Gé Hoogenbos

Gé Hoogenbos

• Born April 12, 1925
• Died May 11, 2011

Biographical Information

Gé Hoogenbos is a member of the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hoogenbos began his baseball career when he was 10 years old, before there was youth-level competition in the Netherlands. He was the first youth to join the Dutch Baseball Association. He later played as a 1B-OF for 15 years in the Hoofdklasse, for HHC and EHS. In 1953, he won the batting championship at .396. He appeared in the 1956 European Championship with the Dutch national team; they won.

Not just a star player, Hoogenbos was also a prominent Dutch journalist, coach and organizer. He covered baseball for De Telegraaf from 1953-1981. He helped found the Haarlem Baseball Week. He was the first head coach of Haarlem Nicols, guiding them to the titles in 1965 and 1966. In 1966, he led them to a title in the European Cup, the first Dutch club to win that event. He wrote several books on baseball, including "Dit is honkbal!", "De honkbalweek" and "Honkbal Softbal." He was one of the organizers of the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame and served as its chairman. In 1988, he was inducted into the Hall.

Source: Obituary by Marco Stoovelaar