History of U.S.

Table Tennis
Vol. IV: 1963-1970

The Stagnant Years: Unless our USTTA E.C. can clearly see the
desires of the players they represent, there will be no progress.

BY TIM BOGGAN
USATT HISTORIAN

U.S. Team to the 1969 Munich Worlds

TIM BOGGAN
Tim Boggan is a former International Table Tennis
Federation Vice-President, and a former three-term
President of the United States Table Tennis Association
(now USA Table Tennis).
For 14 years he served as Editor of the National
Publication, and is the author of Winning Table Tennis
(1976) and Volumes I (2000), II (2003) and III (2004) of this
multi-volume History of U.S. Table Tennis. For over 30
years he taught English at Long Island University in
Brooklyn, and since 1965 has been a prodigious writer
for the Sport. Having retired from teaching, he is
currently the USA Table Tennis Historian, as well as
the Associations Secretary.
He has received the ITTF Order of Merit Award,
the USTTA Barna Award, and was inducted into the
USTTA Hall of Fame in 1985. He has been on the
Halls Board of Directors since 1979.
He was a member of the 1971 U.S. Ping-Pong
Diplomacy Team to China, and since then has
attended, as official and/or journalist, 15 or more
World Championships. In 1975 he Captained the U.S.
Team to the Calcutta Worlds.
As a player through five decades, he has on
occasion, in addition to some modest early tournament
success, and, later, some success in World Veterans
Championships, been the U.S. Over 40, 50, 60, and 70
Singles and Doubles Champion.
Both of his sons, Scott and Eric, were U.S.
Junior and then U.S. Mens Singles Champions.
Both are in the USTTA Hall of Fame.
Price: $35.00

History of U.S. Table Tennis

VOL. IV: 19631970:

The Stagnant Years: Unless our USTTA E.C. can clearly see the
desires of the players they represent, there will be no progress.

by Tim Boggan, USATT Historian

Copyright 2005

This book is for my sons,

Scott and Eric, of whom Im most proud...for what they were and are

I want to acknowledge how much I appreciate Larry Hodgess indispensible contribution

toward the making of my books (scanning all photos, help in laying out pages in Volumes II,
III & IV). Without his experience and efficiency, its possible I would not have completed
these Volumes, or at least not have completed them as quickly as I have.
Mal Anderson, too, gets a special nod for sharing with me his enormous collection of photos
of players and officials.
Id like also to give special thanks again to Dave Sakai for his continual effort and
encouragement. My repeated thanks, too, to Jen Fell, for her help in the final preparation of these
volumes.
Front Cover Photo
U.S. Team Members, L-R, Men: Team Captain John Read, Jack Howard, John Tannehill,
Dal-Joon Lee and USTTA Delegate to ITTF Congress Rufford Harrison;
Women: Janice Martin, Wendy Hicks, Alice Green and Patty Martinez
Back Cover Photo
1963 U.S. Team Players, L-R: Norby Van de Walle, Dick Miles, Bobby Fields, Bernie Bukiet,
Lona Rubenstein and Barbara Kaminsky. (Not seen: Bernice Chotras)

PRINTED BY: The Outer Office, Lime Kiln Road, Fulton, MD

ISBN NUMBER: 0-9707657-3-8

COPYRIGHT 2005
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright
owner.
2

Acknowledgements
From Oct., 1933 through Nov.-Dec., 1993, the name United States Table Tennis
Association (USTTA) prevailed; thereafter the Association is referred to as USA Table Tennis
(USATT). To me and many others, USTTA sounds much better than USATT (but Table Tennis
is an Olympic Sport, and the USOTC prefers its national governing bodies to be USA
prefixed).
SELECTED SOURCES
Interviews, Conversations, Correspondence
With regard to my own write-up of tournaments during this 1963-70 time, I talked
with literally every leading U.S. player and official in the Game, and with many lesser lights.
Its therefore impossible for me to acknowledge my debt to them all. Best I can do is to give
them all a warm blanket of thanks and hope they rest easy.
However, both willingly and reluctantly, I do single out here those to whom I
particularly want to show my gratitude: Tom Aldridge, Mal Anderson, Mike Baber, Tom
Baudry, Peter Becker, Laszlo Laci Bellak, Houshang Bozorgzadeh, George Brathwaite,
Bernie Bukiet, Chuck Burns, Doug Cartland, Glenn Cowan, Dave Cox, Fred Danner, Frank
Davison, Charlie Disney, Frank Dwelly, Dick Evans, Shazzi Felstein, Bobby Fields, Danny
Ganz, Ruben Gomez, Bob Green, Hal and Alice Green, Dexter Grey, Don Gunn, Bobby
Gusikoff, Harvey Gutman, Rufford Harrison, Tibor and Magda Hazi, Pat Quintyne
Hildebrand, Harry and Priscilla (Resek) Hirschkowitz, Bernie Hock, Larry Hodges, Jack
Howard, Azmy Ibrahim, Steve Isaacson, Dean Johnson, Bob and Barbara Kaminsky, Lem
Kuusk, Mary Larsen, D-J Lee, Marv and Caron Leff, Paul Lewis, Patty Martinez, Dick Miles,
Leah Thall Neuberger, Marty Prager, John Read, Marty Reisman, Errol and Jairie Resek,
Danny Robbins, Fuarnado Roberts, Dave and Donna Sakai, Alex Salcido, Sol Schiff, Chris
Schlotterhausen, Al Schwartz, Adham Sharara, Bill Sharpe, Mitch Silbert, Thelma Tybie
Thall Sommer, Graham Steenhoven, Dell, Connie, and Todd Sweeris, John Tannehill, Jose
Tomkins, Jim Verta, Derek Wall, Si Wasserman, and Mort and Evelyn Zakarin.
Scrapbooks/Memorabilia
Tom Aldridge, Mal Anderson, Tom Baudry, Chuck Burns, Dick Evans, John Hanna,
Tibor (birth-name Hoffman) and Magda (nee Gal) Hazi, Pat Quintyne Hildebrand, Steve
Isaacson, Dean Johnson, Paul Lewis (for Bozorgzadeh Photo Portfolio), Dick Miles, Marty
Reisman, Sol Schiff, and Derek Wall.
Records
Former USTTA Historian Leah Thall Neubergers Records. Separate Binders show,
from their beginnings into the beginning 1990s, the results of World Championships; annual
Canadian National Exhibition Championships; U.S. Closed Championships; U.S. Open Team
Championships; Eastern Open Team Championships; and numerous City and State
tournaments around the country. Many of the tournament results I incorporate in all these
History volumes are from these records (records which Ive tried to confirm from other
sources).
3

I again want to thank Leah Neubergers sister, Thelma Tybie Thall Sommer, for
agreeing, after Leahs death, that I might, in my Historians role, have access to these unique
labor-of love Binders. I also want to thank again Leah and Tybies late, longtime friend Bob
Green for taking the considerable time and trouble of boxing up all these Binders (as well as
the many miscellaneous Folders Leah had acquired) and sending them to me.
Clippings and photos in the Scrapbooks, Binders, and Folders relevant to this Volume
sometimes do not show their source or date, and some articles are written without a byline.
Magazines
Of course Im greatly indebted to the official USTTA/USATT table tennis magazine
that, over the years, has had more than its share of name changes:

From Oct., 1933 through May, 1954 the publication was called (TTT) Table Tennis
Topics.
From Jan., 1955 through Sept., 1961 there was simply an Association Newsletter. The
name Table Tennis Topics was officially reinstated with the Oct., 1961 issue, and the
publication continued with that name through May-June, 1983. Following a name change (see
below), it again, from Jan., 1986 through Nov.-Dec., 1992, became Table Tennis Topicsand
included six interlocking issues, May, 1989 through Mar., 1990, of U.S. Table Tennis News.

Spinthe name of the magazine

from the July-Aug., 1983 through
Dec., 1985 issues.

Table Tennis
Today, described
as the The
Magazine of USA
Table Tennisits
Jan.-Feb., 1993Mar.-Apr., 1996
issues reflected
the Associations
name change.

USA Table Tennisthe current name beginning with the May-June, 1996 issue.

Im also indebted in this Volume to publications from other countries:

Introduction
In the summer of 1962, former Topics Editor Norman
Kilpatrick became the 15th President of the USTTA. His
approach to his office initially differed from his hardworking predecessor Rufford Harrisons in that it was
diligently liberal rather than restrictive; it sought to
accommodate, not to tight-ship punish. But Kilpatricks
idealism and integrity did not extend to prolonged USTTA
in-group fighting for policies he wanted (and he did want
what he wanted); when pressured he became in time thinskinned. We saw in Vol. III, how when Norman wasnt
elected to take the ailing John Vargas place as USTTA
TTT, Oct., 1962, 3
USTTA Editor/President
V.P.E.C. members in a closed 3-2 vote chose Sol Schiff
Norman Kilpatrick
over himhe immediately resigned his two Committee
positions. He said that, without being able to represent his
constituents as a V-P who could register a meaningful protest vote, he couldnt in good faith
serve an administration that intended to ban sponge for the 1958-59 season.
Now, after the first year of his Presidential term, he felt that people were out to embarrass
him and his administration. Vice-President and U.S. Team Captain Schiff, particularly, he felt was a
negative force. It raised the question of whether Norman could stay the course.
Like Harrison, who remained on the E.C. as Recording Secretary,
and also took over as International Chair, Kilpatrick must be congratulated
for not wanting the USTTA to remain isolated from the new techniques that
were affecting table tennis the world over. Spurred on by Kilpatrick, Jack
Carr, Si Wasserman, and Gene Lee, the U.S. began to at least recognize the
importance of coaching. Carrs Advanced Table Tennis came through several
drafts (he himself had never been abroad to actually immerse himself in a worldclass tournament), and, though he found it quite discouraging that none of the
very top players either requested a copy of this work, or offered any advice, he
persevered, and eventually the book would come out in both hard and soft
covers.
USTTA Coaching Chair Wasserman served as a Consultant for
the booklet How To Improve Your Table Tennis, one of a series of
How To Improve sports instruction aids published by the Athletic
Institute, a non-profit Chicago group Harrison had initially contacted. The
many illustrative photographs of Chicago teenagers
Ken Oler and Pat Havlick in the booklet were
reproduced from the Institutes sound/color slidefilm,
Table Tennis (one of maybe 25 different sports
slidefilm kits the Institute had put out). Sis $.50
booklet, aimed at beginners, would then quickly find
new form as one of a series of hard cover books the
Athletic Institute would publish.
In line with this sudden surge of interest in
coachinga more or less groping interest, since for the
6

better part of the 60s there would be no follow-up

Coaching Programthe USTTA, in addition to having
earlier acquired films of the 1955 Rochester Nationals
and the 1957 Stockholm Worlds, purchased a
succession of 1960s Championship films, beginning
with the 1961 Peking Worlds. Also, the Association
bought a Science of Table Tennis film with
commentary by famed English Coach Jack Carrington
who in 1966 would give some well received but poorly
attended clinics in Canada. How many of our players
ever saw any of these films, let alone profited from
them, I cant say. But advances in technique, such as the
loop drive, were being talked about in the early 60s
in North America.
In Mar., 1963 Kilpatrick, hoping our clubs
would be enthusiastic and appreciative, brought two
English loopers to the U.S. to tour various cities, play
in our U.S. Open, and in general engage with our
professionals (Norm was the first USTTA President to
try to make a supportive distinction between amateurs
and professionals). One of these Englishmen, Derek
Baddeley, explained in a Topics Coachs Canopy
Photo by Mal Anderson
Derek Baddeley
article addressed to uninitiatesthat is, just about
everybody in U.S. Table Tennishow the loop stroke
worked (Ive greatly condensed this one-page article, but youll get the general idea):
To sum up, the [loop] stroke can only be used really effectively against a
chopped return, as it is basically a very exaggerated top-spin drive, and is merely
increasing the amount of spin already on the ball.
[The technique involves contacting the ball] as it drops from the peak of the
bounceat, or slightly below, the level of the table surface, although it is quite
possible to take the ball even later than this.
The back swing should begin very low, near to the floor, following through
almost vertically, but inclined slightly forward [brushing the ball as lightly as possible
with the bat], and finishing overhead. The blade of the batshould be whipped
upwards at great speed, with the body weight transferring [from the back] to the front
foot simultaneously (May, 1963, 19).
Four-time World Singles Champion Richard Bergmann, touring with the Globetrotters
in the U.S., happened to be in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area when Baddeley and
Europes early loop-leader Stan Jacobson were playing Americans Erwin Klein and Bobby
Fields. Bergmann claimed that this loop, played with reversed sandwich rubber, was definitely
a new stroke, unlike anything he has seen consistently utilized anywhere or anytime during his
vast traveling, over many, many years. Reversed sandwich rubber is used because, as
Jacobson explains, the loop requires friction from the rubber to produce its spin, and reversed
rubber gives a larger area of rubber with which to contact the ballthan does regular sandwich
7

rubber.
Bergmann had obviously been away from
England and apparently European table tennis for
some months, for the loop wasnt new to former
World Champion Johnny Leach. Hed seen
Jacobson destroy defensive players in matches
that made for very poor table tennis, and had
again protested change, as he had earlier the
menace of sponge. Hed suggested that the loop
be banned before it killed table tennis. But
Jacobson (soundly beaten in the quarters of the
English Closed before coming to the U.S.) said
that this type of poor play lasted for almost two
years in England, but finally has produced a most
worthwhile evolution in the style of table tennis
now played in that nation (TTT, Apr., 1963, 10).
Naturally as the power-loop evolved, the
defensive-minded would be at more of a
disadvantage, so more and more players would take
Photo by Mal Anderson
to looping, counter-looping, and lobbing. Chop and
Stan Jacobson
push play would give way to rangy two-wing
topspin. This was part of the Sports inevitable Standardization Through Evolution that Kilpatrick
had talked about earlier.
Meanwhile, USTTA Executive Vice-President Herman Prescott, whom Kilpatrick had
unsuccessfully favored as U.S. Team Captain to the 1963 Prague Worlds rather than Schiff,
had raised funds to help send a 1963 U.S. Junior Team to Europe for matches in various
countries and to the French Open in Lyon, which members of our World Team, perhaps
sharing some camaraderie with our Juniors, would also attend.
There was nothing at all comradely about Kilpatrick and Schiffs relationship though;
both before and after Sols trip to the 63 Worlds there was a bitter exchange between the two
that would contribute to Norms decision to resign the Presidency. Sols negativism, he said,
was thwarting his hopes for progress. Better he stop the inevitable E.C. infighting by leaving
office.
It may be, however, that Kilpatrick, consciously or unconsciously, realized that,
without money, or the wherewithal to raise it, the USTTA wasnt going to accomplish much,
and so, faced with mundane matters and losing interest himself, he found a way, via Schiff, to
exit the scene. Certainly President Chuck Burns who replaced Kilpatrick didnt care about
invigorating the Association, and, undeniably, it was lethargic. How apt that Topics Editor
Graham Steenhoven could say that Rufford Harrison is unlikely to find E.C. members with his
zeal, drive and capacity for Table Tennis work. Indeed, heres Rufford, then the USTTA
Equipment Chairman, in an Oct. 25, 1963 letter railing at Burnss E.C.:
It is almost a month since I asked you about reducing the price of table seals,
and I still cannot write back to Brinktun and tell them whether or not you are in favor.
Before some of you delay any longer in replying to that letter, please remember that
company does nearly $2000 worth of business with us every year. Offend them, and you
8

could be responsible for our losing that much income. If

you really are not interested in the welfare of this
Association, might I suggest that you resign so that we can
complete the EC with workers instead of dead-wood. With
a change of presidents in mid-term, this has been a trying
two years, without the complication of an EC that is 50%
idle.
Its going to be more than a trying short time for U.S.
Table Tennis. In talking about Englands melancholy Self-Evaluation
Report (no 10,000 spectators at the English Open now), Rufford
might as well be talking about where table tennis, or ping-pong, is
played publicly in the U.S.:

Rufford Harrison

Many affiliated clubs, and almost all other places where table tennis is
played, have inferior tables: thin tops, no white lines, splintered edges, battered
surfaces, and so on. Very often, they also have insufficient space: too little back-space,
too little space between the tables, and almost invariably too little space above them. A
third factor, which the report mentions only in passing, is equally important: lighting.
Most installations are too dim, not uniform, or, more often, too low (TTT, Jan.-Feb.,
1964, 9). [Rufford urges elsewhere that players contact their local power company
regarding what light-intensity fixtures they needwhether theyre playing in a
basement or running a two-star tournament in a large hall.]
Serious problems in France, too, mirror those in the U.S.: if we do not adapt
ourselves to modern Table Tennis we shall be relegated bit by bit to the level of the weakest
countries. Elaborating on this thesis, in an Aug.-Sept., 1964 Topics article reprinted from the
English Table Tennis, is Pierre Ceccaldi, President of the French Association. Noting that the
French game is relatively slow and passive, he goes on to say:
The new racket has transformed the game of Table Tennis in its essential
elements: trajectory, spins, speed. Table Tennis today is attack, toward which
everything trends.
[The] Chinese, who lead World Table Tennis at the moment [that was 40
years ago], have surpassed the Japanese, who were their teachers, because they
realized that the latters game using solely forehand attack was incomplete. Their
own game uses the whole gamut of Table Tennis strokes, especially attack on the
backhand.
Defence, whether chop or loop, is only a preparation for attack, for an attack
which must not be delayed, for whoever first launches a flat-out attack wins the point.
[Also,] it is no longer permissible to ignore the fact that the service is a
weapon. The service serves to (1) prepare the attack; (2) put the opponent in a
difficulty; (3) at least prevent him from attacking himself, as good players, especially
the Asians, attack any service they can with a minimum of error (8).
French players, however, unlike U.S. players, have the opportunity to compete against, if
not the expert Asians, the best in Europe. The Americans can only be as good as their daily, weekly,
9

monthly, yearly tournament competitionand, as will be all too evident in this decade, they have
very little contact with, never mind great, even good players. In an Oct., 1964 Topics article, Herb
Schindler, Jr., the USTTA Treasurer whod been in charge of the International Team Fund, put off
by the amount of money the Association spent in sending our 1963 U.S. Team and U.S. Junior
Team to Europe, urged that we should first develop our game at home and then [my italics]
perhaps in the future concern ourselves with world development. He certainly wasnt going to
fund raise for International play.* Our players, therefore, relative to international competition, are
weak at this time, and will remain so until the innovative anti-spin play of Danny Seemiller and later
Eric Boggan, both ambitiously playing at home and abroad in the 1970s and 80s.
Through the 60s Rufford, disliking U.S. provincialism, would continue to keep the
Membership abreast of t.t. tournaments, rankings, and articles from overseas, especially in times of
World Championships which, if a visa were
possible, he unfailingly attended. The English
magazine, Table Tennis, was always a source
of interest. Want to read about Russias 61
European Girls Champion, the penholder Zoya
Rudnova? By 1963 she was playing for the
Soviets in Prague where reportedly she
frequently served up to five aces in a row.
How was this possible? Heres USSR
National Team Coaches Valentin Ivanov and
Sefgei Shprakh to explain:
She learned these service shots on
a spinning disc: Zoya, with a wooden bat,
simulates a real service by slightly touching,
Photo by E. Fendrich
and not hitting, the disc and making it spin. The
From Deutscher Tischtennis-Sport, 9-69, 33
top-spin is perfected on a spinning bicycle
Russias Zoya Rudnova
wheel. These exercisescall both for
academic precision and great endurance. After 12 or 15 minutes of practice with the bikewheel a player feels just as tired as after a strenuous tournament game (Nov., 1965, 10).
Of course reading about the newest playing techniques is different from seeing them
being employed either in person or on film, and far different from putting them to use on court
against savvy opponents.
After coming back from the 1963 Worlds to stress the overwhelming superiority of the
Chinese men, Rufford had this to say in one of his monthly Sidelines Topics articles:
When hitting, the Chinese feet leave the ground two at a time. The choppers
chop on one foot. When hitting a high-bouncing lobbed ball, these fellows take it at the
height of its bounceeven if they have to jump a foot and a half to do it. Forget the
text-books; you can get the elementary strokes there, but this new stuff just hasnt reached
the book-shelves yet.
Incidentally, the lob-defense is just as standard in Europe and Asia as the chopdefense. Some of our people considered it to be not quite table tennisexhibition
stuff, no less. Whatever it was, we couldnt beat it, so lets try to learn from it. The
10

From the Chinese TT Delegations 1971 Portfolio of Photos: Chinas Liang Ko-liang

style can win; lets get our lights raised so that we can play all the strokes, instead of just the
old-fashioned ones.
The loop is also valuable. Most Europeans have it, and we cant afford to
neglect it (May, 1963, 5).
What will happen with our players, though, is that not much will happensince, as I
say, and it bears repeating, this dismal decade they will be out of the loop, will not compete
against a variety of even 2nd-rate International players. On returning from the 1965 World
Championships, Dell Sweeris, one of our most promising players, criticized USTTA members
and officers for not having a definite plan for the improvement of U.S. table tennis. Young
players, he said, need to get a good start with coaching, training, leagues and tournaments.
And Dells teammate, Jerry Kruskie, made it clear in a Topics article, Table Tennis
1965, what U.S. players had to dothey had to spin the ball:
Rather than chop [Jerrys speaking of the Europeans, the very progressive
Swedes in particular], they will hit the serve and exchange drives. Most players would
take their chances with the exchange rather than play the safe push shot because the
low ball is now looped with a great deal of speed and spin.
The loop now has different and deceptive spins.
The Swedes, who are the forerunners of the new techniques and development, are
now using a backhand loop.They attempt to loop at the table; when forced back, or if
they decide to retreat, they lob and loop from everywhere in the court and challenge the
attacker to hit through them (Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 12).
11

Kruskie, whod abruptly

disappear from the Sport, felt that our
two years deficit could be made up in two
months if our top men could play against
Europes best. By the mid-60s it wasnt
a question of not knowing the Sports
advances, but of how our players could get
into the action and be part of the Spin
advance.
Herman Prescott, whod
championed the young and urged them to
go abroad, would resign his Presidency, at
least in part for health reasons, for hed
suffered severe hypertension from the time
hed first taken office. His successor,
Photo by Mal Anderson
Richard Feuerstein, whose diligent
Jerry Kruskie
organizational work had largely been
confined to his local St. Charles, Missouri area, hadnt Sweeriss vision about bringing the U.S.
back into the Sport.
Dell, though not on the USTTA E.C., took E.C. responsibilityurged action. In an
article in Topics, he said: (1) We are financially unsound: we cannot pay or compensate our
executives or send our good players to national and international tournaments. Said (2) Unless our
E.C. can clearly see the desires of the players they represent, there will be no progress. Said (3)
Our players are losing interest, especially our young players. They feel that there is no future in
table tennis (Oct., 1965, 14).
Sweeris might also have pointed out
how apathetic the Membership was: in the
E.C. election of 1966, every one of the four
candidates for office ran unopposed.
Eventually, though, with Tim Boggans 13year Editorship of a greatly enlarged and
sometimes controversial Topics (first issue:
July-August, 1970), the Membership would
have a much larger input and so would feel
their individual thoughts and feelings about
the Game mattered more.
Real Table Tennis now demanded fast
footwork, mobility, and speed of stroke. But
whobefore or even after South Korean
International D-J Lee began his dominating play
in the U.S.were still contesting our Nationals?
Bukiet (U.S. Open Champion at 47, U.S. Open
finalist at 52, U.S. World Team member at 54);
Jack Howard (U.S. Open finalist at 37); and
Photo by Rufford Harrison
Miles (U.S. Open semifinalist at 40). And among
Dells losing interest?...I dont think so.
12

the U.S. Open women semifinalists as late as 1968, more than 20 years after they were already
U.S. Open Champions: Neuberger and Chotras.
Moreover, to realize that one of our three women to play at the 1967 Stockholm
Worlds was Neuberger, and four out of our six men were Klein, Miles, Gusikoff, and
Reisman, is to understand that whatever juniors we have, if we ever want to make them
players, will sure need a lot of seasoning. In 1963 our Mens Team finished 10th; in 1971 theyd
finish 28th. In 1965 we didnt even send a Womens Team, and in 1971 theyd finish 21st.
Of course we had some world-class players come to our shores, but they quickly came and
went. European Champion Hans Hasse Alser and South American Champion Ubiraci Biriba da
Costa participated in our first nationally televised tournamentthe Jan., 1964 Eastern Open.
Although Alser didnt lose a game to da Costa or anyone else, and Kilpatrick enthused about
Hasses lob defense, it was really Biribas
off-the-bounce penhold attack that most
excited Norman:
Costa had defeated
Americas national champion with a
hurricane of pen-hold forehand and
backhand drives, from side to side, which
left Bukiet vainly moving to the wrong side
time after time. Certainly there has not
been a display of hitting and counter-hitting
like this on North American soil since
World War II, at least (TTT, Mar., 1964,
3).
Not only had our U.S. players been
deficient in learning the new techniques,
but who among them, or among our
embryonic coaches was stressing rigorous
Brazils Biriba da Costa
physical preparation, training? Alser, in an
article that appeared in the 1964 National Team Championship Program, stated still another reason
why the U.S. was falling behind:
I do not think the US players train as hard as we do in Europe. We train like
track-and-fielders, runners and swimmers, which means twice a day nearly the year
round.Of course I know the Asian players train even more (12).
No better example of which is Japans consummate player/coach Ogimura. In talking
about the necessity of Condition Training, Ogi emphasizes that it is not the player with only a
command of the technique who is successful, but the true competitor, who has taken the trouble to
care for his circulation and respiratory systems, his musculature and his central nervous system
(TTT, Oct., 1967, 10).
And heres Time magazine suggesting why, aside from their marvelous skill, the
Chinese have won three straight World Championships:

13

These Chinese, marveled Japans former World Champion Ichiro Ogimura,

play basketball and volleyball and do special exercises. They practice gymnastics to
develop agility, lift weights to build up certain muscles. They also keyed themselves to
fever pitch emotionally. Chinas Hsu Yin-sheng explained that his forehand was so
powerful because he looked on a Ping-Pong ball as though it were the head of Chiang
Kai-shek (May 7, 1965).
Heinz Becker, Youth Chairman, TTVN, Germany, in speaking of player development,
says Everything must be practiced in training sessions so that eventually we have, not a half,
but a complete player. For a player with only a forehand is only half a player (TTT, Sept.,
1966, 9). But Frances National Trainer Charles Roesch says after talking with Chinese trainer
Chou Jen-long that
The Chinese place no value at all on all-round ability, since it is impossible
to conquer all strokes to the highest degree of perfection.The essence of the Chinese
system, therefore, is that their players learn fewer elements of the game, but they learn
them with absolute certainty, a certainty that is decisive (TTT, Apr., 1967, 9).
Compared to the Chinese, what kind of coaching, training, and conditioning, what
motivation, have our U.S. players?
Or, since we wont be seeing the Chinese until the 70s, I might just as easily substitute the
late-60s world-champion Japanese. Only in the latter half of the decade did U.S. Table Tennis
seriously start to try to catch up with World Table Tennis. Dick Yamaokas coaching articles and
sequence photographs from Hikosuke Tamasus Butterfly Table Tennis Report reprinted in Topics
helped illustrate the disparity. For example, Dick shows us frames of 1967 World Champion
Hasegawa serving, and describes how, when he goes into a crouched position to serve, his free
hand deliberately hidden under the table, by changing the speed of the ball thrown, can deceptively
change the spin. That is, with a very small, sharp movement of the racket at the moment of impact,
effective backspin, side spin, and even top spin services can be delivered. Thus many a receiver,
like those uninitiated players reading Dicks description here, can but guess what the ball is doing
(TTT, Nov., 1966, 6). Dick also points out, so important are the serves, that in a mid-60s meet
between Japan and China (with Chinas serves technically legal but of devilish ingenuity) more
than 80% of the points were determined before the fifth ball.
Gradually, the U.S. began to get with it a little. Canadas EXPO 67 and Geza Gazdags
67-69 New York City Invitationals brought a number of visiting world-class players to North
America (the most exciting thing that has happened to table tennis in this country, said former
National Champion Bobby Gusikoff). Also of great importance was the coming of the world-class
South Korean Dal-Joon Lee to settle in Ohio then make himself an entertaining showman for the
Sport by playing and coaching in various parts of the country. Of importance, too, were the clinics
offered in several parts of the U.S. by the famous Japanese player/coach Ichiro Ogimura.
Dell Sweeris, one of the decades two most homegrown visionary player/coaches (Jack
Howard was the other), urged prize money tournaments, even tried to start a Professional
Association. And perhaps aficionados could at least be a little encouraged by the slow
beginnings of play-for-pay events around the country. The availability of Detroits huge Cobo
Hall for major tournaments and, following Graham Steenhovens lead, a Michigan TTA to run
them, was a boon to the Sportthe seemingly unlimited number of tables and events allowing
14

more and more players to become interested in tournament play, especially with the prospect of
Howard instituting a nation-wide computerized system to rate them.
By the time the decade drew to an end, the USTTA had set up an International Squad
from which a U.S. Team would be sent both to the 1969 Munich and 1971 Nagoya Worlds.
And then of course there would follow the U.S. Oddity, or Odyssey, of Ping-Pong
Diplomacywhich I intend to cover separately in Volume V.
SELECTED NOTES.
*I hasten to point out, however, that this same Treasurer, Herb Schindler, Jr., who I think
wrong-headed in urging isolationism, was also right-headed in the following way:
I propose that winners of an event such as the U.S. Open be given from $500 to
$750.00, and the runner-up and semi-finalists lesser amounts.
Similar procedures could be followed for 3-Star tournaments.
To the best of my knowledge, no sport has ever been
successful in the United States without financial gain to the
participants. This probably would automatically give us very
badly needed free publicity. Classes other than men could also
be included in the above plan. Our Junior development
program certainly could use more funds. It is my belief that all
of this could be accomplished at no increase in our overall
expenditures and with real benefits to our game (9).
Schindlers unique suggestion of offering considerable prize
money to winners of the U.S. Open and other major tournaments
TTT, Mar., 1964, 14
which no one took very seriously at the timewas subject to the
Herb Schindler, Jr.
same argument he himself had raised against sending U.S. Teams
abroad. Only a relative few (professionals, you might say) would benefit. Although he didnt specify
where this prize money was going to come from, he was thinking correctly. Money talks, so gives
incentives to our players and at the same time makes the Sport more important in the U.S.a view
akin to Bobby Gusikoffs that overseas players should not be invited to the U.S. Open because our
Nationals should be won by an American player. Ideally, but impossibly, won by a native-born
iconic figurethe Bobby Fischer of the Table Tennis World.
Though Schindler and others couldnt clearly foresee it, the prize money, when it
happens, will open up the Game, increase the prestige of the Open, bring foreign players to
our shores, make our officials see anew the necessity for International play, andwith just one
U.S. native-born player, Eric Boggan, winning that Open from 1974 onwill lead to
Gusikoffs American Champion via an annual U.S. Closed. Thus, both players and spectators
will have benefited from the expansion.

15

Chapter One
1962: Newly Elected President Kilpatrick and His E.C.Their Plans. 1962: Summer
Play. 1962: U.S. Impressive at Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) 62-63 Season Opener.
Having just been elected 1962-64 USTTA President (over George Koehnke and
Lillian Guyer), Norman Kilpatrick prepared, with a whirlwind of energy and purpose, an
agenda that included over 70 items for his initial E.C. Meeting, held June 16-17 at the
Holiday Inn in College Park, Maryland. E.C. members along with Kilpatrick who attended
were: 1958-62 USTTA President Rufford Harrison, now continuing in office as elected
Recording Secretary (hes also Equipment Chair); incumbent Treasurer Mona Buell; and (as
half the officers were elected for their two-year terms every other year) incumbent VicePresidents Sol Schiff, Bob Chaimson, and Pauline Somael, the Womens Chair.
Not attending the Meeting were: just elected Executive Vice-President Chuck
Burns, and the new Vice-President Milt Forrest, who in the recent election had split votes
(141-141) with USTTA Courts, Clubs, & League Chair Richard Feuerstein. (And people
say their vote doesnt matter?). This tie was broken when those E.C. members attending
the U.S. Open Meeting at the Nationals chose Forrest, who rewarded them by
immediately retiring (due to the press of personal affairs). Appointed in his place was
not Feuerstein, but former Executive Vice President and current Coaching Chair Si
Wasserman who, after a seemingly disinterested one-paragraph Campaign Statement, had
finished runner-up in the balloting to Burns. Bill Cross, not Si, was named Selection
Chair.
Completing the E.C. officers for the1962-63 season (June 1-May 31) was Junior
Development Committee Chair, attendee Herman Prescott who, by a vote of the E.C.
members at this Meeting, was named to the appointed (not elected) position of Executive
Secretary.
Also attending the Meeting were Exhibition Committee Chair Dick Evans;
Photography Chair Mal Anderson (currently with the Army, and conveniently based at
Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland); Rules Committee Chair Al Gill (whod later be replaced by
Cyril Lederman); Tournament Committee Chair Art Goldblatt; Percy Rochester, leader of the
Bayonne, N.J. Junior and Police Athletic League T.T. Club; and Dr. Bob Lynn, DCTTA
President.
Replacing Kilpatrick as Editor of Topics was Gerald Jerry Schuster (V-P of the St.
Charles, MO V.F.W. Club); hed stay with the job only one season, during which thered be an
appalling dearth of tournament results in the magazine. Cyril Lederman headed the Referees
and Umpires Committee. Intercollegiate Chair went toWalt Stephens, Secretary of the
Rochester, N.Y. Genesee Valley Club. The new USTTA Historian was Leah Neuberger, about
to serve in that position for decades; she replaced ailing octogenarian Peter Roberts. Both
Roberts and former V-P Lillian Guyer (rare for a woman to be on the E.C.) would receive
Awards for their long years of service to the Association.
Other Committee Chairs for the 1962-63 season were: Disciplinary: Elmer Cinnater;
Education: Chuck Burns; Legal: Forrest Barr; Membership (after Chaimson had resigned):
Fred Danner (whod resign and be replaced by Fran Delaney); Nominating: Marcelino
Monasterial; Public Relations: George Sinclair; Referees and Umpires: Cyril Lederman; Table
Tennis Week: Milt Forrest; and Trophy: Si Ratner.
16

Decisions implemented, sometimes involving changes that

Kilpatrick had urged prior to his election, were the preoccupations
of the weekend (as may be seen from Recording Secretary Rufford
Harrisons Minutes).
(1) A new Internal Promotion Committee, headed by
Michigan TTA President Graham Steenhoven, was specifically
charged with administering a program of granting expense
money [funded at $350] to the winners of tournaments in one
region, if they agree to attend tournaments in another region. (In
the case of juniors, this partial expense [funded at $150] will be to
attend tourneys in another part of the same region.)
(2) Regional Directors were re-established, so as to make 5
regions in all: Pacific (Director: Milla Boczar), Central (Director:
Michael Engle), Mid-West (Director: Ken Kleffman, whod later
be replaced by John Spencer), Southern (Carl Golden), and
Eastern (Bob Lynn). The duties of these Directors are:
[to be] in charge of sanctioning all tournaments in their
respective areas, except the Nationals and the National Team
Photo by Mal Anderson
Championships. In addition they are responsible for arranging team
Milla Boczar
matches in their regions, and for contacting non-affiliated groups
about the USTTA. Finally, they are in charge of promotion in general within their
regions, and have a free hand to make exceptions and/or changes in USTTA
regulations, that might be needed to encourage USTTA activity in a certain situation
(within limits, naturally).
(3) Recognition of all affiliates, except clubs and leagues, will be suspended for one
year. The reason? State groups, by and large, were not seeming to be very effective, or
representative. Some didnt even have a single club affiliated with the USTTA. In the next
year, if a cluster of clubs in an area affiliate and form a strong base, and this happens in various
states, then State groups may again be recognized. Meanwhile, since clubs will now have their
tournaments sanctioned by the Regional Director, no club can say that a State group is
restricting them in development. (During this season of suspension, the number of individual
members stayed about the same, and the following year the USTTA would go back to
recognizing affiliates.)
For the 1961-62 season Feuerstein reported that there were 30 affiliated clubs and
leaguesthats the largest number of affiliates for any one season. Total memberships were
1,108: Multiple memberships, 44; Senior [Adult] Memberships, 188; Junior Memberships,
178; Club Memberships, 629; League Memberships, 69. This season, League memberships
(it still had been only $.25 a year to play in just Closed tourneys) have been abolished, with
members of affiliating leagues given cards allowing them the same advantages of club
members. [A Club still pays a flat sum of $10 and all its members (limit: 50, or, later, 40) are
eligible to play in Closed tourneys].
(4) Of course rules were always discussed, sometimes amended. Earlier it was decided
that the Expedite Rule could be called any time it seems needed, but by the Tournament
Referee not the umpire at the table. This was later amendedso that, though the Rule would
17

automatically be put in after 15 minutes of play in any game, thereafter to be in force

throughout the match, neither the umpire nor Referee would have the discretionary power to
call it before 15 minutes of play. However, whenever both players wanted the Rule in, it would
go into effect immediately. Also, injury time-outs were to be questioned and perhaps not
allowed. Your arms cramping from too much looping or lobbing? Too badyou have to
continue or default.
(5) In close votes, it was decided that there will not be separate foreign seedings at
tournaments, and that the Bat Rule will not be rescinded or changed.
(6) The USTTA will sanction a class of professional table tennis tournaments. Chuck
Burnss proposal at the July, 1963 E.C. will clarify whats meant: that an eight man round
robin event be added to an open tournament, with a fairly high entry fee and cash prize to the
winner and runner-up. This wasnt made mandatory, but there was no objection to it. No one
to promote it either.
Likely, too, Kilpatrick would want U.S. cities to
play host to a group of players such as will be seen in the
Sept. 2-7, 1962 World Professional Championships in
Australiaa huge success publicity wise. Top 5 results
there? Winner: Chou Lin Chen (Nationalist China).
Runner-up: Norikazu Fujii (Japan). 3rd: Richard Bergmann
(England). 4th: Mai Van Hoa (South Vietnam). And
(ready?) 5th: Lenny Cooperman (USA). Pay Lenny and
hell play? Or maybe, Dont pay Lenny and hell play?
(Either way, on returning home, hes the winner at both
the Santa Barbara and San Diego Opens.)
Bergmanns suspension for playing with the outlawed
Fujii has been lifted, and he and Chou Lin Chen, formerly
World #11 and now billed as The Worlds Fastest Attacker,
and Chinas No. 1 Table Tennis Star, are coming to the
U.S. to tour with the Harlem Globetrotters. Bergmann says
the English TTA is too strict, wants always to know who hes
TTT, Nov. 1962, 11
touring with, where hes planning on going, so he and Chou
Chou Lin Chen
are going to join the USTTA.
U.S. Coach Jack Carr will watch them play a Dec. 20th, 1962 exhibition in Dover,
Delaware and have the following observations to make:
Bergmanns defense was much closer to the table and has much more chop,
made to bounce lower, than Ive seen him produce before.His forehand drive no
longer has the high elbow and crooked wrist, and is harder and used more for counterdriving now.
[Penholder] Chou Li Chen did not use any loop drives, although he used a
lob return when Bergmann rushed in to drive his drop shot.[In addition to wristy
pushes, and a marvelous blocking game that rivals Bergmanns, Chous] forehand
drive was amazing, with considerable wrist and always a closed racket. His racket
seldom if ever, finished above his head.The tremendous speed he imparted to the ball
made it take more of an arc over the net than I have ever seen on hard hit low balls
(TTT, Feb, 1963, 9-10).
18

(7) The Exhibition Committee will be allotted money to cover the travel expenses of
USTTA Instructional Card holders [no fee for the Card] when they play promotional
exhibitions for groups requesting same. The Exhibition Committee was given the o.k. to
allow groups to make their own arrangements with regard to our professional Exhibition
Card holders, for which the players are paid by the hosts, in exchange for a 10% commission
on the players fees.
(8) USTTA memberships now begin with the calendar year (Jan. 1) so as to
encourage renewals. Membership Chair Fred Danners best argument for this change is that
Renewals will be intensified in January and February when local organizations have the most
activities and tournaments in progress and the most players at the clubs. It will seem more
worthwhile for people to join. Fred says that though people might be tempted to join around
Nationals time, the psychology is wrong: the seasons coming to an end, and they may rightly
think they wont see a Topics until next fall.
Junior memberships will be raised to $1.00 (no more than the yearly subscription
cost of Topics) butso that the kids can grasp more whats going on in the Associationwill
include a regular Topics subscription, hopefully with a special page in the magazine written by,
or at least for, Junior members. (That special page never happened.) Senior (Adult) renewals
will be $2.00 annually. The three-year Multiple Membership will cost $5. A Life Membership is
available for $25 and guarantees Topics for at least 15 years. No memberships will be sold
without the magazine.
(9) Color of the rubber on the racket? Has to be dark enough, if questioned, to satisfy
Equipment Chair Rufford Harrison. Yellow rubber is definitely not to be allowed. Also, the
rackets rubber must be the same color on both sides of a shake-hands racket. This directive,
in years to come, will present problems when the rubber on one side is radically different from
the rubber on the other, and the player flips or twiddles.
(10) Regarding the dress rule, ANY DARK SOLID COLOR is fine. We are mainly
after a neat appearance.
(11) In all doubles play, the order of receiving MUST BE CHANGED at the start of
each game, and at 10 points in the final game of a series. To get a National Ranking, doubles
pairs must play in at least three Open events.
(12) The USTTA will consider sending a Team to the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel
(if private funds can be obtained). The Association will definitely send a Team to the 1963
World Championships in Czechoslovakia. A minimum of 3 men and 2 women was approved,
but we hope we can take 5 and 3. It was agreed to send the best players available. Players
to be considered for the U.S. World Team must have earned their participation pointsa
needed 13 for those whove been on a World Team before; 9 otherwiseeither between June
1, 1961 and May 31, 1962, or between June 1, 1962 and December 31, 1962.
Tournaments are classified anywhere from 1 to 4 stars; star-points are awarded according
to the importance of the tournament. A one-star gives the participant 1 point; a 4-star
Nationals 4 points.
(13) All Canadian TTA Open events will now count as regular two star tourneys,
while the Canadian Open (Canadian National Exhibition tournament) will count as a three
star tournamentfor rankings, world team consideration, etc. Its o.k. for Topics to
continue to have a Canadian page and for Canada to think of Topics as their official magazine,
but its suggested that all CTTA members [be] obligated to subscribe to it as part of their
CTTA membership fee. Expect that to happen?
19

(14) All American tournaments that are Opens MUST hold Mens Novice Singles and
Womens Novice Singles. The USTTA definition of a NOVICE is: one who has never won an
Open Novice Singles event, never has been ranked in mens or womens singles, or has held a
national title in mens or womens divisions, never has been a member of a team to the
National Team Championships, never has been a finalist in mens or womens singles in an
open tourney, or the winner of a state closed championship in mens or womens singles.
And to show, as with everything else, Kilpatrick means business, the Oct., 1962 Topics (pages
20-21), thanks to research by Leah Neuberger, lists 167 past Novice winners (alphabetized,
dating back to 1940) and the specific tournament and when it was held at which they won,
some having scored a first in two, one even in three, Novice events.
(15) Also, any sanctioned tournament MAY have a Class A division for men, for
women, or open to both. To play in Class A, a player must not be seeded in the regular
mens singles (or womens singles), and may not be placed in the mens singles due to his
ability, and can not currently hold a national ranking in mens singles. However, a player in
one tourney might be eligible for Class A, but in a weaker one not be eligible due to
seeding. One can win a Class A as many times as possible.
Kilpatrick, in seeking to bring harmony to an Association he wants to see flourish, is
liberal but not loose. He is admirably clear here at the outset of his Administration as to what
the rules are now regarding new matters, or those that might heretofore have been
controversial. He and his E.C. seem to have laid it all out so as to have a productive season,
and likely after that another.
Schiff, who has a history of being miffed to action over this or
that, would have liked it that his friend Howie Ornstein (at Sols
suggestion?) was named Capt. of the U.S. Team to Canada; and he
would have been pleased that when the Ranking Committee couldnt
decide whether he or Marty Doss should be the 4th man on the U.S.
Team to the CNE International Matches, it fell to his fellow E.C.ers
sitting round him to choose, and they chose Sol.
However, Schiff may not have liked several things that
happened at the Meeting. One, that when Kilpatrick suggested the
appointment of a special representative to the Worlds Fair (N.Y.)
Cttee (this will involve a failed attempt to get teams here for a 19641964 U.S. Open Program
65 Worlds Fair World Championship)* and mentioned Johnny
Sol Schiff
Somael, Sol said that he and Mitchell Silbert had had a conversation
with a member of that cttee., and suggested Silberts comments be solicited. But Somael was
then and there chosen to assume the negotiations.
Two, when the names of Somael and Schiff were put forward as possible candidates for the
position of Captain of the 1963 U.S. World Team, Kilpatrick said that he would think of others
who might be available, and submit the names of several for a vote. (Later, Kilpatrick was against
Schiff as Captain, wanted Prescott, but this was one time he didnt get his way.)
And, three, when Harrison proposed that a U.S. Delegate be selected to attend the
1963 ITTF Congress, and Schiff suggested Harrison, Kilpatrick objected. It was then decided
that Kilpatrick would submit to the Committee within six weeks names from which both the
delegate and the team captain shall be chosen; that the voting be open; and that both positions
be selected by a majority, there being a second voting if necessary. (Later, Bob Chaimson will
be named Delegate.)
20

I must add that, though, as we saw in Vol. III, Sol had had an intense run-in with
Monasterial, at this Meeting he seconded the successful appointment (with one objection) of
Marcy as Nominating Chair. Also, these summer of 62 Minutes do not in any way suggest
that Sol was an obstructionist force to Kilpatricks plans. It will be apparent to readers later
why I raise the thought that all might not be as harmonious as it seems.
Summer Tournaments
Prior to the Easterners new seasons kick-off tournament, the CNE in Toronto,
summer action was sketchily reported in various parts of the country. A Providence, R.I. Club
team (Dick Evans, Irv Levine, Herv Lupien, Ed Raky) hosted a Springfield, MA Club team
(Lem Kuusk, Lyn Smith, Ralph Naylor, and Lou Texiera) and defeated them in round-robin
matches 11-5. (The Providence B Team also won13-3.) Emboldened by such success,
Providence, active with Tuesday night league play and a Friday night handicap tournament,
took on the Waltham Club and beat them toowith Les Verdi scoring notable wins over Frank
Dwelly and Benny Hull.
To help support the USTTAs Internal
Promotion program, Representatives-At-Large who
do much travel into non-affiliated areas were
appointed by the E.C. to spread the USTTA gospel.
They were empowered to speak for the USTTA in
connection with any dispute that might arise at a
tournament at which they may be present. One of
these reps was Bobby Fields. But at the Washington,
D.C. Summer Open, could there have been any dispute
when in the semis Bobby eliminated red-faced Tibor
Hazi, or when in the final he came from two games
down to knock off his brother-in-law Marty Doss?
Womens winner was Pauline Somael over Donna
Chaimson. Both in Womens Novice and Womens
Consolation, Brooke Williams, having moved into the
D.C. area from Santa Barbara, CA, was too good for
Ramona Kilpatrick, Normans wife. At the moment
Photo by Mal Anderson
Brooke was attending Georgetown University, but
Brooke Williams
shed later complete her undergrad work at the
University of California back in Santa Barbara,
majoring in History and Political Science.
At this summers first Greenville, N.C. Open, Norm Kilpatrick was the Champ over his
winning Doubles partner, Cairo, Egypts Zak Haleem, a Business Administration student at
Howard University and also a part-time worker in the Washington, D.C. Libyan Embassy
Passport Department. Bowie Martin, President of the Greenville Club, took the Class A
Singles from Nelson Tugwell. Both Martin and Tugwell are finishing their senior year at East
Carolina College in Greenville, and, along with Kilpatrick, have helped to make the College
Union there a hotbed of table tennis.
Inter-club Matches were held between New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, AL, and
Pensacola, FL. New Orleans, led by Ed Barrios and Reggie Barrus (with 12-0 records), and
Baton Rouge, led by Meredith Bogan (9-3) finished in a tie, which had to be called a draw
21

because there wasnt time for a play-off. Others with

strong 9-3 records were Pensacolas Dave Dickson II and
Mobiles V-P Lansing Steed.
At the National Guard Armory in Amarillo, TX, the Fort
Worth team of Harry Liedtke, Louie Lancer, John Rangel,
Larry Ferstenfeld and R.W. Kirkland won the summers
Southwestern Cities tournament over teams from (2nd)
Oklahoma City; (3rd) Phoenix; (4th) Denver; and (5th)
Amarillo. Oklahoma Citys Joe Sokoloff won the A
Singles, Lancer the Bs, Rangel the Cs, and Denvers
John Jayner the Ds. A Doubles winners were Liedtke/
Lancer; B Doubles winners, Jayner/Cecil Woodworth.
As a Newsletter written by Leo Bernat and Charlie
Disney detailing the early history of play in Minnesota tells
us, there was a new player coming to the fore in the
Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Immigrant Henry Klass, a
short, muscular, master defense player who back in the
Dave Dickson, II
March Northern Open had won both the Singles and
Doubles, and had later gotten to the final of the May Minnesota Open before understandably being
beaten by Danny Vegh. Mabel Smith didnt go south eithercoolly took both tourneys. One of the
players in the thick of the action was Chris Faye, purveyor of spins, loops, and disconcerting other
shots. Among the tournament regulars were Ron Nordby, Jerry Knutsen, and Gordon McDowell
(who at age 10 had given exhibitions with Coleman Clark).
Another summer, another Harry Lund victory in Coloradothis time over Senior
Champ LeRoy Land, Treasurer of the Oklahoma City Y Club. Denvers Mary White was the
Womens and (with Cecil Woodworth) the Mixed winner. Richard Rhoad (an Ohioan in the
Service and being moved about?) took the Class AA. Larry Kesler from Oklahomas Tinker
Air Force Base ran through a number of competitorsscored a 1st in Class A over Salt Lake
Citys Herald Hammond, and a 1st in Novice Doubles (with John Guarney). Ralph Bender,
President of the host Boulder Club, paired with Novice winner Lee Lonnquist to take the A
Doubles, and with Mens Consolation winner Azmy Ibrahim to come a very respectable 2nd in
Mens Doubles.

CNE Princes Gates

Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)

At the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 CNE International Matches at
Toronto, U.S. Team Captain Howard Ornstein (Howie
and each of his players received $25 from the USTTA
towards expenses) saw all three of his teamsMens,
Womens, and Juniorscome through overwhelmingly
against Canada. No problem in the 6-0 Mens win
though Bobby Fields 15, 23, 12 almost fell to Howie
Grossman. Bobbys teammatesErwin Klein, Bernie
Bukiet, and Sol Schiffdidnt lose even a game to
their opponentsrespectively Modris Zulps, Guy
Germain, and Quebec TT Federation Executive V-P
Nick Gadanyi.
22

In the Womens, Pauline Somael escaped former Irish Champion Joy Owens of Vancouver,
deuce in the 3rd, and Barbara Kaminsky, after winning the 1st at deuce, also defeated Joy in 3. Only
in the Doubles did Owens, teamed with Denise Hunnius, get some measure of revengekeeping
Canada from being blitzed by downing Kaminsky/Lona Rubenstein.
Although the U.S. agreed to allow Canadian Juniors to have an extra year of eligibility
(CTTA President Hunnius was lamenting that membership and participation had declined
solely because there had been no replacement of older players by juniors), Yat Chuen Larry
Lee and Guy Germain really couldnt make a match of it against U.S. U-15 Champ Ralph
Childs and U.S. U-17 Champ Danny Pecora.
First time Canadian Womens Closed winner was
Velta Adminisin the semis over 1960 Champ Owens; in
the final over 4-time Champ Jenny Marinko. Mens Closed
winner (his 7th in the last 8 years) was Max Marinko, now
42 years old, over Grossman (whod reportedly been
sharpening his game in England). After Maxs
imprisonment in Czechoslovakia for his pro-democracy
views, his release and rapid departure for Austria and then
Canada, do you think hell risk going back to play at the
upcoming Prague Worlds? Not a chance.
For a while, it wasnt clear that cash-strapped
Canada could send a Team to Prague, but the federal
government provided 50% travel assistance for
CTTA players and officials. After this CNE tournament,
the Association named Denise Hunnius and Velta
Adminis for the Womens Team, and Eddy Schultz,
1962 Canadian Closed Champion
Claude Landry, Howie Grossman, and Guy Germain for
Velta Adminis
the Mens Team. At the ITTF Congress Meeting in
Prague, CTTA President John Hunnius would succeed former USTTA President and World Team
Captain Elmer Cinnater as ITTF Vice-President for North Americaitd be the first time a
Canadian ever held any Executive ITTF post.
Since the U.S. World Team had to be
selected by Dec. 31, wins at this tournament
were of crucial importance. The Fairgrounds
Small Judging Ring near the animal stalls was
far from the best venue, but though
complaints would continue every year (for
example, about the direct sunlight coming into
the courts), the Canadians pleaded, What can
we do? The CNE sponsors the whole event.
Strangely, in retrospect, the place had a kind
of anti-aromatic charm to it.
In the Mens Open, Klein, on getting
by youth, 14-year-old Pete Childs in 5,
then age, 43-year-old Bukiet in 5, had little
trouble in the final with Marinkos penhold
TTT, Nov. 1962, 3
pushiness. Best earlier matches were
1962 CNE Mens Champion Erwin Klein
23

Richard Hickss upset wins18 in the 5th over Harry Hirschkowitz, and 19 in the 5th over
Defending Champion Fields (whod been taken to 5 by former Irish star Pete Kelly). Losers,
at least early round losers, like future U.S. World Team member Errol Resek, a recent arrival
from the Dominican Republic, were requested to please umpire a match. Dont try and sneak
out, wrote Tournament Chair Gord Freeman in his Welcome. Pinkertons Guards are at all
the exits. I didnt see any guard, someone said. Hirschkowitz/Marty Doss took the Mens
Doubles in 5 from Klein/Chuck Burns whod slipped by Norby Van de Walle/Irv Wasserman
19 in the 5th. Burns won the Seniorsover Marinko in the semis, Schiff in the final.
In the Juniors, Pecora beat Childs, 3-0. Pete, however, took the Boys with a
contested semis over Doug Burns and an easier final over Herman Johnson who, winning
a pivotal 26-24 3rd game, had advanced in 5 over Mike Dorsey. Helen Sabaliauskas was best
in Junior Miss over Connie Stace, 19 in the 4th. Girls went to Violetta Nesukaitis, future
Canadian super-star.
Womens Doubles winners were Somael and
Neuberger (Leah had been upset in the Singles by
underrated Canada #5 Marinko) over Hunnius and
Owens, conquerors of Kaminsky/ Rubenstein in 5.
Barbara, however, did win the Mixed with Bukiet from
Donna Chaimson and Lenny Cooperman (Lenny must
like Donna because I cant find a trace of him in any
other event). In the semis, Barbara/Bernie beat the
twosome of Pauline Somael/Dennis Hickerson, and
Donna/Lenny downed Lona/Erwin in 5.
In the Womens Open, there were some late-round
bloody battles. Barbara Kaminsky made the finals via a 5gamer over Pauline Somael, and so did Lona Rubenstein
with a fierce 19, 19, -23, 21, 13 win over Jenny Marinko.
Photo by Mal Anderson

Bob takes
Barbaras losing
hard. Here, gone
to drink himself,
he thinks hes
still holding a
glass?

