Telmo Zarra

Telmo Zarra

Zarra in 1950
Personal information
Full name	Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya
Date of birth	(1921-01-20)20 January 1921
Place of birth	Erandio, Kingdom of Spain
Date of death	23 February 2006(2006-02-23) (aged 85)
Place of death	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1939–1940	Erandio	20	(12)
1940–1955	Athletic Bilbao	277	(251)
1955–1956	Indautxu	14	(3)
1956–1957	Barakaldo	12	(2)
Total		323	(268)
International career
1945–1951	Spain	20	(20)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya (20 January 1921 – 23 February 2006), known as Telmo Zarra (Basque: [ˈs̻ara], Spanish: [ˈθara]), was a Spanish football forward. He spent the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, from 1940 to 1955, for whom he remains the top scorer in competitive matches with 335 goals.^[1]

Zarra signed for Athletic after playing one season for Erandio. He became a prolific goalscorer in his 15 seasons at the club, winning the Pichichi Trophy as the highest scorer in La Liga on six occasions. During his career, Zarra scored a total of 251 league goals, a Spanish record that lasted nearly six decades before being broken by Lionel Messi.^[2] His 81 goals in the Copa del Rey remain a record.^[3]

Despite his goalscoring records, he only played for Spain 20 times. Even so, he still managed to score 20 goals, including four in one match as Spain beat Switzerland 6–3 on 18 February 1951. He also scored his country's winning goal against England in the 1950 World Cup finals as Spain reached the final four—their best performance in the competition until winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup 60 years later.

After leaving Athletic in 1955, he played for one year with SD Indautxu and another with Barakaldo CF before retiring. He died of a heart attack on 23 February 2006, aged 85. The Zarra Trophy for the highest-scoring Spaniard in La Liga is awarded in his memory.