The Golden Boot referendum was founded in 1954 by Charles Baete, a former Beerschot player who became a journalist at Het Laatste Nieuws after his playing career. He contacted quite a few of his colleagues and asked them to vote for players who had impressed during the football season. Rik Coppens won the first edition handsomely. He clocked off with 203 votes. Jef Mermans of Anderlecht finished second with 88. Journalist Jan Herdies wrote: “This is the year in which Rik Coppens discerned himself on international level, both as a playmaker and a goal scorer. He is by far the most talented player in the country right now.”
In those days the presentation of “The Golden Boot” was very down to earth. No big show with heavily made up WAGS in uplifted bras. “I was asked by the organizers to donate a football boot to be gilded”, Coppens recalled in an earlier interview. “So I sent them one of my worn down hockey boots I used to train and practice in. One week later I was presented with the Golden Boot prior to one of our home games. And that was it.”
“I was charmed, happy and proud with that trophy. Looking back at it, it was unfortunate you could only win it once then. It was in the sixties they scrapped that part of the rulings. A great shame. How many Golden Boots I could or would have won otherwise? A couple of hundred I think”, Coppens winked.
Beerschot can’t show off many individual prizes. Apart from Coppens’ Golden Boot in 1954, Marc Degryse was voted Professional Player of the Year in 2000. A very nice trophy as well, but considered not as prestigious as the Golden Boot. And Kenny Steppe won the “Goalkeeper of the Year” award in 2008.