Henri ("Harry") Léonard Barthélémi Dénis (28 August 1896 – 13 July 1971) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender from 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 ...

, who represented his home country at three consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, starting in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

Club career

Dénis started playing football with local side DVV and joined HBS aged 11. He would stay at the club for the rest of his career, winning the 1925 Netherlands Football League Championship with them.

International career

At his Olympic debut in

Antwerp, Belgium Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

he won the bronze medal with the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Du ...

, followed by a fourth place four years later in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Dénis obtained a total number of 56 caps for the Netherlands, in which he was captain in 37 matches. He was one of the most prominent Dutch footballers in the 1920s. Dénis delivered the Olympic Oath during the opening ceremony of the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

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 ...

. Dénis held the Dutch caps record from 3 May 1925 (when he equaled the total of

Bok de Korver Johannes Marius ("Bok") de Korver (27 January 1883 in Rotterdam – 22 October 1957 in Rotterdam) was a football player from the Netherlands, who twice won a bronze medal with the Netherlands national football team at the Summer Olympics: in 1 ...

) until 2 May 1937 (when his total was surpassed by

Puck van Heel Gerardus Henricus "Puck" van Heel (21 January 1904 – 19 December 1984) was a Dutch footballer. He earned 64 caps for the Netherlands national football team, and played in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. He also represented the Netherlands at th ...

References

External links

*
ING – Den Haag. Bronvermelding: A. Lammers, 'Dénis, Henri Léonard Barthélémi (1896–1971)', in Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Harry 1896 births 1971 deaths Footballers from The Hague Men's association football fullbacks Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics HBS Craeyenhout players Oath takers at the Olympic Games