When I started playing at International Amateur Jai-Alai in
South Miami...it was 1965. We played without helmets as they had
not been introduced yet. Then on December 4, 1966...in his last
partido of the summer partido season in Spain 1966...just days
before he would travel with the other Basque players back to begin
the Miami 1966-67 season...the great Orbea I was struck in the
head while playing in Durango. While playing against hard throwing
front courter Francisco...a veteran Miami player also...Orbea
was moving into position and the pelota struck him from behind
just 20 feet coming out of Francisco's cesta...over his left ear
resulting in a triple fracture. His opponents thought he was killed
on the spot. Orbea spent a month in a hospital...in a coma for
2 weeks. While rehabbing and learning to speak, eat and try to
regain his daily routines...Miami Jai-Alai opened Christmas night
1966. Players did not wear helmets during the 1966-67 season due
to tradition and their own controversial stubbornness but much
talk revolved around Orbea's injury and the need to wear helmets.
Both N. Miami and S. Miami amateur courts introduced helmets in
1967 due to the liability. The great Orbea came back to play on
May 23, 1967 in Daytona Beach after 5 months! Both Orlando and
Daytona had started using helmets. In Spain players continued
partidos without helmets throughout the summer of 1967. Miami
and Dania introduced helmets for the 1967-68 season...several
pros and ex-pros from Miami and Dania would visit the amateur
courts...sometimes even practice with us...they initially had
only negative comments about the helmets...but Orbea was a strong
endorser of the new helmets for Miami Jai-Alai.
Just think how many players were hit in the head before helmets.
I was hit several times in the head early on when I started playing...once
getting knocked out. Then Mazza II was hit in Miami in 1980 (ending
his career) while wearing a helmet and awarded 1.3 million from
the helmet maker. You would have thought helmets would have been
mandatory way before 1967...especially after front courter Ramos...star
of the 1930's was hit in the head at Miami Jai-Alai and killed...few
people remember he was struck after the pelota had hit the back
wall and bounced first before hitting the distracted Ramos looking
away from the ball...the only player documented to have died as
a direct result of being hit with the pelota.
I'm sure other posters have their own memories of close calls...
