Ajax Honkbalvereniging Amsterdam () (), also referred to as Ajax HVA, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax (after the legendary Greek hero), was a Dutch professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

club based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. The club were founding members of the Dutch

Hoofdklasse The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general. Background The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...

, where they competed since the league's inception in 1922 until the club folded in 1972, having won the league title a total four times. The team was associated with acclaimed Dutch

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

, in their attempt to expand into

, having spent 50 years at the top flight of professional baseball in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

As founding members of the Dutch

in 1922, Amsterdam's well-known football club

fielded a baseball team in the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands, playing their home matches at the stadium of OVVO on the Kruislaan in

Amsterdam-Oost Amsterdam-Oost () is a borough of Amsterdam, Netherlands, established in May 2010 after a merger of the former boroughs of Zeeburg and Oost-Watergraafsmeer. In 2013, the borough had almost 123,000 inhabitants. History Amsterdam-Oost is the b ...

. Famous former players include Marco Nagelkerken, Ruben Leysner, Peter Hendriks, Boy Balinge, Ko van Wijk, Leo van Wijk, Herre Kok, Dassy Jasmijn, Jessie Delanoy. In 1972 the club decided to no longer field a baseball team, and to focus solely on football, leaving the baseball players of Ajax without a club. The players soon found a new sponsor with

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

manufacturing company Luycks. Finally merging with another baseball club from Amsterdam the Giants Diemen, together they formed the Luycks Giants, which replaced both its former clubs. In 1977 the sponsor changed to ''Uitzendburo Unique'' and the club's name was forthwith "Unique Giants", which existed until at least 1980. Legendary Dutch football player

Johan Cruijff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016), internationally known as Johan Cruyff (), was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players in history and as the greatest Dutch footballe ...

played for the club's baseball team during the summer (football off-season) early on in his career. He played in various positions on the team including

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, as seen in a photograph dated from 1961 on the club's website.

Notable former players

* Marco Nagelkerken * Ruben Leysner * Peter Hendriks * Boy Balinge * Ko van Wijk * Leo van Wijk * Herre Kok * Dassy Jasmijn * Jessie Delanoy

Honours

National

: 4 :: 1924, 1928, 1942, 1948

References

External links

AFC Ajax
(Official Website) *
Historie - TIW-Survivors
', TIW-Survivors (per 2020-03-12)
KNBSB
Dutch baseball and softball association {{Honkbal Hoofdklasse AFC Ajax Sports clubs and teams in Amsterdam Defunct baseball teams in the Netherlands Honkbal Hoofdklasse teams