1. Personal life
Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte's personal background is rooted in the Basque Country, where he spent his early life, and his career was tragically concluded by an illness in his mid-twenties.
1.1. Early life and background
Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte was born on October 12, 1898, in Leioa, a municipality located in the Biscay province of the Basque Country in Spain. He was of Basque heritage.
1.2. Death
Sesúmaga's life was tragically cut short when he died from tuberculosis on August 24, 1925. He was only 26 years old at the time of his death, which occurred in his hometown of Leioa.
2. Club career
Félix Sesúmaga's club career was marked by significant achievements across multiple Spanish teams, including a unique record of winning the Copa del Rey with three different clubs.
2.1. Arenas Club de Getxo
Sesúmaga began his professional career in 1914 at Getxo Arenas, a neighboring club to his hometown. His prolific goalscoring ability was instrumental in helping Arenas reach the Copa del Rey final on two occasions, in 1917 and 1919. In the 1919 final, he delivered a standout performance by scoring a hat-trick against FC Barcelona, contributing decisively to Arenas' 5-2 victory. This win secured the club's only Copa del Rey title in its history. Sesúmaga became only the third player to achieve a hat-trick in a Copa del Rey final, following Pichichi in 1915 and Félix Zubizarreta in 1916, both of whom played for Athletic Bilbao. During his time with Arenas, he also helped them win the Campeonato Norte in the 1916-17 season.
2.2. FC Barcelona
His impressive performance in the 1919 Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona led to his transfer to the Catalan club in the same year. Sesúmaga maintained his goalscoring prowess in Catalonia, contributing to Barcelona's success in the 1920 final, where they defeated Athletic Bilbao 2-0. By winning the Cup in two consecutive seasons with different teams, he emulated the feat previously achieved by the French footballer René Petit. Sesúmaga was a key member of a legendary Barcelona team, coached by Jack Greenwell, which also featured prominent players such as Paulino Alcántara, Sagibarba, Ricardo Zamora, and Josep Samitier. While at Barcelona, he also helped the club secure three Catalan Championship titles in the 1918-19, 1919-20, and 1920-21 seasons.
2.3. Racing de Sama
After his successful tenure at FC Barcelona, Félix Sesúmaga spent a season playing for Racing de Sama de Langreo during the 1921-1922 period.
2.4. Athletic Bilbao
In 1922, Sesúmaga joined Athletic Bilbao. With Athletic, he achieved his third Copa del Rey title in 1923, defeating CE Europa 1-0 in the final. This victory made him one of the few players to win the prestigious trophy with three different clubs. He also won the Campeonato de Vizcaya with Athletic Bilbao in the 1922-23 season.
While at Athletic Bilbao, Sesúmaga became eligible to play for the Biscay autonomous football team, which represented the local league in inter-regional competitions. He was part of the Biscay team that participated in the Prince of Asturias Cup, a competition organized by the RFEF. In the 1922-23 Prince of Asturias Cup, Biscay was eliminated in the quarter-finals by the Asturias team. However, they exacted revenge in the next edition, the 1923-24 Prince of Asturias Cup, defeating Asturias 4-2 at the same stage. While some sources credit Sesúmaga with Biscay's opening goal in that match, most agree it was scored by Carmelo Goyenechea.
3. International career
Félix Sesúmaga made significant contributions to the early history of the Spain national football team, including his participation in the 1920 Summer Olympics.
3.1. 1920 Summer Olympics
On August 28, 1920, Félix Sesúmaga made history as one of the eleven footballers who played in the inaugural match of the Spain national football team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Spain secured a 1-0 victory over Denmark in this historic game, which marked the national team's first-ever international A match.
Although he did not play in the quarter-final match against Belgium, which Spain lost 1-3, Sesúmaga was a crucial player in the subsequent repechage tournament for the silver medal. He featured in all three games of this tournament, scoring four goals. He netted two goals against Italy in a match that Spain won 2-0, and added two more goals against the Netherlands in the play-off for the silver medal, contributing to Spain's 3-1 victory. These four goals made him, for a brief period, the all-time top scorer for the Spain national team, a record he held until he was surpassed by Paulino Alcántara on April 30, 1922.
3.2. International goals
Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Sesúmaga goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2, 1920 | Atotxa Stadium, San Sebastián, Spain | Italy | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1920 Summer Olympics Silver medal tournament Semi-final |
| 3 | 2-0 | |||||
| 2 | September 5, 1920 | Reina Victoria, Seville, Spain | Netherlands | 1-0 | 3-1 | 1920 Summer Olympics repechage tournament Final |
| 4 | 2-0 | |||||
3.3. National team statistics
Between 1920 and 1923, Félix Sesúmaga earned a total of eight caps for the Spain national football team, scoring four goals.
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 4 | 4 |
| 1921 | 2 | 0 |
| 1922 | 1 | 0 |
| 1923 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 4 |
4. Honours
Félix Sesúmaga Ugarte accumulated several significant honours throughout his club and international career:
Arenas Club de Getxo
- Copa del Rey: 1919
- Campeonato Norte: 1916-17
FC Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 1920
- Catalan Championship: 1918-19, 1919-20, 1920-21
Athletic Bilbao
- Copa del Rey: 1923
- Campeonato de Vizcaya: 1922-23
Spain
- Olympic Games: Silver medallist 1920