Gerard Pieter (Gerrit) Keizer (8 August 1910 – 5 December 1980), also known as Gerard Keyser, was a Dutch

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. Keizer was highly successful in Holland whilst playing with

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 ...

. He was also the original "Flying Dutchman" at English side

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, whom he helped to their first league title in

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

Club career

Keizer joined

Ajax Amsterdam 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 ...

at the age of 16, and two years later made his debut for the side, against Stormvogels on 1 April 1929. For the first few years of his career he deputised for Ajax's No. 1 Jan de Boer. In 1930, he made a move to England. Keizer at first played for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

side

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

. Keizer was outstanding for Margate, and soon Keizer was spotted by Arsenal's manager,

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...

. Keizer was at once pitched into Arsenal's first team, and made his club debut against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 30 August 1930. He also featured in the Gunners' 2–1 1930 Charity Shield victory over

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. He went on to play in Arsenal's first twelve First Division matches of the 1930–31 season. With the Gunners, Keizer went on to win the First Division title of 1930–31. This victory was Arsenal's first ever league title. Keizer's playing style was distinctly flamboyant, to the point of at times erratic. With stiff competition coming from Arsenal's other keepers, Bill Harper and

Charlie Preedy Charles James Fane Preedy (11 January 1900 – February 1978) was an English football goalkeeper. One of six children, Preedy was born in Neemuch, British India, where his father was serving with the Royal Artillery. The family returned to El ...

, Keizer lost his regular spot within the side. He thus left Arsenal in July 1931 for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

. Keizer later played for club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. Keizer finally returned to

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 ...

in 1933 to become Ajax's number one keeper. He eventually played over 300 matches for Ajax, becoming a club legend. A pair of his goalkeeping boots are as so on display within Ajax's museum.

International career

Keizer was capped for the Netherlands national team on two occasions. His debut for ''Ons Oranje'' came in a qualifier against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, a 4–2 win that took the Netherlands to the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

. However, Keizer was not picked for the squad that actually went to the tournament.

Personal life

After the war, Ajax found themselves in deep financial trouble and so were not able to afford their own

kits Kits may refer to: * Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada *Kits, an American taffy candy made by Gilliam Candy Company *KITS, a San Francisco, California radio station *Kottayam Institute of Technology & Sci ...

. Keizer flew to London to ask his old club Arsenal for help, who obligingly donated a set of kits and

footballs A football is a ball inflated with air that is used to play one of the various sports known as football. In these games, with some exceptions, goals or points are scored only when the ball enters one of two designated goal-scoring areas; football ...

. Ajax thus played some matches in Arsenal's red and white shirts. Keizer continued to repeatedly journey across the

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

, but in 1947, he was discovered to be smuggling British

banknote A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes w ...

s within leather footballs; he was fined 30,000

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

s and sentenced to six months

imprisonment Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...

. Afterwards, Keizer went into business and became one of Amsterdam's leading

greengrocers A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United ...

. In 1955, he returned to Ajax, this time as a member of the club's board. He died in 1980, aged 70.

Honours

Arsenal * Charity Shield:

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

* First Division: 1930–31 Ajax *Dutch overall champion 1934, 1937, 1939, 1947 *NVB Cup 1943 *Arol Cup 1934, 1941

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keizer, Gerrit 1910 births 1980 deaths Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Margate F.C. players AFC Ajax players Footballers from Amsterdam AFC Ajax non-playing staff