Basque pelota close to currently rare specialty of "rebot". The mid-19th century saw the explosion of the "pelota craze". The player "Gantxiki" is considered the original "father" of the chistera, the basket-shaped racquet which can propel the ball at incredible speeds, introduced around 1850. The top champions of the end of the 19th century, such as "Chiquito de Cambo", were immensely popular and the best-paid sportsmen of their time. The first official competitions were organized in the 1920s, and led to the world championship in the 1950s. In 1924 the United States built their first fronton, in Miami. Jai- Alai is used
Spanish Federation of Basque Pelota Spanish Basque Pelota Federation. The first typed of pelota to be included were doubles hand-pelota, "pala", "remonte" and "cesta punta". Provincial federations were set up in Álava, Aragón, Castile, Cataluña, Guipúzcoa, Navarra, Salamanca and Vizcaya. The activities of the Federation were interrupted during the Civil War but were restarted in 1940, when singles hand-pelota and short "pala" categories were introduced. The same year the first top-tier hand-pelota singles championship was organized, resulting in the win of Atano III over Txikito de Iraeta with a final score of 22-8. In 1941 the first top-tier hand-pelota doubles championship was played, resulting in