{{short description|Dutch baseball player (1927–2021)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}{{Infobox baseball biography | name = Han Urbanus | image = Han Urbanus with cup (cropped).jpg | caption = Urbanus in 1965 | position = Pitcher / infielder | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|6|22|df=y}} | birth_place = Rotterdam, Netherlands | death_date = {{death date and age|2021|2|25|1927|6|22|df=y}} | death_place = Haarlem, Netherlands | bats = Right | throws = Right | medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{bb|NED}}}} {{MedalSport | Men's baseball}} {{MedalCompetition|European Championship}} {{MedalGold| 1956 Rome | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1957 Mannheim | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1958 Amsterdam | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1960 Barcelona | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1962 Amsterdam | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1964 Milan | Team}} {{MedalGold| 1965 Madrid | Team}} | hofcolor = Orange | hoflink = Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation | hoftype = Netherlands | hofdate = 1983 }} '''Hendrikus Johannes Urbanus''' (22 June 1927 – 25 February 2021) was a Dutch baseball player who played most of his professional career as a pitcher. He is generally considered one of the best Dutch players of all time, and was inducted into the Netherlands Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
== Professional career == Urbanus debuted in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse with {{Interlanguage link|OVVO|lt=OVVO Amsterdam|nl|preserve=yes}} at the age of 19 in 1949, and would play with them for the next 24 years. He led OVVO to the Hoofdklasse championship five times in a row between 1949 and 1953.<ref name="Parool">{{Cite news |last=Simons |first=Curt |date=7 February 2021 |title=Han Urbanus (1927-2021): pionier van het honkbal |trans-title=Han Urbanus (1927-2021): baseball pioneer |url=https://www.parool.nl/sport/han-urbanus-1927-2021-pionier-van-het-honkbal~b93755f0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307185754/https://www.parool.nl/sport/han-urbanus-1927-2021-pionier-van-het-honkbal~b93755f0/ |archive-date=7 March 2021 |work=Het Parool |language=nl}}</ref>
In 1952, Urbanus accepted an offer to attend spring training with the New York Giants. The visit was arranged by Albert Balink, a Dutch-American journalist and magazine editor.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=25 February 1952 |title=Sport: Honkballer from Holland |url=https://time.com/archive/6618375/sport-honkballer-from-holland/ |magazine=Time}}</ref> His performance was decent; in an intra-squad game, the only Giant able to hit Urbanus' pitching out of the infield was Monte Irvin, the future Baseball Hall of Famer.<ref name="newyorker">{{Cite magazine |last=Lardner |first=Rex |date=11 April 1953 |title=The Talk of the Town: Honkbal |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1953/04/11/1953_04_11_020_TNY_CARDS_000239861 |magazine=The New Yorker |page=20}}</ref> However, he quickly changed his pitching mechanics when it was discovered that, due to a mistranslation in the rules used by Dutch baseball, Urbanus (and all other Dutch pitchers) had been trained to keep his feet on the pitching rubber during his delivery, which stunted his pitch velocity. He also learned how to throw a curveball thanks to the instruction of Giants ace Sal Maglie. Urbanus returned to Giants spring training in 1953 and was reportedly offered a contract but turned it down.<ref name="chetwynd">{{Cite book |last=Chetwynd |title=Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History |date=2008 |publisher=McFarland, Inc. |isbn=9780786437245 |pages=22–23|first=Josh|url=https://archive.org/details/baseballineurope0000chet|url-access=registration}}</ref>
