Gert Bals

Gert Bals

Bals in 1968
Personal information
Full name	Gerrit Bals
Date of birth	(1936-10-18)18 October 1936
Place of birth	Utrecht, Netherlands
Date of death	20 May 2016(2016-05-20) (aged 79)
Place of death	Veenendaal, Netherlands
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Velox
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1955–1957	Zeist
1957–1961	't Gooi
1961–1965	PSV
1965–1970	Ajax	345	(0)
1970–1973	Vitesse
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gerrit "Gert" Bals (18 October 1936 – 20 May 2016) was a Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Bals became the first Dutch goalkeeper in an UEFA Cup final, when he played for Ajax in the 1969 European Cup Final against Milan.

Club career

Born in Utrecht, Bals played for local side RUC and Velox before joining SV Zeist when they entered at the start of the professional era in Holland. After a spell at 't Gooi, he moved to PSV for whom he would play 120 matches winning the 1963 league title and later Ajax.

He played 216 official matches for Ajax after making his debut for them in August 1965 and won 4 league titles with the club. He won the Dutch Footballer of the Year Award in 1969.

He finished his career at Vitesse after losing Ajax´ number one jersey to Heinz Stuy in 1970.

Personal life

After retiring as a player, Bals owned a sportshop in Velp and later a tobacco shop in Veenendaal. He died in May 2016.