As in olde times - Number 7

Punch’s great number 7. (Photo: Hans Stakelbeek/FMAX)

Sports clubs with a sense of history honor their heroes. Punch basketball is one such club. In the hallway leading to the Sport Centre’s ‘hal 1’ gym, where Punch plays its home games, a lone jersey hangs behind glass. It’s a red jersey with the name ‘Jan Sikking’ and the number 7 on the back. Sikking became something of a living legend when, in 1969, he joined Punch as a player and coach. He went on to serve the club very well and for many decades as both player and coach. Moreover, he not only was played on the Dutch national basketball team, but also later served as the national team’s head coach. In 1974 he won the national cup competition with Punch, and followed that up a year later by winning the national championship.
In 1992, prior to the club’s 40th anniversary celebrations, Sikking, then age fifty, played in the Punch All Timer Tournament. During the tournament his jersey was retired in accordance with a tradition practiced by American NBA teams, which honor their greatest players at the end of their careers by raising their jerseys to the rafters. But because other sports besides basketball are played in the gym, Sikking’s shirt was soon brought down and safely placed in a display case.  
“No Punch player has worn number 7 since that day”, says Paul Smulders, a former Punch player. “The club federation requires clubs to play using shirt numbers 4 to 15. Our numbers go from 4 to 16.” The now 66-year old Sikking is still active as a coach at Punch.