JAI ALAI TRIVIA

• Marquina, population 6,000, hidden in the northeastern corner of Spain, is considered the birthplace of jai-alai. This designation is based upon the fact that the first indoor jai-alai court was built there in 1798.
• Jai-Alai has been an Olympic sport on several occasions. The first was the Paris Olympiad of 1924. The most recent was the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where the King and Queen of Spain were present at the finals to see Spain defeat France for the gold medal. Atain and Kompa represented Spain and turned professional immediately after the Olympics to play at Dania Jai-Alai. Celaya was also a member of the Spanish Olympic team, and he also turned professional after the Olympics to play at Dania Jai-Alai.
• The first jai-alai court in the "new world" opened on May 7th, 1902 in Havana, Cuba under authorization obtained by General Leonard Wood, the United States Military Governor. The court was called the "jai-alai", though it later became known as "El Palacio de los Gritos" (The Palace of Shouts).
• The odds of winning a Win bet in jai-alai are 1 in 8, a Quiniela is 1 in 28, Perfecta 1 in 56 and Trifecta 1 in 336. Compare that to the chances of winning the weekly Florida State Lottery which are 1 in 13,983,816!

• The cesta is a curved wicker basket which becomes an extension of the player’s right arm for throwing and catching. It is hand-made of steam-bent chestnut and woven reed and costs approximately $280.
• United States sports fans had a first look at jai-alai in 1904 during the St. Louis International Exposition.
• The first jai-alai game in China was played in a sumptuous fronton in Shanghai. Another fronton opened in Tientsin in 1934. But World War II and the communist government ended jai-alai’s brief success there.
• The youngest professional player in the history of jai-alai was Piston I. He began his professional career in Madrid, Spain in 1922 at the age of nine.
• The highest payout in the history of Dania Jai-Alai was on March 1, 1984 when a $2 Pick 6 bet paid $690,052.80. (A Pick 6 bet involves picking the winners of six designated games).
• The Guinness Book of World Records reports the official record for the fastest recorded jai-alai ball at 188 MPH.

• Dania Jai-Alai has on display a large piece of bullet-proof glass that was broken by the impact of a jai-alai ball.
• The largest jai-alai court in the world is the Mexico City fronton. It measures 235 feet long, some 55 feet longer than most courts in the United States.
• Every rule has its exception and in jai-alai it is virtually a rule that left-handers cannot play the game. The exception was Pedro Yarza Elizaran who played professionally as El Manco de Villabona. His name tells the story. It means "The One-Armed from Villabona."
• According to legend, the greatest jai-alai player in the history of the game was Erdoza Menor, "El Fenomeno", who was born in 1886 near the fountainhead of jai-alai, Marquina. He died on the court during a match in Barcelona on December 10, 1940.