1 minute read
History
by Richard Martinovich
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Playing in the Honkbalweek tournament in Haarlem, Netherlands, Carl Angelo’s entertaining antics endeared him to Dutch baseball fans. Carl would walk the bases backwards after hitting a home run, ride a bicycle to the pitching mound or dress in a Scottish kilt. One year he might show up in a firefighter outfit or wait in the batter’s box in shorts, and as a coach, he once walked to first base in wooden shoes!
Haarlemse Honkbalweek, Haarlem Baseball Week, was founded in 1961 in Haarlem, Netherlands to promote the popularity of baseball internationally.
The most popular player at the tournament receives the Carl Angelo Trophy.
Carl Angelo died July 1, 2020 in Battle Creek, Michigan at age 88. Although he was known by Dutch fans as “Carl the Clown,” Angelo was a serious athlete, and well-known for his humanitarian work.
His parents were from Macedonia and the family name was Traijevski, before his father changed it to Angelo.
Carl Angelo was the winningest amateur pitcher in baseball history with 353 wins. Carl is in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame -- and nine other hall of fames, including the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame! He pitched for Michigan State University and had a brief stint with the Chicago White Sox organization. Carl was most known around Battle Creek for playing baseball for seven decades, and for his iconic Angelo's Restaurant.
A team from the Netherlands visited Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1961, and a relationship was formed with the Grand Rapids Sullivans baseball team. Carl Angelo would represent the Sullivans as a player and coach in thirteen Honkbalweek tournaments.
In 1996, at age 64, Carl became the oldest player to participate in the tournament. Richard Martinovich has written articles on a wide variety of topics for dis magazine. In this case he and his family personally knew Carl Angelo. Images: Painting posted on Honkbalweek Haarlem https://honkbalweek.nl/honkbalweeklegende-carl-angelo-overleden/. Above, Battle
Creek Enquirer. Below, Honkbalweek Haarlem.
