60th anniversary of José Antonio Agirre’s death

60 years ago today (22 March 1960) José Antonio Agirre Lekube, the first President of the Basque Government, who wore Athletic Club’s shirt between 1921 and 1926, passed away. He made his official debut on 27 November 1921 where they drew one-all with Deusto in the Regional Championship. He played his last match and scored his last goal in the match where the red-and-white side defeated Acero (2-0).

He scored a total of five goals in eleven official fixtures throughout the five seasons he played. Nevertheless, if friendly matches are included, he registered over half a hundred goals with the club. During that period, he won the Regional Championship twice (1923 and 1924) and the Copa in 1923.

Beyond his footballing years playing as a side midfielder, Agirre went down in history due to his political career, which he started as the mayor of Getxo. He was elected Lehendakari on 7 October 1936, and from June 1937 onwards he continued to exercise his office in exile until his death in Paris.

Photograph: Crouched, the first from the left, José Antonio Agirre poses for the pre-match photo with the rest of his teammates ahead of the friendly fixture between Athletic Club and Casuals Corinthians that ended 4-4.