Ramón Silva (footballer)

Ramón Silva

Personal information
Full name	Ramón Silva Abaitua
Date of birth	(1884-04-21)21 April 1884
Place of birth	Bilbao, Spain
Date of death	(1954-09-25)25 September 1954
Position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1901–1902	Athletic Club
1902	Club Bizcaya
1902–1906	Athletic Club
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ramón Silva Abaitua (21 April 1884 – 25 September 1954) was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender for Athletic Bilbao.[1][2] He was one of the co-founders of Athletic Club in 1901 and was part of the team that won the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, the first national championship disputed in Spain.[1]

Playing career

Athletic Club

On 5 September 1901, he and his brother Luis were two of the 33 socios (co-founders) who signed the documents that officially established the Athletic Club at the historic meeting in Café García.[3] He was then one of the first football players of the newly created Basque team, with whom he played several friendly matches against city rivals Bilbao Football Club in the Hippodrome of Lamiako.[4]

The Silva brothers, particularly Ramón, were pivotal figures in this historic rivalry that served as one of the drivers of football as a mass phenomenon in Bilbao since their duels aroused great interest. On 19 January 1902, Silva scored the opening goal to help his side to an eventual 4–2, which not only marked Athletic's first victory over Bilbao FC in four matches, but also the first time that a paid match was held in Biscay, since they charged a ticket price of 30 cents of a peseta.[4][5]

Club Bizcaya

In 1902, the two rivals agreed to join the best players of each club to face the Bordeaux-based side Burdigala. This temporary merge became known as Club Bizcaya and Silva ousted Bilbao FC's English forwards for a spot in the first-ever line-up of the Bizcaya team against Burdigala on 9 March, netting the opening goal in a 2–0 win in France.[6] Three weeks later, on 31 March 1902, he was again in Bizcaya's starting XI for the return fixture at Lamiako, the first visit by a foreign team to Bilbao, helping his side to a 7–0 win.[7]

Together with Juan Astorquia, William Dyer, Walter Evans and his brother, he was part of the Bizcaya team that won the first national championship disputed in Spain, the 1902 Copa de la Coronación, forerunner of the Copa del Rey.[8] He featured in the final alongside his brother and helped his side to a 2–1 win over FC Barcelona.[9][10] Later, he was one of the eleven players who started for Athletic in their 11–1 win over Barcelona on 15 April 1906.[11][12]

Silva died on 25 September 1954, at the age of 70.[1]

Honours

Club Bizcaya

• Copa de la Coronación: 1902

References

1. "Ramón Silva - Player: Player". www.athletic-club.eus. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
2. "Ramón Silva Abaitua - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
3. "Orígenes del Athletic" [Origins of Athletic] (in Spanish). 13 September 2004. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
4. "118 años de la primera rivalidad" [118 years since the first rivalry]. www.aupaathletic.com (in Spanish). 7 November 2019. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
5. "Athletic Club contra Bilbao Football Club (1902)" [Athletic Club against Bilbao Football Club (1902)]. memoriasdelfutbolvasco.wordpress.com (in Spanish). 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
6. "Burdigala VS Athletic Club 3/9/1902". www.athletic-club.eus (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
7. "Athletic Club VS Burdigala 3/31/1902". www.athletic-club.eus (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
8. "Squad of Club Vizcaya 1902 Copa de la Coronación". www.bdfutbol.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
9. "Spain - Cup 1902". RSSSF. 15 September 2000. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
10. "Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII 1902". Linguasport. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
11. "Athletic Club VS FC Barcelona 4/15/1906". www.athletic-club.eus. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
12. "Athletic Club VS FC Barcelona 4/15/1906" (in Spanish). 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2022.