- Pim Mulier
Willem Johan Herman (Pim) Mulier (
March 10 ,1865 –April 12 ,1954 ) was one of the leading figures in sporting history of theNetherlands .Biography
Pim Mulier was born on
March 10 ,1865 , on the Aylva State estate in the Frisian village ofWitmarsum . His father, Tjepke Mulier, was one of the last "grietmannen" [The position of "grietman" was abolished in 1851, and can roughly be compared to the position of mayor.] of the province. Mulier's mother was Roelina Johanna Alberda. His parental ancestors hailed fromRoubaix inFrance , where they carried the name "Oste de Muliers". The family moved toHaarlem in 1867.Early years
Mulier became interested in sport at a young age. In 1878, he helped organise the first athletics competition in the Netherlands at the Rooswijck estate in
Velsen . The competition consisted of two events: the 100m sprint and a 2km cross-country run. Both events were won by Mulier.In his hometown of Haarlem, Mulier taught his friends the rules of football and, at the age of 14, established the first Dutch football club, the Haarlemse FC (he would later become chairman as the club grew). The team originally followed the rules of
rugby union . There were several trees in the centre of the pitch which the players used to tactical advantage. The team later changed its rules to those ofassociation football , about which Mulier wrote: "The first annual accounts ended our game of rugby. The [parents] asked for an explanation of the accounts. We presumably answered in our local dialect: 'If they grab you, they're allowed to grab you where they can.' [...] So the rugby was doomed, and we switched to association in 1883."Fact|date=April 2007While studying in
England , Mulier also discovered sports such asfield hockey ,bandy andtennis , which he helped introduce in the Netherlands. He also established the first Dutch lawn tennis club, the Haarlemse Lawn-Tennis Club, in 1884. While continuing studies inLübeck , Mulier organised the first football match inGermany , thereafter visiting Sweden where he was taught to ski and hunt by theSami people .Fact|date=April 20071886 to 1912
Back in the Netherlands, Mulier devoted more time to athletics. He became Dutch national champion in the 350m in 1886, and won the mile of
Ostend in 1888. Mulier also wrote for the sports magazine Het Sportblad, established in 1888. He wrote books about athletics, football, winter sports, cricket and angling.In 1890, Mulier made a skating trip to each of the eleven cities of
Friesland . This took him a total of 12 hours and 55 minutes. His notes of this trip were the basis of the Eleven-cities Tour, of which the first was held in 1909. Contestants who finish the Tour receive a medal, the "Elfstedenkruisje", which was designed by Mulier.Mulier also initiated the establishment of the Netherlands Football and Athletics Association, on
December 8 ,1889 . He became the first chairman of the organisation. Mulier was furthermore the impetus for splitting off the athletics branch into a separate association in 1896. He also played a major role in the establishment of the Netherlands Olympic Committee in 1912.Marriage
Pim Mulier was married twice. He married Cornelia Constance van Duin on
December 18 ,1895 . The couple got divorced onApril 20 ,1922 . A year later, onMay 29 ,1923 , Pim Mulier married Maria Louise Haitsma. He had no children.Mulier died in
The Hague onApril 12 ,1954 , aged 89.Awards and recognition
Mulier was awarded as an Officer in the
Order of Orange-Nassau , and a Knight in theOrder of the Dutch Lion . He was also an honorary member of theFrisian handball association, the Netherlands Field Hockey Association, the Netherlands Ice Hockey Association, theSwedish Football Association and theBelgian Football Association . He was awarded several foreign decorations as well, and became an honorary citizen of the municipality ofWûnseradiel onJune 28 ,1950 .Many sports-related organisations in the Netherlands have been named after Pim Mulier.Fact|date=April 2007 Both the
Frisian handball club and the football club in Witmarsum carry Mulier's name. The baseball stadium in Haarlem was named after him, as well as the Pim Mulier Open tennis tournament.Other pursuits
Mulier was also known as an art collector, an interior designer, a painter, an illustrator, a journalist, a linguist and a fishery expert.Fact|date=April 2007
References
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