During his Hoofdklasse career, Urbanus threw 9 no-hitters for OVVO, was named best pitcher five times, and was honoured as the league's MVP three times.<ref name="Stoovelaar">{{Cite web |last=Stoovelaar |first=Marco |date=7 February 2021 |title=Dutch baseball-icon, pitching-legend and Hall of Famer Han Urbanus passed away |url=https://catcher.home.xs4all.nl/bb21-0702-dutch-baseball-pitching-legend-and-hall-of-famer-han-urbanus-passed-away.htm |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=Grand Slam Stats & News}}</ref><ref name="WBSC">{{Cite web |title=Dutch baseball icon Han Urbanus dies at age of 93 |url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/dutch-baseball-icon-han-urbanus-dies-at-age-93 |publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|date=February 8, 2021}}</ref> Despite his success in the league, Urbanus worked outside of baseball as an accountant at Klynveld Kraayenhof & Co. in Rotterdam.<ref name="newyorker" /> == International career == [[File:Honkbal Nederlands Bondsteam, Urbanus aan slag met Jack Lynch scheidsrechter, Bestanddeelnr 906-6002 (cropped).jpg|alt=Black and white photo of Han Urbanus swinging at the plate in a 1954 game between a Dutch team and a team of U.S. Air Force personnel in Haarlem, the Netherlands|thumb|Urbanus (right) batting for the Dutch team in a 1954 game in Haarlem]]Urbanus made his debut with the Netherlands national baseball team in 1949 and would continue to play with the national team through 1965. Initially, the national team only faced Belgium in annual games, as well as American teams from military bases in West Germany. Urbanus threw no-hitters against Belgium in 1949 and 1951.<ref name="Stoovelaar" /> Urbanus appeared with the national team in a two-game exhibition series against Great Britain, held at De Meer Stadion in Amsterdam (then the home of AFC Ajax) in 1952. The Dutch won both games, and Urbanus was described in English media as the team's the most impressive player.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dutch Jubilee Celebration in The Netherlands |url=https://projectcobb.org.uk/gb_history.php?year=1952 |access-date=19 January 2025 |website=Project COBB}}</ref> thumb|300x300px|Urbanus in 1957 The Netherlands first made their appearance at the European Baseball Championship in 1956, winning the title over Italy. It would be the first of a highly successful period in international competition for the team, winning ten consecutive titles. Urbanus participated in seven of those titles, from 1956 to 1965.<ref name="Stoovelaar" /> He also accompanied the Netherlands team to the Global World Series, playing in the United States in 1956 and 1957.<ref name="chetwynd" /><ref name="Stoovelaar" /> As the Netherlands and Italy were the two baseball powers of Europe, Urbanus often faced off against Italian ace {{Interlanguage link|Giulio Glorioso|it}}.<ref name="Stoovelaar" />
When he retired in 1965, Urbanus had earned 64 caps, at the time a record number of appearances with the national team.<ref name="Stoovelaar" />
== Later life and death == After his retirement, Urbanus was an executive with OVVO, which became the Amstel Tijgers in 1976. In 1988, Amstel Tijgers were absorbed by HCAW, still a member of the Hoofdklasse. He remained active in the Dutch baseball federation and frequently visited tournaments like the European Championships and Haarlem Baseball Week.<ref name="Stoovelaar" /> Along with his former archrival on the mound, Giulio Glorioso, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the 100th international game between the Netherlands and Italy on 30 June 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stoovelaar |first=Marco |date=20 June 2015 |title=Italian baseball-icon Giulio Glorioso passed away |url=https://catcher.home.xs4all.nl/bb15-2006gg.htm |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=Grand Slam Stats & News}}</ref>
Urbanus's older brother, {{interlanguage link|Charles Urbanus Sr.|lt=Charles|nl|Charles Urbanus sr.}}, played and coached baseball in the Netherlands. Urbanus' sons, {{interlanguage link|Charles Urbanus Jr.|lt=Charles Jr.|nl|Charles Urbanus jr.}} (named after his uncle) and Johan, also played in the Hoofdklasse. His grandson, Nick Urbanus, played in the Texas Rangers minor league system from 2011 to 2014, then in the Hoofdklasse through 2018.<ref name="Stoovelaar" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nick Urbanus |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=urbanu001nic |website=Baseball Reference}}</ref>
Urbanus died on 25 February 2021.<ref name="Parool" /><ref name="WBSC" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Baseball in the Netherlands}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbanus, Han}} Category:1927 births Category:2021 deaths Category:Baseball pitchers Category:Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Category:Sportspeople from Rotterdam