The documentary ‘A Nice Bunch of Guys’ premiered on ESPN in January. The successful 1960s are central to this ESPN DOC of Heracles Almelo. The documentary is a great collaboration between Heracles TV and the museum committee of Heracles Almelo.
“Heracles TV can be seen weekly on ESPN this season. Every Thursday there is a brand new broadcast with interviews and reports about the club. In addition, as a club we are allowed to make two documentaries for ESPN every season. We have chosen the successful 1960s as the theme for one of the two documentaries,” says Thijs Nieuwenhuis of Heracles TV.
The idea of doing something with the 1960s had been with Harry Spies, member of the museum committee of Heracles Almelo, for some time: “It has been a unique period in the club’s history. In the 1961-1962 season, Heracles Almelo became champions of the First Division B. The decision matches against Fortuna Vlaardingen had to determine who was promoted to the Eredivisie. The score was 0-0 away in Vlaardingen. At home on the Bornsestraat it became 1-0 for Heracles, thanks to a goal by Hennie van Nee.
A large popular festival broke out in Almelo. The team maintained its position in the Eredivisie in the first seasons and in the 1964-1965 season, Heracles Almelo was undefeated at the top after nine matches and defeated PSV and Ajax, among others, in away matches. Heracles was so popular at that time that more than 20,000 spectators attended home matches. A unique time with many beautiful stories that we have now immortalized in a documentary.”
“Joop Brand, Gerrit Pesman and Henk Morsink are some of the few players from that era who are still alive,” adds Henk Vos. Like Harry, Henk is part of the museum committee and made contact with the former players. “I called them and asked if they were willing to participate in this documentary. All three of them said ‘yes’ to that. We had a wonderful day of recording in October and that felt like a kind of reunion for everyone.”
“One story after another from the past came to the table,” says Jordi Lammerink of Heracles TV. “We reminisced in an old-fashioned café setting in ‘t Hookhoes in Almelo with former players, but also with supporters from that time at the monumental stand at AVC Heracles. Ultimately, we summarized everything in the editing process into a continuous story including unique moving images of competitions and photos from that time. A viewing tip for every football fan.”
