March 1, 1922: The Death of Pichichi

March 1, 1922: Rafael Moreno Aranzadi dies of typhus his hometown of Bilbao, Spain. Known as "Pichichi," he was only 29 years old. Had the antibiotics developed in the 1940s been available then, he probably would have survived.

The son of a Mayor of Bilbao, and the nephew of renowned Spanish author Miguel de Unamuno, he starred for Athletic Bilbao, helping them win 5 regional championships (Spain's La Liga wasn't founded until 1929) and the Copa del Rey (King's Cup, their version of the FA Cup) 4 times between 1931 and 1921. In the 1915 Copa del Rey Final, he scored 3 goals to beat Barcelona team RCD Espanyol. He also led Spain to the Silver Medal at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

A statue of him stands inside Athletic's San Mamés Stadium, having been placed at the previous one in 1926 and moved to the new one in 2013. Since 1953, the Spanish newspaper Marca has annually awarded the Pichichi Trophy to La Liga's leading scorer.

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March 1, 1922 was a Wednesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. There were 2 games in the NHL. The Toronto St. Patricks (forerunners of the Maple Leafs) beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Ottawa Arena. And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Hamilton Tigers, 3-2 at the Barton Street Arena in Hamilton, Ontario.