Elorri makes First Puryear Park Appearance
If there were any kind of a Board of Directors table for the sport of jai-alai, there is certainly one name that that would be sitting up there in the front of it. That would be Francisco Eloririaga, better known as to most fans as “Elorri”. On Saturday morning, Elorri made his debut at America’s first public cancha in St. Petersburg.
As part of the “Orlando Invasion” lead by long time pro player Rastock, Elorri showed up at Puryear Park in a three-car caravan to the surprise of about ten regulars for a regular Saturday session. Looking healthy, tanned, and relaxed, the 82-year was a fixture at Orlando Jai-alai. As a former player from day 1 in 1962 to all the way to 2013 as player manager, Elorri was beloved by everyone.
He can still throw the ball around – 60 years after playing he started playing pro!