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José Muñoz Pérez (7 April 1869 – 7 September 1921) was a Spanish sports journalist who co-founded Recreativo de Huelva in 1889.

Early and personal life

José Muñoz Pérez was born in Huelva on 7 April 1869, as the son of Josefa Pérez Ortiz (1842–1916) and Francisco Muñoz Morales (1838–1878), founder of the Muñoz Printing Press, which later became the property of his widow and sons. His father was an editor of the Huelva newspaper La Provincia since its inception in 1873, and who had also previously edited another newspaper, El Porvenir de Huelva, which began in 1869. In the 1870s, the family lived at number 14 Calle Concepción, where they also had a printing press.

In his youth, Muñoz Pérez spent several years studying in England, so he spoke English perfectly, and in 1887–88, he sent several articles to La Provincia from London. Later, his brother Francisco, who also studied in London, did the same trick in 1899–1900.

In 1895, Muñoz Pérez married María Luisa de Vargas Soto (1870–1959), sister of Pedro Nolasco de Soto, also one of the founders of the Recreativo, and the couple had six children: Josefa, Maria Luisa, Rosario, José, Federico, and Francisco; they all studied in Folkestone, a town south of London.

Sporting career

First steps of Recreativo

On 14 May 1885, the 16-year-old Muñoz Pérez wrote a cricket article about a match between the Huelva and Minas de Riotinto clubs, which had been organized by the Doctor William Alexander Mackay, and held on the grounds opposite the Gas Factory, owned by Charles Wilson Adam. Some of his sports articles for the newspaper were written in both English and Spanish, and sometimes he signed with the pseudonym "Bad Leg" given that he had a slight limp.

On 16 October 1889, he was among the founders of the Gymnastics and Fencing Society, to which he was appointed secretary, and just two months later, Muñoz Pérez, together with Mackay and Adam, was one of the founders of what later became Recreativo de Huelva, being the only Spanish director at the club's founding meeting on 18 December, and was also ratified as a member of the board at the subsequent meeting on 23 December 1889. His knowledge of the English language, his fondness for British sports, and his position within the local press made him the ideal candidate to serve as a liaison with the institutions and society of Huelva. After the departure of the British Edward William Palin, he assumed the position of Secretary of the club in 1891, and was also a member of the organizing committee of the events of the "Centenary of the Discovery of America".

According to some sources, he even played some football matches, playing as a defender, despite his slight limp. In 1903, after many years as secretary, he became vice-president of Recreativo. He remained a director of the club until 1912.

Other pioneering initiatives

In 1891, most of the founders and promoters of Recreativo, including Adam, founded an organization called "Seamen's Institute", which was meant to provide shelter, entertainment, and company to the English sailors who anchored their ships at the port of Huelva for relatively long periods while they waited for the mineral and finished loading it onto the ships. In December 1903, Muñoz Pérez donated the silver cup to the winner of an annual football match played by the members of the Club against the sailors of the Seamen's Institute; this Cup, sometimes called Copa Muñoz is the oldest trophy kept by Recreativo in its museum.

Muñoz was also a correspondent in Huelva for the weekly El Sport, in Madrid, and in February 1892, he wrote a brief summary of the sporting activities of Recreativo since its foundation until then. He was also in charge of editing the Program of Events that the Club launched for the year 1892. He was the owner of Papelería Inglesa, which distributed the newspaper and published all kinds of local books, brochures, programs, posters, and postcards from Huelva. Both the family business and the newspaper itself were closely linked, through various commercial agreements, to the powerful Rio Tinto Company Limited.

In 1897, Muñoz was president of the organizing committee of bicycle races at the so-called Campo del Velódromo, and in 1898, he represented Recreativo in the cycling events held in Calañas, as part of the festival program of this municipality.

Later life

Muñoz was a councillor on the town council for many years, and mayor of Huelva in 1916. He was also President of the Círculo Mercantil.

Death

Muñoz died in Madrid on 7 September 1921, at the age of 52.

Notes

References

1. ^ "La historia de los fundadores Charles Adam, Pedro Nolasco de Soto y José Muñoz" [The story of the founders Charles Adam, Pedro Nolasco de Soto and José Muñoz]. www.huelva24.com (in Spanish). 27 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
2. ^ "Los fundadores del decano" [The founders of the dean]. recreativohuelva.com (in Spanish). 29 January 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
3. "El Recre entre 1893 y 1904: una etapa de hermetismo" [The Recre between 1893 and 1904: a period of hermeticism]. www.cuadernosdefutbol.com (in Spanish). CIHEFE. 17 October 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
4. "La Copa Seamen's" [The Seamen's Cup]. recreativohuelva.com (in Spanish). 11 July 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
5. "Alcaldes de Huelva desde el siglo XIX" [Mayors of Huelva since the 19th century]. www.huelva.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2024.
6. "R.I.P.A. El Sr. José Muñoz Pérez" (PDF). www.huelva.es (in Spanish). 5 September 1936. Retrieved 28 December 2024.

• 1848 births
• 1924 deaths
• Sportspeople from Paisley, Renfrewshire
• Scottish engineers
• 19th-century Scottish sportsmen
• Scottish cricketers
• Recreativo de Huelva