At a reception at the headquarters of JR Wellington Sports Management in London, Harti Adolphus and Abrahams De Meyer became the first two inductees for the new JR Wellington Players Hall of Fame.
"These two players were the possessed all of the skills necessary to be a truly great footballer" said President and CEO Gregory Wellington, son of the founder Jerome. "They were both astounding players, quality leaders for their respective clubs, and gelled well with the other players in the clubhouse. They are here today both for their immense individual accomplishments, as well as their contributions to championship winning teams."
Defender Harti Adolphus spent the final 11 years of his 12 year career with FC Znojmo in his native Czech Republic, starting in all 11. Adolphus captained the club for the for his last 9 seasons, before retiring at age 33. He had 51 goals in 373 games for Znojmo, winning 3 straight Czech League titles starting in his 7th season, and 1 Champions League title in his 9th. "The model of consistency in defense" said Znojmo's manager Radim Jedlicka, presenting for Adolphus at the ceremony. "He was the hardest working player that I ever coached and great locker room presence. You could count on Harti to lead by example, and motivate the team time and time again."
"I can't believe that I'm standing here before you all today" said a humbled Adolphus, accepting his award. "When I got the call from Mr. Wellington, I thought that it was a joke. I was never one of those people who looked to be standing here today; I didn't dream it to be possible. When I got to Znojmo, I wanted to do anything that I could to contribute to a young team. I gave it my all in practice and in matches hoping to contribute in some small way in my team everyday. Knowing that I accomplished that is all that I could ever ask for. Thank you all for this, it means the world to me."
Belgian forward Abrahams De Meyer struggled to even make it as a footballer in his early years. De Meyer spent several years toiling in the Belgian B League, putting up solid numbers, but not being noticed by any Belgian League clubs. He was finally signed by the bottom feeder FC Aalst at age 26, and neither the team nor De Meyer looked back from that point. In 8 seasons with Aalst, De Meyer scored 296 goals in 253 league matches winning the Belgian League's Golden Boot 5 times. FC Aalst won the Belgian League title 4 times during De Meyer's tenure. "Abrahams was nothing short of magical" said longtime teammate Bovo Strasser. "Whenever we needed a goal, he scored. He made it look easy. He played for 10 years and won the scoring title 5 times. An unbelievable career, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
"My time at Aalst with that group of guys was the best of my career" said De Meyer during his speech. "That's why I returned to coach the team, I loved it there. I owe everything to this organization, so to be recognized like this, it's fantastic."
Abrahams De Meyer will be inducted into FC Aalst's ring of fame in their final home match against Lierse SK, while Adolphus will be honoured by FC Znojmo in their 35th match against rival club FC Uranium Jachymov.