(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Alfred Cop Fotografie & The Hawks)
 Daam Hoogendijk, founder of HCAW and The Hawks, passed away
Nederlands
 DORDRECHT (Neth.) -
Daam Hoogendijk, who was the (co-)founder of the baseball-sections of HCAW and The Hawks, passed away on Friday, November 22, at age 95.
The memorial service will be held on Thursday, November 28 at 2:00 PM at Crematorium Essenhof at the Nassauweg 200 in Dordrecht.
Daam Hoogendijk was born on September 21, 1924 in Helmond.
He grows up in Amsterdam after he moves with his parents to the Dutch capital due to work of his father.
Since his youth, Mr. Hoogendijk is interested in sports.
He starts to play soccer at Amsterdam-based Ajax.
In those years, the Hoogendijk-family lives in so-called Betondorp, a borough opposite what was then the site of Ajax, where also the wellknown soccer-stadium 'De Meer' was situated.
In the same borough, in the fifties, Johan Cruijff grows up.
Cruijff (born in 1947) also played both soccer and baseball at Ajax and went on to become the most-famous Dutch soccer-player ever.
Daam Hoogendijk also starts playing baseball and becomes a lefthanded pitcher for VVGA, which plays nearby the Ajax-site.
In those years, VVGA plays in the highest Dutch baseball league (which then was the First Division) and Hoogendijk becomes one of the pitchers in the main-squad.
He is mostly a curveball-pitcher.
...Daam Hoogendijk looks on while...
...Justin Bogaard throws the ceremonial...
...first pitch at HCAW in 2017...
(© Photo: Alfred Cop Fotografie) |
After World War II, Hoogendijk attended the Academy for Physical Education in Amsterdam.
He marries and becomes a teacher, then moves to Bussum when there is a vacancy for a teacher in physical education at the Gooilandschool.
He played softball at this school, but also looked around to continue his baseball-career somewhere.
At Bussum-based soccer-club Allen Weerbaar, there were some soccer-players who played baseball in the Summer, as the club already had a baseball-section since 1943.
Daam Hoogendijk joins the baseball-team there.
Later, with some teammates, Hoogendijk founded an independent baseball-club on September 23, 1957, under the name HCAW.
In 1958, the first year in which HCAW participates in a competition, Daam Hoogendijk is the first Head Coach of the baseball-team and also plays himself.
HCAW immediately is successful.
The team plays in the Third Division in the Region of 't Gooi-Utrecht, finishes in first place and promotes to the Second Divsion, which is a national competition.
Since 1967, HCAW plays in the highest league (except for 1983).
Shortly thereafter, the Hoogendijk-family moves to Dordrecht.
Also due to his work, as Daam Hoogendijk becomes a teacher for physical education at the Kweekschool.
With some students of this school, he creates another baseball-club, The Hawks, which was founded on September 8, 1959.
There, he continues playing as a pitcher and short stop.
Daam Hoogendijk remained a frequent visitor of games of The Hawks through the years.
In some recent years and now in his nineties, he again both HCAW and The Hawks.
In March 2017, he attended a junior baseball-game between HCAW and The Hawks.
...Daam Hoogendijk in 2017...
...with Hans Ruben, Chairman...
...of The Hawks...
(© Photo: The Hawks) |
On April 15, 2017, Daam Hoogendijk was a special guest during the Season's Opening Day at HCAW, which then celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Before the start of the game against Hoofddorp Pioniers, he took part in the first pitch ceremony.
But he didn't throw the first ball himself, as he was accompanied by 5-year old Justin Bogaard, who was the youngest member of HCAW.
The young player then opened the season by throwing the first ball.
In September of this year, Hoogendijk's second club The Hawks, celebrated its 60th anniversary.
Last year, Daam Hoogendijk made another appearance at The Hawks and then threw the ceremonial first pitch.
During the entire 2018, there was a special pre-game ceremony before home games of The Hawks with a special guest throwing the first ball.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to the family of Daam Hoogendijk and wishes them a lot of strength with this loss.
(November 25)
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