(Story & Photos by Marco Stoovelaar)
IN MEMORIAM
...Ad Hendrikse...
(1936 - 2023)
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
 Former Orange-Team Manager & Haarlem Baseball Week-administrator Ad Hendrikse passed away
Nederlands
 HEEMSTEDE (Neth.) -
Ad Hendrikse, who has been the Business/Team Manager of the Netherlands National Baseball Team in the late nineties, has passed away on Wednesday, June 7, at age 86.
Ad Hendrikse also has been a member of the Organizing Committee of the Haarlem Baseball Week.
Ad Hendrikse was born on December 16, 1936 in Den Helder.
At a young age, Ad started to develop interest in the world of magic and began giving performances at parties.
He kept loyal to his (successful) hobby his entire life and he even went on to develop his own new tricks.
Ad always took his tricks with him when he went abroad for a business-trip for his work as organisational advisor.
In later years, the baseball-world also got acquainted with his organizational skills.
In July 1995, the Netherlands Baseball Team participated in the European Championship in Haarlem (Netherlands) and captured the title.
A month later, Ad Hendrikse joined the supporting staff as Team Manager/Business Manager and started preparations for the upcoming trip of the National Team to Cuba, where it would participate in the Intercontinental Cup-tournament in October/November.
When Hendrikse took over this position, Jan Dick Leurs was the Field Manager of the Orange-squad and a good friend of Ad.
However, due to work-commitments, Leurs was unable to travel with the team to Cuba.
Instead, Boudewijn Maat, who was a member of the coaching-staff since 1992, filled in as Manager during the Intercontinental Cup.
Unfortunately, Boudewijn Maat passed away at age 80 on June 11, four days after Hendikse.
Other coaches in the staff then were Steve Matthew and Mike Baker, while Bart Seidel (who was the Manager of the Dutch Juniors Team) was added as an additional coach for the tournament in Cuba.
Other members of the supporting staff were Physical Therapist Maarten Koper, Team Doctor Frank Nusse and Equipment Manager Willem van Geijlswijk, who also served as Team Scorer.
Van Geijlswijk passed away on April 19 at age 84.
In 1997, Huub Kohl and Dave Daniels succeeded Baker and Matthew.
In 1998, Leo Naaktgeboren succeeded Daniels, while Tom Petroff was added as Bench Coach and Jim Hovorka as Pitching Coach.
Ad Hendrikse was the Team Manager of the Netherlands National Team through 1999.
In 1996, he participates with the Orange Team in the Olympic Games in Atlanta (USA).
In the 4-year span between from 1996-1999, the team also participates in the World Championship (1998, Italy), two European Championships (1997, France; 1999, Italy), two Haarlem Baseball Weeks (1996, 1998) and two World Port Tournaments (1997, 1999).
The Netherlands wins the Haarlem Baseball Week in 1998 and the World Port Tournament in 1999.
In 1999, the Orange-squad shuts out Italy 3-0 in Bologna to capture the title at the European Championship, which also serves at Olympic Qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (Australia).
At the end of 1999, Hendrikse steps down as Team Manager.
Earlier in 1999, Ad Hendrikse joined the Organizing Committee of the Haarlem Baseball Week.
Through 2001, Hendrikse handles Press and Publicity together with Marco Stoovelaar, who then also is a member of the Organizing Committee and is the author of this In Memoriam.
Besides Hendrikse and Stoovelaar, the other members of the Organizing Committee in these years were Paul Moerman (chairman), Frits Mulder (vice-chairman/tournament-director), Rita Schrijber (secretary), Rudolf Winkenius (treasurer), Gerrit Ligtenberg (accomodation) and Gerard van Eekhout (sponsoring).
...Ad Hendrikse celebrates winning the European...
...title with the Netherlands in 1999 in Italy...
...Standing at left and behind Ad are...
...Maarten Koper (Physical Therapist), Frank Nusse...
...(Team Doctor) and Tom Petroff (Bench Coach)...
