Honkbal Club Notendaal, known more commonly as HC Notendaal or Notendaal, is a baseball club located Notendaal, Houtmansland. They are officially recognized as the 10th team in the country to turn professional, joining the Topklasse Divisie for the 1912 baseball season with Herksen-Heerenveen following an agreement to expand the league from 8 to 10 teams.
In 1902, a group of friends in the city of Notendaal gathered together to enjoy a bottle of wine and discus the latest news and events in the community. As they chatted, the topic of sports came up and someone mentioned baseball which had turned professional within the country only a few months earlier. The friends were intrigued by the idea of playing baseball and thought it might be fun to start a team. They discussed the logistics of forming a team, such as finding a suitable field, acquiring equipment, and recruiting players. Despite the challenges, they decided to pursue the idea and set their sights on establishing a baseball club in the city.
They played their first official game on February 15th 1903, going down 5-3 to nearby Notendaal-based club AA Middelwijk. After failing to qualify for the Houtman Serie in 1903, the team went undefeated in the 1904 tournament, beating ACV Toterfout in the final 11-1 to win their first ever silverware.
The club plays at Het Oude Veld which translates to “The Old Field” in English. The club has played every single home game there since the founding members located an empty lot on the outskirts of town and spent several weeks preparing it for baseball. They cleared away weeds and debris, leveled the ground, and put up a makeshift backstop and bases. The club officially bought the land from the local government in 1909.
When Houtmansland Professionele Honkbalvereniging were looking for possible expansion teams, HC Notendaal impressed with their clubs facilities, ballpark and professional attitude to the sport, prompting the association to invite the club to join Topklasse Divisie in late 1911.
A fairly standard ballpark, Het Oude Veld is surround by a wall that ranges from 10 feet high in left field to 23 feet high from center to right field to help protect a nearby school, before dropping back to 8 feet at the foul pole. The large outfield in left sees a reduction in home runs by right-handed hitters making it a pitcher-friendly park. Het Oude Veld is notable for its “Foul Ball Veranda”. This porch is located in the right field corner of the stadium and is a designated area for fans to catch foul balls that are hit in that direction. It can accommodate up to 50 fans at a time and offers a prime location for catching foul balls and interacting with players. Fans who catch foul balls in the Foul Ball Porch are often rewarded with a prize or recognition from the team.
The team is affectionately known as Witte Adelaars (White Eagles), but is more commonly known as Wijnboeren (Vintners) and they play in red and white with black as a tertiary.