Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: RVVH (1962-2020) / SV Slikkerveer (1962-1979)

Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk I - Sportlaan, Ridderkerk (formerly RVVH & SV Slikkerveer)

Netherlands, province: South Holland

12 XI 2011 / RVVH - Excelsior Maassluis 1-1 / Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B (= NL level 4)

Timeline

1918 / Foundation of vv Excelsior, a protestant-christian football club in Ridderkerk. Only a few days after the foundation of the club, a name change is undertaken, with vv Excelsior becoming vv Hercules (later commonly referred to as RVV Hercules, an acronym for Ridderkerksche Voetbalvereeniging Hercules). The club's first chairman is G. Put. Shortly after its foundation, vv Hercules joins the Dordrechtsche Voetbalbond (DVB), one of the local football associations organising league football below the regular divisions which are organised by the Netherlands' FA (KNVB). The club's first ground is situated on a pasture at Kievitsweg, owned by Mr Groenenboom, a local farmer. Not much later (c. 1920), the club switches to Terrein Krouwel at Lagendijk.
1920 / vv Hercules absorbs another local club, vv DOS (Door Oefening Sterk), which had probably been formed the previous year.
± 1928 / RVV Hercules abandons Terrein Krouwel, settling at one of the pitches of the so-called Watertoren-Terrein in Slikkerveer, which it shares with BVV OLIVIO. This ground disposes of a second pitch as well, which is used by vv Slikkerveer, who previously had a groundsharing agreement with OLIVIO.
1935 / After some seven years of groundsharing with OLIVIO at Terrein Watertoren, RVV Hercules settles at a pitch of its own, Terrein Molendijk, also owned by Mr Groenenboom, whose farmland elsewhere saw the club starting its existence 15 years previously. On July 20th, 1935, the new ground, which disposes of its own changing rooms, is inaugurated in a ceremony led by Ridderkerk's new mayor, Mr Crezée. The inaugural match sees RVV Hercules defeating its host for the past years, BVV OLIVIO (1-0).
1938 / Having switched from Dordrechtse Voetbalbond (DVB) to Rotterdamse Voetbalbond (RVB) in 1937, RVV Hercules is ordered by KNVB authorities to change its name in order to avoid confusion with other clubs bearing the same name. In the end, the decision is taken to settle for RVVH - the acronym for RVV Hercules.
1943 / Due to the hardships of World War II making themselves felt, RVVH's 25th anniversary celebrations are kept low-key, with a small tournament, in which vv Alblasserdam, SV Slikkerveer (the result of a 1941 merger between BVV OLIVIO and vv Slikkerveer), and IFC take part, being organised at Terrein Molendijk. In the course of the war years, RVVH's ground is commandeered ever more often by German authorities for their own sporting activities - and German soldiers regularly stealing club property from the clubhouse and storage rooms.
1945 / On the liberation of the western provinces of the Netherlands in May 1945, RVVH's ground is completely ravaged; during the famine of the 1944-45 winter, even the goalposts had been carried off by local residents looking for material to heat their houses. First reconstruction works are carried out with the help of a regiment of Canadian soldiers. In December 1945, RVVH receives a proposal from SV Slikkerveer to conclude a merger, but the strictly protestant RVVH refuses the overtures, as an amalgamation with a secular - and Sunday league - club is anathema to them.
1946 / With new renovations being carried out at Terrein Molendijk, RVVH groundshares with SV Bolnes at Terrein Kievitsweg for 8 weeks in the spring of 1946. Relations with Mr Groenenboom, the proprietor of the pitch at Molendijk, are frosty, due to the farmer often allowing his horses onto the pitch during weekdays, resulting in RVVH's players regularly finding the goalposts pushed over on matchdays.
1949 / Winning the title in RVB's Division 1 under the guidance of head coach J. de Bruin, RVVH manages to climb up to KNVB's regular league system for the first time, being placed in Saturday League 4C.
1951 / Still coached by J. de Bruin, RVVH wins the title in Saturday League 4D, winning the title match 4-0 against Gorinchem side gsv GJS. Thus, the club accedes to Saturday League 3, the highest level of the Saturday league pyramid at the time.
1953 / In the North Sea flood of February 1953, Ridderkerk is flooded completely - including RVVH's Terrein Molendijk.
1956 / Finishing 4th in Saturday League 3A in the 1955-56 season, RVVH qualifies automatically for Saturday League 2, the newly introduced top level of the Saturday league pyramid.
1960 / After a four-year spell in L2, RVVH drops back into Saturday League 3
