Quick Facts
Biography
Francisco Baos Rodríguez (20 April 1924 – 13 February 2012), commonly known as Sansón, was a Spanish footballer who played as a defender.
He was the youngest ever player to appear in a La Liga game, when he played for Celta in 1939.
Football career
Born in Vigo, Pontevedra, Galicia, Sansón joined local Celta de Vigo in 1939. On 31 December of that year, at only 15 years and 255 days old, he made his La Liga debut in a 4–1 away win against Sevilla FC, one of just six league appearances he would amass for the club in two seasons combined, after which he was deemed surplus to requirements due to his age.
In 1944, after three years in the lower leagues with Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa, Sansón returned to the top level with Sporting de Gijón, although he was again only a fringe player. Subsequently, he developed into an important player with Asturias neighbours Real Oviedo – also in the latter tier – playing an average of 23 games during his stint, which included two top-five finishes.
Sansón returned to Celta for the 1950–51 season, where he was utilised as a defender, midfielder and forward, but again being almost exclusively a backup (20 matches in his third year, only 20 in the other four combined). After rejecting a new five-year contract for 500.000 pesetas, he retired in 1956 after a spell with Xerez CD, with top division totals of 167 games and one goal.