Virgilio Lobregat

Virgilio Lobregat
Virgilio Lobregat
	Lobregat in his La Salle uniform
Born	23 May 1901; Spain
Died	30 August 1944 (aged 43); Manila, Philippines
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)
Position(s)	Center Forward
Youth career
	La Salle Nozaleda
Senior career*
Years	Team
1918–1927	Bohemian
	Manila Nomads
	Casino Español
International career
1919-1925	Philippines
Medal record
Philippines
Far Eastern Championship Games
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Military career
Allegiance	Philippine Commonwealth
Years of service	Until 1944
Battles/wars	World War II Japanese occupation of the Philippines; ;

Virgilio Lobregat (23 May 1901 – 30 August 1944) was a Filipino sportsman best known as a football player. He played for Bohemian S.C., Manila Nomads Sports Club and Casino Español de Manila. At international level he competed for the Philippines national football team at the Far Eastern Games. During World War II, he fought the Japanese as he joined a guerrilla led by Juan Miguel Elizalde, and was executed in August 1944 along with Elizalde and 70 other prisoners at the Manila North Cemetery.

Early life and education

Lobregat was born in Spain on 23 May 1901 and moved with his family to the Philippine Islands in 1904.^[1]

Lobregat first attended the La Salle Nozaleda in second grade. He graduated from La Salle high school in 1918.^[2]

Sporting career

Football

Lobregat is regarded as the best Filipino player in the pre-World War II period after Paulino Alcántara by the PFF and one of the best filipino football player of all-time. He was given the recognition by the PFF with the title of "Football Player of the Half Century". Lobregat, still in his teenage years, became part of the Bohemian Sporting Club where he spent most of his football career at and was one of the most important component of the team that dominated the early 1900s. During those years he helped the club win the National Open Championship five times in 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1927.^[1] After his time at Bohemian, he then played for Manila Nomads and Casino Español de Manila. He was also part of the Philippines national team at the 1919 and 1925 Far Eastern Games capturing, both times, a silver medal.^[1]

Others

Lobregat wan an all-around athlete and aside from football he also played basketball as a 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) center and played baseball as a home run batter. He was also a track and field athlete and competed as a long-distance runner and high jumper. He also won the pentathlon and decathlon events during the initial years of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Federation.^[2]

Other involvements

Lobregat became a member of the De La Salle Alumni Association in 1920 and served as its president from 1930 to 1932^[2] At some point in his life he would become the Vice President of the Elizalde Group of Companies, a post he would serve until his death.^[1]

World War II, death and legacy

Lobregat displayed true heroism during the war. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II he joined Juan Miguel Elizalde and his guerrilla and fought against the Japanese^[2] while also serving as a spy. He was detained at Fort Santiago by the Japanese as a prisoner of war and was beheaded in August 1944.^[3] along with Elizalde and 70 other prisoners at the Manila North Cemetery.^[1] According to his grave also at the same cemetery, Lobregat died on 30 August 1944.

Lobregat, basketball player Jacinto Cruz and swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso were named the "Outstanding Athletes of Half-A-Century" by the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation.^[4] He was also named as the "Football Player of the Half Century" in the 1970s by the Philippine Football Association.^[1] A football field in Makati where a statue of Benigno Aquino Jr. is situated, and ^[4] the Lobregat Cup, a football tournament held from the late 1940s to 1970s was named in honor of him.^[1]

Honors

Bohemian S.C.

United States Philippines Championship (5): 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1927

Philippine national football team

Far Eastern Championship Games: (Silver medal) 1919, 1925

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Olivarez, Rick; Ramirez, Bert (2016). "Glory Days:We Owe Them (chapter authors)". Philippine Football: Its Past, Its Future. By Villegas, Bernardo. University of Asia and the Pacific. p. 86. ISBN 978-621-8002-29-6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Lobregat, Virgilio". De La Salle Alumni Association. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
^ "Names L". Filipinos WWII US Military Service. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
^ ^a ^b Alinea, Eddie (8 June 2014). "Sports Heroes who displayed true heroism during the war". Manila Standard Sports. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

External links

Virgilio Lobregat at Find a Grave

[glory-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Olivarez, Rick; Ramirez, Bert (2016). "Glory Days:We Owe Them (chapter authors)". Philippine Football: Its Past, Its Future. By Villegas, Bernardo. University of Asia and the Pacific. p. 86. ISBN 978-621-8002-29-6.

[dlsaa-2] "Lobregat, Virgilio". De La Salle Alumni Association. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

[3] "Names L". Filipinos WWII US Military Service. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

[sportheroes-4] Alinea, Eddie (8 June 2014). "Sports Heroes who displayed true heroism during the war". Manila Standard Sports. Retrieved 4 January 2017.

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