Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Hoekse Boys (1957-2010) / vv Hoek van Holland (1958-1970) / HVC '10 (2010-)

Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Rondgang, Hook of Holland = Hoek van Holland (HVC '10, formerly vv Hoekse Boys / vv Hoek van Holland)

Netherlands, province: South Holland = Zuid-Holland

15 VI 2024 / FC IJsselmonde - GSC ESDO 2-1 / District West II, Saturday Leagues 3 & 4 - promotion-relegation play-off final (neutral venue)

Timeline

1909 / Foundation of a first football club in Hoek van Holland, which is given the straightforward name vv Hoek van Holland. The club joins the so-called HVB or Haagsche Voetbalbond, one of the sub-branches of the Netherlands’ Football Association (NVB). It is unclear where vv Hoek van Holland’s pitch was situated.
1912 / vv Hoek van Holland folds in January 1912, but is refounded nine months later – and accepted as new HVB member club.
1915 / The refounded vv Hoek van Holland folds, ceasing all activities.
1917 / Second refoundation of vv Hoek van Holland. It is unclear (to me) where vv Hoek van Holland’s ground or grounds were situated during the first 41 years of the club’s existence (in case you can provide more information on this subject, you are more than welcome to get in touch with me).
1925 / Having played in the ranks of the HVB for the first eight years of its existence, vv Hoek van Holland now accedes to District West II’s (Sunday) League 4 for the first time in club history.
1927 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s League 4B with VDL, vv Hoek van Holland goes on to defeat the club from Maassluis in a tie-break match, thus winning the title and gaining promotion to League 3.
1932 / Winning the title in District West II’s League 3B, 5 points ahead of closest followers DVV Delft, vv Hoek van Holland fails to accede to League 2 in the promotion play-offs.
1934 / Winning the title in District West II’s League 3B, an impressive 11 points ahead of closest followers vv Naaldwijk, vv Hoek van Holland accedes to League 2, the second-highest tier of the Netherlands’ football pyramid, for the first and only time in its history.
1935 / In the best season in club history, vv Hoek van Holland, finishes in joint sixth place in District West II’s League 2B with RFC (Rotterdam).
1938 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s League 2B, vv Hoek van Holland drops back into League 3 after four seasons.
1947 / Finishing bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3C along with RKSV Leonidas, vv Hoek van Holland meets the Rotterdam club in a tie-break match, going on to lose the encounter 4-3 – and thus having to play a set of relegation play-offs, amongst others against FSV Pretoria and SFC (Schiedam), resulting in the club suffering relegation to League 4, twenty years after last having played at that level.
1949 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 4H, 10 points ahead of closest followers RKVV Westlandia, vv Hoek van Holland manages a return to Sunday League 3.
1950 / A group of members of the Saturday branch of vv Hoek van Holland, disaffected due to Sunday football having precedence in the club, decides to form a breakaway club, vv Hoekse Boys, in November 1950, with P.J. Frank being chosen as chairman. Having to wait for the 1951-52 season to first take part as a new KNVB member club, vv Hoekse Boys plays some friendly matches on a makeshift pitch, the so-called Synresveld at Slachthuisweg, before settling at its first real ground, laid out on a plot of farmland at the far end of Tasmanweg and Mahustraat, owned by a local smallholder, Mr Voskamp. Due to the bad state of the pitch, which is grazed by cows during weekdays, the pitch earns itself the less than complimentary nickname De Knollentuin (literally translating as ‘The Bulb Field’).
1951 / Following a successful test match against SV ’35, resulting in a 4-1 win, vv Hoekse Boys is placed in HVB Division 2 instead of the bottom level, Division 3, for its first competitive season. The club’s first official match is a 3-1 defeat of HGA.
1953 / Champions in HVB Division 2, with the decisive points being clinched in a 1-0 defeat over SVV Scheveningen II, vv Hoekse Boys accedes to HVB Division 1.
1954 / Bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3B along with RKSV GDA and HPSV, vv Hoek van Holland has to play a set of tie-break matches against the two teams from The Hague, finishing last in this semi-competition and thus dropping back into League 4. Also in 1954, the membership of vv Hoekse Boys votes down a merger with vv Hoek van Holland – after the suggestion of a merger was raised by forces outside the club.
1955 / Having played at Terrein Tasmanweg for the first four years of its competitive existence, vv Hoekse Boys now moves to Terrein Zekkenweg, situated on a plot of land owned by SMZ, Stoomvaartmaatschappij Zeeland (with the pitch often being referred to as Zeeland-Terrein for that reason) – although the state of the pitch sometimes results in the club being constrained to play its home games at Terrein Dirk van den Burgweg, home ground of ‘s-Gravenzandse VV.
