Ken Van Heekeren

Last updated

Ken Van Heekeren
Personal information
Born30 June 1933
Died25 August 2022(2022-08-25) (aged 89)
Playing information
Position Five-eighth, centre, halfback, wing
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1953–58 Eastern Suburbs 60180054
Source: [1]
Relatives Barry van Heekeren (brother)

Ken Van Heekeren (died August 2022) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth and centre in the 1950s. [1] He made 60 appearances for the Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) competition between 1953 and 1958. [2]

Career

As an Eastern Suburbs junior, Van Heekeren played for Woollahra Waratahs. On 4 April 1953, he made his first-grade NSWRFL debut, scoring a try in a 23–10 defeat to Parramatta at Cumberland Oval. During the 1953 season, he was the club's joint-top try scorer with eight tries, along with Morrie Kermond and Col Donohoe. Van Heekeren's 1954 season was ended by injury after dislocating his shoulder. [3] He did not play first-grade competition until the 1957 season, after returning from a two-year stint in Wollongong. [4]

The 1958 season was Van Heekeren's last as Eastern Suburbs player. That year, he made 16 appearances, scoring one try in the last game of the regular season, a 38–7 win over Parramatta at Sydney Sports Ground. [1]

Van Heekeren died in August 2022. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ken Van Heekeren". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  2. "Ken Van Heekeren". AFL Tables. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  3. "Rugby league history: The all-time great alphabet teams – Letter V". The Roar . 25 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Vale Ken Van Heekeran". Sydney Roosters. 28 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.