Alicante, at the tail end of March 1939, was gripped by a brutal quiet that hid the dust of a city crushed by war. The Costa Blanca capital endured days of terror and chaos, not merely because Franco’s army loomed, but because the people feared what would come next. More than twenty thousand residents gathered along the docks after rumors promised ships capable of ferrying them into exile. Yet the ships did not arrive, and hope dissolved into a long, heavy night. Despair rose with the hours, and the first suicides appeared amid the cries of hungry children. Rescue missions that never reached the quay became a cruel memory, and nights stretched on without relief.
In the small hours from March 31 to April 1, Francoist troops finally pierced Alicante’s defenses. What followed was a Dantean procession of fear: hundreds of men, women, and children leapt into the sea to avoid capture, to spare themselves a future in camps that might not end. Alicante faced the darkest possible moment in the Civil War, yet life persisted in one arena: football. The game would go on, and the city would watch as it did—through this age of ruin and survival.
great team
Henry Moscat
MARVEL TEAM DATES (39-40)
Summer 1939 brought a postwar version 1.0 of Hercules, a pale echo of its former glories. After the era’s upheavals took their toll, Suárez was gone, leaving the bench to Eladio Pérez (president) and Luis Surroca (a former player). Yet the club forged ahead with surprising buoyancy. The squad carried officers of resilience in players like Goyeneche, Rosalén, Morera, Blázquez, and Mendizábal—still part of the side despite the bleeding wounds of war. Pérez, Maciá, Aparicio, Salas, Tatono, and Salvador remained central as the team pressed on, winning the Murcian Regional Championship under difficult circumstances. The Alicante club, though battered, appeared ready for league play.
Map of white and blue emotions
Henry Moscat
The league campaign began on 3 December 1939 with a 3-1 victory over Racing de Santander at Bardín. Tormo and Vilanova struck twice for Herculaneums. The squad featured players from Valencia, Conde, and a promising Alicante-born winger Adrover (only 17), while defenders Pardo and Del Pino formed the backbone of the lineup. Patxi Gamborena led the way, followed by José Quirante, filling the hole left by the legendary Suárez. The opening win hinted at what Hercules could become: a team with the DNA of a Wonder Team. They showed it in multiple swings of fate—beating Real Madrid (0-1 at Chamartín), taking down Athletic Aviación, and edging Athletic Bilbao 1-0 in Bardín in the first decisive matches. The season closed with a strong finish, in sixth place, and a Cup quarterfinals run, a sign that Alicante’s football era was marked by highs amid a city’s broader suffering.
RED OR BLUE-WHITE? (1940-1942)
The next two seasons wore away at the squad’s potential, especially on the road. Players departed year after year, and those who arrived rarely sustained pace with those who left, turning veterans into the club’s anchor. Beyond the roster, a darker nuance crept in: Hercules, the team associated with the last Republican stronghold, faced hostility on visiting grounds across Francoist Spain. Even neutral arbitration could not escape the mood, as officials under Francoist administration overshadowed officiating with political weight. Yet the people of Alicante kept faith, producing a respectable ninth place in 1940-41. In 1941-42 the club merged with Alicante CF to form Club Unión Deportiva Alicante, a cost-saving measure that ultimately failed to preserve top-flight status. Within a few years the Blue and Whites faced a renewed struggle as the league restructured and the road to promotion seemed ever more treacherous.
After relegation and the failed merger, the squad prepared for the 1942-1943 campaign under the name Chepa, the rebranding of a club forced by Federation reforms that reduced the Second Division to a single group and threatened ten teams with relegation. From the outset, Hercules aimed to regain First Division status on the first attempt. Young talents such as Pina, Periche, and Corona combined with veterans like Maciá, Salas, Tatono, and Blázquez offered a hopeful horizon, while the club still leaned on the legacy of the past. The season’s outcomes, however, reflected the turbulent times: Hercules finished fourth, narrowly missing promotion and struggling to find consistent results away from home.
THE SECOND CHAPTER WAS NEVER GOOD (1943-1944)
The following season arrived with a familiar optimism that quickly faltered. Manolo Maciá, now leading as player-coach, steered a blue-and-white squad that seemed ready for a push. The loss of Corona, who had scored six goals in the prior season and moved to Real Madrid, left a gap. Madrid’s purchase of Clemente, and the ongoing emergence of younger talents like Pina and Periche, kept the team hopeful, as did the return of legendary goalkeeper José Pérez, albeit troubled by vision problems that dulled his earlier brilliance. The results showed a season of near-misses and a stark reminder that some stories don’t reset neatly after a long interruption. The saying here rings true: sometimes the second chapters disappoint.
MACIA HERCULES (1944-1945)
Emotional currents defined the 1944-1945 campaign. Pérez departed under a cloud, leaving Maciá as the lone living link to the old Wonder Team. Francisco Pagazaurtundúa, a veteran coach with a storied past, took charge and began a careful rejuvenation. Leaders Periche and Pina emerged as captains, while Lahuerta, signed from Elche, delivered a tally of seventeen goals. The team gathered strength and entered the final days with a genuine shot at promotion again, buoyed by the support of fans and some distant signs of consolidation. Pagazaurtundúa guided a squad that needed a different spark, and a tough road led to their last-day destiny. The hope persisted that a win over Barakaldo at Alicante could ignite a return to the top tier.
Bardín, 20 May 1945. Hercules faced Barakaldo in the final match of the Second Division. The atmosphere in the intimate stand was electric, with a sense of history in every breath. The lineups were announced, the nets checked, and the game ready to begin. A tense start saw Hercules press, while Barakaldo defended with stubborn resolve. Abeijón’s entrance signaled fresh energy from the visitors, yet the home side countered with disciplined defense and sharp counters. The Basque goalkeeper stood tall, denying several attempts as the match progressed.
The equalizer finally arrived when a ball found its way to Periche, who crossed and delivered a precise shot that beat the goalkeeper just before the break. The tension shifted, and the home crowd roared as the halftime whistle neared. After the break, the momentum swung again, and a second goal from Periche widened the advantage. The late push from Barakaldo was repelled by a resolute defense, and Alicante celebrated a dramatic 3-1 victory. The result cemented Hercules as a First Division club once more, a moment of triumph carved into the city’s weary memory.