Ties Kruize
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Ties Kruize (born November 17, 1952 in The Hague, Zuid-Holland) is a former field hockey player from The Netherlands, who represented Holland three times at the Summer Olympics: 1972, 1976 and 1984. He became world champion in 1973, European champion in 1983, and retired from international competition in 1986, after the Hockey World Cup in London.
Kruize played 202 international matches for The Netherlands, and scored a total number of 167 goals. He was famous for his penalty corner, just as his successor Floris Jan Bovelander was. His father Roepie Kruize also played for the Dutch national hockey team. Throughout his career Kruize played for HC Klein Zwitserland from The Hague. With his club he won eight Dutch titles in a row: from 1977 until 1984. Just like his brothers Hans and Hidde, and his father Roepie, the youngest Kruize played club hockey for HC Klein Zwitserland from The Hague.
When Holland won its first World Cup in 1973, beating India in the final, Kruize was one of the heroes of that victory. He top scored at the second World Cup with eleven goals. He was also the top scorer of the 1972 Summer Olympics, scoring eighteen goals in nine matches, which made hem the all time topscorer in one Olympic tournament.
Kruize played in the first six editions of the World Cup (1971 – 1986), making his farewell appearance at Willesden. He played outside left for Holland, and used a hockey stick that weighed 28 oz. The Germans nicknamed Kruize Thor after the Scandinavian thunder god.