1962 / Abandoning Terrein Molendijk after 27 years, RVVH settles at a newly built municipal sports facility, the so-called Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk (I), which is inaugurated by Ridderkerk's mayor, C.J. van der Hoeven on September 1st. The park is shared by RVVH with SV Slikkerveer and with netball club Sagitta. The main football pitch is shared by SV Slikkerveer and RVVH's first teams. To mark the inauguration, a gala match is organised in which a combined Slikkerveer/RVVH team defeats Rotterdam professional league side Excelsior (4-2).
1963 / Constructed by volunteers of SV Slikkerveer, a covered stand of the Elascon brand (550 seats) is inaugurated at Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk. Whereas Slikkerveer's supporters do not pay an extra charge for the use of the stand, the Sunday league club charges 75 cents per head at RVVH home matches (or 5 guilders for a season ticket).
1965 / Clinching the title in Saturday League 3B by winning the decisive tie 2-1 against rival club vv De Zwerver, RVVH manages a return to League 2, the top division of the Saturday league pyramid, after a five-year absence.
1967 / In the most memorable season in club history, RVVH first wins the title in Saturday League 2A, defeating vv De Geuzen in the last home match (2-0). Following this, the club takes part in a national Saturday League championship against the winners of Saturday Leagues 2B (SV Huizen), 2C (DOVO), and 2D (WHC), in which RVVH remains unbeaten - winning five of its six matches. The club's centre-forward George in 't Veld scores an impressive number of 11 goals in those six matches, with RVVH's total goal tally reaching 16. In order to receive a maximum number of spectators at Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk, a group of RVVH volunteers constructs a set of boards (open wooden stands), resulting in 1,700 extra permanent standing places.
1968 / On RVVH's 50th anniversary, a gala match is organised in which the club receives professional league side DFC from Dordrecht, which includes in its ranks the Netherlands' international player Jan Klijnjan. The National Division 2 side wins the encounter emphatically (0-8).
1971 / With a League 1 being added to the Saturday league pyramid at the start of the 1971-72 season, RVVH just misses out on the title in L2 and qualification for this new top division, due to an unexpected 1-2 defeat at home against lowly vv Woudrichem, which sees the Ridderkerk side being pipped at the post by vv Amstelveen. In the summer of 1971, former Dutch international player Cor van der Gijp takes over the managerial role at RVVH, but his spell in Ridderkerk does not last longer than just one season.
1973 / Winning the title in Saturday League 2A, RVVH finds its way up to League 1 with a delay of two years. A new, single-tier clubhouse is built at the back of Sportpark Ridderkerk's main stand; the premises are used by RVVH as well as SV Slikkerveer.
1978 / In its best season in the 1970s, RVVH finishes in third place in Saturday League 1A. The decision is taken to end the groundsharing agreement at Ridderkerk's Gemeentelijk Sportpark, as works get underway for a new ground for SV Slikkerveer close by, on the north-western side of Populierenlaan. Meanwhile, a second tier is constructed on top of the clubhouse at Gemeentelijk Sportpark.
1979 / SV Slikkerveer moves into its newly built Sportpark Reijerpark, thus leaving RVVH as the sole users of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk.
1981 / Finishing 14th in Saturday League 1A, RVVH drops back into Saturday League 2. The final nail in the coffin is a defeat in the away match against BVV Barendrecht at Sportpark De Bongerd (4-2).
1982 / Title contenders in L2 for most of the season, RVVH finally has to leave first place to vv Heerjansdam, which defeats the Ridderkerk side 2-1 to finish top of the league. In the 1982-83 season, RVVH is given the opportunity to take part in the Nationwide Cup for the first time, being defeated by MVV (0-7) in a home tie attended by 1,500 spectators.
1983 / RVVH celebrates its 65th anniversary with a gala match which sees Feyenoord paing a visit to Sportpark Ridderkerk. The Rotterdam side, which includes the likes of Joop Hiele, Ben Wijnstekers, and Ruud Gullit, manages a 0-4 win, with all four goals being scored by Mario Been.
1984 / Guided by coach Ger ter Horst, RVVH wins the title in Saturday League 2B - thus acceding to L1, which, until 1996, continued to be the top flight of the Saturday league pyramid. That same year, the clubhouse is given an extension on the side of the entrance gate.
1985 / In its first season back in League 1, RVVH has a hard time holding its own; on the last day of the regular season, thanks to an emphatic 8-0 away win at vv De Zwerver in Kinderdijk, the club manages to avoid direct relegation. In a relegation play-off against DTS '35, played at SV Spakenburg's Sportpark De Westmaat, the club manages to save its skin with a 2-1 win - the winning goal being scored by sub Rob Polderman in extra time.
