The most illustrious and successful basketball club in the Netherlands is turning 70. Today the team plays under the name Heroes Den Bosch. The birthday will be celebrated on Saturday evening for the league match against Aris. Many stories from the Bossche past have never been told. These 7 ‘secrets’ are nice to know.
Bossche Bishop Bekkers not happy with new basketball club
It would have been close if the Eerste Bossche Basketball Club hadn’t been there. Soon after it was founded on October 18, 1952, the then Bishop Bekkers wrote a letter on high legs.
“I find it highly objectionable that this club calls up its members for training sessions every Sunday morning. This is a disgraceful example of Sunday desecration that should be protested.”
Players drink beer during the match
In 1966 Den Bosch had to play in Amsterdam during carnival. A postponement was requested, but it was not granted. Rinus de Jong, later the illustrious chairman, was then a player of Den Bosch.
“We did go, but had brought bins of beer with us. We drank beer every time out. We made the front page of the Telegraaf.” Den Bosch lost 136-45 and later relegated.
Olympic high jump champion almost player in Den Bosch
In 1968, the American Dick Fosbury surprised everyone at the Olympic Games in Mexico. He crossed the high jump bar on his back (Fosbury flop) and won gold. Four years later he trained with EBBC for a while. Fosbury was a school friend of basketball player Vince Fritz who then played at Den Bosch. The 1.93 meter tall Fosbury could also jump high on the basketball court (an advantage), but in the end it did not come to a contract.
Incidentally, the American Fritz starred in the 1971 film ‘Drive, He said’ by Jack Nicholson.
Professional wrestler did sign
In the mid-1990s EBBC had another special appearance in the team. Ron Reis, literally a bear of a guy, 2.18 meters tall and almost as wide. An imposing figure who after his time in Den Bosch became a ‘famous’ professional show wrestler in America under the name The Yeti.
No chicken on
The top basketball in Den Bosch started in the Vinkenkamp sports hall. Just like EBBC, Jan Sleutjes is 70 years old and he went to see it for the first time when he was 15.
“I went with my friend Frank. Everyone was always over the moon. When we first played for the title, he released a chicken into the room. Those were fun times.”
Jan Sleutjes is still a season ticket holder. For years he always went to see Chris and Cees with two friends. Now the third chair is empty because Cees recently passed away. “It was nice that the club gave him another ball with all the players’ signatures on it.”
dollars
As a brand new champion, Den Bosch played a group match in Brussels in the preliminary round of the European Cup-1. According to all present, Den Bosch won that game with a score just before the final whistle (68-69). Only the Belgians kept insisting at the competition table that it was not the case. In the end, the referees went along with that, so that Den Bosch lost (68-67).
“I felt so screwed,” said then chairman Rinus de Jong. “I gave a friend an envelope with $1000 (monthly salary at the time). He had to go to the match between Vienna and Brussels. The two American players from Vienna received an ‘incentive bonus’.”
Because Brussels lost, Den Bosch qualified for the final round of the European Cup 1 tournament with teams like Real Madrid. “I never dared to tell this story to Ton Boot, our coach at the time”, De Jong laughs many years later at the story that afterwards had a reasonable influence on the successes of Den Bosch.
Terrorist on board
Den Bosch is the record holder in the Netherlands with 17 titles. The team also has by far the most European Cup matches to its name. One still remembers former player Jos Kuipers well. Because in the time of the Cold War he entered Russia without a passport.
“On my way to a European Cup 1 match against CSKA Moscow, I turned out to have left my passport at the duty-free shop at Schiphol. In Moscow I was immediately taken away and put in an office with two KGB members. I was completely turned inside out for an hour and a half. After four people had looked at my driver’s license, I was allowed to leave with a special form for the return journey.”
Den Bosch lost the match 80-76 and on the way back exactly the same happened to Kuipers. “Again I was detained with two KGB members. When the plane started to taxi, I was allowed to board under escort. What do you think my teammates were shouting? Hey there you have that terrorist.”
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