I have seen lots of jai-alai players playing since the 60´s. Great superstars some of them; tremendous athletes, others. I´ve seen all kind of players. Nobody like Tximela, I assure you. He was the most spectacular jai-alai player I have seen on a Jai-Alai fronton.
How can one explain such force of nature capable of making a fast and violent sport in something so spectacular? It is not an easy task. First thing comes to the mind of the lucky ones that saw him playing is the way Tximela used to jump upon the wall. Tximela would jump two steps up the wall till the pelota and the pelotari meets at the right time in the wright place, feet above the head of the opposite player. At that moment, the ball would come out off the cesta with such elegance that the picture seemed more related to the finest dance coreography than with vulgar phisical talent.
Tximela made his debut in Miami Jai-Alai in the sixtees, along with stars like Orbea I, Larrañaga, Txurruka, Ondarres, Bengoa... He was not the best backcourt player, not at all. He was at that time something more of a wild crazy young purebred horse. Even though he was the most spectacular player steping on the court of the Miami area fronton, and anywhere else in the world as well.
A player that at that time played in Palm Beach and used to go to Miami whenever he could told me once that even from the parking lot he could tell when Tximela was playing because of the sudden roar from the audience audible from the outside meaning that Tximela had caught an unbeliveable high bounce catch.
Tximela took advantage of his natural ability. Once playing a partido in a basque-french fronton a famous champagne maker promised him a bottle of champagne for every jump. Tximela told the opposite player to through high bounce balls. Tximela that night seemed a reencarnation of an australian kangaroo more than a jai-lai player. By the 25th jump -25 bottles of champagne-- the wine maker said: "That´s enough for today"!! (afraid probably of ruining his business).
What I liked most of his skills was the way he would try to catch the ball with the reverse- left hand. Tximela did not await the ball semistatic, like most players do. He looked for the ball like the bull looks for the bullfighter. Biomechanically perfect would made the ball come off the cesta hitting the frontis wall two meters above the floor and then the pelota would trace a line seeking the chula at the speed of a balistical missile.
In the seventies Tximela suffered a tremendous car accident. For any average human being would it be probably the end of a sport career. After a year or so Tximela made his comeback to the courts. No question about that he was not the same player. Phisically far from the cautivating acrobat that he once was. Even so, he improved so much technically that he still became again one of top players. Outstanding position on the court, great rebote and a great catcher made him again one of the best. Incredible.
I did not see Erdoza Menor playing; I did not see Guillermo playing either. But I was lucky enough to see and play with Tximela and, boy, he was the most spectacular athlete on a jai-alai court.
Buenas tardes, soy sobrina de Pedro Estanga puntista que jugó con Tximela en USA. Le agradecería me enviara fotos de mi tio, ya murió y a penas tengo recuerdos suyos.
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias.
Gema Garcia ESTANGA
What about churruca
ReplyDeleteI saw Chimela play the initial season at Bridgeport before the auto crash. You described him perfectly. I for one have never seen a player like him since, just absolutely incredible. Not only climbing the wall, he did everything with such flair. Those that had the opportunity to see him play were the lucky ones. Thanks for such a fine article. BTW Churruca as great as he was, maybe even better but no where near the crowd pleaser Chimela was.
ReplyDeleteChimela was a neighbor of mine in Trumbull when he played at the Bridgeport Jai-alai fronton. I was 11 years old when I first met him in person. After seeing him play live (the age to attend jai-alai back then was 16 and my parents would sneak me in), he was absolutely my favorite player. Exciting, dramatic, athletic, powerful are just a few of the words that describe him. Chimela means 'lean and strong' in the basque language. His birth name is Jose Miguel Rezola and I knew his whole family extremely well and spent many years hanging him. I recall when he had his car accident and he and I would jog together during his rehabilitation period. He was in a head on car collision while in Europe (he was driving 60 mph and so was the other vehicle who hit him). He was lucky to be alive let alone walk or even consider playing jai-alai again. But Chimela is somewhat of a super human individual. He was one of the most gifted athletes I have ever watched play the sport. Climbing the wall (up to 6ft+ feet in the air) was a common sight to see. I often asked him about this and he told me that the trick was do do it when the crowd didn't expect it. It was a dramatic site and he could literally suspend himself on the wall for a second or two. What most people don't realize is that many years ago a player would have to catch the ball AND throw it from to top of the catch. It wast not allowed to catch from high up on the wall, drop down, and then throw it from the court floor as it was allowed in the 80's, 90's, etc. Chimela would comment to me on this that not many players could do what he could when he was a young player. One of the most incredible plays I ever saw Chimela do was climb the wall about 20 feet from the backwall. He stayed suspended on the wall (about 6 feet in the air) and let the ball pass him. While still suspended, he waited for the ball to hit the backwall and was able to do a rebote while still suspended in the air. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was as if was standing on a ledge on the side wall for at least 2.5 seconds. It was incredible. This happened often and no other player could even replicate what he was able to do.
ReplyDeleteChimela became a second father to me as we became very close. He has 3 daughters and it felt like he took me under his wing as a son (he even came to my wedding). He helped me get my first contract to play in 1987 when I signed in Newport RI. I later played at Hartford Jai-alai for an 7 week stint during the summer on my off season and had the opportunity to play against Chimela.
'El Tigre".... Chimela was truly one of the most prolific and talented players of all time. #43