Ajax have at times during their long history been one of the biggest and best football clubs in the European game, with legends such as Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels being key personnel at the Amsterdam giants over the years.
The Dutch club was officially established in March 1900. However, the Dutch giants were built on the foundations of a previous club, which was called Union and was founded in 1893 before the club changed to Club Ajax a year later. The two original configurations of the club didn’t last.
However, in 1900, AFC Ajax was established in a Dutch cafe, and this time, the club were successful, and the rest is history.
The founder members of Ajax
Ajax was founded by a group of friends who were football enthusiasts. The three founders were Floris Stempel, Hans Dade and Carel Reeser.
Stempel was born in 1881 in Amsterdam. He was a keen sportsman, and he was just 19 when he helped found Ajax. Not only was he one of the founders, but he also played for the club in the early days. Stempel also became the club’s first chairman.
During his chairmanship, Ajax joined the Dutch Football Association (NVB) in 1902, which allowed the club to play competitive games.
Unfortunately, apart from his part in helping with the formation of Ajax, there is very little about Floris Stempel’s life outside of football.
Gefeliciteerd, Ajacieden!
Vandaag is het 124 jaar geleden dat Ajax werd opgericht, door deze 3 vrienden.
Floris Stempel, Han Dade en Carel Bruno Reeser. #ajax pic.twitter.com/35hvNe6ix3
— Gerard H. (@gerardhaa) March 18, 2024
However, he is believed to have died in 1910 when he boarded the doomed SS Prins Willem II on a voyage to South America. The vessel sank and was never seen again.
Hans Dade was the second founding member of Ajax of the friendship group. He, like his friends, played a key role in the club’s foundations. There isn’t much info about his personal life away from the club in the Dutch capital.
However, Dade is believed to have been involved in making plans to start Ajax as a football club as early as 1894 before his part in the official establishment of the club in 1900. He later became less involved in public with the club.
The last founding member of the Dutch giants was Carel Reeser. He was just 18 years of age when the club was founded, and like his colleagues, he played a big role in the foundation of the club.
Outside of football, Reeser worked as a stockbroker. Unlike Stempel, like Dade, Reeser didn’t stay involved with Ajax in public for very long.
No Ajax without the friends
Considering the influence that Floris Stempel, Hans Dade, and Carl Reeser had in creating Ajax, the trio are not well-known. Even Ajax fans may not be aware of the club’s founding fathers.
Without the friends, though, Ajax wouldn’t have become the force they became later in their history. They should be far better, remember, as fans of the Dutch giants have plenty to thank the trio for their club’s existence.
Are you familiar with Floris Stempel, Hans Dade and Carl Reeser?