1957 / Having played at Terrein Zekkenweg for most of the past two seasons, vv Hoekse Boys now moves into the newly laid-out municipal sports facilities at Harwichweg – the Gemeentelijk Sportpark, later being renamed Sportpark De Rondgang, disposing of three pitches.
1958 / Having finished runners-up in HVB Division 1 behind JAC in the previous season, vv Hoekse Boys now wins the title in this same division, with the decisive points being obtained in a 2-1 away win against SV Loosduinen (goals by Leen Lokker & Leen de Bakker). As such, the club accedes to District West II’s Saturday League 4 for the first time. Also in 1958, vv Hoek van Holland moves into the Gemeentelijk Sportpark as groundsharers of vv Hoekse Boys.
1959 / A new clubhouse for vv Hoekse Boys is inaugurated at the Gemeentelijk Sportpark.
1960 / A new set of dressing rooms is inaugurated at the Gemeentelijk Sportpark.
1963 / Spending all of the 1960s in League 4, vv Hoek van Holland comes closest to retracing its steps to League 3 in 1962-63, finishing runners-up in District West II’s Sunday League 4H, 5 points behind RVV Zuiderster. Also in 1963, coached by Gerrit Prins, vv Hoekse Boys finishes in last place in Saturday League 4B – with the decisive defeat occurring against CVV Be Fair (1-2) – with the club thus dropping back into the ranks of HVB after five years.
1966 / Due to the Gemeentelijk Sportpark being made extensive use of, vv Hoekse Boys’ youth teams move their activities to Terrein Zekkenweg, while making use of ‘s-Gravenzandse VV’s facilities occasionally as well for training sessions.
1967 / Champions in HVB Hoofdklasse, with the decisive points being clinched in a 3-1 win over HPSV (two goals by Johan Voois, one by Lammert Omhof), vv Hoekse Boys manages a return to Saturday League 4.
1968 / vv Hoekse Boys finishes bottom of the table in District West II’s Saturday League 4A, only avoiding relegation due to the introduction of a Saturday League 1 in the 1968-69 season – the result being that more spaces are available in the Saturday league pyramid.
1970 / Bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 4B, vv Hoek van Holland drops back into the ranks of the HVB, exactly 45 years after last having played at this level. As such, the club finds itself in a lower division than vv Hoekse Boys for the first time. Also in 1970, vv Hoek van Holland abandons the Gemeentelijk Sportpark after twelve seasons, settling at Terrein Zekkenweg (later renamed Terrein Lemaireweg).
1971 / Coached by Cor Stolze, who had replaced Gerrit Prins at the helm of the club in the course of the 1970-71 season, vv Hoekse Boys finishes second-last in District West II’s Saturday League 4B, resulting in the club having to play a set of relegation play-offs against TAVV and SV Duinoord – with the club ultimately suffering relegation to HVB Hoofdklasse on goal difference.1
1972 / Coached by Cor Stolze, vv Hoekse Boys finishes runners-up in HVB Hoofdklasse – resulting in the club winning direct promotion to Saturday League 4 along with champions DSVP. The decisive points were clinched in a 2-1 win over RAS (goals by Bert Ouwens & Aad Mostert).
1973 / Coached by Joop van der Hurk, vv Hoekse Boys finishes in last place in District West II’s Saturday League 4A, resulting in the club dropping back into the ranks of HVB after just one year. Also in 1973, new tentative merger talks are voted down yet again by the membership of vv Hoekse Boys.
1974 / vv Hoek van Holland wins promotion from HVB Hoofdklasse to Sunday League 4 after an absence of four years at that level. In a successful year for football in Hoek van Holland generally, vv Hoekse Boys, coached by Chris Jans, also wins promotion to League 4 following a 2-1 win in HVB Hoofdklasse over Holland Sport ’32 (goals by Bert Ouwens & Cees van der Pol) – resulting in the club being crowned champions of its division.
1976 / The old clubhouse of vv Hoekse Boys, dating back to 1959, has to make way for a more modern replacement.
1977 / vv Hoekse Boys’s 21-year-old player Tom van der Pijl signs a professional league contract with SVV, but only stays at Sportpark Harga for one year before returning to his non-league club in Hoek van Holland.
1981 / Defender Joop van Dop, formerly under contract at Sparta and Fortuna Vlaardingen, joins vv Hoekse Boys from professional league side FC Vlaardingen ’74.
1982 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s Saturday League 4A with DSVP, vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Cor van Rooij – meets the club from Pijnacker in a tie-break match, being played at vv Lyra’s Sportpark De Zweth in front of a crowd of 2,500. Winning the match 3-1 (two goals by John van den Bos, one by Tom van der Pijl), vv Hoekse Boys – and not DSVP with its beginning trainer Dick Advocaat – wins promotion to League 3 for the first time ever, with the club managing fourth places in the following two seasons.
