José Maria Zamacois

José María Rufo Zamacois Bengoa (21 November 1854 – 25 October 1894) was a Spanish athlete, cyclist and gymnastics educator who founded Gimnásio Zamacois in 1879, which went on to be the embryo for the birth of Athletic Bilbao.

Early life and education José Maria Zamacois was born on 21 November 1854 in Bilbao, as the son of Adolfo Zamacois (1832–) and Josefa Bengoa Basterrechea, being baptized in the Church of Saint Anthony the Great. His mother died shortly after, so his father married two more times, including with Josefa's sister, Paula, with whom he had a daughter, Luisa, born in August 1856, who also became a gym teacher. This was Zamacois' last and definitive gym, which he set up in Ibáñez de Bilbao, on the third floor of his home. The Sociedad Gimnástica Zamacois folded on 1 June 1912.

Personal life and death On 23 January 1886, Zamacois married Úrsula Yturrioz Abarrategui, a native of Eibar, in the cathedral of Santiago, and the couple had four children, Luis Victoriano, María Carmen, Ángel, Águeda, but only the boy survived into adulthood.

Zamacois unexpectedly died as a result of a heart condition on 25 October 1894, at the age of 40. The funeral was held in the church of San Vicente Mártir de Abando, next to the gardens where he once paraded alongside strongmen, gymnasts, and sports propagandists. His remains were buried in the Mallona cemetery.