Before 1854

It would be mistake to think that the Franeker handball match was established in 1853. The point is, however, that before the Permanent Committee was established, (regional) newspapers showed not a single interest for any sport; no reports, hardly any results (Kalma p. 78), although in those days the handball season lasted from the middle of May until the middle of September. Even the widely known Franeker handball match, during which the handball field was so much crowded that the police was there to keep the people at a distance (speech of: Bogtstra 1893, p29), was not mentioned in the papers Consequently, the heroes of the past have been forgotten, possibly also due to the phenomena that the innkeepers of those days were more interested in the economical issue than in (keeping alive) the honour of the handball players. The founders of the PC, however, had a very different, more classical, view considering the attention for the idealistic: attention for the history of sports, long speeches about handball, mythological statues placed at the tribunes, attention for winners from the past. Of the great handball players before 1853 we only know the name or nicknames of some of them: Sipke Dirks Wassenaar (1810), Hendrik Zaadstra (1819), T. Pollema (1829). In about the year 1830 de topplayers were Klaas Kuiken, Marten Kramer, Andries Tiemersma, Sjerp Talsma and Obe Bangma. Some years later Johannes Nijdam and Pieter Bakker. More years later Klaas Hantsjes, Cornelis Proost, Ulbe Dijkstra, Hessel Brijker, Pieter Alkema, 'Manne Roek', 'Douwe Mûteltsje', 'Grouwe Ieme', Haaije van Oosterend and Willem Kûper (Kalma p127). Although the handball season was fairly long, in the 18th century the “Balverkaatsersdag” was the great day. The match was always held during the yearly fair (Kalma p 62), the fair that was much more important in those days than we may think at present. In those days people had less leisure time; it was the time and place to be.