Charley F.C. (Nacional won by 3–1) before committing suicide one day later.
International career
Porte debuted for the national team in 1913, against Argentina, and scored his only goal for the national team in that occasion. He'd be capped in another two matches, against Chile in 1916, and against Brazil in 1917. He was a member of the Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
squad that won the 1917 South American Championship
The 1917 South American Championship of Nations was the second edition of the continental tournament now known as the Copa América. It was held in Montevideo, Uruguay from 30 September to 14 October 1917. Hosts Uruguay retained the title after ...
but did not play a game at the tournament.
Death
Before starting the 1918 season, Nacional's committee decided to replace Porte by defender Alfredo Zibechi as starting player, sending Porte to the bench due to his poor performance during the last games played with the club. On 4 March, Nacional played Charley F.C., winning by 3–1 with Porte playing the entire match at a good level. That night, executives and players met at the club headquarters for a celebration as was usual. Porte left the club at 1:00 a.m. and took a tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
to the Estadio Gran Parque Central
The Estadio Gran Parque Central is the stadium of Club Nacional de Football. It is located in Montevideo, Uruguay, near Nacional headquarters (exactly between the streets Carlos Anaya, Jaime Cibils, General Urquiza and Comandante Braga), in the L ...
, Nacional's venue.
Once Porte arrived at Parque Central, he went into the centre of the field and shot himself. His body and a suicide note were found the next morning.[ A dog found his body, drawing it to his master, Severino Castillo. Porte's body had two letters, one for the president of Nacional and the other to a relative.
The people of Uruguay were shocked by the news. Porte was buried at Cementerio de La Teja.][ ]Montevideo Wanderers
Montevideo Wanderers Fútbol Club, usually known simply as Wanderers, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club are currently members of the Primera División and play at the Estadio Viera. Beside football, the cl ...
offered Nacional to play a friendly match for the benefit of Porte's family while the rest of the Uruguayan clubs expressed their solidarity to Nacional.["La muerte de Abdón Porte"]
on Decano.com
Legacy
Writer Horacio Quiroga
Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza (31 December 1878 – 19 February 1937) was a Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer. The jungle settings of his stories emphasized the conflict between humans and nature. His portrayals of mental ...
was inspired on Porte's death to write his short story, "Juan Polti", published in 1918 in ''Atlántida'' magazine of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
. Another Uruguayan writer, Eduardo Galeano
Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's pre-eminent man of le ...
, remembered Porte in a short chapter in his book ''El Fútbol a Sol y Sombra'' entitled "Muerte en la cancha" (Death on the pitch).[''El Fútbol a Sol y Sombra'' by Eduardo Galeano - Siglo XXI Ediciones (2003) - ]
The club named "Abdón Porte" the western stand of Gran Parque Central. In March 2008 the Uruguayan Post Office printed a stamp honoring Porte. In August 2013, Nacional's supporters made a mosaic with the face of Abdón Porte."Bueno y si es dos veces Bueno, mejor"
Tenfield.com
Honours
Nacional
*Uruguayan Primera División
The Liga Profesional de Primera División (American Spanish , , local: , ''First Division''), named "Torneo Uruguayo Copa Coca-Cola" for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional Association football, football league in Uruguay organized b ...
: 1912
This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15.
In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
, 1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
*January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
*January 1
* ...
, 1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...
, 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 Force's ...
* Copa Competencia: 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915
*Copa de Honor: 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917
*Tie Cup
The Tie Cup Competition (also known as Copa de Competencia Chevallier Boutell) was an international Association football, football tournament played between representatives of the Argentine Football Association, Argentina and Uruguayan Football Ass ...
: 1913, 1915
*Copa de Honor Cousenier
The Copa de Honor Cusenier was an international football club competition which was played 13 times between representatives of the Argentina and Uruguay associations between 1905 and 1920.
History
The trophy was donated by "E. Cusenier Fils Auné ...
: 1915, 1916, 1917
*Copa Aldao
The Copa Ricardo Aldao ( English: ''Ricardo Aldao Cup''), popularly called Campeonato Rioplatense and Copa Río de La Plata, was an official AFA- AUF football club competition contested annually, albeit irregularly, between the league champions o ...
: 1916
Uruguay
*Copa América
The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...
: 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 Force's ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porte, Abdon
1893 births
1918 suicides
Footballers from Durazno Department
Uruguayan men's footballers
Uruguay men's international footballers
Club Nacional de Football players
Suicides by firearm in Uruguay
Burials at Cementerio de La Teja, Montevideo
Copa América–winning players
Men's association football midfielders
1918 deaths