Bosch Josep-Clemente Gràcia (5 February 1897 – 6 March 1981),[1] known as Grace, was a Spanish Catalan footballer who played as a forward and out as header during a career which lasted from 1917 to 1926.[2] At his peak with FC Barcelona, he achieved the record of most goals scored by a player in a single season when he netted 59 goals in the 1921–22 season, which has remained unbroken until 2010,[3] when it was finally broken by the great Lionel Messi.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josep Bosch-Clemente Gràcia | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1897 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 6 March 1981 (aged 84) | ||
| Place of death | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1917–19 | Espanyol | 19 | (13) |
| 1919–24 | Barcelona | 23 | (26) |
| 1924 | Terrassa | 17 | (7) |
| 1926 | Martinenc | ||
| International career | |||
| 1919–1923 | Catalonia | 5 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editA native of Barcelona, Clemente Gràcia began his career at Terrassa FC. In the 1917–1918 season he was top scorer for RCD Espanyol, who undefeated won the Copa Catalunya. In 1919 with Ricardo Zamora, he left the club to join FC Barcelona. With Vicente Piera, Paulino Alcántara and Emili Sagi-Barba, he formed one of the best front considered Barcelona's history.[2]
His best season was 1921–1922, where he won the Copa Catalunya and the Copa del Rey, scoring one of five goals for his team in the final against Real Unión. That season he was the team's top scorer with 59 goals (35 goals in friendly matches, 19 in the Championship of Catalonia and 5 in the Championship of Spain) in 50 games, a record that still stands.[3]
He played for FC Barcelona for five years, and won five Copa Catalunya: 1919, 1920, 1921,1922 and 1924, and two Copa del Rey (1920 and 1992). In total, he scored 161 goals in 151 games for Barcelona, scoring an average of more than one goal per game.[4] After leaving Barcelona in 1924, he again played for Terrassa FC[5] and then later for FC Martinenc.[6][7] Professionally, it was official Guardia Urbana de Barcelona.[8]
Club stats
edit| Club | Season | Friendly | Cup | Regional championship | Totals | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| RCD Espanyol | 1917–18 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 | [9] |
| 1918–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | [9] | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 16 | – | ||
| FC Barcelona | 1919–20 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1920–21 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 31 | [9] | ||||
| 1921–22 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 59 | [9] | ||||
| 1922–23 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 60 | [9] | ||||
| 1923–24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | [9] | ||||
| Total | 131 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 30 | 170 | – | ||||
| Terrassa FC | 1924–25 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 6 | [9] |
| 1925–26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | [9] | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 7 | – | ||
| Career total | 131 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 58 | 201 | – | ||||
International career
editIn 1920 he played several games with the Catalonia national football team, and participated in the 1922-23,[10] which ended in a semi-final elimination to Galicia. Nonetheless, Grace still managed to score once in the tournament, in the quarter-finals against Biscay to help Catalonia to a 3–0 win.[11]
Honours
editBarcelona
editDeath
editClemente Gràcia died in his native Barcelona at the age of 84.
References
edit- ^ "Climent Gracia :: Josep-Clemente Gracia Bosch ::". ogol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Jose Clemente Gracia Dead" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 7 March 1981. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Cifras records at FC Barcelona" (in Spanish). FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ Closa, Antonio (1999). Diccionari Barca. Encyclopedia Catalana. p. 171. ISBN 84-412-0126-9.
- ^ "Hoy Grace plays his farewell match with FC Barcelona" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. 9 June 1924. p. 2. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ Teddy (6 October 1926). "Una martinenses reaction in the second half allowed them to join a well deserved victory" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. p. 4. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ Teddy (25 October 1926). "Tras one match played, the martinenses deserve the victory achieved by the minimum difference" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo. p. 4. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
- ^ "Obituary" (PDF). La Vanguardia. 3 August 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Clemente Gràcia at BDFutbol
- ^ Closa, Antonio; Rius, James (1999). Selecció catalana de futbol: nou dècades d'història. Editorial Jaume Rius. ISBN 84-922994-3-4.
- ^ Vicente Martínez Calatrava (17 August 2009). "La Copa Príncipe de Asturias" [The Prince of Asturias Cup] (in Spanish). CIHEFE. Retrieved 5 June 2022.