The club was a founder member of the regional first tier Eerste Klasse Noord in 1916 and became champions of the division in 1931–32; it qualified for the national championship play-offs but finished in bottom place.[4] Veendam were one of the founder members of the regional first tier Eerste Klasse Noord in 1916 but finished bottom of the league of seven teams in their inaugural season.[7] During the 1977–78 KNVB Cup, the team defeated Feyenoord 2–1 in the third round and reached the quarter-finals, in which Veendam were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate by Excelsior.[14] Two Dutch international strikers made their professional debuts with Veendam during this period: Dick Nanninga in 1973 and Jurrie Koolhof in 1978.[18] Around 12,500 spectators were in attendance at De Langeleegte in the decisive game against Willem II (1–0 win, goal from Boy Nijgh [nl]).Nienhuis’ squad was mostly composed of former FC Groningen players, such as Joop Gall, Pieter Huistra and Harris Huizingh.[20][21] In the 1995–96 Eerste Divisie, the team qualified for the promotion play-offs but finished second in the group behind NEC Nijmegen and remained in the second tier.[16] The club was plaged by financial problems during the following years; in 2003, it sold De Langeleegte to the municipality of Veendam for a fee of €3.2 million.[31] According to a reconstruction made by RTV Noord and Dagblad van het Noorden in August 2013, the death of catering entrepreneur and Veendam supporter Jan Lambeck in 2009 meant the end of an important income source, which eventually led to the bankruptcy of the club.From 1997 to 2011, when the club played under the name BV Veendam, its black and yellow crest featured a football and the words "De Langeleegte".[16] In 2011, the club adopted a new logo, which was chosen by around 2,500 fans, designers of Groningen-based La Compagnie and members of Veendam's businessclub.[44] Ivan Tsvetkov and Michael de Leeuw were the only Veendam players to be crowned Eerste Divisie top goal scorer, in 2001–02 and 2009–10 respectively.[45] In 1972, Veendam's Eltje Edens became the first player in Dutch professional football to receive a yellow card, in a game against HVC.