Ken Van Heekeren
{{Short description|Australian rugby league player (died 2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name = Ken Van Heekeren
|image =
|caption =
|country =
|fullname =
|birth_date = 30 June 1933
|birth_place =
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2022|8|25|1933|6|30}}
|death_place =
|position = {{rlp|FE|ce|hb|wg}}
|height =
|weight =
|club1 = Eastern Suburbs
|year1start = 1953
|year1end = 58
|appearances1 = 60
|tries1 = 18
|goals1 = 0
|fieldgoals1 = 0
|points1 = 54
|retired = yes
| module = {{infobox person
| embed = yes
| father =
| mother =
| spouse =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| relatives = Barry van Heekeren (brother)
}}
}}
Ken Van Heekeren (died August 2022) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played as a {{rlp|fe}} and {{rlp|ce}} in the 1950s. He made 60 appearances for the Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL) competition between 1953 and 1958.{{Cite web|url=https://afltables.com/rl/scorers/players/K/Ken_Van_Heekeren.html|title=Ken Van Heekeren|publisher=AFL Tables|access-date=28 August 2022}}
Career
As an Eastern Suburbs junior, Van Heekeren played for Woollahra Waratahs. On 4 April 1953, he made his first-grade NSWRFL debut, scoring a try in a 23–10 defeat to Parramatta at Cumberland Oval. During the 1953 season, he was the club's joint-top try scorer with eight tries, along with Morrie Kermond and Col Donohoe. Van Heekeren's 1954 season was ended by injury after dislocating his shoulder.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theroar.com.au/2019/07/26/rugby-league-history-the-all-time-great-alphabet-teams-letter-v/|title=Rugby league history: The all-time great alphabet teams – Letter V|work=The Roar|date=25 July 2019|access-date=28 August 2022}} He did not play first-grade competition until the 1957 season, after returning from a two-year stint in Wollongong.
The 1958 season was Van Heekeren's last as Eastern Suburbs player. That year, he made 16 appearances, scoring one try in the last game of the regular season, a 38–7 win over Parramatta at Sydney Sports Ground.
Van Heekeren died in August 2022.{{Cite web|title=Vale Ken Van Heekeran|url=https://www.roosters.com.au/news/2022/08/28/vale-ken-van-heekeran/|access-date=28 August 2022|date=28 August 2022|publisher=Sydney Roosters}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Heekeren, Ken}}
Category:Australian rugby league players
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:Rugby league five-eighths
Category:Rugby league halfbacks
Category:Rugby league players from Sydney
Category:Sydney Roosters players
Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen
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