Mariano Juaristi Mendizábal (February 21, 1904 – January 12, 2001) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Basque pelota Basque pelota (Basque: '' pilota'', Spanish: '' pelota vasca'', French: '' pelote basque'') is the name for a variety of court sports played with a ball using one's hand, a racket, a wooden bat or a basket, against a wall (''frontis or fronto ...

player known as Atano III. He is often considered one of the best ''pelotaris'' of all time, dominating the 1st hand-pelota category from 1926 to 1948 and winner of 4 championships (1940, 1942, 1944 and 1946).

Early life

Mariano Mendizábal was born on 1904 in

Azkoitia Azkoitia () is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, in northern Spain. It is also the seat of the Municipalities of Spain, municipality of the same name. ...

Guipúzcoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantique ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the Caserío ''Atano'' from which his family pseudonym comes. The Juaristi (or ''Atano'') family formed a ''pelotari dynasty'', six of them were ''pelotaris'' and one of them manufactured balls. Mariano, Atano III, was the most well-known of them. Atano VII, his younger brother, also was a very important player, as was Atano X, son of Atano I.

Professional career

Mendizábal made his professional debut in 1920, on the Azkoitia fronton. He was noted for his speed, flexibility, fast plays and powerful serves that soon turned him in a revolutionary icon for the sport at a time when the prevailing playing style was one characterized by heavy rebounds and slow plays. Mendizábal was also known for his fragile hands that only allowed him to play only once a month to prevent injury. During his career he beat the best hand-pelota players of the 1920s such as Zabala II from

Elgoibar Elgoibar () is an industrial town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. Located in a valley, it is traversed by the Deba River, Deba river. El ...

and Ulacia from

Guetaria Getaria is a town on the Urola coast, in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in northern Spain. It borders Zarautz to the east and Zumaia to the west. Getaria is well-known for being the hometown of J ...

, losing only to Artamendi II, in Marquina with a final score of 13-22. Mendizábal's winning streak started in 1926 when he beat the best player of the time and champion, Juan Bautista Azcárate. For turn into a contender he had to play a first game against the champion where his superiority was attributed to the fact that he was able to play with both hands while Azcárate was only able to play with one. During the title dispute, played in a series of three games, Mendizábal beat his rival with the final scores of 22-19, 22-12 and 22-9. The last one was played on January 1, 1927, in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

. At the height of his career, Mendizábal earned 6000 Pesetas per appearance at a time when a regular pelotari earned only 250; in addition, due to the frequent injuries caused by the fragility of his hands, his games were highly anticipated and recorded large attendances.

1st Hand-pelota Championships

Mendizábal went unchallenged for fourteen years, until the pelota federation established the first Hand-Pelota Championship in 1940. There, he revived his title after winning to Txikito from Iraeta with a final score of 22–8. The championship was played every two years and Mendizábal won the title in the following three editions: 1942 (beat Atano VII 22–5), 1944 (beat Felipe 22–8) and 1946 (beat Akarregi 22–16). He was finally defeated in his final championship 22–6 by Miguel Gallastegui in 1948.

Death

Mendizábal lost the ability to walk and was limited to a wheelchair in his last years, dying on January 12, 2001.The Basque pelota says goodbye to Atano III of 96 years old, its reinventor (Elpais.es)
/ref>

Legacy

After his retirement, in 1967 received the deportive merith medal and the main fronton of

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

was renamed from ''Anoeta'' to '' Atano III'' after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juaristi, Mariano Spanish pelotaris 1904 births 2001 deaths People from Azkoitia Sportspeople from Gipuzkoa Pelotaris from the Basque Country (autonomous community)