Extreme Football Tourism: NETHERLANDS: vv Pekelder Boys

Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark, Boven Pekela (vv Pekelder Boys)

Netherlands, province: Groningen

3 XI 2024 / vv Pekelder Boys - vv Alteveer 1-3 / District North, Sunday League 5C (= NL level 10)

Timeline

1931 / In Boven Pekela, a peat excavation colony in the eastern part of the Province of Groningen, a football club is founded, which is given the name vv Pekelder Boys, with the club’s first board consisting of Chris Funk, Leo Ahlers, and Ebbo Norder. The club rents a plot of farmland from the Bunk family at Wildeplaats in Zuiderkolonie (the southern hamlet of Boven Pekela), where a pitch is laid out. vv Pekelder Boys joins the so-called GVB, Groninger Voetbalbond, Groningen’s sub-branch of the Netherlands’ Football Association (KNVB), organising all football in Groningen below the level of District North’s Sunday League 3 – with no League 4 being organised in this district until after World War II. For the 1931-32 season, vv Pekelder Boys is placed in GVB Division 3C.
1933 / After two years at Terrein Bunk, vv Pekelder Boys lays out a new pitch on a plot of farmland owned by Jan Klooster, a local smallholder. The new pitch is also situated at Wildeplaats in Zuiderkolonie.
1936 / After an independent existence of five seasons, vv Pekelder Boys concludes a merger with vv Jupiter from nearby Nieuwe Pekela, resulting in the foundation of vv PJC (Pekelder Boys-Jupiter-Combinatie). The new club settles at Terrein Tunteler, a pitch situated at the crossroads of modern-day Ontsluitingsweg and Jacob de Weerdstraat in Nieuwe Pekela. Effectively, this heralds the end of football in Boven Pekela for the following ten years.
1946 / After the hardships of World War II and the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands, a new football club is founded in Boven Pekela, which takes on the exact name of its predecessor, vv Pekelder Boys, with the first board consisting of Jan Siepel, Joost Mellies, and Reint Nieboer. The club is placed in GVB Division 3D Branch II for the 1946-47 season. The club rents a plot of land from a local smallholder, Hugo Prins, but the pitch can only be laid out after the potato harvest in October – the result being that the club plays only away matches in the first stages of the season, making its home debut on October 25th, 1946, with a 3-1 home win over vv Veendam 5. Terrein Hugo Prins is situated at Tilstraat in Noorderkolonie, with the players having to change clothes in the nearby Café Huls, which also serves as clubhouse in the first years of the club’s existence.
1947 / vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to GVB Division 2 in its first season. An entrance booth is added to the set-up at Terrein Hugo Prins.
1949 / vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to GVB Division 1.
1956 / Runners-up in GVB Division 1, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the play-offs for promotion to KNVB Sunday League 4, but the club fails to accede to that level.
1960 / Having spent the first fourteen years of its existence in the ranks of the GVB, vv Pekelder Boys now accedes to District North’s Sunday League 4 for the first time. Also in 1960, vv Pekelder Boys purchases a plot of farmland from a local smallholder, Mr Wever, in Noorderkolonie, having in mind to move its activities there from Terrein Hugo Prins in the following year.
1961 / With a pitch and dressing rooms being put in place at Terrein Wever, vv Pekelder Boys’ new home ground is inaugurated officially by Nieuwe Pekela’s mayor, T. Evenhuis, on September 2nd, 1961. Subsquently, a gala match is played between vv Pekelder Boys and derby rivals vv PJC on this pitch, still in use today as the Pekelder Boys’ second pitch. Unsurprisingly, the match is won by vv PJC, which plays its football in Sunday League 1 – the highest non-league level – at the time (0-4).
1963 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 1 point ahead of runners-up vv Bellingwolde, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 3 for the first time. The title is clinched in a 4-0 home win against vv Nieuweschans.
1966 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3D, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 after three seasons.
1967 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 3 points ahead of closest followers vv BNC, vv Pekelder Boys manages an immediate return to Sunday League 3.
1969 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3D, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 after two seasons.
1971 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4G, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into the ranks of the GVB after eleven years.
1972 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in GVB Division 1B, 3 points behind champions and derby rivals vv PJC, thus missing out on an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
