Rein Boomsma
Encyclopedia
Reinder Boomsma (19 June 1879, Schagen
, North Holland
- 27 May 1943, Neuengamme concentration camp) was a Dutch
footballer
, who played for Sparta
and the Dutch national team
.
, North Holland
in 1879, and moved to Rotterdam
in 1888. He started to play football on the streets, where he was noticed by Kees van Hasselt. He joined Sparta
sometime around 1895. He would remain with the club until his retirement from football in 1907. A year later, in 1908, he was made honorary member of the club.
Boomsma scored the only goal for Sparta in the league game against reigning champions RAP
of Amsterdam on October 29, 1899. The match was the first charity game in the Netherlands, held to support the Boer
cause in the Second Boer War
. The match grossed 1,201 guilders and 51.5 cents
.
Boomsma was also part of the first Dutch national football team
, that played against Belgium on April 30, 1905. He also played for the Netherlands in the return match in Rotterdam on May 14, 1905. These would remain the only matches Boomsma played for the Netherlands.
Boomsma volunteered to join the Royal Netherlands Army
on July 1, 1898, and eventually became a colonel
. Boomsma was stationed in Assen
when Nazi Germany
invaded the Netherlands in May 1940; Boomsma's unit was moved to Rotterdam to defend the city. After the Dutch surrender, Boomsma retired from the army and joined the Dutch resistance
. He was betrayed, and died in the Neuengamme concentration camp.
Schagen
Schagen is a town and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in and region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. In 2007, Schagen had 19.078 residents. It received city rights in 1415....
, North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
- 27 May 1943, Neuengamme concentration camp) was a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, who played for Sparta
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
and the Dutch national team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
.
Biography
Boomsma was born in SchagenSchagen
Schagen is a town and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands. It is located between Alkmaar and Den Helder, in and region of West Friesland and the province of North Holland. In 2007, Schagen had 19.078 residents. It received city rights in 1415....
, North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
in 1879, and moved to Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in 1888. He started to play football on the streets, where he was noticed by Kees van Hasselt. He joined Sparta
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....
sometime around 1895. He would remain with the club until his retirement from football in 1907. A year later, in 1908, he was made honorary member of the club.
Boomsma scored the only goal for Sparta in the league game against reigning champions RAP
RAP (football club)
RAP was a Dutch football club based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, that played in the Netherlands Football League Championship. The club played from 1887 to 1914, and were the first official football champion of the Netherlands ever in the 1899 season...
of Amsterdam on October 29, 1899. The match was the first charity game in the Netherlands, held to support the Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
cause in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. The match grossed 1,201 guilders and 51.5 cents
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
.
Boomsma was also part of the first Dutch national football team
Netherlands national football team
The Netherlands National Football Team represents the Netherlands in association football and is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association , the governing body for football in the Netherlands...
, that played against Belgium on April 30, 1905. He also played for the Netherlands in the return match in Rotterdam on May 14, 1905. These would remain the only matches Boomsma played for the Netherlands.
Boomsma volunteered to join the Royal Netherlands Army
Royal Netherlands Army
The Royal Netherlands Army is the land forces element of the military of the Netherlands.-Short history:The Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, but its origins date back to 1572, when the so-called Staatse Leger was raised...
on July 1, 1898, and eventually became a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. Boomsma was stationed in Assen
Assen
Assen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run...
when Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the Netherlands in May 1940; Boomsma's unit was moved to Rotterdam to defend the city. After the Dutch surrender, Boomsma retired from the army and joined the Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
. He was betrayed, and died in the Neuengamme concentration camp.