Ken Van Heekeren Explained

Ken Van Heekeren
Death Date:August 2022
Club1:Eastern Suburbs
Year1start:1953
Year1end:58
Appearances1:60
Tries1:18
Goals1:0
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:54
Retired:yes
Source:[1]

Ken Van Heekeren (died August 2022) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 1950s.[1] He made 60 appearances for the Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) competition between 1953 and 1958.[2]

Career

As an Eastern Suburbs junior, Van Heekeren played for Woollahra Waratahs. On 4 April 1953, he made his first-grade NSWRFL debut, scoring a try in a 23–10 defeat to Parramatta at Cumberland Oval. During the 1953 season, he was the club's joint-top try scorer with eight tries, along with Morrie Kermond and Col Donohoe. Van Heekeren's 1954 season was ended by injury after dislocating his shoulder.[3] He did not play first-grade competition until the 1957 season, after returning from a two-year stint in Wollongong.

The 1958 season was Van Heekeren's last as Eastern Suburbs player. That year, he made 16 appearances, scoring one try in the last game of the regular season, a 38–7 win over Parramatta at Sydney Sports Ground.[1]

Van Heekeren died in August 2022.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ken Van Heekeren. Rugby League Project. 28 August 2022.
  2. Web site: Ken Van Heekeren. AFL Tables. 28 August 2022.
  3. Web site: Rugby league history: The all-time great alphabet teams – Letter V. The Roar. 25 July 2019. 28 August 2022.
  4. Web site: Vale Ken Van Heekeran. 28 August 2022. 28 August 2022. Sydney Roosters.