1973 / Champions in GVB Division 1B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals SV Drieborg, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 4. Subsequently, the club also clinches the honorary title of GVB champions following a 3-0 win over GVB Division 1A winner vv ASTREA in an encounter played at vv Muntendam’s ground. Thereupon, the club qualifies for an extra title competition against the other title winners at this level in District North, TVC ’28 (TVB), vv WKE (DVB), RKVV Bakhuizen (FVB), and SV Raalte (NCVB), in which the club finishes in third place, with TVC ’28 walking away as winners.
1974 / Coached by Jacob Loer, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in joint last place in District North’s Sunday League 4G with vv NOVO, meeting the club from Nieuwolda in a tie-break match, played at vv Bato’s Sportpark Sint-Vitusholt. With some 1,200 spectators attending, vv NOVO wins the encounter 1-0, as a result of which vv Pekelder Boys drops back into GVB Division 1 after just one season.
1975 / Works get underway on a new clubhouse for vv Pekelder Boys at Terrein Wever. This clubhouse – still in place today, is constructed at Noorderkolonie, not adjacent to the club’s sole pitch, as the farmstead of Rutger ‘Rotgerd’ Oldeboom, is situated in between. Rutger ‘Rotgerd’ Oldeboom is a hermit living in an old farmstead bordering vv Pekelder Boys’ sports park. Oldeboom, referred to in the local dialect as Rödde, was regarded as the Netherlands’ last hermit. Relations between him and the club were not been particularly warm, even though the eccentric man was offered a free meatball from the club’s canteen now and again, whenever a ball – a football, in this case – had been kicked onto his territory.
1976 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B, vv Pekelder Boys loses a tie-break match for the title against SV Blauw-Geel ’15, thus missing out on promotion. Also in 1976, on November 4th of that year, Rutger Oldeboom passes away at the age of 92. The club decides to buy the land from Oldeboom’s heirs to lay out a second pitch, situated to the south of the sole pitch the club had disposed of since the early 1960s.
1977 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B with vv Oosterhoek, vv Pekelder Boys meets that club in a tie-break match played at SC Scheemda’s ground, with the encounter finishing 0-0 A.E.T. (att. 900). In a second match on the same location, vv Oosterhoek eventually wins out (2-0 A.E.T.). vv Pekelder Boys gets a new chance in a lucky-loser final against vv Eenrum, runners-up in GVB Division 1A, due to an extra promotion place being available. However, the encounter against that club, played at vv Harkstede’s ground, results in another defeat (3-0). As such, vv Pekelder Boys misses out on a return to Sunday League 4 yet again. Also in 1977, vv Pekelder Boys’ new pitch is inaugurated, with the club moving first team football to this pitch – where it has been played ever since. Honouring the memory of Rutger Oldeboom, the club decides to name its park at Noorderkolonie after him, the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
1978 / Finishing in joint first place in GVB Division 1B for the third (!) year running, this time tying for first place with vv Sellingen, vv Pekelder Boys meets that club in a tie-break match, played at ASVB’s Sportpark Blijham, losing the encounter 3-1 and thus missing out on promotion for the umpteenth time. Also in 1978, new dressing rooms are added to the set-up at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
1979 / After three years of tying for first place in GVB Division 1B, vv Pekelder Boys now crowns itself as sole champions in this division, clinching the decisive points in a match against SGV. As such, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 4 after an absence of five years at that level. Moreover, the club also wins the GVB championship title, defeating D1A champions vv De Vogels.
1983 / Finishing in joint tenth place in District North’s Sunday League 4H with vv Bareveld, vv Pekelder Boys, coached by Jack Geerdes, meets that club in a tie-break match at vv Veelerveen’s ground (att. 800), with vv Bareveld walking away as winners (2-0). As a result, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into the ranks of the GVB.
1984 / Finishing in second place in GVB Division 1B, with an equal number of points as champions vv Heiligerlee, but with an inferior goal difference, vv Pekelder Boys wins automatic promotion to Sunday League 4 due to extra promotion places being available. The decisive points are clinched in a 2-0 away win at vv Woltersum.
1985 / Finishing in joint tenth place in District North’s Sunday League 4H, vv Pekelder Boys has to play a tie-break match to assure itself of a prolonged stay at that level. Meeting vv Bareveld at vv Veendam 1894’s Sportpark De Langeleegte Noord – with a sole Arnold de Groot goal deciding the match to the advantage of the club from Boven Pekela. As such, vv Pekelder Boys staves off relegation.
