Born in
Barakaldo,
Biscay, Bata started his career at hometown club
Barakaldo CF. His nickname derived from the fact he used to wear an overall (
bata in
Spanish) made by his mother in order to prevent him from staining his better clothes; he was also dubbed
El Bertha bilbaino (Bilbao's Bertha),
El terror de San Mamés (terror of San Mamés) and
El león enfurecido (raging lion). Bata signed with
Athletic Bilbao in 1929, and made his professional debut for them on 22 September in a 4–1 win against
Deportivo Alavés for the
Biscay Championship. In
his first season, he won both the
La Liga and
Copa del Rey titles. His first goal in the former competition came on 23 March 1930, in a 4–3 success at
Atlético Madrid; he was the focal point of what become a famous forward line at the club, along with
José Iraragorri,
Chirri II,
Lafuente and
Guillermo Gorostiza. Bata achieved the same feat of league and cup double
the following campaign, while also earning the
Pichichi Trophy having scored 27 goals. Seven of those came in Athletic's historic 12–1 defeat of
FC Barcelona on 18 February 1931, he continued to play regularly until
1935–36 when he won the championship for a fourth time, but his career was then effectively ended at the age of 28 by the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War. In the summer of 1938, Bata re-joined Barakaldo, but the competition would only be resumed the following year after the end of the war. He retired at the age of 35 after four seasons in
Segunda División, and died on 21 August 1986 at 78 in
Valle de Trápaga-Trapagaran. ==International career==