Prior to the 1920 Antwerpen Olympics Felix von Heijden was also on the 1912 Dutch team at Stockholm, but did not play. He won his only cap in the 1920 match against Spain. His only appearance was the result of a mutiny on the Dutch football team. After three games and the defeat against Belgium, a group of players refused to return to their primitive cabins on the naval ship Hollandia, where the Dutch athletes were accommodated. Four “ringleaders” were to be sent home, including Jan de Natris, but the team threatened to go on strike for the pending game against Spain. To avoid cancellation of the bronze medal game the four players were pardoned but were not selected, which gave Von Heijden the chance for a late début for the Oranje as inside left.
Von Heijden went to school in Nijmegen and played for Quick. Between 1912 and 1921 he lived in Helmond, where he initially worked for the textile company NV Raymakers, before changing to the public service, but he continued playing for Nijmegen. After the 1920 Olympics he joined HVV Helmond but returned to Quick one year later. He was also an excellent tennis player, winning the Dutch doubles title in in 1918, while competing under the pseudonym of “Jansen.” He also played hockey for Vught club MOP. Starting in 1923, Von Heijden was mayor of Rosmalen for over 30 years. After his retirement he moved to ‘s-Hertogenbosch and eventually died in a nursing home in the nearby town of Boxtel.
Netherlands