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Centuries in Motion Amsterdam and Basketball

190509_052019 Centuries in Motion Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion

Centuries in motion 1 Inhoudsopgave

Introduction Amsterdam Society for Young Men Basketball in the The The FAMOS Concertgebouw Kersttoernooi

4 6 8 10 14

Basketball in The liberator on the basketball Dick Schmüll Rinus Michels The Harlem wartime court Globetrotters

16 18 20 22 24

Basketball at Museumplein The first Piet Leegwater The Olympic basketball sports hall tournament that never happened

26 30 32 34

The World The Centre for Top Sport and The formation Jesper Jobse Championships Education of BC Apollo

36 40 44 46

Dutch women in the American The hybrid city Credits league

48 50 54 56

2 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 3 Introduction

msterdam has been a home to That turning point came after the Second Abasketball for nearly a century. From World War, when the Canadian liberators the local outdoor courts where children breathed new life into the sport. The shoot their first hoops to the sports halls impact of the Second World War also led where basketball players are moulded to the development of a new form of the into professionals, basketball is firmly sport: wheelchair basketball. The sport anchored in the city. At Museumplein, took its first steps to professionalisation in the heart of the city, the open and when Dick Schmüll founded the Dutch accessible variants of the sport unite Basketball Association in 1947. In with the professional competition. Since Amsterdam, people began to realise 1954, its outdoor courts have served as that sports facilities were an essential a public training ground for countless enrichment of the modern city. The generations of basketball players, construction of public outdoor courts including Ton Boot. But the square was made the sport more and more acces- also the stage for the spectacle of the sible to Amsterdammers, while modern FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup in 2017 and the sports halls gave basketball the indoor 3x3 in 2019. room it needed to grow.

The birthplace of basketball in Amster- In the past few years, basketball has once dam is the club house of the Amsterdam again begun to take off in Amsterdam. Society for Young Men, where the very Since 2009, Topsport has been coaching first exhibition game took place in 1930. burgeoning basketball talents like Emese In the years that followed, the sport was Hof and Laura Cornelius, getting them added to school tournaments in the city, ready to compete on the international introducing Amsterdammers to basket- stage. To top it off, the formation of ball at a young age. In spite of this, BC in 2011 means basketball remained a sport in its infancy the city once again has a worthy com- in its first years. It was something to be petitor in the national basketball league. played in the breaks between other With the international competitions at sports, as it was for legendary soccer Museumplein, the nearly 200 outdoor player Rinus Michels. As Amsterdam courts and 29 basketball teams, the sport Basketball at Museumplein. Unknown photographer, 1955, Amsterdam City Archives began to expand over the course of the has become a prominent feature of the 20th century, so too did the growth of city. Amsterdam will undoubtedly remain basketball: from a hobby played on a a home for basketball in the future! small scale to a professional sport with a professional arena.

4 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 5 1930 Amsterdam Society for Young Men

The rise of basketball in Amsterdam was thwarted by , which was regarded as a pure Dutch sport at the time. Main entrance of the Amsterdam Society for Young Men’s club house In 1903, an American correspondent for Bosje in 1928. The new building had a on Stadhouderskade. Het Algemeen Handelsblad attended a space for indoor sports and was able to Unknown photographer, basketball game in Kentucky. His report is host the first basketball game in January 1928, Amsterdam City one of the oldest descriptions of the of 1930. Archives sport in the Dutch language. “Each side has 5 players and the goal is to throw the Basketball players vs korfball players ball into a small basket, several metres In these early days, basketball was largely new sport only took hold in Amsterdam, frustration of Sport in Beeld, that in 1932 above the ground. The ball is as big as regarded as a fun winter training activity and it was not until after the Second wrote: “Why are sports editors so wary of the one used in the soccer game, but it for korfball players, nothing more. The World War that it sprouted in other all things new, of all that is groundbreak- cannot be kicked, only thrown from the areas – thanks in large part to Canadian ing, of all that is emerging and evolving? one to the other. Tackling each other is soldiers. Why are people so indifferent when it forbidden, players can merely obstruct comes to or basketball, ping one another.” ‘Why are sports editors so wary of pong or badminton?” all things new, of all that is ground- Fun for training breaking, of all that is emerging and In the meantime, the basketball players This anecdote did not lead to a break- evolving?’ kept on playing. The first club was through for basketball, for the sport was founded in 1931, at the AMVJ pre- completely unknown in our country at In October of 1930, a team of Dutch dictably. On 8 January, 1934, the building the beginning of the last century. Even korfball players joined a handful of played host to the first ever tournament, korfball had yet to take off. In 1920, exhibition games against an English featuring fifteen teams, of which seven (!) a test match was to be played between basketball team at the AMVJ building. were from the AMVJ itself. With that, Dutch korfball players and American The korfball players struggled with the basketball finally became a serious sport basketball players at the rules of the game. “One step is permit- in our country, more than thirty years in , but it never came to pass. ted,” sports magazine De Corinthian after the sport was first mentioned in In the subsequent years, there were a observed. “Solo play too, though in that a Dutch newspaper. number of different exhibition games of case one is required to let the ball the sport, including one at the Military bounce between every step. The Dutch AMVJ Basketball is still around today, Gymnastics and Sports School in Utrecht players were repeatedly surprised by this playing their games at Sportcentrum in 1924. The real breakthrough, however, Exhibition game at the Amsterdam Society dribbling.” Ookmeer. Their old home at Leidse Bosje came courtesy of the Amsterdam Society for Young Men’s club house. is now the property of NH Hotel Group. for Young Men (AMVJ) who took up Vereenigde Fotobureaux N.V., 1930, The majority of sports journalists had no residence in a new building at Leidse Amsterdam City Archives interest in basketball either. Much to the

6 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 7 1931 Basketball in the Concertgebouw

In the 1930s, basketball was played in the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam’s iconic concert hall) to raise awareness for the sport. For the first time, women played too.

In the early years, basketball was not An eclectic mix taken very seriously by the rest of the The 1931 basketball game was the finale sporting world. The was of an exhibition evening with roughly korfball country. 300 athletes from different disciplines, “in addition to various exercise routines With just a handful of exhibition games for young and old, all manner of sporting at the AMVJ building, it was impossible activities, including the very newest.” to break through this sporting isolation. Even swimmers and rowers took part, On 13 February, 1931, newspaper Het albeit without water. “An eclectic mix,” Algemeen Handelsblad therefore according to the Handelsblad, “but a announced a new endeavour: “Each joyous and lively sight! No wonder the Baskettball [sic] enthusiast is eagerly many spectators welcomed the multitude anticipating the arrival of the evening of of strapping gentlemen with rapturous Saturday, 18 April, on which a Baskettball applause.” Gymnastics competition at the Concertgebouw. There are no photographs known of the [sic] game will be played between the basketball games. Vereenigde Fotobureaux N.V., 1930, Amsterdam City Archives strongest A.M.V.J. team and a very The final basketball game was tough, strong London quintet, in the Concert- “the Englishmen proved to be more gebouw.” skilled and productive. The A.M.V.J.-ers opponent. The game between Brusselse the cradle of women’s basketball! appeared to have made considerable Athletic Club and AMVJ finished in a All of the efforts to raise awareness for This international basketball game was progress. The game ended in a 26–10 draw with a score of 8–8, a highly unusual the sport worked as the first basketball extremely unique, and was considered a victory for the visiting team.” result for the sport. league was started in 1934, composed significant opportunity to raise awareness almost entirely of Amsterdam clubs with for the sport. The fact that the Concert- The first women’s basketball game The most significant development of the the one exception from Bussum. There gebouw was selected to host the game Two years later, the AMVJ hosted another event, however, was the very first wom- was even interest from other sports, made it extra special, although the such sporting event at the Concert- en’s basketball game. Unfortunately, we including no fewer than six korfball clubs: location had hosted sporting events gebouw, where amongst others Schwing- do not know the names of the players or D.T.V., D.E.D., D.V.D., Oosterpark, K.V.D., in the past. In 1916, for example, the ball and Medicinball were first exhibited the final result, as these were not report- and Olympia (from Bussum). A National Olympic Games took place – then popular, but now forgotten. There ed in the newspaper. We do know that club had also registered for the league. in Amsterdam, an alternative to the was also a match, another sport on 21 April, 1933, games were played at international variant which had been for which the AMVJ has been very the Turngebouw (gymnastics building), After a difficult first few years, basketball cancelled due to the First World War. important. now youth theatre De Krakeling. A day was finally being taken seriously by the On that occasion, the Concertgebouw later, the women took to the court at Dutch sporting world, although primarily played host to the fencing, , Basketball was once again the final act, the Concertgebouw, probably the same in Amsterdam. This was largely due to and weightlifting competitions. this time it was played against a Belgian players that played at the Turngebouw. the exhibition games that were played These cultural institutions are therefore at the Concertgebouw.

