Enrique Beech

{{Infobox person

| name = Enrique Beech

| birth_name =

| nickname =

| nationality = Filipino

| birth_date = {{birth date|1920|8|14}}

| birth_place = Manila, Philippine Islands

| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|11|14|1920|8|14}}

| death_place = Parañaque, Philippines

| height =

| website =

| module = {{Infobox football biography

|embed = yes

| position =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| collegeyears1 = –1936

| college1 = San Beda College

| years1 = 1940s

| clubs1 = Turba Salvaje

| caps1 =

| nationalyears1 = 1936–1950

| nationalteam1 = Philippines

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| pcupdate =

| ntupdate =

}}

|module2={{Infobox sportsperson|child=yes

| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's shooting }}

{{MedalCountry | {{flag|Philippines|1936}} }}

}}

Enrique Beech (August 14, 1920 – November 14, 2012) was a Philippine footballer and sport shooter.

Early life and education

He was born in Manila{{cite web|last = Gjerde|first = Arild|author2=Jeroen Heijmans |author3=Bill Mallon |author4=Hilary Evans |title = Enrique Beech Biography and Olympic Results|work = Olympics|publisher = Sports Reference.com|year = 2011|url = https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/enrique-beech-1.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200418120202/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/be/enrique-beech-1.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2020-04-18|accessdate = 2012-02-27}} and attended Colegio de San Juan de Letran and San Beda College.{{cite news|last = Henson|first = Joaquin|title = Olympian prays for London gold|newspaper = The Philippine Star|date = 2011-10-31|url = http://www.philstar.com/sports/742820/olympian-prays-london-gold|accessdate = 2016-12-29}}

Career

Beech played on the football team of San Beda. He was recruited upon his 1936 graduation to play for the Philippines national football team. In the Manila Football League he played for the Turba Salvaje in the late 1940s.{{cite book|last = Villegas|first = Bernardo|title = Philippine Football: Its Past, Its Future|year = 2016|publisher = University of Asia and the Pacific|isbn = 978-621-8002-29-6|page = 41|contributor-last = Ramirez|contributor-first = Bert|contribution = Looking Back (chapter author)}} He played for the national team until 1950 and stayed with them through 1950, when a knee injury put his career on hold. The Philippine Olympic Committee, then the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation, helped pay for a knee operation so that he could resume playing, but Beech soon turned to shooting following his recovery, believing that he would have a better chance to medal in this sport at the 1954 Asian Games.{{cite news|last = Henson|first = Joaquin|title = Why not Beech?|newspaper = The Philippine Star|date = 2007-11-29|url = http://www.philstar.com/sportsarticle.aspx?articleid=30389&publicationsubcategoryid=69|accessdate = 2012-02-27}}

Beech competed in trap shooting throughout his career and won a bronze medal at the 1954 Asian Games. Two years later he headed to the 1956 Summer Olympics, where he placed 24th in a field of 32 participants in the same event. At the 1958 Asian Games he again captured a bronze medal and his last major international tournament was the 1960 Summer Olympics, where he ended up near the bottom of the rankings in the competition. He later found success in golf and was inducted into the San Beda College Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.{{cite web|last = Del Gallego|first = Mike|title = SBC 2003 SPORTS.... HALL OF FAME|publisher = Degalen Corporation|year = 2004|url = http://www.degalen.com/zzaarticles04.2.htm|accessdate = 2012-02-27}}

Outside of sports he worked in the cargo department of Philippine Airlines and later ran a travel agency. From 1990 until his death he served as a consultant to the Philippine Sports Commission. He died November 14, 2012, in Parañaque.{{cite news|title = Beech, 92|newspaper = Malaya|date = 2012-11-15|url = http://www.malaya.com.ph/~malayaco/index.php/sports/17672-beech-92|archive-url = https://archive.today/20121123153323/http://www.malaya.com.ph/~malayaco/index.php/sports/17672-beech-92|url-status = dead|archive-date = 2012-11-23|accessdate = 2012-11-14}}