Johan Schröder
.jpg) Schröder (drawing from 1916) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Johan Christiaan Schröder | ||
| Date of birth | 11 September 1871 | ||
| Place of birth | Amsterdam, Netherlands | ||
| Date of death | 18 December 1938 (aged 67) | ||
| Place of death | Wassenaar, Netherlands | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1892–1900 | RAP | ||
| International career | |||
| 1894 | Netherlands unofficial team | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Johan Christiaan Schröder, also known as Kick Schröder (11 September 1871 – 18 December 1938), was a Dutch footballer who played as a midfielder for RAP and the Netherlands national team (unofficial) in the early 1890s. He later served as the editor-in-chief of De Telegraaf, being regarded by some as one of the most important journalists of the early 20th century.[1]
Early life
[edit]Johan Schröder was born in Amsterdam on 11 September 1871, as the son of a German couple, his father being from Hannover, and his mother from Leer.[1]
Playing career
[edit]We were still in the carefree youth of football, without stately stands, without treasurers with bank balances, and without trainers. We kicked like we were dressed, knocked each other over, helped each other up, sometimes forgot the ball for the pleasure of a heavy collision. That's how we played football, enjoyed it more than the handful of spectators.
At some point in the early 1890s, Schröder joined the ranks of RAP, where he quickly established himself as the team's captain,[2] thus earning the nickname Cap (short for captain), with both his captaincy and playing style being characterized as very tough.[3] On 6 February 1894, he captained the Netherlands' first-ever unofficial international match against the English side Felixstowe United, which ended in a 0–1 loss, but such was the English supremacy at the time that this was still an incredible result.[1][2][4][5] He also played in the team's second match on 10 April 1894 against Maidstone FC on the field of the HFC, leading his side to a 4–3 win.[2][4]
Under his leadership, RAP became the first Dutch club to win the double in 1899, having won both the league and the cup, in which they defeated HVV.[6][7] As the captain of the winner, Schröder received the trophy from the hands of its donor Hak Holdert,[7] with whom he would later work at the Telegraaf.[6]
At the time, Schröder was already a journalist, so he often wrote articles on the matches in which he had played, giving himself good reviews, and despite them being often justified, it is clearly not the best example of independent sports journalism.[1] Before the 1899 Cup final, he wrote about how the scheduled venue for the final had been changed at the last-minute, published in De Athleet, stating it was "a circumstance that of course had a very disadvantageous effect".
Schröder also played cricket, reaching a level of international class, being valued even in England.[1][3]
Journalistic career
[edit]In 1905, Schröder became the editor-in-chief of De Telegraaf after accepting an offer from his friend Holdert, the president of the newspaper, which at that time still had a limited circulation.[1][3] In November 1915, the editor-in-chief Schröder was accused by the government of high treason for insults to Germany ("a group of unscrupulous villains who caused this war"), and was even arrested and taken into custody on 4 December, but he was released two weeks later, on 21 December, being acquitted a few months later.[8][9] Holdert deliberately waited with the exculpatory statement until he had made enough publicity capital from the affair, thus making Schröder a martyr of free speech, and likewise, when he was released two weeks later, a large crowd awaited Schröder at the prison gate to accompany him on his triumphal march to his wife and children.[9] Louis Raemaekers, the cartoonist of De Telegraaf, also played a key role in this storyline, since his fiercely dramatic cartoons were confiscated several times and he, along with Holdert and Schröder, was called for several trials by Minister John Loudon.[9][10]
In 1923, three-quarters of the editorial staff, including editor-in-chief Schröder, resigned from De Telegraaf to join businessman Willem Broekhuijs, who wanted to publish a new newspaper, De Dag, which ended up never coming to fruiton, so the editorial staff returned to De Telegraaf in the summer.[8][9]
Death
[edit]Schröder died in Wassenaar on 18 December 1938, at the age of 67, from a heart attack.[1][3]
Honours
[edit]- AVV RAP
- Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz:
- Champions (1):1900
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h "Kick Schröder is de pionier van de Nederlandse sportjournalistiek" [Kick Schröder is the pioneer of Dutch sports journalism]. sportgeschiedenis.nl (in Dutch). 11 September 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Netherlands 1893/94 - Eerste Klasse". RSSSF. 25 April 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Kick Schröder, gevreesd voetballer en journalist" [Kick Schröder, feared footballer and journalist]. www.amsterdam.nl (in Dutch). 18 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Nederlands elftal 1893-'94" [The Dutch national team in 1893-'94]. www.dagvantoen.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ "Nederlands elftal voor de wedstrijd tegen Felixstowe" [Dutch national team before the match against Felixstowe]. www.nationaalarchief.nl (in Dutch). 6 February 1894. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Ook in de eerste bekerfinale stond een ploeg uit Amsterdam" [A team from Amsterdam also appeared in the first cup final]. sportgeschiedenis.nl (in Dutch). 16 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b "1899: R.A.P. wint den holdertbeker" [1899: R.A.P. wins the holding cup]. www.totoknvbbeker.nl (in Dutch). 31 January 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Eeuw geleden nam uitgever Holdert roer in handen van De Telegraaf" [A century ago, publisher Holdert took over the reins of De Telegraaf]. krant.telegraaf.nl (in Dutch). 12 September 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Journalist in hart en nieren" [Journalist through and through]. onsamsterdam.nl (in Dutch). 1 June 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ "Raemaekers, Louis (1869-1956)". www.radnorshire-fine-arts.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2025.