...Standing at right is Coach Leo Naaktgeboren with...
...Coach Huub Kohl behind him...
...Seated in front is pitcher Michiel van Kampen...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
During the Haarlem Baseball Week of 2000, the National Team of Italy participated for the first time since 1972.
As the return of Italy to the tournament was big news, Ad had several talks with Italian companies in the months ahead of the tournament, resulting in some additional sponsoring.
Besides his activities in baseball, Ad Hendrikse also was a very accomplished magician, as mentioned.
He held performances under the name Mr. Magic.
Hendrikse has been a mentor for several upcoming Dutch magicians and he tought them how to perform tricks successfully.
Together with Beer van Muiswinkel, he formed the duo Magic Brothers and the two gave many lectures/performances in which they told the audience about the history of magic, about the art of being a magician and of course performing several magical tricks.
Ad was a much-loved and respected personality amongst magicians in the Netherlands.
Through the years, Ad also traveled to many congresses in England.
He became a frequent visitor of magic-shops in both England and the Netherlands to learn more about the art of being a magician, especially the so-called table magic or close-up magic.
With that, Ad had a big collection of tricks and how to perform them.
In the past, Ad has worked a few times with wellknown magicians and illusionists, including Richard Ross, Tommy Wonder and Hans Klok.
Ad was a member of the NBG (North Holland Federation of Magicians), as well as the Fred Kaps Ring.
Ross, who passed away at age 55 in 2001, was the winner of the World Championship of Magic in 1970 and 1973 and was the youngest ever to win the title.
Wonder, who passed away in 2006 at age 52, finished second in the 1979 Championship.
Klok, who currently is a renowned illusionist and frequently performs in Las Vegas (USA), finished second in 1997 in the categorie illusionism.
The Fred Kaps Ring is a magic-club, located in Bennebroek and named after famous Dutch magician Kaps (who passed away in 1980).
Kaps is the lone magician to win the World-title three times at the Fédération Internationale des Sociétes Magiques Grand Prix (1950, 1955, 1961).
Ad Hendrikse not only took his tricks with him during business-trips, but also when he was with the National Team.
During his years as Team Manager of the Netherlands Team, Ad frequently showed his magical skills.
To players, coaches, staff-members, in a hotel-lobby.
...Ad performing as magician...
(© Promotional Photo) |
Or like during the World Championship Baseball in Italy in 1998 at the roof-terrace of the hotel in Palermo (Sicily).
Ad then performed some of his magical tricks in front of a small group of people that had accompanied the Netherlands Team and stayed at the same hotel.
The author of this In Memoriam, who then covered the Championship for De Telegraaf-newspaper, was amongst the spectators.
And while seated close the Ad, he continued to amaze you with his remarkable tricks.
True to being a good magician, he never told how a trick worked.
On a personal note, during our years in the Haarlem Baseball Week Organizing Committee I've always worked together with Ad with a good feeling.
During that period, Ad told me that world-famous Tommy Cooper was his favorite magician.
The Welsh comedian (who passed away in 1984) was famous for his TV-shows and specialised in magic tricks that appeared to fail.
,,To do that kind of acts, you have to be a great performer.
He really was a great magician'', Ad said about Tommy Cooper.
In later years, Ad remained a loyal visitor of the reunions of former Netherands Team-players and staff-members during the Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem and World Port Tournament in Rotterdam.
Ad Hendrikse was a charming personality, who always had a brought smile to his face and was able to get a smile on other faces also.
He always remained optimistic, even in difficult personal circumstances.
Ad always was able to create a good atmosphere, also within a group of people, which made him a good Team Manager in a group of very different personalities.
Besides that, Ad also was some kind of a confidant within the team.
Everyone always could go to him to have a talk.
Ad always listened to everyone, also outside the team, and tried to help where possible.
And he always succeeded in that.
The webmaster of Grand Slam * Stats & News offers his condolences to Ad's wife Anneke, daughter Saskia, other family and friends and wishes them a lot of strength with this big loss.
(July 6)
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