1986 / Having narrowly missed out on the title in District West II’s Sunday League 4C the previous year, finishing 1 point behind champions BTC, vv Hoek van Holland now goes on to win the title in this same division, finishing an impressive 10 points ahead of runners-up LVV De Postduiven. Also in 1986, vv Hoekse Boys, coached by Ton van der Leije, finishes second from bottom in Saturday League 3B, thus dropping back into League 4 along with bottom club SV Bolnes.
1987 / In its first year back in League 3 after an absence of 32 years, vv Hoek van Holland manages an excellent result, finishing runners-up, 12 points behind champions RVV Rijswijk.
1989 / Bolstered by the arrival of Arie Plaisier and Bill Tukker – the latter being an arrival from vv De Zwerver, joining the club after being placed at Hoek van Holland’s branch of the Netherlands’ military police – vv Hoekse Boys, coached by Dick Suiker, wins the title in District West II’s Saturday League 4A, 9 points ahead of SEV. The decisive points are clinched in a direct confrontation with the last-mentioned club, resulting in a 2-1 win (goals by Marco van den Bos & John van den Bos). Bill Tukker crowns himself top goalscorer with no fewer than 37 goals. As a result, vv Hoekse Boys accedes to League 3.
1990 / In the best season in club history, vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Hans Buitenweg – finishes runners-up in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, 5 points behind champions SVV Scheveningen. Also in 1990, vv Hoekse Boys purchases the grandstand of Terrein Park ‘t Nieuwelant in Vlaardingen, abandoned one year previously by SV De Hollandiaan following that club’s merger with vv Satelliet to form HSC ’89 – and moving to vv Satelliet’s ground at the Kethelweg side of Park ‘t Nieuwelant. The stand, built up at the southwestern side of the main pitch at Sportpark De Rondgang, is inaugurated in November 1990.
1991 / Bill Tukker leaves vv Hoekse Boys after three years, joining RCVV Zwart-Wit ’28, the club where his former team mate Arie Plaisier had already moved previously. Tukker, who was world champion with the Netherlands’ police team on two occasions, goes on to defend the colours of SSV Be-Quick, GVV Unitas, and BVV Barendrecht before hanging up his boots and becoming head coach at ASWH, vv SHO, IFC, vv Strijen, and vv Drechtsteek, before passing away unexpectedly in 2015.
1992 / Coached by Cor van Rooij, who replaced Theo van Dijk in the course of the season, vv Hoekse Boys finishes in eleventh place in District West II’s Saturday League 3A, resulting in the club dropping back into League 4 along with bottom club vv Lyra.
1993 / Finishing in tenth place in District West II’s Saturday League 4A, vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Wim Groote – descends into the ranks of HVB along with SV Loosduinen and SV DSO.
1994 / Finishing in tenth place in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, vv Hoek van Holland goes on to lose the relegation play-offs, thus descending into League 4 along with direct drop-outs KRSV Vredenburch and SV Wippolder. Also in 1994, vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Louis Knipscheer Jnr. who replaced Wim Groote in the course of the season – finishes in fifth place in HVB Hoofdklasse. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs against SV PTT, vv Postalia, and RVC, the club wins a ticket for Saturday League 4 following a 2-1 win over SV PTT, played at vv Verburch’s ground in Poeldijk.
1995 / Champions in District West II’s Sunday League 4D, 2 points ahead of closest followers SV Wippolder, vv Hoek van Holland manages an immediate return to League 3.
1996 / Due to the introduction of a Zaterdag Hoofdklasse as the new top level in the Saturday league pyramid, extra promotion places are available in all Saturday divisions, resulting in vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Theo Kleindijk – acceding to League 3 following a sixth place finish in District West II’s Saturday League 4A.
1998 / Finishing in ninth place in District West III’s Sunday League 3B, vv Hoek van Holland drops back into League 4 following an unsuccessful set of relegation play-offs. In a bad season for football in Hoek van Holland all around, vv Hoekse Boys – coached by Louis Knipscheer Jnr. – finishes in last place in District West III’s Saturday League 3B, ultimately dropping back into League 4 following a 2-1 defeat at the hands of vv Alphia in a tie-break match played at vv Wilhelmus’ Sportpark Westvliet.
1999 / Coached by Louis Knipscheer Jnr., vv Hoekse Boys wins the title in District West III’s Saturday League 4, resulting in the club managing a return to League 3 at the first opportunity. The decisive point is clinched in a 1-1 draw against DORR.
2000 / 8-year-old youth goalkeeper Roy Kortsmit leaves vv Hoek van Holland to join Feyenoord’s youth academy. Via the youth academy of RKVV Westlandia, Kortsmit has his breakthrough as a pro player at Sparta Rotterdam in 2011, going on to defend the red-and-white of the Rotterdam side for eight years before moving on to Almere City FC – and later NAC Breda.