1989 / After five years in League 1, RVVH finishes in 14th place in Saturday League 1B - not good enough to avoid the drop. The decisive defeat occurred in an away match at vv Bennekom's Sportpark Eikelhof (4-1).
1992 / RVVH qualifies for the L2 promotion play-offs, but is eliminated due to defeats at the hands of PVV Excelsior Pernis and vv SHO.
1994 / Having qualified yet again for the L2 promotion play-offs, RVVH sees off Zealand sides vv Kloetinge and vv Veere to reach the final, played at Sportpark De Bongerd in Barendrecht - but in that match, the club suffers a clear 3-0 defeat at the hands of VVGZ, which wins promotion to Saturday League 1 instead of RVVH.
1996 / With a new division, Hoofdklasse, subdivided in three different branches, being created as the new top level of the Saturday League pyramid, many clubs win automatic promotion to a higher level - and RVVH is one, qualifying for Saturday League 1 by virtue of a third place finish in L2B.
2000 / Finishing 10th in Saturday League 1B, RVVH plays a relegation play-off against vv NSVV. With both ties ending in a draw, the contest is decided on penalties, in which vv NSVV comes out on top. Thus, RVVH is condemned to relegation to League 2.
2001 / Bouncing straight back after the dissilusion of the previous season, RVVH clinches the Saturday League 2D title, winning the decisive match 2-0 against ZSV Sportlust '46.
2008 / Having dropped back into League 2 the previous year, RVVH manages another Saturday League 2D title, winning the decisive last match of the season 2-0 away at SV Nootdorp.
2009 / Coached by former professional league player Cor Lems, RVVH manages a more than respectable 6th place in the final ranking in its first season back in Saturday League 1B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club defeats Xerxes DZB and vv SHO, thus winning a ticket for the final against FC Rijnvogels, a single match played at a neutral venue, vv Capelle's Sportpark 't Slot. On the day, RVVH wins the match 2-1, thus gaining promotion to Zaterdag Hoofdklasse for the first time - and returning to the top flight of Saturday League football after a 20-year absence.
2012 / In the club's second appearance in the Nationwide Cup, RVVH gives FC Twente a good run for its money, in the end losing the home match against the professional league side 1-0 due to a Luc Castaignos goal in the 93rd minute.
2013 / In the club's third Nationwide Cup participation, RVVH loses its home match against SBV Vitesse (1-3).
2014 / An artificial surface is installed on RVVH's main pitch.
2015 / Having finished in second place in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse B the previous year, RVVH comes third in the same league in the 2014-15 season. With a new top level, the so-called Topklasse, having been put in place as the new top tier of the Saturday League pyramid in 2010, the Ridderkerk side qualifies for the promotion play-offs, first seeing off KVV Quick Boys and vv Spijkenisse in the group stage before eliminating ACV in the semi-final. In the final, played at vv Achilles Veen's Sportpark De Hanen Weide, RVVH takes on HSV Hoek, defeating the side from Zeelandic Flanders 3-1, thus gaining the treasured promotion ticket to Zaterdag Topklasse.
2016 / Finishing 16th and last in Zaterdag Topklasse, RVVH drops back into Zaterdag Hoofdklasse after just one season.
2018 / Confirming the downward trend in the club's performances of the past seasons, RVVH is relegated to Saturday League 1 due to a 15th place finish in Zaterdag Hoofdklasse A.
2020 / The main pitch of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk has to make way for a new secondary school, Gemini College. RVVH moves its main pitch to the former netball pitch at the southern end of the park (Gemeentelijk Sportpark Ridderkerk - Sportlaan II). Attempts to move the Elascon stand, erected in 1963, to the new pitch, fail, as a result of which the monumental construction - along with all boards around the old main pitch - is demolished in July 2020. A new stand is erected at the northern end of the new main pitch of the park, which also sports a small open terrace on the opposite side.
2023 / In a nail-biting title race with vv Heerjansdam, RVVH falls 1 point short in Saturday League 1C, thus finishing runners-up in that division. In the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, the club sees off SV BVCB (3-2), SV Wippolder (4-2), and CVV ONS Sneek (2-1) to win promotion to the national divisions after a 5-year absence.

Note - The main source for the information given above is a book about RVVH's club history, published on the occasion of the club's 100th anniversary: "Ridderkerkse Voetbal Vereniging Hercules 1918-2018. Zie ze het veld betreden... goed getraind en eensgezind", by Cees den Hartog, Erik den Hartog, Theo Leenheer & Teun Rijsdijk (ed. RVVH: Ridderkerk 2020).