Encarna Hernández

Encarnación Hernández Ruiz (born January 23, 1917) is a Spanish pioneer of women's basketball as a professional player and coach.

Encarna Hernández
Born (1917-01-23) January 23, 1917
Lorca, Spain
CitizenshipSpanish
OccupationProfessional basketball player

Biography

Encarna Hernández was born in the Region of Murcia town of Lorca in 1917. At the age of 10 she arrived in Barcelona together with her parents and ten siblings since her father had to work at the Universal Exposition of 1929.[1]

She began practicing basketball at the age of 13 with the boys and girls of her neighborhood, on a field built by what would later become her husband, Emilio Planelles. She not only played basketball but also practiced other sports: cycling, skating ... For her the most important thing was playing sports. At 154 centimeters tall, Encarna was known as 'the girl with the hook' for her ability to use this resource.[2]

In 1931 she participated in the founding of the Atlas Club, to which her husband also belonged. Aurora Jordà and Encarna Hernández were among the most outstanding players in the women's team, with Encarna being the absolute top scorer of the club, above the men.[3]

In 1932 the Atlas Club was dissolved and its players became part of Laietà. There she would be trained by Fernando Muscat and would coincide with players from the Club Femení i d'Esports such as Maria "Mary" Morros or Carmen Sugrañes, in a team in which they won the first Catalan Women's Championship held in the 1935/36 season, winning all their matches.[4]

Encarna was selected to participate in athletics events of the Popular Olympiad, but this was not held at the outbreak of the Civil War. During the Civil War she continued to play basketball matches despite the difficulties of the war itself, these being more exhibitions than official competitions.[5]

At the end of the Civil War, she was a basketball instructor appointed by the Falange to make "strong and healthy women for the country." Although she became a popular figure in the local sports press, it was only when she played for the Falange that she charged a modest amount of money, so she had to work hard off the court and had to combine work hours with training.[2]

After the Civil War he played for Laietà, Cottet, Moix Llambés, apart from the Women's Falange Section, teams in which his sister Maruja Hernández also played. She won championships in Spain with both Cottet and the Women's Section.[6]

In 1944 she received an offer from FC Barcelona, staying at the club until 1953, retiring from the competition at the age of 36 to be a mother.[2] She got an offer from the Italian SEU, which she rejected.[7]

She broke barriers in the world of sports in the 1930s and was active until 1953. She was one of the pioneers of Spanish basketball, as a player, coach and referee. She was the first coach of Spain when she led the Peña García de Hospitalet team in 1932. She would lead five more teams.[2][8] With a ball in her hands, trying to emulate admired heroines of the social sphere, as "blessed those women Victoria Kent , Clara Campoamor , Federica Montseny ...".[7]

She was also one of the first women in Barcelona to obtain a driving license in Franco's Spain.[9] Her home has become a pilgrimage site for many of the basketball players. Women who have made history like Amaya Valdemoro, Elisa Aguilar or Laia Palau (from the same neighborhood of Barcelona where the lorquina lives), have come to her home to meet a woman who has a small museum in her apartment with her memories and compilations from the triumphs of women's basketball to the present.[7][9]

In 2016, "The Girl on the Hook" was presented, a documentary made by Raquel Barrera Sutorra, and produced by Ochichornia, a film that has followed Encarna from 96 to 99 years old and portrays the trajectory of this basketball pioneer.[7][10][11]

Teams as a player
  • Atlas Club, C. E. Laietà, F. C. Barcelona, Sección Femenina, Peña García, Cottet, Moix Llambés, Fabra y Coats.[10]

Teams as a coach
  • Cottet, Moix Llambés, Sección Femenina, Peña García.[10]

Awards and recognitions
  • 2016 "La Niña del Gancho" , documentary tribute to a pioneer of Spanish women's sports.[1][10]
  • 2014 Tribute from the Spanish Federation along with other pioneers of women's basketball.[3][12]
  • 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Catalan Basketball Federation.
  • 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award, a lifetime dedicated to the sport of the Autonomous Community and the Association of the Sports Press of the Region of Murcia.[13]
  • 2017 Tribute FC Barcelona as exjugadora of the club at Barcelona-Manresa party, on 12 February 2017.[14]

See also

References
  1. "La maravillosa historia de Encarna Hernández, "La niña del gancho" - Revista Líderas" (in Spanish). revistalideras.com. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  2. "Encarna, 97 años de historia viva del basket" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  3. "La FEB homenajea a Encarna Hernández, en el Foro 2014-AS 'Abriendo camino'" (in Spanish). Federación Española de Baloncesto. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  4. "Encarna Hernández habla sobre Fernando Muscat" (in Spanish). YouTube. 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  5. "Pioneres de l'atletisme català" (in Spanish). plisweb.com. 2014-08-27. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  6. "Abuelas de oro" (in Spanish). Marca.com. 2015-12-29. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  7. "La niña del gancho". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  8. "Encarna Hernández, la niña del gancho" (in Spanish). Federación Española de Baloncesto. 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  9. "Encarna Hernández, pionera de profesión" (in Spanish). La Opinión de Murcia. 2016-05-21. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  10. "La niña del gancho" (in Spanish). laninadelgancho.com. 2014-04-20. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  11. "La Opinión te invita gratis al estreno de 'La Niña del Gancho'" (in Spanish). La Opinión de Murcia. 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  12. "Encarnación Hernández, abriendo camino" (in Spanish). Baloncesto España. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  13. "La Comunidad y la Asociación de la Prensa Deportiva premian a los deportistas e instituciones más destacados de 2016" (in Spanish). carm.es. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  14. "Barça Lassa - ICL Manresa, en directo" (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
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