BadalonaCarrer del Canonge Baranera in Badalona hides one of the great treasures of Catalan basketball. Josep Zamorano, a retired collector, has turned his private house into a museum where he keeps more than 1,000 basketball jerseys. Today, agree to show it in the ARA.
“My collection consists of more than 1,000 shirts. I also have a lot of thighs, but I don’t count them. I started collecting all this material when I was going to the Salesians. I was a marque and I went to Permanences, where I started to meet some players. They started giving me some T-shirts and my mother kept them. One day he proposed to me to turn a room in the house into a museum, but years ago they started not to fit in and now they occupy the whole house”, boasts Zamorano.
Walls, hangers and perches of all kinds and sizes. Any corner is good for hanging a shirt. “I am 65 years old and 50 years ago I started the collection. When I was a kid I also had a lot of posters, because that’s how I identified the players. Most of the shirts I have are signed,” he explains. There are real gems that help take a tour through the history of Catalan basketball.
“Most of the shirts I have are from basketball, although I also have some from football, usually from Barça. I have one signed by Leo Messi. There is also one from the Athletic Club. Now I would be delighted to have one from Real Madrid football, signed by Karim Benzema and company”, he confesses.
Josep’s relationship with basketball goes back a long way. “I’m from Badalona and basketball is my passion. I’m a big fan of La Penya. I have been going to watch all the games for many years and whenever I can I also go to watch the training sessions. The players, both from Joventut and from the rivals, already know me and always try to give me a gift to expand my museum”, he says.
Josep Maria Margall, the origin
“My friend Josep Maria Margall, who was captain of La Penya for many years, was one of the first to start giving me shirts. Also, he helped me find other teams. He is a person I have great respect for because he has always helped me a lot. Then players like Villacampa and the Jofresa brothers continued. They asked me which shirt I would like and tried to get it for me,” he says. As it could not be otherwise, Joventut Badalona is the most representative team, but the collection hides gems from most teams in the Endesa League as well as other European teams and the NBA. In addition, there are national team shirts. “Of the current Penya team, I have a lot of contact with Guillem Vives, Pau Ribas and Carles Duran”, says Zamorano.
His good rapport with the members of the Youth has been passed down from generation to generation. Àlex Mumbrú and Carles Marco even took him in the car when it was necessary to make a trip. Conversations about basketball made the trip more distracting.
The space has become small
Zamorano’s house has become small and, despite the care with which he keeps each shirt, conservation is not always simple. “One day I would like the Badalona City Council, the federation or some institution to help me have a fixed space to display the shirts. They always have good will and we have once organized a one-off exhibition, but I have never succeeded and I think it would be something very interesting for the fans”, he argues.
The years go by and Zamorano’s passion does not lose steam. In addition, he has been retired for a few years and therefore has more free time to feed his collection. “I worked in a picture factory since I was very small. My mom got me into it many years ago, but I’m retired now. When the head folded, I also left it”, he summarizes.
Apart from t-shirts, vamps and posters, Zamorano’s collection also includes posters. When Penya plays away from home, this green-and-black fan follows the matches on the radio. “I usually listen to the games with the voice of Xavi Ballesteros on Ràdio Ciutat de Badalona, although lately he has been putting on too many food ads and that distracts me,” he jokes. His relationship with journalists is also very affectionate. On one of the walls of the house, for example, there is a photograph with Antoni Bassas. “He gave me an interview and since then I have always followed his work a lot. He is a professional that I like very much. Then you and I will take a picture, right?”, he asks.
