Gerrit Keizer
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Gerard Pieter "Gerrit" Keizer (8 August 1910 – 5 December 1980), also known as Gerard Keyser, was a Dutch
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
. Keizer was highly successful in Holland whilst playing with
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. ...
. He was also the original "Flying Dutchman" at English side
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, whom he helped to their first league title in
English football Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...
.


Club career

Keizer joined
Ajax Amsterdam 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. ...
at the age of 16, and two years later made his debut for the side, against Stormvogels on 1 April 1929. For the first few years of his career he deputised for Ajax's No. 1 Jan de Boer. In 1930, he made a move to England. Keizer at first played for
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
side
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
. Keizer was outstanding for Margate, and soon Keizer was spotted by Arsenal's manager,
Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...
. Keizer was at once pitched into Arsenal's first team, and made his club debut against
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
on 30 August 1930. He also featured in the Gunners' 2–1 1930 Charity Shield victory over
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
. He went on to play in Arsenal's first twelve
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
matches of the 1930–31 season. With the Gunners, Keizer went on to win the First Division title of 1930–31. This victory was Arsenal's first ever league title. Keizer's playing style was distinctly flamboyant, to the point of at times erratic. With stiff competition coming from Arsenal's other keepers, Bill Harper and
Charlie Preedy Charles James Fane Preedy (11 January 1900 – February 1978) was an English football goalkeeper. One of six children, Preedy was born in Neemuch, British India, where his father was serving with the Royal Artillery. The family returned to Elth ...
, Keizer lost his regular spot within the side. He thus left Arsenal in July 1931 for
Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...
. Keizer later played for club
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
. Keizer finally returned to
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 ...
in 1933 to become Ajax's number one keeper. He eventually played over 300 matches for Ajax, becoming a club legend. A pair of his goalkeeping boots are as so on display within Ajax's museum.


International career

Keizer was capped for the Netherlands national team on two occasions. His debut for ''Ons Oranje'' came in a qualifier against
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, a 4–2 win that took the Netherlands to the
1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, senior men's national teams. It took place in Kin ...
. However, Keizer was not picked for the squad that actually went to the tournament.


Personal life

After the war, Ajax found themselves in deep financial trouble and so were not able to afford their own
kits KITS (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios ...
. Keizer flew to London to ask his old club Arsenal for help, who obligingly donated a set of kits and footballs. Ajax thus played some matches in Arsenal's red and white shirts. Keizer continued to repeatedly journey across the
Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...
, but in 1947, he was discovered to be smuggling British
banknote A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commerc ...
s within leather footballs; he was fined 30,000
guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
s and sentenced to six months
imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...
. Afterwards, Keizer went into business and became one of Amsterdam's leading
greengrocers A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily produce, fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the ...
. In 1955, he returned to Ajax, this time as a member of the club's board. He died in 1980, aged 70.


Honours

Arsenal * Charity Shield:
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
*
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...
: 1930–31 Ajax *Dutch overall champion 1934, 1937, 1939, 1947 *NVB Cup 1943 *Arol Cup 1934, 1941


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keizer, Gerrit 1910 births 1980 deaths Dutch men's footballers Dutch expatriate men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England Men's association football goalkeepers Arsenal F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Margate F.C. players AFC Ajax players Footballers from Amsterdam AFC Ajax non-playing staff 20th-century Dutch sportsmen