Tiro del Pichón(Spanish:Pigeon Hit), also known asCampo del Retiro(Retiro), orCampo de la Rana(Spanish:Frogs Field), was the firstfootball pitchofReal Madridbetween 1901 and 1902.[1]They were not an official club at that time, playingfriendly gameson this field. Meetings were held there until 1903, the date the entity moved to theCampo de Jorge Juan.
 | |
| Location | Madrid,Spain |
|---|---|
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1901 |
| Closed | 1913 |
| Demolished | 1913 |
| Tenants | |
| Real Madrid(1901–1902) Atlético Madrid(1902–1913) | |
The main team at this stadium wasAtlético Madrid.They used this field between 1902 and 1913 before moving toCampo de O'Donnellfrom 1913 to 1923.[2]Atlético Madrid's Campo de O'Donnell had the same name as Real Madrid's Campo de O'Donnell for 10 years because their locations were very close to each other, less than 200 meters on the main boulevard calledCalle de O'Donnell.[3]
Tiro del Pichón hosted threeSpanish Cupfinals:1904,1905,and1910.[4]
Madrid FC
editThe field was a piece of land behind the walls of theParque del Buen Retiroin Madrid between the Frontón del Retiro and the now-extinctPigeon Shooting Range,in which players who had leftNew Foot-Ball Clubplayed some games before officially becoming Madrid FC on 6 March 1902, later moving to the esplanade next to theGoya bullring(now thePalacio de Deportes), a piece of land that is now theCampo de Jorge Juan.[1][3]From then on it was theAthletic Madrid(Athletic Clubbranch) who began to play their matches there, from 1903 to 1913.
Lay out
editThe land was practically for public use and was sometimes used as a space for military training.[5]It was also used to practice other sports and even a youngJuan de la Ciervatested the prototypes of what would be theautogyro.The field was notfenced,so there was no separation between the players and the public, but it had a deep ditch around it to prevent the garbage carts pulled byoxenfrom accessing the pitch to dumpwaste.The playing field was smoothed by the players themselves, who arrived early to paint the lines of the field and carry thegoalson their shoulders, which they had to fix on the ground to be able to play their matches. Likewise, due to the unevenness of the playing field, the field became flooded on rainy days, so they had to reduce the water by opening ditches that served asdrainage.The laundry and ironing of the kits were done in the house of Mrs. María and her son Casimiro, located next to the field, who left a room for the referee's night and provided a jar with water for the players to wash. Thanks to the increase in football fans, they set up their small business serving soft drinks with lemon syrup and barley water at 10 cents a glass (the gossips said that it was the dirty water from the jar). Despite these circumstances, at that time it was the best football field in Madrid.[citation needed]
Athletic Madrid
editOn 2 May 1903, coinciding with the commemoration of theDos de Mayo Uprising,Athletic Madrid played their very first match between the 25 members that formed it, except for thetreasurerEnrique Goiriwho acted asreferee.The players were divided into two teams of 12 so as not to leave anyone out and one team played in the official colors of Athletic Club at the time: a shirt with a dark blue stripe and the other white, black shorts and black socks and the other team dressed completely in white. The result was not recorded and is currently unknown.[2][6]
On 20 November 1903, improvements were made to the pitch and the field premiered nets on the goals in aMadrid Championshipmatch betweenMoncloa FCand Madrid FC that ended with a 3–1 victory for the former.[7]
Tiro del Pichón hosted back-to-back Copa del Rey finals in1904and1905.In the former, Athletic Bilbao were declared winners after their opponents,Club Español de Madrid,failed to turn up.[8]On the other hand, the latter was played between Athletic and Madrid FC, ending in a 0–1 win to the Madrid side, courtesy of a late goal fromManuel Prast.[9]In 1910, Tiro del Pichón hosted a third and last cup final, the1910 FEF Copa del Rey Final,which ended with a dramatic last-minute winner fromPepe Rodríguezthat sealed an epic comeback toFC Barcelona,winning 3–2 over Español de Madrid.[10]
Decline and Collapse
editIn 1912,Julián Ruetewas elected president of the club and, given the increase in fans who wanted to see the team play, he built a new field. The Tiro del Pichón had an irregular playing field, with ditches around it and no fences, and moreover, the increase in the number of supporters meant a need for fences, as to avoid the authorities having to organize security measures every time a match was played. And so, a year later, Athletic de Madrid moved toCampo de O'Donnell.[2]
References
edit- ^ab"Los estadios donde ha jugado el Madrid como local a lo largo de su historia"[The stadiums where Madrid has played at home throughout its history].as(in Spanish). 9 July 2021.Retrieved14 October2022.
- ^abc"Nuestros estadios: del Retiro al Vicente Calderón"[Our stadiums: From del Retiro to Vicente Calderón].clubatleticodemadrid(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2013.
- ^ab"Madrid: Real Madrid y Atlético de Madrid tuvieron un campo originario común"[Real and Atletico had a common original field] (in Spanish). Urbanity.cc. 22 May 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2017.Retrieved14 October2022.
- ^"Tiro al Pichón".fotomadrid(in Spanish).Retrieved14 October2022.
- ^"El Atlético de Madrid ya estrenó el Metropolitano con victoria"[Atlético de Madrid has already opened the Metropolitano with a victory] (in Spanish). as. 15 September 2017.Retrieved14 October2022.
- ^"Se cumplen 118 años de nuestro primer partido"[118 years have passed since our first game].atleticodemadrid(in Spanish). 2 May 2021.Retrieved24 October2022.
- ^"1903 Centro Championship".RSSSF(in Spanish). 7 June 2018.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Spain - Cup 1904".RSSSF.13 January 2000.Archivedfrom the original on 9 July 2022.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Spain - Cup 1905".RSSSF.13 January 2000.Archivedfrom the original on 21 July 2022.Retrieved15 October2022.
- ^"Spanish Cup 1910".linguasport.Retrieved15 October2022.