8 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 9 1934 The Apollohal: an iron fantasy

The Apollohal was opened in 1934 and later became the home of the Amsterdam basketball league. The architect’s use of daylight made a tremendous impression.

Public interest in basketball grew quickly world of new desires, that bring new as a result of the exhibition games in the challenges, and of new knowledge and Concertgebouw. The AMVJ building was ability, that creates new means. And, no longer large enough to accommodate ultimately, a world of a new spirit.” the league. Fortunately, Amsterdam architect Albert Boeken (1891 – 1951) In 1933, he broke ground on the con- was already working on a new hall struction of the Apollohal in the area approximately two kilometres to the between the Zuider Amstelkanaal, south. Apollolaan and Stadionweg. When a reporter from Het Algemeen Handels- Boeken was extremely interested in sport blad first entered the building a year and the opportunities it offered for later, he stood in awe: “There is one architecture. He was very positive about thing that stands out immediately: the the growing interest in physical health, light, the powerful, strong, radiant light,” The Apollohal, viewed from Apollolaan. “a return to the beauty of nature and he wrote on 27 September, 1934. “We Paul Guermonprez, 1934, Amsterdam City Archives a healthy expansion of people’s per- have seen more than one hall spective on life”. In 1935, he wrote that throughout the countries of Europe. Not sport had a great influence on “the one of these has left us with an impres- wealthy residents of the surrounding league, for which no fewer than 36 development of cities,” visible in the sion of the amount of natural light.” neighbourhood did not appreciate. associations had registered, including new suburbs. The Apollohal was his Anton Mussert frequently used the hall soccer and ice players. On the contribution. Remarkable too was the absence of a to organise political rallies for the NSB first day of the competition, there were single supporting pillar in an area of (the National Socialist Movement in the seventeen games, spread across five There was light 3,400 square metres. The building, which Netherlands) and so too did the commu- courts. “In general, the level of play The Amsterdam architect was fascinated was originally constructed for tennis and nists. One week, the Brownshirts would on this first night was not very high,” by the effect of light, which he consid- exhibitions, was quickly dubbed the ‘iron march through the wealthy neighbour- Het Algemeen Handelsblad judged. ered to be a symbol of freedom. “How fantasy’. hood; the other week the neighbourhood often one forgets, though the importance would be flooded by communists and The hope was that this would quickly of light and air in the home and other Marching through wealthy streets their red flags. Gone were the days of improve in the new hall, but after two buildings for the health of mankind is Shortly after its official opening, it peace and quiet in Apollobuurt. years, the basketball players were forced unquestionable, to pay attention to this became very clear that the immense size to move again due to the construction of factor. The new world of the architect is of the Apollohal was perfectly suited to On 9 November, 1938, Apollohal hosted an ice skating rink. Back to the AMVJ, not a world of different forms, but a large public gatherings, something the the first games of the city’s basketball back to square one.

10 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 11 Game between the Netherlands and Luxembourg at Apolohall. The final score was 43-58. J.D. Noske/Anefo, 1956, National Archives

12 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 13 1937 The FAMOS Kersttoernooi

Thanks to the FAMOS tournaments, basketball became a popular sport amongst Barlaeus Gymnasium study the rules of play, which meant they students in Amsterdam. The Barlaeus Gymnasium, however, was not very good at it. The first FAMOS tournament for Amster- “had to learn while playing”. Little had dam high schools, called the ‘Driehoeks- changed by 1941. “It has almost become ontmoeting’, took place in 1937, “which a tradition, that the Barlaeus Gymnasium In 1929, the Federation of Amsterdam by FAMOS, and for many of the students, did not only comprise different sporting cannot play basketball,” the school paper Schools for Recreation and Sport this was their first encounter with it. It disciplines but also competitions in grumbled. “Why is this sport never (FAMOS) was given its own home with was, however, still the smallest sport, and eloquence, music, drawing, essay-writing, practised at our school? I do not think several different courts. The organisation only 25 basketball players took part in etc.” From the outset, the Barlaeus there are any insurmountable objections. had been founded three years earlier as the FAMOS Sports Week of 1937. The Gymnasium performed extremely well, It cannot go on like this!” part of the AMVJ and quickly became the enthusiasm for the sport was consider- winning the entire competition in 1939, driving force behind school sport in the ably greater than the knowledge of the 1940 and 1941 – in the final year this was Rock-and-roll fanatics Dutch capital. rules of play. “As a result,” Het Algemeen largely due to their superiority in the Following the Second World War, the Handelsblad wrote, “the game often had intellectual challenges. Driehoeksontmoeting became known as Basketball was one of the sports offered a lot in common with rugby.” the FAMOS ‘Kersttoernooi’ (Christmas The students were especially good at Tournament), welcoming hundreds of volleyball, with the Barlaeus team going participants and thousands of spectators undefeated on their way to winning the annually. In the 1950s, fights broke out tournament. This may have been due to between students and the police. “A the close proximity of the AMVJ building small group of rock-and-roll fanatics is on the other side of Leidseplein, the bringing the tournament in danger,” birthplace of volleyball in the Nether- newspaper Het Parool wrote on 9 January lands. It could well be that a few of the 1957, “and threatening to rob thousands Barlaeus high schoolers had spent their of well-intentioned, healthy, sporting spare time playing volleyball there. In any boys and girls of a tournament, the case, the school newspaper Suum Cuique educational importance and value of reported extensively on the sport, as well which cannot emphasised enough.” as gymnastics, hockey, and soccer. After continued fighting, the Kersttoer- “It has almost become a tradition, nooi was cancelled. But thanks to Jaap that the Barlaeus Gymnasium cannot Pelk, former director of the Department play basketball.” of Sport in Amsterdam Noord, a new school basketball tournament was When it came to basketball, the Barlaeus initiated in 1978. Pelk has since retired, team were not very good at all, despite but he continues to spread the gospel having the AMVJ building around the of basketball to the youth of the city. corner. When the team’s players reported In 2012, he was knighted in the Order The FAMOS tournament ends in chaos as high school students fight. for the Driehoeksontmoeting of 1940, of Orange-Nassau as a tribute to his Kuijsten/Anefo, 1954, National Archives they had not even taken the effort to considerable efforts.

14 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 15 1940 Basketball in wartime

During the Second World War, the Amsterdam basketball players were in need of a new home, which they would have to share with the German war machine.

