Revista PODIUM, September-December 2020; 15(3): 717-721

Translated from the original in spanish

Brief reference to an historian and scientist of sports

Breve referencia a un historiador y científico del deporte

Breve referência a um historiador e científico esportista

María Ofelia Armas Álvarez^1* https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6801-4511

María Victoria Hernández Pérez¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2234-0906

Sonia Cecilia González Chirino¹ https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-3132

¹Universidad de Pinar del Río " Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca", Facultad de Cultura Física "Nancy Uranga Ramagoza".

^*Correspondence author: ofelia.armas@upr.edu.cu

Received: December 14^th, 2019.
Accepted: September 30^th, 2020.

Sport is one of the most attractive manifestations of the human race, not only because of the different ways in which it is practiced but also because of the charming style in which men tell about it. The originality and magic of those who have surpassed themselves by leaving, in the record of history, the best of sport are evident, and among them is: Juan Antonio Martínez de Osaba Goenaga. This research professor, an excellent connoisseur and faithful defender of revolutionary sports, is an obligatory reference in the approach of varied themes about the history of Physical Culture and sports. A personality to keep in mind when telling sports epics, even more so when talking about the passion of all Cubans: baseball.

Born in 1947, in the municipality of Las Minas, Pinar del Río; during his youth he was a member of the baseball team that represented his homeland, later he graduated as a Physical Education Teacher and later in Political Economy degree. He performed different functions in educational centers of the province, including in the Faculty of Physical Culture "Nancy Uranga Romagoza", one of the current campus of the University of Pinar del Río "Hermanos Saiz Montes de Oca". This professor is also a specialist in the history of physical culture, a professor and consultant, an essayist, a critic, a cultural promoter, a collaborator of the Cuban Olympic Academy and a member of the Election Committee for the "Cuban Sports Hall of Fame".

Osaba, as everyone calls him, is an excellent communicator who attracts the attention of those who attend the different activities he carries out because of his pedagogical mastery and his command of the content he presents.

In his postgraduate academic training, the high number of courses and studies received stands out:

• History of Physical Culture.
• Sports Administration.
• Olympic Academy.
• Contemporary international sports movement.
• International Olympic movement.
• Philosophy of sport, sociology of physical education and sports.

Courses given that have been aimed at topics such as:

• Development, sport and marketing.
• Amateurism vs. professionalism.
• Marketing in sport.
• Methodology for the elaboration of sport bibliography.
• Universal history of sports.
• Aesthetic values of sport and philosophy of sport.
• Functions and dysfunctions.

Osaba has been recognized for his qualities as a writer, but also as a teacher dedicated to the development of science and technology.

Scientific contributions in the research process where the works aimed at:

• Procedures and methods in the teaching process.
• Sociological and psychological evaluation of students with conduct disorders and the influence of the school to improve their results.
• Historical studies of universal sport and its development in Physical Education and Sport.
• Contemporary problems, current problems of the international Olympic movement.
• Cuban baseball personalities.
• The relationship between art and sport as cultural phenomena.
• Basic and reference texts on the development and evolution of Physical Education and Sport.
• The games of the modern Olympics (1896-2004).
• Small Olympic encyclopedia.

One of his most notable performances in the professional sphere is in the publishing world.

Among the books he has published are:

• El Señor pelotero (three editions: 1998, 1999 and 2011) published by Loynaz editions.
• El Niño Linares (two editions: 2002 and 2003), Casa Editora Abril and ediciones Loynaz.
• Cosas de la pelota and "De Cooperstown a Las Minas" (2002), Loynaz editions.

There are also his works dedicated to the didactics of the specialty as a professor of History of Physical Culture:

• Physical Culture and Sports.
• Genesis, Evolution and Development (Until 19th Century England) two editions: 2003 and 2006, Editorial Deportes.
• Evolution and development of sport (from the 19th century to Sydney 2000) 2004, Deportes publishing house.
• Nosotros los peloteros (2006), Loynaz editions.
• Small Olympic and Physical Culture Encyclopedia (2008), Scientific-Technical Publishing House.
• Myths and realities of the Cuban ball (2009), Loynaz editions.

Continuing his work as a chronicler of legendary ballplayers, he writes titles such as:

• Pedro Luis Lazo, Cuba's Skyscraper (2010 and 2015), Loynaz editions.
• Alfonso Urquiola, Knight of the Diamond (2014), Loynaz editions.
• Biographical Encyclopedia of Cuban Baseball Volumes I and II (2015 and 2016).

