{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}} {{short description|Spanish writer, dramatist, sports journalist and football executive}} {{Infobox person | name = Ceferino Rodríguez | image = 1915-01-01, Por Esos Mundos, Confesándonos (cropped) Ceferino R. Avecilla.jpg |image_size = | caption = Ceferino R. Avecilla in 1915 | birth_name = Ceferino Rodríguez Avecilla | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1880|12|14}} | birth_place = Valladolid, Spain | death_date = 1956 (aged 76) | death_place = Mexico City, Mexico | citizenship = Spanish | known_for = President of Madrid Association of Foot-ball Clubs and Español de Madrid | occupation = {{flatlist| * Journalist * Writer }} | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | name = Ceferino Rodríguez | office = Español de Madrid | term_start = November 1903 | term_end = Summer 1904 | predecessor = Manuel Méndez | successor = | office2 = 2nd President of the Madrid Association of Foot-ball Clubs | term_start2 = 4 January 1904 | term_end2 = 29 March 1904 | predecessor2 = Carlos Padrós | successor2 = }} }} '''Ceferino Rodríguez Alonso de Avecilla''' (14 December 1880 – 1956) was a Spanish writer, dramatist, sports journalist and football executive. A prolific and restless journalist, Avecilla wrote countless chronicles about the most important issues of his time, as well as several novels and plays.<ref name=Academia>{{cite web |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/4686/ceferino-rodriguez-alonso-de-avecilla |title=Ceferino Rodríguez Alonso de Avecilla – Real Academia de la Historia |language=es |website=dbe.rah.es |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028235945/https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/4686/ceferino-rodriguez-alonso-de-avecilla |url-status=live }}</ref> He was an enthusiastic sportsman in his youth, being the founder of the magazines ''Revista de Sport'' (1903), ''Mundo Sportivo'' (1903) and ''Gaceta del Sport'' (1904), and he is especially recognized for having been president of the Madrid Association of Foot-ball Clubs (1904), the first football federation in the capital.<ref name=Academia/> In addition to his journalistic, literature, and football work, he was also a lawyer.
A man of strong communist convictions, he was one of those responsible for the General Society of Authors and Publishers during the Spanish Civil War, after which he had to go into exile in Mexico.<ref name=Academia/>
==Early and personal life== Avecilla was born in Valladolid as the grandson of Don Ceferino Avecilla González, the senator for Lleida (1881–82) and Soria (1887–88) who died in 1888. His family was wealthy, owned mining companies, and was well into Spanish politics.<ref name=CIHEFE>{{cite web |url=https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/04/biografia-de-ceferino-rodriguez-avecilla/ |title=Biografía de Ceferino Rodríguez Avecilla |trans-title=Biography of Ceferino Rodríguez Avecilla |language=es |publisher=CIHEFE |date=17 March 2012 |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028235947/https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/04/biografia-de-ceferino-rodriguez-avecilla/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Before turning twenty, Avecilla married Carmen Cuesta López de la Rosa, who would widow him in 1941.
==Journalistic career== Avecilla began to write in his early adolescence, publishing his first text in 1896, an article about Cycling.<ref name=CIHEFE/> His work as a journalist began in 1903, in the {{ill|Diario Universal|es|lt=''Diario Universal of Madrid''}}, from where he went on to {{ill|La Tribuna (Madrid)|es|lt=''La Tribuna''}}, ''La Libertad'' and {{ill|Informaciones|es|lt=''Informaciones''}}.<ref name=Academia/> His work as a journalist was incessant and restless. Between 1903 and 1904 he founded and directed three sports magazines: ''Revista de Sport'' (1903), ''Mundo Sportivo'' (1903), and ''Gaceta del Sport'' (1904), in addition to collaborating as a sports chronicler in the Madrid newspaper ''Diario Universal'', in which he signed his articles under the pseudonym '''F. Bowden'''. Mundo Sportivo served as a model for ''El Mundo Deportivo'' that was founded in Barcelona in 1906.<ref name=CIHEFE/>
==Footballing career== ===Becoming president of a club and an association=== In his journalistic career, Avecilla stood out for his prominent role in firmly promoting sports activity, and because of this, in 1903, he joined Madrid FC's board against the will of then-president Juan Padrós.<ref name=History>{{cite web |url=http://lafutbolteca.com/real-madrid-club-de-futbol/ |title=Historia del Real Madrid Football Club |trans-title=History of Real Madrid Football Club |language=es |website=lafutbolteca.com |accessdate=28 October 2022 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013233136/http://lafutbolteca.com/real-madrid-club-de-futbol/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This conflict caused Avecilla to leave the club in October 1903, along with several Madrid players such as the Giralt brothers (Mario, José and Armando) and Antonio Neyra who had also decided to leave, and together, they refounded a recently dissolved club, the ''Español de Madrid'', and Avecilla become the club's second president after replacing Manuel Méndez, who presided over the entity for just a few days.