Campeonato de Guipuzcoa Champions 1918-19 to 1939-40
| Season | Champions | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1918-19 | Real Sociedad | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 16 | 19 * |
| 1919-20 | Real Union | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 7 ** |
| 1920-21 | Real Union | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 6 | 22 |
| 1921-22 | Real Union | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| 1922-23 | Real Sociedad | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 *** |
| 1923-24 | Real Union | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | 11 |
| 1924-25 | Real Sociedad | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 52 | 10 | 28 |
| 1925-26 | Real Union de Irun | 16 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 21 | 26 |
| 1926-27 | Real Sociedad | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 9 | 17 |
| 1927-28 | Real Union de Irun | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 16 | 13 **** |
| 1928-29 | Real Sociedad | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 15 | 14 |
| 1929-30 | Real Union de Irun | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 9 | 17 |
| 1930-31 | Real Union de Irun | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 35 | 14 | 15 |
| 1931-34 | see Note 5 | |||||||
| 1934-36 | see Note 6 | |||||||
| 1936-37 | No Football in Spain | |||||||
| 1937-38 | see Note 7 | |||||||
| 1938-39 | Real Sociedad | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 4 | 18 |
| 1939-40 | Zaragoza | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 11 | 18 |
Note: * One match unplayed and awarded to Real Sociedad.
Note 2: ** Eibar disqualified for not showing up at Real Union. Results expunged from record.
Note 3: *** Real Sociedad and Real Union finished level on 4 Points each – Real Sociedad won Title Playoff 2-1.
Note 4: **** Teams divided into two Groups with top two in each group qualifying for Semi-Finals. Real Union de Irun, Real Sociedad and Osasuna all finished level in Group A on 4 Points each and played a Mini-League Playoff of two games each through which Real Sociedad and Real Union de Irun qualified for Semi-Finals on 3 Points each. Real Union de Irun defeated Esperanza in Semi-Finals 5-1 and 7-1 and then drew both matches with Real Sociedad in the Final 4-4 and 2-2, thus another playoff match with Real Sociedad was necessary which Real Union de Irun won 2-1.
Note 5: No Campeonato de Guipuzcoa from 1931-32 to 1933-34 with teams playing in the Campeonato Mancomunado Guipuzcoa-Navarra-La Rioja-Aragon.
Note 6: No Campeonato de Guipuzcoa from 1934-35 to 1935-36 with teams playing in the Copa Vasco (Basque Cup)
Note 7: No Campeonato de Guipuzcoa during 1937-38 with teams playing in the Torneo Brigadas de Navarra.
Report
The Era 1913 to 1940 was one in which the top Basque Soccer Clubs: Athletic Club de Bilbao, Real Socieded and Osasuna all played in the Regional Leagues. While interrupted by the Spanish Civil War between 1931-32 to 1937-38, the most successful club in the Basque Region of Guipuzcoa Championship during this era was Real Union de Irun (previously Real Union) which won 8 Guipuzcoa titles. Real Sociedad were the second best with 6 titles to their name. The only other winner of the Campeonato Guipuzcoa was non-Basque team Zaragoza who played in the league that year. [Reference: 2]
The Basque Country in Northern Iberia (Spain) and South West France has a proven genetic link with The Welsh and Irish Celts, with geneticists proving a strong genetic link between the three races/peoples going back to the Neolithic, before farming was introduced from the Near East [References: 3]. The three languages are among the oldest in Europe, with Basque pre-dating Indo-European languages thought to have arrived in Europe with farming, and Celtic languages showing a strong link with North African branch of Afro-Asiatic languages as well as Indo-European languages, uniquely in Europe. [References: 4-5] Athletic Bilbao celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in 2018 by lighting up the famous San Mames stadium in Green on the Eve of the Day itself [Reference: 6]
References / Further Reading
Bibliography
[2] Luis Javier Bravo Mayor & Jose Vicente Olmos Mico (2017) “Campeonatos Regionales Vascos 1913-1940” CIHEFE (Centro de Investigaciones de Historia y Estadistica del Futbol Espanyol). Mantuano, Madrid. Available to buy online at: https://www.soccer-books.co.uk/acatalog/CIHEFE-Spanish-League-Histories-p1.html .
Websites
[3] BBC Wales (2001) Genes link Celts to Basques [Internet] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/1256894.stm [Accessed 24 May 2021]
[4] Encyclopaedia Brittannica (2021) Basque Language [Internet] Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Basque-language [Accessed 24 May 2021]
[5] Encyclopaedia Brittannica (2021) Celtic Languages [Internet] Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-languages [Accessed 24 May 2021]
[6] Athletic Bilbao (2018) St. Patrick’s Day [Internet] Available from: https://www.athletic-club.eus/en/news/2018/03/15/saint-patricks-day/ [Accessed 24 May 2021]
Images
[6] Fruugo.ie (2021) 100068720_max Sticker Sticker Adhesif Car Vinyl Flag Card Basque Country Euskadi [Internet] Available from: https://img.fruugo.com/product/0/72/100068720_max.jpg [Accessed 24 May 2021]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dervla Kincaid (nee Mulcahy).
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 24 May 2021
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2021
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.