Not only did he stand out for his contribution as a soloist, he also participated in a collective of authors, acting as the main author in the José Martí publishing house. He shared authorships with personalities of science such as Félix Julio Alfonso López and Yasel E. Porto Gómez. He contributed his knowledge as co-author in three articles in the book: "Con las bases llenas, béisbol, historia y revolución" (2008).

In the international area, Osaba has published in scientific and specialized magazines in the sports field and also linked to the branch of history and sociology. Among these sources is the web page, https://www.martindihigoelmejor.cubava.cu, also in https://www.cubasi.cu

He has dedicated many of his writings to magazines from Mexico, the United States and Finland (Revista Cuba sí). He has also collaborated with La Jiribilla, Catauro cubano and other press organs.

It is important to highlight the systematic participation in territorial, national and international scientific-cultural events in which the following stand out:

• Conferences and Scientific Events of the Faculty of Physical Culture and the Sports Sector.
• I and II International Conference on History and Social Sciences.
• Science and Technology Forums and Scientific Events of the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

He has obtained relevant awards and mentions. He has participated as a court president in these events or as an active member in defense courts of diploma works or others. He has also participated in "Pedagogy" Congresses at provincial and national levels. He has received ten awards from the provincial CITMA. He has been elected as the National Vanguard of the Science Union for several consecutive years. He obtained the annual prize of CITMA in the school years 2000-2001; 2002-2003; 2004-2005 and 2006-2008.

• He participated in the I and II International Conferences on Physical Education and Sports.
• International Book Fair, from 2000 to date and in the Provincial Fair of Pinar del Río as author.
• Culture and Development Event during the years 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005.
• The I and II Scientific Forum of the Cuban Olympic Academy 2000 and 2001.
• International Pedagogical Conferences for the periods 2000-2001, 2002-2003-2004 and 2005-2007 and 2009.
• XV National Forum of Science and Technique 2007 where he obtained the condition of Outstanding with his work "Evolution and development of the sport", a text book for the use of all the faculties of Physical Culture of the country.
• At the Pedagogy Congress 2007 with his textbooks.

He has been awarded as:

• Winner of the International Contest Teobol and Engineer Alejo Peralta, Mexico (2003).
• He has received ten CITMA Awards for published books.
• Prize of the XV-XVI National Forum of Science and Technology (2007) with his textbooks.
• Award from the Association of Pedagogues of Cuba (2010) and Award from the Provincial Assembly of People's Power in Pinar del Río (2010).

He is worthy of other distinctions such as:

• Literacy Medals.
• Martyrs of Barbados.
• Rafael María de Mendive.
• XL Anniversary of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR in Spanish) and the Revolutionary Vigilance".

In his curricular training, he has participated in various organizations such as:

• Scientific Council of the Cuban Sports University.
• Commander "Manuel Fajardo".
• Cuban Olympic Academy.
• Technical Advisory Council of the Directorate of Sports of Pinar del Río.
• Scientific Council of the "Hermanos Loynaz" Publishing House.
• Municipal Editorial Council of Pinar del Río.
• José Martí Cultural Society.
• Social Sciences Council of CITMA (Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment).
• National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC in Spanish).
• Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC in Spanish).
• Honorary Chair "History of Sport at the "Nancy Uranga Ramagoza" Faculty.

In the results of the scientific activity, the professor has directed research projects in the following topics:

• Roots and significance of contemporary sport.
• Pinar del Río baseball stars.
• Biographical encyclopedia of Cuban baseball (five volumes).

At present, it develops a cultural promotion work with clubs and gatherings about the art-sports relationship in the province of Pinar del Río, which have obtained the condition of National Vanguard during several consecutive years.

José Antonio or Osaba, as we affectionately call him, is an example of a noble and integral human being, whose good personal and professional relations with those around him, have allowed him to obtain as a prize the respect and appreciation of all. He is a master with the gift of combining history, art, science and sports to give prestige to his faculty, his university, his province and his country.

Conflict of interests:
The authors declare not to have any interest conflicts.

Authors' contribution:
The authors have participated in the writing of the work and analysis of the documents.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.
Copyright (c) 2020 María Ofelia Armas Álvarez, María Victoria Hernández Pérez, Sonia Cecilia González Chirino