Barça Rewind: The unknown 'grandad'

It was 17 May 1951 and the Copa del Rey final in the Chamartín stadium in Madrid between Barça and Real Sociedad. The blaugranes would emerge victorious 3-0 in the game, the first great success of the Kubala era. 

The Barça fans had filled the capital and had with them banners of the Barça 'Avi' (Grandfather), the symbol of the club's fans created by the cartoonist Valentí Castanys in 1924. The 'Avi' was an avuncular, bald white bearded, pot bellied figure in a Barça shirt, a humanised emblem of the Club's support.  The Madrid locals were a little confused by the depiction of this figure as some believed him to be the Club's founder, Joan Gamper, others the rotund former Bará midfielder Agustí Sancho. There even those who thought the 'Avi' was the Barça coach himself Josep Samitier. 

The masses did have an excuse though: the magazines Xut! and El Once in which the figure of the 'Avi' had become popular in Barcelona were not available in the nation's capital.