Eddy Hamel - Biography

Eddy Hamel (21 October 1902 - 30 April 1943) was an American football player for Dutch club AFC Ajax.

Die-hard Ajax supporters call themselves "Joden" — Dutch for "Jews" — a nickname that reflects both the team's and the city's Jewish heritage. This nickname for Ajax fans dates back to before World War II, when Amsterdam was home to most of the Netherlands' 140,000 Jews.

Hamel was the first Jewish player for Ajax. Born in New York, he moved to Amsterdam in his teenage years. As a right winger, Hamel became a first team regular for Ajax. He was the first player with a Jewish background who made it to the first team, and to date only three others have followed in his footsteps - Johnny Roeg, Bennie Muller and Daniël de Ridder. Hamel was a fan favourite and was cited by pre-World War II club legend Wim Anderiesen as part of the strongest line-up he ever played with.

After his retirement as a player, he managed Alcmaria Victrix for three years and continued to play in an Ajax veteran squad.

Hamel was also to become the club's only war victim who played for the first team of Ajax. He was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp on 30 April 1943.

See also

• List of select Jewish football (association; soccer) players

External links

• The warm back of Eddy Hamel (article)