Eddy Hamel
![]() Hamel in 1925 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Edward Hamel | ||
Date of birth | October 21, 1902 | ||
Place of birth | New York City, New York, United States | ||
Date of death | April 30, 1943 | (aged 40)||
Place of death | Auschwitz-Birkenau, German-occupied Poland | ||
Position(s) |
Right winger | ||
Youth career | |||
1917[1]-1920 | AFC | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1920–1922 | AFC | ? | (?) |
1922–1930 | Ajax | 125 | (8) |
Managerial career | |||
1932–1933 | Alcmaria Victrix | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Eddy Hamel (October 21, 1902 – April 30, 1943) was an American soccer player who played as a
Background
Hamel was born in New York City, New York to Moses Hamel, a diamond polisher, and his wife Eva. They were Jewish immigrants from the Netherlands,[2] who had arrived in the US in 1901. They moved back to Amsterdam with Hamel when he was six months old, in 1903.[3] In 1928, Hamel married Johanna Wijnberg, and in 1938 they had twin boys, Paul and Robert.[4]
Soccer career
As a youth, he played for Amsterdamsche FC (AFC).[4]
He played for AFC Ajax from 1922 until 1930.[2] He appeared in 125 matches as a right winger, and scoring 8 goals.[2] Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "Joden" – Dutch for "Jews" – a nickname that reflects both the team's and the city's Jewish heritage.[5] This nickname for Ajax fans dates back to before World War II, when Amsterdam was home to most of the Netherlands' 140,000 Jews.[5]
Hamel became a first team regular for Ajax. He was the first Jewish player (as well as the first American) to play for first team Ajax.[2][6] To date, only six other Jewish soccer players have followed in his footsteps – Johnny Roeg, Bennie Muller, Sjaak Swart, Rolf Leeser, Daniël de Ridder and Ilan Boccara. Hamel was a fan favorite, and was cited by pre-World War II club legend Wim Anderiesen as part of the strongest line-up he ever played with.[4][7] He had his own fan club in the 1920s, which would line up on his side of the field at the beginning of every game, and then switch sides to be on his side of the field in the second half.[8]
After his retirement as a player, Hamel managed Alcmaria Victrix for three years and continued to play in an Ajax veteran squad.[citation needed]
Arrest and killing by the Nazis
Hamel was also the club's only war victim who played for the first team of Ajax.
Local
In the TV documentary Auschwitz: The Forgotten Evidence, fellow inmate Leon Greenman said he was in front of Hamel when Hamel told him he had an abscess in his mouth, while in a regular medical selection line, and that while Greenman passed that selection Hamel was sent to the gas chambers because of his abscess.[2] He was one of several Jewish soccer players – many of whom were Olympians – who were murdered by the Nazis.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Op de ledenlijst bijgeschreven: AFC" (in Dutch). Het Sportblad. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Grunwald-Spier, Agnes (July 29, 2016). "The tragic fate of Jewish sporting heroes in the Holocaust". Jewish News.
- ^ McKnight, Michael (February 12, 2019). "Remember The Ringleader". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ ISBN 9781568587233.
- ^ a b Smith, Craig S. (March 28, 2005). "A Dutch Soccer Riddle: Jewish Regalia Without Jews". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ a b Lebovic, Matt (August 21, 2016). "The Jewish Olympians among Hitler's victims". The Times of Israel.
- ISBN 9781849018265.
- ISBN 9781408835777.
- ^ ISBN 9780750958011.
- ISBN 9788807941603.
- ^ Modeo, Sandro (2011). Il Barça: tutti i segreti della squadra più forte del mondo.
- ^ "Edward Hamel". Oorlogsgravenstichting. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
External links
- "The warm back of Eddy Hamel". ajax-usa.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2004.