It was in Ascain that he took his first steps and hit his first balls, under the watchful eye of his father Joseph, himself a great bare-handed champion, winner of the first Coupe de France in 1944, and 5 times individual champion of France… Suffice to say that Pampi was at a good school, and learned with his family the secrets of the king sport in the Basque Country, bare-hand pelota.
A talented pilot, Pampi has won many tournaments, he was crowned amateur world champion in Montevideo (Uruguay) in 1974, then entered the Elite, he won two doubles – individual and team champion – in 1976 and 1977.
In 1981, he turned professional, participated in the Spanish championship, and challenged the best pilotari on the left wall: there too, following a few months of adaptation, he became champion twice, associated with Joxean Tolosa, in 1987 and 1989 .
He was the first driver from the Northern Basque Country to win these prestigious titles, and then became very well known.
Transmission, Pampi Laduche’s other passion
In 1994, Pampi retired from sport, but he remained very close to the canchas, becoming the trainer for the pilotari Yves Sallaberry “Xala” (4 times champion in the left wall) and Sebastien Gonzalez (a title of Spanish champion in the wall on the left).
In recent years, he had joined the Eskupilota team, and trained the young pilotari in trinquet, Battitt Ducassou, Mathieu Ospital or Malik Nyang, for whom he was “a dad”, an attentive ear and a sporting example.
Pampi Laduche singer
Pampi Laduche was very attached to his mother tongue, Basque, to the culture and traditions of the Basque Country.
During pelota games, he sang the Angelus, or the points.
And following the ball, when everyone met at the bar or in the square, Pampi liked to sing with his friends. Everyone told him he had a beautiful voice, and Pampi recorded three albums (“Aitari” in 1995, “Chansons du Pays Basque” in 2002, and “Orhoit” in 2012).
Pelota songs, traditional songs, love songs… the Basque repertoire and tailor-made compositions gave him the opportunity to delight his audience.
Pampi Laduche died on November 30, 2021, he was 66, but his memory is eternal.