1962 CNE Champion Lona Rubenstein

Then a big turn-around match: Lona came from

16, -20 20, 12, 16 down to take the
Championship. Which prompted Bob, Barbaras
husband of a couple of months, to say later, After
that match was the only time I ever saw Barbara
really drunk. How much later did Bob, who I
must say didnt look too sober himself, say that?
Alright, take a bow anyway, Barbara40 years
later.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a Feb. 14, 1961 letter to Presidents
of U.S. National Sports Organizations,
including USTTA President Rufford Harrison,
Edward P. F. Eagan, Chairman, People-to24

People Sports Committee and

Sports Consultant for the New
York Worlds Fair 1964-65
Corporation, had asked if it
were possible, whatever the
sport, to run a World
Championship in conjunction
with the Fair. Rufford then
wrote to ITTF Secretary Roy
Evans just before the 61
Peking Worlds, said he wanted
to put in a provisional bid for
the Worlds in May, 1965, but
would have to have two
assurances(1) that the U.S.
State department would invite
every country including Red
China, and (2) that monies
would come from somewhere to
finance the tournament.
TTT, Dec. 1962, 7
Bob & Barbara Kaminsky on their wedding day (Summer, 1962)
Evans wrote back that
though Australia had a bid in for
65, hed await U.S. developments, which Rufford felt wouldnt be conclusive until 1963. (As it
turned out, the Australians were denied the Worlds because their government wouldnt accept
North Vietnams entry, and Yugoslavia was awarded the tournament.) The idea of a U.S. World
Championship then changed to the more feasible one of an International Open to be held in 64 or
65 at the Worlds Fair, and Rufford dutifully sent out letters, feelers, to various ITTF membercountries, perhaps all 80 of them, asking if they could send a team and, if so, what financing theyd
require, and also, given the 65 Yugoslav Worlds, when it would best suit them to comeautumn
of 64 seemed best. But of course country after country required financial aid that wasnt
forthcoming, and so no such International Open was held. Its amazing to me now, and perhaps to
Rufford, how much time and energy he spent on this project that seemed doomed from the
beginning.

25

Chapter Two
1962: Mens USOTCs (U.S. Open Team Championships)Players Their Own Worst
Enemy. 1962: Womens USOTCs. 1962: Hicks Pulls Upsets To Win Central Open. 1962:
Easterns. 1962: U.S. Mens Team Picked for Prague. 1962: Neuberger Again Denied a Place
on U.S. Team; Kilpatricks Fragile Idealism.
Its practically a given that any U.S. World Team aspirant who hopes to be selected for
Swaythling or Corbillon Cup play has to compete at the U. S. Open Team Championships. The
Mens USOTCs was held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23-24, at Viking Hall, the new and
elegant Upsala College Gymnasium in East Orange, N.J. Four teams were automatically
represented: last years winner (thats N.Y.); last years runner-up (thats Detroit); the host
team (thats New Jersey), and Canada. Since USTTA Tournament Chair Art Goldblatt had
written, Actual domicile of players will govern eligibility, this years Detroit likely could not
be Capt. Chuck Burnss Detroit of last yearHoushang Bozorgzadeh, Marty Doss, and
Norby Van de Walle, all players of course who lived nowhere near Detroit. Problem is: if
players who have a chance to be selected for U.S. World Cup play are geographically isolated,
havent an NTC team to tryout for, accommodations need be made for them.
There were Topics articles on only two of the entered teams earlier Tryouts. New
York play produced the following 5-man Team: (1) Bukiet, 6-0; (2-3) Doss, 4-2; (2-3)
Gusikoff. 4-2; (4-5) Jerry Kruskie, 3-3; (4-5) and Irv Wasserman, 3-3.
New England held their 14-man round robin Tryouts at the Providence Clubwith the
4-man Team decided as follows: (1) MIT Club President Alan Bell, the current New England
Closed Champ, 12-1; (2) Ben Hull, 12-1; (3) Frank Dwelly, 11-2; and (4) Lem Kuusk, New
England Closed runner-up, 10-3.
At Upsala, 11 USOTC Mens teams played (no entry fee required) a complete round
robinwith #1 seed New York (10-0) defeating #2
seed Illinois (9-1) in the final, 5-3. Klein (14-1), still
attending Dental School at Northwestern, lost to Doss
(14-1) but got the better of Bukiet (13-2), and both
Erwin and Laszlo Varenyi (14-4) downed Gusikoff. The
Topics writer (Editor Schuster?) said that against Klein
Doss backhand was quick as a vipers tongue in
amazing whiplash counter-drives. He also praised
Pecora, but didnt cite his record or who he beat.
Another getting praise, but not for his playat
least not herewas Mal Anderson. Earlier hed passed
his written Umpire Exam (sample question: A returns
the ball, which passes above the lights, but without
touching them, before bouncing on Bs side of the
table; balls in play?). Now at this tournament he
passed his Oral exam (examiners were pleased at his
firmness in making decisions), and so became the first
USTTA qualified Umpire.
The 7th-seeded home team, New Jersey, finished
rd
Mal: First USTTA Qualified Umpire
3 with a 7-3 record. They were helped of course by
26

Bobby Fields (20-2, who played a losing though much applauded 3-game
match with Klein) but also by Elias Solomon whod only been in this
country for a matter of months. Originally from Calcutta, he was Indias
Junior Champ in 1955 and was coached by Barna when the Indian
Association hired Victor to come to India back in the 50s. In 1961 Solomon
and his partner won the Doubles at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. Hes said to
have a win in Singles or Doubles over Hungarys Josef Koczian, Mens runnerup in 52 at the Bombay Worlds.
His forte is a wonderful, crouching
defense. He uses unrelentingly hard
chop on the forehand, and retrieves
brilliantly. His fine record included
wins over Burns and Hicks (TTT,
Jan., 1963, 3).
Michigan and New England
TTT, May, 1963, 25
tied
for
4th5th with 6-4 records.
Elias Solomon
Canada was 6th, but Marinko, who
arrived late, won the Outstanding Player Award with
a 17-1 record, losing only to Klein.
Players Their Own Worst Enemy
From 1966 CNE Program
And now a word or two from the sponsoring
1962
USOTCs
Outstanding Player and
New Jersey Association President, Bill Cross. His
Canadian Closed Champion
heartfelt complaint, as he writes in a Letter to
Max Marinko
Topics, is really a plea. Hes distraught that the
players are strangling the potential progress of table tennis with their own bad conduct. Hear
the many objections he rightfully has about what befell him at the USOTCs as he tried to make the
event as enjoyable as possible for the players and to help the game by running this tournament with
no entry fees and no real hope of breaking even financially:
1.-When I attempt to effect the expedite rule in a match
under the direction of the chief referee, should I be sworn at by a
player and called an idiot?
2.-When the colleges custodian of the gymnasium tells me
that we are in danger of permanently losing use of the site unless
the players respect the repeated announcements being made
[please dont smoke here; please dont take drinks here], should I
simply shrug my shoulders and continue to work for the
erson
d
n
A
l
a
M
enjoyment of these players who are causing us to lose really great
Photo by
s
Bill Cros
facilities for our closed and open tournaments after years of
frustration in getting adequate facilities? Incidentally, the custodian, as
nice a guy as youll ever meet, was unsuccessful in repeated personal contacts with
players to abide with the simple rules which are necessary to protect the very expensive
floor that the college is so rightfully proud of.
3.-Should the players use profane language and openly argue with each other in
full view and hearing range of spectators?
27

4.-Should the players gamble on matches?

5.-Should I have to accept the assurances of players that they are U.S.T.T.A.
members, that they will not pay for a membership because they have a card at home?
6.-Should I have to stop matches and explain to players that white shorts, green
jackets, purple sweat pants with gold stripes, etc., etc. are illegal to play in?
7.-Should I have to persuade non-competing players to help support the game
by paying a small admission fee instead of making my people chase them into the
stands because they knowingly tried to sneak in?
8.-Should I be undisturbed when players are: late for the start of playing
sessions, fail to record results as requested, fail to return forms and balls to [the]
control desk as requested, and exhibit other methods of being uncooperative?
9.-Will the players never realize that neat appearance, prompt attendance,
exemplary conduct and cooperation with the officials would be to their advantage and
that continued disregard for these principles will retard the natural progress of the
game? (TTT, Mar., 1963, 8-9).
I personally sympathize with Bill, and yet wouldnt want everyone to be perfectly
accommodating. Id like some spontaneity, somebody here and there to lose his/her cool,
someone to get caught up in the passion of the moment, to do what theyre not supposed to.
And yet Id hope when a personal appeal to them is made, the reasonableness of the request
would be honored. Its something of a paradox that sporting events, which demand audience
involvement, maybe ought not to be held in the nicest of venues, the most respectable, if
antiseptic, of places.
Anyway, Bill sure had a mountain of problems, and if I were there Id have wanted to
help him, while not being as sharp with the offenders, at least not initially, as he would have
me.

Pauline Somael. (At Womens USOTCs, dreams died)

28

Womens USOTCs
As for the Chicago Womens USOTCs (played at the Net and Paddle
Club), the only Tryout reported to Topics was the powerhouse New York
one that produced the team of (1) Bernice Chotras, 7-0; (2) Neuberger, 6-1;
(3) and Rubenstein (5-2).
The New York team didnt go to Chicagoin fact,
only six teams entered, and, according to Pauline
Robinson, it was one of the most disappointing events
that I have ever attended. [Some participants, treated so
inhospitably, even insulted, were in tears.] I say it again,
and vehemently, that no top player should have to run and
play in a tournament at the same time (an allusion to
Millie Shahian, whom at Paulines urging, the E.C. sent a
Millie Shahian
letter of reprimand). In N.Y.s absence, the BaltimoreWashington trio of Kaminsky (12-3)Barbara Chaimson
Kaminskys husband Bob was an electrical engineer for Bendix Radio in
Baltimore, where the couple now livedRutelionis (12-3), and Donna
Chaimson (10-5) took the title. Second place (there was no Michigan or
Photo by
Mal Anderson;
Wisconsin team entered) went to a patched-together California team of
Connie Sweeris, Outstanding Player Award winner Connie Stace (12-3), Somael (11-4), Mona
1962 USOTCs Buell (1-8), and Grace Juska (1-15). Illinois, led by Millie Shahian (15-0), with
Outstanding
Donna Cerekas (9-6) who upset Kaminsky, and Pat Havlick (7-8) was 3rd.
Player
Central Open
Irritatingly, Topics didnt cover the 3-star Central Open, played Dec. 8-9 at the
Chicagoland T.T. Club in Maywood. But Richard Hicks, having started, or about to start, a
fabled streak as Indiana State Champion, won
the Mens in a 4-player round-robin final. Dick
began by upsetting Erwin Klein in 4, then
stopped Houshang Bozorgzadeh, 3-0, after the
former Iranian Champions tricky chop/block
close-to-the-table play proved straight-game
effective against past Illinois State Champion
Laszlo Varenyi. Hicks, wrote Norman
Kilpatrick for the English magazine Table
Tennis, is a strictly orthodox defensive player
who occasionally opens up with a hard
forehand attack, but is usually content to chop
and push. Lefty attacker Klein couldnt get
enough balls through Dick, and, aside from a
21-10 1st-game blast, neither could exHungarian Varenyi. Erwin then beat Houshang
in a 19-in-the-5th match that was both climactic
and anti-climactic.
Ive no other results, so, sorry, I cant
TTT, Dec. 1962, cover
give
you
the Womens winner.
Richard Hicks, 1962 Central Open Champion
29

Eastern Open
The 1962 Eastern Open was held, Dec. 15-16, at
the Southside Clubhouse, Providence, R.I. Boys Clubs,
with Dick Evans as Tournament Chair. Favorsthats
what the best players and everyone else were about to
receive at this tournament. Local star Irv Levine, who
owned the Gamma Leather Goods Corp., generously
offered to make a souvenir for one and all. He took
Dick into his cutting room and with Levines best
power machine operator they designed and made what
might well have been the first zippered, racket-shaped
table tennis case.
Detroiter A
tables were set up
for this
tournament, and
Olympia balls
used both
Photo by Mal Anderson
1962 Eastern Open Tournament Chair, distributed by Sol
Schiff. USTTA
Dick Evans
Junior
Development Chair Herman Prescott was at the
tournament with his Hampton Roads Boys Club players
(its said that 100 juniors use this Club). He was raising
money to help send a U.S. Team to the International
Junior Championships in Paris about the time of the
Prague Worldsand to this end was raffling off a
Brinktun table. Who do you think won it? Schiff, who
was then, or soon would be, the Brinktun distributor!
But he graciously donated it to the Committee for sale.
In a June, 1998 letter to me, Evans writes of a time
Irv Levine...at work
when Sol came through Providence on one of his New
England marketing junkets and picked up Dick to help him give an exhibition or two. They
went to New Bedford where
there was an enthusiastic (spelled crazy) group of Portuguese players who,
after the demise of the whaling industry, were now largely employed as firemen,
factory workers and bar owners. Sol and I played at the firehouse and bareach
unique in its playing conditions: at the firehouse, Sol hit balls around the brass sliding
pole while I retrieved sitting in [the] kitchen sink which was on the wall 4 ft. behind the
table end line!
The Club Madeira was even more exciting. The longer we stayed, the drunker,
louder and more hostile the Portuguese gotespecially when Sol made monkeys of
them with his finger-spin serves. We were lucky to get out of there without being gang
raped on the pool table! But it was fun and Sol always gave me some of his supplies
for playing his straight man.
30

At the last Easterns, Bukiet said he

was feeling all sticky and sweaty
Bernie Bukiet,
before he went out to play his
1962 Eastern Open
quarters, had been startled at
Champion
whatever he was doing to hear his
name being called out, and didnt
think he had the energy to go out
there and winbut then he beat
Miles and Fields before losing deuce
in the 4th to Klein. None of those
opponentsincluding Fields whod
won back-to-back Oct. tournaments
in Baltimore and D.C.*, beating
Bukiet in one of those finalswould
be playing here in Providence. Still,
Bernie had twice lost to Gusikoff in
fall tournaments, so come quarters
time in these Easterns his hand
might again have been shaking a
Photo by Earl H. Goodison
little, for he just eked out a 19 in the
5th win over Jerry Kruskie; then 20, 21, -19, 18, 17 didnt lose but could
have to Gusikoff; and, though
winning the Championship, might have fallen in 5 to Marty Doss, winner of the Nov. George
Ferris Memorial Open over Hal Green.
Only 23-year-old Doss of the four semifinalists had earlier been seriously challenged
by Alan Bell whod beaten Pecora with surprising ease. Benny Hull held 19, 19, 24, 16 tough
against Ahti Kaend, then went down 26-24 stubbornly in the
3rd against Gusikoff. Hal Green came back to win in 5 from
Paul Moorat but, despite taking the 1st 23-21 from Schiff,
could advance no further. Tibor Back, down 2-0, rallied to
eliminate Harry Hirschkowitz. And Johnny Somael
(something was bothering him? he hadnt been playing?),
down 2-0 and at 20-19 in the 3rd against Ron Hobson,
managed to move on to an 8ths match with Bukiet where
after getting 12 points in the 1st game, 4 in the 2nd, he
defaulted.
Bernie, paired with Gusikoff, also won a close, 19 in
rd
the 3 Doubles final against Doss-Hirschkowitz. Evans said
Bukiet told him Harry kicked Bernie as they rounded the
table, and, when Harry denied it, Bernie recited a litany of
abuse hed received from Harry at Gusikoffs club.
Funnybut poignant, said Dick. In the Seniors, John
Kilpatrick defeated his winning Senior Doubles partner Bill
Cross. Esquire winner was George Stenbar over Si Ratner.
Pecora took the Juniors from Garden State Jr. Champ Raouf 1962 Eastern Open Senior Champion
John Kilpatrick

31

Kamel, and teamed with D.C. Open Jr.

winner Lester Moskowitz for a win in
Doubles over, first, Jeff Swersky/Harvey
Gutman, 19 in the 3rd, then Richard
Jackson/Herm Johnson. Best in Boys
was George Ferris Memorial Boys
Champ Joey Klein over Mark Radom.
Gabriel Fedorko won the Midgets from
the 3rd-ranked Michigan Midget, Mike
Peterlein.
Womens Champ was Neuberger
over Chotras in 4. Leah and Bernice
paired to take the Womens Doubles
from Somael/Kaminsky. And Leah
completed the hat trick by partnering
Doss to a win over Pauline/Jerry
Kruskie whod been down 2-1 to
Kaminsky/Bukiet. Newly married
Priscilla Resek Hirschkowitz, playing
only a year now, and with startling wins
Photo by Earl H. Goodison
at the CNE over Adminis and Stace,
1962 Eastern Open Womens Champion Leah
took the Womens Novice from runner- Neuberger (R) and Singles Finalist Bernice Chotras (L)
up Audrey Hurrell and 3rd-place finisher
Gloria Amoury. Sixteen-year-old Donna Chaimson beat Bonnie Gutman in the Junior
Miss, but Bonnie was best in Girlsover 11-year-old future U.S. World Team member
Alice Green.
Leahs showing at this Easterns was a surprise to her, for, heretofore this season, after
beating Rubenstein in the final of the Oct. 13 Garden State Open, 18 in the 5th (Lona had won
two games 31-29 and 24-22), Leah had become more than a little discouraged. At the Oct. 20
Baltimore Open, though she beat Kaminsky with ease in the Womens double elimination
event, she didnt get 50 points total in the four games she played against Chotras. Then in the
following days double elimination Womens event at D.C., shed tailspinned down to Chotras
19, -12, -9 and was straight-game beaten by the undefeated winner Kaminsky. After which she
dropped matches to Bernice both at the N.Y. USOTC Tryouts and at the Nov. 11 George
Ferris Memorial Open.
As shed say later in a letter to Eastern Regional Director Bob Lynn, I had been
experimenting with sponge then back to rubber, etc. and really wasnt playing well and didnt
particularly care [about going to the Worlds]. But after completing the hat trick at the
Easterns, Leah suddenly decided she really wanted to go to Praguewhich made for
problems that Ill detail shortly.
U.S. Mens Team Picked For Prague Worlds
By New Years Day, 1963, the U.S. Team for the Prague Worlds had been decided.
The criterion was not whether someone was judged to be of worthy moral character, or
whether he/she had potential, though these controversial thoughts from yesteryear were still in
the minds of some Selection Committee members, but whether, simply, those selected,
32

providing they had the requisite participation points, were judged to be the best available players.
Still, a bit of a brouhaha occurred, led by Team Captain Schiff, when (along with Klein, Fields, and
Bukiet) Miles and Van de Walle, last years U.S. Open winner and runner-up, at Kilpatricks urging,
were, with a 4-1 vote, selected for the Team, though they hadnt played in the U.S. this first-half
season.
Dick and Norby had been doing USO Shows overseas, the latest of which was on
Dec. 21 in Cambodia, in the crowded stadium of the Cercle Sportif Khmer attended by,
among other notables, Lt. Col. Pok Sam An, Deputy Commissioner of Sport, and
Brigadier General Scherrer, the representative of his Excellency, the U.S. Ambassador in
Phnom Penh who enjoyed the performance and hoped for a repeat one. General Scherrer
sent Dick an English translation of an article by Hong Lay that appeared in French in the
Dec. 26 edition of La Depeche du Cambodge.
Lay described in general the Davis Cup style tieAmericans vs. the Cambodian
National Teamwhich the Americans won 4-1 (Norby lost a match). More interesting
was Lays description of the exhibition Dick and Norby put on in the middle of that tie:
Miles hit the ball with the edge of the racket and then with the end of the
handle. Besides his comical shots he held the ball in the air by blowing on it with
his head back. Sometimes he sent the ball over the net passing the racket under his
legs, or using his head, or foot. Then, while the audience roared with laughter
Miles exchanged his racket for another miniature racquet about 5 centimeters
wide, while Walle played with a giant racquet that was bigger than the sugar palm
leaf fan used by the Cambodian peasants. Sometimes he played without looking or
following the ball, talking to the referee, charming Miss Diana Seymour of
Sarasota, Florida [the future Diana Gusikoff, Bobbys wife]. This talented
demonstration was really interesting and the public was weak from laughter and
from applauding.
Meanwhile, a Grand Canyon rift between Kilpatrick and Schiff was in the making,
as might be seen from Kilpatricks Jan. 24, 1963 letter to Miles whom he clearly feels
doesnt think too highly of Sol either:
The USTTA Executive Committee elected Sol Schiff World Team Captain
(dont head for the ice pack until you finish this letter please) over Herman
Prescott [whom Kilpatrick had favored]. I feel the key votes for good old Sol were
votes of persons who felt they owed him something, which feeling he had spent a
lot of time encouraging. However, since then he has felt so confident that some of
his personal actions [such as?] have been made in public, and have allowed at least
two of his former supporters to come to see what he is really like. Unless one
crosses him this is not always easy to see. In any case, I am now prepared for any
actions he might take as team captain [such as?] but must talk with you personally
in order to explain more fully. However, even though I have the vote support I
need now, Schiff is on the Selection Committee as the Team Captain.
Kilpatrick, perhaps with some reservation, and Miles (whom Norman is trying to
be chummy with) both feel Dick should have been among the top three on the Team:
33

I tend [sic] to agree with you about yourself, Klein and Fields, and feel it is clear
that you and Norbert ended up where you did as a result of a prejudiced low rating by
Schiff, which was only partially offset by the high votes by the other committee members
[though at least one was worried that since Dick and Norby had been doing exhibitions they
might not be sharp for competitive play]. Believe me, it was an accident that you and
Norbert ended up in the places you did. I know about Schiff, by the way, because Bill
Cross, Selection Chairman, told me how Schiff took an hour to explain how you were no
good, and should not be considered by the committee. If he had gone with S.S., he would
never have told me about this, I am sure.I surely agree with your comment [which was
what?] about Mr. Sol Schiff. He is the only real negative force on the Executive
Committee and in the USTTA at the moment.
In a Jan. 14, 1963 letter to Miles, who was still abroad, Kilpatrick points out that
had he and Dick not had an oral agreement earlier that Dick and Norby would provide
their own transportation to and from Europe (fares the USTTA did not feel it could
afford), they would not have been selected as the #4th and #5th men on the Team. If now it
turned out that Miles and Van de Walle would not have the European Tour theyd earlier
thought they would, or hoped they would, he and the USTTA couldnt help that, and it
was out of the question that both Dick and Norbys fares to and from Europe could be
paid by the USTTA. As it stands now, he said, the USTTA will pay for the complete
expenses of 4, or the complete expenses for 3 and the European expenses for 2 more
[Dick and Norby].
Miles said later, in a Mar. 27th letter to Schiff and Harrison, that Dick and Norbys
agreement with Kilpatrick had been made this way:
Norbert agreed to provide his trans-Atlantic ticket [only one-wayfor he was
now to permanently leave the U.S. for his native Belgium] in return for all internal
travel and hospitality [European expenses for 1]. I agreed to provide my own
hospitality in Europe in return for all travel fares [including, presumably, internal
travel]since I knew that at least in Prague, it was the responsibility of the Czech
association under ITTF regulations to provide me with hospitality as a team member.
[Does that translate to complete expenses?]
Now, Dick said, Kilpatrick attempted to renegotiate these terms and
I flatly refused. His offer was unjust, deceitful, and morally culpable. I agreed
that I would not be a charge upon the USATT but I did not agree that if someone
bought me a meal or a beer I would send a check to the USTTA. In many cases, as you
will see, I will not even accept the hospitality offered by the local associations; at other
times protocol and expediency will require that I do. But in those cases, no matter how
far you stretch the interpretation, can this be an additional expense to the USTTA. In
cases where hospitality is provided for less than the number of men on the team, I will
be the one to pay my way as agreed.
I want to take this opportunity of thanking you both for your understanding
telephone conversations with me 2 days ago.

34

Neuberger Again Denied A Place on U.S. Team; Kilpatricks Fragile Idealism

After Leahs success at the Easterns, she knew she didnt have the needed 13 participation
points to be selected for the U.S. World Team, and of course probably now wished shed gone out
to Chicago for the USOTCs. Gusikoff agreed to run a 2-star tournament to help her get the points,
and the Monday after the Easterns Bobby called Eastern Regional Director Bob Lynn and asked
him to sanction it. Why? he said. Bobby told him some nonsense about wanting to participate in
more Eastern tournaments (there was no longer an NYTTA, and N.Y. hadnt held an Open all
season, which certainly hadnt helped Leahs cause), and then he told him the real reasonto which
Lynn responded, Barbara [Kaminsky] has enough points. That didnt sound rightas if he were
saying, Hey, too bad, but as DCTTA President I dont want to allow for the possibility that Leah
could replace Barbara on the Team. Perhaps, however, he meant, Hey, Barbara [who would indeed
be named to the Team] managed to get the participation points, Leah could have too. Anyway, Lynn
denied the sanction request, explaining later that since said tournament was less than two weeks off
there just wasnt time now to get entry blanks out for such a status event.
This argument seems shaky to me, for Lynn had been loose in giving conflicting area
tournament sanctions; Marianne Bessinger had been granted a sanction for her Westchester Closed
two days before the event (though perhaps in her case sanctioning was a last-minute thought); and
likely a New York City tournament would, even by word of mouth or a few well-placed phone calls
to area clubs, draw enough quality players to have 2-star statusunless of course these prospective
entries didnt like Leah enough that they wouldnt attend, for it was obvious that Bobby was going
to the bother of having the tournament to accommodate her.
But this didnt seem likely, for a number of players, including the soon-to-be selected
U.S. Team members Chotras and Rubenstein, and 1st Alternate Somael, as well as the
respected Selection Chair Bill Cross who, buttressed by some on his Selection Committee who
thought the necessary 13 points requirement unfair, would support Leahs appeal in a letter
to President Kilpatrick. Strange to be worried about status, for, as Leah would point out, an
earlier New York Closed, for which no points were given, had exactly the same N.Y. finalists
in both Mens and Womens Singles (notably Leah) as the Easterns which was worth 3 points.
Leah also pointed out that, though she didnt have enough points to be put on the U.S.
Team to the 62 CNE, they counted her participation in the Sept., 61 CNE, gave her 3 points
for thatbut then wouldnt allow her to count those 3 points towards the June 1, 1961-May
31, 1962 13 she needed to be eligible for the Worlds. Thats just illogical, said Leah, for it
suggested the CNE tournament was more important than the Worlds. Leah said she found out
at the Nov. Mens USOTCs that the Dec. 8-9 D.C. tournament had been cancelled (but would
she then, after her discouraging Oct./Nov. losses, have planned to go there anyway? I think
not). She also said she found out at the Easterns that the-end-of-Dec. tourney at Newport
News had also been canceled. So, two points short, what was she to do? Shed play in the
Bridgeport 2-star tourney on Jan. 6but that was one week after the deadline for
accumulating points, and President Kilpatrick was adamant in not counting that, and not
waiving the Point-Participation Rule.
Lynn probably did feel local pressure not to sanction the Gusikoff tournament. (Leah
said shed heard Chaimson, Barbara Kaminskys father, was against it.) But it seems to me that
(though Leah should have anticipated she might have a change of heart and been careful to get
the points) the final call was Kilpatricks, and that all things considered he should have given
Leah a waiver (with the proviso that shed have to pay her own way to Prague and would not
deprive the announced 3rd player either a position on the Team or her way paid). Norm said he
35

didnt want to set a precedent, or maybe hear a howl from current U.S. Champion Millie Shahian,
also short on points (though perhaps not able to go to the Worlds)but there are often extenuating
circumstances, exceptions to rules, that one in charge, rightly or wrongly, always has to deal with.
Kilpatrick, in explaining his position in a Jan. 30, 1963 three-page, single-spaced letter to
Leah supporter Clair Gordon, was so upfront that he revealed a good deal of himself, what he was
thinking, how he was feeling about his office as he was midway through the first year of his term. Ill
quote the last third of his letter, beginning with his refutation of the rumors that different USTTA
officials were being prejudiced or unfair to Leah:
I know of only one member of our Executive Committee who has expressed
negative feelings toward Leah, and that person [who, do you think?] is currently supporting
her in this situation, for political motives in my opinion.
I have discovered a number of things from this
[controversy regarding whether Leah should be selected or
not] that have been of concern to me. One is that certain
persons seem to like to spread horror stories about certain
USTTA officials and their unfair actions and attitudes. I
think honest concerned persons such as yourself would find it
interesting to see if these persons are ones who do any
organizational work for table tennis, and/or might have
ulterior motives for wishing to smear certain USTTA
officials. Surely some questionable motives must be behind
Norman Kilpatrick
rumors such as Norman Kilpatrick rigged the draw at the
Eastern Open for Sol Schiff. (If you knew how Sol and I
disagree on many matters you will find that one a real joke.) Another one is Someone is
trying to get Donna Chaimson on the team. (Donna cannot go under any circumstances, I
have learned, because her mother will not allow it.)
Also, it seems that some persons have negative thinking habits that are a part of
their personalities, possibly, and cannot be bothered to think and see if their
understanding of a situation is the only possible one. They cannot seem to see that
some persons honestly will not agree with their opinions, without any ulterior motives
being responsible for such disagreement. These persons seem to find it easier to say
something negative about a person, rather than consider that there just might be other
ways to look at a situation, especially for an official responsible to a nation-wide
membership of players, than their own.
Norman seems to have lost sight of Claire Gordon and is now, with a rather thin skin,
venting his frustrations. He concludes:
The worst thing about all of this, I feel now, and the point where I believe
definite unfairness exists, is the propaganda campaign a few have waged [to try] to
force the Executive Committee of the USTTA to place Leah Neuberger on the team,
and force off the team a good player who has fulfilled, in good faith, all the
requirements for consideration by the Selection Committee. This pressure campaign
has seen [1] the USTTA Selection Chairman charge that the only reason we would not
place Leah on the team was because certain of us were prejudiced against her, [2] a
36

newspaper article printed during our consideration of this matter state that Leah
Neubergerheads the womens team, and [3] certain persons violate USTTA regulations
to try to change the votes of some Executive Committee members. Frankly, I feel that if
Leah had admitted that [it was her fault] she did not get the points, and if her supporters had
requested her addition to the team anyhow (not her placement on it instead of another
player), that this type of request would have gained great consideration. [But doesnt this
suggest that a waiver was possible, if only Leah and the New Yorkers had looked at the
situation as Kilpatrick would have wanted them to? And that, because they didnt, he took it
personallyhis honor was involved, he was insulted, and so he took a hard line?]
However, the reason the charges of prejudice and unfairness were brought into this matter
were, in part I am convinced, to embarrass my administration. [Wow, he has enemies, huh?]
This appears to be a part of something I am learning a great deal about lately: USTTA
politics.
Oh, yes, Mr. President: USTTA history is past politics, and USTTA politics present
history. Get used to it, if you can.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Some of the results of the Oct. 20th Baltimore and Oct. 21st Washington, D.C.
tournaments available to me only through a Leah Neuberger
binder were of special interest. At Baltimore 23-year-old Bobby
Fields played Mixed withsurprisehis mother, Virginia
Schlosser (Stan, Bobbys father, of course had years ago run the
Ice Palace T. T. Club in D.C.). Next day, Virginia, who apparently
was finding it fun to play competitively, came 2nd in the Womens
Novice to Gladys Blaner, wife of the Newark, DE Clubs V-P and
soon-to-be USTTA Treasurer Richard Blaner.
Also playing in these back-to-back tournaments were
Harry Liedtke, whod moved from Texas to the N.Y./Long
Island area and (I presume his brother) Roman Liedtke who
was living in Baltimore. At both these tournaments, the
Liedtkes will be finalists in Mens Doubles, and one or the
other of them the runner-up in the Class As, won in Baltimore
by their Club President Lenny Klein, in D.C. by Ken
Silverstone. Harry, whom Im to have quite a match with a
few years hence, had come from Germany where he was a
friend of 22-year-old Eberhard (Ebby) Schoeler. In the Oct.,
1962 Topics, Harry says defensive star Schoeler, winner of the
recent Lower Saxony Tournament, is momentarily the best
player in Germany (9). As well see, Schoelers career will
peak at the 1969 Munich Worlds.
The young Stan Fields,
Bobbys father

37

Chapter Three
1963: Winter Tournaments. 1963: English Loopers Jacobson and Baddeley Tour U.S.
1963: Bukiet/Chotras win U.S. Open.
Although the buck stops with the President, unfortunately the USTTA appears to have
either a Tournament Chairman whos not encouraging clubs around the country to have
tournaments, or an Editor that simply will not take any initiative to get the news about them,
or both.
I do have, as in previous Volumes, Bob Viducichs Northwest History
help, but it will end now with Carl Coles victories in five straight
tournaments from Oct., 1962 through Mar., 1963. The first threethe
Western, Portland, and Oregon Openswere played in Portlands Circle
Theater Building. At the February Chinatown tourney in Vancouver, the
established Doubles partnership of Cole and Bob Hage defeated Art
Barran and Klaus Katzenmeier, reportedly the former Swiss Champion
who these next two seasons will distinguish himself at the Canadian
Carl Cole
Closed. The Pacific Northwest Open in Seattle saw Katzenmeier come
second to Cole, while other top finishers were Burt Hansen and Earl
Adams (Dec. 6-7, 1980 Pacific Northwest Open Program, 28).
Faraway California ran the Jan. 19-20 Cupertino
Open, and for a while the only thing I knew about the Mens
winner, Manuel (Alex) Salcido, Jr., was what John Dart
had writtenthat Alexs dad had competed in the shot put in
the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. However, on Sept. 8, 2004,
Alex sent me an e-mail telling me something of his
background, which I reproduce in part here:
When I first walked into the Hollywood table tennis
center in 1961 (I was 13 yrs. old) I saw Erwin Klein, Bobby
Fields, Leonard Cooperman, Stuffy Singer (who later
became the U.S. Handball Champion) and other great
players. I couldnt believe how Erwin was hitting the ball
and Bobby kept getting it back. Of course I was star-stunned
and wanted to meet them. Everyone was friendly to me
except Erwin. When I
Manuel Alex Salcido, Jr.
went to shake his hand
and introduce myself he
said, Get away from me, kid. Who are you
anyway? I said to myself at that moment, One day
Im going to beat that guy! When I think about it
now, Erwin was a great inspiration to me to get
better and beat a U.S. Champion at his own game.
Leonard Cooperman hadthe greatest
forehand Ive ever seen. He would hit it so hard that
he could break the ball when he wanted to. I know
Leonard Cooperman
38

Photo by Mal Anderson

Erwin Klein

because he broke plenty on my

body.I would watch him and
study him for hours. I would
count how many times he would
hit his forehand in a game
without missing a shot. I
remember counting up to 32 in
a row. When he cracked that
forehand no one would get it
back. I saw him beat Erwin
before and I knew I would have
to develop a forehand that was
just as accurate. So every game
I played from then on I would
count how many I made without
missing. I remember one
tournament that I got up to 28

without missing.
I dont know why but as soon as I picked up a racket I could play this game. I
could feel the ball and it always seemed it would stop in mid-air so I could hit it. Its
hard to explain. But I do remember getting good fast and the more I played the better I
got quickly.
Finally after I got good enough Erwin would practice with me. I remember
how smooth his strokes were and how effortlessly he seemed to play the game. I
learned so much from watching him play and finally I got to experience his style. He
had great touch at placing the ball where his opponent wasnt. I understood how his
style would beat most players because he played so cool under pressure while the other
guy would get tense and make mistakes. He had such a beautiful game. He really
wouldnt play games with me because he seemed to want to play only for money and
being a kid I had no money. So one day my Dad paid him to play me and when I found
out about it I was so angry at Erwin for taking money from my Dad. He beat me of
course and said to me, How does it taste? and walked off. I chased him down and
asked what he meant by that. He said, How does it taste to be a loser? It made me so
mad but there was nothing I could do about it because he was just too good for me.
As were going to see, Alex would continue paying his duesand so just might meet
Klein again?
Since there wasnt any write-up or even results of the Cupertino tournament listed in
Topics Ill go to Greg Sawins article in Timmys North American World (July-Aug., 1984
issue) to at least tell you how San Jose fireman and table tennis enthusiast Sam Lima
established his Cupertino Club:
In 1962, Sam used one-half acre of his land to build a table tennis centera
building added on to his garage. The club opened on May 21, 1962. The club consisted
of a 60x30 ft. playing area, 9-ft. ceiling, green walls, cement floor, four Detroiter
tables, plus a separate practice room with one table. Other facilities included a
39

restroom and a lounge area. Very soon after the

club opened, Sam started coaching and selling
equipment. He devoted most of his spare time to
organizing and promoting table tennis activities
(27; 29).
The Feb. 2-3 Long Beach Closed was won by
Jack Howard, part-time home address now Anaheim, over
L.A.s Shonie Aki. Umpiring this exciting match of
lightning fast volleys, drives and counterdrives was blind
umpire Chuck Medick. The standing room only crowd
watching the finals came not only to see the players but
Medick, who was hyped in hyperbole (so keen is his
hearing and touch that he never misses a call). Trophies
Sams game is a little better now?
were presented to the winners by tennis stars Billie Jean
Moffitt (later King), Long Beachs Most Popular Athlete,
and Sue Belmar, National Clay Court Champion with Darlene Hard (TTT, Set., 1963, 13).
Local stalwart John Hanna had to bring an extra sports bag to lug away his 1st-place
trophies: Mens Doubles with former Chicagoan Stuart Nicol (over John Wilson and Les
Sayre, recently blessed with a son); A Singles (over Dave Froehlich from down 2-1 and at 23all in the 4th); Over 40 Seniors (from Jim Limerick); and Over 35 Jr. Vets (from Stan
Sandman). Vallerie Smithwho, despite having had the requisite 9 points, never received an
availability form for the U.S. World Team and so felt she didnt get proper consideration for
itbrought home an armful of trophies too: Womens Singles (over Heather Angelinetta);
Mixed Doubles with printer-by-trade Froehlich (over Angelinetta and Junior Champ Salcido);
and A Doubles with Froehlich (over Sayre/Marty Plost).
At the Mar. 9-10 Pacific Coast Championships at El Camino, Salcido, who Dart says,
aspires to a pro basketball career, won
not only the Juniors as expected but the
Mens Doubles with Froehlich.
The Apr. 6-7 Arizona Open
sponsored by the Phoenix Parks and
Recreation Dept., saw Shonie Aki,
displaying a flashy backhand and a cool
temperament, successfully defend his
mens singles title. Shonies final,
however, wasnt easy. Unseeded Norm
Schwartz, losing the 1st game at deuce
but winning the next two, had his
chances, but Aki, mounting a vicious
attack and a rugged defense, rallied
strongly. Doubles winners were 15-yearold Salcido and hometown teen Bill
Guerin, first, with an upset win over
Defending Champs Aki/Ruben Gomez
after being down 14-7 in the 5th, then in
1963 Arizona Open Champion Shonie Aki
40

the final, winning in 4, via three 19

games, over Arizona State students
Schwartz/John Harrington.
Valleri Smith won her 4th consecutive
Arizona Womens titlethis time over
Angelinetta. Heather, attacking
constantly, forced her opponent to
assume an uncomfortable defensive style,
but then falteredperhaps because, as
Vals friend Shonie has said, though Vals
not particularly graceful, not a picturebook player, she is very determined. She
and Shonie successfully defended their
Mixed title; and she and A Singles winner
Froehlich took the A Doubles from
Schwartz and Harrington. Ruben Gomez
drafted a Seniors win; John Wilson took
the Juniors. B Singles went to U.S.
Legal Advisor and Phoenix Club
President Forrest Barr (52 Club members

Photo by Mal Anderson

Valleri Smith, 4-time Arizona Champion

participated in his 10-team Winter League).

The results of the Illinois Closedanother tournament set for Feb.turned up in the
Feb., 63 Topics. Which surprises you? Because so up-to-date? Alas, theres a bit of a timewarp. These results were for the Mar., 1962 Illinois Closed. Of course they were pretty
predictable: Mens: Steve Isaacson in 5 over Marty Prager; Mens Doubles: Isaacson/Varenyi;
Womens: Millie Shahian; Mixed: Shahian/Bert Lee; Junior Miss: Pat Havlick (rubber game
given to her by Prager; sponge tips provided by Danny Pecora). The results of the 63 Illinois
Closedif heldnever did appear.
Surely some tournaments must have been
reported to us from Canada, for Topics was their
current magazine too. Oh, good. The Apr., 1963
Topics, and, just in case we missed it, the Sept.,
1963 issue too, gives us the results of a Mar. 2-3,
1963 tournament at the Gadbois Center in
Montreal. Mens: N.J.s Elias Solomon over a
powerless-against-him Montreals Guy Germain
(whod knocked out Frank Dwelly and Howie
Grossman). Mens Doubles: Grossman/Nick
Gadanyi over Solomon/Wilfrid Gaudreau.
Womens: Denise Hunnius over Hamburg, Germany
immigrant Helga Bultemeier (next year Helga will
marry current USTTA Ranking Chair Dean
Johnson). Womens Doubles: Hunnius/Adminis
over Bultemeier and Quebec Federation Secretary
Betty Tweedy. Mixed Doubles: Hunnius/Germain
Photo by Mal Anderson
over Adminis/Grossman.
Helga Bultemeier and Dean Johnson
41

Mention was also made of a New England team beating a Quebec team 6-5 (after
being down 5-2). Nothing morebut the U.S. players, as I can see from other results, must
have been Dwelly, Masterman, Ahti Kaend, and probably Albany, N.Y.s Marland Cutler. This
International Match worked out so well that the E.C. suggested to Tournament Chair
Goldblatt that maybe others could be heldsuch as Michigan vs. Ontario, Minnesota vs.
Manitoba, and Washington vs. British Columbia.
The 2-star Connecticut Open was held at Bridgeport, a week too late for Neuberger
who again lost to Chotras in the Singles (24-22 in the 4th). Doss beat Junior winner Pecora in
the semis, then Kruskie in the final. Womens Doubles went to Leah/Marianne Besssinger
over Chotras/Somael. Mens Doubles to Schiff and Senior Champ Mitch Silbert. Long Islands
Fred Sadowski, reportedly a former Boys Champion of Berlin, took the Novice. Red Finlayson
was best in Midgets. Mens Consolation was won by Emil Lareau over Joe Williams; Womens
Consolation by Vija Livins over Ann Evans. Local Westchester Club players who I mention for
the first time are: White Plainss Alan Moran, formerly of Belfast, Northern Ireland, who won
the Novice Consolations; Yonkers Vic Landau who advanced to the 3rd round of the Novice
before being eliminated; 13-year-old Howie Schwartz; and 17-year-old Fred Berchin (who lost
to Boys Champ Alan Papier).
Westchesterites in a tournament largely for local players saw Tibor Back beat Alan
Moran for the Mens, and Marianne Bessinger take the Womens. (Marianne told me about a
place in her local Rockland County thathey, you wanna play ping-pong, just put in your
coins: a motor tips the folded table with attached net, and once it straightens out youre all
setuntil time runs out.) Moran and Ruthe Brewer Grimler, 1940 U.S. Open Womens
finalist, won the Mixed. Landau was best in Juniors; Howie Schwartz in Boys.
Hello! Rufford Harrisons Arden Gild Hall Club (near Wilmington) went all out for its
Jan. 19-20 Delaware Open (never before had an Open event been held in Delaware). The ultraaccomodating entry blank specified that the first 30 people to enter the tournament with their
entry fees paid got free lodging and breakfast in the homes of our club members. Further, if
your application is not among the first 30 we will notify you before the tournament and will
refund your entry fee if you ask us to. We will also pick you up at the airport or station if you
request it.
There were also other innovations. Free baby-sitting, in a special room at the
tournament, with sitters rotating on a cooperative basis. Implementation of the USTTAs new
Internal Promotion Schememeaning that the Mens Singles winner will receive $35 (the
Junior winner $15), if he attends another tournament judged to be one he wouldnt otherwise
go to. And finally an attempt to attract more men and women players by offering them free
entries in the Novice event if they also played in Mens or Womens Singles, or Class A. I
might mention, too, that since very match was time-scheduled, the draw, once closed, couldnt
reasonably be reopened, and so 18 late entries couldnt be accepted.
Bukiet took the Mens in 4, the last 3 easily, from his only competition, Pecora, whose
footwork was described as masterful, his reflexes almost unbelievable (and yet Bernie
finished him 16, 12, 9). Forget playing Doubles, the top Singles seeds said to themselves
thus allowing a crowd-stirring 18, 19, 16, 23 final in which Ron Hobson/Herm Johnson
defeated Jeff Swersky/Harvey Gutman.
Juniors, following both Pecoras and Raouf Kamels default after they were caught in
a fog delay, went to Swersky. Jeff, along with runner-up Mark Radom, Hobson, and
Gutmanthey all did too much pushing, and poor pushing, too, wrote Harrison. Which
42

maybe accounted for Jeff and Marks loss to local

Indian arrival, now Newark, DE #1 Atul Shah? Atul
had a good chance in the Class A but lost to winner
Johnson who stopped Paul Moorat in the final. First
in Womens was Bernita Earleover Lillian Guyer
and Barbara Bohning. Earlier, at the George Ferris
Memorial, Bill Cross had beaten Benny Hull for the
Seniors title; here he downed Schiff in 5. Best Arden
Club upsets to fuss over? Jim Miller over Fran
Delaney, and Bob Hughes, abetted by his long
distance retrieving, over Cross.
Loopers Jacobson and Baddeley Tour U.S.
Those English loopers U.S. players are
talking about, who are they anyway, and what have
they done? According to the 63 U.S. Opens
Supplemental Program, 33-year-old Stan Jacobson
from Middlesex, reportedly the first in Europe to
develop the loop stroke, was a member of the
British team that [in Israel] won the 1961 World
Photo by Mal Anderson
Maccabiah Team Championship, and was also
Herman Johnson
runner-up in the Mens Singles there. In the English
Nationals of 1962 and 63, Stan did well: in the former was the losing Mens Singles finalist;
in the latter, the Mens Doubles runner-up. Warwickshires Baddeley is a high-ranked player
whose use of the loop drive[forced] defensive players to open up their games, or be
overpowered by the spin of his shots.
No explanation is given to the Topics readerperhaps one will be forthcoming later
as to exactly why, as President Kilpatrick notes, two of his E.C. membersSchiff and
Somaelwere opposed to the U.S. Tour of these loopers (cost to the USTTA: about $1,000),
but Norms explanation for having them sure makes sense:
Since one purpose of the tour was to give our World Team experience against
the loop, I proposed that the USTTA provide travel funds to the total amount of
$125 to send members of the team to the different cities where clubs might be willing
to host USA-England Davis Cup style matches.This step [which Schiff and Somael
also opposed] allowed many of the clubs who held matches between the loopers and
our top players to not only see international stars they would not normally see, but to
watch our own top players in action, for the first time in several cases.
In several cities excellent publicity was obtained through these matches, as the
mayor of Baltimore stopped in to see part of the matches in that city, while in
Rochester the local T.V. station filmed a part of the team play, and in Washington a
representative of the British Embassy, plus Nicholas Rodis and James Durant of the
U.S. State Dept. viewed the play. Ten clubs sponsored international team matches
involving every member of the USTTA World Team (except Norbert Van de Walle),
U.S. Team first alternate Bob Gusikoff, and former top ranked American Mike
Ralston (TTT, Apr., 1963, 8).
43

Well follow now Kilpatricks April and May, 1963 Topics write-ups of these Club
matches, as well as the D.C. Jefferson Memorial Open and the Baltimore Maryland Open, that
will lead to Jacobson and Baddeleys appearance at the Detroit Nationals. The loopers wont
play in Canada, though, which irritated Kilpatrick because the Canadians had earlier shown
support for hosting them.
After their arrival in New York City on Mar. 5th, Jacobson and Baddeley played a Mar. 6th
match in Philadelphia (bad showno one there to meet them) against Bobby Fields and Mike
Ralstonin which Jacobson looped Ralston off the table 21-8, 21-12, and Baddeley did the
same to Fields 21-11, 21-8. But, although the loopers won the Doubles with ease, both U.S.
players in their 2nd singles match were learningsomething. Mike lost two straight to Baddeley, but
the 1st game went deuce. And Bobby, realizing his chop was useless against this type of
drive,displayed some inspired all-out attacking to stop Jacobson 21-17, 21-12 (TTT, April, 1963, 8-9).
At this point Id better interrupt the Tour for Baddeley to explain just what this loop
drive is, and why, as weve just seen, defensive play against it is so difficult:
The loop-drive is therefore of greatest benefit to a hitter, as its effect is to
cause the defensive player to return the ball high, when it can easily be taken advantage
of with far less risk, and without the hard work [push, push, push, pick; or top, top,
top, and drop] usually necessary to obtain a loose ball.
[Most] good defensive players will be able to return the ball on the table, but
will have great difficulty in keeping their returns low. The looper must,
therefore[possess a strong finishing drive or kill, or else he loses his advantage].
[Loopers wait for the ball to fall until it gets maybe two feet from the floor,
then, as the player drops his body-weight onto his back foot while keeping the
shoulder of his playing arm well down, up in a flash comes his racket in a knockout
uppercutonly, to use an analogy, as if some cosmic force were to swing at the ballshaped planet Saturn, the intent would be to send it hurtling into space by brushing its
rings; meanwhile, the body-lunge transfers the weight to the front foot, and the free
arm is used as a counter-weight: whereas earlier it had been raised as the playing arm
went down, now its quickly brought down while the playing arm is swinging to finish
the stroke overhead] (TTT, May, 1963, 19).
Of course, the revolutionizing effect of this new attacking stroke is to force others to forget
chopping and pushing, and either counter-loop or lob the loopso that topspin play prevails.
Now back to see what, if anything, our experienced players are learning down in D.C.
In practice, Klein was left shaking his head at the effects of the loop on his defense. But
next day Erwin, now 24, hit through both Jacobson and Baddeley in 4. Fields adopted a low
chop-push to Jacobsons backhand, and, as there wasnt any attacking topspin there, he won
easily. Ah, but Baddeley had a backhand loop (as well as a forehand sidespin one), and Bobby
went down in 5. Again, the forehand/backhand loopers were strong in Doubles.
In Baltimore, neither Klein nor Fields could stop Baddeley from loopinghe
annihilated each of them. However, both beat Jacobsonthough Klein just barely, deuce in the
5th. This time the Americans almost won the Doubleswere beaten 23-21 in the 5th. Who
happened to watch these D.C./Baltimore ties but Richard Bergmann. He was in the area
touring with the Globetrotters. He says the loop of either Englishman has far more spin on it
that any topspin stroke he has seen in Asia.
44

At Chambersburg, PA, matches were 2 out of 3, and

here Fields was able to keep his chops low and for the first
time beat Baddeley in 3. Also, Bobby didnt even let
Jacobson into the match. Stan, however, produced a
spectacular display of lob defense from 20 feet back to
defeat Klein 21-17, 21-15. The English again won a close,
19 in the 3rd Doubles. Then Klein had a straight-game win
over Baddeley (TTT, Apr., 1963, 9).
Next upat Bridgeton, N.J.: oh, oh, whats happening to
Gusikoff? He lost to both Stan (-23, -20, -14) and Derek (-13,
-8, -9), proving that the spin of the loop [there are deliberate
high-ball as well as low-ball loops] can prevent a hitter from
hitting. The Americans lost the Doubles in 3. And Erwin split
matches, losing in 4 to Baddeley, but beating Jacobson (after
being down 2-0).
Its Bukiets turn at Bridgeportand, no, he didnt chop,
and, no, the English couldnt beat him.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Then at Huntington, Long Island, it was Miless turn. In
Bobby Fields
Cambodia he said hed learned how to handle the loop, but
he must have seen the same players
Bergmann had, for he wasnt in either match
against these English. Still, story was that
Dick so thought he could chop Baddeley
down that later he kept giving him $15 to
$5 oddsand lost $90 to him. Strange, but
Miles and Klein won the Doubles, 2-0.
Erwin split matches again, losing again to
Baddeley, winning again from Jacobson.
The USTTAs got our visitors playing
almost every day. Now theyre in back-toback one-day tournaments. At the D.C.
Jefferson Memorial Open, Baddeley
looped Marty Doss off the table, but lost
to Klein, 3-0 in the semis; Jacobson
Photo by Mal Anderson
defeated Paul Moorat but fell to Fields, 3-0
Dick Miles
in the other semis. The Englishmen also
lost the Doubles to Klein/Bukiet. At the Maryland Open, Danny Pecora hit through Baddeley
in 5 games, while Jacobson was defeating Doss and Klein. In the final, though, Fields again
had Stans numberindeed, would beat him every time he played him.
At Rochester and Buffalo, Klein and Bukiet were undefeatedbut surely by this time
the English were pooped. They had exactly one day to rest before their participation in the
Nationals. Kilpatrick praised them for their sportsmanship, willingness to demonstrate the
loop, and general friendliness. He felt the Tour was successful and that the clubs had
profited (TTT, May, 1963, 27). Whether the clubs drew enough spectators to warrant another
similar Tour next year, in which, as Norm hoped, the American opponents would be paid to
play, remained to be seen.
45

1963 U.S. Open

The 1963 U.S. Open was held Mar. 21-23 at Detroits Cobo Hall. Thirty-four
Detroiter As, selling after the matches for $50 apiece, were used, though no longer made of
plywood but a more uniform particle-board that had to be painted not stained. The so-called
Souvenir Program, in an unprecedented agreement by the E.C. with Michigan TTA President
Steenhoven, had its pages inserted here and there, awkwardly, into the March Topics. One
could read that the Opens Executive Secretary, Herb Schindler, Jr., one of the nations great
table tennis champions, was Chairman of the Board of an organization called Youth
Anonymousa group that worked to rehabilitate young people whod been in trouble.
Schindler and the Michigan Association were doing their part to help these youths by allotting
the organization 50% of the Saturday ticket sales.
The Program also paid homage to 15 or so MTTA workers assisting at the Open
(Arne Anderson, President of the Livonia Table Tennis Clubwill seek the active assistance
of his members to discharge his responsibility as Section Supervisor), which surely was of
little interest to most readers. But of course, since theyre all volunteer workers, shouldnt
they be given a little recognition here?
When in Dec., 1962 Canadian TTA President John Hunnius had told the USTTA E.C.
he hoped the upcoming U.S. Open would be handled a lot better than the first one in Detroit in
1961, the E.C. sent a letter to the organizers to watch out for the following possible
shortcomings:
[1] Accepting late entrieseven on the day of the event
[2] Starting late
[3] Scheduling Mixed Doubles to conflict with other events
[4] Changing draws after publication and for insufficient reason
[5] Having insufficient people on the registration desk, so that long lines
formed, with ensuing delays.
Hopefully Tournament Manager Steenhoven and Co. will keep these in mind. Based on
the rankings and seedings provided by the USTTA (though of course so many tournament
results were not being turned in on time, or not turned in at allVallerie Smith said she
originally wasnt seeded in the Womens), the MTTA made and published the Mens Draw
before the E.C. could examine it, and on Friday evening when the Mens matches were to
start, some of the leading players complained to officials about the seeding. This prompted
an announcement over the loudspeaker that
the whole of the mens singles seedings would be revised [oh, oh, see 4
above], and chaos reigned as players argued and shouted with officials, [until] most of
the top players threatened to default as a whole if the original draw was not adhered
to.
A U.S. Association executive committee meeting was immediately convened in
a separate room, and, after much argument and discussion, announced their decision to
allow the original draw [though there were irregularities in it]to stand. The time was
now midnight, so play was suspended until 8 a.m. Saturday [see 2 above] (TTT, May,
1963, 15).
46

This eventually brought on complaints that some people dutifully arrived at 8 a.m.
Saturday morning and had to wait around almost all day before playing a match, then had
to play consecutive matches. Not our fault said the MTTAblame it on the Friday night
debacle. Later, Fuarnado Roberts, Wally Gundlach, and Jack Howard all said publicly that
all U.S. Open events ought to be time-scheduled, and that schedule rigidly adhered to
which was, in fact, what Tibor Back was trying to do (successfully?) with his individual
time cards at the 1962 NYC U.S. Open. (An Open, not incidentally, that reportedly lost
money, and for which the USTTA still had not received their sanction fee. If the moneys
not paid, said the E.C., any NYTTA member during that 61-62 season will not be
considered for any U.S. International Teama threat that strikes me as being
unenforceable, and that eventually will be dropped.)
According to the Minutes of the Sunday USTTA Open Meeting, Steenhoven
answered that it was difficult to maintain an exact schedule; lack of referees [sic: for
umpires], desire of participants to play [PLEASE can I play now? Ive been waiting a long
time], not help out, practicing in playing areas, lack of player co-operation in reporting for
matches when scheduled.
The 31 Mens matches from the 16ths on were played in a makeshift show arena of
two tables surrounded by bleachers that would seat as many as 2,000 spectators. Best of these
early matches were: Fuarnado Roberts over Houshang Bozorgzadeh, 17 in the 5th, and Laszlo
Varenyi over Eddie Brennan, 25-23 in the 5th. Most surprising perhaps was Pecoras blitz of
Max Marinko. Most amusing? From the assembled crowd, it wouldnt be hard to guess.
Looper Jacobson had told the local press that hed destroy American choppers. Perhaps
Reismanwas he a chopper?had complained on drawing the Englishman in such an early
round? If so he adapted.
He beganas Dick Evans said he did against Miles at last years Nationalsby
bringing out what the May Topics write-up called an amazing collection of bats and,
having gone through his eeny-meeny-miney-mo routine, finally brandished one aloft with
the rapturous cry, THIS IS THE
ONE! Then he warmed up by hitting
the ball behind his back, under his leg,
Marty Reisman
and with the sole of his shoe (15);
warmed up some more by losing the 1st
game 22-20then showed us the easy
way to beat the loop, as he hit against
Jacobson so often that [the Englishman]
had little chance to use his stroke. After
Marty, as he said ripped Jacobson apart,
Rufford Harrison asked, Would you
please demonstrate that loop stroke again,
Stan? And Jacobson was now saying to
the media, Im just an ordinary player.
Well, yes and noyes, if measured by
world-class standards.
But unhappily for those who
wanted to see Marty continue his show,
he was beaten so badly in the 8ths by
47

Fields that Bobby took to hitting shots behind his back, to

which Martys only reply was, HE SHOULD BE ABLE
TO DO ITI COACHED HIM ENOUGH!* The big
upset in this round was Jerry Kruskies 21, -21, 20, 16 win
over Miles, the last three games played under the Expedite
Rule. In 1945, Steenhoven presented the U.S. Open Mens
trophy to Miles with the admonishment, I hope you
behave like a Champion. Now, 18 years later, again in
Steenhovens Detroit, Miles is awarded the Sportsmanship
Trophy.
Indianas Tom Aldridge had come wide-eyed to his first
U.S. Open and recalls his initial impression of 1959 U.S.
Champion Bobby Gusikoffa skinny mass of flailing
appendages that managed to summon their separate reflexes
into coordinated motions that developed super-smashing
forehands and backhands. In the quarters, Bobby, walloping
the ball as he had the round before against Pecora, staved off
Photo by Mal Anderson
Kruskies last-gasp 21-all try, and both Klein (over Doss) and
Tom Aldridge
Bukiet (over Fields) also won in 3. Van de Walle, whod been
in a tough match with Schiff, met Baddeley, whod been in a
tough match with Chuck Burns. Norby, winning in 4, literally wore out the English looper
by returning [his set-up] kill shots.
This brings us to the semis, and, from Aldridges article BukietA Remembrance,
Toms vivid description of 44-year-old Bernie:
a swarthy, stout, middle-aged player with thick black hair (whose shaved
beard would always reveal a five oclock shadow).I could best describe his
countenance as cruelly but charismatically handsome. He held his pips-in sponge
racquet so that it was cradled between his extended thumb and index fingerwith his
middle finger also partially curling around the paddle edge and his two remaining
fingers loosely securing the handle (an awkward way to hold a racketif youve ever
tried it). The paddle didnt seem an extension of his hand so much as it appeared to
grow out of it.
Tom thought Bernies forehand the smoothest, most powerful forehand drive I had
ever seen, and that other part of his gamecounterjabbing and blocking with his backhand
on both his backhand and forehand sideswasnt bad either. His amazing reflexes allowed
him to read, control, and impart spin with an incredible economy of apparent body and leg
motion. He also had, if need be, a backhand chop. But it was his fearsome forehand that
operated like a machine which seemed to have a life of its ownonce completely
lubricated; the body followed the machine just enough to stay with it.
In his semis against Klein, who was playing with, as Tom says, an all-blue, squareshaped sponge racket, Bukiet twice escapedonce after being down 1-0 and at deuce in the
2nd, then by winning the 4th and final game at deuce. Meanwhile, in the other semis, Gusikoff
continued smacking the ball through Van de Walle, snatching up the slightest chance to
deliver vicious forehand kills.
48

In the final, Bobby, as

if celebrating his 27th birthday
a week ahead of time, was as
up as he could be,
whipping in forehands at
incredible speedfor the
first two games anyway. But
then, as Bernie shaking his
head, cant believe how high
on his game Bobby is (At the
club I give him 5 for money),
Gusikoff rests, floats down
as it were, loses the 3rd at
11, then makes another
ascent but at 19 cant quite
get there to plant the flag;
after which he can no longer
lift his playing arm, loses his
balance, and tumbles down,
down, down.** George E. Van,
covering the tournament for the
Detroit News, wrote that after
Gusikoff lost his early poise
and blasting kill shots, he was
so out of it that, down 20-4, he
despairingly flung his paddle
on the table and conceded the
match.
Can the English loopers
win the Mens Doubles? Ohioans
Larry Folk/Don Lyons, losing
two deuce games, took them to
4, but in the quarters
Bozorgzadeh/Fields, whod
knocked out Schiff/Burns in 5,
were no trouble at all
Houshangs block shot often
was seen going straight up into
the lights, while the Fields chop
was missing the table entirely.
Bukiet/Klein 19, 19, -19, 11
stopped them though. Reisman/
Gusikoff, thought maybe a
winner, fell in the 8ths to
Blommer/Pecora, beaten in turn
by the established Canadian pair

Photo by Mal Anderson

Bobby Gusikoff

Photo by Mal Anderson

1963 U.S. Open Mens Champion Bernie Bukiet

49

Modris Zulps/Laimon Eichvald. Defending Champions Miles/Van de Walle

advanced to the final by not losing a game to the Canadians or anyone else
but then (in Norbys last match in the States) they werent in it against
Bernie and Erwin.
In the Seniors, Hazi, behind 2-0, looked to be a goner against sponger
Bill Rapp, but gradually figured out how to totally disarm him. Later, in the
semis, Tibor was down 2-1 to John Kilpatrick whod knocked off Schiff, but
again survived. Burns, meanwhile, outlasted Marinko, no mean feat, 28-26 in the
4th, then had a straight-game win for the title over Hazi who simply walked out
to the table a few times to receive his Esquire trophy.
A surprise for players from the 1930s. John Dart tells us that Jimmy
Bud Blattner
McClures World Champion Doubles partner, Bud Blattner, after
broadcasting the St. Louis Hawks game at Cobo Hall, went upstairs to
watch some of the tournament that was still going on and to renew acquaintances. The father
of two daughters, he originally had a t.t. table in his home, but, as they didnt have any interest
in playing competitively, he turned the room into a bar/lounge (TTT, Oct., 1963, 14). Think he
kept the aging Seniors up? Turns out that Schiff/Burns were better in Senior Doubles than
Bukiet/Crossbut only because, at 3:30 a.m., both teams said to hell with it, and the winning
pair won on a coin flip.
Two new events for the
old guys in this U.S. Open:
Esquire Doubles went to Hazi/Si
Ratner over Howard Thomas and
50s runner-up Gene Bricker;
while, in the Senior Esquire (Over
60s) round robin, Torontos Tom
Wisman won out over 1951 50s
winner Paul Jackson. Seniors
Consolation went to NYCs
George Stenbar over Baltimore
TTA Secretary/Treasurer Joe
Silva.
The 1946 U.S. Open
Womens winner had been
Bernice Charney. Seventeen years
laterquite a gapthe 1963
winner was that same (well,
maybe not quite) Bernice Charney
Chotraswho didnt lose a game
in taking the title from Kaminsky,
Neuberger, and in the final Smith.
So good were the seedings and
placings for this 37-entry event
that there were few close matches
throughout. The best was Smiths
Photo by Mal Anderson
down 2-0 rally to oust Shahian in
1963 U.S. Open Womens Champion Bernice Chotras
50

the semis (little consolation for Millie, but this year semifinalists in any event that drew more
than 32 entries received trophies).
In one of the half-dozen Pre-lim matches, Brooke Williams started shakily with
Terry Larsen, but gained control with a deuce 2nd game; in the 1st round, Pauline Somael
eliminated Canadian Closed Jr. Miss Champ Helen Sabaliauskas, deuce in the 4th; and in
the 2nd round Yvonne Kronlage advanced in 5 over former clubmate Julia Rutelionis.
Yvonnes about to have a home away from home, for she, husband Carl, and Bowie and
Melba Martin have put up a new Club in the 200-store Prince Georges Plaza Shopping
Center in Hyattsville, MD.
In Womens Doubles, Kronlage/Rutelionis reached the semis with a 5-game win
over Phyllis Stern/Connie Stace and an upset 21, 19, 19 victory over Shahian/Rubenstein.
The Chicago team of Havlick/Cerekas defeated Mary Jane Schatke/Marianne Bessinger,
19 in the 4th, and Somael/Donna Chaimson knocked out the Canadians Marinko/Adminis
before losing to Chotras/Neuberger. Kaminsky/Smith were the winners though, besting
the New Yorkers 18, 22, 22 in the final. Kaminsky, paired with hat-trick artist Bukiet, also
won the Mixed over unexpected finalists Kronlage/Derek Baddeley. The winners were
extended, 19 in the 5th, in the semis by Doss/Somael; the runner-ups struggled to
advance, first, 18 in the 5th against Schiff/Neuberger, then against Aki/Smith whod
eliminated Kruskie/Chotras in 5.
New Junior Champ was Alex Salcido who back in the quarters had 20, 12, -20, -14,
21 squeaked by a tenacious Herman Johnson whod eliminated Pete Childs three straight.
Then, in both the semis (against Raouf Kamel whod gotten by Long Islands Fred Sadowski
19 in the 5th) and the final (against Royal Oak, MIs 15-year-old Dondero High student
Howie Weber whod eliminated Ron Hobson deuce in the 4th), Alex had to rally from 2-1
down. In the quarters, Danny Pecora, behind 2-1, came back to knock out Doug Burns, then,
through some misunderstanding, thought he could go to lunch when he should have been
around to play Weber and was defaulted. Which allows me to segue into the Junior Doubles,
where Pecora, in retaliation for being defaulted in Singles, forfeited his final with Ken Oler to
Childs/Hobsona no-no that will result in his suspension.
Donna Chaimson defeated Pat Havlick in the semis and Defending Champion Connie
Stace in the final to add this years Junior Miss to last years Girls title. Donna and Connie
took the Junior Miss Doubles from Pat Havlick/Ann Lee. And Donna and Jeff Swersky
defeated Stace and Childs in 5 to win the Junior Mixed. Some fun, huh Donna?
Boys went to Childsin the semis over Salcido whod been down 2-1 to Mike
Dorsey, and in the final over that same Herman Johnson whod beaten Pete so decisively in
the Juniors. Childs was also the winner, with Mark Radom, in Boys Doublesover Doug
Burns/Danny Robbins whod been behind 2-0 to Dorsey/Johnson. Best in Midget Boys was
Charleston, W.Va.s Steve Parsons; runner-up, Grand Rapids Mike Peterlein. Midget Boys
Doubles winners: Parsons/Fred Henry over Peterlein and his brother Danny Ybema.
Bert Lees daughter Ann took the Girls from Michigans Andrea Gerber. The Midget
Girls round robin was won by Bonnie Gutman; 2nd, Violetta Nesukaitis, destined for Canadian
and U.S. Open stardom.
George Chotras, Bernices husband, took the Mens Consolation in 5 from Dr. Bill
Meszaros, and thereby, as National Consolation Champion, assured himself of at least the last
National Ranking spot. (Someone told me that with the de rigueur money matches Gusikoff
played at his Riverside Plaza Club, George at one point quit work so he could stay up nights
51

and continually bet against Bobbymake his weeks wages that

way.) Mona Buell, who won her 1st U.S. Open Womens
Consolation in 1948, tallied her 4th overallthis time she beat Pat
Havlick in 4 for the title.
Junior Miss Havlick wouldnt be going to the 63 Prague
Worlds as would her Junior Mens counterpart Danny Pecora.
But in 65 the two would be traveling to the Lublijana Worlds
togetheras man and wife.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Sometimes Fields and Reismans pride and competitive
nature got the better of one or both of them. Heres Freddie
Borges describing one of their bravura exchanges:

Photo from
Milwaukee Sentinal

Fields (who plays with sponge) to Reisman: You

Mona Buell, 4-time
U.S. Open Womens
play with sponge, Ill give you 5.
Consolation Winner
Reisman (who plays with Leland rubber) to Fields:
You play with rubber, Ill give you 10.
Fields: Ill play with rubber if you play with wood. Twenty dollars.
Reisman: Make it fifty.
On this occasion, said Freddie, Marty wonpushed and flat hit.
At the 63 U.S. Open, Fields had a debt or two to settle with Reisman, for some time
earlier at his 96th Street home club Marty had enjoyed humiliating and angering Bobby.
According to Reisman (playing with rubber), Fields (playing with sponge) was such an
underdog that night that Marty began taunting him, offered him another match at $200 to $5,
then $500 to $5, then $1,000 to $5 until Bobby was incensedthe more so when Reisman
accepted his challenge to put up the money and said he was ready to go home and get it. Next
day, Marty wouldnt let up, said, since Bobby wasnt home, he left him a message reiterating
the outrageous offer. Bernie Bukiet, Bobbys friend, thought this overkill on Martys part, and
didnt like it. But then soon theyd be at it again, ready for another hustlers matcheach
trying to rook the other by practicing on the sly with chess pieces for rackets.
** Bobby, with all the energy his pressing whiplash game required, sometimes
understandably had stamina problems. Case in point was the 1960 Washington Nationals in
which he lost the Mens final to Reisman. That Marty played with sponge had nothing to do
with my loss, Bobby would say later. It was all the matches Id played that day before
meeting ReismanI went 5 with Mike Ralston in the quarters, 4 with Danny Vegh in the
semis, then struggled through successive 5-game finals in the Mens and Mixed Doubles.
When I asked for a rest, the Director said, Play!

52

Chapter Four
1963: President Kilpatrick/U.S. Team Captain Schiff
At Odds. 1963: U.S. Junior Team Abroad. 1963: U.S. World
Teams Warm-up Play Prior To Prague. Swaythling and
Corbillon Cup Play.
At the March 24, 1963 E.C. Meeting in Detroit, three
days before the U.S. Team was to leave for the Prague World
Championships, the feud that had been simmering between
Kilpatrick and Schiff broke out into the open. According to
the officially approved Minutes, as takentricky business,
thisby Ramona Kilpatrick, heres what happened.

Ramona Kilpatrick

Kilpatrick brought up a demand by Schiff that he [Norm] reveal the

names of two members of the U.S. World Team who had protested to Kilpatrick
the doubles pairings that Schiff, as U.S. Team Captain, had submitted for the
World Championships. [These pairings were: Bukiet and non-Team member Jerry
Kruskie; Miles/Klein, and Fields/Van de Walle. Bukiet/Fields were the 1961 U.S.
Open Champions; Miles/Van de Walle the 1962 U.S. Open Champions; and
Bukiet/Klein the 1963 U.S. Open Champions, with Miles/Van de Walle the
runner-ups].
Kilpatrick said he wouldnt reveal the names of the
protestors [surely Bukiet was one]it would be a
breach of confidence to do so. Schiff said, Tell me,
put it in writing, or Ill resign. Earlier, Kilpatrick had
called Schiff and questioned his pairings
whereupon Schiff had agreed to accept any
changes Kilpatrick suggested, if Kilpatrick would
request such changes in writing; however, Sol
had not actually intended to make such
k
Schiff
ic
changes.
Kilpatr
Oh? Kilpatrick asked if this did not mean
that in effect Schiff had lied to him, and [the rest of this sentence, deemed at the
next E.C. Meeting inaccurately attributed to Schiff, will later be stricken from the record],
Schiff said that he had lied to him. Kilpatrick pointed out that the letter he had sent to Schiff
on this matter expressed support for Sols pairings, and that he had spoken with Harrison
about this matter (confirmed by Harrison) before his call to Schiff.
Sol is not going to drop what he sees as an affront. Other things bother him toohe
says he was unfairly left off committees during the past year, and that persons he has known
for long times have been replaced by newer officials. However, Sol is on the E.C., is the U.S.
Team Captain, is on the Selection Committee, and on the Sub-Committee with Cross and
Prescott to pick the International Junior Team that will play abroada Team whose matches
well shortly follow. What more, fairly, would Schiff like to be doing? And of course hes not
the President (though hed like to be?), so its not his prerogative to name officialsbut, aside
53

from his old friend McClure, what ally has he lost? Sometimes you can take Sol seriously,
sometimes you cant.
However, as the Minutes continue, you certainly can believe Schiff wants Kilpatrick
out of office:
In order to force Kilpatrick to reveal the players names, Schiff referred to a
statement by Kilpatrick in February, 1962 in which he stated that he would remove
himself from the table tennis equipment business if elected President of the USTTA.
Schiff presented a Dun and Bradstreet report he had requested on the MartinKilpatrick Table Tennis Company. This report, based on information given by the
manager of the company, Bowie G. Martin, early in 1963 [after Kilpatrick had assumed
office], listed Kilpatrick as a partner in the enterprise.
[Gotcha!]
Whats that?Bowies waiting to testify, as it were. Well, says Harrison whos taken
the Chair for this discussion, put him on the stand.
[Bowie] explains the contract he and Kilpatrick signed with
Hikosuke Tamasu some two years ago was in the name of MartinKilpatrick, and he had to keep this name when Kilpatrick left the
company, in order to keep valid the exclusive contract for Butterfly
products in the U.S.A. that the contract allows. He points out that the
information in the Dunn and Bradstreet report was given by himself in
reply to questions about the formation of the company, and of its financial
status during 1962, part of which year Kilpatrick was a partner.
Martin then turns his attention to Sol, says:
Schiff is the only person in the country who makes his living
solely from table tennis and is on the Executive Committee, while he holds
a full-time job, and other part-time jobs as well. He [Bowie] further states that he
opposed Kilpatrick leaving the business, but that Kilpatrick is not now connected with
his firm.

Bowie Martin

When Martin leaves the Meeting, Kilpatrick dramatically moves

that he [Kilpatrick] be impeached for unethical conduct in office. No second.
Schiff moves that Kilpatricks possible connection with Martin be investigated by the
USTTA. No second.
Norman resumes the Chairand we tiptoe quietly away.
U.S. Junior Team Abroad
The Selection Committee had picked the following five boys to play warm-up
exhibition matches against youths in England, Denmark, and France and then enter the French
International Junior Championships in Lyon, France: Ralph Childs, 1962 and 63 U.S. Under
54

U.S. Junior Team to the 1963 French Open, L-R:

Raouf Kamel, Ken Oler, Ron Hobson, Harvey Gutman, and Ralph Pete Childs.

15 Champ; Ron Hobson, winner to date of 5 U.S. Open Championships in Under 13s through
Under 17s and recently honored with personal congratulations from Virginia Governor
Albertis Harrison; Chicagos Ken Oler; Harvey Gutman, hard-hitting U.S. #5 Junior; and
Raouf Kamel, current Eastern Open Junior runner-up to Danny Pecora (born Oct. 23, 1944)
who, though hes the current U.S. Junior Champion, is too old (18) to participate in European
Junior play.
However, there were a couple of problems
with this Junior selection. The first one,
concerning Gutman, was only momentary. Harvey
said that though he was an Honor Roll student,
the school officials were against my taking off the
month for the tour. Fortunately, Harveys dad, Ed
Gutman, whod run the 1958 Asbury Park, N.J.
Nationals, said he could go anyway. Harvey
remembers he had to raise money to help his
cause, and attended a Mens Club dinner at which
he was to give an exhibition (I believe with his
cousin Jeff Swersky who just missed being on the
Team). Surprise, thoughno table had been
provided. So play was improvised on a couple of
Ed and Harvey Gutman
circular dinner tables with books for a net. No
need to worryall those shots made for an exuberant evening.
The other problem, concerning Kamel, was serious. Junior Team Captain Prescott,
Kilpatrick, and Harrison had asked the U.S. State Dept. for some much needed funds, but
didnt learn until the beginning of March that, if such funds are given, all boys had to be U.S.
55

citizens. Kamel was an Egyptian who intended to be a U.S. citizen. So, though hed obtained
the proper papers to get into France, and though some local funds had been raised specifically
for him, he had to be left off the Team. Taking his place was Chicagos Ken Oler who with Pat
Havlick had done the photo-shots for the Athletic Institutes slidefilm kit on Table Tennis.
Prescott in an E.C. motion asked that some of the Associations general funds be used to allow
Kamel to travel along with the Junior Team in Europe, but this motion was defeated. Still, as
Bob Chaimson, USTTA Delegate to the ITTF Congress, was being given $300 for expenses, it
was agreed that Kamel, too, be given $300, and that he could at least play in the French Junior
Championships as an individual.

Photo by B.O.A.C. From TTT, May, 1963, 5

U.S. Group arrives at London airport, Mar. 28, 1963. L-R: Derek Baddeley (England), Erwin Klein,
Lona Rubenstein, Dick Miles, Rufford Harrison, Ken Oler, Bernice Chotras, Sol Schiff,
Lester Moskowitz (with Bobby Fields, Bernie Bukiet, and Si Ratner behind), Barbara Kaminsky,
Leah Neuberger, Bob Chaimson, Jerry Kruskie, Ron Hobson, Howie Ornstein, and Ralph Pete Childs

The boys joined the U.S. World Team and its entourage on Mar. 27 and left New
Yorks Idlewild for London aboard the 12-hour, propeller BOAC Flight #542 (round trip
fareNYC-London$278). From London, where they arrived on Mar. 28 (Harvey had been
sick, really sick twice on the flight over), the two Teams parted company to follow their
respective playing schedules and wouldnt come together again until their paths temporarily
crossed at the Apr. 20-22 French Open. Then, meeting again in London on Apr. 25, theyd all
fly back to the States together.
Well continue now with, first, the Junior play, as described in an unsigned article in the
Oct., 1963 Topics, then pick up the Mens and Womens preparatory matches against the
English, Germans, and Swiss before their arrival in Prague. This Junior Team was
56

accompanied of course by Capt.

Prescott, with N.J. Junior Development
Chair Percy Rochester as coach and
tutor, if not chaperone. Harvey said that
he and Pete Childs were very
interested in meeting Danish and French
ladies, but that young Hobson preferred
not to go out to look for girls but to
focus on his upcoming play in what he
kept calling the French Opening.
The U.S. Junior Team
overwhelmed top ranked [local] English
TTT, Jan., 1963, 8
Juniors in three ties. They beat
Junior Team Coach
Newbury (where they attended a
Percy Rochester
luncheon given them by the Mayor and
TTT, Aug.-Sept., 1964 Cover
city officials), 6-1; beat Leicester, 10-2; and Hertfordshire 10-0.
Junior Team Captain
Herman Prescott
Naturally they all did some sightseeing: visited Buckingham
Palace and Parliament, and went to Wembley Stadium where
the American track team was competing.
They also were guests at a welcoming dinner hosted by the Boys Club of London
(Prescott must have arranged that, for he was a Boys Club of America National Games
Committeeman). Harvey remembers they served coke from the bottlewarm. No ice. I saw
some ice at the far end of the table but didnt want to ask. One of the officials intuited what
Harvey wanted, and in very proper English said, I say old chap, please shove the ice cubes
up my end. Harvey recalls ducking under the table to pretend to look for something to hold
back the laugh. Such was the teen-age fun on a trip remembered for a lifetime.
Then the boys were off to Copenhagen, and Danish Board-Tennis Union hospitality:
officials met our players at the airport and put them up in the homes of Danish players. In
Copenhagen we beat the Danes 5-3, then in Soro, where Danish Junior Champ Hucklekamp
lived, we struggled to a 5-5 tie then won the play-off. More sightseeing of course: King
Fredericks Palace, the Tuberg Breweries, and Soro Academy. Mr. Wilford Kramer, Public
Affairs officer at USIS in Copenhagen, helped the Team with travel difficulties they were
encountering trying to get to Paris (it was Easter-time) and, once there, with as yet
undetermined lodging.
After the matches were completed in Denmark, more than a hundred well wishers
stood in the rain at the Airport to bid the American team goodbye. Reminds you of Reisman
and Cartland leaving Sweden in 1949, does it? Cartland, particularly, had so alienated
everyone (I hate Sweden! I hate Swedes!) that only one lone non-Swede had seen them off.
All worked out well for our players. U.S. Embassy officials in Paris met them and found
housing for them at the Foundation of United States at the University of Paris. By Apr. 12 theyd
taken a train to Nancy and were ready to play a tie at the Groupe Scolaise in Frouard:
Representing France were Jean-Paul Streit, 1963 French National Junior
Champion; Christian Roesch, No. 2 Junior in France; and Alain Garrafi, No. 5 Junior in
France. [Only Roesch would be entered at Lyon.] The U.S. team of Childs, Hobson,
and Gutman won 5-4. The champion, Streit, lost to both Gutman and Childs.
57

Again the Team members were

guests of honor at a dinnerthis
one given by Major Burton J.
Hopwood, personnel officer of
Toul-Rosiere Air Force Base
who arranged a fun match: our
guys against his Base
challengers.
On via Lyon to Roanne
where on Apr. 18 against
French Juniors the U.S. for
the first time didnt winbut
er
v
o
C
m
tied, 3-3. Undefeated, then,
Progra
Open
h
c
n
our
players
were
as a Team going into the
e
Fr
e 1963
h
t
m
o
French Open. There, at the beautiful Palais des Sports in
Fr
Lyon, our top player in the team matches, Hobson, did extremely
well in the Singles. On downing Hollands Carel Deken and Portugals Luis Choi
(whod ousted pips-player Kamel, then Oler in the quarters), Ron reached the final where
he was defeated by Swedens Skijed [sic: for
Kjell] Johansson.
German aficionado Peter Becker, in a
Feb. 8, 2005 e-mail to me, reported that a
Tischtennis magazine of the time said that the
U.S. Juniors, especially the coloured persons,
who havent been seen in Prague or Germany,
did very well. We [in Germany] dont have such
a strong youth player like Hobson, who almost
defeated Johansson. It was only the Swedes
cleverness, the magazine said, that allowed
him to win.
The Hammer, as he might already have
been nicknamed, only a year away from winning
Photo by Mal Anderson
the European Mens Championship, had
Ron Hobson
flattened Dragutin Surbek in the semis. A full 20
years after this famous Yugoslav had beaten our Childs, 14, 18, here in the quarters, hed still
be going strong, would win the 2nd of his World Doubles titles. Now Surbek and his French
partner Francis Dubus eliminated Childs/Hobson in the semis before falling in the final to
Johansson/Roesch.
Our Junior players were again treated as well as anyone could wantwere given a
reception at the Lyon City Hall. Prescott received a silk scarf and in return offered a beautiful
trophy as a token of everlasting friendship between the French and American Associations.
Following a two-day visit touring historic places in Paris, the youths joined the returning
U.S. World Team in London and flew with them home. Bravo to all concerned for working to
make this memorable trip happen. Whether these Juniors would mature into National Team
players or not, the reward of trips like this, the competitive learning experience, at least gave
them a chance, a motivation, to improve.
58

Of course theyll need help. Perhaps the USTTA will recognize their talent, Childs and
Hobsons especially, and will set about the arduous task of trying to form a world-class U.S.
Team? Certainly Tischtennis is optimistic: One doesnt have to be a prophet to say that the
Americans will again become much stronger during the next couple of years than they were in
recent years.
U.S. World Teams Pre-Prague Play
Our U.S. World Team on arriving in London also played a tie at Newburybut, unlike
the Juniors, they were beaten 7-3 by the English World Team. Bukiet split his matchesbeat
Englands #3 David Creamer in 3, but lost 2-0 to Englands #1 Ian Harrison. Bukiet/Klein (no,
they werent playing together in Prague) downed Harrison/Creamer, 19, 19. And, to win the
3rd point for the U.S., Bobby Fields, whod lost decisively to Harrison, outlasted the 1963
English National Champion Chester Barnes (hed won it at 15, the youngest ever) in a 24-22
in the 3rd thriller. Klein, meanwhile, dropped matches to Barnes and Creamer.
As for our women, they could not meaningfully compete at all: Chotras got 20 points
total from Diane Rowe, twice World Womens Doubles Champion with her sister Ros, and
heretofore winner of the English Closed since its inception four years ago; Rubenstein 18
points total from the new 1963 English National Champion Mary Shannon; and in doubles
play against these European and English Open Champions the U.S. scored 27 points total.
Next day, March 30, at Butlins Holiday Camp, the U.S. was again beaten 7-3. Fields split
downed Englands #6 Brian Merrett, lost to Creamer; Van de Walle splitdowned Merrett, lost to
Harrison; and Miles splitdowned Creamer, 19 in the 3rd, lost to Harrison. Van de Walle/Fields
(they were playing together in Prague), up 1-0 and at 22-all in the 2nd, almost got the better of
Harrison/Creamer. But again our women were annihilated: Kaminsky got 16 points total from
young Lesley Bell (who at Prague would be the Womens Consolation runner-up); Chotras 17 from
teen-attacker Mary Shannon; and in doubles play the U.S. scored 23 points total.
Maybe the Germans would be easier? Yepbut, hah, April Foolwe only lost 5-3 to
them. Bukiet and Klein both split the same waybeat Haupt, but fell to 62 German Top Ten
winner Erich Arndt. Miles went down to Arndt and Berger, whom Klein playing a 3rd match
also lost to. Ah, here we goa bright make-up and smile for Barbara Kaminsky who took her
match in 3 from Miss Berger (the sister of he whod beaten Miles and Klein?).
The Swiss at Zurich on Apr. 18 were much worse than we wereat least the men
were, the women didnt play. We won 8-1: only Norby lost a match, and only Bernie in
winning gave up a game.
Swaythling Cup
Wed seen in Vol. II that back in 1950, after an American businessman had been
arrested and accused of espionage in Budapest, the U.S. State Department wouldnt allow our
U.S. Team to go there for the World Championships; instead we went to the Austrian Open
and traveled about Germany giving exhibitions, then played in the English Open. At Prague,
according to a Jan. 25, 1950 N.Y. Times article, the Czech press had fired a broadside at the
American authorities:
Are they afraid that the representatives of the United States would see a lot of
truth which is intentionally distorted in the free world, asked Pravda, organ of the
Slovak Communist party.
59

Mlada Fronta, organ of the Communist-dominated Czech Youth Organization,

said that instead of being allowed to play with sportsmen of the peoples democratic
states, the American team will play a series of games with the Nazis and for the
Nazis.
Well, now were we ready to face the truthpresumably without hostility? Lets hope so.
Swaythling Cup play was divided into four A-B-C-D round robin groups; we were in
the 8-team D one. First up, Bulgariabut they didnt show, were scratched. Any press on
them?
Next, Japan. Ken Konaka conked Fields and Miles. Koji Kimura clobbered Klein.
Ogimura, however, had to go 23-21 in the 2nd to finish off Erwin. And against Miles, up 1-0
and 20-19 Ogi was a winoh, oh. Waita controversy.
Miles had twice protested Ogis servesaid he was throwing the ball into the racket.
Up 20-19 match point in the 2nd, Ogimura served, and the Czech umpire called out something

Dick Miles addressing Czech

umpire, then waiting for Jury
decision (Bobby Fields is far left,
with towel around his neck).

60

in Czech (later, translated, it turned out to be Good serve). Miles missed the serve, protested
adamantly the intrusion of the umpire, and insisted that the point be played over. He took his
case to the Referee, and from there it went to the Jury. An hour and 20 minutes later (!) the
Jury returned with a verdict: the point must be played over. Miles deuced it. Then went ad
down, and, sure enough, Ogimura gave him the same serveand, sure enough, Miles failed to
return it. So Japan blitzed the U.S. 5-0. But why feel bad? Thats what they did to every team
in the round robin, and thus advanced to the semis.
Poland, could they play? Good enough to beat Fields twice, and throw a 19 in the 3rd
scare into Klein who took his two. Bukiet of course played for the honor of two countrieshe
was, after all, born in southwest Poland; these upstarts he straight-game instructed on how
good he was a quarter-century ago, allowed them all of 22, 23,
and 26 points.
Englandthey beat us in England, how about in
Czechoslovakia? Six years ago, in the World Consolations Van
de Walle had lost to Harrison 8 and 10, and apparently little had
changed, for in that warm-up match in England Norbie had lost
again to him, 13 and 18. Of course Harrison had credentials
hed been the first Englishman in 36 years to win the English
Open, and followed that by winning the English Closed; then in
last seasons English Open he was runner-up to European
Champion Zoltan Berczik. But, surprise, though Van de Walle
couldnt beat Creamer, he did beat Harrison, two-zipthat
same Harrison who gave Bukiet (9-1) his only loss and edged
Klein 26-24 in the 3rd. But as both Erwin and Bernie had
straight-game wins over Creamer and Barnes, we were a 5-2
winner.
Photo by Michael Maclaren
The Netherlands? We were 5-2 winners over them too.
From Table Tennis, Oct., 1965, 8
Ian Harrison...in training
Miles splita win over Bert Schoofs, a loss to Bert Onnes
rd
whom Klein barely stopped 25-23 in the 3 . Though Erwin lost
to Frans Schoofs (from up 1-0 and at 21-all in the 2nd), he added another win at brother Berts
expense. Fields with victories over Onnes and Frans Schoofs kept us undefeated, except for
too powerful Japan.
India had 5-4 wins over the Netherlands and Poland, but couldnt score at all against
Bukiet/Miles/Van de Walle.
Our final victimwe blanked themwas North Vietnam who in a Pre-lim had stopped
Canada (Germain, Grossman, Schultz) 5-1. Thus we did as well as we couldfinished 2nd
behind Japan in our Group, and 10th overall.
Sweden advanced, undefeated, from Group C. (Average age of the Swedish players:
18.) But against Group D winner Japan, 1962 European Champ Hans Alser lost 2-0 to both
Koji Kimura and Kiichi Miki, Karl Bernhardt got a woeful 40 points total in two matches
against Kimura and Ogimura, and Johansson also fell to Ogimura who might have been doing
as much coaching these days as playing.
In the other semis, China, having won every tie in its Group A 5-0, swept Group B
winner, West Germany, 5-1 (earlier, the Germans had struggled 5-4 over Hungary, and 5-3
over North Korea and Rumania). Erich Arndt, 62 European runner-up, beat Hsu Yin-sheng
for Germanys lone win. Hsu and World runner-up Li Fu-jung downed Ebby Schoeler; current
61

World Champion Chuang Tse-tung did in Arndt; and both Chuang and Li straight-gamed away
Ernst Gomolla.
Table Tennis reported that 16,000 spectators (with more turned away) had seen the
China-Japan preview ties in Tokyo in which the Japanese women won 3-0, and the Japanese
men won 5-4 in a number of matches that had exhibition-like scores: Ogimura beat Li Fu-jung
20, -18, 22 and Hsu Yin-sheng 25-23 in the 3rd, but lost to Chuang Tse-tung 19, -19, -25; Koji
Kimura lost to Li 24-22 in the 3rd, but beat Hsu, 24-22, 22-20. Contributing also to Japans
triumph was Kimura over World #1 Chuang and Miki over World #2 Li. So, think you know
what to expect in Prague?
In the final, China had 5-1 little difficulty, though Kimura beat Chuang whod bested
Ogimura in two 19 games. Hsu also stopped Ogi, and 62 Asian Games winner Miki as well
(winning the 2nd 23-21).* As 62 Chinese Champion Li Fu-jung sat out, in came the penhold
Magic Chopper, Chang Shih-lin, to positively destroy 1961 Japanese National Champion
Kimura 5, 11 and 1962 Japanese National Champion Miki 9, 8. Amazing.

From Chinas Table Tennis and Friendship, Oct., 1971

World Mens and Mixed Doubles Champion

Chang Shih-lin

TTT, Jan., 1963, 13

Top: Japans Kiichi Miki, 1962 Asian Games Champion

From The Table Tennis Report...

Bottom: World Mens and Mixed Doubles Champion

Koji Kimura

62

Corbillon Cup
The U.S. women were in the 9-team Group A, and, coincidentally, like the men, their 1st
match too was a walkover, for Singapore didnt show.
Against Poland, who would finish 2nd in the Group, Chotras and Kaminsky in Singles, and
Kaminsky/Rubenstein in Doubles, couldnt win a game.
Next, lowly Scotlandour only breather. Here, in our 3-0 dominance, Lona scored her
only win.
Czechoslovakia we lost to 3-0, but Bernice put up a 20, -17 fight against the Czech #1,
15-year-old Marta Luzova who, if you can believe it, has such good serves that once against
Chinese World Champion Chiu Chung-hui she was said to have served several aces in a row.
Rumania, the winner of this Group, lost only 1 matchand, alas, it was not to us. But
Bernice played extremely well in losing, 19 in the 3rd, to Ella Zeller Constantinescu, a member of the
winning Corbillon Cup teams in 53, 55, and 56, and an eventual semifinalist in the Singles here.
Like Singapore, Greece didnt show either. Too badwe could have used the competitive
play.
Now our most satisfying tie (the only one to go 5 matches in the Group)a 3-2 win over
Denmark for 5th rather than 6th place. Bernice and Lona lost the doubles, 18 in the 3rd (their lone
pairing), but Barbara split her singles, and Bernice came through twice.
In our last tie against Austria we were blitzedas in our 1st match, we couldnt win a game.
Final assessment: we did as well as we couldwere with Canada down in the 3rd Category. (The
Canadians had one win over last-place Luxembourg, two 2-3 losses to New Zealand and Wales.)
Group A winner Rumania met Group B winner China and just beat them, 3-2. The Chinese
won the doubles, 18 in the 3rd, and Sun Mei-ying, now over 30, split, losing to Constantinescu but
rallying to escape the 1963 English Open Champion Maria Alexandru. That meant current World
Champion Chiu Chung-hui had only to win one match, but Alexandru wouldnt let her reach double
figures, and Constantinescu edged by her, 19 in the 3rd.
The Group C winner was of course Defending Champion Japan who didnt lose a match
the whole tournament. The Japanese, Corbillon Cup winners in 52, 54, 57, 59, and 61, downed
Hungary in the semis, then extended their recent domination of Rumania, 5-time winner in the
50s, by not giving up so much as a game, finishing by taking the doubles from the present World
Champions Alexandru and Geta Pitica with 17, 12 ease.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In his speech to Chinese Women Players On How To Play Table
Tennis, put out by China Publications (no date), Hsu says that,
although hed lost to Arndt earlier, he was ready, if called on, to play
the Japanese, particularly Ogimura. For hed prepared not only
tactically but ideologicallythat is, thinking about the honour of
his country, not personal gain or loss, for if [Mao Tse-tungs]
politics are not in command, you cannot play a good game. And
when the call came to play, I felt it showed the great confidence the
Party and the people had in me. A man [sic: this speech is to women
The Table Tennis Report, 1964, 1
players, right?] can never have greater courage than when he is
Hsu Yinsheng
aware of the confidence the Party and the people have in him. And,
confident himself now of his ability and requisite level of political consciousness, he won his two
matches against Miki and Ogimura.
63

Chapter Five
1963: Individual
Championships at Prague: U.S.
Womens Play. 1963: Womens
Singles, Doubles, Mixed. 1963:
Individual Championships:
U.S. Mens Play. 1963: Mens
Singles, Doubles. 1963: U.S.
World Team At French Open.
Regarding the Individual
Prague Sports Hall Championships in Prague, Ill
begin with the U.S. Womens
play. Peg Daly Wasserman, one of our two non-Team players in the
Singles, debuted in the Pre-lims against Kasalova, and though this
Czech wasnt good enough to be on their Cup team, Peg, perhaps a
bit intimidated, might initially have 8, -8, -19 thought she was. Leah
Neuberger of course wasnt awed, but, advancing with a w/o, and
after 22, -19, 20, 13 keeping her poise against New Zealands Joy
Brown, she had no chance at all against the English #1 Di Rowe.
Lona, with a 3-game total of 25 points, was all but 1st-round
obliterated by Englands Lesley Bell who,
with Captain Laurie Landrys help, had just
successfully defended her English Open
Girls title. (Two years ago, Landry, then 22,
during a continuing correspondence with
U.S. Coach Si Wasserman, sent him a
Photo by Mal Anderson
clipping by Peter Lorenzo from the London
Peg Daly Wasserman
Daily Herald detailing how he, Landry, was
hit by a car, hurled headfirst through that
cars front windshield, and given 30 minutes to live. Fortunately, after
lying unconscious for 10 days, Laurie, then England #6, escaped with
From 1963 English Closed
Program
a triple fracture of the skull, a broken pelvis, a snapped shoulder blade,
Lesley
Bell,
English #1
and a double fracture of the right leg.) At least Lona, prone to injury,
Junior
Miss
was o.k., wasnt she? Except, after that drubbing, who, ironically, was
she to meet in the Consolations reserved for 1st and 2nd round losers?
Can you guess? She heard from far away the bell ringbut said, Forget it.
Barbara suffered. Up 2-1 in her opener against the Aussie OBrien, she lost 23-21 in
the 5th. Then in the Consolations, after besting Indonesias Tuturong, she was beaten
convincingly by Belgiums Micheline Stas.
What of Bernice who had that terrific 19-in-the-3rd chance in the Teams against
Constantinescu? Well, shed right off the bat get another chance at heronly this time, what a
difference (can they be the same players?), Chotras 12, -10, -7 started the Rumanian on a roll
to her World #3 Singles showing here. In the Consolations, Bernice, after downing Belgiums
Ghislaine Roland, fell with determination to Swedens #5 Lena Guntsch, -22, -13, -20.
TTT, May, 1963, 9

64

In Womens Doubles,
Neuberger who in 59 had Agnes
Simon, now the European
Champion, as a partner, was pickup paired this year with Tuturong,
that same Indonesian whod lost,
14, 16, to Kaminsky in the 1st
round of the Consolation. They
were defeated immediately of
course, 3-0, by a pair from
Portugal. Chotras/Kaminsky also
went down in the 1st round, 3-0,
to a Hungarian team. Lona,
however, caught a breakwas
fixed up with the USSRs Dzidra
Lukina, a lefty, and in sporting
fashion warmly made the most of
TTT, May, 1963, 23
it. They knocked off French and
Lona (R) and Dzidra: U.S./Russian pair did just fine
Czech duos before being
outclassed by the eventual winners, Japans Kimiyo Matsuzaki/Masako Seki. Canadians
Hunnius/Adminis did well to come from behind and beat an English pair in 5.
In the Mixed, Irv and Peg Wasserman opened and closed with a Dutch pair. Kruskie/
Rubenstein were right away ousted, 18 in the 4th, by Belgians. Bukiet/Kaminsky lost but made
a good 19, -16, -19 showing in their 1st match against the strong Czechs Stanek/Luzova.
Former World Champions Klein/Neuberger, seeded #7, in their opener at least 6, 15, -20, -15
threatened Japans formidable Konaka/Yamanaka. Only Fields/Chotras could bring home a
win, actually twoover Austrias Sedelmayer/Willinger (from 2-1 down; Willinger had beaten
Chotras 15, 9 in the Teams), and over the #3 Czech Stepanek and his partner Senkova.
Indeed, it took the strong Hungarian team of Fahazi and Eva Foldi to beat them.
Womens Singles, Doubles, Mixed
In the Womens Singles, #1 seed Chiu
Chung-hui was beaten in the 8ths, 3-0, by Japans
Noriko Yamanaka, after the16th seed had almost
been ousted in the 1st round by Polands Czeslawa
Noworyta. Yamanaka then fell in the quarters, 19
in the 5th, to Alexandru, World #5 in 61, after the
Rumanians defense had won out in the 5th over
Hungarys Sarolte Lukacs. Alexandrus semis
opponent, who seemed powerless against her, was
61 quarterfinalist Sun Mei-ying; shed earlier
eliminated fellow Chinese Lin Hui-ching whod
stopped #4 seed Seki before shed had so much as
a warm-up match. I want to attach a Get Well card
here, send it to Canadas Denise Hunnius who, had
she not lost a 1st-round 23-21 in the 5th horror to
65

The Table Tennis

Report, 12-69

3-time World
Womens Doubles
Champion Maria
Alexandru

Australias Shepherd, would have had the fun,

From The Table Tennis
or at least the experience, of playing Sun MeiReport, 11-68
2-time World Womens
ying, against whom Ms. Shepherd in her leadSingles Champion
off game was beaten 21-2.
Kimiyo
Matsuzaki
On the other side of the Draw, Kimiyo
Matsuzaki, the #2 seed and 1959 World
Champion, in the 2nd round against Chinas Hu
Ke-ming had stumbled nearer and nearer cliffward over two deuce games to almost tumble
down, but had 19-in-the-5th righted herself just
in time. Thereafter she moved without incident
to a 21, 18, 18 quarters win over Chinas
Liang Li-chen. Unseeded Ella Constantinescu
kept advancing even as she was losing games
to Chinas Ti Chiang-hua, to the 18-year-old
Jarka Karlikova (whod come 1st in the Czech
World Womens Team Trials), to #6 seed
Kazuko Ito (62 Asian Games runner-up to
Matsuzaki), and to Chinas Li Hu-nan (later Li
Henan) wholl immigrate to the U.S. and become our National Coach. However, against
Kimiyo in the semis, Ella just hadnt the technique to contest.
The attack and defense final between Matsuzaki and Alexandru must have been great
to watchthe more so because after Kimiyo had a 2-game lead, Maria forced the match into
the 5th. However, Matsuzaki, having been there before, knew how to get there again.
Womens Doubles saw Matsuzaki and her partner Seki, the 1961 Japanese National
Champion, have their toughest test, a 5-gamer, in the semis against Chinas Chiu Chung-hui/
Wang Chien. Defending Champions Alexandru/Pitica staved off Czech teens Luzova/Bosa by
winning in 5 thanks to two deuce games, but in the quarters they couldnt handle the
aggressive play of Di Rowe/Mary Shannon. The English then advanced with a 19 in the 4th win
over Kazuko Ito (nee Yamaizumi)/Yamanaka, runner-ups in the recent Japan Nationals. From
1-1, the final wasnt close21-15, 21-16 to the Japanese.
The Mixedthough Defending Champions Ogimura/Matsuzaki were upset by Chinas
Shih-lin Chang/Min-chih Chengwould Japans elite take that too? Had togiven the facts
(1) that on one side of the Draw Koji Kimura/Ito had reached the final with a victory over
Hungarys Top Ten winners and English Open Mixed Champs Janos Fahazi and former World
Womens runner-up Eva Koczian Foldi whod eliminated the Chinese; and (2) that on the
other side of the Draw Kiichi Miki/Masako Seki had also reached the final with a 4-game win over
Chinas Chuang Tse-tung/Chiu Chung-hui. So, who do you like to win?Youre giving me 1st
choice? Hmmm. Miki/Seki have no World titles. Kimura/ Hoshino won the 61 World Mens
Doubles; Ito/Namba won the 59 World Womens Doubles. Ill gamble on Kimura/Ito. Yep, they
win 3-0pay me discreetly, please.
U.S. Mens Play
We had 8 non-Team players entered in the Menswhich may well in part have
contributed to the ITTFs later decision to limit a countrys entries. Of course our guys
werent going to play much. Michigans Billy Reid was beaten in his 1st Pre-lim, and that was
66

enough for himno Consolation. Ditto N.Y.s Howie Ornstein. Lester Moscowitz, after losing his
Pre-lim, braved the Consolations and immediately lost there too. Bob Amsbury, the Serviceman
whod been a help to our Team when wed come to Germany for the 59 Dortmund Worlds,
downed a Lebanese, deuce in the 4th, before being eliminated in his 2nd Pre-lim. No Consolation for
him either. Irv Wasserman also won a Pre-lim, then, in the Consolations, had a memorable
experience playing the aging but still famous 7-time French Champion Guy Amourettiand 20, -21,
-7 almost beat him.
Maybe, though, Si Ratner, who lost his first Pre-lim, his first
Consolation match, played a little more than we thought. After all,
even in this generally exalted company, he wasnt terrible. Four years
ago hed won the first of his U.S. Open Over 50 Championships and
four years hence hell win the first of his U.S. Open Over 60s.
Moreover, know what business RATners in? Uh-huh, he has his own
exterminating companyand he isnt one bit scared of any kind of
scurrying creature, on court or off. So dont think for a moment that,
though hes surely one of the oldest players in the Hall, hes easily
intimidated. That time in the practice room where he could be seen
returning maybe 2 out of every 10 serves he was being givenwho
do you think he was practicing with? A Chinese. What did I have to
lose? hed say later. I asked.
Jerry Kruskie did more than win a Pre-lim from Englands
Ralph Gunnion* or lose another 3, 10, 10 to a Chinese ringer. In the
When USAs Si Ratner
Consolations he knocked off a Greek and a Belgian before losing to
came into the practice
World #18 Erich Arndt who (some Consolation!) didnt make the
room dressed like this,
who wouldnt think it
semis.
important
to hit a few
Best of all the Pre-lim battlers
with him?
was Danny Pecora. An Iranian and
a Czech he downed 3-zip; another
Czech, Antonin Dvorak, he had to go 5 with; but his 19 in
the 4th win over Vincent Purkart that advanced him into the
Draw proper was his Pre-lim piece de resistancefor,
before Jacques Secretin began at 16 his near invincible 17year reign, Purkart in 64 and 65 would be the French
TTT, Oct., 1962, 5
National Champion. Danny also, 19 in the 4th, won his 1stDanny Pecora
round main event from Polands Zbigniew Calinski whod
beaten Van de Walle in the Teams. Pecoras great run was
finally halted by his 6th opponent, Chinas Chou Lan-sun.
Now as to all 5 of our players whod been inserted
straight off into the Mens Draw. Klein had no trouble with
a Hungarian, but then was beaten by Chinas Yu Chang-chun, -9, -13, -9. Miles downed East
Germanys #4 Rudolf Lippert, then, averaging 16 points a game against Ogimura, dropped
three straight. Fields knocked off an Ecuadorian, an Indian, and a Danegood but not
impressivethen 14, -16, -11 lost to the European #1 Hans Alser, whom someone called
the fastest player in Europe. Earlier the Swede had also blanked Canadas Eddy Schultz and
Iranian-cum-American Bozorgzadeh. Bukiet dispatched a German, a Hungarian, and a
Portuguesealso good but not impressivethen lost to Li Fu-jung, -14, -8, -12. Van de
67

Walles gutsy play, however, was very impressive. First, he 23-21 in the 5th got by Indias Divan
Gautam, several years later to be Editor of the Indian magazine Twenty-One Up. Then he gutted
out a 15, 25, -20, 19 win over Russias Zigmund Kalnyns, one of the youths who came to the U.S.
in 1960 to play our Juniors (his name spelled then Kalninj). And lastly, before losing in straight
games to Chinas Chang Shih-lin (all our Cup members had good losses, eh?), Norby finished
Swedens 21-year-old Stellan Bengtsson (who from his age you can see is not the teenage Stellan
Bengtsson who 8 years later will win the World Championship).
In Mens Doubles, as in the Mixed, Pecora was assigned a partner, but for whatever reason
didnt play. Reid/Amsbury lost to a Czech team, but contested with two deuce games. The
remaining U.S. partnerships all made Schiffs selection look pretty damn good. Bukiet/Kruskie
didnt falter but beat Indian and Australian teams in 5, then, as was inevitable, lost 3-zip to the
current Czech English Open Champions, Andreadis and 20-year-old Vlado Miko whod attacked
so ferociously [at Brighton] that he actually displaced a bone in his neck and had to go to a hospital
for treatment and receive cortisone injections. Klein/Miles, after downing an Iranian team, beat the
Swedes Bengtsson and Christian Heyerdahl in 5, then rallied past a Finnish pair before reaching
their own finish against the eventual Champions Chang Shih-lin/Wang Chih-liang. Fields/Van de
Walle (from 2-1 down) advanced deuce in the 5th past the East Germans Lippert/Heinz Reimann,
then, falling behind 2-0, came back to go 5 with Chinas Hu Chin-pao/Liao Wen-ting.
Three of our officials (Harrison, Chaimson, and Schiff) played in the Jubilee Cupthe
eligibility for which was a little unclear. Obviously it was for ITTF-connected old boys and
(though I never heard anyone say it) old girls (roughly age 40 and over). Certainly, if one
ever was a player, he had to be past his prime. Usually for the officials or older players and
coaches entered it was just a one-match or two social exercise. This year there were over 60
star-studded entrants, players from the 1930s on, though half of them, especially Czech World
Champions like Vana and Kolar, wouldnt show, were likely entered by the organizers just to
hype the event. Chinas Fu Chi-fang (pronounced fong), Chuang Tse-tungs coach, beat
Miroslav Hamr and Adolph Slar before losing to Ferenc (Feri) Sido in the semis. Vaclav
Tereba stopped Schiff, 2-1, then Georges Roland, before losing to Laci Stipek in the semis. The
final, won by Sido, 2-1, I assume was entertaining. Eight years later I would play both Sido and
Stipek in this Cup.
Had Bill Gunn and Marianne Bessinger come to this Worlds, as they
had others from 54 through 59, they could have reminisced with Sido.
Marianne was to tell me many years later that Feri once gave her a bag with
little pieces of burnt paper money (apparently it had been buried for
safekeeping and a bomb fell on it). Can you get dollars for it? he wanted
to know. And somehow she did. And perhaps it was in Dortmund where
Mariannes German allowed her and a number of players to be privy to some
nefarious goings onwall-holes and special mirrors gave tourists a peep
into decadent Cabaret life.

Bill Gunn and

Marianne
Bessinger

Mens Singles, Doubles

The #1 Mens Singles seed was Chinas 21-year-old Defending
Champion Chuang Tse-tung. An article by Teh Kao, reprinted in the JulyAug., 1972 Topics, gives us some background on his early life:
Chuang Tse-tung was born in Peking in 1942. As a child, he was not
very strong and his father, a doctor of traditional medicine, sent him to learn Wu
68

Shu or Chinese
boxing, to develop
his physique. It was
in this way that he
acquired his special
liking for sports.
The boy
quickly became
interested in table
tennis. He always
managed to play a
few sets before
From 1961 DTTB Kalendar
starting school in the
morning. There was
no room for a table at home, so he practiced by
hitting the ball against the wall.
In 1955 the Peking Childrens Cultural
Palace started a junior spare-time sports school
TTT, May, 1967 Cover
and offered table tennis training. Chuang
immediately joined, and was given lessons by
experienced coaches. To correct bad playing habits acquired earlier, he practiced in front of
a full-length mirror at the Palace.
[In 1956 he won the Peking Junior Tournament and was on his way.] (6).
Chuang had little trouble getting to the quarters. In the 16ths he ousted Yugoslav
Scandinavian Open runner-up Edvard Vecko, and in the 8ths he beat Ken Konaka (runner-up
to Miki in the All-Japan Championships this past Dec.). Ken had knocked out both Czechhope Stanek and Englands Barnes whod had 19-in-the-4th difficulty with the still competitive
Alex Ehrlich. Chuang then advanced to the semis with an 18-in-the-4th win over #9 seed Alser
who quite astonishingly had whipped Zdenek Svab, the Czech #6, 16, 2, 5 (Svab had hurt
himself, couldnt play?)this after the unheralded Czech had upset Chinas 1959 World
Champion Jung Kuo-tuan (his training included lifting weights) and Hungarys Laszlo Foldi.
John Corser in Table Tennis had this to say of Alser who got probably the longest applause of
anyone during the world tournament after he lost to world champion Chuang in a truly
memorable match:
Alser is very nearly the purists idea of the perfect table tennis player. Certainly, as
well as his beautiful stroke production, he is fit and fast, with the balance of a gymnast,
69

concentration, anticipation and intelligence.

His one deficiency [though he has excellent
attacking strokes] seems to be too great a readiness
to go into his shell and push and defend (Nov., 1962,
9).
Tanaka, one of the two great Japanese Champions
of the 50s, was long gone from the World sceneindeed
was almost long gone from the world, but recovering from
his depression, had married, and was o.k.now. The other,
Ogimura, now 30, was still very competitive. He eliminated
two ChineseKuo Chung-kung (19 in the 4th) and Wang
Chia-sheng (deuce in the 5th) after Wang had struggled
with Czech looper Miko. Another Asian in this section,
North Koreas Kim Chang Ho, was ousted in 5 by 1958
and 60 European Champ Berczik who then, up 2-0 on
Ogimura in the eighths, couldnt finish him. Chang shih-lin
lost two close games to Yugo looper Vojislav Markovic,
1961 English Open Champ, but beat him in 5, then squelched
Photo by Dagens Nyheter from TTT,
the only surviving Japanese threat in Ogimura, also in 5.
June-July, 1967, 6
On the other side of the Draw, Chinas #2 seed Hsu
Swedens Hans Alser
Yin-sheng fell in 5 to political ally North Koreas Jung Kil
Hwa, losing the 1st and the 4th games at 19 and the last 25-23. In his Speech to the Chinese
Women Players Id mentioned earlier, Hsu said, I have had some successful results but this does
not mean I have an exceptionally high morale and courage Come, comeI for one certainly think
otherwise. Jung, however, could not prevail in a close 19 in the 5th quarters match with another
Chinese, Yu Chang-chun, whod eliminated the famous 4-time World Mens Doubles Champion
Ivan Andreadis. Ivan, now 38, his playing career over, would be going to Bombay to train the
Indian Team for the 65 Worlds.
Yu then lost, 3-0, to unseeded Wang Chih-liang whod emerged victorious from a bevy
of prominent players warring in very close matches. Wangs first 19, -19, 20, 11 challenge had
been with Russias Anatoly Amelin who, up 2-0 in his opening match with Yugoslav Zeljo
Hrbud, had just hung on to win the 5th at 19. Then, after Rumanias Radu Negluescu had
stopped Englands Ian Harrison in 5, Wang beat him to reach the quarters. Meanwhile, East
Germanys Siegfried Lemke (noted for his tenacious cutting strokesscooped up low),
down 2-0, rallied to beat the Czech Stefan Kollarovits, then, after leading 2-1, went down
docilely to Koji Kimura whod also had to battle by Chinas shakehands star Su Kuo-hsi and
West Germanys Ebby Schoeler before losing in the quarters in 5 to Wang. The Oct., 63
Topics has this to say of Schoeler:
a real sleeper. Never moves his head. Plays very slow, pushing game, lulls
opponent into false security. When opponent gets what he thinks is an opportunity and
feels he can put the ball awaysuddenly Schoeler comes to lifeis instantaneously
fifteen feet further back to retrieve the ball with a deep chop, then the slow push, push
[starts] again. Not too exciting to watch but probably a future European champion (15).

70

The #3 seed Li Fu-jung, the 1961 World runner-up and

1962 Chinese National Champion, reached the semis, making
a mockery of his five opponents, beating them all 3-0 while
allowing them on the average slightly less than 13 points a
game. (Best match elsewhere during Lis massacre might have
been South American Champion Biriba da Costas 25-23 in the
5th win over Czech Pre-lim qualifier Jaroslav Kunz.)
A Nov. 30, 1964 Sports Illustrated article by Edgar
Clark gives us some background on Li. He first started playing
after classes in elementary school on an old wooden [table]
tennis table[using] some very much used wooden racquets
with no sandpaper or rubber surfaces.When I came home
late my father used to make fun of me and say, A queer sport
youve chosensuch a tiny ball. But Li loved to play,
persisted, and when at 17 he became good enough to represent
Photo by Michael Maclaren from
Table Tennis, Apr., 1966, 16
China internationally, his father was proud of him, and, says Li,
West Germanys
gave me hints on how to play [sic] (E 9-10).
Eberhard Schoeler
Having ousted his countrymen Chou Lan-sun and Hu Taopen (half the field in the last 16
were Chinese; 6 out of 8 made
the quarters), Li then continued
his ruthless purge by blanking
Wang Chih-liang to reach his 4th
straight Chinese, Chuang Tsetung. In his semis Chuang had
accounted for China chopper
Chang Shih-lina chopper, I
hasten to add, who, on seeing
any opening, springs to the
attack with forehand or
backhand. The final, a replay of
the last Worlds, saw Chuang
successfully defend his title.
Think the Chinese may
not win the Doubles? Dont be
silly. Chuang Tse-tung/Hsu Yinsheng did drop one game on
their way to the finals, but
maybe they were just being
nice to the home crowds
Stanek/Viliam Polakovic?
From The Table Tennis Report, 2-1970
Semifinalists Konaka/Miki did
Li Fu-jung, 3-time World Singles Finalist
their best, but though theyd
knocked off two Chinese pairs, they couldnt stop these #1 seeds. Also reaching the final, without
the loss of a gamenot even to Ogimura/Kimurawere hard rubber penhold defender Chang
Shih-lin and shakehands sponger Wang Chih-liang. They, too, eliminated two previously embattled
71

Chinese pairs. One of these, Hu Tao-pen/Su Kuo-hsi, up 2-0, had been forced into the 5th by the
English Open finalists, winner Berczik and runner-up Fahazi whom Harrison Edwards writing on
that Open at Brighton wistfully fancied:
Fahazi is the best personality produced for years and his tremendous counter
hitting from sometimes as far back as 20 feet brought back memories of the boom
years of the sport, when it used to attract a 10,000 crowd to Wembley.
Play like this would once again captivate a big audience and the pity was that
this match could not have been televised. As it was, it did more good than anything we
have seen in recent years, for the capacity crowd at Brighton went away thirsting for
more.
Fahazi is a showman. He plays the crowd and they just loved his spectacular
antics as he leaped high into the air making almost impossible returns. He had them
roaring with applause and he loved it. (Table Tennis, Apr., 1963, 13).
Following their 5-game match with the Hungarians, Hu/Su had to rally (from down 20), past the Rumanian pair of Giurgiuca/Cobrizan before they could lose their 39 points to Chang/
Wang.
The other embattled pair had been Li Fu-jung/Wang Chia-sheng whod 16, -17, 17,
20, 18 survived their quarters match with Andreadis/Miko. However, they could do no better
than a deuce 1st game with Chang/Wang and 50 points total. Fifty points total in the final
against the winners Chang Shih-lin/Wang Chih-liang is what Chuang and Hsu got too.
French Open
Before playing in the French Open, the U.S. Team left Prague and went to Salzburg
where they participated in a 13-match tie with the Austrians and beat them 10-3. Magit
Wanek, a 1st-round loser at Prague, downed Lona Rubenstein 19, 18 and teamed with Zankl in
Mixed play to slip by Kruskie/Rubenstein 25-23 in the 3rd. The only other point for the
Austrians came at Miless expense: in the one match he opted to play he was beaten 21, 13 by
Zezula whod lost in the Pre-lims at Prague to Frantisek Tokar, 14 years earlier the Worlds
Mens Doubles Champion with Andreadis. In competition against those whod not been at
Prague, both Klein and Van de Walle were extended to 19 in the 3rdErwin by Duschanek,
Norby by Klugsberger. These Austrians also forced Fields/Van de Walle into the 3rd in doubles.
The Swiss at Zurich on Apr. 18 were much worse than we wereat least the men
were; no women played. We won 8-1: only Norby lost a match, and only Bernie in winning
gave up a game.
At the Apr. 20-22 French Open, Bukiet, and then Pecora were beaten in the Mens by
West Germanys #1 Schoeler, while Van de Walle and then Kruskie were beaten by Frances #2
Gerard Chergui. Surbek, before losing to the Frenchman, had eliminated our Erwin Klein and
also Kjell Johansson whod gotten the better of him in the Juniors. Chergui then reached the
final with a straight-game win over Schoeler. On the opposite side of the Draw, Hrbud (last
summer hed had been coaching in Egypt) might have looked at Si Ratner Sphinx-like while
thinking to himself, How did this guy, ancient as the Pyramids, win two matches to get to me?
Fields of course was another matter, but Hrbud beat him easily too. Miles lost to Bert Onnes of the
Netherlands who, after knocking out Purkart, gave Alser a 19-in-the-4th tussle before succumbing.
As might be expected, it was the Swede (Europe #1), not the Yugoslav (Europe #12) who joined
72

Chergui in the final. Unfortunately, my records stop short of saying who won these French Open
events.
In Mens Doubles, Miles/Kruskie paired up and 1st-round went down. That left Klein/
Bukiet to outlast Amouretti/Chergui, after the Frenchmen had rather easily eliminated Van de
Walle/Fields. In the two semis, it was Alser/Johansson over Klein/Bukiet 3-0, and Hrbud/
Surbek in 5 over Schoeler and German #9 Martin Ness.
In the Womens, Chotras and Rubenstein were beaten soundly in their openersand
Kaminsky too, but it could hardly have been otherwise for her, since Monique Alber was the
1960-61-62 Champion of France. However, on her way to the final, the Frenchwoman had
found herself twice in perilous circumstances. First, she was down 2-0 and at deuce in the 3rd
with Portugals Emilla Tong (after the Portuguese had recently hired the wily Ehrlich to coach
them); then she was down 2-1 to Frances Delaubert whod opened with a win over our Peggy
Wasserman. In advancing to the semis, Alber defeated next years French Champion Martine
LeBras. Neuberger fell to West Germanys #7 Rosemarie Gomolla who then beat Englands
Bell in 5 to meet Alber in the final.
Gomolla was also in the final of Womens Doubles with West Germanys #4 Ilse
Lantermannand quite proud to be there after being down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 3rd against
Christiane Delaubert/Jaquet (who beat Kaminsky/Rubenstein). Their final opponents would
either be Alber/LeBras (who beat Chotras/Neuberger) or the Portuguese pair of Tong/Loretta
Kan.
In the Mixed final, it was Ness/Lantermann vs. Hrbud/CirilaPirc. As for our U.S.
playersall four teams lost in the 1st round. Right, time to go home.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Gunnion had lost in the semis of a Nov., 1962 tournament to the South African No.
1 Derek Wall, then living in England, who in the final was beaten by the 18-year-old
Middlesbrough player, Denis Neale. Neales powerful forehand attack, interspersed with a
delicate drop shot, proved just too good for Wall, whose brilliant retrieving brought repeated
bursts of applause from the spectators (Table Tennis, Dec., 1962, 21). By the mid-1960s,
Wall, winner of the Bournemouth Open, will still be playing with rubber on his backhand but
will have switched to sandwich on his forehand. Soon well see both Denis and Derek
competing at the Toronto CNENeale to win the Open, Wall to win the Closed.

73

Chapter Six
1963: Season-Ending Closed Tournaments. 1963: E.C. Election. 1963: Kilpatrick
Resigns The Presidency: Differences With Schiff Are Too Great. 1963: E.C. Meeting.
U.S. Team members after their month abroad will likely welcome a vacation from the
Game. But many at-home players look forward to the season winding down, for thats when
local Closed tournaments are usually held. These tournaments are appealing both to the casual
participants who come round each year mainly to socialize, and to the serious players who feel
that with a geographically limited field they have a better chance of winning a trophy or at
least getting a City or State ranking. (A striking example of this occurred in the 1961-62
season when the Michigan Association ranked 32 players in the Novice Class.)
I remember after Id retired from play in 1956 receiving an entry blank for a Long
Island Closedit might well have been the 1963 one (Id played exactly once during the last 6
years, but that was enough, since I was living in Great Neck, to put me on the LITTA mailing
list). For some reason I felt a strong urge to enter the tournament, but I was into a full-time
teaching job and trying to get a doctorate that would help me secure tenure, and reason told
me that I was in no position to start playing seriously again, which was the only way I wanted
to play. So finally I tore the entry blank into little bits and dumped them in the wastebasket.
Fifteen minutes later I had the bits of the entry blank back on my desk and was painstakingly
scotch-taping them together. Then after Id done that I tore them all to bits again. The Sport is
addictivebut I could hold off for a while.
The Mens Singles winner at this (34 engraved trophies awarded)
Long Island Closed, held Mar. 29-30 at Huntington Station Memorial
High School, was 16-year-old West Islip High student Fred Sadowski
whod come to the States last June from West Berlin where hed learned
to loop. Among his victims were Dr. Maurice Kendal, Consolation
winner over Topics Bats and Balls columnist Danny Ganz; 1962 L.I.
Mens Champ Walter Shur whod eliminated Sid Jacobs, the Islands best
and physically biggest Novice (an anomaly,
for his mother was only 4, 10); and in the
final Hal Green, Mens Champ in 59, 60,
and 61. Don McGraw, LITTA President,
won the Mens Novice Consolation from
Huntington TTA Secretary Harry Redlein.
Mens Doubles went to Defending
Champions Shur and Dr. Andreas Gal
whod survived a tough 25-23-in-the-4th
semis with Green and 4-time Mens Singles
Long Island
Champion
holder Dr. Mitch Silbert, Seniors winner
st
Fred
Sadowski
here over Jacobs. Alan Papier was 1 in
Boys. Sadowski, whod won a January
Huntington Station tourney from Phil Hadland, also took the
Juniorsin 5 from 15-year-old Jonathan Katz, later to get a
Photo by Mal Anderson
far, far bigger audience as a stand-up comedian with an
1962 Long Island Champion
expressionless Buster Keaton look and a deadpan delivery.
Walter Shur
74

TTT, Mar., 1963, 2

Former World Mixed Doubles
Champion Tybie Thall Sommer

Defending Womens Champion Tybie Thall

Sommer, -21, -21, 20, 11, 19 rallying in the semis to
barely outplay an equally gritty Eleanor Leonhardt, went
on to win the title againover Joan McIvor. It was in
1963 that Tybie and a few Long Island friends founded
the North Shore Womens Tennis League. Beginning with
6 teams, 40 years later they had 96 teams, and Sommer
was being honored at a Babe Zaharias Tennis Awards
Luncheon. Completing her hat trick, Tybie, the former
World Mixed Doubles Champion with Dick Miles, took
both the Womens Doubles with Vija Livins and the
Mixed with Jacobs (over Hal Green and his 11-year-old
daughter Alice). Terry Larsen was best in Junior Miss

over Girls Champ Joan Silbert.

Elias Solomon, recently arrived from India, easily won the New Jersey Closed over
Rogers Case whod eliminated former State Champs John Kilpatrick and Bill Cross. Nate
Stokes/Al Nochenson took the Doubles from Bill Cross/Ken Brause. Womens went to Jean
Gere, longtime circuit enthusiast, who now played only locally.
The Delaware Closed, held
May 24-25 at Wilmingtons
Kingswood Community Center, saw
Bob Hughes win the Mens by
defeating Don Estep in 5 in the semis
and former Champion Jim Miller, 3-0,
in the final after Jim had been down 20 to Newarks #2 seed Atul Shah.
Both Doubles also went to Hughes
the Mens with Estep over Miller/
Rufford Harrison; and the Mixed with
Veda Trader over Bob and Bernita
TTT, Sept., 1963, 12
TTT, Sept., 1963, 12
Earle. Barbara Bohning, 15, took the
Barbara
Bohning,
Bob Hughes,
Womens
from
Delaware
Open
Champ
1963
Delaware
Womens
Champ
1963 Delaware Mens Champ
Earle. Bruce Holck in his Topics
write-up tells us that this was the 12th Delaware Closed and that thered never been a Senior
event before, so debut congratulations to winner Merton Berger and fellow Arden Club finalist
Mike Hammer. Brothers Jeff and Martin Fox dominated the Juniors.
At the May 11-12 D.C. Closed, Eddie Record stopped Tibor Hazis local 20-year
streak as Mens Champion by hitting through him in the semis in straight games. In the other
semis, former U.S. Junior Champion Clark Goldstein defeated Jim Verta in 5. In the final,
after Record had lost the 3rd game 27-25 to go 2-1 down, he came back strong to take the
title. Round robin Womens: 1. Donna Chaimson, 24-22 in the 4th over Yvonne Kronlage. 2.
Kronlage, 17 in the 5th over Julia Rutelionis. 3. Rutelionis, 17 in the 5th over a much improved
Melba Martin. Lester Moskowitz was clearly superior in the Juniors.
At the late April Ohio Closed in Dayton, Don Lyons was best in Mens; Richard Rhoad
the runner-up. Mens Doubles went to Ralph Ramsey/Howard Thomas, Seniors winner and
runner-up respectively, over Ohio TTA President John Spencer and Dick Evans whose wife
75

Ann rallied from two games down to defeat Mary Landfair in the
Womens final. How quickly, following Providence, did Dick and Ann
establish residency in Ohio. Ann also won Womens Doubles with Junior
Miss Champ Cheryl Cheri Papier; runner-ups, Jan Stansel/Ann Shook.
Class A went to Bong Mo Lee. Class A Doubles: Norman Rose/Das
Varma over my old University of Dayton buddies, Sid Stansel and Cy
Fess, who in 1950 took me to my first out-of-town tournament at South
Bend.
At the Michigan Closed, 15-year-old Ralph Pete Childs
not only upset Chuck Burns to win the Mens Championship, but
helped by Tom Waters, Connie Stace, and Danny Robbinshe won
six other titles as well. Connie, also 15, won Womens Singles and
Doubles.
Cy Fess

E.C. Election
In the 1963 USTTA E.C. election, incumbents not up for re-election are President
Kilpatrick, Executive Vice-President Burns, Recording Secretary Harrison, and VicePresident Wasserman. Those running for the three V-P spots are: incumbents Schiff and
Chaimson (but not Pauline Somael), as well as Tournament Chair Art Goldblatt,
Exhibition Chair Dick Evans, Courts, Clubs & League Chair Dick Feuerstein,
Intercollegiate Chair Walt Stephens, and Californians Bruce Scott, Milla Boczar, and 1963
Dunlops Barna Award winner Shonie Aki. Perhaps its of their own choosing, but 5 of the
9 candidates, Feuerstein, Stephens, Scott, Boczar, and Aki did not have Campaign
Statements in Topics. Incumbent Treasurer Mona Buell had called it quits, so Bowie
Martin, William Tragesser, and Richard Blaner ran for her office. None of these three had
Campaign Statements in the magazine either. Blaner will be endorsed by Schiff, will win
election, and will then resign after a short time in office and be replaced by Herb
Schindler, Jr.
Both Evanss and Chaimsons Statements were uninspired (Chaimson echoing
President Shrouts call a decade ago for an Executive Secretary but not suggesting how we
could pay for one). Goldblatt is momentarily specific only with whats wrong with the
USTTApoor showmanship at events; low morale among our promoters (promoters? whos
promoting what?). Otherwise it turns out to be just empty or misguided rhetoric:
Table tennis is on the verge of great new strides in development in America.
As more leisure time becomes available in the United States, more hours will be spent
on sports generally. The rewards of organized competition will be sought after by more
Americans as the vicarious excitement of television and spectatorship wears off, as it
must.
A new philosophy for the USTTA is called for to meet the new opportunities
now presenting themselves. A new perspective has been developing in certain circles all
over the country (Mar., 1963, 17).
New strides, new philosophy, new perspective. Thats what might have been had
Kilpatrick more varied interests, more staying power, and the USTTA more money? Here,
from Schiffs Campaign Statement, is the beginning of whats on the verge:
76

I did a very bad job as vice-president during this

past year solely because I supported our President, Norman
Kilpatrick, in almost all the changes he wanted to make in the
USTTA. As he was newly elected (by 166 votes out of a
membership of over 2000), I felt that he deserved my
support. [The rhetoric is very misleading. Others running for
office that election received 179, 169, and 141 votes from an
apathetic membership that couldnt have come close to
numbering 2000 voting members. The Apr., 1964 Topics (67; 10-11) listed by name the then 737 voting members (there
were also 183 Junior members and 13 outside Topics
subscribers).] A look at the minutes of all [sic] our meetings
will prove this statement. [No, it wont, but wholl check it
out?].

Photo by Mal Anderson

Sol Schiff

Schiff continues with his Campaign Statement:

I was wrong in not opposing [sic] his plans on decisions he made such as
breaking up State Affiliates [all agreed this was just a one-year experiment], looking
for a change in the Publisher of Topics, and his ideas on how we should spend all of the
income that the USTTA takes in this year. [But Schiff is on record as being opposed to
Kilpatricks spending, opposed to the innovative things Kilpatrick was doingbringing
the English loopers to tour, sending our top players here and there to play against
them.] Blame for going along with Mr. Kilpatrick on all of these ideas [sic] should not
only be assumed by me but by all of the other members of the executive committee.
Solimagine what hed be saying if he hadnt been named Captain of the U.S. World
Teamgoes on to complain about less tournaments this season, which means less of an
income but whose fault was that? Not simply the Presidents. As Ive suggested, both the
Tournament Chair and the Topics Editor must shoulder blame. Topics, says Sol writing in the
Mar., 1963 issue, has been out only three times this seasonand while hes speaking of a time
period Im not privy to, I note that only September, 1962 of the seasons called-for 9 issues
did not appear. (Clearly during Kilpatricks one year as Editor, the magazines were better than
theyd ever been before. But getting a good Editor to take his place, and insuring that the
magazine is out on time are not easy tasks.)
Sol is correct in saying that Kilpatrick is spending more money than the USTTA is
taking in this year, and while thats not a healthy situation, Norman had indicated in his preElection position paper that he had no intention of banking Association money but would
spend trying to promote American table tennis. This is just what he didspent approximately
$3,000 more than income for various needs including the European trip and other promotional
events. Many might say it was naively idealistic of him to have as a model the acclaimed
Barna/Glancz vs. U.S. Players Tour of 30 years ago. Theyd question whether he had enough
success with his loopers to sell such a Tour with new stars next year. Norman was also
trying to get Brazils South American Champion da Costa and the great Japanese player/coach
Ogimura here. Ogi wont make it for a while, but da Costa and Swedens Hans Alser will play
in the Jan., 1964 Easterns.
77

Schiff is more right than wrong when he says, Kilpatrick personally resents any
opinion that differs with his. But surely the same can be said even more so of Sol. Im not so
sure that Norman interferes with various committees and with decisions that they make, but
I do think he pushes hard for what he wants. And thats because he hopes to make a
differencewants the Sport to move here in the U.S. Youll see soon enough that, contrary to
what Goldblatt is saying, the USTTA is on the verge of doing next to nothing, of not trying to
do anything, particularly fund-raising.
Sol ends his Campaign Statement by assuring his readers that he could bring up many
other things Kilpatrick has done wrong, and that were Kilpatrick to answer these accusations
he would not tell the truth. [But Sol will tell the truth?] Thats more than finger-pointing, thats
an upraised hand striking. I strongly recommend that you vote for another candidate [not
me], says Sol, if you feel that Mr. Kilpatrick has done a good job this year (17).
Well! What, after reading that, is Kilpatricks reaction once the votes are in?
Kilpatrick Resigns: Differences with Schiff Are Too Great
Kilpatricks response (he calls it a Report to the Membership)
is a very measured one. He begins by recounting what he thinks has
been accomplished this past season. He praises Feuerstein for the rise
in affiliates. Applauds Prescott, whom hes always thought very
highly of, for a job unequalled in all our history, by raising the funds
for, and supervising the tour of Western Europe by four of our
leading juniorsall the while getting some much needed publicity
for the Sport. Harrison, he says, must take a bow for his work as
Equipment and International Chair, and USTTA Photographer
Anderson too for his donation of time, talent, and material. Finally,
he has several good words for the Tour of the English loopers and
Norman Kilpatrick
the U.S. World and Junior Teams that performed so well abroad.
On the negative side, changes in personnel disrupted the
effectiveness of the Central Regional Directors office and of our Membership Chair. Lack of
work on the 1961-62 rankings during that season has caused much delaytheyll be
published in tandem with the 62-63 rankings. The Rules Chair failed to issue revised copies
of the Laws of Table Tennis. And there were problems in the mailing of TABLE TENNIS
TOPICS caused by a mix-up in changes of addresses and new members between the publisher
of the magazine and our Membership Committee (TTT, May, 1963, 3).
Kilpatrick now echoes what he said in his position paper before being electedthat
those who are not satisfied with the present situation of American table tennis must realize
that they must run and elect not just one man, but a [harmonious] majority of the Executive
Committee of the USTTA, if they really wish to see their suggestions put into practice (Vol.
III, 446). He then continues his Report by detailing his problems with the E.C.s most
powerful member, Schiff:
I attempted to obtain Mr. Schiffs support for various programs that I felt
might benefit the sport, and to persuade him of my interest in seeing table tennis grow
and progress. Thus, I was most sorry to see that as the season went on he appeared to
oppose, more and more, items which I presented to the Executive Committee for
consideration.
78

Before taking office I realized that while I

have great respect for Mr. Schiff as a table tennis
player, my former commercial rivalry with him, and
the fact that I cannot share his view of his abilities
as a coach of the modern game, provided the soil from which unfortunate personal
conflicts might arise.At the 1962 USTTA Summer Meeting Mr. Schiff recommended
himself for the Captaincy [of the U.S. World Team], and as it worked out I was not
able to support him for this important post, because I honestly felt that the other two
candidates for this position would do a better job for the USTTA. I fear this lack of
support may have been taken personally by Mr. Schiff, and I also feel he did not
understand my opposition to his actions as a member of the Selection Committee as far
as consideration of Richard Miles was concerned, as being motivated by my desire that
we present the best possible team to the rest of the World at Prague, not by personal
opposition to him as an individual.
Finally, I can understand thatmy suggestion that we bring the English
loopers here could arouse ill-feeling between us, since to bring them it was necessary
for the majority of the Executive Committee to vote publicly in opposition to Mr.
Schiffs objections to this move. At the same time I can see how it might be possible
for an older player to feel his advertised position as Mr. Table Tennis, an authority on
the sport, was being threatened by the introduction of a new playing technique to
American table tennis, and to have little love for the person responsible for presenting
this project to the E.C. [Sol couldnt grasp how to coach the modern game? I find that
hard to believe.]
[Sol] does do a great deal of promotional work in the sport, and as a
result has built up much prestige among the membership. This well-known prestige
and this recent overwhelming re-election to the Executive Committee, after
campaigning only for votes of persons who did not approve of my programs this
past season, present me with a most serious problem, I fear.I believe that if I
continue to serve as president, Mr. Schiff might attempt to obstruct any programs I
might propose, and due to the personal feeling between us, future Executive
Meetings might be reduced in effectiveness as the recent Detroit Meeting was [see
Chapter Four].I feel that for the good of the office of USTTA President, the best
interests of the USTTA, and for my own best interests, I must resign my office as
USTTA President.
79

He then tells his E.C. that even if

they werent willing to accept his
resignation, hed already committed
himself as of July 1 to rejoin the MartinKilpatrick Company.
Kilpatricks Report generated a
Topics Letter to the Editor from Dick
Evans who did not win the election
Chaimson, Schiff, and Aki did, Shonie
getting many West Coast votes for his
Barna Award accomplishmentsthe
opening of his California Club and his
efforts to bring the Nationals again to
Inglewood in 64, a tournament he
personally would oversee. Evans,
lamenting that the Sport itself has suffered
as a result of this prolonged and bitter
controversy, continues with these
comments
Although the public at
Photo by Mal Anderson
large was not aware of the affair,
1963 Award Winner Shonie Aki
even the most casual player must
who will bring the 64 Nationals to Inglewood
have been confused and bewildered
by the raft of charges and vituperation. The confidence in the national body must have
been shaken. As a result many rifts have occurred and it has been difficult for those
who know both persons involved to qualify their comments to avoid a jaundiced
opinion, or the loss of a friend. At the risk of both I would offer the following
observations:
Mr. Kilpatrick brought to the Presidency of the U.S.T.T.A. and the national
table tennis community a freshness of concept which a dynamic association must have
to prosper. He instituted programs which, if less successful than anticipated, were so
more from the failure of administration than in validity of conception. [Case in point:
Normans Internal Promotion Program of granting expense money to the winners of
tournaments in one region, if they agreed to attend tournaments in another region.
This good idea would be continued, but it hadnt worked as yetperhaps because
getting the approval took too much time between the application for funds and the
tournament [to be attended].] Mr. Kilpatrick was, I feel, a young man of vision.
Perhaps this vision and his youth were his undoing, for he had such zeal for his
commission that he moved too quickly and with too much determination, offending
and alienating the establishment, if you will. [Is that what he did? Surely thats
debatable.]
Sol Schiff is the American hero of table tennis. On Main Street anyone who
knows anything about table tennis can mention the name of Sol Schiff as a famous
player. I would surmise that Mr. Schiff has traveled more, for less compensation, over
the United States than any other player.He has been coach and inspiration to a
80

generation of table tennis players. On the other side of the coin Schiff is a man who is
rigid and uncompromising in his opinions. It is impossible to win an argument with Sol
once he has made up his mind.
It was perhaps inevitable that a conflict arise. It is impossible to predict
which, if either, history will vindicate.But regardless of which is correct, the sport
has been diminished and will continue to carry scars of this battle. I hope future
administrations of the U.S.T.T.A. can find some less traumatic way to resolve
differences [Oh my, wait until Schiff and I have our differences 20 years later] (Oct.,
1963, 12).
Scars were quick to be seen. At the upcoming E.C. Meeting, Kilpatrick, combative
enough now, would send the E.C. a letter requesting disciplinary action against Schiff and an
investigation into Schiffs handling of certain funds and of the USTTA supply of pens while in
Europe. (The E.C. felt there was no evidence of impropriety.) Kilpatrick would also
propose that persons in the equipment business ought to be barred from places on the
Executive Committee. (No action was taken.)
E.C. Meeting Following
Kilpatricks Resignation
At the July 6-7, 1963
E.C. Meeting, held at the
Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel in
Detroit, Executive VicePresident Chuck Burns was
elevated to the Presidency
though not without the
suggestion by Prescott that
Feuerstein or Steenhoven take
the job (which they declined to
do). Absent from the Meeting
From 1961 U.S. Open Program
TTT, Oct., 1963, 14
were: Wasserman and Aki
USTTA President Chuck Burns
USTTA Treasurer Dick Blaner
from California, D.C.s
Goldblatt, and the new Treasurer from Newark, DE, Dick Blaner, a public school music
teacher and Band Director. Detroits Steenhoven and President Burnss son Doug attended, as
did Feuerstein who, promptly taking Burnss place as Executive Vice-President, became the 5th
E.C. member present. Since, in addition, to their lodging, the E.C. members present would
have their travel expenses paid (out of a budget not to exceed $500), it was, in a sense,
beneficial to those attending if just a quorum showed up.
Since Elmer Cinnater had resigned his Disciplinary Chair, the E.C. decided not to
replace him, theyd just handle cases themselves. At the moment a few of these needed
resolution. At the last Philadelphia Open, Bukiet had refused to play his final. He was required
to play on a table that hed played his semis on, but didnt like, and that was different from the
tables hed played on earlier. His refusal was a no-no, so the E.C. was suspending Bernie until
he returned the $25 runner-up prize money hed been awarded. However, since the Philly
organizers were in the wrong too for not having uniform playing conditions, the E.C. ruled
that Bernie was to return the money not to the tournament organizers but to the USTTA.
81

From now on, all tables in an Open tournament had to be approved tables
of the same manufacturer.
Because of Danny Pecoras premeditated default in the recent
U.S. Open Junior Doubles, the E.C. suspended him until Sept. 13,
1963which meant he couldnt play in the CNE tournament.
Burns/Schiff and Cross/Bukiet were given reprimands for not
7
6
9
completing the final of the Senior Doubles, also in the recent U.S.
,1
uly
, J ora
Open. It would seem that those asking the players to complete an
s
e w Pec
N
event at such an ungodly hour (3:30 a.m.) should also be reprimanded.
TA ny
CT Dan
Harrison said hed made arrangements for the Jan., 1964 Eastern
Open to be nationally televised by NBC (though not in the early hours of the
morning), and that he was negotiating with NBC to televise the Apr., 1964 U.S.
Open. He pointed out that televising the U.S. Open would be arranged without any
intermediary from the California Association, so, though Rufford acknowledged the CTTA
would have extra work to do, the USTTA should get the bulk of the income. The E.C.
decided to establish a TV/Motion Picture Committee of Chair Harrison, Steenhoven, and
USTTA Legal Advisor Forrest Barr. It was agreed that the USTTA would receive 20% of the
fixed fee paid by NBC for the Eastern Open. With regard to the U.S. Open, the EC would
later decide that, after USTTA expenses (Harrisons trip to the West Coast, for example, to see
that all went smoothly), the USTTA would receive two-thirds of the income.
On the International front, the possibility of a North American Federationthe U.S.,
Canada, and who else? Caribbean countries? Central American countries?was thought too
complicated to pursue. But a Pan-American Federation would allow for the possibility of the
U.S. participating in the Pan-Am Games, so Canadian President John Hunnius was asked to
look into that.
Harrison was also on top of his Equipment responsibilities. In the 1961-62 season ball
seals and table seals accounted for about twice as much income as during the previous
season. The increase for table seals was due largely to the activities of Brinktun, who have
had an agreement with us for only little over a year. Brinktuns are sold by Schiffwhich
allowed Sol to point out an oddity: namely, that an NYC amusement tax of $.50 is levied on a
table tennis table but not on a billiard table.
However, this season sales of seals were down very significantlyBrinktun went
from $1,000 to $375, Harvard from $1,250 to $700, and Sico $500 to $312. If t.t. is growing,
said Rufford, who thinks its really in a slump, it may be that the main growth is in cheaper
lines of equipment, which are not approved. Of course even USTTA approved tables have
vast differences in playing characteristicsfor example, roughness, dead spots, a surface
finish that quickly turns the ball green. Superior tables that had been used in the 1962
Nationals without seal-approval and subsequently not approved, were now, with the purchase
of 500 seals, back in the USTTAs good graces. Dick Evans, always interested in equipment
and playing conditions, felt that the Superior tablewith its heavy wood under-carriage that
set so solidly on the floorwas the best of the American tables.
As for balls, the only one widely used was the Olympia (sold by Schiffwho
commented on another oddity: that there was a 10% excise tax on table tennis equipment but
not on a baseball glove). It would be healthier, said Harrison, if we had another good ball on
the market. Since he doesnt like the nets and standards, the E.C. agreed to stop selling
combined sets, and to approve nets but not posts. Racketsbetter approve those with a
82

suitable seal and charge 3 cents for each. Rufford takes Regent and Westminster to task for
misleading Approval statements, and Schindler comes down hard on General Sportcraft for
using the word official with regard to its sandpaper and other racquets. Schindler finds
amazing their defense that official is properly descriptive of equipment that complies with
the specifications of average play. Further, says Schindler, every one of their official sets
contains a net that is at least 6 too short, some of them being even shorter (TTT, Mar.,
1964, 14).
Prescott was working hard for the Juniors (was it President Kennedy who said,
Youth is our best national product?): from now on all International Team Fund fees from
junior and lower age-limit events would be put into a Junior account via Treasurer Blaner.
Perhaps Regional Junior tournaments could be held with winners receiving some travel funds
to the U.S. Open. No overseas play was likely for Juniors in 1964. Beginning in the 64-65
season, the U.S. Junior age limit will be lowered a year: will no longer be under 18 as of May
31st, but will have to conform to the International rulenamely, that a person shall be a junior
if he or she was under 17 on the preceding July 1st. The Novice event that many Juniors
play in will nowan improvement image-wisebe called Class B (win one and you cant
enter another).
I presume Dick Feuerstein felt the Clubs needed incentives (though not his own VFW
Club in St. Charles, MO which he worked tirelessly for), so $205 was allocated to buy 1140
cloth emblems to be presented to worthy club members. Of course Dicks Club promptly
awarded its season allotment of 5 such emblems, gave out Alonzo Stagg (Physical Fitness)
Medallions to others, and received the better part of two pages in Topics to elaborate on their
choices. Far more modest space was given to other clubs and their winnersof which there
were many.
Since Steenhoven was freed from whatever he was doing with the Internal Promotion
Committee (the Tournament Chair and Regional Directors would handle that), he took on both
Topics (replacing Jerry Schuster) and Membership (replacing Fran Delaney whod replaced
Fred Danner whod felt the work was too much for one person.) As there had been no
Coaching Report and no activity, Jack Carr replaced Si Wasserman as Coaching Chairman.
New Selection Chair was John Read (replacing Bill Cross); Cross became the Nominating
Chair. Bob Chaimson should have found a recipient for the donated Catok Trophy (not
awarded last year; not awarded this year), so lets see if Trophy Chair Si Ratner can present it
to someone next year.
In the Report in which hed announced his resignation, Kilpatrick said he knew that in
his first year of office, a World Championship year, much of his efforts would have to be
turned internationally (which was where his interest lay).* But, he said, hed hoped that in his
second year he and his E.C. could turn our attention toward the vast internal problems facing
American table tennis.
However, even with Schiffs cooperation, whether he could have been successful in at
least partially solving the Associations ever-plaguing problems (among them, raising funds,
getting publicity for the sport so as to increase membership, establishing a workable
organizational network throughout our huge country) is problematic. For Kilpatrick seemed
more of a do-it-yourself guy than a motivator of others, as witness the lethargy that seemed to
have seeped into much of his E.C. and Committees, provoking on occasion sharp chastisement
from duty-minded Harrison. Recall Goldblatts line in his Campaign Statement: The morale of
our promoters is low. I certainly think Goldblatts morale is lowI dont think he was
83

motivated to do much. Only Harrison and Prescott, with their own interests, were motivated
self-motivated.
Maybe instinctively Kilpatrick realized that his energy, his idealism, didnt extend to
encouraging Committee Chairs and, without funds, overseeing the necessarily small, gradual
improvements they could make. Maybe his resignation was based as much on knowing this as
on his antipathy to Schiff. Didnt he have the E.C. more on his side than not? Granted he felt a
rebuff to his pride, but were those who voted for Schiff intent on stinging him? Why not stay
the course even if he had to fight with Schiff? Did he really think the Association would do
better with another President? Or was it that he knew (honorably?) in his heart it wasnt really
going to go anywhere with him?
SELECTED NOTES.
*Its no surprise that when Kilpatrick perceived an international injusticespecifically
that the Republic of China (Taiwan) was being excluded from the ITTFhe began to try to
get them admitted. Heres a little summary of how hed pursued, and would continue to
pursue thisI almost want to say, obsession.
It had been our International Chair Rufford Harrisons understanding that the Republic
of China had earlier applied for membership in the ITTF under the name All-China Table
Tennis Federation. ITTF regulations state that the name of an association should be
descriptive of the area under its control. Since Taiwan hardly represented all of China,
Rufford could scarcely in the past, in good faith, vote for that Associations admittance.
Moreover, Rufford still didnt understand how now they could use the name Taiwan at the
Asian Games (which China didnt compete in), but not at the Worlds where they wanted to be
called the Republic of China (ROC). However, clarification will come.
In his initial burst of energy and enthusiasm, President Kilpatrick was hoping to encourage
a Taiwanese team to come tour the U.S., but it didnt seem to be working out. Meanwhile, in a
Sept. 29, 1962 letter, our International Chair Harrison had asked ITTF Secretary Roy Evans if the
U.S. could legally play against an ITTF-unaffiliated ROC team. Evans feared that complications
would ensuethat the Taiwanese would end up calling themselves China, for exampleso he was
relieved to hear that the U.S. had apparently abandoned the idea.
But they hadntor at least Kilpatrick hadnt. On Jan. 15, 1963 Kilpatrick writes to
the Republic of China, offers them a country-wide U.S. Tour, entrance to the U.S. Open, and a
match with Canadaeven though the ITTF might disapprove. He thinks it grossly unfair that,
because of the pressure Red China is putting on the ITTF, and the bias that Montagu
himself, a longtime member of the Communist Party, has, that the Republic of China is being
excluded from membership in the Federation.
That same day he writes to Rufford, says hes talked with the Nationalist Chinese
Embassy, I presume in Washington, D.C., says the ROC Team would call themselves
Nationalist China, says well tell the ITTF weve invited Nationalist China to tour the U.S., but
wont tell them until after the Apr., 63 Prague Worlds that weve invited them to play in the
U.S. Open (well just give their players USTTA memberships to make it legal). Oh, yes indeed,
Kilpatrick has gung-ho found himself an ennobling cause.
On Jan. 18, Norman writes ROCs Secretary Sui-Guang Lousays (shades of
President Zeisberg 30 years earlier) that the U.S. is attempting to organize a drive to replace
the president and secretary of the ITTF [Montagu and Evans] with an Asian and a North
American official. Who, besides Kilpatrick, is pushing for this? Not Harrison, who certainly
84

doesnt want to be rebellious. Kilkpatrick asks the ROC to allow our delegate in Prague to
submit your request for membership. If its refused, we (again, whos the we?) will put up
our candidates (who?) to run for President and Secretary. Mgod, what kind of fantasy is this?
On Mar. 12, Ake Eldh, ITTF Deputy President, writes Harrison, says that the ITTF
E.C. has to be consulted before a member-team can play with an unaffiliated body. Ruffords in
the middle. He doesnt think its fair to exclude the Taiwanesebut he likes his USTTA
International Chair and doesnt want to alienate his ITTF buddies. So on Mar. 17, he writes
Eldh, says, not reporting Kilpatricks position quite correctly, that when Kilpatrick decided to
invite Taiwan, and tell the ITTF about it laterI bowed out of the whole affair.
But did he? Though, as it turns out, Taiwans not coming (because of financial
problems?), Rufford warns Eldh that Kilpatrick might instruct his Prague delegate to argue
that Taiwan should be admitted to the Federation. Rufford doesnt want the question brought
up in Praguesays confidentially that Kilpatrick is quite a trouble maker, both within the
Association and without. Admitting to being an occasional hypocrite himself, he says, people
are only hypocritical because hypocrisy is useful. He says hes got to stay in the Peoples
Republic of Chinas Chen Hsiens good graces, as he does with all important ITTF officials.
So, o.k., Norman, not Rufford, will send a circular letter to all ITTF member-countries.
Meanwhile, Norman persistently wants to marshal evidence for an iron-clad case that
the ITTFs exclusion of the ROC is politically motivated. On June 29 he writes to ROCs TT
President Ching-Ton Lien, asking for a copy of the 1958 ITTF letter requesting changes in
ROCs constitution before it would consider its bid for membership. It takes him a while to get
this letter, but it and further information is of clarifying help to him and to Rufford.
It turns out that the ITTF would not accept a title actually containing the legal name
of the country: The Table Tennis Federation of the Republic of China. In an Oct. 28, 1963
letter, Ching tells Kilpatrick that Republic of China has been the name of his Federation from
1957 on. He explains:
When the Second Asian Table Tennis Championships were held in Tokyo in
1953, the former Table Tennis Association of Taiwan took part as a provisional
member. In 1957, this Federation was established and took over the functions of the
Table Tennis Association of Taiwan, now defunct. In the same year, when the Fourth
Asian Table Tennis Congress was held in Manila, this Federation was formally accepted
as a member of the Table Tennis Federation of Asia. In 1960 we did not send a team to
the Fifth Asian Table Tennis Congress held in Bombay, India. In our absence, the Asian
Table Tennis Congress, overriding the resolution of the previous Congress, changed
the name of our Federation from that of Republic of China to Taiwan. This situation
was later rectified in the Sixth Asian Table Tennis Congress held in Manila early this year
[1963], when the name Republic of China was restored to the Federation.
In a Mar. 14, 1963 letter to Ching, whod referred to previous applications for
membership, ITTF Sec. Evans notes the Feb. 20, 1958 letter sent to Mr. Sui-Guang Lou:
Since the territory concerned (Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy, and Matsu) is
clearly a part of Chinawe requested you in fact to modify your constitution so as to
remove ambiguity as to the territory in which you claim to be organizing the game and to
indicate the precise extent of the representative character recognized to you.
85

The ITTF asks one to believe that the name, Peoples Republic of China, suggests an
Association that maybe has control over all of China, including the mainland? Its supposedly not
geographically clear that the Republic of China covers a territory distinct from that of the
Peoples Republic of China?
Did the ITTF ask the Koreas to make such a geographically clear distinction? No. South
Koreas Constitution, readily accepted by the ITTF, simply said: The KTTA represents all table
tennis activities in the Republic of Korea. That line wasnt questionedthe distinction between
the KTTA and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea was understood.**
The Peoples Republic of China was predictably indignant when they got Kilpatricks highly
critical post-Prague-Worlds circular, Politics and the I.T.T.F. It accuses the ITTF of denying the
Republic of China membership on underlying political considerations. Heres a representative
paragraph:
The Republic of China is, of course, the political unit
which is represented in the United Nations, and which administers a
particular and well known area of the world today. (While the
Peoples Republic of China, represented now in the ITTF, controls
an equally well known and defined area of this planet). Since the
Republic of China Table Tennis Federation (or Nationalist China as
the nation is known in America) asked to be admitted under its exact
name, which specifies clearly that its administration of table tennis is
within the Republic of China, and does not claim All-China or some
such title, the refusal by certain groups within the ITTF to allow fair
consideration and acceptance of this association for Federation
membership seems most unusual and disturbing. This is especially so
since ITTF President Ivor Montagu and Federation Secretary Roy
Evans appear to have gone along with this politically motivated
opposition, which included the representatives of Communist China,
instead of opposing such negative action, for such unsporting
reasons.

ITTF President
Ivor Montagu

On Aug. 27, 1963 the Peoples Republic of China makes a long

reply to all ITTF member nations. The U.S. with its stooge Kilpatrick,
they say, has overtly peddled U.S. imperialisms scheme for creating
two Chinas, and has slandered Montagu:
To demand that the I.T.T. F. recognize Chinas territory of
Taiwan as an independent unit when it is still under armed
occupation by the U.S. means in substance to ask the I.T.T.F. to
recognize as lawful the forcible occupation of the Chinese territory
of Taiwan by the U.S. It is in fact asking the I.T.T.F. to follow U.S.
imperialisms policy of hostility towards the Chinese people.

ITTF Secretary
H. Roy Evans

Rufford says in a May, 6, 1964 letter to Kilpatrick that he, Rufford, and the ITTFs
North American V-P John Hunnius think the initiative on whether the Republic of China is
admitted or not must come from Taiwan:
86

The Taiwan people have often shown themselves reluctant to correspond, and also
to come to the aid of themselves. We do not feel like doing a lot of work to help them, if
they are not really sincere about it. We also have the problem of staying on good terms, as
far as possible, with others. So we dont want to rock the boat until there is obviously
something to rock for.
So Harrison and Hunnius want Kilpatrick to write to the Taiwanese and ask them to
take action. There will be a Meeting of the Advisory Committee in Aug., but as neither John
nor Rufford can attend (for financial reasons) to plead Taiwans case, nothing will happen.
Rufford thinks the Republic of Chinas Federation should send a circular to all membercountries raising the arguments established and with absolutely no political overtones. It
should be persuasive and get everyone ready to vote.
Oh, he says, there is one problem. Membership applications go through the
Membership Committeeand, uh, one might be hard-pressed to find anyone there to go to bat
for Taiwan. But if we can just get the matter of that circular letter to the floor of the ITTFs
General Meeting at the 1965 Ljubljana Worlds, Taiwan will get in. So go to it, Norman,
youre our liaison. Meanwhile, Harrison reminds Kilpatrick that he, Rufford, doesnt represent
the USTTA. Hes an ITTF committeeman whos expected to work for the good of table
tennis, irrespective of politics.
**Kilpatrick tells Rufford in a Nov. 2, 1963 letter that the only case that seemed
weaker than the ITTF position here is the case in 1959 when a voting register in Tuskegee,
Alabama refused to allow a Negro Ph.D. from Tuskegee Institute to register to vote on the
grounds that he was not literate (the register had a sixth grade education himself). I venture
to say that this sentence offers a clue that what I heard might be true: that Kilpatrick later
became a confidant in the Ku Klux Klan, the better to be an FBI informant against them.

87

Chapter Seven
1963: Whats Wrong (In Part) With U.S. Table Tennis. 1963: Summer Tournaments.
1963: Gusikoff/Kaminsky Win CNE. 1963: Fall Tournaments. 1963: Womens USOTCs.
1963: Mens USOTCs. 1963-64: For $4Or More?
An immediate inability of the USTTA to get it together, a precursor of whats to
come, can be seen with the three summer tournaments (only three) that received Topics
coveragea Chicago Open, a Boulder, CO Open, and a Santa Monica Closed (the socalled Closed illegal because, reducing USTTA sanction and entry fee revenue, the
organizer and players from a wide open territory, L.A. to San Diego, participated in what
should have been called an Open). In each case, whoever ran the tournament (had it
been run properly), as well as the USTTA Regional Director of the area, as well as the
USTTA Tournament Chairman, should have seen to it that the USTTA Ranking
Committee received the results (though Closed results are not considered either for
participation points or ranking). Didnt anyone care?
Conversely this summer, the Ranking Committee received the results of six Open
tournaments that were never published in Topics. And, as often happens, the past portends the
future. A flowering of tournament activity can be found in the Baltimore, Hyattsville, and D.C.
Clubs. Terrific. Butand heres one answer to Jack Carrs March, 1964 article Whats
Wrong With [U.S.] Table Tennisthis little pocket of play will put on fully half of the
roughly 40 tournaments reported to the Ranking Committee during the 63-64 season. Are we
to believe there arent many other tournaments country-wide? (And, if not, why not?) Or is it
more likely, as in the three summer tournaments I mentioned above, that sponsors dont much
care about USTTA regulations?
Moreover, given those 20 Baltimore, Hyattsville, D.C. tournaments reported to the
Ranking Committee, why arent more than just a few of them covered in Topics? Especially
when the Editor, addressing tournament sponsors, praises the good presentation of
[tournament] material coming from Baltimore. The only tournament article that appeared in
Topics all season long from Baltimore, the one on the Womens USOTCs, ought to be praised
for its accompanying very detailed results; however, the article itself was not a good one. As
for the Mens USOTCs, held in Editor Steenhovens Detroit, it had a better article and also
very highly detailed players records, but, bafflingly, these, along with Detroits Central Open
results, did not find their way to the Ranking Committee.
Think it was bad when the suspect 1961-62 Rankings were delayed a whole year? Only
finally to be incompletely matched up side by side:
1962 1963
5
1 B. BukietNew York.
Thus clumsily failing to identify, for example, the U.S. Mens #1, #2, #9, #11, #17, and #19
finishers among the Top 20 in the 1961-62 Rankings (for these players had no Ranking in the
62-63 season). Well, itll get worse. Poor Dean Johnson*what a 1963-64 Ranking Chair
hed been strapped into. Hed get the job done as best he could, but what repercussions had to
have followed when players didnt get their duetheir wins, their participation points (9 are
needed for a ranking). Still, said Johnson, it might be a good thing: their complaints may put
pressure on tournament and regional directors to [ful]fill their responsibilities. Discreetly the
USTTA kept Deans Rankings privatethey never did appear.
88

What Open tournaments were being covered in the now 9 yearly issues of Topics from
Sept., 1963 through June-July, 1964? The U.S. Open; Mens and Womens USOTCs;
Easterns; Pacific Coast; Central; Colorado; Great Plains, as well as one-star tournaments in
Inglewood, San Diego, Phoenix, Des Moines, Chicago, Kalamazoo, Hyattsville, and D.C.
Also, there was coverage of three Open tournaments in Canada. From these Canadian
tournaments, attending U.S. players could get participation points, but their matches would
only count in the Rankings if they played against each other. (It would seem no two U.S.
entries ever did play one another, not even in the CNE.) Were the Editor to bunch these U. S.
and Canadian results together, how many of his 144 yearly pages would he use? Perhaps 28 in
allwith 5 of the de rigueur tournaments, the CNE, the Mens and Womens USOTCs, the
Easterns, and the U.S. Open, getting about two-thirds the coverage. There were also about 10
Closed tournaments reportedsay, another 6 pages worth. So, not enough tournaments, not
enough coverage of thembut 110 pages ofsomething else.
Hadnt former USTTA President/Editor Otto Ek with his mimeographed Newsletter
sheets of tournament after tournament results to the Membership proven that the more
tournament results made public the more tournaments were run? But what can the Editor
do? some say. He can only put into the magazine what he getsthough, granted, much of it
is better suited for a local club or affiliates Newsletter than a National magazine. Indeed, if the
awful truth were told, many an issue has to be padded when the material just isnt there, or
is too hard to fill in.
Whats Wrong With [U.S.] Table Tennis? The answer is, again, in part, that the USTTA
Tournament Chairman, the USTTA Regional Director, and the local organizer of the
tournament arent being efficient, and neither, though to a lesser degree for hes at least getting
a product out, is the Topics Editor. Its not enough for the Editor to say to tournament
sponsors in Topics, Your reporter should give a brief description of the highlights of the
tournament and then present typed or printed results complete.
If hes not receiving interesting or even readable material, he
has to solicit it, and that takes time and effort. Of course Editor
Steenhoven is, or, mgod, will be, for a while anyway, also the
USTTA Executive Secretary and the USTTA Membership Chaira
volunteerwho has a full time job with Chrysler.
Alright, enough, for the moment, of perennial complaints
Jack Carr will soon address many of the Associations problems and
hope to have them fixed. Tournament Chairman Goldblatt will
remain with us this season, as will four of the five Regional Directors
TTT, May, 1965, Cover
doing a bad job.
Graham Steenhoven
Summer Tournaments
At the summer Chicagoland tournament, Dick Hicks 11, -19, 20, 12 won the Mens
over Laszlo Varenyibut as far as the Ranking Committee was concerned the tournament was
never held, and so last seasons U.S. #7 Hicks and U.S. #9 Varenyi were hush-hush on their
way to this seasons Insufficient Data. Hicks also paired with Mike Dorsey to take the
Doubles. Future circuit regulars Jim Lazarus and Charlie Disney (who would win the 1964
Minnesota Open over Chris Faye) make their first Topics appearance at this tournament. Norm
Schless won the Mens Consolation. Womens went to Pat Havlick; runner-up was Mary Jane
Schatke. Havlick/Varenyi were best in Mixed.
89

Out in Colorado, Joe Sokoloff won the Mensin the semis from Boulder Club
President Ralph Bender and in the final from former Egyptian National Champion, now a
Colorado University student, Azmy Ibrahim, both in the deciding 3rd. Mens Doubles went to
Oklahoma City Club Secretary Alex Thomas/Cecil Woodworth over David Petty/John Rangel.
Larry Knouft was the #1 Junior; David Barnes, the runner-up. Boys winner: David Lund over
Dan Allison.
Other results: Womens Champ Mary White had an easy time with finalist Nancy
Morris, the B Womens winner over Norma Evans. Norma and her husband, J. Morton Evans,
President of the Amarillo, TX club, won the Mixed. USTTA-reinstated Harry Lund took the
Seniors; runner-up, Evans. A Doubles: Ibrahim/ Marty Cohen over Vernon Eisenhour/Edgar
Stein.
At Santa Monica, the Mens went to new arrival from Sweden Ragnar Ray
Fahlstrom over Shonie Aki. But Shonie and Dave Froehlich took the Doubles from Ray and
Jess Martinez, Jr. Val Smith won the Womens from Jesss talented young sister Patty who,
like her brother, owed a debt to San Diego Coach Gene Lee. Smith/Froehlich were best in
Mixed over Martinez/Fahlstrom. Ph. D. physicist Howard Wilcox, Director of Research and
Engineering at General Motors Defense Research Labs in Santa Barbara, won both the
Seniors and the Junior Vets (a non-USTTA event that some California tournaments persisted
in incorporating)the 40s over Al Fitak; the 35s over C Champ Dick Hilbert.
In one of the Table Tennis columns Novice winner Brooke Williams did for the
University of California at Santa Barbara (she was also teaching t.t. in a Racquets Class there),
Brooke speaks of National Champion Bukiet sitting in on a couple of her classes. If push came
to shove, Bernie just might have had some interesting Polish/ Russian/German/American views
on political theory and international law (or lawlessness).
Gusikoff/Kaminsky CNE Champs
In the International Matches at the Aug. 29-31 CNE tournament in Toronto, USTTA
Executive Secretary Hermann Prescott Captained the U.S. Teams, CTTA Junior Development
Chair Pranas Gvildys the Canadians. In the Mens competition, the tie was 3-3 after a
combined singles effort by the U.S.Bobby Fields over Larry Lee; Dick Hicks over Klaus
Katzenmeier; and Jerry Kruskie over Howie Grossman. The Dec. Topics write-up said that
Fields defeated Lee by looping and by a series of fantastically high lob defensive returns.
This play, however, resulted in Fields suffering a sore arm that would force him out of his
remaining singles play (Laszlo Varenyi would substitute for him).
After 18-year-old penholder Larry Lee banged balls through Hicks, and Marinko had
taken two singles and with Lee two doubles, the Canadians were up 5-3. But then the
Americans produced the clutch wins they had to: Varenyi over Grossman 20, 13; Kruskie over
Lee 24, 19, 12; and Hicks over Marinko 19, 14. Jerrys gutsy play provided the climax to the
tie. In the taut 2nd game, Lee unleashed a series of backhand and forehand drives that forced
the New York player back to the wire fence, from which position he smashed a tremendous
forehand counter-drive that caught Lee completely by surprise. The next point, again with his
back to the barrier, Jerry scored with another counter and turned the match in his favor (9).
In Womens playfollowing Barbara Kaminskys rejection of a deuce 2nd game try by
Denise Hunnius, and Connie Stace had taken the 3rd from Velta Adminis, and Donna Chaimson
had stopped Jenny Marinko, and especially after Kaminsky/Chaimson in sisterly sync had
defeated Hunnius/Joan Jessop 20, -17, 20 in the swing match the Canadians desperately
90

neededthe rout seemed almost complete.

But Hunnius 15, 19, 21 grittily denied the
U.S. a win. And so did Adminis with her 19,
19 victory over Chaimson. Itd been 11
years, though, since Marinkos first
Canadian Closed Championship, and now,
despite a graceful action shot of her on the
cover of the Nov., 63 Topics, she was no
match for Kaminsky; so when Hunnius/
Jessop went down in straight games to U.S.
Junior Miss Champions Stace/Chaimson,
the U.S. finished with a 6-2 win.
Strangely, the U.S. Junior Team
From Si Wassermans 1971
Table Tennis, 41
wasnt decided until the players got to
Pat Havlick
Canada. There, in a round-robin Play-off,
Mike Dorsey was 3-0, Mark Radom 2-1,
Doug Burns, 1-2, and Herman Johnson 0-3. Thus Dorsey and Radom took on Vancouvers
Peter Yip and William Yee and beat them 3-0 with only the 18-in-the-3rd doubles providing
some excitement. The U.S. (Chaimson, Pat Havlick) also won the Junior Miss tie 3-0 over
Helen Sabaliauskas and Violetta Nesukaitis whose 20, -12 loss to Havlick was Canadas only
challenge.
The Canadian Closed saw Marinko have
Photo by Mal Anderson
to work to win his 8th and last Mens
1963 Canadian
Championship. In both the semis against
Closed Champion
Denise Hunnius
Lee, now living in Vancouver, and in the
final against Katzenmeier, also from B.C.,
Max had to go 5. In the Womens
Championship, Hunnius regained the title
shed first won in 61 by defeating
Defending Champion Adminis who on
losing two games at 25-23 and 22-20 had
been down 2-1 to Canada #5 Helga
Bultemeier.
In the later rounds of the Mens Open
there were only two tense matches. In his
semis, Gusikoff downed Marty Doss 2422 in the 4th, and in his final Bobby
outlasted Fields, 19 in the 4th. Doug Burns,
15, in an early upset, looped his way through Hicks who last year had defeated Resek,
Hirschkowitz, and Fields before losing to Marinko (a loss Dick had just avenged in very timely
fashion in the International tie).
The Womens matches were hard fought beginning in the quarterswhere, against
Adminis, Chaimson won a pivotal 24-22 3rd game that allowed her to ease through the 5th, and
Stace knocked out Hunnius. Connie then eliminated Donna to reach the final against
Kaminsky. Although Connie stubbornly saved the 4th at deuce, she succumbed in the 5th,
allowing Barbara to add this years trophy to the one shed taken away in 59.
91

Other results: Juniors: Ralph

Childs, after losing games to Dave
Sakai and Mike Dorsey, over Doug
Burns. In an interview Sakai gave
decades later, he said he began
playing t.t. as a 16-year-old at a
Connecticut Y with a sandpaper
racket, and that as a tournament
beginner he was once beaten 21-0.
Junior Miss: Stace over Chaimson,
deuce in the 4th in the semis, and
over Pat Havlick in 4 after losing the
first 31-29. Boys: Mike Dorsey
over Herman Johnson. Girls: Andrea
Gerber over Violetta Nesukaitis.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Womens Doubles: Kaminsky/
1963 CNE Junior Champion Ralph Pete Childs
Hunnius over Marinko/Adminis
whod wrenched a 5-game semis from Chaimson/Stace. Mixed: Gusikoff/
Chaimson over Kruskie/Hunnius whod been down 2-1 to Hicks/Marinko.
Mens Doubles: Chuck Burns, Seniors Champ over Marinko, and Bobby Fields
15, -24, 19 escaped upset-minded Hicks/Harry Deschamps in the quarters,
then downed Schiff/Ornstein 18 in the 4th in the semis, and Pete Kelly/Eddie
Brennan 15, 23, 20 in the final after Pete and Eddie had made a 9, -18, 18, 17,
21 wont-be-stopped comeback against Kruskie/Jim Blommer. Here, in a Nov.
11, 2004 e-mail to me, is Mike Babers recollection of Pete Kelly:
[He] was a short, thickly-built chopper from Detroit who was
the first player [I knew] to use anti (black, both sides, Cor du Buy I think).
It was really tricky to play against as a kid. He had been #1 in Ireland before
moving to Detroit. I remember shaking hands with him and noticing he was
missing 2 or 3 (upper half) fingers from his right hand.
Fall Tournaments
Last season, Mayor Samuel J. Tedesco had cut the ribbon opening
the new Bridgeport, Connecticut Club, but those most involvedFran
Delaney, Emil LaReau, Joe Williams, Marv Shafferdidnt seem to have
much use for USTTA regulations. By the end of this 1963-64 season, after a
Pete Kelly
number of tournaments that neither Topics nor the Ranking Committee
were privy to, the Bridgeport Club owed the USTTA $300.
Since New Yorkers attended these tournaments, Pauline Somael in her Over The Net
column would occasionally give us glimpses of what happened there. In one tournament,
Kruskie, before going off on a USO Tour with Miles, upset Bukiet. Bernie, however, in a
recent Bridgeport Open final, downed Harry Hirschkowitz whose wife, Priscilla, was making a
habit of winning Connecticut Womens events. Pauline also gives a nod after a recent
tournament to former USTTA Rules Chair Al Gill for upsetting one of Westchesters best, Al
Marshall, whod done pretty well himself in taking down Frank Dwelly in a Seniors match.
92

The famous Mal Russell caricature showing the 1960s denizens of Bobby Gusikoffs club.
Thats Bobby, of course, relaxing
at his Control Desk
93

Gusikoff was said to have run a Nov. Open at

which he offered a $50 Savings Bond to the winner
(himself?) but which may have been unsanctioned
(though Pauline Somael was reportedly the Referee).
New York in-group talk centered not on this
tournament but on former NYTTA President Mal
Russells wonderful full color caricature of maybe
30 immediately recognizable denizens of Bobbys
Club.
On returning from Toronto, Hermann Prescott
had another duty: on attending the First Annual (Sept.
15-18) Second Army Small Games Championships, he
umpired the Table Tennis final. And who won that?
USTTA Photography Chair PFC Mal Andersonand,
yes, someone snapped him, in uniform, award in hand.
Two hundred
spectators came out during an
early fall heat wave to watch
the Sept. 28-29 tournament at
the San Diego Electric
Building. So much play was
PFC Mal Anderson,
generated that the Topics
Second Army Small Games TT Champion
article forgot to say who won
the Mens. Could it have been Lenny Cooperman? We havent seen
him in action in quite a while. Or perhaps, given Brooke Williamss
Table Talk on him, he didnt play, was just there? He adores to sit
in a corner of a tournament site discussing history, philosophy, or
Lenny Cooperman
theology, listening attentively and asking thoughtful questions. What
powered his forehand? Maybe a drink or two? Heres one of his own
making: one large tablespoon powdered liver, same powdered yeast, 3 tablespoons powdered
skim milk, all shaken up with three-quarters glass of carrot, celery and spinach juice (TTT,
June-July, 1965, 7).
Ah, Ive figured out who won the Mens. We know that Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom upset
Marty Doss, and that Shonie Aki upset Jack Howard. Thus, since Erwin Klein teamed with
Howard to win both the Mens Doubles (over Doss/Bob Ashley) and the Mixed with Val
Smith (over Fahlstrom/Patty Martinez), it must have been he, Erwin, who won the Mens.
Reportedly, Klein is now driving a cab in L.A., and has abandoned the idea of being a dentist,
but, with his important industry-contributing fiber-optic invention, would become interested in
the business of dentistry.
The Oct. 12 Inglewood Open, played over 7 tables at Darby Park, saw U.S. Junior
Champion Alex Salcido win the Mensover Dave Froehlich whod upset Fahlstrom. Mens
round robin Doubles, after a 3-way tie, went, with the flip of a coin, to Harold Kopper/
Howard Wilcox. According to USTTA regulations, a player whos seeded in the Mens cant
be in the As, but since California had its own classification system, and maybe some misguided
reason not to seed Salcido in the 22-entry Mens, he was allowed to play in the As and of
course won it over Marty Plost, and the A Doubles as well with Wendell Lee over Plost/Carl
94

Weinbaum. Womens finished as follows: 1. Val Smith. 2. Heather Angelinetta. 3. Brooke

Williams. 4. Carol Haddock Weinbaum (she and husband Carl are now living in L.A.). Best in
Mixed were Froehlich/Smith 18 in the 5th over Fahlstrom/Angelinetta. Seniors: former
California TTA President Murray Schneider over Howard Wilcox.
Womens USOTCs
The 1963 Womens USOTCs were held Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Baltimore Club on
West Mt. Royal Ave. Club President Bob Kaminsky was now a senior engineer for the MartinMarietta Corporation, and would soon take over as Eastern Regional Director from Bob Lynn.
The Club had purchased 4 new Detroiter A tables and new nets and had reshaded their
windows so that the playing conditions would be excellent, especially since the courts already

Does Barbara look like the

pressure got the better of
her self-control?

had the best lighting

facilities on the East
Coast.
Eight teams ($5
fee per player) fought it
outand reportedly the
Defending Champions
Photo by Mal Anderson
retained their title. This
1963 USOTCs Womens Champions, L-R: Julia Rutelionis,
couldnt be, however, for
MVP Award Winner Donna Chaimson, and Yvonne Kronlage
last year Barbara
Kaminsky played on the same team as her sister Donna Chaimson, and this year the two
played one another with the result that, as Barbaras husband Bob wrote, the pressure
got the better of their self-control. Barbarashes playing for Maryland?had losses to
Donna, Michigans Connie Stace, and Canadas Helga Bultemeier and Jenny Marinko.
Since Donnashes playing for D.C.?lost only to Ohios Mary Landfair, she was given
the Most Valuable Player Award. Yvonne Kronlageshes playing for Maryland?won
the Sportsmanship Award, presumably at least in part for her match with Stace, though
were not told who won that match. Its ironic that in the previous issue of Topics Editor
Steenhoven had praised Baltimores presentation of material, for this write-up sure left
readers quite confused.
95

Fortunately, the extremely detailed results (ties were played out the full 9 matches)
allowed all to come clear. Maryland I (Chaimson, Kronlage, Julia Rutelionis), 7-0, won
the tournament. Canada (Bultemeier, Marinko, Helen Sabaliauskas), 6-1, though beaten
by Maryland I 6-3, was runner-up with a 5-4 victory over 3rd place Michigan (Stace,
Andy Gerber, Colleen Corpron). Canadas Bultemeier, 12-8, must have profited
mightily from her 20 matches, for the following week at the Montreal Golden Cup
Championships she played a great though losing deuce in the 5th match with Denise
Hunnius, the Canadian #1. Best individual records here in Baltimore were: Chaimson 211; Stace 21-1; Marinko 18-2, Kaminsky 18-4; Priscilla Hirschkowitz 18-4, Ann Evans
(Ohio) 16-6, and Kronlage 16-6.
Mens USOTCs
The 1963 Mens USOTCs (minus the 6 top players on
the USTTA Ranking list) were held Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Detroits
Cobo Hall. Twelve teams participated, and surprisingly 8 of
them had winning records. The Michigan Juniors (Captain Ed
Frazier, Pete Childs, Doug Burns, Dell Sweeris, and Danny
Robbins), 10-1, took the title, though being upset 5-4 by a
mediocre 6-5 New York Team (Capt. Sol Schiff, New
Englanders Lem Kuusk and Joe Williams, and Detroits Bill
Byrnes). In this tie, Kuusk pulled off a stunning-17, 26, 28
Lem Kuusk
upset of Childs, at 25-2 the tournaments Most Valuable Player;
and both Kuusk and Williams had key close game wins over
Robbins.
Two teams, Detroit and Canada, finished with 9-2
records. Detroit (Capt. Les Spitzley, Leo Griner, Michigan TTA President Sam Veillette,
Eddie Brennan, and Pete Kelly) beat Canada (Capt. Ken Scullion, Marinko, Art Saltpeter,
Howie Grossman, Martin Ivakitsch, and Tony Simnett) 5-3 when only Marinko could win.
Simnett, from England, is the newly appointed Publicity Director of the CTTA, and in real
life is a sports writer for The Albertan in Calgary. Detroit, however, lost to an
uninspired 6-5 Illinois Team (Capt. Bert Lee, Laszlo Varenyi, John Orange, Ken Kleffman,
Bill Nye) when Varenyi won 3, Kleffman edged Griner from down 1-0 and at deuce in the
2nd, and received a default from Kelly (though I dont know why, for the tournament was
notable for the lack of emotional outbursts).
Best individual record other than Childs: Chuck Burns 16-0, including a 19 in the
3rd win over Dick Hicks (22-5). Was it here that someones girlfriend attending her first
tournament, on looking at the back of Dicks shirt, suffered a bit of a shock and whispered
in confidence, What a terrible name for a team! Of course it read: Indiana Hicks.
Indiana might be considered by some the hinterland, but theres nothing provincial about
Dicks approach to any and all opponents; here he gave Marinko, 28-2, one of his rare
losses. Other players who did well were: Varenyi 26-3, Schiff 26-5, and Detroits Eddie
Brennan 22-4.
The Sportsmanship Award went to John Spencer (7-15) of Capt. Dick Evanss
Columbus, Ohio Team (0-11). It would have been nice to know what, sportingly, John did
to earn that Award, for surely, given his and his Teams record, this was an unusual
choice.
96

For $4Or More?

Spencer would not make much of a contribution as a Regional Director, but on the
home front he was working for the Sport. In preparation for the 1963-64 season, John joined
with psychiatric social worker Dick Evans; League organizer par excellence E. J. (Ted) Henry,
father of the promising U.S. Open U-13 Doubles Champion and #1 on the Ohio NTC Mens
Team, Fred Henry; and accountant Bong-Mo Lee (D-J Lees cousin who would later be
instrumental in bringing D-J to Columbus) to take over the Columbus Club from Guy Blair
and his associate Wally Bennett. They moved the action from the Olentangy Bowling Center to
a gutted hardware store on Cleveland Ave., and this winter the Club would support a 12-team
Industrial League.
Evans said that some time ago Bong-Mo made direct contact
with [Tokyos] Tamasu and that the Columbus Club was allowed not
only to buy Butterfly products direct (C4 D13 rubber was 40 cents a
sheet) but that they were offered the option of becoming the U.S.
distributor before [Bowie] Martin got it. However, the Columbus Club
had rejected the offer because they didnt have the capital and didnt
really want to take on such responsibility.
And no wonder they didnt have the capital. Even now, for the
63-64 season, heres what Club members got for their $4 monthly
membership fee ($2 for juniors). Free table time. A hardwood floor. No
Bong-Mo Lee
obstructions in the 5, soon-to-be-6-table playing area. Five lights (three
200 watts and two 150 watts) suspended 14 feet from the floor over each table. A back court
lighted by 80-watts fluorescently at each end of the table. A nine-foot sidespace between each
table, and more than a 15-foot run back space. A plarers lounge and shower facilities (needed
the more in summer, for the one drawback was that the Club had no air-conditioning). All this
for $4 a month. Table Tennis in Columbus Prospersthat would be the name of the Nov.,
1965 article in Topics (13-14) that described the place. Small wonder, though, with such a
ridiculously low monthly membership fee that Dick and the others who invested the original
capital to start the Club hadnt been repaid, and that the Club generally was far from
prosperous.
So, uh, Dick, what would happen if you charged per month $8$7$6$5?
SELECTED NOTES.
*In his autobiographical The Game Was Called
Life: The Role of Table Tennis in My Life and Career,
Dean speaks of his intense table tennis activities,
particularly during the period from 1958, when he went
to England to train with Jack Carrington, to 1964
when his yearly U.S. Open and CNE travels culminated
in his marriage to Canadas Helga Bultemeier via many
New Jersey-Montreal runs in his 58 Beatle. Dean also
tells us
Throughout the late 60s and early 70s,
Sol Schiff and I played exhibitions in clubs,
schools and synagogues throughout New
97

Photo by
Mal Anderson

Dean Johnson

Marty Reisman blasting his opponent into a puff of smoke

Jersey. The mission for Sol was to promote his line of table tennis equipment. The mission
for me was to have fun, which I did. In the late 60s, Marty Reisman and I played an
exhibition for a week every day around lunch hour in a roped-off area on Wall Street
sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. The crowds were huge; my share of the earnings was meager,
but that was fine with me; I was having fun. In April of 75, I arranged with Marty to play an
exhibition at Kinnelon High School, which turned out to be a very successful effort to raise
money for the children of a neighboring family whose parents, brother and grandmother died
in a fire at their home on Christmas day.
Since I find Deans enthusiasm for table tennis so rewarding, I share some of his
experiences here with you. I think particularly of all those wholl be reminded of their own
often little recognized but satisfying efforts to bring the Sport to the public.

98

Chapter Eight
1964: Swedens Hans Alser Takes Easterns. 1963-64: Glenn Cowans Early
Background. 1964: Alser Central Open Champ. 1964: Pre-Nationals Tournaments. 1964:
Bellini/Klein Win Nationals.
With Rufford Harrison as an energizer of this years 14-table Eastern Open, held Jan.
18-19 at the National Guard Armory in Wilmington, DE, participants expected a wellorganized tournament and werent disappointed. First of all, as in the Delaware Open precisely
a year ago, free hospitality in local players homes was giventhis time to the first 50 entries.
All matches, except for Consolations and Doubles (pick-up partners could be arranged at the
tournament) were time-scheduled in advanceand with such confidence that no Control Desk
would even call you to court (no point in having a lot of extraneous noise on the TV soundtrack).
Of course if you misread your individual time-card and werent at the table where you
should be, youd be defaulted. But this was much better than having your contestants
annoyed with the constant waiting, the delayed matches, and the after midnight finals that
seem to be so typical of many tournaments. Also, on the upside you had the repeated
advantage of knowing when you didnt even have to be in the building. But, please, and this
was the warning ahead of time, if you wanted to be on TV, or even if you didnt, dress well,
make a good appearance.
Your players numberyes, that might be a little tacky-looking, but you had to wear it.
And you had to do something else you likely didnt want to doif you were beaten in an
early-round match you had to umpire the next one at the very table you lost onotherwise
youd be booted out of the tournament. We dont want to be totalitarian, but this televised
event must run smoothly.
The Mens (111 entries) was missing former World Champion Ogimura, whom the
Japanese TTA reportedly wouldnt allow to play here. But the tournament did feature two
world-class players not seen before in the U.S.Swedens 1962 European Champion Hans
Hasse Alser (Al-SEHR) and Brazils 18-year-old South American Champion Ubiraci
Biriba da Costa. In a Feb. 3, 1964 letter to ITTF Secretary H. Roy Evans, Harrison confides
that the current USTTA EC is roughly 50% populated with non-workers who make a large
number of quick and often poor decisions. In also lamenting that the USTTA is almost
broke, he lets it be known that he, Rufford, managed to persuade a TV company to pay his
[Alsers Sweden-U.S. round trip] fare!
As for da Costa, who has wins over three World ChampionsOgimura, Tanaka, and
Jung Kuo-tuanhe got here via an invitation from Richard Bergmann to join him in a
Globetrotters Tour of North America. Biribas Brazilian Association needed confirmation that
the USTTA could assure him hed not be considered a professional, even if he performed with
Richard, which assurance Kilpatrick had given, and also apparently had agreed to pay da
Costas traveling expenses from wherever hed be with the Trotters to Wilmington and back.
U.S. Coach Jack Carr wrote that the 22-year-old Alser was full of life, always
laughing and joking, and seemed to enjoy all his matches. And, though that Jan.-Feb., 1964
Topics cover photo shows him starkly intent, his face and arms glowing in contrast to his dark
attire, an illumined Swedish cross on his playing shirt, why shouldnt he now, not knowing of
the plane that waited on the short runway of his life, be jovial? Chuck Burns got 30 points
99

total from him; Harry Hirschkowitz 41; Gusikoff 40;

and da Costa in the final 44. No surprise that
Hirschkowitz and Gusikoff had advanced to the late
rounds. At the recent N.Y. Closed, Harry had been
down 2-1 to Bob Wilkenfeld (whod knocked out
Schiff), but had then rallied for the win; while
Gusikoff was able to go all the waywinning the
State title from Bukiet. All the more striking then
Bobbys purported line as he watched Alser in the
final: I feel like Ive been playing YMCA ping-pong
all these years.
Carr noted that da Costas sponge drives (and
also Alsers) were executed with a definite up and
then forward movement, whereas Hirschkowitz and
Gusikoffs drives with Leach pimpled rubber rackets
were a definite forward and then up with very little
margin for safety (TTT, Apr., 1964, 13).
Norman Kilpatrick in his Mar., 1964 Topics
write-up did the best he could for the New York stars:

TTT, Nov., 1966, Cover

Hans Hasse Alser, in his prime-smiling and full of life

Alser had to extend himself somewhat to loop

drive and hit his way by the classic chop defense and
occasional hard hits of Hirschkowitz, and was forced
to occasionally lob from 20 feet back of the table, and
keep up a steady series of spin chops, in order to hold
the hard hitting of former U.S. Champ Gusikoff (3).

Carr said the Brazilian teenager was quite serious and somber and flashed only an
infrequent smileparticularly when he was asked to wear the requisite solid-color shirt and
miffed Rufford Harrison by refusing to do so. Ah, well, all things considered, why write about
that to his Brazilian Association. Anyway, most good players have reason to be serious.
Against Bobby Fields in the quarters, Biriba had won the 2nd game 24-22 to go 2-0 up, then
lost the 3rd at deuce before continuing with smashes that, as Kilpatrick wrote, Fields often
could not even get his racquet on. Anyway, it was his racket, for reportedly Bobbys play at
the earlier N.Y. Closed was the first time in three months hed used his own racket (hed been
awayin the National Guard?).
In the semis, Biriba met Defending Champion Bukiet (who four years earlier in Swaythling
Cup play he barely beat, 19 in the 3rd) and, helped by an opening 19 game, went 2-0 up, then lost
the 3rd at 19 before moving on to meet Alser in the final. Both Kilpatrick and Carr felt that da
Costas penhold grip made it extremely difficult for his opponents, even Bukiet, to determine
where the ball would be hit and so he often had them scurrying in the wrong direction.
Jack wrote that da Costa and Alser wanted their serves to be deceptive. Biriba
invariably served backhand, standing sideways, blocking vision of the racquet until just before
striking the ball. His serves appeared to be the same, but werent. As for Hasses varied, often
spinny serves, it was quite difficult to determine how much spin he had on the ball, or even
what type of spin due to the last second wrist movement.
100

Though Jack said both players were alike in

using very little drive back-swing, they had quite
different stances. Pips-out penholder da Costa, who
was not a looper, stayed up at the table, and by
keeping his elbow close to his body he was capable
of executing beautiful back-hand drives and
counter-drives. Alser, using inverted sponge, often
played back from the table, and with his lightning
reflexes (hed thought of giving up table tennis for
soccer) moved to cover a wide area and to be in
correct stroking position for each ball, using every
stroke at his command, including loops, lobs, chops
and counters. Kilpatrick noted that, though da
Costa was able to dominate the attack, Alsers
sidespin and underspin defensive returns often
forced errorsso that, as the straight-game final
indicates, the Swede, World #8, was clearly the
stronger player.
So howd their playin fact, the whole
tournamentcome through on TV? Pretty much as
youd first-time expect. Heres Harrison:

Photo by Mal Anderson

Biriba da Costa (keeps his elbow in)

The [NBC] telecast of the Eastern Open produced two reactions. Table
Tennis players were generally disappointed: too short, no description of spin, nothing
about strokes, no footwork, no womens play, no doubles, and so on. But the sporting
types who didnt know table tennis seem to have liked it. So all was not lost. Some of
the play was poor and could have been cut. But some was excellent. We all naturally
compared the show with good table tennis, but most people compared it with the
basement variety. With those peopleand they are the ones who matter [ah, isnt it
pleasant to think so]we made some points. Fortunately, NBC is in that category;
NBC liked it, and has already asked us when some other good tournaments will be
run (TTT, Mar., 1964, 13).
In the 21-entry Womens, in the absence of Defending Champion Leah Neuberger (she
was ill?), Barbara Kaminsky, able to be aggressive from both wings, defeated current U.S.
Champion Bernice Chotras whod eliminated Donna Chaimson.
Priscilla Hirschkowitz, before losing to Barbara, upset Canadian
Champion Denise Hunnius, 3-0. Alser/da Costa teamed together to
win the Mens Doubles, didnt lose a game; runner-ups were Bukiet/
Fields. Hunnius helped Hasse complete his hat trickonly this time he
had to work; their 26-24 in the 5th final against da Costa/Chaimson was
perhaps the most exciting match of the tournament. Tibor Hazi took the
Esquires over Defending Champ George Stenbar, and the Seniors
over Bill Cross whod stopped Dr. Gal. Andreas reportedly brought 7
rackets to this tournament, then for sure picked the right one (the
thickest?) to deuce-in-the-3rd upset Chuck Burns.
Dr. Andreas Gal
101

TTT, Dec., 1963, 9

Doug Burns

In the Junior final between Mark Radom and Doug Tiger

Burns, the Expedite Rule was put inat deuce in the 5th. Supposing
the score had been 21-20 with the player behind servingwould they
have put the Rule in then? (They wouldnt today.) From Carrs writeup it appears that the match, with its loops, blocks, chops, and
counters, was far more interesting before the Rule was put in than
after, for then a pushing contest ensued that was finally won 25-23
by Radom. Jack said that when the two boys arrived in Wilmington
Burns was the favorite over Radom. But after three hours of pretournament practice play, Dougs serves and loops were no longer so
threatening to Markright then the Tiger, though snarling, was in

danger of being tamed.

There was tense play in Junior Doubles too. In the one semis, the regular partnership
of Harvey Gutman and (Harveys cousin) Jeff Swersky defeated Burns/Danny Robbins, and in
the other Raouf Kamel/Dave Sakai, after winning the 3rd game 30-28, out-pointed Radom/
Steve Parsons, 23-21 in the 5th. Gutman/Swersky took the final, also in 5. Junior Miss went to
Chaimson of courseover Barbara Bohning. Radom won the Boys from Robbins; Bonnie
Gutman the Girls from Ronni Klein. Best in Midgets was
Parsons over Glenn Cowan.
Cowans Early Background
Cowan I might as well introduce to you now, for
youll be hearing much about him in the coming years,
culminating in the famed 1971 Ping-Pong Diplomacy trip
into China. Here are some of the tournaments from February
through September, 1963 wherein his mostly Midget wins
occurred: the Westchester
County Closed (his 1st when
he was 11); New Rochelle
Closed; Nutmeg Open; and
George E. Ferris Memorial.
None of these tournaments
were ever officially
reported.
A photo not to be
missed of Glenn is the one
on the Mar., 64 Topics
cover. Sonny Fox, star of
WNEW-TV Wonderama,
New Yorks most popular
childrens show, is the
interviewer, his microphone
held waist-high so that 12year-old Cowan, his dark
shirt sporting a USTTA
Wagner International Photos
patch, might be heard. With
Glenn Cowan and Sonny Fox
102

a faint smile, Glenn looks up, intelligently, pixie-like, making eye contact with the casually
composed Fox. He more than holds his own with the suave entertainer; indeed, the photos
focus is on Glenns upturned face. Hes billed as the New England and New York Midget
Table Tennis Champion. Inside, theres a story on him:
He is not, the page 2 article states, a one sport addict:
He has been the regular first baseman on the Cubs in New Rochelle [N.Y.]
and last year (63) was selected for the All Star Team after the Cubs won the city
championship
Glenn also bowls a pretty wicked game, having hit the 200-or-over mark on at
least a dozen occasions. He won his first gold medal in swimming at the Riviera
Country Club when he was 11.
[So hes good at athletics, how is he academically?] He skipped a year in
school and presently is in the 8th grade at Hackley School in Tarrytown [N.Y.].
When he was 10[he] received the junior edition of John F. Kennedys
Profiles in Courage. On his own he wrote a letter to the President, sent it along with
the book, and was lucky enough to receive the book back with the Presidents
autograph written on the fly-leaf.
His longtime hobby has been American coins. The youngster has become quite
authoritative on the subject, and, along with his younger brother, Keith, was given a
major story in the [N.Y.] World-Telegram & Sun (Nov. 3, 1962).
On the same page, next to this article on Glenn, is a poem by Francis O. Raniville
called Overpowered. The first stanza reads:
This small white ball I hit is quick to lead
It travels on the table, everywhere,
Sometimes it happens Im not always there
It surely travels fast with mighty speed.
Amazing how at 12 Glenn overpowers us with his quick accomplishments, for it was
just a year ago that he won his first trophy with a reject sandpaper-type racket. Now he was
in Sports Illustratedamong the Faces in the Crowd.
Central Open
After the Easterns, Alser, whod also do some coaching while in the States (emphasis
a la Ogimura on calisthenics and physical fitness), went to Detroit where on the Friday before
the Feb. 1-2 Central Open weekend he was given a Special Night by the Detroit-Swedish
Council. In winning the Mens at this tournament, he allowed Dell Sweeris 38 points total,
Chuck Burns 30, and in the final Bobby Fields 35. It had to be an eye-opener to the MidWesterners to see so clearly how a top world-class player was two levels above the best to
oppose him here. Of course there were also the routinely contested matches. Fields lost games
to Eugene Chin, Don Lyons, and, in the semis, Pete Childs (whod go on, at months end,
to win Everything at the unreported Akron, Ohio Rubber City Open).
Mens Doubles winners were Alser/Chuck Burns over Fields/Doug Burns. In the
Womens, Millie Shahian, though losing the 3rd to Connie Stace 21-9 to go 2-1 down, came
103

back to convincingly take the title. Millie apparently didnt play Womens Doubles, so no problem
for Stace/Pat Havlick. No mix-up about the Mixed eitherAlser/Stace were easy winners. In the
Juniors it was Pete Childs over Dell Sweeris who, after being down 2-0 to Doug Burns, had won
19 in the 5th. Junior Miss: Stace (whod been runner-up in B Doubles with brother Bob) over
Helen Sabaliauskas, 24-22 in the 4th. Since Table Tennis is an extension of a strategic board game,
its not surprising that those who play the Sport are, on the whole, intelligent and forward-looking
even at a young age. Boys: Danny Robbins over Phillys Peter Cohen who hopes to follow his
dads career in law. Boys Doubles: Pius Nasvytis, Jr. and Fred Henry, a Columbus, Ohio honor
student interested in a career in advertising, over Danny
Ybema and Mike Peterlein, 15-year-old Grand Rapids
straight-A student who wants to become a physicist.
Pre-Nationals Tournaments
Dave Cohen, a 28-year-old Schick Electric Shaver
salesman and Boston University evening student majoring
in Industrial Engineering, plays at the Frank Dwelly/Benny
Hull Club in Waltham, Massachusetts and in nearby
tournaments. In the Aug.-Sept., 1964 Topics he has a few
words to say about the New England Closed, held Mar. 1
at Ralph Naylors Springfield Club. Mens Singles went
not to Don Gage, Massachusetts Closed Champ the last
two years, or to Bill Dean who recently spent his
Photo by Mal Anderson
honeymoon in Switzerland, or to Lem Kuusk, conqueror
Mike Peterlein
of Pete Childs at the USOTCs. Nor did it go to Herve
Lupien who, in losing at the 23-21 wire to Dwelly, played the greatest table tennis of his life. Nor
to Hull, because hard rubber player George LaPierre upset him. Nor to LaPierre, though he was
leading Dave Sakai 2-0 before losing. Nor to many-time winner, this time runner-up Dwelly. The
Singles Champ was Connecticut teenager Sakai.
The New Bedford Festival Open, held two weeks later, saw Kuusk come through.
(Perhaps hed been a wee bit traumatized by what Im even reluctant to mentionhis Jan. loss
of the Massachusetts State Championship to Springfield College student Don Gage after
leading 2-0 and 20-15 match point, and then, adding insult to injury, dropping the last two at
deuce.) Here in the final match he beat Fall Rivers Irv Levine with whom hed played an
exhibition at a Boston Celtics game a few years earlier.
At the 121-entry Quebec Open, played at the Maisonneuve Sports Centre, Defending
Champion Elias Solomon entered but didnt show because of illness. In his absence, Bernie
Bukiet was an easy winner over Guy Germain. Canadians Howie Grossman and Martin
Ivakitsch took the Doublesin the semis over Schiff/Dean Johnson and in the final over
Canadas National Team members Germain/Claude Landry whod eliminated Dwelly/Hull.
Juniors went to Dave Sakai over Montreals Ron Chapman. In the Seniors, top-seed Lionel
Cloutier, 1951/52 Canadian National Champion, was upset by CTTA President John Hunnius
who then went down to Dwelly, winner in the final over Marland Cutler.
Canadas #1, Denise Hunnius, shown smiling on the Oct., 1964 Topics cover, was a
triple winner. She took the Womens, 3-0, from Velta Adminis. Then teamed with her to
straight-game beat Betty Tweedy/Helga Bultemeier. And of course she won the Mixed with
Bukiet, 17, 19, 20, over Ivakitsch/Adminis.
104

At the Central Corn Belt Open in Des

Moines, the Mens winner was Steve Isaacson
over Joe Sokoloff, 3-0. In the Doubles, Joe
paired with Alex Thomas to -17, 20, -19, 12, 15
avoid a straight-game loss and beat Isaacson/
John Orange in 5. C Singles (there werent any
Bs?) was won by Jay McGrew, State
University of Iowa student, who later in the
Iowa Closed would finish 2nd to Houshang
Bozorgzadeh. The Kavaliaskas brothers from
Omaha, Joe 1st, Rimas 2nd, dominated the Junior
events. Apparently the newly affiliated YMCA
Club that sponsored this event, and later the
Closed, said, No Womens, Junior Miss, or
Girls events, please.
Although Topics coverage began simply
with Mens Singles, I discovered elsewhere
the tournament referred toit turned out to be
Photo by Mal Anderson
the Great Plains Open, won by Bozorgzadeh in
Steve Isaacson, Cornbelt Champion
a 4-man round-robin finalover Laszlo
Varenyi, Harry Deschamps, and runner-up Dick Hicks, 5-game quarters conqueror of
Sokoloff. Houshang, partnered by W. Sher (I presume thats Will Sher who 6 years earlier
played as a U.S. independent in the Stockholm Worlds), also took the Mens Doubles from
Sokoloff/Thomas. Seniors winner was Frank Tharaldson24-22 in the 4th over Deschamps.
Mary Ann Eisel, whod lost the Junior Miss 3-0 to Pat Havlick, upset her, 19 in the 5th,
to win the Womens. One day Mary Ann would be inducted with her mentor Bill Price into the
St. Louis Tennis Hall of Fame. Eisel/Webb took the Womens Doubles from the McCarthy
sisters, Margie and Ellen, mainstays of the St. Charles VFW Club. Mixed Champs were
Havlick/Steve Isaacson over Alex Thomas and Margie McCarthy. Harvey Nietzel was best in
both Juniors (over Larry Knouft) and Boys (over McKinley, 19 in the 5th).
The 17th annual Pacific Coast Open was held Feb. 22-23
at the Washington High Gym in Phoenix, AZ. A decade or so
earlier, the Phoenix Club President, Forrest Barr, had graduated
from Stanford with a law degree, and, as he mentions in a short
bio, in addition to table tennis, has these interests:
First, I am an elder in the First Presbyterian Church,
where my focus is on youth work, particularly at the high
school and collegiate levels. Secondly, I am a member of the
Maricopa Club of Toastmasters International, in which capacity,
in public speaking contests I have won the Phoenix City
championship four times and the Arizona State title twice
(TTT, Dec., 1963, 7).
Forrest Barr,
Phoenix Club President

A May, 1964 Topics article tells us that 9 Southern

Californians made the 800-mile round trip to Phoenix, including
105

Shonie Aki and Dave Froehlich, Vallerie (no

longer Smith) Bellini and Tiny Eller. But,
though the article indicates who wasnt at this
3-star tournament#1 seed Erwin Klein
never showed, nor did Les Sayre because of a
car accidentit doesnt report who won the
Mens, the Womens, the Doubles, and most
other events. In fact, I get the idea that Gene
Wilson or one of his friends must have sent in
the article, for hes the only winner we hear
about. Gene, 45, beat El Pasos Mac Horn,
19 in the 4th, to win the As, and downed Si
Wasserman, 3-0, to win the Seniors.
A terrible jolt just before the Mar. 1415 California Closed. Even as CTTA
Recording Secretary Milla Boczar was
Photo by Don Gunn
finalizing her entries, her much-liked husband
Gene Wilson
Joe was trapped and died in a fatal car
accident. The Topics coverage called him one of the finest and most generous men ever to
play the game.
From Mary McIlwains Mar., 1965 Topics Profile of Vallerie Bellini, we learn that
though shed never really participated in competitive sports in High School or College (shes
a graduate of Pepperdine), she did love to run in races in grammar school. And, says Mary,
perhaps that, plus the fact that Val doesnt drink or smoke, gives her that extra physical
endurance (4) she so obviously shows in tournament after tournament, this Closed being no
exception. In addition to reaching the finals in the As and A Doubles, Val also won the
Womens over Tiny Eller; the Womens Doubles with Brooke Williams; and the Mixed with
Froehlich over Angelinetta/Sayre.
In the Mens, Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom defeated Dave Froehlich, -21, 12, 16, 9
though from the scores how the Topics reporter could say it was a very exciting match is
beyond me). Froehlich and Junior winner Alex Salcido took the Mens Doubles from
Fahlstrom/Aki. As: CTTA Ranking Chair Les Sayre, armed with an extremely baffling service
and a spectacular backhand flick, over Vallerie Bellini, the two together the A Doubles
winners over Heather Angelinetta/Carmen Riceuveto. Bs: Lou Dubin over Fred Martin. B
Doubles: Gerald Ladd/ Martin over Angelinetta/Harold Kopper. Cs: Frank Suran over Henry
Finlay. Consolations: 31-year-old USC Physics Professor Bruce Scott over CTTA 1st V.P.
Marty Plost. In both the Seniors and the Jr. Vets: Howard Wilcox over Richard Badgerin
the Over 35s from 2-0 down.
Back in July, 1963 the USTTA E.C., moving forward with fife and drum to a
better public image, did away with the Novice class and replaced it with the Bs
(never dreaming that the alphabet classes might be extendedCD). California of
course, marching to its own drummer, looking for more players to join up, here not only
has a B but a C event, as well as aNovice: William Simmons over Dennis McCoy.
Novice Doubles winners: Lockheed aeronautical engineer George Kelemen (founder of the
Burbank Club) and Fred Herbst (also of the Burbank Club, wholl eventually be a USTTA
E.C. man himself).
106

And, wow, talk about independence, this Closed tournament report

not only has B and C winners but, confusingly, clones: Class B (Mead
over Throm) and Class C (Findley over Neitzel).Huh? Neitzel? Isnt
he hundreds of miles away? Ah, I see: these results should have been
grouped with those from the untitled Great Plains Open. Im tired of making
such adjustments; from now on, you go back and make the connections, if
you want to.
Bellini/Klein Win 1964 U.S. Open
The Apr.24-26, 1964 34th U.S. Open was again held, as it had
been 5 years earlier, at the Inglewood, CA High School Gymwith
CTTA President Bruce Scott as Tournament Supervisor and covering
Topics reporter (June-July, 1964, 2-3), and Shonie Aki as Tournament
1964 U.S. Open Program Chair. Inglewood Mayor William Goedike gave a welcoming address,
former World Doubles Champion Buddy Blattner said a few words, and
CTTA President
Bruce Scott
afterwards the players began their time-scheduled matcheswhich
worked well Friday evening and Saturday morning. But then the
pressure of making doubles draws and consolation draws forced the tournament to return to
calling all matches. Thanks to Rufford Harrison, who received the Jimmy McClure Award
for the most outstanding official of the year, highlights of a U.S. Openfrom two or three
Finals-Night matches here at Inglewoodwould be shown on national TV for the first time
(on CBSs 90-minute Sports Spectacular).
The Program (it had an unparalleled artistic but weird,
phantasmagoric cover) listed 216 entriesbut only 20 of them
played in the Womens event. Missing were 5 of the 7 topranked playersall the New Yorkers, including Defending
Champ Bernice Chotras, Leah Neuberger, Pauline Somael,
and Lona Rubenstein; and last years Womens Doubles and
Mixed Doubles winner, Baltimores Barbara Kaminsky (she
was expecting her first child?). Best quarters matches were in
the bottom half of the Draw. Though trailing 2-0, #3 seed
Donna Chaimson rallied to beat Heather Angelinetta; while
Millie Shahian, after losing the 1st, won the pivotal 3rd game
28-26 and so advanced over 12-year-old San Diego phenom
Patty Martinez. Donna then reached the final with an easy
victory over Millie. The other semi saw Bellini down Connie
Stace, 18 in the 4th. Then last years finalist became this years
winner when Vals valiant defense held strong to thwart
Donnas 19 in the 3rd heroics.
Unluckily for Bellini, the USTTA had no funds, and
no one to raise them (in fact, the Association had to borrow
TTT, Mar., 1965, Cover
$1,000 to cover an Oct. 1, 1963 deficit of $442.49). So
1964 U.S. Open Womens Champion
there would be no U.S. Womens Team to the 65 Ljubljana
Vallerie Bellini
Worlds. Ralph and I would have gone had I been
selected, Val said in that Mar., 65 Topics with her picture on the cover. But that
disappointment aside, she was now happily married. Her husband, she says, is a printer by
107

From Las Vegas News Bureau

Patty Martinez, 1964 U.S. Open

Junior Miss Champion and
Elmer Cinnater Sportsmanship
Award Winner

Photo by Mal Anderson

Yep, these are all Donnas--and just from this one 1964 U.S. Open
108

trade and a wonderful

husband. We enjoy
yardwork, painting and
redecorating the house
togetherthat is, in her
spare time, when she isnt
teaching at the West
Athens Grammar School
in L.A. (5).
Best Val could do
in Womens Doubles with
Shahian was 2ndto last
years U.S. Open Jr. Miss
Doubles winners
Chaimson/Stace. (See
them smiling and holding
their huge trophies on the
June/July, 64 Topics
cover?) For 8 straight
years now, Bellini had
been in the Womens
Doubles final, winning 4
times with Acton and in
62 and 63 with
Kaminsky. How about
the Mixeddid Val win
that with Froehlich?
Nopetheyd downed
Bukiet/Brooke Williams
in a close 4-games, but
then were stopped in the
semis by Sweeris/Stace
whod survived a wild
19, -29, 19, -12, 19
quarters match from 59
winners Schiff/Eller.
Hopefully, Dell and
Connie would still get
some TV time, though
not as the Champsthey
lost two big swing games
and so the final to Fields/
Chaimson 12, -20, -22, 16. Still, they looked
pretty compatible. Maybe
next year?

Donna, whod be ranked the #2 U.S. woman this season, managed to collect two more
trophies. She came runner-up to Martinez in the Junior Miss where Patty also had a stunning
upset over Connie. Bruce Scott, in his Topics write-up, spoke of Pattys unusual style: she
appears to play while firmly rooted to one spot, but it is very difficult to put a ball past her and
her accurate forehand is quite strong. Bruce predicts rightly that shell be a factor for many
years to come (3). Donnas other trophy came when she paired with Mark Radom to
(Fantastic block, Donna!) 19-in-the-5th defeat Stace and Pete Childs in the Junior Mixed.
(And why wasnt Connie playing with Dell? Dell wanted to know.) Womens Consolation went
to Newark, DEs Barbara Bohning who, down 1-0 and at 21-all in the 2nd, rallied to win in 3
from Mary McIlwain.
In the 133-entry Mens, the only early upset was Canadian Howard Grossmans 19-inthe-4th win over the 6th seed, U.S. World Team
member Jerry Kruskie, after which Howie,
behind 2-0, gamely went down in 5 to Jeff
Swersky who in turn fell to the 56 and 61 U.S.
Open winner Klein. Coming out to meet Erwin,
the #4 seed, was Defending Champion Bukiet
whod downed Schiff after Sol had 4-game
advanced over 8th seed Ragnar Fahlstrom.
Although Scott said Bukiet didnt play an
interesting semis with Klein, the 20, 12, -19, 12
contest sure must have had some 1st and 3rd game
moments.
In her May 11, 1964 article in Sports
Illustrated, Barbara La Fontaine quotes Klein
commenting on his match with Bernie:
My most common styleis
against someone with whom I can
rhythmically exchange drives until I get
one I like and put it away. But if Bukiet
gets rhythmical, you cant shake him
loose. So I tried to change my pace, to
force him. I was playing a style that is not
my best, but the difference between it and
his complement to it was enough for me
to win (55).
In the other half of the Draw, there were
two good quarters matches: Marty Doss 12,
19, -19, 17, 17 outlasted Barna Award winner
Bobby Gusikoff whod been the Champion here
at Inglewood in 59; while Bobby Fields 14, 15,
-20, 17, 15 out-steadied last years Boys Champ
Childs. La Fontaine said that, in downing Doss
19 in the 4th in the semis, Fields came up with
109

Photo by Russ Halford. From May 11, 1964 Sports

Illustrated; reprinted TTT, June/July, 1964, 10

1964 U.S. Open Mens Champion Erwin Klein

series after series of ascending long lobs that dropped fatly on the end of the table forcing Doss to
return further lobbable balls until Fields could put one away off a corner. Against the composed
and accomplished Klein, however, Fields, lean and high-strung, had no answer to his opponents
score-at-will loops. You play slowly, Klein has remarked. But as soon as that ball gets up a little
highyou must turn from a turtle into a tiger. Always up-to-date on whats happening in the Sport,
ever the analytical player, Klein said, People think table tennis is in the wrist.Actually its in the
upper legs and the lower back.
Cliff Gewecke, Sports Correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, in an Apr. 26,
1964 article, said that the wavy-red-haired, 25-year-old, 5 ft. 11 in. 163-pound
Kleinworked on his loop for six months. He quotes Si Wasserman with regard to Kleins
spectacular ability (11 National Championships as of the completion of this Open):
Kleins marvelous touch, the way he changes spins and speed, makes his loop
hard to[defend against]. Erwin has wonderful anticipation and coordination and an
outstanding temperament for table tennis. He doesnt get over-anxious and give away
points.Id say hes one of the five best players the United States has produced [make
that six? (Schiff, McClure, Pagliaro, Miles, Reisman?)].
One Topics writer, hiding
behind an E.A.H. byline, had a gripe,
however. He recalled how, when at
the Worlds Alser lobbed and
counter-drove from 20 feet back, and
Chang [sic: for Chuang] leapt into the
air shot-after-shot-after-shot, and the
crowd was on its feet roaring, one of
the U.S. Team [members] was heard
to mutter: Thats not Table Tennis;
thats just a show! But a show, says
E.A.H., is precisely what spectators
want. And the trouble is: our U.S.
players dont have showmanship,
and thats why the Sport doesnt
flourish in the U.S. He particularly
takes Klein to task:
[In the Easterns,]
Alser thrashed Costa, but it
was an exciting, thrilling
Photo by Rufford Harrison
match to watch. It was a
Yaroslav Jardo Stanek, the Czech #1,
show. It was an exhibition.
indulging in a bit of showmanship
But it was also a match, and
champion table tennis at its best. The finals between Klein and Fields was, to put it
mildly, pitiful. There was nothing exciting about it; to the audience it looked just like
ping-pong. We who know table tennis could appreciate, even admire, Kleins wicked
loop, against which Fields was powerless. But Im sure the spectators didnt [enjoy
110

Fields succumbing so easily]. Nor did CBS. An outstanding player, such as Erwin Klein,
should at all times play table tennis and put on a show. He should make the other fellow
look good, by feeding him shots he can handle, but at the same time thrash him. If an
excellent player cant win with exhibition table tennis, then he doesnt deserve to win.
[The writer asks those whod like to make their living playing professional table
tennis:] is it more important to win but have a bored audience walk out, never to come back
again; or is it better for your future to put on a show, even at the risk of losing the match if
youre not too skillful, but having the spectators demanding more tournaments and
exhibitions to watch? (TTT, Oct., 1964, 5).
Well,how many exhibitions have I watched and even walked out on because, though
the match was close, it wasnt real, was stagedand to me, because there wasnt a sufficient
struggle, it wasnt exciting, and if the underdog won, both players, and even a not so savvy
audience, knew it was a hollow victory. In a competitive encounter do we want winning to
become secondary? A crafted exhibition may well be stimulatingthe more so because the
players, even if theyve a comic routine or interlude, are seriously setting one another up, one
being a foil to the other. Theyre as serious executing these shots in tandem as two
competitors would be in opposition to one anotherand thats what we admire, their clever
artistry. But in a competitive match I want to see each player trying his best to win the point,
every point. And if one player doesnt measure up to the other, thats this particular days
reality. I dont need the fake fix.
Klein and Bukiet successfully defended their Mens Doubles titlein the final defeated
Fields/Doss whod been down 2-1 in the semis to
Childs/Bob Ashley. Schiff, having won so many Open
titles in so many events in an incredible career, cut a
swath through the 46-entry Seniors. His toughest
match was his 18, -17, 21, 19 semis with Fran
Delaney whod ousted Hanna in 5 after John had
rallied to beat Harry Lund. In the final, Sol was too
good for former Yugoslav/Italian Internationalist Allan
Herskovich, 5-game winner over Ruben Gomez.
Bruce Scott tells us that Allan provided a little offcourt drama when, on receiving his runner-up trophy,
he demanded (and received) a kiss from Miss Table
Tennisa reward which, despite Allans
encouragement, Sol blushingly declined. Schiff,
paired with Jim Rushford (whod lost in the Senior
Singles in 5 to Si Wasserman), also won the Senior
Photo by Don Gunn
Doubles from Bukiet and Bill Meszaros (Senior
Allan Herskovich
Consolation winner over Elmer Ybema).
Si Ratner took the Esquires, exacting 17, 19, -20, 19 revenge on 61 Champ Cecil
Woodworth whod ousted him that year in the semis. Mens Consolation went to Shonie
Akialong with thanks for a masterfully run tournamentover Tucsons Carter Lenoir. La
Fontaine in her Sports Illustrated article said that Carter, as if taking his cue from legendary
golfer Sam Snead, prefers to play in his bare feet, and favors a racket with no rubber on it at all.
She also mentions Walter Judge Alexander, an 81-year-old ex-postal clerk from Cincinnati who
111

does six pushups every morning and has not missed the nationals in 26 yearsan enviable
accomplishment which allowed him to receive the USTTAs George Ferris Memorial Award for the
best spirit to win.
Although the USTTA wouldnt hold events for the Disabled until next year, I want to recognize
Stef Florescu for his great accomplishment at this years Tokyo Wheelchair Olympics. Formerly a track
star at St. Ambrose College in Davenport,
Stef Florescu,
Iowa, Stef suffered a swimming accident
1964 gold medal
that left him a permanent quadriplegic. In any
winner in Tokyo
judges judgment of whether one has the
spirit to win or not, Stef, whom Ill talk
more of later, qualifies, for in Tokyo he
became the first U.S. Wheelchair Team
member ever to win a gold medal (TTT,
Oct., 1982, 23).
Ralph Pete Childs, too old now
to defend his U.S. Open Boys
Championship, went seamlessly on to take
the Juniors without losing a game. In the
final he defeated Waterbury, CTs Dave
Sakai whod knocked out both Defending Champion Alex Salcido and Dell Sweeris. Dell, however,
paired with Pete for a 1st in Junior Mens Doubles over Harvey Gutman/Jeff Swersky. Best in
Boys was Sakai (though listed deceptively in the Program as Donald Sakai)in the semis over
Glenn Cowan (whod downed Mike Peterlein in 5), and in the final over Mark Radom (whod stopped
Fred Henry in a close 4-gamerFred being formidable enough to have won a number of Midgets,
Boys, even Junior events in unreported tournaments
the last two years).
Charleston, West Virginias Steve Parsons
successfully defended his Midgets (Under 13)
title; runner-up was the Elmer Cinnater
Sportsmanship Award winner, the San Diego
sensation, Patty Martinez whod stopped the
athletic Glenn Cowan in the semis. Perhaps you
think of precocious Patty, not yet a teenager, as a
young girlmaybe not still in calf-length dresses,
but still simply patty-caking the ball back with
gum-chewing not to say infuriating steadiness?
But when the tournament organizers canceled the
Girls event here, it was as if theyd said, There
are no girls here, only young women. So, given
fair warning, what might we expect of this years
Junior Miss winner at next years U.S. Open?

Photo by Mal Anderson

Miss Table Tennis presenting trophy to 1964

U.S. Open Boys Under 15 Winner, Dave Sakai
112

Chapter Nine
1964: End of Season Tournaments. 1964: E.C. Elections/Appointments. 1964:
Summer Tournaments.
Although not a single player from Long Island
went to the U.S. Open, their Closed tournament
remained popular. It was held Apr. 17-18 at the
Memorial Jr. High School in South Huntington under
Tournament Chair Dr. Mitch Silbert. Much credit for
successful league and tournament play on the Island
has to go to Fred Danner, former USTTA
Membership Chair, former LITTA President, and, as
well see, a future force in U.S. Table Tennis for
decades. Ever see Freds 50-item tournament check
list? In case you havent, this will start you off
Of course youd have a meticulously done
Entry Blank, then Mailing Envelopes (bought 2,000
at a time to economize) with the LITTA (or
appropriate Association) logo on them to attract
attention, improve response. Make sure you send out
Photo by Mal Anderson
Fred Danner
these entry blanks by 1st-class mail so, if need be,
theyll be forwarded; if you pick up just a couple of
players who otherwise wouldnt enter, itll pay. Also, be careful with the Stampsbuy eyecatching commemorative types. And you can lick the work problem by bringing the envelopes
to your Club on playing night and socialize so youll get 20 or 30 tongue-wagging helpers.
On and on go Freds directivessome with spectators in mind, like making sure ash
trays are available for smokers, and that signs and arrows point out where toilet facilities are.
Tips, too, for organizers, like Danger of property theft is reduced when there are no coat
racks since most people put coats next to them.
O.K., on with the action. High school language
teacher Phil Hadland 19 in the 3rd just got by (Quelle
chance!) 15-year-old Alan Papier before falling to Silbert,
a Hempstead optometrist, in (Pas de chance!) two deuce
games. Trucker Sid Jacobs, who 30 years earlier had been
playing at the NYC 92nd St. Y under the watchful eye of
George Schein, downed Danner in 3, then upset 3-time
Champion Hal Green, a Great Neck attorney. Forty-threeyear-old roofer Dezider Dave Mandel, Czech survivor of
Phil Hadland
a Nazi concentration camp, knocked out 1962 Champ
Walter Shur, but was beaten by Danny Banach, deuce in
the deciding 3rd. The winner, however, was Defending
Champion Fred Sadowskiover Silbert in the semis and Banach in the final.
In the Womens, Tybie Sommer advanced to her 3rd straight title with a straight-game
semis win over Vija Livins whod eliminated 2-time holder Elaine Anderson. Twelve-year-old
Alice Green, best in both Junior Miss (over Carol Silbert) and Midgets (over Robert Shur),
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finished runner-up to Tybie thanks to two gutsy wins19, -20, 19 over Eleanor Leonhardt,
and 19 in the 4th over Joan Hantusch. In Womens Doubles it was Sommer/Livins over
Leonhardt/Anderson. Banach/Dr. Maurice Kendal took the Mens Doubles from Harry
Hantusch/Larry Butcher, 23-21 in the 4th. And Banach/Leonhardt stopped Kendall/Livins to
win the Mixed.
In the Seniors, Silberts offense was better than Jacobs defense. LITTA Topics
columnist Danny Ganz tells us about the fun evenings Mitch and his wife Shirley provide every
summer for small groups of local playersfirst a table tennis party, then a midnight tour of
Long Island Sound on the Silberts sloop. In the Novice, it was Danner 16, 20, 19 over Dave
Cox whos begun his longtime very helpful work for the LITTA as President of the Huntington
Club; then Dr. Bernie Lieber, a Jamaica dentist, in the quarters over Danner and in the semis
(from down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 3rd) over Long Islands most improved player Don
McGraw. The winner, however, without losing a game, was Phil Hadland. Consolations went
to Bill Miller, Jr. over Stan Wishniowski.
Mens Champ Sadowski also successfully defended his Junior title, but had to go 5
with Papier. This is likely Freds last tournament, for he tells Newsday reporter Charles Clark
that, It costs too much to compete in big tournaments, and anyway, as hes about to
graduate from Islip High, he plans to attend Suffolk Community College and major in foreign
languages with the idea of becoming an interpreter or language teacher. Hey, if he went to
Brooklyn College and studied Russian, know who his teacher would be? Dr. Fan Pockrose.
Not a familiar name? Thirty-one years ago she was the first U.S. Open Womens Champion.
The annual Midwest Open, played May 16-17 at the Columbus, Ohio Beatty Club
under Tournament Chair Florence Trimble with an assist from 14-year Club Treasurer Jim
Lawrence, was dominated by Ralph Pete Childs whod share the U.S. #4 Mens ranking this
season with Bobby Gusikoff. Pete won both the Mens and the Juniors from Doug Burns,
the Mens Doubles with Tom Waters over Burns and Danny Robbins, and with Mary Rose
Branstetter finished runner-up in the Mixed to Larry Folk/Donna Chaimson. Donna was the
Womens winner over Ann Evans. Ann and Cheri Papier took the Womens Doubles from
Chaimson/Branstetter.
Ralph Ramsey was best in Seniors; Abe
Gondelman the 5-game runner-up. Mens
Novice went to Richard Farrell. Boys was won
by Fred Henry over RobbinsFred being touted
at his Columbus Courts as showing the promise
of developing into the male counterpart of the
great Leah Thall (which means, though hes
also interested in tennis and swimming, he still
Fred Henry
has to pay about 10 years worth of t.t.
tournament dues). Midgets winner? Tom
Williams over (receiving his first mention in
Topics) future U.S. World Team member John
Tannehill.
E.C. Elections/Appointments
After Presidential candidate Bill Gunn
withdrew, Herman S. Prescott defeated
114

incumbent Chuck Burns to become the new USTTA

President. Prescotts very specific biographical Campaign
Statement, including a shirt-and-tie photo, was five times
the length of Burnss mere matter-of-course Statement. A
native of Hampton, Va., Herman, on graduating from high
school, attended the Hampton, Va Institute where he
played basketball and was halfback on the varsity football
team. For 10 years now he has been the Executive Director
of the Hampton Roads Boys Clubwhich means he has to
direct the far-flung activities of 1,255 boys club members
ranging in age from six to sixteen. Heres what hes about:
TTT, Apr., 1964, 9

Herman S. Prescott

Working with an adult staff of five, Prescott offers

programs in athletics, arts and crafts, music, health, games, dramatics and library. A
relatively new development in the south, the Boys Club is concerned with individual
problems of boys and seeks to develop the youths physically, socially and
educationally.

In 1957 Herman was the Virginia State Closed Table Tennis Champion, and the
following year was voted Newport News Man of the Year. His wife, Patricia, is a 1947
Hampton Institute graduate, and they have four children. In addition to being active in the
Queen Street Baptist Church, hes an avid music lover with a taste ranging from Wagner and
Beethoven to jazz , and has a collection of 2,000 record albums. Hes also a voracious
reader and a great admirer of the works of Langston Hughes (TTT, Mar., 1964, 12).
Richard Feuerstein won out over Graham Steenhoven as
Executive Vice-President. But Graham was appointed to the E.C.
anywayto take Prescotts vacated Executive Secretary spot.
Feuerstein began playing table tennis as a penholder in 1937.
When the War came, he was among the first draftees
with the result that he spent almost 4 years in the
armytwo years of which were spent overseas, first in England,
then in combat from Normandy, then in France, Belgium and
Germany. He served in the 703rd Tank Destroyer Battalion in the
Third Armored (Spearhead) Division, which was in the First
Army.
Dick, whose photos on the cover of the Oct., 1963
Topics, has been a Civil Service worker since his discharge from
Richard Feuerstein
the army in 1945 except for a brief period of service during the
Korean War. Today hes employed in the Farmers Home
Administration in St. Louis. He joined the VFW Post in St. Charles, MO in 1946 and on
receiving some coaching from Joe DeRosa, Sr. switched to shakehands. For a while he lived in
Indianapolis and enjoyed league play at Barney Arnolds Club. But back in St. Charles, in 1955
he started a VFW League, and ever since, under the aegis of his VFW Club, has been the
linchpin for organized play among men, women, and youth in the area. Dick isnt married, so
115

has time for other responsibilities, such as being a past President and
Secretary of the St. Charles County Conservation Club (TTT, Oct.,
1963, 2).
Arthur Goldblatt, not Cyril Lederman, became the new V-P (Si
Wasserman didnt run for re-election). However, as Art was about to leave
the country, he then resigned (his Peace Corps opportunity had been
unexpected or uncertain?else why had he run?) and the E.C. elected Bob
Kaminsky in his stead. Art had an idea worth consideringnamely, that
four carefully selected men be offered $250 each, contingent upon their
establishing flourishing clubs where none had previously existedbut no
action on his suggestion would be taken. Rufford Harrison, running
unopposed, retained his Recording Secretary position. V-Ps Schiff, Aki,
and Chaimson, and Treasurer Herb Schindler, Jr., General Manager of a
Detroit Trucking Co., remained as incumbents.
TTT, Aug-Sept, 1964, Cover
At the June 6-7 E.C. Meeting at the Hampton Institute in Virginia,
Art Goldblatt
all E.C. members were present except Treasurer Schindler (Steenhoven
had his proxy). Herb had been in charge of the International Team Fund, and after calculating the
Association had spent $13,263.12 to send our players, etc. to Europe (Id like to check the
Expense Sheets for that trip, especially the unclear etc. details), he wasnt too happy. In an Oct.,
1964 Topics article he would say, I cannot personally see myself continuing the donation of my
time and efforts to the U.S.T.T.A. primarily for the purpose of sending a few individuals to the
Worlds Championships. Poor guyhe wont continue with anything very long; in just a matter of
months hell die in a Detroit hospital, age 45.
New Regional Directors were or will be established (only 5 regions now): Eastern: Larry
Folk replacing Bob Kaminsky. Southern: Harry Blair replacing Carl Golden (whod run an
unsanctioned tournament). Mid-West Region: McClure replacing John Spencer. Central Region:
Donald Crabill replacing Feuerstein. Pacific Region: John Hanna replacing Milla Boczar.
New Committee Chairs were or will be assigned as follows (theres always some turnover,
and titular Chairs are often thought better than empty ones though the results be the same).
Advertising: Bob Chaimson (with this new committee Bobs allotted $150 for advertising in rec
magazines). Disciplinary: Aki replacing Burns. (Schiffs nomination for Disciplinary Chair was
opposed by Goldblatt and Harrison; in fact, Rufford sought disciplinary action against Sol for his
default to Sakai in the Easternsthe same offense, he said, for which Pecora had been suspended.
No action would be taken against Sol.) Equipment: J. Morton Evans replacing Harrison.
Exhibition: Bowie Martin replacing Pauline Somael.
Regarding Intercollegiate play, Harrison thinks the Association of College Unions offers
the best opportunity for development. Prescott, meanwhile, has gotten some 1962 info from the
NCAA:
NCAA institutions which require physical education programs provide the
opportunity for 68 different activities. Table Tennis ranked 35th with a total 9,765
students from 63 universities; Volleyball, No. 1 and Pistol Shooting, No. 68.
The varied intramural sports programs of the NCAA member
institutions total 59. Table Tennis ranked No. 9 with a total of 27,735
participants. The survey also revealed that 284 of the 354 institutions who
participated in the survey conducted intramural Table Tennis.[What other
116

sports were in the top ten?] (1) Baseball, (2) Softball, (3) Football (touch), (4)
Volleyball, (5) Tennis, (6) Track and Field, (7) Bowling, (8) Swimming, (9)
Table Tennis, (10) Golf.
[Regarding] voluntary participation by students in activities of their
own choice and interestTable Tennis ranked fifthbehind (1) Basketball, (2)
Weightlifting, (3) Tennis, (4) Swimming. A total of 125 institutions reported a
total of 56,350 participants.
[According to] the Athletic Institution in Chicago20,000,000
people played Table Tennis [Make that Ping-Pong] in the United States in
1963 (TTT, Aug.-Sept., 1964, 4).
Regarding Membership, Steenhoven reported at this E.C. Meeting that the USTTA
now had 1100 full members, not counting the 300-500 juniors who joined as a result of the
New York City Metro Broadcasting Co. Junior Open at Gusikoffs Club. (Some of these
Juniors names and addresses were lost, but apparently several hundred bought a $1
membership just for a chance to play in this tournament and maybe get on TV, and so gave a
version of USTTA strength that likely wouldnt be sustainable). Finalists vying to be taped for
play on WNEWs Channel 5 in NYC with outlets in 9 other cities were: Lee [sic: for Alice
Lee] Green 12, Joan Silbert 14 , Hal Finlayson 10, Gregory Evris 12, Gabe Fedorko 14,
Seth Schneider 14, Jeff Felix 15, and Howard Schwartz 14. Topics never reported whether any
of these players were ever seen on TV.
Steenhoven would remain as Topics Chair. However, in this his last season as Editor,
Graham and the E.C. would make a mistake in agreeing to allow Jack Carr two issues of the
magazine to push, in 8-page sections, his Advanced Table Tennis. The Nov., 1964 issue was
given 24 pages instead of the customary 16, so one couldnt quarrel with thatindeed got
something extra.
But the 16-page Dec.-Jan. issue, despite a previous plea from Carr for copy, was a
disasterand this notwithstanding Jacks later declaration that Steenhoven told him he
received more requests for these two back issues than any other issue when he was Editor.
Heres what that effortless issue of Grahams contained: cover; list of USTTA Officers and
Approved Equipment, and two ads; then two full pages
devoted to an entry blank for the Detroit Central Open;
then 8 pages of Carrs text; then two pages listing USTTA
Club and League Affiliates along with an ad and a
paragraph explaining the Topics cover photo that shows a
foursome standing by a table and netMichigan TTA
President Jim Rushford, Detroit TVs Poop-Deck Paul
(Paul Allen), and two local children, paddles in hand, who,
along with an unseen group, will contest on the PoopDeck for a spot in the Midgets in the upcoming U.S.
Open (winner? Pontiacs 11-year-old Bill Lesner); then a
page of USTTA announcements andhooray!2/3 of a
column on the headless Detroit Mens and Womens
USOTCs; and finally a last page consisting of an ad, a
USTTA Tournament Schedule, and a USTTA Membership
TTT, Mar., 1965, 5
Pontiacs 11-year-old Bill Lesner
Application.
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Wow! No wonder Steenhoven would resign. Yep, at the March 20-21, 65 E.C.
Meeting, Graham himself would tell his fellow E.C. members that Newark, Delawares Fred
Rohm had offered to do the magazine, and that (presumably having put to bed the forthcoming
April issue), he, Graham, was definitely giving up his Editorship. However, he said, in order to
make sure the U.S. Open results would be distributed, hed do the May, 65 issue. Actually he
did the June/July issue too, cause it was thought that Asher Birnbaum, of Tennis Features,
introduced to the E.C. by Wally Gundlach, might be interested, and a decision to accept Rohm
as Editor was therefore delayed. Despite Prescotts later refusal to acknowledge the matter,
Steenhoven was eventually paid $100 for each of these last two issues.
Other Committee Chairs for the 1964-65 season were: Public Relations: Phil Cowan.
Phil, Glenns father, after graduating from Columbia University, had taught high school
English until serving in World War II, then had gone into public relations work, and now was
with Metro-Media. Ranking: John Read replacing Dean Johnson. Selection: Schiff replacing
Read. Tournament: Kaminsky replacing Goldblatt.Youth Development: Percy Rochester
replacing Prescott and Junior Development.
Coaching Chair Carr would note in Topics new rules regarding Sanction requests for
Closeds, and for One and Two-Star tournaments only. They must be submitted on the proper
form in duplicate at least two months prior to the date of the tournament along with the
proper Sanction Fee: for example, Closed: $10 (all goes to International Team Fund); OneStar: $35 ($15 to ITF). Then, after the tournament, comes the very specific procedures for
reporting it (in duplicate): Title Sheet, Feature Story, List of Participants, Results (note
specific format), and Check for memberships and playing permits sold (permits $.50). If the
results arent received within 30 days by the Regional Director a fine will be levied, and if that
isnt paid, no more sanctions for tournaments will be granted. If the material submitted isnt
presented neatly, it wont find its way into Topics. From now on, play among youngsters and
youth will be designated by Under 17, Under 15, Under 13.
Don Crabill, a St. Charles, MO VFW Club member (almost all of the VFW Club
members play only locallypay $.25 annually as a Club member), in a letter to the E.C. made
some controversial suggestions: that (1) tournament sanction fees be reduced; (2) that the
U.S. International Team be selected solely from club members; (3) that two E.C. VicePresidents be appointed by the affiliated clubs; that disciplinary action meted out by an
affiliated club be upheld by the entire USTTA; that all members must be club members in
order to vote; and that part of the sanction fees be returned for use in [the clubs]
promotional work. To all of this the E.C. was rightly rather deaf. Why? Primarily because
anyone who cannot afford the $2 annual full membership is not sufficiently interested in the
affairs of the USTTA.
Summer Tournaments
At the Semana Nautica, CA Open, held June 27 at Santa Barbara, Dennis Hickerson,
scoring with his lefty loops and follow-up smashes, won the Mens from U.S. #18 Shonie Aki,
3-0. However, both men were 5-game pressed in the semisDennis by U.S. #7 Ragnar
Fahlstrom; and Shonie (rallying from down 2-1 to win 19 in the 5th) by Ron Von
Schimmelman. Mens Doubles went to Fahlstrom/Dave Froehlich over Aki and Bob Ashley
whod lose Jerry Crumleys 4th of July tourney to Indonesias Ed Rulie. Aki, Don Gunn tells us
in his Topics column, doubles for Jose Ferrer in a table tennis scene (playing against Sharon
Acton?) in the movie adaptation of Katherine Anne Porters Ship of Fools.
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Semana Nautica Womens Champ had to be

Val Bellini; Brooke Williams earned the runner-up
spot with a 19-in-the-3rd win over U.S. #6 Heather
Angelinetta. Brooke was so into Table Tennis that she
began making smart-looking playing outfits, and
would name them after leading women players. One
day, perhaps at the recent Inglewood Nationals, she
was identifying by player-name the outfit she was
wearing (This is myoutfit) when someone
overhearing her asked her if shed ever met said
woman player. No? Well, that player just happened to
be nearby, and so was pointed out to Brooke.
Whereupon Brooke quickly went off to change her
outfit.
In the 3-team round robin Mixed, Bellini/
Ashley were 1st, Froehlich/Williams, 2nd, Fahlstrom/
Angelinetta a very close 3rd. Class A: UCLA math
professor Carl Weinbaum over Gene Wilson. Class B:
metalurgical engineer Ed Abrams (its the first
tournament in which Ed has used the same bat for an
entire match?) over Lockheed production
journeyman Willie Hollins. Consolations: Bob
Broquet over Bob
Burke. Under 13s
(formerly Midgets):
Ricky Lima over
Brian Wilcox.
At San Diego
Photo by Mal Anderson
Looking Smart
the following month,
Patty Martinez upset
Bellini, 19 in the 4th, and Erwin Klein looped away Fields, after
Bobby, back living in California now, had rallied to beat
Hickerson in 5. Shonie Aki gives us an insight or two into
Erwins individual loop attack:
Unlike most loopers, Klein does not crouch down
and spring up into the air. Most of his loop is performed
through his arm and the swinging of his upper body. He relates
Bob Burke
that, with the compounding of wrist, elbow, and shoulder
movement all combined into a smooth stroke, less exertion is
needed. His variation is the use of added sidespin to the loop shot.
Another loop variation which he uses quite comfortably begins with a straight arm
held behind bent knees, facing the table directly, approximately 2-4 feet away. The ball is
met low beneath table-top level and carried on the bat. The stroke outlines a crescent arc
ending with a bent elbow and the bat above the center of the head. Ball contact is a
brushing stroke (TTT, Feb., 1965, 6).
119

Klein didnt loop away Fields

at the Aug. Santa Monica Closed. Au
contraireBobby beat him in 5.
Brooke Williams fills us in on
Fieldss playing-style journey:
Now the loop, being top
spin par excellence, is truly
compatible only with a top spin
Glamor Boy game. Great, therefore, was surprise
on the circuit when Glamor Boy
Bob Fields, the worlds greatest
exponent of the underspun push,
decided to loop! Bob, whose push
has a deep and devastating dig,
would now have to re-orient
constantlyand with incredible
speedhis blade, his body, his
mental approach, and that most
delicate element, his touch. And all
this for an attenuated version of what
those two Englishmen do so
superbly.
Why, Bobby, why? queried his concerned colleagues. Its the wave of the
future, he rationalized. Besides, loop them before they loop you!
This vagary vanished abruptly with his decisive defeat by Erwin Klein in the
televised final of the 1964 Nationals.
Now, Brooke goes on to say, here in Santa Monica, minus the
loop, he [Bobby] turned [the] tables on the national champion by
outmaneuvering him with his old familiar high tension, low bounce
kind of play (TTT, May, 1965, 15). This means, for sure, Butterfly is
still stocking their No. 531bf Bobby Fields Racketthree-ply blade;
the one side D13 smooth rubber, the other C4 A.003 pips out.
The June Orlando Open, played over 8 tables at the
comfortably air-conditioned Municipal Auditorium, saw Jacksonvilles
Jerry Garmanian win the Mens in 5 from Miamis inimitable Laszlo
Bellak. Garmanian paired with Frank Puskas to take the Mens
Doubles from Columbia, S.C.s Mike Jones and Albany, GAs Chuck
Gorcheck whod upset old-timers Bellak and Dr. Mel Sylvan (a.k.a.
Silverman), 1932 NYTTA U.S. Open semifinalist. Seniors winner was
another name from the long ago, Mark Schlude, 1935 U.S. Open
semifinalist, over Sylvan.
H (for Harry) Blair, a polio victim early in life, had helped to
organize Baltimore table tennis, and after hed come to Orlando to
work for the Martin-Marietta Corporation, Aerospace Division, hed
120

From Southeastern TT
Regional News

Jerry Garmanian

Photo by Squires & Lamson, Inc.

H Blair and his Martin Club

Photos by Mal
Anderson

How to top another

deuce in the fifth?
Thats Jim
Blommer over
Norm Schless

121

organized the Martin

Club and became its
President. He will
also edit the Clubs
Newsletter, and, as
well see, will then
become Editor of
Topics.
Jim Blommer won
the July Chicagoland
Summer Open by
beating in succession
Norm Schless deuce
in the 5th; Harry
Deschamps, whod
upset Jim at the June
Indiana Open; and in
a 19-in-the-4th final
Danny Pecora,
whod been out of
action for a year,
perhaps due to illness
or injury (hed
cracked a vertebrae?)
Pat Havlick took the Womens
from Millie Shahian, and was the
Mixed winner with Blommer.
The results of the July
D.C. Summer Open were spread
unconnectedly over three pages
of the Nov., 1964 Topics
without of course any continued
page numbers, for in the 1964
issues there werent any page
numbers. U.S. #9 Larry Folk won
the Mensbut it was a struggle:
down 2-0 to Jim Verta in the
quarters, he rallied to win 23-21
in the 5th; then he advanced by
U.S. #14 Herb Horton 19, -18,
22, 18; and was finally able to
take a straight-game breather of
sorts (19 in the 3rd) against Dave
Sakai, after Dave had ousted
tournament favorite U.S. #5
Tibor Hazi via a fast and furious

counter-driving match. In a Mens Doubles thriller,

Sakai/Paul Hudson, behind 2-0 and at deuce in the 3rd,
recovered to edge Hazi/Verta 19 in the 5th. Hudson
won the As from Alex Cornejo, 20, -18, 18. Sakai
took the Under 17s (from Ralph Weiner) and the
Under 15s (from Peter Cohen).
Daves rankings are impressive: U.S. U-15 #1;
U.S. U-17 #2; and U.S. Men #17.
Can you doubt that people will soon be writing and
talking about him? In fact, I cant resist jumping ahead
to hear what an unidentified New York Times reporter
has to say about him and all the news thats fit to print:
16-year-old David Sakai of
Waterbury, Conn.a cadet at Philadelphia
Photo by Mal Anderson
Military Academy, won the national
Dave Sakai
championship for boys under 15 last year
[1964] and is typical of the youngsters playing the game today.
Just as the corner pool hall and dank bowling alley have become pass, so have
table tennis centers become clean, well-lighted and modern sports centers that
encourage family play.
For champions like David the game is no longer a way of life, a means to hustle
a few bucks. His primary aim is a college education and a career in medicine (Feb. 7,
1965).

122

Chapter Ten
1964: Childs/Neuberger Best at CNEs. 1964: N.Y. Wins Mens, Canada the Womens,
at USOTCs. 1965: Winter Tournaments (Doss, Stace Eastern Open Winners).
In selecting the Captain of the U.S. Teams thatll play against Canada in the 1964 CNE
tournament at Toronto (the Captain and all players to receive $25 in expense money), the
E.C.s first vote was 4 for Frank Dwelly, 2 for Bill Cross, 1 for John Read, and 1 for Johnny
Somael. Their second vote was 4 for Dwelly, 4 for Cross. And their third and last vote was 4
for Cross, 3 for Dwelly.
In the Mens International Tie, the U.S. got off to a very
shaky 0-3 startwith Chuck Burns losing to Larry Lee, Dick Hicks
to Max Marinko, and, in a big surprise, Pete Childs to then
unheralded Klaus Katzenmeier. Butthough Katzenmeier, who
would beat Martin Ivakitsch and Marinko to win the Canadian
Closed, added a 4th win over Jerry Kruskiethanks to two doubles
triumphs by Kruskie/Childs over Marinko/Lee, to a singles victory by
Childs over Lee, and especially to bird-dog Burnss 29-27 tenacious
win over Marinko, the U.S. tied it up at 4-4. After which, Pete
came throughin another (23-21 in the 3rd) ball-busterover Max,
and Kruskie coasted home over Lee.
In reporting to President Prescott, Captain Cross, after
complimenting our own players on their impeccable conduct and
TTT, Feb., 1965, 13
appearance, warned that the Canadian men had so improved that
Klaus Katzenmeier, 1964
they would not be defeated in future matches unless you send
Canadian Mens Champion
your very top players. Cross also said hed made a controversial
decision in the Mens Tie. After the U.S. was down 0-3, Cross wanted a substitute for the
doubles. Alex Salcido, 1st Alternate, didnt come to Toronto, so Bill asked Selection Chair
John Read if he could use Kruskie. John said yes. But this created a furor with certain
New York players who felt Kruskie was ineligible to play. Because $300 in sanction fees
for the 1962 U.S. Open were still owed, the E.C. had ruled that no player who was a
member of the 1961-62 New York Association could play on a U.S. International Team
until these fees were paid. Kruskie said hed not been a NYTTA member then, so was
allowed to play.
The U.S. Women (Stace, Chaimson, Havlick, Hirschkowitz) scored a walkaway 6-0
victory over Canada (Hunnius, Marinko, Adminis)with the best matches being Connie
Staces two deuce-game wins over Helen Sabaliauskas, and Priscilla Hirschkowitzs 16, 19,
17 victory over Canadian Closed Champ Denise Hunnius.
The Junior Mixed International saw the U.S. (Sakai, Radom, Patty Martinez, Andrea
Gerber) defeat Canada (Pierre Carriere, William Yee, Wing Chew, Violetta Nesukaitis) 4-3.
Although Mark Radom had lost his singles to Yee (23-21 in the 3rd) and his two doubles, with
Andrea Gerber and Dave Sakai, to put the U.S. in a 2-3 hole, he prevailed against Chew in the
6th match and Sakai stopped Yee in the 7th to give the U.S. a win. Since the Canadians had only
one Junior Miss on their team, there were only three prizes awarded. Cross recommended,
however, that the USTTA award a prize, suitably engraved, to Gerber, and I presume this was
done.
123

Johnny & Pauline Somael

with baby daughter Katharine

Photo by Mal Anderson

Harry & Priscilla Hirschkowitz with baby

daughter Arlene

Leah Neuberger won her 11th and last Canadian Womens Open Singles title (her 1st
coming 23 years earlier). Only in the quarters was she challengeddeuce in the 4th by New
Yorker Priscilla Hirschkowitz, now proud mother to daughter Arlene. Pauline Somael, down
14-0 in the 1st game of the final, wasnt in it against Leah, but she did well to survive two
earlier 5-game matches in both of whichagainst Vera Milicic and Pat Havlickshe was
down 2-0. Pauline and husband Johnny holding baby daughter Katharine, whod made her
TV debut at the age of five months on a Westinghouse commercial, could be seen smiling on
the cover of the Nov., 1964 Topics. In the Nov. USOTC Program, Pauline would have a tonguein-cheek article, How to Win at Table Tennis (psyche-out techniques sure to make your opponent
demoralized and furious).
Leah, partnered with Hunnius, also won the Womens Doublesfrom Chaimson/Stace
whod advanced with a 19-in-the-5th win over Marinko/Adminis. (That biggest stuffed pink
dog in existence Donna was holdingwas it her runner-up prize?) It looked like Leah would
score the hat trick, but, up 2-0 with Childs, they faltered badly in the final against the steady
play of Hicks/Hunnius. Patty Martinez, no doubt tuning up with an ear to The Beatles, twice
beat Violetta Nesukaitis to win the Junior Miss and Girls.
In the Mens, the two losing semifinalistsBurns to Gusikoff, Bukiet to Childswere
tough in the quarters: Chuck outlasted Schiff, 18 in the 5th, and Bernie rallied from two games
down to oust Kruskie. The ferocious final went to Pete over Bobby, 26-24 in the 5th. Childs/
Kruskie took the Mens Doubles from Bukiet/Gusikoff in 5 in the semis and Pecora/Blommer
in 4 in the final. Burns was the Senior winner over Marinko. Childs completed his sensational
play here4 titleswith an easy win in the Juniors. Runner-up Fred Henry had been down 21 and at 24-all in the 4th in the semis with William Yee whose gritty 21-19 4th and 22-20 5th
allowed him to escape Sakai in the quarters. Glenn Cowan took the Midgets from Hal
Finlayson.
124

Canadas second major tournament of the season, the Central Canadian

Open, held Oct. 10-11 at Niagara Falls, was won by Marinko over Martin
Ivakitsch. But Martin/Howie Grossman took the Mens Doubles from Owen
Duffy and Pranas Gvildys known in Toronto, too, as a tournament bridge player.
Womens winner was Adminis over Sabaliauskas whod upset Hunnius. Detroits
Sam Veillette won the Mens Bs. Seniors went to the now Montreal-based
Marland Cutler playing perhaps his last tournament, for over Christmastime he
would die in his home of a heart attack.
By October,
President Jimmy Vertas 9th
Marland Cutler
Street Washington, D.C.
Club had been forced to close. It will be
torn downand a new F.B.I. building will
be built there covering the entire block. Its
farewell tournament was the Sept. 19th
Presidential Open. Winners were: Mens:
Bukiet over Sakai; Womens: Neuberger
over Kronlage.
The Prince Georges Club had also
closed, but had been replaced by another,
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jimmy Verta
larger one in Hyattsville under the same
Kronlage/Martin ownership. On Oct. 2nd, the
Grand Opening of this Club on Gallatin Street was held with Bukiet and Doss giving an
exhibition to mostly newcomers who were held completely spellbound. As a result, maybe
50 new members were signed up. And no wonder once Bowie Martin showed off the niceties
of this new club:
The courts are open six nights each week (closed Mondays), and have eight
Detroiter A tables, excellent lighting, plenty of playing room, entrance lounge, lounge
area, TV room, nursery, club room, and spectator seating area. Space is available to
seat in excess of 500 persons for finals matches if needed. Showers are planned for
later (Nov., 1964, 23).
On Nov. 1st this new Prince Georges Club held their Fall Open, and one of the best
matches played there was the fast and furious Mens finalwon by Bukiet over Childs,
19, -17, -20, 19, 17. Bernie, it was said, had much difficulty because Childs, whose
appearance had been financed by the organizers, varied his game from topspin to severe
and swiftly delivered chop pushes. Another great match was Bernies 19 in the 5th semis
with Doss, now father to a second son, who reportedly amazed the spectators with his
lob returns. The Womens went to Barbara Kaminsky in 4 over her sister Donna
Chaimson. In the one semi, Barbara advanced over Long Islands Terry Larsen, after
Terry, this past year a student at Floridas University of Miami, had upset Julia Rutelionis.
In the other semi, Donna defeated Yvonne Kronlage, pregnant now with her second child.
Perhaps Childs had to make a connection back to Detroitat any event, he defaulted both
the Mens Doubles (with Bukiet) to Senior winner Hazi and Doss, and the Mixed (with
Chaimson) to Bukiet/Kaminsky.
125

In the last few years, with the help of current President Bernie Tucker (awarded a Club
emblem as Most Outstanding AGTTA Worker), current Recording Secretary Carl Golden,
and past President Harold Adams, and with the help of Mrs. Lucille Curly Baily and Mrs.
Betty Green of the Atlanta Parks and Recreation Department, the Atlanta, Georgia TTA has
come a long way. Theyve gone from six saw horses, 3 plywood tops, and non-approved nets
and balls, with play at first at an out-of-the-way venue, then a too small one, to now the new
Detroiters and approved nets and balls at the large, conveniently located Peachtree Rec
Center.
At their first sanctioned tournament, the Atlanta Open, who should turn up but
Jack Howard, after, as one fellow put it, Jack had been exiled to Florida for two years.
Howard remembered being invited to Laci Bellaks home in Miami for some table tennis
and, then dinner. Bellak was proud of the fact that hed finally beaten da Costa in play on
this porch, so of course he aimed to beat Jack too.
Except he couldnt. After maybe half a dozen or
more games, Jack was thinking to himself, Whens
dinner? And then it hit him, he got it. How many
games did you play da Costa? he asked. Eighteen,
said Laci.
The game Jack lost in the final wasnt a
requisite one, but given the 35 points he allowed Jerry
Garmanian in the other three, it might have seemed a
throwaway. Jacks loops were just too much for Jerry.
Womens winner was Chattanoogas Janice Crouch;
runner-up, Roma Harper. Howard teamed with Terell
Barrios to win the Mens Doubles from Garmanian/
Frank Puskas. Seniors Champ was Reggie Barrus 12,
24, 19 over John White whod knocked out the Class A
winner Ed Barrios. Best in Class B was unseeded
Tommy Cohen over John Connor after John had shaken
free of, first, Bill Neely, and then his winning B
Doubles partner Joe Martin. Tommy had quite a
tournament; he also won the 4-entry Boys from Chuck
From Southeastern Regional TT News
Michell, and from 20-all in the 5th might have beaten
Tommy Cohen
Barrios in the As.
New York Wins Mens USOTCs
The official Tournament Hotel for the 1964 Thanksgiving-weekend Newark, Delaware
USOTCs was the Howard Johnsons, at route 896 and Kennedy Highway. Practice tables in
the hotel were provided for those who wanted to get up bright and early, then a shuttle
service took players to the University of Delawares Carpenter Field-House, 12-table site of the
tournament for both men and women.
Sixteen teams participated in the Mens event. Initially they were divided into four
round-robin groups, the winners of which played another round robin to determine the
Champion. Similarly, the 2nd-place finishers played among themselves, as would the 3rd and 4thplace finishers. So accurate were the seedings and placings that in every instance the team that
was supposed to end up in its respective round robin did.
126

Aside from the final,

there were no breakdowns in
Topics as to how the ties
were won, who beat who,
only the finishing places were
noted. In the final round
robin for those contesting the
Championship, New York 1
(Bukiet, 10-1; Gusikoff, 93; Hirschkowitz, 8-3; and
Dr. Gal, 3-4) was the 5-1
winner over 2nd-place
finisher New York 2
(Howard, 11-3, with a
superb defensive win over
Gusikoff; Miles, 7-2, but
with an injured hand that
didnt allow him to play the
final tie; Howard Ornstein,
3-1; Schiff, 4-5 with a
Photo by Mal Anderson
Marty Doss, 1964 USOTCs Outstanding Player
crowd-pleasing though
losing match vs.
Hirschkowitz; and Errol Resek, 1-3). Finishing 3rd was D.C. (Doss, winner of the Outstanding
Player Award at 12-1; Hazi, 8-5; Folk, 6-5; and Kaminsky, 1-1).
Group 2 was won by Michigan, led by Kruskie (14-2) and Sweeris (12-4), over 2ndplace finisher New Jersey, led by Swersky and Gutman (each 8-4). Indiana helped by Hicks
(14-3) finished 3rd. Of the remaining players, I note that Sakai (14-1) in the 3rd Group was best,
and that Pecora (5-4) with a pick-up team in the 4th Group had to have been playing under
some kind of handicap.
Canada Wins Womens USOTCs
The 10 teams in the Womens were divided into two
round robin groups, call them A and B. The winner of A
then played the runner-up in B; the winner of B the runnerup in A. The two victors met in the final. All 32 women
players had their complete records printed in Topics, but it
was impossible to tell how any contested tie progressed. As
it turned out, Canada (Hunnius, 17-1; Adminis, 11-7; and
Marinko, 11-6) was the winner over D.C. (Kaminsky, 16-2;
Chaimson, 15-3; and Kronlage, 14-4)though the U.S.
players match record (45-9) was considerably better than
the Canadians (39-14).
According to the briefest of brief write-ups, the
match was tied at 4-4 with Hunnius to play Kaminsky
(strange that the two best players would be playing the 9th
match). The write-up said that Denise then beat Barbara,
127

TTT, Oct., 1964, Cover

Canadas Denise Hunnius

19 and 23 (the individual records gave the

scores as 20 and 22). But if the individual
records are accurate, Denise and Barbara
couldnt have played a tied 9th match, for
Adminis had already lost two matches,
Marinko 3, and by then D.C. would have
been the winner. So apparently the
individual records arent correct, since
indisputably Canada won the
Championship.
Neuberger, playing with an
extremely weak pick-up team had a
perfect 10-0 record with wins over all
the Canadians and a 19-in-the-3rd
squeaker over Ohios Vera Milicic (105). The Outstanding Player Award went
not to Hunnius but to Priscilla
Hirschkowitz (15-1, loss to Hunnius) of
the 3rd-Place New York 2 team
Photo by Mal Anderson
Priscilla Hirschkowitz, 1964 USOTCs Outstanding Player (Somael, 10-5; Gloria Amoury, 6-9).
At these USOTCs, the
Association decided to give a Dress Awardwhich was won by the Indiana Womens team
who finished next to last. President Prescott wanted to bring our organization in line with
other distinguished groups like the Olympic Teams, and Masters (Golf) Champions, whose
identifying blazer [worn where?] has been a source of pride and achievement for their
champions. Consequently, he said, our 4-star National Champions may wear maroon blazers,
our 3-star Regional Champions green blazers, and our State Champions blue blazers. All
blazers must carry the insignia of the USTTA on the left breast pocket (TTT, Mar., 1965, 5).
Winter Tournaments
Think if we start with California well see a Champion trying to coolly sashay about in
one of these identifying jackets? Oh, oh, perhaps a problem over the heart of the USTTA in
San Diego. Former CTTA President Bruce Scott protests, in an article in the June-July, 1965
issue of Topics (6), that the unaffiliated SDTTA has encouraged the circumvention of USTTA
sanction rules. Scott says that by allowing Californians from outside the local area, even as far
away as Los Angeles, to join the SDTTA and so play in its Club tournaments offering cash
prizes, the SDTTA neednt pay a sanction fee, and in fact sees no reason to affiliate with the
USTTA. Would every club take such a position as this, argues Scott, there wouldnt be a
USTTAa point Sue Melton, an SDTTA member, writes in to say is out of line because what
the SDTTA does is none of his business.
Meanwhile, a squib in the Oct., 1965 Topics announces the affiliation of the SDTTA
under the sponsorship of the City Park and Recreation Department (location: Food &
Beverage Building, Balboa Park). Approximately 250 men, 20 women, 25 junior boys, and
20 junior girls use the clubs playing facilities. Of course theres no doubt as to the success of
the Club. In that same Oct. issue, Brooke Williams extols its tournament virtues: the
enormous draws, the myriad events, the heavy press backing, and the public attendance. She also
128

praises how glorious [it is] in its every day clothes,

operating five nights a week inside its gigantic Citydonated hall; with its six hundred active members [sic],
its twenty-two folding tables and wheeled back stops,
and its rightly methodized operational ways through
which everyone can play to his hearts content (7-8).
Pam Ramsey, daughter of Dave Ramsey, the
Clubs Treasurer for three decades, recalls that her dad
would take her to the Club every night of the week,
so that she felt she actually grew up there. It was
great! she said, recalling that, During tournaments if
we had a bye or if we were between events, all of us
kids[would exit the old Food & Beverage
Buildingitd be condemned and torn down in
1971and run next door] to the San Diego Zoo or
across the street to the museums (TTT, April/May,
1990, 33).
As Les Sayre points out prior to the U.S. Open,
the California clubs seem to be prospering, for they
Pam and her father, Dave
average about 100 entries per tournament. The CTTA
itself has more money than it has ever had before in its history. Don Gunn tells us that the San
Francisco Club won a Nov. inter-city match with Seattle (three of whose players had polioinjured legs), and that earlier SFs Chan, Cruz, Jacob, Rulie, and Obertone (now Club
Manager at the Cupertino Club) won a 6-5 Play-off victory over an L.A. team of Aki,
Froehlich, Gomez, and Salcido.
Back in October, some of Californias best players, including Patty Martinez whod
come up from San Diego, gave an exhibition to over 300 L.A. elementary school teachers.
Then two months later President Willie Hollinss South L.A. Club held a Closed at the Charles
Drew Junior High School that saw Bobby Fields beat Dennis Hickerson, after Dennis had
eliminated Darryl Flann in 5. Womens was won by Bellini over Angelinetta. Ron Von
Schimmelman (formerly 1961
Grand Rapids, MI City Champ)
took the As from Ed Abrams, 2624 in the 4th. The Sportsmanship
Award went to George Horino.
The Pasadena Center held
a Jan. 9th Closed that saw Howard
get by Salcido in 5 in the semis
and Flann in 4 in the final. Perhaps
by now Jack is using a flat
backhand smash as much as a
backhand loop? Lou Dubin
received accolades for getting the
young boys out. Les Sayre says
Lou has been bringing from 10 to
Photo by Donn Gunn
25 boys to every tournament.
Coach Lou Dubin getting the young boys out
Pam Ramsey,
reminiscing

129

Womens winner was Val Bellini after a

5 -game scare from Patty Martinez who, down
Photo by Don Gunn
8-17, drew to 18-19 before succumbing.
John Hanna:
People dont realize how much Pattys
another Mr.
Table Tennis
improved, Val said. One reason is, her reach is
a lot longer. You used to be able to score points
by placing the ball to the corners. John Dart
says that Patty, at 5, 3, is beginning to lose
some of her youthful chubbiness, and that she
puts in 10 to 15 hours practice a week with her
familyeither at the La Mesa Youth Center or
at home (TTT, Apr., 1965, 4). Winners of the
strong round-robin Mixed were Patty and
Senior Champ John Hanna, said to be Mr.
Table Tennis of Southern California for his
organizational work and for winning over 250
trophies during 30 years of tournament competition. Runner-ups were Brooke Williams/Aki over
Angelinetta/Froehlich and Charleen Hanson Fields and
husband Bobby.
Indianapoliss East Side Paddle Club hosted the
1965 Indiana Openand the surprise of the tournament
was not Dick Hickss Mens win, but how he won it and
who he won it fromMarty Prager. Steve Isaacson told
me that, in the mid-1950s, if he, Steve, got balls to hit,
he could smack them through Prager. Problem was,
Steve had trouble just keeping the ball in play against
Martys heavy chop and would often push the ball back
high. Steve said, If Marty could hit just a ball or two
with force, Id be in real trouble. But Marty couldnt or
wouldnt hit, and Steve could eventually pick-hit hard.
Marty himself told me that once, back in the 50s,
playing Bill Meszaros in a final, he was in danger of being
late for a singing engagement (he made his living as a
Photo by Mal Anderson
professional singer), and so tried to hurry the match up
Marty Prager
by hitting, of course unsuccessfully.
Now, however, at this mid-60s Indiana Open, the Topics write-up said that Marty, playing
with Stiga inverted sponge, still has a good defense, but now is an offensive player. Down 2-1, but
in those first three games looping and following up extremely well, Prager kept Hicks completely
on the defense, except for an occasional backhand flick. In the 4th, Prager, choosing to hit hard
instead of looping, continuing to play his best match in 7 years, built up a leadbut then Hicks
caught him in the end game. At 19-all, Marty worked the ball up to a set-up at the net and hit his
best put-away, but Hicks made a spectacular return from flat against the wall to win the point, then
went on to win the match 23-21.
th

130

The 7-team Central Ohio Intercollegiates, held Jan. 9-10 at the Columbus, Ohio Courts,
was won by Ohio University #1 (Capt. Tom Banks, 13-5, Henry Wu, and #1 finisher Fred Chan
from Hong Kong, 18-0). Runner-up was Oberlin (Milton Iyoha, a Nigerian student and former
Junior ranking player in his homeland, who, with a 13-5 record, won the Outstanding Player
Award; Jay Huebsch; and Cheri Papier, the only female in the meet and currently the Ohio
womens titlist). One of Banks losses was to Marietta Colleges Chuck Hoey. Chuck would
become such a specialist in Racket Sport Antiquities that 40 years later hed be the curator of the
ITTF Museum in Switzerland.
At Bill Gunns Feb. Mamaroneck Open, run with the help of George Schein, Dick
Miles won the $100 1st prize in the Mens via a quiniela. That is, preliminary play in 5
single elimination brackets resulted in a 5-man final round robin. Two players (likely the
two top seeds) started the quiniela, in which the winner stays on the table until beaten,
while the loser falls back into a rotation position. Dick was the first to win the necessary 5
matches (in fact, he won 5 straight). He beat Doss (whod later win the Ohio Open from
Bukiet), Hirschkowitz, Cartland (whod ousted Gusikoff in pre-round-robin play and
would go on to win the Open in Philadelphia), and Jeff Swersky. (Earlier, Monasterial had
eliminated Reisman.) Lona Rubenstein, having recovered from more surgery (removal of
damaged cartilage from knee suffered way, way back in the 1951 Natls), took the
Womens from Pauline Somael.
The 15-event Easterns, under Tournament Chair Walt Stephens, was held Jan. 24-25 at the
Eastridge High School Gym in Rochester, N.Y. One third of the 145 entries were from Rochester
(not surprising since theyve five leagues a week to play in), but if you were from out of town you
could come a day early, settle in at the Downtowner Motel, and from there (entry blank has a very
detailed map) go out via expressways for some free practice at the Genesee Valley Club.
Marty Doss, down 2-1 in the semis to Harry Hirschkowitz, won the Mens after again
being down 2-1 in the final to a tiring Max Marinko whod earlier knocked off Bob Gusikoff and
then Dell Sweeris. In the Womens, neither recent perennial finalists Neuberger and Chotras, nor
Defending Champion Kaminsky (welcoming daughter Alexandra) entered. In the final, Connie
Stace had a crushing victory over Denise Hunnius. But in the Mixed Connie and Dell, after being
up 2-0, fell to Hirschkowitz/Hunnius, 25-23 in the 5th. Marinko blitzed John McLennan to take the
Seniors. To encourage juniors to try to improve their table tennis despite temporary setbacks, the
organizers had special souvenir awards for every boy or girl player
who didnt win a trophy.
What Goes On!that was the every-issue mantra of
Jose Tomkins Ontario Newsletter, a labor of love that in its
coverage of top players in significant events put our U.S. magazine
to shame.
Comparisons with What Goes On! in Canada and What
Goes On? in the States are inevitable, for, as if to discourage
readers, neither the 3-star Central Open or the 3-star Easterns
had any coverage at all in Topicsnot even the results. In a
magazine that gives us a detailed write-up of the Ann Arbor City
Championships, shouldnt we expect the Associations major
tournaments to be covered? Ah, wellat least the U.S. Opens
coming up,* and well be able to read about that, wont we?
Editor Jose Tomkins
131

SELECTED NOTES.
*From time to time, Ive made reference to the several-time South Korean Champion Dal-joon
(D-J) Lee who after being runner-up in the 1960 Asian Championships in Bombay was co-ranked World
#23, and whom we know in a few years will become the perennial U.S. Open Champion. D-J, perhaps
after serving two years in the South Korean Army, had also turned up at the 1963 Asian Championships
in Manila, where his Korean team had finished 3rd. In Singles hed lost in the 8ths to Vietnams PhamGia-Anh, ranked 7th in Asia for 63-64 behind #1 Hiroshi Takahashi; #2 Kiichi Miki, winner of the 1962
Asian Games in Indonesia; #3 Jung-Kil (or Gil) Park, Lees teammate (who in the Singles eliminated
Ogimura 25-23 in the 5th); and #4 Manji Fukushima. Takahashi, Fukushima, and later Park well see
playing in future U.S. Opens.

Right now, however, D-J is touring North America with 4-time World Champion Richard
Bergmann, and at the Jan., 1965 moment theyre en route to the frozen north, where its 30
below zero. Richard writes to Rufford Harrison to see if Rufford can intercede with Graham
Steenhoven to arrange for Lee to play in the upcoming Detroit U.S. Open. Harrison then relays the
appearance offer Bergmann has requested, which I havent the specifics of, and says, My guess is
that his [Lees publicity] value definitely is enough to warrant the cost. Bergmann then replies:
This is just another effort to convince Lee Dal-Joon that I did try to get
him into the U.S. Open Championship as a participant, and not stand in his way.
Believe me, as far as I am concerned, it only means a lot of trouble getting Mr. Abe
Saperstein to approve this. And then arranging for another opponent to replace DalJoon for those three days. Anyway, for Lee Dal-Joons sake, I hope the U.S.T.T.A.
will agree to these new very reasonable terms.
As were about to see, for whatever reason, Lee does not play in the 1965 U.S. Open.

132

Chapter Eleven
1965: Klein/Martinez Win U.S. Open.
1965: World ChampionshipsTeam Play.
1965: WorldsWomens Singles/Doubles.
1965: WorldsMens Singles/Doubles.
On the cover of the Apr., 1964 issue of
Topics, four players at doubles looked to have a
big table tennis fan watching them. Yepa BIG
fan: an up-close ELEPHANT! Just in case you
want to read the cover explanation:
Cobo Hall is capable of housing
the worlds largest conventions. It is not
unusual to find several different
organizations in session at the same time
without being crowded. Recently the
circus was in town and the elephants were
housed in a section of Hall D. The
Michigan Table Tennis Association has a
sixteen-table center open every evening
from 7 to 11 p.m. from November 1st to
May 1st also in Hall D. It was natural for
this friendly animal to give vent to his
opinion of the caliber of play of some
TTT, Apr., 1964, Cover
Cobo Hall employees enjoying a friendly
Michigan players performing at Cobo Hall.
game during their lunch period. Would
Yes, thats a real elephant!
[Referees and Umpires Chair] Cyril
Lederman call a let at this point? Michigan President Sam Veillette promises there will be no
such distractions at the 1965 U.S. Open. (2).
O.K., no elephants, but a thundering herd of 340 players at this Mar. 19-21, 1965
Detroit U.S. Open. The Program, however, is outrageously not a U.S. Open one, save for the
roster of contestants, and a list of the Defending Champions, but a Michigan one. Theres
nothing about the top contending players, and no photos of themonly Ann Arbor and East
Detroit players are pictured, along with details about their clubs. Michigan rankings in various
events, down to 16 players in the Womens Novice, cover most of a page. Grand Rapids
League standings show the position of 48 players. Detroits Chuck Burns and Jim Rushford,
who are running for USTTA E.C. office, are blatantly given bios to the exclusion of others.
The Michigan Association should be praised for their inter-city network of loyal workers, but
theyre too in-group, too enclosed to the rest of the t.t. world. They arent interested in
sharing with Topics readers, including members of their own MTTA, photos and stories about
their major tournaments.
With 40 tables in play at this U.S. Open, well begin with the event that has the most
entries, the Mens. In the round of 32 there were four 5-game matches: Laszlo Varenyi over
133

Jack Howard, 23-21 in the 5th; Jerry Kruskie, down 2-1 after winning the 1st 25-23, over Doug
Cartland 4 months shy of his 50th birthday; Dave Sakai, from two games down, over Marty Prager;
and Chuck Burns over John McLennan, Jr. Only one of these winners advanced in the 8thsthat
was Kruskie who zipped rather than nipped hometown hope Pete Childs in what spectators had
predicted would be a tough competitive fight. Actually, of the last 15 matches, only two went the
limit: Jim Blommer over Gusikoff in the 8ths, and Doss over Kruskie (after being down 20) in the quarters.
Bukiets win over Bozorgzadeh brought him to the semis and Doss. Or was
supposed to bring him there. But, as Tom Aldrich had asked in his Remembrance of
Bernie, Where is he? Cause now, as Tom says, its match time:
Doss paces nervously near the table like a caged beast while
Bernies fans are assuring the tournament desk that hes on his way (he had
overslept at the hotel, they said). Its now a few minutes past playing time,
and still no Bernie. There are heated consultations among the tournament
directors. Still no Bernie. Finally a woman runs, out of breath, to the
desk saying, Hes in the building and on his way down. Doss,
Mar
looking as though he was about to become unglued, is yelling, Default
ty D
oss
him. Finally Bernie limps in, conveniently wearing his warm-up slacks over
his playing shorts, and is not defaulted. He is smiling and Doss is scowlingand Bernie
proceeds to beat his fellow German expatriate three straight. What entertainment! Does Bernie
have more guile than I had thought? Was it all staged to play on Dosss emotionsto ice him?
Did Bernie really oversleep? Others suggested [a la some previous tournament] he actually was
sleeping in a nefarious way at the hotel. Could he have been sure he wouldnt be defaulted?
Klein, meanwhile, had gotten to the final by downing Blommer then Pecora whod
eliminated Miles. Gusikoffs comment that, after the Womens final, whod want to watch
Klein play Bukiet will be explained in a moment. But Ontario Newsletter Editor Jose Tomkins
wrote that this final was an exciting exhibition [not the best word] of lightning drives, counter
attacks, and almost impossible retrieves. Erwin successfully defended his titlehis 4th and last such
Championship. Thereafter, for the next 40 years, if not more, only
one other native-born player, Eric Boggan, would win the U.S.
Open.
Regarding the Womens, I want to note that months before
this National tournament, Patty Martinezs father, Jess, in a Dec. 6th,
1964 letter to our International Chair Rufford Harrison, said that
Patty had sponsors and might be interested in going to the 1965
Yugoslavia Worlds (code name: SPENT). What would it cost not
only for Patty but for himself as chaperone?
On Dec. 9th Rufford responds in a lengthy letter. He speaks
of how the USTTA plans to send three men to the Worlds if each
pays $300 towards his expenses. As for our women, sorry, but they
are quite poor on a world scale, and moreover of all the women
and girls whom we have sent to the World Championships in the last
six years, not one [not Doubles specialist Barbara Kaminsky?] has
Photo by Don Gunn

Jess Martinez, Sr.

134

learned anything that was reflected in subsequent improvement. So the Association isnt funding them,
and, if they want to go, they must pay all their expenses.
Patty, at 13, says Rufford, is perhaps our best hope for a future world-ranking woman.
You, he addresses Jess, are perhaps the only one who can say whether the trip to the World
Championships at her present stage will help her or discourage her. The plain fact of the matter is
that the best women in the world are almost as good as our men. And, he emphasizes, I want
you to realize this.
However, Rufford also says, I do not wish to discourage you or her in the least.If
you think she can learn from it [going to the Worlds], there is no better place to learn.Patty
will spend two weeks there that she will remember for many years. Rufford thinks its
wonderful that Patty has sponsorsand estimates the cost of the trip to be $1,000 per person.
If Jess feels its too much money for him to accompany Patty, he neednt worry, shell be well
looked after, by Rufford and his wife, for example, and therell be other players there from
other countries her own age or only slightly older shell feel at ease with.
He concludes by saying that there are also Junior tournaments, for example in England,
that Patty could go tobut, anyway, if she does want to go to the Worlds, shell need a smallpox vaccination less than three years old, a passport, and a visa.
A month later, after the Martinez family has talked it over, Jess writes Harrison that
Patty may not be ready for world play. He says, I am quite sure the Council of LatinAmerican Clubs would approve the money for Patty, but I am afraid that if Patty did poorly I
would hesitate to ask again at a later date. He ends by saying, Maybe we better wait and see
how she does at the Nationals.
Which of course is where we are now. So hows Patty doing? Quite wellshes won
both the Girls Under 15 and the Girls Under 17 from Torontos Violetta Nesukaitis. Pattys a
little disappointed, though, for this is the first tournament her mothers been unable to watch
her play. How proud of her she would have been.
And in the Womenshows Patty doing there? Pretty goodafter getting by Donna
Chaimson and Priscilla Hirschkowitz shed advanced to the semis to meet Defending
Champion and this years Barna Award winner Bellini, after Vallerie had eliminated Helen
Sabaliauskas whod survived a 7, -18, 20, 19 struggle with Pat Havlick Pecora. Val had to
vividly remember Pattys 5th game rally a month earlier at the Golden State that had nearly
toppled her from what she thought was very secure footing. But, down 2-0, to Patty here she
didnt fold, won the 3rd at 19only to lose the 4th at 17. In the other semis, Stace, whod
blanked Chotras, was herself blanked by Neuberger.
Question was now: could the kid get her head together for the final, so as to
threaten, maybe even upset, her aging but very experienced opponent? Well soon see,
for here is Brooke WilliamsPattys 1964 U.S. Open Doubles partnergiving us (in
the Mar. 29 USC-Santa Barbara campus newspaper El Gaucho) her first-hand
account of this historic match:
My purse, my purseI cant find it. This is the third time Ive lost
control
over
it, wailed the thirteen-year-old California comet.
illi
W
e
Two minutes remained before she was to play the match of her thrilling
ok
Bro
young life against the fabulous New Yorker Leah Neuberger, holder of twenty-nine national
titles plus a world crown.

ams

135

What was in your purse? I

asked, while Vallerie [Bellini] was saying,
You can do itjust go out there and
win.
My comband a dollar,
answered my question. I was fearful
that this confounded purse episode
might perturb the otherwise
imperturbable youngest junior
champion in United States history.
Heres my comb, Pattyand Ill give
you a dollar. Now please forget the
pursethis is your big moment.
Just then she found her purse,
thank goodness!
Half an hour earlier there was
From 1966 CNE Program
more excitement. Have you eaten,
Patty Martinez, 1965 U.S. Open Womens Champion
Patty? Oh yes. What did you eat?
A coke and a French fuzz. !!! I dashed to my suitcase and extracted a protein bar, which
she dutifully consumed.
Have you worked out against rubber? asked the wise Valleri. Leah uses rubber,
you know. She hadnt!
I grabbed her hand and sprinted to Sol Schiff, the great veteran rubber
player, who was swamped with customers (Sol sells and manufactures table tennis
equipment). Sol, would you please hit with Pattynow? That wonderful man
instantly left customers and equipment and took Patty into the practice area and
gave her a thorough workout against rubber until she was called for her final
against Leah.
Then the lights went out and the floods were trained on the two storybook
starsthe junior and the great veteran, each the consummate champion, and each born
to make history.
The match went tit for tat all the way until in the 5th Leah stretched a 16-14 leadinto 20-15
match point.But play was far from over. At 20-17 came a turning point:
Patty attempted a putaway, which, however, floated high and
apparently out. But wait! It now descended rapidly and just nicked the end
of the table!
At this point the building became electrifiedanything could
happen. Look at her body, table tennis theorist Jack Carr observed
about Patty, not a trace of tension. 20-18 plowed the score; 20-19,
and yes, 20-20!!!
Pho
Lea to by M
Now all spectator inhibitions vanished. Thousands [sic] rose
al A
hs
the bete no nderson
to their feet and screamed their lungs out.
kil
l e r i ir: loss
o
nsti
All right, all right, youve guessed itPatty took the next two
nct f
points and the United States Open Womens singles crown.
136

All else seemed anticlimactic at this

tournamentthough not of course to the
other winners. In Singles and Doubles:
Mens B: John Hart over Tom Williams in
5 in the semis and Ron Beckman in the final.
Womens B: Lansings Jan Himmler over
El Pasos Henrietta Moore. Esquires: John
McLennan over Bernie Hock. Seniors:
Schiff over Burns. Senior B: Santa
Barbaras Howard Wilcox over local
advancer Zen Varnas. Womens B
Consolation: Barbara Payotelis over Ann
Arbor Womens City
Closed Champion
Nora Liu. Noras
husband, University of
Michigan Chemistry
Professor C.F. Liu, is
the Ann Arbor Mens
City Closed
From 1965 U.S.
Champion, and their
Open Program
From Southeastern TT Regional News, Feb., 1966, 3
daughter, FaanYeen,
C.F. Liu
15 years later will be a
U.S. Closed Womens Singles finalist. No wonder C. F.s a Champ. Read his Psychological
Warfare article in the Apr., 1965 issue of Topics (12-13) and, since he describes there every
distracting ploy known to mankind, you can be sure nobodys gonna break his concentration, psych
him out.
Mens/Womens Doubles winners: Mens: Klein/Bukiettheir 3rd straight titleover
Pecora/Blommer. Womens: Stace/Chaimsonin a successful defense of their 64 titleover
Bellini/Williams whod had to go 5 with Shahian and Maureen Angelinetta (Heathers sister).
Mixed: Sweeris/Stace (after being down 2-0 to Canadians Ivakitsch/DeAbreu) over Doss/
Neuberger (whod survived 5-game battles with Bozorgzadeh/Kronlage and Schiff/Bellini).
Esquire: Bernie Hock/Gene Bricker over John McLennan/George Stenbar, deuce in the
deciding 3rd. Senior: Harry Deschamps/Frank Tharaldson (whod beaten Defending Champs
Schiff/Rushford in 5) over Mitch Silbert/Howie Ornstein (whod beaten Burns/Wilcox in 5).
Senior B: Bob Poyser/Varnas over Harold Garman/Eric Pratt.
Boys/Girls Singles winners: Boys Under 17: Defending Champion Pete Childs
(from down 2-1) over Dave Sakai. Boys Under 17 B: George Rideout over Tommy Cohen.
Boys Under 15: Mike Peterlein over Tom Williams. Boys Under 13: John Tannehill over
Glenn Cowanthough down 2-0, Glenn, center-of-attention comfortable from having given
exhibitions in hospitals, orphan asylums, schools and youth centers, forced John into the 5th,
thereby insisting on a combative rivalry in the years to come. Girls Under 13: Violetta
Nesukaitis over Alice Green.
Boys/Girls Doubles winners: Boys Under 17: Childs/Herman Johnson over Tony
Poulos/Peterlein. Boys Under 17 B: Mark Geier/Bob Hawkins over Algis Krasauskas/
Rideout. Under 17 Mixed: Sakai/Barbara Bohning over Peter Cohen/Ronni Klein in 5. Boys
137

Under 15: Tom Williams/Fred Henry over Cowan/Peterlein. Boys Under 13: Tannehill/Roger Lewis
over Cowan/Steve Sheckard.
Disappointingly, just as there had been no coverage of the Eastern and Central Opens in
Topics, so there was no coverage of the U.S. Open, only the results. It was left to Jose Tomkins,
Editor of the Ontario Newsletter, to say that Pattys composure was amazing, and that Leah was a
gallant loser.
So all the more now will Patty consider going abroad? In a May 1st letter to her father
Jess, Rufford speaks of the possibility of Patty going to Australia (its the tournament season
there, but not in England or France). Shed also be welcome in Sweden, he says, for training
and/or coaching camps. Rufford recommends that she go to a three-week July coaching camp
in Sweden, probably the best [table tennis] country in Europe. Cost for the camp? Its $5
per day, including food, accommodations, and coaching. Rufford adds, however:
One mild warning: The Swedes cautioned me to discourage Pattys attendance
unless she is in top physical condition to start with [cokes and French fuzzes wont
help]. The sport in the rest of the world is very fast and demanding. Unless Patty is
prepared to consider table tennis as an athletic regime, it would be a waste of her time
to take part in the Swedish course. On the other hand, if she is prepared to take it
seriously, there is no reason at all why she should not be a great player within a few
years.
Uh, Patty is a little chunky, and of course more or less plants herself up close to the
table and just stays there, doesnt move much. Promising player that she obviously is with her
effective block-and-hit style, Ruffords mild warning doesnt sound encouragingand she
doesnt go to Sweden, or to Australia for the three tournaments there in July.
1965 WorldsCorbillon Cup Play
That other PatPat Pecoradid go abroad, but as she was the only U.S. woman
willing to pay her own
way to Yugoslavia, she
had no teammates for
Corbillon Cup play. Leah
Neuberger professed an
interest in going, but
(because the USTTA
wouldnt pay any
expenses?) refused to
play for the U.S. Team,
would only play in
Individual matches. This
attitude understandably
irritated Team Captain
Harrison to the point
where he said if it were
just up to him he
wouldnt enter
Rufford Harrison leading the 1965 U.S. Team at the Ljubljana Worlds
138

her in the tournament. As it turned out, she had qualms about traveling alone (having taken an aloof,
proud position, she wouldnt feel comfortable being dependent on Team connections?), and so
didnt go to the Worlds.
Canada, however, sent a Womens Teamtheir three top-ranked players: Velta Adminis,
Jenny Marinko, and Helen Sabaliauskas. (In the absence of a government grant, Team players had
to bear most of the expense, but some contributions were raised through lotteries at tournaments).
Marge Walden, Ontario TTA President, told us in the June, 1965 Ontario Newsletter how the
Canadian women fared.
Play in three stages began on 20 tables (there were also 12 practice tables) at
Ljubljanas New Sports Hall, Tivoli Park, Apr. 15th. In Stage 1 (four teams in 8 groups),
Canada was blitzed by East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and India. Said Walden: the
competition at this Worlds compared to last was even faster and more deadly.When the
loop is added to the many other skills, including some fabulous services, it is little wonder that
our players found the competition both devastating and frustrating. Of course, as Editor Jose
Tomkins pointed out in her Mar., 65 Newsletter, Velta and Jenny have long been used to
competitionindeed, they have similar athletic backgrounds. Both like volleyball, and both
have been active in track and field (Jenny, for example, had won trophies in running and the
broad jump). Both had started playing table tennis in Germanyafter which Velta immigrated
to Canada in 1951 and Jenny in 1952.
In Stage 2, playing in Group 4, Section A (solely among the 0-3 losers), the Canadians
lost to Ghana 3-1 with only 17-year-old Sabaliauskas able to win a match. However, against
Iran, Helen won two singles and Velta one for a 3-1 victory. Then against Finland a real team
effort produced a 3-2 winwith Velta and Jenny taking singles matches, and Jenny and Helen
the doubles. I hadnt heard anything about Helen competing in other sports, but she does play
the violin in her high school orchestra and perhaps the discipline that goes with that helps her
table tennis, for she focuses well and is patient and persistent.
Stage 3 saw Canada lose 3-2 to Scotland. Helen and Velta won the doubles, and Jenny
a singlesbut that was it. Of the 31 teams competing, Canada finished 28th.
The Corbillon Cup winner? Not the Japanese, whod
won every Championship since 57, but China (its first
Championship), 3-0 over Japan, though both Cheng Min-chih
and Lin Hui-cheng, while easy doubles winners, lost the 1st game
of their singles (Cheng to Masako Seki; Lin to Naoko Fukazu).
In the tie for 3rd-Place, Englands European Team Champions
Diane Rowe and Mary Shannon (the English Closed Champion
and the only European to be ranked among the Worlds Top 8
this season) went down docilely to Romanias Ella
Constantinescu and Maria Alexandru, the only European woman
whod make the Singles quarters.
Swaythling Cup Play
From Table Tennis, May, 1966, 16
Those who might have been on the U.S. Swaythling
English Champion Mary Shannon
Cup Team were the Selection Committees #1 pick, Erwin
Klein (whose airfare East would have been paid by the USTTA), the #2 pick, Marty Doss, and
Bobby Gusikoff and Bobby Fieldsbut none of these players put up the requisite deposit of $100
(towards the $300 theyd have to pay), so could not be considered. Harry Hirschkowitz,
139

after first saying he didnt want to be considered, then, in part because he was no longer managing
Gusikoffs Club, said he did, knew he didnt have enough participation points, so really wasnt
being serious. Eventually, the #3 pick, Bernie Bukiet, along with Jerry Kruskie and Dell Sweeris
were named to the Team, and, as an Alternate, Danny Pecora.
Harrison, as their Team Captain, was meticulously thorough in his preparations and
directives. The Teams look, its appearance was particularly important to him. From London
he would bring their Fred Perry sportswear, Dunlop Green Flash shoes, and R.C. Hough,
Horsford & Terry track suits; their job was to bring the shoe-whitener. Sneakers, however,
were not to be worn while traveling, nor blue jeanspreferably suits or sport jackets.
The Americans, Rufford was happy to see, were well behaved and well received in
Ljubljanathough the Editor of the Swedish magazine Bordtennis accused the Yankees of not
taking their play so seriously. Thus it was possible to see one of the Americans nonchalantly
smoking a cigarette while playing the ball in a practice session.* He did, however, put this
poison-stick down as match-time approached (TTT, Nov., 1965, 2).
In Stage 1, the U.S. ripped through Malta and Luxembourg, but lost to World #12 Iran
when Houshang Bozorgzadeh won all 3 (he would also win all 3
against powerful North Korea),** and Amir Ehteshamzadeh,
though losing to Pecora 22-20 in the 3rd (the only tie Danny
played), won two from Kruskie and Bukiet (after Bernie was up
13-7, faltered, and then, down match point, served off).
Harrison in his later Team Captains Report, in which he praised
these World Championships as the best hed yet attended, said
that Bernie was just too slow and that, though its a credit to
him that hes played so well in his later years, age has inevitably
caught up with him. (Still, no U.S. player would have a better
record than Bernies 11-11.)
In Stage 2, the U.S. would lose all their ties. They fell
to World #19 France 5-2 when Vincent Purkart and Jacques
Secretin didnt give up a match. Against World #17 Poland
they played grittilybut lost 5-4. (Bukiet won a key early
match from Andrzej Domicz, 23-21 in the 3rd, but when
Kruskie was beaten 19 in the 3rd by Janusz Kusinski, we
Houshang
were down 4-1. Now, however, Sweeris stopped both Domicz
and Jerzy Skublicki (later Jerry would come to the States),
and Bukiet evened the tie at 4-4. But in the 9th match Kruskie couldnt
continue the rally against Domicz.
Harrison felt Kruskie was a valuable player, but had no team
spirit whatsoeverthough, as Rufford added, since such spirit was
largely unknown in the U.S., Jerry couldnt be faulted too much for
lacking it. Rufford was more disturbed that Jerry refused to take
ver
o
C
adviceeither from myself or from other members of the team.
965,
ay, 1 uskie
M
Dismissively he would say, Im the one who has to hit the ball, or
,
TTT rry Kr
Je
And what other brilliant advice do you have? (Though Kruskie would
finish 10-10, Rufford regretted that he hadnt a moral right to play Pecora in his
stead.)

140

On to World #21 Austria, against whom we lost 5-2with Kruskie and Sweeris
winning matches (Dell from Conrad Kollner, 19 in the 3rd). Next, World #15 East
Germanyand only Bukiet could win as much as a game. In going down 5-2 to World #14
Denmark, Bernie and Jerry beat Huckelkamp soundly. But Dell lost 21-8 games to Niels
Ramberg and Freddy Hansen, and Bernie dropped one game 21-3. However, in their Stage 3
last tie against Switzerland, a group effort gave them a 5-1 win and 23rd-Place.
Sweeris, with a 6-10 record, Harrison thought a real surprise. Apparently there was
some question as to whether he should be on the Team in the first place. (Schiff reportedly had
pushed for his inclusion.) But, said Rufford, Dell was the quickest of our players by far, and it
is speed that counts these days.
The Canadians, meanwhile (Mike Behan, John McLennan, Jr., and Modris Zulps),
in their Stage 1 competition, fell 5-0 to England and East Germany, but beat Ecuador 5-1
(Behan, former Irish Schoolboy Champion, then National Doubles Champ before
immigrating, lost the sole match, 19 in the 3rd). In Stage 2 vs. five teams, they were shut
out. Against Australia they couldnt take a game. Against Belgium, who fielded former
U.S. star Norby Van de Walle, they had no chancethough Latvian-native Zulps, who
started playing table tennis in Germany in 1947 before coming to Canada in 49, went 19
in the 3rd with Frans Lanckmann. Van de Walle, said Sweeris, uses sponge, loops, and is
ready and waiting to come back to the United States. Hmm. But he never doesnot
until almost 40 years later when, with a tear or two, hes inducted into the USATT Hall of
Fame. The Canadians were also blanked by Finland and Cambodia. At least in both their
remaining 5-2 losses to Luxembourg and Pakistan, Modris, a volleyballer for the National
Team at the last Pan-Am Games, took two. Thus
Canada finished 36th out of 43 teams.
China, Swaythling Cup winner in 61 and 63,
continued its dominant play under Captain Fu Chifang by defeating Japan 5-2 in the final. World #4
Hiroshi Takahashi, with his strong backhand play,
provided save-face encouragement for the Japanese
by downing both Chang Shih-lin and two-time World
Champion Chuang Tse-tung. North Korea defeated
Yugoslavia, 5-2, for 3rd-Placewith Istvan Korpa
winning from World #12 Kim Yung Sam and Vojislav
Markovic from World #17 Pak Sin Il (who would
knock out Ogimura in the Singles).
Regarding Chinas win, an article in the Aug.Sept., 1965 Topics, based on a United Press
International dispatch from Tokyo, quoted The
Photo by Mal Anderson
Peking Peoples Daily as saying:
.This remarkable achievement is the
result of holding high the great red banner
of Mao Tse-tungs thought, laying emphasis
on politicsand learning wholeheartedly
from the Liberation Army (7).

141

Japans Hiroshi
Takahashi

Womens Singles/Doubles
Our only woman player,
Pat Pecora, pregnant, lost her 1st
Pre-lim Singles badly to the
Yugoslav #5, lost the opening
match in Womens Doubles with
her 15-year-old Russian pick-up
partner, but in the Mixed with
husband Danny defeated the
Indian team of Divan/Kulkani
before losing to the Russians
Gomozkov/Paijsarv. None of the
other U.S. men played in the
Mixed.
As for the Canadian
women, none won a Singles or
Doubles match.
The Womens Singles, in
Photo by Dagens Nyheter. From TTT, June-July, 1967, 6
the absence of Defending
1965 World Singles Champion Naoko Fukazu
Champion Matsuzaki, went to
another Japanese, Naoko Fukazu. But not without a struggle. In the quarters, after getting a mere
25 points total in the first two games from Chinas Cheng Min-shih, she rallied to win the 3rd at 19
and then take the match, giving up 27 points total in the last two gamesa strange reversal. In the
semis, again down 2-0, this time to her teammate Noriko Yamanaka, she won deuce in the 5th. And
in the final, attacking against
Chinas Lin Hui-ching, the
shakehands defender whod
beaten her in the Teams, she took
the Championship in 5with 4 of
the games being played under the
Expedite Rule.***
Chinas Corbillon Cup
stars Cheng and Lin, whom
startlingly well see still dominant
six years later after the Cultural
Revolution, really won the
Womens Doubles in the
quarters, so to speak, when they
survived an unheralded Polish
From the Chinese TT Delegations
pair, Czeslawa Noworyta/Danuta
1971 Portfolio of Photos
Szmit, from down 2-0 and at
1971 World Champion
deuce in the 4th. In the Singles,
Lin Hui-cheng
Noworyta had averaged 12
points a game against Japans
Masako Seki and Szmit had
averaged 12 points a game
142

against Chinas Liang Li-chen. I can only conclude

that China was giving the Poles a chance for glory
if they could come through. Would China give up a
World title? What do you think? Of course who
did Cheng/Lin beat soundly in the semis but
another strong Chinese pair, Feng Meng-ya and
Singles semifinalist Li Li. In the final, China just did
outlast Seki/Yamanaka, 19 in the 5th, after the
Japanese, down 2-1, had gotten by another
hovering Chinese pair, Liang and Li Henan whom
well later find at a Worlds as a U.S. Coach.
The Mixed went to Japan, though again, as
with the Womens Singles, it was easy to speculate
that China could have won this title too. The one
semis had two Chinese teams playing, and the
other semis had two Japanese teams playing (but
only after Ken Konaka/Fukazi had eliminated
Photo by Dennis Steele
Chinas Wang Chia-sheng and Ti Chiang-hua
Li Henan
whod originally been on Chinas Corbillon Cup
team before being replaced by Cheng Min-shih). Japans Koji Kimura teamed with Seki to defeat
Chang Shih-lin/Lin Hui-cheng in 5 to take the title. Big chance gone for these Chinese. But never
fear, when next they make an appearance together, theyll have their reward.
Mens Singles/Doubles
The U.S. men saw little remaining play. In the Singles, Bukiet went down right away in 5 to
a Cambodian; Kruskie had the bad luck to initially draw Domicz, the Pole he lost the 9th match to in
the Teams and, averaging only 10 points a game, had to be beat before he started; Sweeris
stopped Lajos Antal, a Swiss hed lost to in the Teams through some wild hitting, then
understandably could make only an 11 point game of it against World #4 Kimura; and Pecora, after
a good 5-game win over Gerard Bakker of the Netherlands, did well to go 4 with Chinas World
#17 Wang Chia-sheng. In the Doubles, Bukiet/Sweeris eliminated a weak Welsh team, then fell to
the Russians Anatoly Amelin/Nikolai Novikov, 3-0. Kruskie/Pecora knocked out a Yugoslav pair in
5 before losing in straight games to the strong Hungarians Janos Fahazi/Laszlo Pignitzki.
The U.S. gave Dick Miles permission to play, but he couldnt because word was that at
least one country, Iran, wouldnt permit his late entry. Rufford Harrison played a match in the
Jubilee Cup, which was won by Ferenc Sido.
The Canadians had results similar to the Americansthe occasional singles but no
doubles win. McLennan, who was fit enough via the track and field interest hed had at
Ontarios Waterloo University, beat a Swiss deuce in the 5th, but then couldnt contest with
the not yet famous Yugoslav Dragutin Surbek; Behan got the best of a Spaniard in 5 before
being blitzed by the impressive West German Eberhard Schoeler (off-court intent on an
economics degree, as well as marriage to Englands Di Rowe); and Zulps was 3-0 zipped by
an Australian. Strangely, Modris was the only Canadian or American player to enter the
Consolationthough a Welsh quarterfinalist there, Graham Gear, would one day immigrate to
Toronto and then, on becoming an American citizen, call Las Vegas home.
Chinese of course dominated the late rounds of the Singles and Doubles. When youve got
143

four Chinese teams in

the semis of the
Doubles, you can be
assured that even
Harrison, who
criticized his U.S.
players (and N.Y.
observer Ron
Heilman) for gambling,
would bet that a
Chinese pair had to be
victorious. Chuang
Tse-tung/Hsu Yinsheng took the title
without dropping a
game.
In the top half
From Tim Boggans
From 1965 Ljubljana Worlds Program
of the Singles Draw all
Winning Table Tennis (1976), 38
Eberhard Ebby Schoeler
quarterfinalists were
Chinas 2-time World Mens Doubles
Chinese. As he had the
Champion Chang Shih-lin
two previous Worlds,
Li Fu-jung advanced to the finalthis time over Hu Tao-pen, 18 in the 4th, then Chou Lan-sun, 19 in the
4th, after Chou needed only to go through the motions to down Hsu Yin-sheng. In the lower half of the
Draw, Defending Champion Chuang Tse-tung also advanced to the final with easy wins over Japans
Takahashi, whod somehow beaten him in the Swaythling Cup, and defensive marvel Ebby Schoeler,
the only European contender for the title.
Schoelers quarters match with Chang Shih-lin, The Magic Chopper, was the talk of the
tournament. Heres Sweeris commenting on it (see John Darts article in the Aug.-Sept., 1965
Topics):
The match was brought into the expedite rule (in the 2nd game) with [Magic
Chopper] Chang Shih-lin topping for 15 minutes while Schoeler chopped every one back.
The German won the first two, but the Chinese got more consistent and brought the match
even, and then pulled to an 11-6 lead in the fifth (game). Schoeler closed the gap but could
never catch up until the score was 20-17. He deuced the game and then proceeded in
thrilling the crowd by exchanging five ads. Schoeler finally emerged the winner 27-25 (3).
Canadian Captain Marge Walden also wrote of Chang attacking furiously and Schoeler
defending, but said that the German player was also very effective in interspersing his
defensive play with flash hits. How grueling the 90-minute struggle must have been for both
players. In one of the games after 10 minutes had elapsed, the score was only 2-1. Since the
tournament schedule had to be held to, Schoeler had little time to rest, so no wonder he was
beaten so convincingly in the semis.
Coming out to meet Chuang in the final was Li, a native of Shanghai where its said his
father works in a Turbine Factory that has 140 League teams. Shanghai, I might add,
according to a Nov. 4 article by Charles Taylor of the Toronto Globe and Mail, has cleaned up
144

the decadence of its legendary 120-foot bar, home to the sometimes 1,000 seamen in the
sprawling port. Girls? Forget girlsnow in the basement you can play table tennis until the place
closesat 11 p.m. sharp.
The final between Chuang and Li stretched into the 5th. Time magazine, in its May 7, 1965
account of the match, said:
Li was the crowd favorite. Often laying back as far as 20 ft. from the table, he
brought gasps of astonishment from the crowd of 8,000 as he casually returned smash after
smash, biding his time until he uncoiled to slam a blur of white past
Chuang for a point.
Edgar Clark, in his Nov. 30, 1964 Sports Illustrated
article, mentioned that, in the 1963 final between Chuang and Li,
there was some talk that Li had been instructed to throw the match
to Chuang. But no one who saw the matches believed it (E 12).
Now in this 65 final the score in the 5th was 15-all. And then
suddenly, recalls Sweeris in that Topics article, Li Fu-jung
couldnt seem to keep the ball very lowand Chuang Tse-tung
killed the next six to win the title for the third straight time. Noting
that Li had abandoned his offense, English Team Captain Ron
Craydon was quoted by Time as saying, It seems to have been a
bit fixed.

From Table Tennis, Oct., 1965, 8

English Team Captain Ron Craydon

SELECTED NOTES.
*See the photo of Jimmy
McClure in Vol. II, Chapter 30,
p. 316. The jacket hes wearing
shows 5 starsthe number of
World Championships he as
player/captain won.
**Houshangs successes
against many different teams while
playing in many different countries
prompts me to include the
following description of a
climactic match hes to have, I
dont know where, but I believe
in the late 1960s, with Anatoly
Amelina match that will decide
whether Iran will prevail over
Russia or not. If Houshang wins,
glory to him, his teammates, and

Bronze Medal Winner at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games, Irans

Houshang Bozorgzadeh
145

supportersnot the least of whom, watching the match, was that same Mr. Hadjebi whod
welcomed the U.S. Team of Bernie Bukiet and Bobby Fields to play Houshang in Teheran in 1957.
Up 18-9 in the deciding 3rd, Houshang seems to have victory in hand. But then Amelin
begins to get hot, begins winning point after pointand Houshang begins to hear behind him little
gasps and urgent shoutsimpossible to make out, but ones that understandably suggest worry.
Alright, alright, dammit, Im trying hard, he mumbles to himself. But 18-1318-141815.More gasps, more shouts and little screams, more commotion.Im trying, Houshang thinks,
Im trying. Cant you see Im concentrating only on the match?18-1618-17.And now
suddenly all is quiet behind him. Had his supporters given up on him? But though they may have lost
faith, Houshang steadies, plays beautifully, and runs out the match! He hurriedly shakes hands with
Amelin and the umpire, then spins round triumphantly for his reward, half a step on the run to jump
into his teammate Amirs arms. Onlythere is no one there!
Turns out that Mr. Hadjebi, the Presidential friend of the Shah, had suffered a serious,
though not fatal, heart attack, had been taken away, and all had shortly followed to see if he lived or
died.
***Hikosuke Tamasu, in his Songs of International Friendship (1993), says that Fukazu
was one of those dedicated Japanese Team members who in training were not permitted to go to
bed unless they could hit chops back 1,000 times without missing. Fukazus win could have been
the result of this training (43).

146

Chapter Twelve
1965: Post-U.S. Open to End-of-Season Tournaments. 1965:
E.C. Lacks Direction.
About the time our U.S. players were leaving for Europe,
the Spring Closeds began, and I made a profound life-changing
moveI returned to tournament table tennis. But not without
some ambivalence, for I knew how intense I could be, how into
the Sport I might be, and how I just couldnt play socially and let
it go at that. I was far from feeling confident that I could and
would actually begin the whole rigorous scene again when, after
an initial telephone call, I think to Topics columnist Danny Ganz, I
came shyly, tentatively, that Monday night to Mary Larsens
Mary Larsen
Rockville Centre, Long Island home with its recently attached
Club-room wing that held two tables. Of course, on being so warmly welcomed by Club
host and hostess Frank Davison and his friend Mary and all the local players there, I didnt
realize at the time how much it would change my life and my familys life (Scott was then
3, Eric 1).
Frank Davison was, as they say, a character. In
real life a teacher, likely then a substitute teacher (in the
1930s hed also been Table Tennis and Track Coach at East
Rockaway, Long Island High School), Frank loved to play
Director at Marys Club. Each week, before play began,
hed carefully explain to the assembled regulars (all of whom
of course had heard it all before) the round robin format of
play, would then formally welcome any new players and
perhaps even go so far as to begin to give them a little history
of Long Island table tennis until those most eager to play
would (Jesus, Frank, youre getting senile!) try to shush
him. As the evening progressed, he would, with a flourish of
chalk, write game scores on the large board. But no matter
Frank Davison
how meticulously he tried to keep these scores, they would
inevitably contain errors that over his bald brow would cause him to scratch or tug strands of
wispy hair in momentary puzzlement. Then mischievous players, like bright but undisciplined
students, would yell out corrections Frank would never begin to act on until he stubbornly saw
the change for himself.
Though I cant remember Frank ever appearing at a tournament outside Long Island,
hewith his disheveled appearance and increasingly toothless grinalways had the assured
air of a world-class aficionado winking a secret at you, parting on occasion with but a small
sample of decades of stored-up lore. We humored him, the more so if toward evenings end we
were relaxing with coffee and cake.
The first night I went to Marys Club I lost every match badly, and before the night was
over my pride had gotten the better of me and I told Frank that by next year Id not only be
beating all these players, but Id win the Long Island Championship. With that assured air of
his, he said I wouldnt. One of us would be right, one wrong.
147

This years Long Island Closed, however, brings me

to the winner of the B Consolationone, George
Brathwaite.
The Chiefthats an appellation perfect for
eventual Hall of Famer George Brathwaites 40-year sense
of responsibility to self and to the Sport of Table Tennis.
George first feathered his cap in another country and in a
different kind of competition. Before coming to the U.S. in
1962, he played cricket and soccer, and represented
Guyana in the 1958 Caribbean Games, in which, as he later
told USATT Editor/Interviewer Larry Hodges, he won
medals in the 400 meter relay and the 100 meter sprint
(Table Tennis World, Jan.-Feb., 1996, 18). Then, while
working at the United Nations in the Document Section, he
was still involved in Track and Field, representing the New
York Pioneers Athletic Club.
However, as he explained to Hodges, one day he
discovered on the top floor of the U.N. the Table Tennis
Club, and its best player, Marcy Monasterial, that unique
one-armed competitor good enough, as weve seen, to
have been a member of the 1957 U.S. World Team. George
was hooked, had found a new pursuitbegan playing daily
with an old hard-rubber racket hed picked up, taking
delight in acquiring a defense. He was on his way, though
The Chief
at first slowlythat first season he was ranked Long Island
#8. Meanwhile, the Islands reigning 62 through 64 Womens Champion, Tybie Sommer, was
beaten in this years final by just turned teenager Alice Green.
The Pennsylvania Closed was held at the Philly Kensington Club before it was torn
down and players moved later in the year to the Center City Club at Broad and Bainbridge
Streets (3rd floor above a
ballroom) where there were
only 3 tables and poor lighting.
At this Kensington
tournament, the Mens was
won by Earl Adams over
Seymour Shenkman. Mens
Doubles went to Marty Theil/
Pete Cohen over Dave
Krizman/Milt Lederer whod
defeated Dave Sakai/Adams,
deuce in the 3rd. Ivars Stiebris
won the Class A from Dave
Gaskill, and the Class B from
Bill Sharpe. Since this is our
first mention of Bill, heres the
early scoop on him.
Seymour Shenkman
148

As a student at West Chester, PA State College, not

far from Philadelphia, 24-year-old Bill Sharpe, while the
1956 NCAA Triple Jump Champion, made the first of his
three straight U.S. Team appearances at the Olympic
Games. In the Triple Jumpalso known as the Hop, Step,
and Jumpthe participant leaps on one foot from a
takeoff point, lands on the same foot, steps forward on the
other foot, leaps, and lands on both feet. In 1957, the
year Bill joined the Philadelphia Police Force, he won the
first of his three U.S. National Championships, and, after
that last one in 62, he added the 1963 Pan-Am
Championship for good measure. Then he could start to
relaxplay tournament table tennis.
At the Prince Georges Courts Spring Open, Dave Sakai
had to fight tenaciously for his winin the quarters he -19,
16, 19, 20 beat Herb Horton; in the semis from down 2-1 he
beat Hazi; and in the final from down 2-0 he beat Schiff
whod just gotten by Maryland Open Champ Larry Folk
deuce in the 5th. Mens Doubles went to Hazi/Verta over A
Singles and Under 17 winner Maxwell Lawrence and Marty
Doss (who didnt play Singles). New mother Barbara
Photo by Mal Anderson
Kaminsky took the Womens from Melba Martin. Mixed went
Bill Sharpe
to Folk/Kaminsky over Carl and Yvonne Kronlage.
The U.S. Intercollegiate Championships, held in Columbus, Ohio with the dedication
of the Barack Rec Center venue, saw the University of Cincinnati (Barry Rost, Bert Jacobs,
and Mike Sherrick) win out over Auburn University of Alabama. Actually, a New York City
team entered and had a perfect 8-0 round robin record; problem was, the players were all from

TTT, Apr. 1965, 9

Alan Bell, 1965 U.S.

Intercollegiate Champion

Photo by Mal Anderson

Barbara, Alexandra, and Bob Kaminsky

149

different universitiesMiss Shazzi Felstein (Brooklyn College), Stuart

Lassar (Yeshiva), and Alan Bell (NYU)and so were declared
ineligible to win the event. Ohio States Ailton Pinto, an electrical
engineering student from Brazil, won the Outstanding Player Award
for his (18-1) team play. Bell won the National Singles title over Rost
whod upset #2 seed Lassar, then partnered Lassar to take the
Doubles from Rost/Jacobs.
Ottawas Eastern Canada Open drew 81 players. Hard-hitting
Modris Zulps won the Mens over John McLennan, Jr. Modris and
his regular partner Laimon Eichvald took the Mens Doubles from
Howie Grossman/Jim Sinka, 18 in the 5th. Jose Tomkins says in her
CTT News, Mar.-Apr.,
write-up that Modris was well equipped for camping this year
1966 Cover
with [his prizes:] a stove and sleeping bag. The Womens went to
George Rideout
Defending Champion Denise Hunnius (also ranked #10 in tennis in
Canada) over Violetta Nesukaitis. Denise won both Doubles too
the Womens with Violetta, and the Mixed as a birthday present to partner Owen Duffy.
Mens B Singles winner was Ottawas #1Derek Marsham. Mens (sic) C Singles
winner was Junior Champ George Rideout who, along the way, beat, uh, Violetta, Velta,
Denise, and Barbara.
At the Ann Arbor City Open (how, I wonder, does that differ from the Ann Arbor
City Closed?), University of Michigan math student Ron Beckman won the Mens
Championship, by defeating Richard Hsieh, a U. of M. electrical engineering graduate
student in 5. Four years ago Hsieh was Captain of his University of Hong Kong Team, and
is currently the U. of M. Champion. In the one semis, Beckman defeated City Closed
Champ C.F. Liu; in the other Hsieh downed Defending Champion Laurie Ault. Doubles
went to Beckman/Liu over Hsieh/Ault. Sperry Jones, a local graduate student in
Geography, took the Ladies Singles from Bendix physicist Nora Liu.
In the Mens final at the Illinois Open, Danny
Pecora was a more conclusive winner over Jimmy
Blommer than he had been at the Centrals.
However, in the semis, Danny, down 2-1 and 2017 match point, very nearly lost to Pete Childs.
Pat Pecora won the Womens from Ann Lee. Best
in Mens Doubles: Marty Prager/Jim Lazarus over
Hicks/Varenyi. Best in Mixed: Varenyi/Pecora
over Bert Lee and his daughter Ann. Under 17
winner: Childs, challenged 18 in the 5th by Tony
Poulos. Mens As: Hugh Shorey over George
Ingram. Mens Consolation: Senior Champ Bob
Gates over Bill Hodge.
At the Apr. 24-25 Pacific Coast Championships
in
Inglewoodwhich Don Gunn called a suburb
From 1966 CNE Program
Central and Illinois Champion Danny Pecora of Hell cause it was hot, smoggy, noisy there
that weekendDennis Hickerson beat Bobby
Fields. John Dart (TTT, May, 1965, 10) said that Dennis, a slim 22-year-old who in little more
than two weeks would start his two-year hitch in the Army (draftedperhaps to give table
150

tennis exhibitions?), was able to beat Bobby

by an effective drive and loop shot, mixed
with close-in defensive chops. Dart also
pointed out that in his semis match against
Fields, Bob Ashley played a couple of points
as if he were showing off his professional
exhibition skills:
Ashley drew prolonged
applause from the crowd at Darby
Park when he took a 15-13 [first
game] lead by returning two highbouncing kill shots from 15-20 feet
out, then ran in to return a soft
shot, falling as he hit the ball. Fields
could have stroked the ball for an
easy pointbut Ashleys return hit
the edge!