<ref name=CIHEFE/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/especiales/2002/02/centenario/1903.html |title=La triste decisión de los Giralt |trans-title=The sad decision of the Giralts |language=es |publisher=Diario El Mundo |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807021425/http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/especiales/2002/02/centenario/1903.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under his presidency, ''Español de Madrid'' won the 1903–04 Regional Championship of Madrid.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#04 |title=1903–04 Centro Championship |date=7 June 2018 |accessdate=5 November 2022 |archive-date=24 October 2022 |website=RSSSF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024025923/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/span-centrchamp.html#04 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Two months later, on 4 January 1904, Avecilla was elected president of the ''Madrid Association of Foot-ball Clubs'', replacing Carlos Padrós (Juan's brother), who gave up his position due to having been elected president of Madrid FC.<ref name=CIHEFE/><ref name=Madrid>{{cite web |url=https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/03/la-asociacion-madrilena-de-clubs-de-football-1902-1904/ |title=La Asociación Madrileña de Clubs de Football (1902–1904) |trans-title=The Madrid Association of Football Clubs (1902–1904) |language=es |publisher=CIHEFE |date=15 February 2012 |access-date=5 November 2022 |archive-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029235958/https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/03/la-asociacion-madrilena-de-clubs-de-football-1902-1904/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=blanca>{{cite web |url=http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/tempo04.htm |title=Temporada 1903-04 |trans-title=1903-04 season |language=es |website=www.leyendablanca.galeon.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190919110419/http://www.leyendablanca.galeon.com/tempo04.htm |access-date=18 April 2024 |archive-date=19 September 2019 }}</ref> Avecilla had been one of Carlos's main collaborators during his year as president, giving a house that he owned to hold the meetings of the Association, and even placing two of the sports magazines that he owned at the service of Carlos Padrós so that he could publish all the official documents of the ''Madrid Association of Foot-ball Clubs''.<ref name=Madrid/>
===1904 Copa del Rey=== Just a few days after becoming the president of the Association, Avecilla announced in the Madrid and Barcelona press the celebration of the 1904 Copa del Rey, which was intended to be contested by the regional champions of Madrid, Bilbao and Catalonia.<ref name=Madrid/> Shortly after, however, Madrid FC announced that it would be them who would organize the Copa del Rey, and the 1903 champions, Athletic Club, stood by their side, along with several other Madrid clubs such as Moncloa FC and Iberia FC.<ref name=Madrid/> A month later, however, Juan Padrós withdrew his will and let the federation organize the national championship, but doing so with just a couple of days away from the tournament, thus leaving little time for the federation to readjust its scheme and schedule, which ended up causing chaos in the development of the tournament.<ref name=Madrid/>
On 19 March, Avecilla's Español and Padrós's Madrid faced each other in the semifinals of the ''Madrid Qualifying Tournament'' (the qualification contest for the 1904 Copa del Rey) and it ended in a dramatic 5–5 draw.<ref name=COPA>{{cite web |url=https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/05/historia-de-la-copa-de-1904/ |title=Historia de la Copa de 1904 |trans-title=History of the 1904 Cup |language=es |publisher=CIHEFE |date=16 April 2012 |access-date=5 November 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030020338/https://www.cihefe.es/cuadernosdefutbol/2012/05/historia-de-la-copa-de-1904/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Español wanted to play the replay in the next day, but Madrid refused, citing the rules of the tournament which stated that a replay could not be played less than 48 hours after the previous game. Nonetheless, ''Español de Madrid'' went to replay the match on the next day, but Madrid did not appear.<ref name=COPA/><ref name=RSSSF>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/spancup1904.html |title=Spain – Cup 1904 |publisher=RSSSF |date=13 January 2000 |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-date=9 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709193843/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/spancup1904.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Madrid federation, whose president Ceferino Avecilla happened to be president of ''Español de Madrid'' as well, ruled in favor of Español, and they were declared winners of the match, thus eliminating the Padrós's Madrid FC from the competition.