Pancho Segura was only 19 years old and was already a recognized tennis player in South America. At only 17 years old, he won the gold medal at the Bolivarian Games in Bogotá in 1938. In January 1939, an invitational tournament was organized in Montevideo, where the most prominent tennis players such as the Argentine Lucil del Castillo, the Uruguayan Sebastián Harreguy, the Chilean Efraín González, the Brazilian Alcides Procropio and Segura participated. , which won the competition. He was invited to play in Buenos Aires, Rosario, Córdoba, Mar del Plata, Sao Paulo, Santos and Rio de Janeiro. In total, he played 33 matches and lost only one, in the Santiago final, when he retired in the fifth set due to cramps. For those victories, he was declared the champion of South America.

In January 1940, an Argentine magazine Graphics, In an extensive article signed by Félix Daniel Frascana, it was recommended that the Ecuadorian play in the United States because he was practically unbeatable in South America.

The press in Guayaquil reacted to this comment and started a crusade so that Pancho Segura could achieve this goal. The news reached the mainstream North American media. In an interview with American tennis prodigy Edwood Cooke, he noted that he would do anything to face Segura. Learning of this possible tennis match, the Ecuadorian consul in New York, Sixto Durán-Ballén, had Dr. Andrés F. Córdova, in charge of the Ecuadorian presidency, issue an executive decree on July 14, 1940, appointing Pancho Segura as special commissioner. for the study of Sports Organization.

For this, an amount of 380 dollars was fixed from the state budget for travel and accommodation expenses, so that he could meet the national team. Meanwhile, in Guayaquil, through the efforts of Juan Chérrez Gómez, the support of several businessmen was obtained to send him $100 a month. Segura was barely 20 years old and, based on his racket, he became the leading tennis player in South America. He managed to overcome the prejudices and discrimination he suffered from childhood, both because of his social status and because of the stifling society that gave way to the presence of a young tennis player with solid values ​​acquired through the moderation of his parents. , especially his mother, Mrs. Francisca Cano Ronquillo de Segura, who fed him courage when her son Pancho was consumed by doubts.

Until he arrived on July 19, 1940, Segura boarded the Grace Line steamer Santa Lucía with two wooden rackets, made of the same material as his coffin, more full of dreams than clothes. Going through my files, I found one of the most honest articles I’ve ever read; public The Telegraph On June 19, 1940, Guayaquil journalist Ralph del Campo wrote it and titled it: “Dark-haired man in search of Uncle Sam.” I put it to your consideration.

“The gentle silence of sadness and crying floats step by step, corner by corner. Excited kids who qualify the whispering of the wind’s song in the Buenosairean nights with their shouts full of enthusiasm, bit their lips to give way to the emotion that seemed to be stuck in their throats. Something strange is happening. You can no longer feel the kicking of the nimble heels, ground into the unevenness of the pavement. Everyone, absolutely everyone, got together and formed a solid group. They seem like a big black talking shoulder at the foot of a silent pillar, wedged against the edge of the street, is better. The biggest one in the bar – the only one who reads – has a newspaper in his restless hands, and the light pole seems to have focused its powerful spotlights on the picture. crack for the rich and an idol for the poor. SURELY, like this, in very large black letters, it says; but, when they go to those other so big and so rare: USA, they don’t really know whether to curse their rights or to bless them for life. USA: three letters modeled on proletarian settlements. Three letters that evoke the unsettling chill of fear or an unbridled and sincere outpouring of joy. Three letters, only, with a future that boys don’t yet understand. It’s safe!”

The note continues: “The scream opens fields the width of the street, amid a symphony of horns, hoarse voices, factory whistles, until it is lost without a trace, through a cloud of dust that, however quickly, seems to take a part of our own lives. Here is the pain of people, children, adults. The cracks They hung their rustic rackets from the neighborhood, and placed the silhouette of the dark-haired champion on the central wall, so that at the beginning of each day they can talk to each other without fear and ask for advice on how to finish off their rivals.”

In addition: “And we will remember when the little boy saw you when you were crossing the sidewalk and shouted loudly: ‘There goes Pancho Segura, champion of champions!’ And the idol reciprocated with his wide and fresh smile, slightly nodding his head or slightly waving his hands in apparent gratitude. Here is the continental champion, the people’s champion and the true criollazo. I don’t want to go any further because, apart from the journalistic role, I am also a friend, and friendship like Segura’s is not found every day. Pancho Segura: I am the enemy of irritating whining and thunderous hugs that are said to be flattering. A sincere handshake or a few words spoken with healthy feeling are above all a classic manifestation of human hypocrisy. If you would allow me to I talk to you in the manner of gaucho Del Castillo, I would say to you: Pancho, the opportunity you most desired has arrived”.

Ralph del Campo continues: “You’re going to a city of skyscrapers and loud noises. You are the dark-haired person who asks Uncle Sam to shave his beard drive overwhelming. But first he remembered this: Don’t change anything, even if they give you all the gold from the National Bank. Be the humble and simple boy I knew, everyone’s friend. The one, winner or loser, always humble and honest. This will be worth a lot. She always thinks of her, of her beloved parents, especially of the old woman, that noble old woman, who is the best and kindest of all her friends. Never let him down with your texts, which will be the best medicine for his crying. Never let him down. As for me, the only thing I ask of you is that, if one day you think about your country, remember what the old tango says: here you have a friend who will serve you in any way he can, when the opportunity arises”.

I have taken the liberty of including the entire article by Ralph Del Campo because of its profound content, as the text is an example of how he knew how to show the elegant style and intellectual quality of sports journalism of the past. But first of all, remember the unforgettable events that happened more than 80 years ago.

This is a message to today’s journalism, which should always keep in mind the maxim that says that those who ignore their origins and characters, those who ignore the obstacles and vicissitudes they had to overcome in their time, will find it difficult to understand or respect history. Not their heroes. (OR)