1986 / Celebrating its fortieth anniversary, vv Pekelder Boys plays a gala match at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark against Belgian side KV Mechelen, coached by Aad de Mos at the time. In front of a crowd of 550 spectators, vv Pekelder Boys takes the lead with a Wubbo Luth goal, with the match eventually finishing in an emphatic 1-12 win for the Belgian professionals. KV Mechelen’s side included the likes of Leo Clijsters, Walter Meeuws, Erwin Koeman, Wim Hofkens, Graeme Rutjes, and Piet den Boer. Nevertheless, in spite of the celebrations of reaching this milestone, the 1980s are a difficult decade for vv Pekelder Boys, as the club is marred by financial problems and conflicts within the board, resulting in part of the membership turning its back. Only after years of economising, the club eventually masters the situation in the early 1990s.
1993 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 2 points behind champions vv SPW. In the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, the club wins the group stage, finishing ahead of vv BNC and vv Gasselternijveen – only to suffer defeat in the final against DVC ’59, played at vv Valthermond’s Sportpark De Meent (2-1).
1996 / vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4G, 5 points behind champions vv STA, missing out on promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds. Also in 1996, a covered terrace for 400 spectators is added to the set-up at the Rutger Oldeboom-Sportpark.
1999 / Champions in District North’s Sunday League 4E, 1 point ahead of closest followers vv Gieten, vv Pekelder Boys wins promotion to Sunday League 3, heralding a return to that level after an absence of thirty years. The successful coach is Henk van der Vlag.
2000 / In the best season in club history, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 3C under the aegis of coach Henk van der Vlag. In the first five matches of the season, goalkeeper Herman Tieck does not concede a single goal.
2001 / Finishing bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 3B with coach Henk van der Vlag, vv Pekelder Boys drops back into League 4 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Gasselternijveen.
2002 / Still coached by Henk van der Vlag, vv Pekelder Boys finishes as runners-up in District North’s Sunday League 4E, 1 point behind champions vv Bato, failing to win promotion in the subsequent play-off rounds.
2005 / Finishing in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 4E, vv Pekelder Boys descends into Sunday League 5 along with bottom club TEVV. After the season, coach Henk van der Vlag leaves the club.
2006 / Coached by Roel Muskee, vv Pekelder Boys clinches the title in District North’s Sunday League 5E, 4 points ahead of runners-up vv Nieuweschans. As such, the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
2009 / Coached by Henk Oosterwold, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in eleventh place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, going on to suffer defeat in a promotion-relegation play-off and thus descending into League 5 along with vv Bato, FVV, and bottom club vv Borgercompagnie.
2010 / Finishing in fifth place in District North’s Sunday League 5F with coach Henk Oosterwold, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club wins the group stage against vv VIOS (O) (2-2) and vv Surhuisterveen (4-3). In the final, vv Pekelder Boys also has the better of vv Froombosch (0-2), resulting in the club winning promotion to Sunday League 4.
2013 / Finishing in third place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for a promotion-relegation play-off, in which the club is defeated by League 3 club vv Wildervank (3-3 A.E.T. & penalties), thus being deprived of promotion.
2014 / Finishing in fourth place in District North’s Sunday League 4D, vv Pekelder Boys qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Suffering a 3-4 aggr. defeat against vv Zuidlaarderveen in R1, the club get the opportunity to play a lucky-loser play-off, but this match is lost as well, with vv Dronrijp walking away with a ticket for Sunday League 3 (3-0).
2017 / Finishing in twelfth place in District North’s Sunday League 4C, vv Pekelder Boys has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs to avoid dropping back into League 5. Suffering defeat in R1 against vv Harkstede (5-1 aggr.), the club is handed the opportunity to play a lucky-loser play-off, winning the tie against vv Bareveld (3-0 aggr.) and thus eventually securing a prolonged stay in League 4.
2018 / Coached by Bert Brugge, vv Pekelder Boys finishes bottom of the table in District North’s Sunday League 4C, thus dropping back into Sunday League 5 along with the club finishing in second-last place, vv Alteveer.
2019 / Coached by Tonny Huft, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in third place in District North’s Sunday League 5E, thus qualifying for the play-offs. Successively defeating vv Meeden (5-0) and vv Wijster (0-3), the club manages an immediate return to Sunday League 4.
2022 / Coached by Ard Leeraar, vv Pekelder Boys finishes in second-last place in District North’s Sunday League 4C, thus dropping back into League 5 along with vv Farmsum and bottom club FVV.

Note – Much of the information above was derived from the book “50 jaar voetbalvereniging Pekelder Boys in Boven Pekela 1946-1996”, by Harry Becker / Gertie Beikes / Chris Lubben / Rient Nieboer / Peter Nieboer, and published by the club on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary in 1996.