Martien Houtkooper played as a right forward for HFC Haarlem from 1910 to 1927 and scored 125 league goals during his career. In 1912, he helped HFC win the Dutch cup by scoring the second goal for a 2-0 victory. From 1921 to 1925, he was also vice-chairman of the club. In 1932, he returned to the pitch for two more matches for HFC. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Houtkooper was an unused substitute for the Dutch team that eventually won bronze. He had to wait another seven years to play his only international match in a friendly against Norway. Houtkooper was a physical education teacher and acted as trainer of HFC from 1940-47.