“To tell the story of that first Haarlem Baseball Week, we first need to take a brief look back.” With these words, former Baseball Week president Wim Oosterhof begins his account at his home in Haarlem, just a stone’s throw from the Pim Mulier Stadium. We go back to 1956, when the Dutch baseball team participated in an international baseball tournament for the first time. The players were initially welcomed like royalty in Rome. That changed when those newcomers suddenly proved to be formidable competitors.
In fact, the Dutch team was simply too strong for their hosts, and they weren’t exactly thanked for it. Oosterhoff was in Italy at the time and recalls with a smile how the mood shifted. “We were suddenly barred from using the same facilities. Then the Italians refused to come to Haarlem for the first Baseball Weeks, because they didn’t want to reveal the balance of power too clearly.”
Thanks to the efforts of Wout Posthema, the then-new president of the KNHB, the baseball circus came to Amsterdam two years after the European Championships in Rome. “Baseball was fortunate that people like Bob Spaak and Dick van Rijn, at that time the most popular sportscasters in the country, were enthusiastic about the sport. The final of the ’58 European Championship was even broadcast live on television.’ It is not only through television that baseball operations are closely followed. The stands during the tournament are also packed with people who want to see the spectacle up close. It was thanks to KNHB President Posthema that those stands and the baseball field could be built. He managed to secure OVVO’s soccer fields and quickly restored them to playable condition for soccer after the tournament.
After four consecutive European titles—having also claimed victory in Mannheim (’57) and Barcelona (’59)—the Dutch team seemed to have outgrown its own continent. With the successful organization of the European Championship at home still fresh in everyone’s memory, there was a growing need for a regular international tournament on Dutch soil. In 1961, that desire gave rise to the first edition of the Haarlem Baseball Week.
So although the European Championships were held in Amsterdam, Haarlem was the undisputed baseball capital of the country at the time. The city had no fewer than five baseball associations, so it seemed like the ideal place to organize an international tournament. “At the time, Gé Hoogenbos pulled out all the stops to bring the tournament to Haarlem,” Oosterhof recalled. “A few aldermen were also keen on hosting an international sports tournament in Haarlem, but the organization had to be in the hands of an experienced committee. That’s how they came to us as the board of the annual Haarlem Sports Weeks.”
Money wasn't available at the time. The focus was on American soldiers stationed in the countries surrounding us after World War II. Ron Fraser, the American coach of the Dutch team, had served in the military in West Germany and had built up a network of contacts throughout Europe as a result. Teams traveled to Haarlem from Chateauroux (France), Alconbury and London (England), Wiesbaden and Mannheim (West Germany) for that first Baseball Week.
The Americans seemed to be in a league of their own compared to the European baseball players whom the Dutch team had so easily defeated in recent years. The Dutch team, which competed in that first edition under the name Kieviten because the league did not allow them to compete as a national team, finished fifth out of six. Only the team from London managed to finish ahead of them that year. Still, this first baseball week was a great success. The audience flocked to the festival in large numbers and feasted their eyes. The Americans’ field play and athletic ability made a huge impression.
For the second edition two years later, the tournament moved from the makeshift field on Badminton Path to the newly constructed Pim Mulier Stadium. “[Construction company] Nelissen built that stadium in 88 days.” It was the first baseball stadium in Europe. The new facility also featured a proper lighting system, allowing baseball to be played under artificial light at night. The tournament now had a venue worthy of the event.
Looking back on those early days, the name of Bob Sullivan, a furniture millionaire from Grand Rapids, Michigan, immediately comes to mind. “Sullivan was a true baseball fan. He helped the organization out quite a bit in the later years. If teams canceled at the last minute, we could always call him.’ Especially when, in ’78, the Cubans canceled just before the start of the tournament, people in Haarlem were at a loss. A phone call to Sullivan brought relief. He made some quick arrangements and sent his team on the first plane to Holland.
Oosterhof also has fond memories of the guest tent. “Mother Weijland, who handled the catering at Haarlem Nicols, used to butter the sandwiches there. Then you always got a slice of gingerbread with it. In that one tent, the coaches, referees, sponsors, and officials all gathered together. That created a special bond. Now everyone sits in their own box. Gerard Voogd was the key organizer from the very beginning. He brought in both teams and sponsors. In those days, many bigwigs came to Haarlem. Top executives from Philips and Coca-Cola were only too happy to associate themselves with the tournament.’
Oosterhof also met the love of his life thanks to Baseball Week. During the preparations for the second edition, some concerned aldermen made their secretaries available to the organization. One of those secretaries was Hennie, to whom Wim has now been married for more than fifty years. While their first collaboration was merely a friendship, something beautiful blossomed during their second collaboration a few years later.
Suddenly, Wim—who until then had always driven to the meetings at Gerard Voogd’s house—came by bicycle so he could ride up with Hennie.
Text: Sander Grasman