Captain of Jong Holland. A biography of Pim Mulier, 1865-1954.

During the last quarter of the nineteenth century Dutch physical culture changed drastically. The shifts of the era resulted in a new sense of citizenship, that posed a new set of demands on the physical body. Sporting traditions changed and gave way to new foreign exercises, especially for young nobles. In the advancement of both processes Willem Johan Herman Mulier (1865-1954) played a pivotal role, being the first President of the International Skating Union, the creator of the renowned Elfstedentocht (a 200 km skating race) and co-founder of the KNVB (Dutch Football Association). What makes Mulier particularly fit for a biography is his significance beyond sport. The rich life he led is a junction of some of the crucial bipolarities of the fin de siècle: regional tradition and international standardization; class-consciousness and democratization; nationalism and international networks; conservatism and innovation. In the reform of Dutch physical culture Mulier also construed a cultural meaning, by imposing his ideas of the function, value, appeal and dangers present in sport. This ideology of sport dominated the ethics of Dutch sports organizations well into the twentieth century. After his return from a sojourn in the Dutch East-Indies in 1905, Mulier increasingly withdrew from sport, shying from ‘hoi polloi’ as well as mass-media and rude manners. A lifestyle of aristocratic historicism afforded him a bulwark against these nuisances. An image of Mulier as the founding-father of Dutch sport was constructed in the same period. Mulier himself actively contributed to this myth of origin.