During the Second World War, Amster- actually too little space in the AMVJ hall, dam was the only city in our country with it still became the new home of the a basketball league. “It is remarkable,” basketball league. The length of each magazine Revue der Sporten wrote on game was reduced to two quarters of 20 October, 1941, “that there still is no fifteen minutes to accommodate the Dutch basketball association.” In any playing of more games. And instead of case: “As long as it is only played in the one night of games a week, a second was capital, the leadership of the Amsterdam introduced: Wednesday and Thursday. commission is sufficient. Although from Under these conditions, a league was a general organisational standpoint, started in the venue in which the sport interested parties will soon insist on the was first introduced back in 1930. formation of a national association.” Flyer for the Dutch Newspaper Het Algemeen Handelsblad Workers’ Union, No space to play reported on the results of the league on Physical Education As basketball was still a winter sport at a weekly basis, and on 18 October, 1940, department, in which the time, the German invasion did not it appeared that the proposed shortening basketball is promoted. disrupt any of the competitions. Never- of playing time had in fact been intro- Unknown Unknown theless, by September of 1940, the first duced. By necessity, basketball in designer, 1944, Image problems arose: the Apollohal was no Amsterdam had anticipated changes Bank WW2 – NIOD longer available to the basketball players. that would later be adopted elsewhere, An ice skating rink had been opened and because more than a year later the as a result there was no room for other playing times were also shortened in Luftwaffe, were set up in the building; a opportunities to foster physical develop- sports. This was a huge problem because , “for as long as the war lasts.” year later they were followed by the Feld- ment as broadly as possible. We encour- the hall used to host ten to fifteen And not just for basketball, but for luftzeuggruppe. As a result, the basket- age our members to make extensive use basketball games on a Saturday evening. soccer, rugby, tennis, boxing and ball players of the AMVJ had to share of this.” “De Turnhal on Marnixstraat, the A.M.V.J. wrestling too. The road races for cyclists their home with the occupiers. hall at Leidschebosje and other gymnasi- were also subject to shortened routes – It appears it had the opposite effect ums are too small to have more than one all because of the conditions of war. In the summer of 1943, the AMVJ was because from that point on there were basketball court,” according to Revue der even infiltrated by the national socialists, no further reports of competitive games Sporten. For a moment, it seemed like Sharing with the Germans according to De Zwarte Soldaat, the in Amsterdam. It was not until after there would be no basketball that winter. Immediately after the invasion, the AMVJ newsletter of the NSB’s paramilitary wing. the country’s liberation that the sport building was claimed by the German war This immediately gave them access to a began to flourish again, thanks in part But as the old adage goes, necessity is machine. In June of 1940, the Luftgau- beautiful sporting venue. “With this to Canadian soldiers. the mother of invention. While there was kommando, the support services of the objective, we endeavour to exploit all

16 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 17 1945 The liberator on the basketball court

“Sport will quickly rise again,” Het Parool wrote two weeks after Liberation of 1945. Thanks to Canadian soldiers, basketball was soon played again.

The basketball league in Amsterdam nobody knew them.” It was not until stopped in the final years of the war. several experienced Amsterdam players There is a good chance that a few with knowledge of the game visited the Amsterdammers secretly played in the league that the level of play improved. underground competition in We do not know who those Amsterdam instead. players were, but there is a good chance these were basketball players who could Huib van Mastrigt no longer play at the AMVJ building. The Rotterdam gym Kralingen was built next to the ice skating rink and was Canadian soldiers opened in October of 1941 by Huib van After the first liberation celebrations, it Mastrigt (1932 – 2013). “For three years, was primarily the Canadian soldiers who this school has practised its sports breathed new life into basketball in the underground,” Het Parool wrote of the Netherlands. Among them were sever- Liberation Day celebrations with the Canadian Military Band at city hall. basketball players who played there. That al professional players, of whom we no Unknown photographer, 1945, Amsterdam City Archives had not been without its dangers, Het longer know the names. But it was once Vrije Volk reported in November of 1945: again possible to play at the AMVJ build- “A league was held last winter, with 17 ing, which had been left in desolate state in Rotterdam: “An exceptional amount chosen to host basketball games. With men’s and 7 women’s teams taking part. by its occupiers. On 24 June, a basketball was learned from the Canadians, when that, the sport once against returned to The competition had to be interrupted tournament was held in the sporting hall they arrived after the liberation of its birthplace in the Netherlands. on several occasions as a result of raids of the Headquarters of Police. A team of Rotterdam. They taught people the and other German measures. On two Canadians competed in the tournament. modern American rules.” The English left in January of 1946 and occasions there were even raids during the AMVJ could finally return to their the evening practices.” During the same period, the Rotterdam Canadian sports week own home. Upon arrival, the members basketball players were finally able to play In November of 1945, activities were were pleasantly surprised, because the The underground basketball players in above ground. On 10 June, a tournament organised throughout the country in rela- previous tenants had been so kind as to Kralingen had no idea what the rules was held with an Amsterdam team and a tion to the Netherlands – Canada Sports leave all of their furniture behind. A relief, of the game were and simply played as Canadian team. The players of these Week. In Amsterdam, for example, there because much of the material was in a they saw fit. It was not exactly a time in teams are once again unknown, which is was at the Apollohal and great state. Thanks to the allied soldiers, which this kind of information was readily a shame because according to newpaper American in the Olympic Stadi- the Dutch basketball players received the available. “Nobody cared about the rules Het Vrije Volk, these soldiers made an um. The AMVJ building, which had been support they needed for the initial, of play,” Het Vrije Volk wrote, “because enormous contribution to the level of play taken over by the English liberators, was post-war recovery.

18 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 19 1947 Dick Schmüll en and the Dutch Basketball Association

Dick Schmüll meant a great deal to basketball in the Netherlands. In 1947, he founded the country’s basketball association, in the same year that he had formed the volleyball association. Dick Schmüll, founder of the Dutch Basketball Association, demonstrates exercises. On 22 February, 1947, basketball players fanatically played sports at AMVJ and Unknown photographer, from all over the Netherlands came to was there when the organisation received c. 1935, private collection the AMVJ building to discuss the a new building in 1928,” wrote Kees van formation of a basketball association. Tilborg in the Canon van de Lichamelijke Having been involved in the sport for Opvoeding. organisational activities, something I had have proven themselves to be world decades already, Dick Schmüll (1908 – been doing long before the war.” citizens,” he wrote in Het Parool in 1952. 1990) was predictably among those in In 1937, Schmüll became athletic direc- “I know that we are confronted with the attendance. The inaugural meeting of the tor at the AMVJ, but the war changed But there was another pressing issue that reality of life after each game and that Dutch Basketball Association took place everything. “I was given a choice,” he demanded the formation of a basketball people – unfortunately – have very little just a few months later, on 15 July, 1947. told journalist Mart Smeets in 1987. association: the participation of Dutch time to play. But the number of people “Either stay and work for the Jugend- teams in international tournaments. who play sports in the world is much “Playing people have proven sturm or leave. Not a difficult one. I left Although the International Basketball greater than any army that can be themselves to be world citizens.” for Haarlem where I began teaching at Federation (FIBA) had allowed teams conscripted by any one nation. Maybe Kennemer.” from the Netherlands to compete in the sport is the means by which we can Athletic director European Championships of 1946 and create a better understanding of the Schmüll was born in the Dutch-Indies in Two sporting associations 1947, they had informed Schmüll that this world’s peoples. In the end, I think it 1908 but had already moved to Amster- In 1947, Schmüll was involved in the would no longer be the case unless a makes me an idealist.” dam at the age of five for the sake of his formation of the basketball association. national association was formed. education. He lived on the Leidsekade, Several months later, he founded the Schmüll extensively referenced the around the corner from the AMVJ volleyball association. “Why I did that? Schmüll was also the coach of the history of sport. In 1953, he argued for building. “Throughout his youth, Schmüll Because I was involved in all manner of national team at the time. While his team in-depth scientific and historical research did not compete in the Olympic Games of the role of sport. “Perhaps it would of 1952, he himself was present as an stop people from worshipping or organiser of the Olympic basketball despising the phenomenon that is sport, tournament. For his services, he was and instead judge it according to its true awarded the Cross of Merit, an official value.” Finnish distinction.

The playing people Schmüll emphasised the social value of sport throughout his life. “Playing people

20 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 21 1947 Rinus Michels’ basketball record

Rinus Michels was one of the best soccer coaches the Netherlands has ever had. He was also a great basketball player.

As coach of both Ajax and the Dutch basketball statistician. It was in that national team, Rinus Michels (1928 – capacity that he stumbled upon a 2005) had an enormous and undeniable remarkable account in the 11 March, impact on international soccer. At the 1947 edition of the communist daily beginning of his sporting career, he also newspaper De Waarheid. In it was a impressed in other sports, including report of a basketball game in the capital basketball. between Ajax and FAMOS, during which Michels and his team quickly faced a Bert Hiddema wrote about this in his 12–0 deficit. biography of Michels. Among the many conversations he had with Michels’ peers, Michels took a deep sigh, snatched the the author also spoke to Piet Ouderland ball and scored relentlessly for the (1933 – 2017), who not only played for following ten minutes. He did not stop Ajax and Oranje, but also in the national until Ajax led the game by 22–12. “The basketball team. “He was very good at record for the number of points scored Rinus Michels on the soccer pitch at Olympic Stadium. basketball,” Ouderland said of Michels. was probably broken by Ajax player Joop van Bilsen/Anefo, 1954, National Archives “I couldn’t get the ball when he was Michels on Monday night,” De Waarheid dribbling. And he could jump up high wrote, “who scored twenty-two points in towards the basket for a rebound, a ten minutes.” As a result, Ajax was immediately joining the basketball club about his soccer career. There was just super athlete.” crowned champion of the third division. SMLO (Military School for Physical one other occasion for which Michels Education). By then, he was already a laced up his basketball shoes. On an At the end of the 1940s, Michels not only “He was very good at basketball. famous soccer player at Ajax, newspaper ice-cold soccer Sunday in 1955, Michels played for Ajax’s soccer team, he was I couldn’t get the ball when he was Het Nieuwsblad van het Noorden and his teammates traded their soccer also a member of the basketball team. dribbling.” observed. As point guard at SMLO, boots in for basketball shoes during a At the time, it was still common practice he had an important role on the team home game against Enschede. This gave to play different sports at a sports club. and even led them to the regional the Amsterdam team more traction Johan Cruijff, for example, played for Five years later, Michels still played in championship. The soldiers just missed on the frozen soccer pitch than their the Ajax baseball team alongside his Amsterdam, but now for the basketball out on the national title, because, opponents. Sporting a big grin, Michels brother Henny. club Herly. And with success, because in according to newspaper De Volkskrant, won the game 3-0, heading home one March of 1952 he was called up for the their technique was not up to scratch. of the Ajax goals. Record Amsterdam youth team. Jacob Bergsma is the manager of Elite That was also pretty much the last time That may not have been a record like the Sporting Events at Topsport Amsterdam. At the end of that year, Michels moved Michels was in the news as a basketball one in 1947, but it was enough to secure In his spare time, he is a well-known to Groningen to start his military service, player, because from then on it was only the win.

22 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 23 1951 The Harlem Globetrotters in Amsterdam Pranksters have the taste of real coffee in their Fortunately, at the end of that year, mouth?” In short: the American basket- The Harlem Globetrotters made their Dutch debut in Amsterdam in 1951. newspaper Het Vrije Volk came with ball players were way too good! They played at the Olympic Stadium, in the open air. exciting news: The Harlem Globetrotters were coming to the Netherlands, to both Apollohal Amsterdam and Rotterdam! “It could lift The Olympic Stadium hosted two Dutch basketball to great new heights.” additional basketball shows, in 1957 and Half a year later, it turned out the 1961, but during the final performance, newspaper was right because on the it rained incredibly hard. As a result, the 4th of June, The Harlem Globetrotters next visit by The Globetrotters Amster- played at the Olympic Stadium. dam in 1962 took place indoors, in the Apollohal. The fact that the space was “Where the ball would go was not smaller than the enormous stadium was only a mystery for their opponents actually an advantage, De Tijd De but for the referee and the twelve Maasbode noted. “With surprising ease,” hundred spectators at the Amster- the newspaper judged in their report of dam Apollohall too.” The Harlem Globetrotters’ show, “they were able to conjure the most dazzling More than 7,000 spectators came to patterns in their lightning quick attacking watch the basketball magicians perform. play last night. Where the ball would Most of the attention was directed at go was not only a mystery for their Reece Goose Tatum, the biggest prank- opponents but for the referee John Fox ster of them all. “He really has enormous and the twelve hundred spectators at hands,” newspaper Het Nieuwsblad van the Amsterdam Apollohall too.” het Noorden observed, “they almost make the ball disappear.” De Telegraaf Since their formation in 1926, The Harlem The Harlem Globetrotters at Olympic Stadium. Dave Brinkman/Anefo, 1961, National Archives was not impressed at all: “What non- Globetrotters have played more than sense! They are artists, clowns and 26,000 exhibition games in at least 120 jugglers who can also play a bit of different countries. The last time the In 1950, basketball was primarily played professional soccer player in the world” basketball.” basketball magicians played an exhibition in Amsterdam, despite the formation – had not visited the Netherlands. Why game in Amsterdam was 30 March, 2016 of the national association three years had no one brought these incredible The only question, according to news- at Sporthallen Zuid. They will return to earlier. Newspaper De Leeuwarder players to the Netherlands for a show, paper Het Algemeen Handelsblad, which the Netherlands in 2019, but this time Courant thought it was a shame that the newspaper grumbled on 14 July, was ecstatic about the exhibition, was they will only play in Rotterdam and The Harlem Globetrotters – a team 1950. “Our Dutch korfball players would whether it would get more people to Almere. And indoors, so that they do not of professionals “of which the players enjoy it and so too the other athletes in play basketball. “We, in fact, believe the get soaked by the rain again. earned salaries of 16,000 to 38,000 our country.” effect is exactly the opposite. Who would guilders per season, more than any be satisfied with a substitute if they still

24 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 25 1954 Basketball at Museumplein

Entire generations of basketball players have played at Museumplein, which will nearly of a quarter century but never instead perfecting his game as he plays.” also be home to the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019. led to any concrete results. After all of Or Gunter van den Berg, whose 1.65 the speeches, the youths were allowed metres in height made him one of the to take to the courts. smallest Dutch national basketball team Museumplein is essentially the birthplace Amsterdam put up a few basketball players ever. “I learned the trade at of all sports in our country. The first hoops on vacant lots, like on the Jozef Outdoor basketball Museumplein,” he said in 1960, the year official athletics competition was held Israëlkade in 1951. Because there was Entire generations of basketball players of his national team debut. there, and so too the first hockey match. nothing fun to do anywhere in the city, were raised on this square, like Ton Boot, In 1893, an ice skating rink was built the youth set out in search of mischief. who was introduced as an incredibly Basketball is still played at Museumplein behind the Rijksmuseum for the first Newspaper Het Algemeen Handelsblad, talented player with a difficult attitude to this day. Exactly 65 years after the official World Allround Speed Skating therefore, called on the authorities to in an in-depth profile in newspaper Het court was opened, the square will host Championship. build special playgrounds: “An area Parool on 11 March, 1959. “In his spare the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in 2019, the that would be perfect for this is without time, he often plays at Museumplein, or same place basketball first landed in its Basketball arrived at the square in search a doubt the ice skating club’s field at elsewhere; he does not actually practise, search for the open air. of the open air. The famous square was Museumplein. After all, it is now a first used in 1954, although the sport had swampy, useless plot of land, much to been played on it seven years earlier everyone’s frustration.” during a sports week exhibition to call for more ‘official’ interest in recreation. “I learned the trade at “The members of the basketball club Museumplein.” also showcased their sport,” newspaper De Waarheid wrote on 7 July, 1947. On 16 October, 1954, the request was granted and the area was transformed The encroaching concrete desert into basketball and volleyball courts. The sports week did not bring about the “The Oranje Nassau drum corps played desired attention from the government its most beautiful drum rolls for it,” – rather the contrary. In the years of newspaper De Waarheid wrote, “and Reconstruction, the State only wanted there was even a march of athletes, some to build houses, roads, and industry. forty boys and girls, that impatiently A national ban on the construction of reined in the end of the speeches.” In new gymnasiums enacted in 1942 (!) was spite of the festivities, the Dutch Basket- maintained, despite protests from the ball Association reiterated their warnings sporting world. Many of the existing of the drastic shortage of spaces for both sporting facilities were mercilessly games and sports. Councillor Goos van enveloped by the encroaching concrete ‘t Hull expressed his hope that a large, desert. new sports hall would be built close to the Olympic Stadium – referencing a The basketball and volleyball court at Museumplein, with Rijksmuseum to the left. In the early 1950s, the Municipality of debate that had already raged on for G.L.W. Oppenheim, 1957, Amsterdam City Archives

26 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 27 Basketball at Museum- plein, against a backdrop of the Rijksmuseum. Unknown photographer, 1959, Amsterdam City Archives

28 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 29 1965 The first sports hall

The first sports hall was built in Amsterdam some twenty years after Liberation in tently ignored by the authorities – not mayor and city councillors explain of their 1945. The sport had finally regained the attention of the authorities. only in Amsterdam but in the entire proposal, that this hall will be used by country. The only two exceptions were students of the public and special Eindhoven and Enschede, where the local educational institutions during the day. At business community financed the night and on the weekends, the hall will construction of new sporting facilities. be made available to a range of sports associations, the Amsterdam members of According to the Municipality of Amster- which practise an indoor sport.” dam’s Sports Council, there were 3,358 basketball players in Amsterdam in 1962, “A pile, which should have of which 2,158 were men and 1,200 were disappeared into the ground half a women. In roughly ten years, the sport century ago.” had grown by fifty per cent, becoming just as popular as korfball. This was much Half a year later, the proposal was given to the frustration of korfball legend Annie the green light by the State; on the 5th Böhne. “She even gets angry when she of November, the councillor of Sport, P.J. recalls that she helped make the sport Koets, broke ground on the construction. popular in the Netherlands,” newspaper “A pile, which should have disappeared Het Parool wrote in 1975 of her contribu- into the ground half a century ago,” tion to basketball. newspaper Het Algemeen Handelsblad observed. “Because the first plan for an It was a challenge to accommodate the Amsterdam sports hall dates back to post-war basketball players because 1913.” there were no sports halls around. A wish for these to be built had been expressed The official opening of the hall took place The sports hall at Hogendorpstraat. J.M. Arsath Ro’is, 1969, Amsterdam City Archives repeatedly since 1913, but it had on 24 April, 1965 and marked two firsts. unfortunately not come to fruition. It was, in fact, the first sports hall to be Until well into the 1960s, indoor sports outfitted entirely with artificial light, In 1913, a commission was appointed to Spectacular growth players from the Northern and Western ensuring that the lighting was consistent explore the possibility of building a The sport had a tough time during the Garden Cities had to travel at least throughout the day. It was also the first sports hall in Amsterdam. It was not until Reconstruction after the Second World twenty kilometres to practise their sport building with a sprung floor, which fifty years later that this resulted in a War, because the authorities were – back and forth to RAI or Apollohal! research had shown would prevent tangible outcome. On 18 October, 1963, exclusively focussed on building houses, injuries for both basketball and volleyball the Public Works Department sent a roads and industry. At the same time, the Indoor sports players. letter to N.V. Harke de Vries tasking him number of people taking part in sports At the start of 1962, the deadlock was with the construction of a sports hall on grew, and so it became increasingly broken with a loan for the first sports Twenty years after Liberation, the the Van Hogendorpstraat at the cost of difficult to accommodate them. The hall in Amsterdam, situated on the Van reconstruction of the sport had finally roughly half a million guilders. drastic shortage of facilities was consis- Hogendorpstraat. “It is the intention, the begun.

30 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 31 1976 Piet Leegwater is in charge of the Olympic final

Piet Leegwater was the manager of the Albert Heijn on Plein 40-45. In his spare “It was such a great time, he was the best basketball referee in the world. honour, and I wanted to experience that.”

On 1 August, 1976, Piet Leegwater from inevitable because each team had to Amsterdam was announced as the bring a referee,” he told Wijnker when referee for the Olympic basketball final discussing the start of his career. When between the United States and Yugosla- he was not travelling, he worked as the via. Several hours later, he was told that Managing Director of the Albert Heijn his father had passed away, just three on Plein 40-45. weeks after the death of his mother. What was meant to be the crowning Following Dick Schmüll, Leegwater was achievement of his international career, the second Dutch basketball referee at unravelled amidst a personal tragedy. the Olympic Games. The shirt he wore during the 1976 final now hangs in the “I sat in a metro for three or four hours,” Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Piet Leegwater before a Leegwater said in an interview with Fame. game between Mercasol journalist Igor Wijnker in 2008. and Buitoni Haarlem. “Criss-crossing the city, I did not care 1976 was not the first time Leegwater Peter Smeets, 1976, Topsport where I ended up.” He was unsure as featured at the Olympics. Four years Amsterdam to whether he could still referee the final earlier, in 1972, he was an Olympic after the death of his father. “It was very employee on the sideline in the final difficult, but you have to consider it. between the United States and the a sounding board for Jones, nothing another day later he was at the final. I could not bring him back to life and Soviet Union, one of the most infamous more.” Out of respect, the Americans and the there was no aeroplane available. matches ever at the Olympic Games. Russians ask him to referee a special I checked all of the options. On the other The final score was on the board, but Cold War series of nine head-to-head games. In hand, it was such a great honour, and I Renato William Jones of the International München 1972 had already been an 2008, he was still astonished by their wanted to experience that.” After a Basketball Federation ordered the clock exceptionally eventful Olympic Games request: “That such a simple Dutch difficult start, he managed to steer the to be put back a few seconds, allowing for Leegwater, who was an eyewitness to chump was allowed to referee all those game to a successful conclusion. the Russians to score and win the game. the bloody end of the Palestinian games.” And at the height of the Cold hostage-taking at the Fürstenfeldbruck War no less. “Sports and politics were Munich In the chaos that ensued, Leegwater had air base. “We stood behind a fence and separated,” Leegwater explained, but By 1976, Leegwater had been a basket- a discussion with Jones, in which he then we saw the blast.” the Americans refuse to accept the silver ball referee at the international level for maintained that the Russian basket did medal from the 1972 Games to this day. three decades and had already estab- indeed count. When speaking to Wijnker, In spite of the shock, he refereed the Leegwater passed away in 2011 at the lished himself as a living legend. “It was Leegwater diminished his role: “I was bronze medal game three days later; age of 78.

32 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 33 1992 The Olympic basketball tournament that never happened

Amsterdam wanted to host the Olympic Games of 1992. Basketball was to be played at the RAI.

Basketball was not part of the pro- of 1952 to Helsinki, after which Amster- gramme at the 1928 Olympic Games in dam’s short-lived ambition landed in the Amsterdam. It was almost included as an bin. The plans for the ‘sports palace’ exhibition sport, featuring on a longlist were extensively discussed and debated alongside , handball, and pelota, until the 1960s, but in the end, it was a traditional Basque court sport. “After never built. much deliberation and consideration,” the official report of Amsterdam 1928 Amsterdam 1992 announced, “lacrosse was chosen, a At the start of the 1980s, Amsterdam proposal of the Canadian Olympic devised plans to host the Olympic Games Committee.” of 1992. In the first plans presented on 5 March, 1984, the RAI with its 12,000 Expansion of RAI, which took place despite the announcement that the Olympic Games of Sports palace on Scheldeplein person capacity was designated as the 1992 would not be taking place in the Netherlands. In 1947, Amsterdam launched a bid to venue for the indoor sports, including Frans Busselman, 1987, Amsterdam City Archives host the Games of 1952. According to basketball. Rotterdam was also consid- Mayor D’Ailly, this was to show gratitude ered as a city for the Games, putting the for the support of the friendly nations Groenoordhal in Leiden forward as the that the basketball tournament is to be gymnastics, volleyball, fencing, and during Liberation and the post-war venue for the basketball tournament. held at RAI. A number of special, one-off wrestling. Reconstruction. The only problem was arrangements will need to be made, but that there was no plan because there “If you are able to bring such a these do not put any pressure on the As in 1952, the Games of 1992 were not was only one month between the bid and tournament to your city, you have facilities that we need to use.” awarded to Amsterdam; Barcelona the decision of the International Olympic to do it.” instead received the honours. A great Committee (IOC). In addition to the In the final plans, a grand total of 76 pity for Dutch basketball fans, because use of existing venues, like the Olympic Cor Onrust, the chairman of the Amster- basketball games were to be played at it was in that year that the United States’ Stadium and the Wagener Stadium, dam district of the Dutch Basketball RAI, of which forty were men’s games. ‘Dream Team’, featuring superstars like a ‘sports palace’ would be built on Association, was optimistic about his The Hollandhal, with a capacity of 12,000 Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Scheldeplein – including space for city’s plans, although he was one of only spectators, was designated for the finals. Larry Bird, made its Olympic debut. basketball. It was an old idea from the a few from the capital’s amateur sports The Europahal, with a maximum capacity They would have played at RAI, but the 1930s which would have forced the scene who felt this way. “If you are able of 7,000, would be used for the other Olympic basketball tournament was Apollohal and the old RAI to make way. to bring such a tournament to your city, games. The costs for this were estimated never held there. you have to do it. I do not expect any at twenty million guilders, but that also The IOC instead awarded the Games negative impacts from it. I understand included the other indoor sports:

34 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 35 “At first, the 2006 The Wheelchair Basketball World students did not want to get into Championships the wheelchair. In the end, we could not get The Wheelchair Basketball World Championships of 2006 took place in Sporthallen them out.” Zuid, exactly fifty years after the residents of Amsterdam were first introduced to the sport.

Wheelchair basketball traces its origins to The incorporation of the disabled sport the Second World War. After Liberation, into the basketball association was made the Union of Veterans and War Victims possible by the fact that the rules of play was formed to support the rehabilitation were very similar to those of basketball De Rollende of soldiers who had been left handi- without a wheelchair. The logistics of Leeuwen score a capped by the war – then bluntly called both sports overlapped as well. “And the basket during a ‘amputees’ – through sports and physical people who had to facilitate this move wheelchair therapy. Members of the wheelchair also got along very well,” Frank Bertling, basketball game basketball association De Rollende son of the then chairman, recalled. against Aardenburg Leeuwen (The Rolling Lions) played an at Olympic Stadium. exhibition game at the Olympic Stadium Unknown photo- in the run-up to an important soccer After the Sydney Olympic Games of grapher, 1956, match on Liberation Day in 1956: “To let 2000, there was considerable interest in National Archives those wounded in the war revel in the the Netherlands for the organisation of a joys of life that they so often miss out Wheelchair Basketball World Champion- on,” newspaper Trouw wrote. ships. With the 2002 edition taking place basketball legends who were at the end “Years later, the players were still talking in , Europe had a good chance of of their careers. One more wonderful about it,” Berteling explained. Dutch Basketball Association (NBB) hosting the next championships. That tournament in front of a home crowd, In an exceptional move, wheelchair hunch proved right. and with thousands of spectators in the During the tournament, there was also a basketball was incorporated into the stands – despite fierce competition from campaign to raise awareness at local structure of the basketball association in Frank Berteling became the tournament the soccer World Cup and the Tour de schools. Berteling recounts: “At first, the 1978. Rob Verheuvel from Diemen, the director. “From the outset, the idea was France. Mayor Cohen even dropped by students did not want to get into the national coach of the wheelchair team, to launch a bid for Amsterdam. The city on more than one occasion. wheelchair. In the end, we could not get had pushed for this, together with the has been working with the association for them out. It was exceptional to see how association’s chairman Jan Berteling, a long time and, additionally, Sporthallen The semi-final between the Dutch men’s the youth came to see it as a very cool director Wim Mateboer, Ton Kloek, and Zuid is unique in that it has two large halls team and the United States took place in sport, fierce and physical.” Gerda and Ernie Penseel. “Unique in the and is easily accessible.” The Apollohal front of a sold-out crowd. The home world,” the association’s anniversary would be used as the practice venue. team ended up losing, but the atmos- A new generation was once again book exclaimed in 1991. “This initiative phere had a tremendous impact on the introduced to wheelchair basketball, is an unprecedented international The 2006 event was also meant to bid Americans, who were not used to playing exactly half a century after the first phenomenon.” farewell to a generation of wheelchair in front of such an enormous crowd. encounter at the Olympic Stadium.

36 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 37 The Dutch team deliberating during the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships at Sporthallen Zuid. Unknown photographer, 2006, Dutch Basketball Association

38 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 39 2009 The Centre for Top Sport and Education

Topsport Amsterdam has been coaching basketball talents at the Centre for Top Sport and Education since 2009.

There was a time when athletes had to Basketball is housed in Amsterdam, at figure out how they could combine sports Sportpark Ookmeer in Nieuw-West and with their daily lives by themselves. Sporthallen Zuid. Wheelchair basketball, Today, it is all very different: there are however, is based in Papendal. The even special programmes that offer women kicked off the programme in professional coaching. Amsterdam with a fully-fledged trajec- tory, from young talents up until the These days, the entire world wants to win national women’s team. medals and you have to work extra hard to beat the competition. With that in “A wonderful project,” Jan-Wim Stals, mind, NOC*NSF launched the Centres director of the Dutch Basketball Associa- Orange Angels practice at Ookmeerhal in Nieuw-West. for Top Sport and Education (CTO) in tion, reflected, “in which seventeen Merijn Soeters, 2017, Topsport Amsterdam 2009 with the support of sporting young women are able to combine their associations and government authorities. studies with the development of a serious Roughly a thousand athletes from 25 basketball career.” A number of educa- In the same year, the programme was ex- preparing for the tournament at the different associations now make use of tional institutes, including the three panded to incorporate , a Frans Otten Stadium, meaning Topsport these facilities. The talents and profes- Amsterdam universities and the Caland new version of the sport that has spread Amsterdam now hosts both the junior sionals do not only train there, but can Lyceum, took part as well. After ten from outdoor courts in North America to and senior 3x3 basketball players, which live and study too. There is also a great successful years, the programme was the rest of the world. The sport is set to is not the case for the other two basket- deal of attention paid to sports science renamed the Orange Angels Academy. make its Olympic debut in 2020, which ball programmes in Amsterdam. services. means there is a chance there will finally Expansion in 2018 be Dutch basketball players in action at Either way, Amsterdam is home to the Basketball women In 2018, a new CTO for men’s basketball an Olympic Games. With a bronze medal most talented basketball players in the Amsterdam is one of a handful of cities was launched in Amsterdam: the Orange at the European Championships of 2016 country, with the aim of helping them with a CTO. Topsport Amsterdam does Lions Academy, serving talents between and a silver one at the World Champion- reach the top of the international game. not only offer opportunities for sports, the ages of fifteen and twenty. Just as ships of 2017, there is a good chance this The era in which professional athletes but it also helps its athletes when it with the women, Topsport Amsterdam is will actually happen. had to figure it all out on their own is comes to finding housing, a suitable responsible for coaching these athletes, history. To win today, you need all of education and training facilities – togeth- paying close attention to the combina- And then there are the 3x3 Basketball the help you can get and that can now er with all of its partners. Each evening, tion of top-flight sports and education, World Championships, that will take be offered thanks in large part to the the athletes receive a healthy meal that is a dual career. place at Museumplein in front of a home cooperation of a broad consortium of tailored to their training regime. crowd. The Dutch participants are social institutions.

40 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 41 Orange Angels Natalie van den Adel, Kourtney Treffers, Naomi Halman and Maaike Klein in action during a European Championships qualifier between the Netherlands and Croatia at Sporthallen Zuid. Unknown photograp- her, 2017, Topsport Amsterdam

42 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 43 2011 The formation of BC Apollo

Amsterdam-based basketball clubs played a huge role in the national men’s league, but their dominance has since faded.

Basketball spread so quickly after the The season turned out to be a watershed Second World War that regional leagues moment for basketball because the ex- were being formed throughout the pectation that an Amsterdam team would country. The first national league for men be crowned champion at the end of the was formed in 1953, and in 1960, the year had essentially faded away. These ‘Eredivisie’ (the ) days, the team from Den Bosch holds the was introduced, with the adage: “An record for the most national champion- Amsterdam team is crowned champion ships, while teams from Groningen, Den at the end of the season”. Helder, and Leiden have also won their Landlust players fair share. It must have been a bitter pill Rob Sterker and A new era to swallow for the Amsterdam fans, but Peter Wanders in Amsterdam’s basketball domination came basketball emerged as a national sport action during the to an end on 6 May, 1967, when a team as a result. basketball final from outside of the city was crowned against SVE Utrecht. national champions for the first time. In The last Amsterdam team to dominate Ron Kroon/Anefo, a scintillating championship game at the the league was Ricoh Astronauts, who 1968, National Kennemersporthal in Haarlem, Utrecht- won four consecutive national titles from Archives based team SVE beat Amsterdam’s 1999 to 2002. That all happened under Landlust. “There was more than enough the leadership of Ton Boot, his tenth noise,” newspaper De Tijd wrote. “Both to thirteenth national championships Amsterdam has come to an unfortunate former ABC Amsterdam players like Jirian teams had brought an impressive legion as a coach. Under the names Demon end. The board would like to thank Roodheuvel, Ramon Siljade, Julian Jaring of fans along with them.” The Utrecht- Astronauts, ABC MyGuide Amsterdam, everyone who has supported us over the and Maurits Pieper succeeded in doing based team had already become the first and ABC EclipseJet Amsterdam – past years.” With their demise, there just that. team to pay their players back in 1963. depending on the team’s main sponsor were no Amsterdam clubs at the highest – an additional three national titles were level of Dutch basketball. BC Apollo plays – as their name reveals SVE had almost lost their chance to won between 2004 and 2009, albeit – at the Apollohal, home to the very first become champions the week before. without Boot. BC Apollo Amsterdam basketball tournament in Amsterdam The team’s players were unable to find Basketball club BC Apollo Amsterdam back in 1938. They have yet to win a the sports hall at the Vrije Universiteit in Shortly after the last title, the team’s was formed roughly around the same national title, but they have already Amsterdam, then home to AMVJ, and sponsor went bankrupt and in the time. A fusion between BV Lely Amster- reached the playoffs on three occasions. were about to forfeit the game. Just as summer of 2011, the club announced dam and ABV Mosquito’s, the new club The consistency with which Amsterdam the referee was set to call the game for the bad news: “After seven national hoped to fill the Amsterdam-sized hole teams won the league is a distant mem- the home team, the SVE players finally championships and six national cup titles, in the Eredivisie within three years. ory. Too much has changed since those arrived on the court. the ambitions of top-flight basketball in In 2012, one year later, a team starring early days.

44 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 45 2014 Jesper Jobse’s YouTube sport

In 2014, Jesper Jobse responded to the Dutch Basketball Association’s call for participants for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup. Five years later, the tournament is taking place in his home town.

Everything about 3x3 basketball is rather than Dutch players. I didn’t see fast-paced. So too, the development of any opportunities anymore.” Jesper Jobse (1984) as one of the stars of the sport, the urban variant of the A 2014 call by the NBB marked the indoor 5 on 5. In just a few years, the beginning of a new life. “They were sport has grown to nearly 250 million looking for players for a national 3x3 players, according to FIBA’s count. team for the World Cup in a year later. I got on my bike and sped “All you need is 1 basket, 2 teams, off to a tryout game and was selected.” 3 players per team, and half of a The Netherlands finished last at the basketball court.” tournament, but Jobse knew this would be his future. “We had absolutely The concept of 3x3 reads like a recipe. nothing, so we had to arrange everything “All you need,” the NBB summarises, ourselves. To get the team together, “is 1 basket, 2 teams, 3 players per team, I first had to make a lot of calls. Then and half of a basketball court.” A game we travelled all over the world to see lasts for ten minutes or until the first how others play the game. It was strictly team scores 21 points. Play never stops, survival instinct. And more importantly: Jesper Jobse just before he scores against world champions during the FIBA 3x3 not even after a basket. “It’s a YouTube- there was ownership. We were building Europe Cup of 2017. Unknown photographer, 2017, Topsport Amsterdam sport,” Jobse aptly explains. it ourselves from scratch.”

Master of your own ball Olympic The national women’s team finished third in cities across the country since 2016. What started out as street basketball In no time at all, the Dutch men’s team at the 2017 European Championships The first Amsterdam court was built in evolved into the contemporary form of reached the sport’s global summit, in Amsterdam. That could well spell an Bijlmerpark. In February of 2019, he 3x3 in the United States, and has since winning bronze at the European Cham- Olympic berth because the 3x3 sport unveiled the book 3x3 For Development. been officially incorporated into FIBA pionships of 2016 and silver at the will make its debut at the Summer Games “I had already wondered whether there and the NBB. The new sport emerged at World Cup a year later. Brian Benjamin of 2020. For the Netherlands, it would was a book about my sport and realised just the right time in Jobse’s basketball has been the coach of the national team a chance to send basketball players to there wasn’t one.” His focus is on the career. Born and raised in Vlissingen, since 2016, having previously served the Olympics for the first time. ownership of 3x3, ensuring the youth has Jobse has played basketball his entire as a city councillor and the Municipality the opportunity to make their dreams life, until 2014 in the traditional 5 on 5 of Amsterdam’s basketball programme Now based in Amsterdam, Jobse and come true. Just like Jobse himself, who setup. But he had lost his motivation. manager. the 3X3 Unites Foundation have been kickstarted a completely new basketball “Coaches prefer to play American working to build a community with courts life thanks to this YouTube-sport.

46 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 47 2015 Dutch women in the

American league Emese Hof (left) and Laura Cornelius (right). Emese Hof By way of CTO Amsterdam, Emese Hof and Laura Cornelius now both play their signed a pro contract basketball in the United States of America. They not only need to perform on the with the Phoenix court but in the classroom too. Mercury in April of 2019, and is on the verge of becoming a it does basketball. There’s a good chance WNBA player. the illustrator was based in Rotterdam Merijn Soeters, 2016, and that he was inspired by the following Topsport Amsterdam paragraph in the story: “Once the game is over, the hair of many a girl hangs in a wild mess along her back; more than World Cup. The tournament took place games. Some of their games are played half of them have a torn sleeve, countless at Sporthallen Zuid, which was complete- in front of ten thousand spectators, shawls are missing, and the pretty, white ly renovated and fitted with new floors which would be unimaginable in our collars are furrowed and soiled.” and scoreboards. The Dutch team lost to own country. In the conservative Dutch context of the Canada by just a few points in the age, it indeed sounded like a riot. quarterfinals, eventually finishing eighth. Hof and Cornelius have been able to Women did not do such things, at least “A tournament to remember,” according find their way in America thanks to the not in a civilised and Christian country to the Dutch Basketball Association. education they received in Amsterdam. like ours. Diets are an incredibly important part Cartoon of women’s basketball in the United Three years later, Emese Hof (1996) and of that, the pair explained to Topsport States of America. Unknown designer, 1896, It was not until three years after the first Laura Cornelius (1996) made the jump Amsterdam during a conversation in KB | National Library official men’s game that women began from CTO Amsterdam to the American 2016: “In the Netherlands, everything playing the sport in the Netherlands. competition. They were both offered that is healthy is sports nutrition, in the Their debut took place at the Turn- scholarships by the University of Miami, US, it’s everything that’s tasty.” Hof: In 1896, newspaper Het Rotterdamsch gebouw on 21 April, 1933 and was in the same year the national women’s “It was very useful that we learned all Nieuwsblad wrote about American followed a day later by a women’s team had won the bronze medal at the about healthy eating during our time at women’s basketball players at an all-girls basketball game at the Concertgebouw. European Championships: a sporting CTO Amsterdam.” school. “Throughout the North American The women’s league started in 1938, breakthrough for the team. republic, young women have devoted shortly after the move from the AMVJ This is one of the ways in which the themselves to a new and invigorating building to the Apollohal, which offered American basketball life is incredibly Amsterdam programme directly con- type of sport named ‘basket-ball’.” much more space. intense, with successive practices and tributes to the development of women’s classes stretching from quarter to eight in basketball. “Being away from home Hunger riot To America the morning until seven o’clock at night. often at a young age is not always easy, The illustration that accompanies the sto- In 2012, Amsterdam played host to the The women are required to get good but I have gotten to know myself and the ry is astonishing because the image of the first Women’s Basketball World Cup on grades in class too because without them people around me very well, and have activity looks more like a hunger riot than Dutch soil, in this case, the Under-17 they are not allowed to compete in made friends for life.”

