On a day like today but in 1929, a man was born who, years later, would become an icon of Club Deportivo Guadalajara. He was Jaime 'Tubo' Gómez, who was the Goalkeeper in the legendary Campeonísimo.
The Rebaño's historic goalkeeper was born in Manzanillo, Colima. The popular nickname of "Tubo", contrary to what many might think, was not born under the three posts of the goal of the Campeonisimo Guadalajara, but on the volleyball court and net, which was the Goalkeeper's first passion. In that stage, he was characterized by his powerful spiking abilities and great aerial reach, which allowed him to overcome even a triple block.
It was 1948, Jaime Gómez's outstanding aptitudes for playing volleyball had already earned him a place in the Jalisco National Team; born in Colima, Jalisco by adoption. The first opportunity to show himself was the First String National Championship held in Puebla. It was precisely there where the journalist Fernando Cortes de la Peña, who was an eyewitness of the category and powerful spiking of the ball over the net, did not hesitate to say "this player really hits the ball with a tube" or “Tubo” in Spanish.
Years later, there are more traces of the history of the player who wore the number One in the team of the very Campeonísimo Guadalajara. Soccer caught him and he fell in love with the Goal, so much so that he changed the jumps and shots for pitches and saves.
Don Jaime Gómez won 22 titles with the Campeonísimo, six of them league championships, Challenger Cup, Champion of Champions, Mexico Cup. In addition, Gómez played in a pair of World Cups, the first in Sweden 1958 and the second in Chile 1962.
The unforgettable anecdote of the Clasico Tapatio:
It was on April 24, 1955, when Chivas and Atlas met in a match corresponding to the Western Gold Cup Tournament. Guadalajara arrived as clear favorites and the setting was unbeatable, as the stands were packed and painted in red and white.
Just 30 seconds into the match, Crescencio "Mellone" Gutiérrez had already scored the first goal for Chivas, six minutes later, Jesús "Chuco" Ponce had already scored the second goal and a minute later, "Mellone" scored again to make it 3-0 and validate Chivas' superiority over Atlas.
After surpassing the 16th minute, the scorer Adalberto "Dumbo" López had already scored a lapidary 4-0, without thinking that minutes later, Chivas would have an unimaginable chapter in its history, faced with the lack of arrivals that Atlas was generating in the Red and White team's territory and with the superiority that Chivas had over them on the field, the Red and White goalkeeper Jaime "Tubo" Gómez sat down on the ground and leaned on the goal post, and then started to read a comic book. It was a Memín Pingüín that he had borrowed from a fan!
Don Jaime Gómez passed away on May 4, 2008 and since that day, there is not a single moment in which his greatness, talent and charisma that characterized him throughout his life are not remembered.
