| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Josep Bosch-Clemente Gràcia | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1897 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Date of death | 6 March 1981(1981-03-06) (aged 84) | ||
| Place of death | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1917–1919 | Espanyol | 19 | (13) |
| 1919–1924 | Barcelona | 23 | (26) |
| 1924 | Terrassa | 17 | (7) |
| 1926 | Martinenc | ||
| International career | |||
| 1919–1923 | Catalonia | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bosch Josep-Clemente Gràcia (5 February 1897 – 6 March 1981), known asGrace, was a SpanishCatalanfootballer who played as aforward and out as header during a career which lasted from 1917 to 1926.[1] At his peak withFC Barcelona, he achieved the record of most goals scored by a player in a single season when he netted 59 goals in the1921–22 season, which has remained unbroken until 2010,[2] when it was finally broken by the greatLionel Messi.
A native ofBarcelona, Gràcia began his career atTerrassa FC. In the 1917–1918 season he was top scorer forRCD Espanyol, who undefeated won theCopa Catalunya. In 1919 withRicardo Zamora, he left the club to joinFC Barcelona. WithVicente Piera,Paulino Alcántara andEmili Sagi-Barba, he formed one of the best front considered Barcelona's history.[1]
His best season was 1921–1922, where he won the Copa Catalunya and theCopa del Rey, scoring one of five goals for his team in the final againstReal Unión. That season he was the team's top scorer with 59 goals (35 goals in friendly matches, 19 in the Championship of Catalonia and 5 in the Championship of Spain) in 50 games, a record that still stands.[2]
He played for FC Barcelona for five years, and won five Copa Catalunya: 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1924, and twoCopa del Rey (1920 and 1992). In total, he scored 161 goals in 151 games for Barcelona, scoring an average of more than one goal per game.[3] After leaving Barcelona in 1924, he again played forTerrassa FC[4] and then later forFC Martinenc.[5][6] Professionally, it was officialGuardia Urbana de Barcelona.[7]
In 1920 Gràcia played several games with theCatalonia national football team, and participated in the1922-23,[8] which ended in a semi-final elimination toGalicia. Nonetheless, Grace still managed to score once in the tournament, in the quarter-finals againstBiscay to help Catalonia to a 3–0 win.[9]
Gràcia died in his nativeBarcelona at the age of 84.
| Club | Season | Friendly | Cup | Regional championship | Totals | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Espanyol | 1917–18 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 | [10] |
| 1918–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | [10] | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 16 | – | ||
| Barcelona | 1919–20 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1920–21 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 31 | [10] | ||||
| 1921–22 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 59 | [10] | ||||
| 1922–23 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 60 | [10] | ||||
| 1923–24 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 16 | [10] | ||||
| Total | 131 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 30 | 170 | – | ||||
| Terrassa | 1924–25 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 6 | [10] |
| 1925–26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | [10] | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 7 | – | ||
| Career total | 131 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 58 | 201 | – | ||||
Barcelona
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link).