Paul Litjens

Paul Litjens was a hockey player known for scoring. Particularly excelling in the penalty corner, he was top scorer of the Dutch Hoofdklasse league for the first seven seasons of its existence (1973/4 through 1979/80). When he died in 2023, Litjes was still the fifth all time scorer in the league. With 266 goals in 177 international matches, Litjens was also the top scoring Dutch international player when he died, with only three other players (male or female) scoring over 200 goals, and none coming close to his 1.5 goal per match average. In five international championships, including the 1976 Olympics, Litjens was crowned top goalscorer of the tournament. In a 1979 12-0 friendly against the US, he scored a record eight times. Remarkably, newspapers criticized his performance, noting he had sufficient opportunities to score much more than eight times.

His goal scoring skills also brought Litjens many prizes. With Utrecht side Kampong, Litjens won the Dutch league title four times (1971/2-1973/4 and 1975/6). Playing for the Dutch national team, he won the 1973 World Cup, scoring one of the penalty shots to break the tie against India. In 1978, he won two silver medals, losing the final of both the World and European Championships. His final international prize was the 1981 Champions Trophy. At the Olympics, Litjens earned two fourth places, although in 1972 he did not play the bronze medal match, having decided to leave Munich following the terrorist attacks on Israeli athletes.

Working as a legal professional, Litjens remained active for Kampong, both as a coach and a board member. In 2000, he was made an honorary member of the club. He also worked for the Dutch federation as a regional commissioner, and was a member of the judicial committee of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).