Julián Retegi
Encyclopedia
Julián Retegui Barbería, also known as Retegi II (born in Eratsun
Eratsun
Eratsun is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...

, Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 on October 10, 1954) is an ex-player of Basque pelota. He is also called "El mago de Eratsun" (Spanish: "The wizard of Eratsun"), since he is considered one of the best Basque pelota players of all time. He played as a foreplayer.

Nephew of Juan Ignacio Retegi (another pelotari who won the pelota championship six times, usually known as Retegi I), he started to get interested in the Basque pelota when he was a child. He worked as a stonecutter and in the wood industry. On July 14, 1974 he started his professional career as a pelotari in the Cinema frontón of Zarautz
Zarautz
Zarautz is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.The town is a popular tourist destination with the population swelling from its usual 22,812 to around 60,000 in summer. The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's 2.8 km long beach,...

 (Gipuzkoa), having as a partner another pelotari, Juaristi. They were defeated by Azorena and Etxeandia by 22-21. One year later, in 1975, he won his first championship, the 2nd Hand-Pelota singles championship
2nd Hand-Pelota singles championship
The 2nd Hand-Pelota singles championship is the second most important hand-pelota tournament.The championship is played since 1957 and has been the previous scenario for future 1st category pelotaris such as Retegi I, Retegi II, Arretxe, Beloki I and Olaizola II.The winner of the tourment earns the...

.

He has been the pelotari who has singlehandedly won the 1st Hand-Pelota singles championship
1st Hand-Pelota singles championship
The 1st Hand-Pelota singles championship is the most important tournament competition of Hand-pelota category of Basque pelota. It was created in 1940, when the new Basque Pelota Spanish Federation, to have a champion of the category. In its beginnings, the championship was disputed every two...

 more times than any other player. He has won a total of eleven times: every year from 1980 to 1988 and in 1990 and 1993. He has also won the Spanish Championship in pairs: in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995 and in 1997. On December 13, 1997 he won his last prize, the Basque Championship of 4½ against Titin III in the Ogeta Frontón of Gasteiz. Since then, due to his regular lesions, he didn't win more prizes. He played his last match on September 20, 2001, in the Adarraga frontón, Logroño
Logroño
Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...

, with Barriola against Olaizola II and Armendariz
Armendáriz
Armendáriz is a Basque surname that may refer to:*Alejandro Armendáriz, an Argentine physician and politician, governor of Buenos Aires province *José de Armendáriz, a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator...

. He lost 18-22. In total, he has won 22 prizes, being the pelotari who has won the most prizes in the history of Basque pelota and has played around 1,407 matches, 843 of which he won.

For some years now he has been working in Asegarce
Asegarce
Asegarce is an Basque event production and deportive license company, mainly devoted to Basque pelota. Through the Bainet company, it has also made audiovisual productions.-History:...

, the company in which Karlos Arguiñano
Karlos Arguiñano
Karlos Arguiñano Urkiola is a chef, popular TV presenter and producer.His devotion to cuisine started when he was a child and helped at home because he was the eldest of four brothers and had a disabled mother.Before beginning his training in the field of cooking, he worked for CAF, a rail car...

 is a partner. His son, Julen Retegi, is also a pelotari. He debuted in the same town his father did, Zarauz, but in a different frontón called Aritzbatalde in July 2005. He wears the name Retegi Bi in honour of his father (Bi means two in Basque, the number Julián wore), although the name should have been Retegi VIII due to their dynasty as pelotaris.

1st Hand-pelota singles championship

Retegi participated for the first time in this championship in 1979, but he didn't win. One year later he arrived at the finals and won against Maiz II. From that day on he started his brilliant career, getting to the finals from 1980 to 1993, and winning the championship eleven times.
Year Champion Subchampion Score Fronton
1980 Retegi II Maiz II 22-14 Anoeta
1981 Retegi II García Ariño IV 22-11 Anoeta
1982 Retegi II García Ariño IV 22-09 Anoeta
1983 Retegi II Galarza III 22-16 Anoeta
1984 Retegi II Galarza III 22-21 Anoeta
1985 Retegi II Galarza III 22-13 Anoeta
1986 Retegi II Tolosa 22-12 Anoeta
1987 Retegi II Tolosa 22-16 Anoeta
1988 Retegi II Galarza III 22-09 Anoeta
1989 Tolosa Retegi II 22-19 Anoeta
1990 Retegi II Tolosa 22-08 Anoeta
1991 Galarza III Retegi II 22-15 Anoeta
1992 Galarza III Retegi II 22-12 Anoeta
1993 Retegi II Galarza III 22-19 Anoeta

2nd hand-pelota singles championship

Year Champion Subchampion Score Fronton
1975 Retegi II García Ariño IV 22-10 Anoeta

1st hand-pelota doubles championship

Year Champions Subchampions Score Fronton
1987-88 Retegi II - Errandonea Ladutxe - Martinikorena 22-16 Anoeta
1988-89 Ladutxe - Tolosa Retegi II - Arretxe 22-18 Anoeta
1989-90 Retegi II - Errandonea Vergara II - Etxenagusia (1) 22-03 Anoeta
1990-91 Retegi II - Arretxe Salaberria - Galarza III 22-19 Anoeta
1993-94 Titin III
Augusto Ibáñez Sacristán
Augusto Ibáñez Sacristán is a Basque pelota forward player. Champion of the Doubles Hand-pelota tournaments of 1994, 2000 y 2004.-Professional career:...

 - Arretxe
Retegi II - Beloki 22-14 Ogueta
Ogueta fronton
Ogueta is a short Basque pelota fronton located in Vitoria, in Álava Province, Basque Country, Spain-History:Ogueta was built in 1979 for the need of a high capacity fronton for the important events of professional pelota...

1994-95 Retegi II - Errandonea Unanue - Zezeaga 22-17 Atano III
Atano III fronton
Atano III is a Basque pelota short fronton, located in San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain.-History:The fronton was built in 1963 by the municipality, due to the high demand by the professional and aficionate players of the Guipúzcoa province, originally named Anoeta fronton.In 1995, after...

1996-97 Retegi II - Lasa III Eugi - Zezeaga 22-14 Atano III
Atano III fronton
Atano III is a Basque pelota short fronton, located in San Sebastián, in the Basque Country, Spain.-History:The fronton was built in 1963 by the municipality, due to the high demand by the professional and aficionate players of the Guipúzcoa province, originally named Anoeta fronton.In 1995, after...


Cuatro y Medio Euskadi Championship

Year Champion Subchampion Score Fronton
1989 Retegi II Galarza III 22-06 Anoeta
1990 Retegi II Galarza III 22-15 Anoeta
1991 Retegi II Eugi 22-07 Ogueta
Ogueta fronton
Ogueta is a short Basque pelota fronton located in Vitoria, in Álava Province, Basque Country, Spain-History:Ogueta was built in 1979 for the need of a high capacity fronton for the important events of professional pelota...

1997 Retegi II Titín III 22-21 Ogueta
Ogueta fronton
Ogueta is a short Basque pelota fronton located in Vitoria, in Álava Province, Basque Country, Spain-History:Ogueta was built in 1979 for the need of a high capacity fronton for the important events of professional pelota...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK