Ajax Honkbalvereniging Amsterdam ( en, Ajax Baseball Club Amsterdam) (), also referred to as Ajax HVA, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax (after the legendary Greek hero), was a Dutch professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. The club were founding members of the Dutch

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie, formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league is divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunday. This is a result of ...

, where they competed since the league's inception in 1922 until the club folded in 1972, having won the league title a total four times. The team was associated with acclaimed Dutch

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

, in their attempt to expand into

, having spent 50 years at the top flight of professional baseball in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

History

As founding members of the Dutch

in 1922, Amsterdam's well-known football club

fielded a baseball team in the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands, playing their home matches at the stadium of OVVO on the Kruislaan in

Amsterdam-Oost Amsterdam-Oost () is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands, established in May 2010 after a merger of the former boroughs of Zeeburg and Oost-Watergraafsmeer. In 2013, the borough had almost 123,000 inhabitants. History Amsterdam-Oost is the bor ...

. Famous former players include Marco Nagelkerken, Ruben Leysner, Peter Hendriks, Boy Balinge, Ko van Wijk, Leo van Wijk, Herre Kok, Dassy Jasmijn, Jessie Delanoy. In 1972 the club decided to no longer field a baseball team, and to focus solely on football, leaving the baseball players of Ajax without a club. The players soon found a new sponsor with

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

manufacturing company Luycks. Finally merging with another baseball club from Amsterdam the Giants Diemen, together they formed the Luycks Giants, which replaced both its former clubs. In 1977 the Sponsor changed to ''Uitzendburo Unique'' and the club's name was forthwith "Unique Giants", which existed until at least 1980. Legendary Dutch football player

Johan Cruijff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a pr ...

played for the club's baseball team during the summer (football off-season) early on in his career. He played in various positions on the team including

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, as seen in a photograph dated from 1961 on the club's website.

Notable former players

* Marco Nagelkerken * Ruben Leysner * Peter Hendriks * Boy Balinge * Ko van Wijk *

Leo van Wijk Leo M. van Wijk (born 18 October 1946 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch executive, and former president and CEO of KLM and vice-chairman of Air France-KLM S.A. This source also has Director Compensation (Aegon NV) 2005–2009 Van Wijk studied at University ...

* Herre Kok * Dassy Jasmijn * Jessie Delanoy

Honours

National

: 4 :: 1924, 1928, 1942, 1948

References

External links

AFC Ajax
(Official Website) *
Historie - TIW-Survivors
', TIW-Survivors (per 2020-03-12)
KNBSB
Dutch baseball and softball association {{Honkbal Hoofdklasse AFC Ajax Sports clubs in Amsterdam Defunct baseball teams in the Netherlands