2001 / Coached by Wilco Wapenaar, vv Hoekse Boys finishes in last place in District West III’s Saturday League 3B, resulting in the club dropping back to League 4 along with the club finishing second from bottom, HPSV.
2002 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s Sunday League 4D along with SV RKDEO and RKSVM, vv Hoek van Holland meets these two clubs in a set of title play-offs, ultimately having to leave first place – and promotion to League 3 – to SV RKDEO. Also in 2002, vv Hoekse Boys finishes in fifth place in Saturday League 4B, going on to win a set of promotion play-offs resulting in the club acceding to League 3.
2003 / Finishing in joint first place in District West II’s Sunday League 4E along with vv HWD, vv Hoek van Holland goes on to defeat the Rotterdam club in a tie-break match (2-1), thus managing a return to League 3 after an absence of five seasons.
2005 / Bottom of the table in District West II’s Sunday League 3B, vv Hoek van Holland drops back into League 4 along with the club finishing second-last, OLIVEO.
2007 / Finishing in last place in District West II’s Saturday League 3C, vv Hoekse Boys descends into League 4 along with RCSV Zestienhoven.
2008 / Having been a Sunday club from its foundation in 1917 onwards, vv Hoek van Holland now chooses to switch to the Saturday pyramid, being placed at the bottom of the league ladder, District West II’s Saturday League 5.
2009 / Due to District West II’s Saturday League 5 being abolished, vv Hoek van Holland, which had finished in fifth place in League 5C, is placed in Saturday League 4 for the new season.
2010 / In its last season as an independent club, vv Hoek van Holland finishes in sixth place in District West II’s Saturday League 4C, while vv Hoekse Boys wins the title in that same division, 4 points ahead of runners-up RKVV Westlandia (za). Following the 2009-10 season, vv Hoek van Holland and vv Hoekse Boys conclude a merger agreement, resulting in the foundation of HVC ’10 (Hoekse Voetbalclub 2010) – with all activities moving to vv Hoekse Boys’ ground, Gemeentelijk Sportpark De Rondgang. Terrein Lemaireweg (formerly Terrein Zekkenweg), vv Hoek van Holland’s ground, is knocked down immediately following the season. Following vv Hoekse Boys’ title in League 4, HVC ’10 starts its life in Saturday League 3. The merger – and the new club’s ambition to make an impact straightaway – results in several former vv Hoekse Boys’ players which had left for FC ‘s-Gravenzande and RKVV Westlandia (zo) returning to Hoek van Holland, thus bolstering HVC ’10’s squad.
2011 / In the first season following the merger, HVC ’10 storms to the title in District West II’s Saturday League 3C, 14 points ahead of SC Monster, thus gaining promotion to League 2 – 73 years after vv Hoek van Holland had last played at this level.
2012 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2C, 2 points behind champions DSVP, HVC ’10 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being eliminated in R1 by vv Spijkenisse (5-0 aggr.).
2013 / The old clubhouse at Sportpark De Rondgang, dating back to 1976, has to make way for a modern replacement.
2014 / Runners-up in Saturday League 2C, 5 points behind champions vv Valken ’68, HVC ’10 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club successively has the better of SV Lombardijen (6-1 aggr.) and WV-HEDW (4-1 aggr.) – resulting in HVC ’10 gaining an unprecedented promotion to Saturday League 1.
2015 / Finishing in eleventh place in Saturday League 1B – with only an inferior goal difference separating the club from vv Valken ’68, which saves its skin – HVC ’10 has to play a set of relegation play-offs, defeating SVC ’08 in R1 (3-1 aggr.), but being eliminated in R2 by RVV Neptunus-Schiebroek (5-4 aggr.), thus descending into League 2 after just one season, along with direct drop-outs HBOK and vv GHC as well as fellow play-off victim SV DSO.
2022 / Finishing in fourth place in Saturday League 2C, HVC ’10 qualifies for the promotion play-offs, successively defeating RV&AV Sparta (2-2 and penalty shoot-out) and SV Heinenoord (1-2), but missing out on a return to League 1 following a defeat at the hands of SV DSO in the final (3-1).
2023 / Finishing in ninth place in Saturay League 2E, HVC ’10 has to play a set of relegation play-offs, drawing a bye in R1 and defeating derby rivals vv Lyra in R2 (3-0), but ultimately suffering relegation into League 3 due to a defeat in the semi-final at the hands of vv Verburch (3-2).
2024 / Runaway champions in District West II’s Saturday League 3D, 10 points ahead closest followers vv Rhoon, HVC ’10 manages a return to Saturday League 2 at the first opportunity.

Note – Important parts of the information provided above were derived from a book published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of vv Hoekse Boys in 2000, entitled “vv Hoekse Boys 1950-2000. Al is ons clubje nog zo klein”, by John van den Bos et al. Thanks to former HVC ’10 board member Fokke van Oostrum for putting at my disposal a copy of this booklet.