48 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 49 2015 Amsterdam honours Ton Boot

Ton Boot’s entire life has revolved around basketball. The few years that he took a and Frank Kales, amongst others, peti- ing, talent alone is simply not enough. break from the sport only made him more driven when he returned. tioned the city as an oeuvre award to You have to work hard and Boot under- commemorate Boot’s contributions. stood that like no other, for both himself More than sixty years earlier, Boot’s name and those around him. As a young boy, first cropped in the daily newspapers as he practised endlessly at the new court a tremendous talent at basketball club at Museumplein, Igor Wijnker wrote in DED – just a week after his seventeenth Bezeten, his biography of Boot. “Basket- birthday. “Boot, who was given dispen- ball as an ongoing routine: three dribbles sation to play with the seniors, proved and shoot. Quickly retrieve the ball and himself to be a welcome reinforcement,” do it again.” according to Het Algemeen Handelsblad on 28 October, 1957. The paper’s Boot was an athlete at the top of his remarks were somewhat cautious, as game when top-flight sports barely Boot was responsible for 34 of his team’s existed in the country. As a player, Boot 72 points that weekend. was crowned national champion on five occasions and an additional fourteen “Basketball as an ongoing routine: times as a coach. He also reached the three dribbles and shoot. Quickly final of the Europe Cup once, the retrieve the ball and do it again.” semifinals twice and the quarterfinals on numerous other occasions. He regularly A year and a half later, newspaper Het took a break from the sport, to recover Parool published an in-depth profile on from his tremendous efforts and to the talent. “He has a radar in his fingers,” engage in activities outside of basketball, the article’s title exclaimed. “Extremely all this to keep his mind clear and talented but difficult attitude,” the focussed. subtitle added. “One does not need to Portrait of Ton Boot. Jac. de Nijs/Anefo, 1969, National Archives be a basketball expert to embrace the Boot transformed himself into a winner fact that such a talent has never graced and nothing can stand in the way of such the basketball courts of our country.” exceptional performance. That dedica- Top-flight sport was invented for winning. Frans Banninck Cocq-medal Boot was still in high school at the tion has brought him a lot of success, like That does not mean there is anything In 2015, at the age of 75, Ton Boot (1945) Spinoza Lyceum at the time. national titles and honours, but it has also wrong with playing sports for the joy of was awarded the Frans Banninck come at a cost. After all, it’s not easy to it, but you can do that in the Vondelpark Cocq-medal to commemorate his Museumplein be an athlete. And it’s definitely not easy when the sun is shining. In top-flight sporting mentality. The medal is the The largest pitfall for a talented young to be Ton Boot. sports, everything has to make way for highest distinction for people from the player is that he trains too little because maximum performance, just as long as city of Amsterdam and is awarded to he is already the best player on the court. the rules of play are not broken. It is not those who have served their cause over At a young age, that is often the case, easy to be a professional athlete. an extended period of time. Mart Smeets but without extensive and serious train-

50 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 51 Basketball court at Herenmarkt, near Haarlemmerstraat. Unknown photographer, 2009, Amsterdam City Archives

52 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 53 2019 The hybrid city

There is not even ninety years between the first days of basketball in the Nether- acting as a handbrake. Following There is always one unifying factor: lands and the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Amsterdam. And there is not even a kilometre Liberation, sports were overrun by the a love for basketball. between the AMVJ building and the basketball court behind the Rijksmuseum. encroaching concrete desert of the post-war Reconstruction. There was no The hybrid sport space for recreation – literally. The Basketball has evolved as a hybrid sport. basketball players suffered as a result. It is played both indoors and outdoors. Classic rules of play govern the leagues, In the 1950s, the city’s youths roamed the while fluid rules reign free on the streets streets out of sheer boredom, showing and outdoor courts. Traditional views and no interest in pre-war governance struc- revolutionary insights exist side by side. tures. It was not for nothing that Ton Needs and desires reinforce one another, Boot was both a menace and a street but also come into conflict. But there is basketball player. It was not until 1965 always one unifying factor: a love for that the first sports hall was opened in basketball. Amsterdam, the beginning of the sport’s reconstruction. In the final decades of the The needs and desires of the city often last century, basketball players were clash too. Amsterdam is approaching one given access to modern sporting venues. million inhabitants, many of whom will need new houses and infrastructure. That This day and age, people are once again requires a lot of space, space that is also looking to the outdoors, largely as a needed for sport and recreation. Just as response to the fact that our work and after the Second World War, worldviews education keep us at a desk and indoors. threaten to clash, and a new concrete The city is has become the stadium; desert threatens to overrun sport and Bart Rozendaal scores during the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup at Museumplein. sports are an urban lifestyle. For basket- recreation. Unknown photographer, 2017, Topsport Amsterdam ball, this new trend is most visible in the emergence of the 3x3 version of The hybrid sport that is basketball is a the sport, with the 2019 World Cup in reflection of this societal development, The evolution of the sport in Amsterdam new stadiums were constructed and the Amsterdam as the highlight. harbouring needs and desires that both since the Olympic Games of 1928 has not Amsterdamse Bos was built primarily as a reinforce and conflict with each other. been one of steady growth. The same means of creating employment. Sporting In other words: in that brief ninety year Sport and city must evolve together, could be said of the city of Amsterdam. activities at high schools grew rapidly, period, basketball has been an indoor traditionally and innovatively, side by side thanks in large part to the AMVJ. sport (at the AMVJ building since 1930), and hand in hand. The AMVJ building was officially opened an outdoor sport (at Museumplein since in the same week as the Olympic The reconstruction of the sport 1954), an indoor sport again (in the Without anyone noticing, basketball’s Stadium, going on to become the The Second World War disrupted these sports halls since 1965) and an urban historical circle is almost complete, from birthplace of basketball in the Nether- developments in 1942, with the construc- sport with its own community (since the AMVJ building to Museumplein. lands two years later. At the time, tion ban on new gymnasiums effectively 2016). A century of movement. History has found its own course.

54 Amsterdam and Basketball Centuries in motion 55 Credits

Basketball hoop against a backdrop of the demolished Old RAI and Okura Hotel. Frans Busselman, 1982, Amsterdam City Archives

Published by the Municipality of Amsterdam and created by Amsterdam City Archives in parnership with Sport en Bos to mark the FIBA 3x3 World Cup 2019.

Author: Jurryt van de Vooren Coordination and image editing: Tessel Dekker Design and layout: Tineke Kooistra / studio 10 English translation: Phil van der Krogt / PK Edit With special thanks to: Jacob Bergsma (Topsport Amsterdam) and the Dutch Basketball Association

Front cover image: Basketball at the Museumplein. Unknown photographer, 1955, Amsterdam City Archives Back cover image: Photo FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup 2017 at Museumplein. Unknown photographer, 2017, Dutch Basketball Association

All image copyrights to their respective owner(s). Het Stadsarchief Amsterdam has sought to credit all of the rightsholders of images used in this publication. In some cases, there may be rightsholders of which we are unaware. We kindly ask you to contact us if this is the case.

56 Amsterdam and Basketball Amsterdam and Basketball

Centuries in Motion Amsterdam and Basketball

190509_052019 Centuries in Motion