<ref name=linguasport>{{cite web |url=http://www.linguasport.com/futbol/nacional/copa/copa04.htm |title=Copa del Rey Alfonso XIII 1904 |website=linguasport.com |language=es |access-date=5 November 2022 |archive-date=4 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704085501/http://www.linguasport.com/FUTBOL/nacional/copa/Copa04.htm |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The tournament ended in further controversy when ''Español de Madrid'' was unable to participate in the final, meaning Athletic Club were declared the champions.<ref name=RSSSF/> This caused a terrible journalistic controversy between the Madrid and Bilbao press, fueled by the famous Bowden, but the Basques knew that Bowden was the pseudonym that Avecilla used when he was a sports reporter, so they paid no attention to it.<ref name=blanca/>
Avecilla only lasted three months at the helm of the Madrid Federation, because the federation ceased to exist after the controversial and chaotic development of the 1904 Copa del Rey,<ref name=COPA/> for which all the blame was laid on him, when actually, he was the victim of a set of intrigues and snares, as the cup was boycotted by Padrós's Madrid FC to put an end to the federation, so it could be them the ones to organize the tournaments.<ref name=Madrid/> Avecilla presented his resignation on 24 March, and although it was not accepted by the board, the federation ceased to exist five days later, on 29 March 1904.<ref name=CIHEFE/> Months later Avecilla returned to send a letter of resignation, but now merely a formality because the federation had already disappeared.<ref name=CIHEFE/> After the summer of 1904, Avecilla also concluded his mandate with ''Español de Madrid'', leaving the club orphaned in its management despite being the current champion from Madrid and having the Giralt brothers.<ref name=History/> Avecilla's experience in football must have been highly unpleasant, since he abandoned sports forever to focus on his journalistic and literary activity.<ref name=Academia/>
==Writing career== Avecilla is the author of the novels ''Los crepúsculos'' (1906), ''Rincón de humbles'' (1908), ''Margot quiere ser honrada'' (1922) and ''La amaba locamente'' (1925), but he found greater professional success through theater.<ref name=Academia/><ref name=CIHEFE/> His first play ''Silencio'', was premiered in 1913 at the Colegio Imperial de Madrid, and before 1922 he had staged almost a dozen works, including ''Los camino de Roma'' (1917), ''El enemigo malo'', ''Tupi-Palace'', ''Su majestad'' and ''El estudiante de Salamanca''.<ref name=Academia/><ref name=Books>{{Cite web |url=https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Avecilla%2C%20Ceferino%20R%2E%20%28Ceferino%20Rodr%26iacute%3Bguez%29%2C%201880%2D1956 |title=Avecilla, Ceferino R. (Ceferino Rodríguez), 1880–1956 |language=es |website=onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029012019/https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?key=Avecilla,%20Ceferino%20R.%20(Ceferino%20Rodr%26iacute%3Bguez),%201880-1956 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Later life== His communist ideology made him have an active political activity during the republican years, to the point of being forced to take refuge twice in Paris.<ref name=Mexico>{{Cite web |url=https://www.obsmex.com/post/de-m%C3%A9xico-a-espa%C3%B1a-y-viceversa-ceferino-rodr%C3%ADguez-avecilla |title=De México a España y viceversa: Ceferino Rodríguez Avecilla |trans-title=From Mexico to Spain and vice versa: Ceferino Rodríguez Avecilla |language=es |website=www.obsmex.com |date=30 January 2021 |access-date=28 October 2022 |archive-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029001447/https://www.obsmex.com/post/de-m%C3%A9xico-a-espa%C3%B1a-y-viceversa-ceferino-rodr%C3%ADguez-avecilla |url-status=live }}</ref> Avecilla was one of those responsible for the General Society of Authors and Publishers during the Spanish Civil War, after which he had to go into exile in Mexico, after having been imprisoned at the end of the Civil War.<ref name=Academia/><ref name=Mexico/> He arrived in Mexico on 22 May 1942, where he continued his active journalistic and literary career, collaborating in various magazines, in which he wrote theater and film reviews.<ref name=CIHEFE/> Four years after his arrival, he premiered the play ''La condemned'' (1946), which he wrote during his time in prison.<ref name=Mexico/>
In 1947, Avecilla won the first prize in the ''Theatrical and Lyrical Art Contest'' organized in France by the Spanish Libertarian Movement with the work ''Que en España empieza a amanecer''.<ref name=Mexico/> After this award, little is known about his life, and the exact date of his death is unknown. It is believed that he died in 1956.
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Avecilla, Ceferino}} Category:1880 births Category:1941 deaths Category:Spanish dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights Category:Spanish writers Category:Spanish sports journalists Category:Spanish journalists Category:Spanish sports executives and administrators Category:Spanish emigrants to Mexico