Las Vegas News Bureau

Bob Ashley

Hungarian native George Makk didnt get his entry in on time, but though he couldnt
play Singles, was allowed to pair with Wayne Obertone in Doublesand they did just fine:
beat Fields and ex-New Yorker Barry Michelman in the final in 5, after Bobby and Barry had
knocked out Ashley and Jack Howard (who didnt hear about the tournament until it was too
late to enter the Singles). Dart said that Fields missed this years U.S. Open because of a
needed operation on an infected right toesaid that Bobby still needed the operation but
played here anyway.
In the Womens final, Valleri Bellini avenged her U.S. Open loss to Patty Martinez,
explaining that she made an adjustment that gave her young opponent troubleoften eased up
on her chops in favor of a topspin loop return. Patty, however, playing with her brother Jess,
did win the Mixed from Vallerie and Ashley in 5.
E.C. Lacks Direction
By the annual Summer Meeting, with the resignation of President Herman Prescott
after hed served but half his term, thered been the usual shifting of E.C. officers and
Committee Chairs. Executive Vice-President Dick Feuerstein now became the President.
The E.C. elected Detroits Graham Steenhoven to take Feuersteins place as Executive
Vice President. (Cause for concern? For, as Harrison put it, [Steenhoven] is excellent in
organizing things locally. He is completely incompetent nationally.) Detroits Rudy
Muehlenbein whod been appointed Treasurer after the death of former Treasurer,
Detroits Herb Schindler, ran unopposed and so remained in that post. Rufford Harrison
continued as Recording Secretary.
Californias far away Shonie Aki (who at this Meeting gave Steve Isaacson his proxy),
as well as Detroits Chuck Burns and Detroits Jim Rushford were newly elected VicePresidents (incumbents Sol Schiff and Bob Chaimson didnt run; Jack Carr, Dick Evans, Bill
Gunn, Cyril Lederman, and John Read were not elected). Carr, whod been appointed VicePresident when Art Goldblatt then Bob Kaminsky resigned (complaining that fellow E.C.
members didnt support his efforts with corresponding efforts of their own), was now elected
151

by the E.C. to remain as Vice President. In a secret vote by the E.C., Evans (who was at the
meeting), rather than Lederman (who was not), was elected Executive Secretary (later called
Corresponding Secretary).
Committee Musical Chairs as of this July 10-11 E.C. Meeting in Detroit had seated the
following: Advertising: Steenhoven replacing Bob Chaimson. Affiliates (Courts, Clubs, and
Leagues): Feuerstein, who apparently could continue to handle that and the Presidency.
Coaching: Carr. Disciplinary: Carr replacing Aki. (Immediate duty: notify the unaffiliated San
Diego Club that their practice of holding unsanctioned club tournaments was a violation of
USTTA regulations.) Equipment: Burns replacing J. Morton Evans. Exhibition: Bernie Tucker
replacing Bowie Martin. History: Leah Neuberger (who was asked to write appropriate
articles for Topics). Intercollegiate: Evans. International: Harrison. Legal Advisor: Forrest
Barr. Library/Films: Joe Sokoloff replacing Pauline Somael. Membership: Bob Rudulph
replacing Bill Gunn. Nominating: Pauline Somael replacing Bill Cross.
Also seated (or seated by next Meeting):
Photography: Mal Anderson. Public Relations: John
Dart replacing Phil Cowan. Ranking: John Read.
Referees and Umpires: Sam Veillette replacing
Lederman. Rules: Veillette replacing Lederman.
Selection: Steve Isaacson replacing Sol Schiff. Topics:
Fred Rohm replacing Graham Steenhoven. Table Tennis
Week: Charles Pearson. Tournaments: Jimmy McClure
replacing Kaminsky. Trophy: Isaacson replacing Si
Ratner. Television: Steenhoven replacing Harrison.
Thirteen of these Committee Chairs had no yearly
Reports to give to the E.C. The Junior Development
and Womens Committees were, at least momentarily,
on the outs (later Heather Angelinetta would be named
Womens Committee Chair).
The two-day Meeting centered on Carrs revision
of the USTTA Constitution/ By-laws, and the E.C.s
adjustments to this document. With four of the nine
E.C. members from Detroit, and all of them present, it
was hardly a surprise that both the 1965 National Team
Championships and the U.S. Open (sorry, Westchester,
N.Y.) should be awarded to Detroit, especially with its
Photo by Mal Anderson
spacious Cobo Hall venue.
Jimmy McClure
Harrison pointed out that at the recent Prague
Congress the ITTF accepted two U.S. positions. One is that a change of order in doubles play
is mandatory. Specifically, the rule reads:
The pair who have the right to serve the first five services in any game shall decide
which partner will do so. In the first game of a match, the opposing pair shall then decide
which shall be the receiver. At the beginning of the third and fifth games each partner shall
receive from the opponent who served to him the first game. Throughout the second and
fourth games, each partner shall receive from the opponent to whom he served in the first
game. [Ten points in the 5th brings the usual switch of receivers.]
152

The other is that the Expedite Rule, once in effect, must remain in force for the rest of the
match.
The E.C. now approved for USTTA use a third ITTF rule: that the ball, when struck
in service, shall be behind the end-line or its imaginary extension: i.e., it may be outside the
side-line. When told that people were speculating that the Chinese will come up with
fantastic serves once they are able to get outside the white side lines, Bukiet said, They
already have fantastic serves.
The International Team Fund had a balance of $200. U.S. Teams, under Captain John
Read, were picked for the Labor Day International Matches in Canada. Mens: Pecora, Doss,
Blommer, Kruskie. Womens: Martinez, Stace, Neuberger, Chaimson (Alternate: Heather
Angelinetta). For some reason, records of the Juniors were not available, and so they couldnt
be pickedthough, intriguingly there was a proviso, unexplained, that under no
circumstances would two particular juniors be on the team. A maximum of $350 out of
general funds would be authorized to cover expenses of the team, such expenses to include
uniforms and, if there is any excess [money], traveling.
That was itthat was the gist of the Meeting.
Readers will note critically that theres no discussion about publicity for the Sport, or
how sponsorship might be obtained for adult or junior players, or for training camps or
tournaments here or abroad. Yet theres a desire to have our players in USA uniforms. Pride
cometh before the fall, so its saidbut in the case of the USTTA, just the reverse is true.
Its as if theres an unspoken understanding, a give-up attitude (the antithesis of Pride)
among USTTA officialsTable Tennis Week notwithstanding (how ineffectual that is). The
prevailing point of view seemed to be that the Association has so little IMAGE to offer that it
doesnt have the ability to get sponsors. Class, in more than one sense of the word, has
always come up in any discussion of U.S. Table Tennis. The Sport, dependent on individual
competition, has often had eccentrics, renegades, minorities not associated with the monied;
clubs in blighted areas where the monied wont go; and committed adults whose identity is
dependent not on whatever job they have that gives them a living, but on how they succeed
(whether they have a place) in the t.t. world.
The aficionados played a dirty sport. Over and over again, there was talk about the
need for a Dress Code, about how Gambling was a no-no, about who was gonna pay for the
Time and how much that was. Dress up the players? Dress up, clean up the Game? Might as
well ask many a player where he dines. Go to club after club, see the sweaty nitty-grittiness
of it all. I question whether the great majority of our players at this time really care about
appearance. Money cares about appearance. Money and T.T.they dont seem compatible,
certainly not up through the 1960s. Is this a U.S. phenomenon? Has it to do with a not-soacknowledged class structure here? The wealthiest country in the world, but what a mixand
what a state the Sports in.

153

Chapter Thirteen
1965: Summer Happenings. 1965: Pecora/Martinez Win CNE. 1965: Fall
Tournaments.
Strange, I no sooner complain that theres nothing much doing in the Sport than Ill
note during this upcoming 1965-66 season a decided improvement in USTTA
Communications. New Editor Fred Rohm is making Topics more meaningfulparticularly by
scrupulously getting in many more tournament results round the country and, with
International Chair Rufford Harrisons help, by keeping us up-to-date on whats going on
abroad.
Relations between the California clubs and the USTTA
have improved. The San Diego Club at Balboa Park is now or soon
will be affiliated. In their July tournament, Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom
easily downed Jack Howard to win the Mens. However, Jack
scored a 1st in both Doublesin the Mens he paired with Semana
Nautica Closed Hat Trick Champ Bob Ashley for a tense 28-26-inthe-5th win over Dave Froehlich/Darryl Flann; and in the Mixed he
and Brooke Williams beat Froehlich/Heather Angelinetta. Seniors
winner was Gene Lee over Rudy Kovin. Genes one of the Clubs
founders, and gets a nod from Brooke Williams as their highly
sophisticated Chinese Coach.
In the Womens, Patty Martinez, down 2-0, rallied to
defeat Semana Nautica winner Vallerie Bellini whom were not
Coach Gene Lee
going to see for a while; in four months shell give birth to
Lynette Rozann. Womens Doubles went to Martinez/Brooke Williams over Angelinetta/
Pauline Walker. Brooke attributes much of Pattys prowessher hitting pattern, drop
shot, and particularly her remarkable return of serviceto Coach Lee, one of the four
official USTTA Certified coaches (the others are: Jack Carr, Rufford Harrison, and
Dick Evans). Gene Roseman was the Class A winner over Seymour Shenkman. (Fred
Herbst and Heather Angelinetta, in their Jan., 1966 CTTA Newsletter, say that Gene has
a spacious table tennis room at his house, especially built and lighted for the purpose,
with stereo music in the
ceiling yet!)
Pasadenas end-ofsummer Southern
Counties Open saw Donut
From Las Vegas
Shop manager Darryl
News Bureau
Heather
Flann, the Santa Monica
Angelinetta
Closed Champ, win the
Mens over Public Health
student Shonie Aki, after
Shonie had ousted
Froehlich in 5. Class A
went to Ron Von
Schimmelman; Class B to
154

Dr. Helmut Vorherr, a research M.D. in obstetrics and

gynecolology. Ladies Singles went to English
emigrant Heather Angelinetta. Now 28, an Executive
Secretary for a P.R./Ad agency, she began playing t.t.
in London in 1954. Runner-up was Brooke Williams
who couldnt break up Heathers steady game and
accurate hitting. (Ah, but wait until Brooke gets that
$300 Swedish robot shes ordered.) In urging players
to care more about their appearance, Angelinetta, the
Tournament Chair, said in a Topics article that if a
general raising of the standard of cleanliness and
attention to smartness were achieved, we would draw
more spectators, who would recognize that this is not
a back-yard table top game, but is indeed a very
scientific sport, taking years of ardent practice (Nov.,
Dr. Helmut Vorherr
1965, 8).
Bobby Fields wasnt in Californiahed opened a mens furnishings shop in Seattle
with his friend Barry Michelman. But he still found time to play in, and win, the Seattle Seafair
tournament. In the semis, against Larry Lee, he was down 18-12 in the 5th, but survived, and
then went on to down Klaus Katzenmeier in the final. Bobby also teamed with Carl Cole to
take the Doubles from Lee/William Yee.
I dont know whether the Columbus, Ohio Club raised the $1,000 investment required
to buy and install air-conditioning equipment, but they did hold a Summer Open in which Fred
Henry dominated play.
The Summer Open at Hyattsville brought the Prince
Georges Club its largest entry ever. Bernie Bukiet, playing
with both sides inverted now, won the Mens from Sakai.
Barbara Kaminskys game was shaping upshe beat
Melba Martin, best in Womens Class A over Gloria
Amoury. In Mens Class A, Bob Kaminskywhod just
served as Table Tennis Director at the Tenth International
Games for the Deaf (44 entries from 14 countries)
fought two tough matches: in the semis he downed
Gloria Amoury
Jonathan Katz, -17, 23, 17, but in the final fell to Jerry
Glass, 20, -19, -17. Senior winner was Danny Ganz who said
that if a table tennis manufacturer didnt
take out a Topics ad, the USTTA shouldnt
give him free advertising via the magazines Approved Equipment list.
The Empire City Open, held Aug. 22 at Gusikoffs Club, was a warmup for the Toronto CNE. In the Mens, there were early upsets: Class A
winner Ralph Weiner over Doug Cartland; Class A runner-up Shiroky over
Sol Schiff; and Vic Landau over Mark Radom whod taken the 17s from
Sakai. Best matches in the quarters were Gusikoff over Berchin in 5, and
Jerry Kruskie over Harry Hirschkowitz, 22, 20, -19, 19. In the semis,
Gusikoff downed Kruskie, and Bukiet beat Miles. Rumor had it that Dick
wanted to open a series of Table Tennis schools throughout NY and
Ralph Weiner
155

vicinityteach pre-teen boys and girls the

fundamentals, and stick with those who
show promise until they enter their first
major tournament, and emerge victorious
(TTT, Nov., 1965, 10). The final, then,
brought Bernie and Bobby together, and,
never mind the stated prize money, unless
one of them was sick, there likely had to be
plenty of side action on this matchBobbys
Image, his Identity, demanded it.
How often on a tournament day, or any
other, had they played such a match. Bobbys
start was always pretty much the same.
Who likes this little weasel?You? For a
hundred?...Youre on for a hundred
too.You too.Fifty? You got it.
There were also $5 bets, $2 bets. The ante
might quickly rise to the point where on
occasion poor Bernie didnt know whether
to win or not. Bobby wouldnt want him to
dump, and the betters obviously didnt think
Photo by Mal Anderson
he would, for surely from the big winners
Bobby Gusikoff, Empire City Open Champion
hed get tips. But this wasnt only Bobbys
Club, it was Bernies toothat is, via Bobbys good graces, his workplace, where he had his
steady, $2-a-game customers. In a sense, Bobby was his employer, and it paid to keep the
boss happy; besides, he really didnt want to see Bobby lose money to outsiders. However, if
he dumped, thered be no more matches, no more tips, and, worse, his customers would lose
faith in him. A very delicate balance was requiredhe, too, had a reputation to uphold. Only
when rarely Bobby angered him would he lash out, You think you won every match from
me?
Their continued compatibility might best be shown by Septembers Monumental Open
winner Sakai, an admirer of both. At the same time that Dave was living with Bernie in NYC
at a place on 83rd St., he was proud to say, Bobbys like Frank Sinatra to me.
On this particular day, after losing the 1st game, Bernie beat Bobby easily. As for Sakai,
understandably he wasnt upset about losing to Miles, but his 13, 18 defeat with partner
Radom in the semis of the Doubles was another matter. Lose to this team! he said quite
disrespectfully, shaking his head. Thats just terrible. But Tim Boggan wasnt that bad, and
his partner, Mitch Silbert, had downed both Marcy Monasterial and Alan Marshall to win the
Seniors. Anyway, though Im sure it didnt make Dave feel better, Berchin/Shiroky won the
final from Mitch and me in 3. In the Womens round robin, after a play-off, there was still a tie,
so the order of finish was based on the players won-lost record: 1. Bernice Chotras. 2.
Priscilla Hirschkowitz. 3. Leah Neuberger.
Pecora/Martinez Win CNE
As of this new season, Jose Tomkins Ontario Newsletter had become the Canadian
Table Tennis Newsat the moment still a newsletter but hopefully one that would expand into
156

a magazine. Meanwhile, crazily, the CTTAs official organ is the USTTAs Topics which
cant begin to cover events in Canadasuch as the death of former CTTA Secretary Perc
McLeodas comprehensively as the News does.
The Toronto CNE of course gets Joses attention, and also Fred Rohms, for Fred,
though inexperienced, wants to do a good job as Editor. Hes personally gone to Toronto, and,
in the course of his Editorship, will do feature interviews on some of the leading players in the
East.
In the International Matches, the U.S. Men barely beat the Canadians, 6-5. Pecora
opened with a steadying 16, 19, 16 win over Larry Lee, then, with Jim Blommer knocking off
Max Marinko, 17, 7, the U.S. proceeded to a 5-1 lead. It would be a rout? Maybe not. Modris
Zulps stopped Dell Sweeris, 19 in the 3rd. Then the strong Northwest partnership of Lee/
William Yee, whod already beaten Pecora/Blommer, defeated Sweeris/Kruskie. Now it was
Yee over Blommer, and Lee over Sweerisand the Tie was tied 5-5. Until Pecora firmly
book-ended this set of International stories with a win over Zulps.
The Womens matches, too, were closewith the U.S. prevailing over Canada 6-4.
Canada, down 2-0, stayed in it when, in a battle of hard bats, Violetta Nesukaitis edged Patty
Martinez, 23-21 in the 3rd, and Denise Hunnius/Barbara DeAbreu prevailed over Connie
Stace/Donna Chaimson, 19 in the 3rd. Connie then won a key 18-in-the-3rd match from
Barbara, only to see Denise down Patty to tie it up again. Enter Neuberger with a singles win
over Nesukaitis and partnered by Stace a doubles win over Hunnius/DeAbreu. In the 10th and
last match, Stace would beat Nesukaitis badly, but, before that, DeAbreu, down 1-0 and at
deuce in the 2nd with Martinez, had stubbornly rallied to give Canada the chance for a tie. This
apparently was #1-ranked Barbaras last Canadian tournament, for, having graduated from the
University of Toronto as an English major, shell return to British Guiana where shell teach
4th, 5th, and 6th graders at the Ursuline School in Georgetown.
In the Mixed Junior competition, Mark Radom and Fred Henry didnt drop a game to
Canadians George Rideout and Al Krasauskas, and, reminding me of those perennial teenage
struggles between Sherri Krizman and Caroline Liechty of a decade ago, Martinez outlasted
Nesukaitis, 19 in the 3rd.
As anyone could see from the
Photo by
strong Open Draws here at the CNE, only
Mal Anderson
the U.S. Open was more prestigious.
Dixie
Biggest clamor in the Mens occurred when
51-year-old Doug Cartland, cheered on by
a band of screaming New Yorkers, of
which I was one (Go, Dixie!), upset U.S.
#7 Blommer. (Doug would later return to
Germany and play fall league matches for
his PCC Neu Isenberg Club.)
More chances for partisan fun in
the quarters. Heres Rohm on the 5-game
Pecora-Kruskie match:
Pecora as usual stood on
his extreme left side of the table and hit with the forehand. But Kruskie imparted great
amounts of topspin on the ball and that coupled with good placement forced Pecora to
157

move around quite a bit. This reduced the effectiveness

of Dannys forehand drive. But Pecora, using his
delaying tactics, slowed up the game and pulled out a
victory (Oct., 1965, 4).
In another quarters match, Gusikoff had his
fast hands full in eliminating Larry Lee, 15, 20, -18, 22,
while Marinko outsteadied Houshang Bozorgzadeh in
5. In the one semis, Pecora hadnt much trouble with
Max. While in the other, after Bukiet had eliminated
Hirschkowitz, he led Gusikoff 2-1, but, on losing the
4th at 19, quickly succumbed. Rohm said Bernie, ten
feet behind the tablechose to retreat and defend
thus allowing Bobby to reach his 3rd straight CNE final
where
Pecora [in
winning] forced every point
with hard drives that had
loads of topspin on them.
Photo by Mal Anderson
1965 CNE Mens Champion Danny Pecora Gusikoff counterdrove so
hard that seldom did the
volley go past the server 3 times. All through the match
Pecora unnerved Gusikoff by delaying each serve as much
as 30 seconds while he walked around the table and looked
at his racket (Oct., 1965, 3).
In the Womens, the only seed not to advance was Stace
who, after beating DeAbreu in the Internationals, lost to her in the
eighths. The one contested match in the quarters saw Barbara
Kaminsky eliminate Hunnius, 19 in the 4th. In the semis, however,
Barbara couldnt begin to wrest the 5th away from 13-year-old
Martinez who, though shed lost all three International matches,
would go on to win the tournament. Runner-up was the Dominican
Republic-born Priscilla Hirschkowitz. Credit her, as she comes
wide-eyed round the table in an open-handed gesture of triumph for
knocking out Neuberger in 4, with hard hits and bilingual pep talks.
But then her jaunty energy wasnt enough; she could do no better
than two 19 games against Patty.
Yes, this Martinez kid is amazingfor, just as she did at the
U.S. Open, she also won the Girls Under 17 and the Girls Under
15both from 14-year-old Nesukaitis whos pretty amazing
herself. No Doubles titles for Patty though. In the Womens, after
downing DeAbreu/Nesukaitis, 17, -20, 23, 19, she and Angelinetta
Photo by Mal Anderson
were ousted by Defending Champions Hunnius/Neuberger. Denise
1965 CNE Womens
and Leah then retained their title by beating Stace/Chaimson, deuce- Champion Patty Martinez
158

in-the-4th winners over Kaminsky/Hirschkowitz. The

Mixed went to Bukiet/Kaminsky after theyd beaten
Schiff/Neuberger in the semis in 5, and Sweeris/Stace in
the final, 24-22 in the 5th.
The Mens Doubles also produced some
exciting matches. Hicks/Sweeris got by Bukiet/
Bozorgzadeh in 5 but went down in the semis to Lee/
Gusikoff whod had to go 5 with Kruskie/Eddie
Brennan. Pecora/Blommer reached the final with ease,
but didnt ease into the title: they won deuce in the 5th.
Boys Under 17 winner: Radom over Tony Poulos.
Boys Under 15: John Tannehill over Roger Lewis.
Boys Under 13: Danny Ybema over Scott Chapman.
Chuck Burns was best in Seniorsover
Silbert, deuce in the 4th, and in the final Marinko, 19 in
the 4th. On beating Max, Chuck let out a loud Yeah,
TTT, Oct., 1965, 4
Father and son, John Tannehill, CNE
baby! yellwhich Marinko did not take kindly to.
Boys Under 15 Champion
He came at me like he was gonna hit me, said
Chuck. But it was o.k.Max only socked him with
rhetoric: Vat you did today belongs in the tea-a-ter and not in the urr-ena, he said accenting
his aloofness. The CNE had to be Chucks favorite tournament. Almost every year, for 11
straight yearsfrom 1955 through 1965 (age 38-48)he
wonsomething. Total: 3 Mens Doubles, 1 Mixed Doubles/1
runner-up, and 5 Senior Singles/3 runner-ups.
In the Mens Inter-Provincial Matches, B.C., with
Larry Lee leading the way, proved superior to Ontario and
Quebec. In the final between B.C. and Ontario, the
moment of truth had arrived: the tie is 4-all, the 9th
and last match is tied at 1 game each, and John
McLennan is ahead of William Yee 12-5. But its
Yee, with some fantastic hitting, who wins it, at
e
17. Its B.C. time as far as the Women players
e
am y L
r
go? Turns out only Ontario and Quebec field
og rr
Pr La
Provincial
teamsand Ontario wins 6-4.
E
n
CN pio
New Closed Champions for Canada in both
66 m
19 ha
e
C
Mens
and
Womens:
Vancouvers Larry Lee over Max
th an
i
m
d
o
Marinko (Max bothered by Larrys high topspins); and
Fr ana
Violetta
Nesukaitis over Helen Sabaliauskas (in a boring chop/
C
65
9
push endurance match).
1
Fall Tournaments
Howie Grossman was the sole entry for Canada in the late Aug. Maccabiah Games in
Tel Aviv. He did well, losing in the quarters to the eventual winner, looper Stan Jacobson,
who two years ago had toured the U.S. Stan and fellow Englishman Jeff Ingber won the Mens
Doubles. England, however, lost the Mens Teams to Israel, coached by 6-time World
Womens Champ Angelica Rozeanu. Australias Suzy Javor won the Womens from Englands
159

Irene Ogus who took both Doublesthe Womens with Joyce Abraham (whos about to come
to Canada), and the Mixed with Ingber. In a few years Irene will be a prominent player in the
States.
Next up for Canada was their Oct. Central Canadian Open at Niagara Falls. And who
should be in that Mens final but me. Back in 1952 and 53 Id won this tournament, and so it
was special for me to go thereand selfish, for my wife wasnt feeling well, and would be
feeling even worse when in my absence our two-year-old, Eric, tumbled down the basement
steps and cut himself between the eyes, Sally suffering a momentary blindness before hurrying
to our neighbors for help, and a doctor to stitch the wound. Meanwhile, on beating Marinko
19 in the 5th in the semis, I was ecstatically throwing my towel, and perhaps, as Tomkins in her
coverage put it, my bat and glasses too.
That put me in one of the most exciting finals we have seen in a long whileagainst
Zulps whod ousted McLennan. Boggans game is a quick half-volley with flashing attacking
shots from forehand and backhand. It was a match of tactics, amazing retrieves and lightning
counter-attacks. Certainly a thrilling climax for the whole tournament (Nov., 1965, 2). Back
and forth into the mid-game 5th we went until Zulps gave me a succession of serves I couldnt
return. Very frustrating. What Id be able to tell Sally on my return, and what shed say to me
in response, had been slightly spoiled.
Womens went to Helen Sabaliauskas over Denise Hunnius, 19 in the 4th. Womens B
Singles to Audrey Spavins (formerly Audrey Perkins, first CNE Canadian Closed winner).
Womens Doubles to Hunnius/Nesukaitis over Adminis/Marinko. Mixed to Ivakitsch/
Nesukaitis over both Grossman/Hunnius and Eichvald/Marinko. Mens Doubles to Zulps/
Eichvald over Marinko/Saltpeter. Seniors (Over 35 in Canada) to Zulps over Owen Duffy.
Handicap Singles: Jackie DeAbreu over Sam Veillette (some of Sams fellow Detroiters, Jim
Rushford, for example, were irritated that theyd come a considerable distance only to be
drawn against one of their own).
At the 75-entry, Nov. 6 Ontario Y
Open, run by CTTA Deputy President Ken
Scullion and John Adminis, Laimon Eichvald
won the Mens in 5 from John McLennan, Jr.
However, Jose Tomkins (and anyone else)
would have to say the spotlights on 4-event
winner Violetta Nesukaitis. Violetta has two
younger sisters, Flora 13 and Gloria 4, both
of whom well follow in competition.
Violetta herself is 5, 4 tall, has fair hair,
blue eyes, [and] wears glasses. Shes in
Grade 10 at Notre Dame High School in
Toronto, and likes to swim and ice skate.
Shes also pretty good at the jerk and all
the latest dances (Nov., 1965, 11). In the
Womens, she beat Adminis in 4. In the
From 1966 CNE Program
Womens Doubles, she teamed with Tomkins
1965 Canadian Champion Violetta Nesukaitis
to win from Adminis/Marinko, 19 in the
rd
deciding 3 . In the Mixed with Ivakitsch she edged Eichvald/Marinko 25-23 in the 5th.
And of course she won the Junior Miss.
160

Meanwhile, out in Saskatoon, Eric King won the Nov. Saskatchewan and Saskatoon
Closeds. Others celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the province with wins were: Leo Larsen, Rex
Williams, Irv Joe Josephson, Mel Longworth, C.Y. Chai, and Al Kachkowski. Later, in January,
with the temperature having hovered around the 30-40 degree below zero mark, four of these
enthusiasts drove 400 miles to play in the Alberta Opena bummer for Joefor, during
practice, he struck his glasses with his batand broke both a lens and the frame, thus never did
play in the tournament. Best Calgary players are Jerry Szulczyk, Les Ruscinsky, and Jim Kish.
Larry Lee, as expected, won the Vancouver, B.C. Closed over Tony Simnett and then
Klaus Katzenmeier whod eliminated William Yee. The following week Lee didnt enter the
Western Washington Open at Seattle, but Yee won the AAs, and Katzenmeier at least got to
the Championship final before being crushed by Bobby Fields. Heres CTTA V-P for B.C.
province Chandra Madosingh, the A Singles winner, describing the Fields-Katzenmeier match:
Never before have we in this part of the country seen anyone hit so many balls
so viciously and so frequently in one match as Fields did against Katzenmeier. He
executed just about every stroke in the book, and more! In one point Klaus returned
seven successive, magnificent kills only to see the eighth go whizzing by (Canadian
News, Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 8).
It wouldnt have been surprising to see Schiff in the Midwest, or, well,
anywhere, but the Great Plains Open at St. Charles offering $25 to the
winner, $10 to the runner-up, and $5 to the semifinalists would just have
to get on without him. For the second year in a row, Houshang
Bozorgzadeh beat Dick Hicks for the title. Houshang, playing with Laszlo
Varenyi, also won the Doubles. Millie Shahian took the Womens, the
Womens Doubles with Mildred Shipman, and the Mixed with Jim Lazarus.
Mens As: John Spencer over Ralph Bender. Mens Consolation: Great
Plains Closed Champ Bob Chen over Scott Grafton.
Back East at the late-Oct. Long Island Open,
played at Lost Battalion Hall on Queens Blvd., three
of the top seeds were out of action. Bukiet cut his
hand and needed several stitches; Kruskie hurt his
ankle and was unable to play; and Berchin was
defaulted by referee Cyril Lederman for wearing
illegal shorts. In the quarters, Gusikoff defeated
Photo by Bill
Boggan, 20, -22, 18; in the semis, Joe Andrews in 4
Scheltema
(after Joe had upset Bob Ashley); and in the final Irv
John Spencer
Wasserman, 18, 20, 18.
Mens Doubles, however, went to Wasserman,
paired with Dr. Andreas Gal, over Martinez/Ashley in 5. Presumably
Andreas was still ripping the rubber off his racket when things werent
Photo by Mal Anderson
Irv Wasserman
going well, thus reminding me of Keith Porter and his eccentricities.
Keith had suddenly disappeared from the Sportwas said to have
fanatically embraced ballroom dancing, something the portly Gal probably wouldnt be into.
Womens winner was Priscilla Hirschkowitz who teamed with Gusikoff to take the Mixed from
Hal/Alice Green. Class B: Vic Landau (in 4 expedited games) over George Brathwaite in 5.
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At the New York City Open, players at Gusikoffs Club had by now heard the
news that John Morgan on getting off a bus had been fatally hit by a truck. Some would
remember John as the Director of the 1934 USTTA Nationals, and the owner of the
Broadway Courts whod been instrumental in hiring Herwald Lawrence to manage the
place then become its proprietor. Morgan was an artist famous for having drawn Leo the
Lion for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and many theatrical posters, including those for the
movie Gone With the Wind.
Here at this NYC tournament, two weeks after the Long Island Open, Kruskies ankle
was good enough to get him to the semis, and Bukiets hand was so healed that he cut up
Kruskie and Gusikoff like so much Polish sausage. Womens winner was Pauline Somael over
Alice Green. Paulines husband John and Bernie performed for the popular TV kids program
Captain Kangaroo about this timebut Id later read that no one saw it because at its
scheduled showing the Pope had come to New York and the coverage was all on him. Class A
went to Vic Landau (whod upset Schiff in the Mens) over Al Marshall. Class B: Howie
Schwartz over John Locke. Mens Consolation: Bob Hopkins over Alan Moran. Seniors:
Marcy Monasterial over Dave Mandel. Juniors: Schwartz over Ray Arditi.
Hyattsville and Baltimore ran mid-Oct. piggy-back tourneys. At the Prince Georges
Congressional Open, Westchesters Freddie Berchin, down 2-0, rallied to take the final from
Tibor Hazi. Semifinalists were Tim Boggan (down 2-1 to Schiff) and Larry Folk (down 2-0 to
Herb Horton). In Mens Doubles, Jess Martinez/Bob Ashley defeated Folk/Boggan (from
down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 4th). Womens Champ was Roberta Kronenberg over Jean
Poston. Class A: Boggan over Lester Moskowitz. Class B: Bill Sharpe over Bob Hopkins. B
Doubles: Sharpe/Dan Green over Joe and Jeff Hertz.
The following day at Baltimore, Schiff, who can still spread-eagle himself over the
table in his follow through, downed Berchin then Folk to take the Mens. But, oh, oh, in the
other Singles semi, I did a bad thing (what, Ill tell you in a moment)and was understandably
defaulted from the Doubles (of course I said I was sorry to my partner Folk whom Id known
years ago when we both played out of Dayton, Ohio). Ill not go into what I wrote to Jack
Carrs Disciplinary Committee, who, accepting my regrets and apology, let me off with a
warning (it was the only time in my whole table tennis career I was ever brought up before
such a Committee). However, later I no longer felt like being humblenot after what the
Tournament Director wrote in Topics:
The Baltimore Openwas marred by a very serious incident. During the
Mens Championship SinglesLarry Folk and Tim Boggan were tied two games
apiece going into the last game of their five game set of a hot semi-final singles match.
Folk was behind twenty to eighteen and things looked bad. Suddenly Folk put on a
very fine rally causing his opponent, Tim Boggan, to drop the important final game 22
to 20. Boggan threw his racket across the playing area hitting Jess Martinez of
California in the jaw. Luckily, Mr. Martinez had an iron jaw and shook it off (Dec.,
1965-Jan., 1966, 11).
On shaking hands with this Director as Id left the tournament, I thought we had an
understanding that the incident was over and done withbut, o.k., Ill put this kindly, granted
he thought he had an obligation to report it, I still didnt like what he was saying publicly,
didnt like him, so I responded with a Letter to the Editor (TTT, Feb., 1966, 9):
162

I would like to call attention to the inaccurate and biased manner of reporting in
last issues article, RACKET THROWING MARS BALTIMORE OPEN. Your
anonymous reporter, in describing the 5th game of my semifinal match with Larry Folk,
says, Folk was behind twenty to eighteen and things looked bad. Looked bad, did they?
For whom? Folk? Your reporter? It obviously depends on your point of view. Had I been
leading 20-18, I (and, who knows, perhaps someone else) might well have thought things
looked pretty good. The score, though, was never 20-18. It was 18-all, 19-all, 20-19 my
favor. Your reporter now speaks of Folks very fine rally, which was just too much for me.
The truth is, however, that at this stage Folk did not win the match but that I lost it. I
missed a high ball, what Folk and I both thought was the shot to end the match, then
quickly missed another slam, then jabbed his serve off the tableand in one thoughtless,
irresponsible, disgusted motion followed through by emotionally flinging the bat across and
away from me, I hoped toward the floor. Mr. Martinez did not need to have, as your
reporter says, aniron jaw to shake off the impact of that bat caroming off and hitting him.
When later I apologized to him he told me good-humoredly to forget it, that the racket,
more to his surprise and amusement than anything else, had just grazed his noseperhaps,
as your reporter might say, his iron nose.
One wonders, then, not about the fact that this incident has received much too
much public attention but about whether your anonymous reporter was really at the
tournament, if he knew what was going on there, or if he was merely dreaming at his desk.
Ah, well.
Lesson learned: thereafter I was very careful
where I threw a racket, or broke one, or, as I
occasionally still hear the echo of, hurled a chair.
Life, the tournament, went on: Mens
Doubles: Schiff/Dave Mandell over Berchin/Alan
Moran. Class A: King Stablein over Lenny Klein.
Class B: Dave Robertson over Ed Bacon. Seniors:
Mandell over Gus Sempeles. Consolations: Don
Marston over Mandel.
Before the USOTCs, the Prince Georges Club
held the Nov. Free State Open. Marty Doss, who says
The only way you can arouse the American public [to
Table Tennis] is by monetary prizes, won the Mens
from Folk in the semis and Tibor Hazi, now
approaching his mid-50s, in the final. Tibors semis
with Berchin was described as the most exciting of the
tournament:

Photo by Mal Anderson

King Stablein

Hazi hit almost every ball in the first two games trouncing Berchin 10 and 14.
But Berchin fought back to win the third game at 19. In the fourth game the score was
close all the way with Hazi hitting sharply and Berchin fighting to take the drive but
usually finding himself out of position and forced to defend because of Hazis angle
shots. At deuce Hazi made an all out effort and smashed two points to win the match
(TTT, Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 13).
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Other winners: Mens Doubles: Hazi/Jim Verta over Folk/

Radom. Womens: Donna Chaimson over Yvonne Kronlage.
Mixed Doubles: Carl/Yvonne Kronlage over Verta/Kathy
Silva. Seniors: Verta in an upset over Hazi.
Up to this point we hadnt heard much about table tennis
in Floridathough thered been a Summer Open in
Orlando in which Schiff had bested Jerry Garmanian in a
rubber-to-rubber semis match, then had won out over
Bellak in the final. But now Florida was going to come
into its own, for, as Bard Brenner/Caron Leff would say
(see the June-23-24, 1984 Capital Bank Masters
Invitational Program), In 1965, the sport of table tennis
in Miami was officially born. In giving us a brief history
of his own play, Bard speaks of competing on cement
Bard Brenner
tables at Flamingo Park in the early 1950s, of teenage
hustles at the fancy Miami Beach hotels, of going to
Laci Bellaks house in Miami Shores to play. Later, thered be the action-packed tables at the
Coliseum Bowling Lanesin Coral Gables, run by Dave Morris with help from Fred Fuhrman
whod become the driving force of Miami table tennis for over twenty years (18-19).
It was at these Coliseum Lanes that Marv Leff heard
about the first Florida State Closed Championships being
played in Orlando and decided to attend. Marv had begun
playing as a 12-year-old at Chicagos Columbus Park in 1947.
Marty Prager saw him playing there, directed him into serious
play, and very soon he began winning titles. He was, for
example, both the Illinois State Boys and (over Prager) Junior
Champion, the Mens All-American Champion, and the
Chicago Sun Times Mens Champion. Then, after his
graduation from high school in 52, his family moved to
Florida, and he spent 4 years in the Air force as a medic.
During his service, he played sporadically, but was still strong
enough to win a Texas tournament or two, then, on being
discharged, attended the University of Miami where he was the
Marv Leff
table tennis champion and also gave exhibitions with Bellak.
At this Sept. 25, 1965 Florida Closed, Marv wasnt
known by anyone running the tournament, so of course, though he was seeded #1 in Class A (some
word had to be out on him), he wasnt seeded or placed in the Mens. As we learn from Vol. 1, No.
1 of the Southeastern Regional Table Tennis News (SRTTN), a 4-page newsletter, Marvs biggest
test came in the Mens semis against Central Florida Champ Ray Mergliano. Ray had him down 21, but Marv won the 4th at 19 and advanced to the final. There he had an easier time against Tommy
Cohenwith whom hed win the Doubles over Sam Hoffner/Mel Sylvan.
The Class As also went to Leff over Under 17 Champ Mike Auerbach. Class B: Paul
Gendler over Randy Hess. Seniorsin which the Expedite Rule was first introduced in an
Orlando tournamentwent to Sam Hoffner over Hungarian immigrant Paul Soltesz whose
daughter Olga by 1971 would not only be the U.S. Open Junior Miss Champion but also a
member of the famous U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy Team visiting China.
164

At the 3-star Southeastern Regional, held Nov. 6-7

in Atlanta, a tired Bernie Tucker outlasted a tired Marv Leff,
23-21 in the 4th. Why were they tired? Because in the
semis, Bernie, behind 2-0, kept looping until he found, as it
were, the loophole to successfinally downed Tommy
Cohen 24-22 in the 5th. Earlier, Tommy had defeated the
#2 seed, Dick Yamaoka, a student at Mississippi State
College. Meanwhile, Leff, who has a classic defense along
with a better than average offense, downed the #1 seed,
U.S. #40 John Spencer. Tucker, doing the write-up for the
first SRTTN, said that Marv just chopped back everything
John would drive at him. When John got tired of driving,
Marvin did a little hitting himself. Match eventually to Leff,
17 in the 5th.
Other winners: Mens Doubles: Tucker/Yamaoka
over
the
Columbus, Ohio team of Spencer/Jim Supensky
From Southeastern Regional TT News,
in 5. Class A: Cohen over Mike Auerbach. Class B: Don
Nov., 1965
Gaither over fellow Huntsville, ALs Ralph Kissel.
Bernie Tucker
Seniors: John White over Sam Hoffner. Young Adults
(Under 22): Cohen over Paul Gendler. Young Adult Doubles: Cohen/Gendler over (Under 17
finaliststheir Singles final unplayed) Auerbach and Mike Charney (who had to default, and his 17
Doubles too, because of illnesssomething he ate at Chick-to-Go?).
The Organizing Committee thanked the Atlanta Recreation Department for their
support, and especially for buying all 12 of the Nissen tables that had been sent on
consignment. But when several high-nationally-ranked players had been invited to this Atlanta
tournament and didnt come, the AGTTA was disappointed. They asked, How can we raise the
level of Southern table tennis if the stronger players wont enter our tournaments?
Anybody out therea penny, make that a dollar, for your thoughts?

165

Chapter Fourteen
1965: Illinois Men, Canadian Women Win USOTCs. 1965: E.C. Going Through the
Motions. 1965: Erwin Klein Suspended. 1965-66: Dec.-Jan. Winter Tournaments. 1966:
Howard/Martinez California State Champions. 1966: Sweeris/Hirschkowitz Take Easterns.
Detroits spacious Cobo Hall venue allowed for a dramatic change in the number of
USOTC Mens teams that over the years would continue to increase there. This fall there were
an unprecedented 24 teams divided into three round robin groups of 8with the top
winners coming out to play among themselves for the title. George Buben was the
Tournament Manager; Michigan TTA President Bill Compton the Tournament Referee; Rudy
Muehlenbein the Operations Manager; and Graham Steenhoven a member of the Executive
Staff. To get in and out of the building, players were given an identification button (warned not
to lose it, else pay for a replacement); also, in any team tie, players were to provide their own
umpires. As if in reward for their cooperation, all players were to receive a Delta Airlines
Flight bag, its use (to hold all necessary playing equipment) encouraged. (Must have provided
some fun mix-ups?)
Saturday play consisted of
seven ties at two-hour
intervalswith the first
starting at 8:00 a.m. and the
last going off at 8:00 p.m.
making it quite a marathon,
especially for the three-man
teams. Unfortunately, only
the one tie for the
Championshipthe climactic
one between Illinois and
Iowawas covered in
Topics, and though 10
players had their wins and
losses recorded in detail
(Hickss 27-2 was 2nd best),
this didnt really help the
reader to understand how
Photo by Mal Anderson
play had proceeded,
Danny Pecora wins 9th match to give Illinois the USOTC Championship
particularly since, according
to the schedule printed in the Program, Illinois and Iowa were both in Section C to begin with.
Illinoiswith Pecora (21-1), Blommer (16-7), Varenyi (20-3), Isaacson, and
Tharaldsonwas, well, Illinois. Iowa, on the other hand, had Bozorgzadeh (21-8), finebut
also Kruskie (25-3) and Schiff. The sequence of matches, with no meaningful adumbration by
Editor Rohm (absent apparently from the event) was as follows: Kruskie over Blommer, Schiff
over Varenyi to put Iowa up 2-0; then Pecora over Bozorgzadeh, Blommer over Schiff,
Varenyi over Borozorgzadeh, and Pecora over Kruskie to put Illinois up 4-2; then
Bozorgzadeh over Blommer, and Kruskie looping down Varenyi to bring the tie to 4-4
whereupon Pecora downed Schiff for the Championship.
166

Story was, though, that Pecora almost hadnt been around to win that final match
hed given an irritated kick to what he thought was a wooden barrier, and when it turned out
to be cardboard with now a hole in it, he was asked to pay $10. Outraged at the absurd cost,
he said, Im outta here. Teammate Isaacson, secretly paying the $10, ran after him saying,
You dont have to pay. So Danny came back. Years later, when he found out Isaacson had
paid, he said, if hed known that, he wouldnt have played.
Ah, Jose Tomkins Canadian News gives the important clarification that two teams
came out of each sectionwhich explains how Illinois and Iowa could meet, via Sundays 6team round robin results, in the final. Turns out Canada, led by Marinko (24-4), came 1st in
Section B by beating 2nd-place finisher Chicago 5-4. In Section A, the advancers were Detroit
and New York (though I believe without Bukiet who in the Program was listed as playing).
Ontarios Martin Ivakitsch (15-1) had wins over Chuck Burns, Pete Childs, Dave Sakai,
Freddie Berchin, and Harvey Gutman.
Canadians Win Womens USOTCs
From Topics we know only that Canada won the 7-team Womens USOTCs, but
we dont know who finished 2nd or 3rd. Violetta Nesukaitis, were told, played
outstandingly (8-2), and has added a drive to her normal chopping game. Denise
Hunnius (not one of the six players with wins/losses listed) played wellbut was upset
by 12 year old Janice Martin of Livonia, Michigan. Canadas Velta Adminis (matches not
listed) also was said to have turned in an outstanding performance, as did Connie Stace
(15-0) and Donna Chaimson (13-2). Though nothing was written about Canadas 4th
player, Jenny Marinko, she posted a 9-0 record with wins over Chaimson, Kaminsky (114), and Shahian (10-4)!
Of course Tomkins Canadian News filled in some gaps.
Michigan finished 2nd, losing to Canada 5-4 when Stace couldnt get
any help from Andrea Gerber and only the one deuce-in-the-3rd win
over Hunnius (8-4) from Martin. Maryland finished 3rd Ohio 7th with
5-4 losses to Chicago (4th), Grand Rapids (with City Champ Meryl
Avis 5th), and Indiana (6th).
Rufford Harrison was rightly critical of the fact that,
because the Men played on Sicos and the Women on Detroiters, the
respective gender tables were grouped one apart from the other
with the Women relegated to playing in isolation at the far end of
the hall.
E.C. Going Through the Motions
The USTTA E.C. held a Meeting at the Detroit NTCs. (The
Association would now have a permanent Detroit address.) All
officers were present except for Vice Presidents Chuck Burns
(proxy to Michigan TTA Secretary Sam Veillette) and Shonie Aki
(proxy to Jimmy McClure). Harrisons 1st order of business was to
ask why Detroits Burns wasnt at the Meeting. This was ruled out
of order, but not by President Feuerstein, for Vice-President Jack
Photo by Mal Anderson
Carr was in the Chair. (It was not made clear whyperhaps
Jack Carr, Official of
because, as Jack, the 65-66 seasons Official of the Year, will
the Year
167

emphasize in a bureaucratic-minded Open Letter to Dell Sweeris in the Dec., 1965-Jan.,

1966 Topics (5), he was so revolted by the mess the Association was in that he recently
decided rather single-handedly to whip it into shape.)* Harrison then made a motion to
overrule the Chair, but received no second. Corrections to the previous Minutes were
made (6 changes), and afterwards President Feuerstein issued a memorandum
deprecating the excessive use of USTTA stationary, and forbidding the use of the
telephone except in case of emergency.
Be it Resolved that E.C. members, proxies, and other attendees at the Meeting
Topics Editor Fred Rohm, Photography Committee Chair Mal Anderson, and Ranking Chair
John Readall will receive $20 to cover part of their expenses. Read stated that he couldnt
check on tournament income for last season owing to the shortage of records.
The [E.C.] responsibility for the Rules Committee was assigned to Steenhoven, not to
Rushford. (It was subsequently changed to Rushford by mail.) Be it Resolved that [E.C.]
responsibilities for the Equipment Committee (Burns) and the Television Committee
(Steenhoven) be exchanged. A proposal to combine the Advertising Committee with the
Topics Committee (though apparently there wasnt one) was made a special order for the
next meeting. As of Jan. 31, 1966, Topics was being sent to 1795 people (though not all who
received them were USTTA members).
Be it Resolved that the Referees and Umpires Manual be approved (two against). Be it
also Resolved that both the Tournament Manual and the Ranking Manual be revised, and that
the Affiliates Manual be changed to include a mandatory fee of $10.00 for the first fifty
members of an affiliated club and $.25 per member thereafter, [and] that each person playing in
a club tournament shall have a USTTA club or regular membership. (In his Feb., 1966
Portsiders Views column in Topics (6), Dell Sweeris urges that the ridiculously low price
of $2 for a USTTA membership be raised to $5 or $10 so as to have some paid workers for
the Association. He points to the one paid employee the USTTA has nowI presume Editor
Fred Rohmand rightly praises his work.)
Be it Resolved that, after being rewritten 5 times, the revised Constitution and Bylaws be approved (newest change: all USTTA disbursements to be made by check, signed by
the Treasurer and another E.C. designate), that this revision be sold for $2.00, and that Jack
Carr be given $100 for his weeks of work. There are now, according to Jack, half a dozen
necessary conditions for one to hold E.C. office (TTT, Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 4)for
example, one must be a USTTA Life member, must have been a Standing Committee member
for at least one year, must have passed the Associations Umpire Exam. The most
controversial condition, however, was that to serve as either President or Executive VicePresident, a member must have been an E.C. member at least 2 yearswhich rather
narrowed the field.
Be it Resolved, as Jacks Coaching Committee recommended, that players be allowed
advertising on the back of their shirts, for the E.C. is attempting to find as many ways as
possible to help the better player [perhaps now he can go out and get a sponsor?]. However,
the Committees recommendation, again narrowing the field, that priority be given to certified
coaches when selecting [U.S.] team captains was defeated.
Oh, yes, in addition to these highlights, one other thing: U.S. National Champion
Erwin Klein was suspended for six months, beginning September 16. Just that stark line
appeared in the Minutes. There was no explanation, no evidence of discussion, no indication of
votes taken.
168

Erwin Klein Suspended

We learn from the Nov., 1965
Topics (3), however, that the California
TTA had suspended Klein (and
requested that the USTTA do so too)
until Mar., 1966 because hed refused
to pay some overdue tournament fees
amounting to more than $50.
Klein told Editor Rohm that the
West Side Jewish Center (YMHA) in
L.A. owed the fees. But the Center felt
that because the tournament lost
money, they shouldnt have to pay the
CTTA $15 above all other costs just to
see the mailing list. So, although the
YMHA group (which Klein
represented? he ran the now distant
tournament?) feel the sanction fees
were justified, theyre not gonna pay
those either? Further, they say theyre
not about to run another tournament
and, damn, theyre discontinuing table
tennis in their athletic program.
Does Klein care if hes
suspended? Maybe not. After all, it
gives him time to practice switching to
From the 1979 USTTA Table Tennis Annual
the penholder grip. (As an experiment,
Bob Ashley, premier exhibitionist
mind you.) Also, suspended or not,
there still might be more exhibitions in the offing; hes just given two on national TVone on
the Bob Hope show, and the other on Hollywood Palace with Bob Ashley. The latter
exhibition drew USTTA Membership Chair Bob Rudulphs scorna shabby display, he said
in a Letter to the Topics Editor:
Ashley was introduced as Americas top table tennis exhibition player. Klein
was given second billing as a former [sic] U.S. Champion. The two bounced onto stage
dressed like jugglers in loose shirts and tight trousers that were made of a shiny satinlike material. After quick, in-unison bows to the audience and each other, they bounced
to opposite ends of a table and proceeded to slowly put a ball back and forth at heights
from two to three feet above the net. Then came the under-the-leg shots, the forehead
returns, the blowing returns, and the saves while crawling on the floorall done in
what seemed to be live slow motion. Finally to prove they merited their jugglers
costumes, four balls were set in play at once (TTT, Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 5).
Kleins suspension, meanwhile, prompted other Letters to the Editor. Dave Cox of the
Long Island TTA wondered how, without going through the USTTA Disciplinary Committee,
the CA TTA could suspend Klein, and how the USTTA could go along with it. This drew a
169

rebuttal from (note name change from USTTA Executive Secretary) USTTA Corresponding
Secretary Dick Evans that, after the CTTA suspended Klein, the USTTA Disciplinary
Committee had investigated the matter (though no recognition of this had been made in the
Minutes). Fred Herbst of the Burbank, CA club protested Kleins suspension as a great
injustice. Fred says:
I write as a member of the present CTTA executive committee and as one
of the two members of a sub-committee which investigated the affair. The subcommittees recommendation was outvoted, and in my opinion it was done as the
result of a highly pressuring letter from a vice-president of USTTA who stated flatly
that he wanted the suspension to stand as an example.
Kleins position on the single issue involved was fully vindicated when the
community center paid a bill for tournament fees when it was finally submitted after a
year and a half. Until that time, the previous CTTA executive committee had insisted
Klein pay it personally. I ascribe the whole controversy to a lack of intelligent handling
and subsequent vindictiveness (TTT, Dec., 1965-Jan., 1966, 5).
In a follow-up, the CTTA said that Kleins line about paying them $15 just to see the
mailing list wasnt true. The CTTA transported tables and nets to and from the tournament
site, several CTTA members helped run the tournament, Dr. Bruce Scott compiled and sent the
results to the USTTA (which Klein refused to do), and the CTTA paid the sanction fee to the
USTTA then had to wait almost two years before being reimbursed.
Further, in a Sept. 8, 2004 e-mail to me, Alex Salcido, who as weve seen had been put
down by Klein and was bent on one day beating him, appears to have referred to this
tournament:
Well, as fate would have it, the day
came when he [Erwin] put on his own
tournament and instead of a trophy, as all the
tournaments would give in those days, he
decided to give a cash prize. I believe it
was around $100.

Left: Erwin Klein; Right: Alex Salcido:

En Garde!
170

As far as the tournament went, I dont even remember who was in it or who I
had to beat to get to the finals. All I could think about was playing Erwin if I could just
keep winning. As it happened I got to the finals. And there he was on the other side of
the table.
The match went back and forth. Finally in the 5th we were tied at 19 and it
was his serve. I can still see it clearly in my mind. He tossed the ball high in the air and
faked like he was going to give me a sidespin topspin to my backhand. He never once
used[the serve he was about to give me] during the entire match until that moment
when the ball seemed to stop, and I could see that it had no spin at all! I did what he
would have done, which was the unexpected. I hit my backhand off of his serve right
down the forehand side of the table for a winner. I remember the crowd going crazy
because it surprised everyone, especially Erwin.I only needed one more point to win.
Erwin served a short one this time.I pushed it back and he saw me run over to my
backhand side to position myself to hit a forehand.So he pushed deep to my
forehand side. I ran over but didnt flat hit it as I usually do, instead I rolled it down
the middle of the table and he chopped it back into the net. The crowd went crazy and
I went crazy also. It was soooooooooooooooooo sweet!!!
He was so sure that he was going to win that tournament that he didnt have
the prize money to give to me [he never did pay Alex]. So the t.t. association at that
time banned him for a year [actually 6 months] from playing.
Although this tournament was never reported to Topics, it seems clear, given the Klein
suspension by the California TTA and the USTTA (the only one of its kind Erwin ever
received), and Salcidos reference to it, that this West Side L. A. tournament is indeed the one
where Salcido beat Klein and was stiffed. From that day forward, said Alex, Klein always
had respect for me and wouldnt say anything bad about me to others. Indeed, added Alex,
Klein once told a player that I had the greatest touch in the Game.
Dec.-Jan. Winter Tournaments
After the NTCs, Canadians hurried
home to play the Dec. 4-5 Central Ontario
Open at the Toronto Centrewhere in the
Mens final, though Ivakitsch won two deuce
games from the Ontario #1 John McLennan,
Jr., they werent enough and he had to settle for
2nd. The previous week in Detroit, Velta
Adminis had suffered from a bad back and
played relatively little; but this week she was
back in form, which meant only that she
finished runner-up in the Womens because
Violetta Nesukaitis was fast becoming
unbeatable in Canada.
At the Dec. Fort McHenry Open, Larry
Folk was simply sensational, his forehand
cracking like a whip, his hat-trick game very
sharp. In the Mens, on escaping Lester
171

Larry whipping that forehand

Moskowitz, who had him down 2-0

and at deuce in the 4th, he went on to
defeat Clark Goldstein, victor in 4 over
Tibor Hazi. Womens winner was
Gladys Blaner over Womens Class A
winner Julie Pearson.
Other results: Mens A: Bob
Kaminsky over Sid Jacobs. Mens
Consolation: Mort Greenberg over
Larry Butcher. Mens B: Bob Hopkins
over Ray Phillips. B Doubles: Hopkins/
Butcher over Ken Milgram and Erich
Haring, remembered by Philly players
at the old Kensington Club for his
innovative double-and-triple-table
game, complete with a volleyball-type
passing option; it was played with as
Erich Haring
many as four to a team, and the angles
were unbelievable. Service had to go
Mort Greenberg
from table 1 to table 3!
The Delco Leagues Winter Closed final at the Philly Club saw Delaware State Champ
Bob Hughes, with his smooth, deep forehand scoop motion chops and quick backhand
slams, get off to a 2-0 lead against Dan Green, but then Dans push, loop and hit game
almost brought him all the way back, for, rallying to the end, he eventually lost 19 in the 5th.
Green (whos only been playing competitively for less than one year) paired with Bill Sharpe
to win the Doubles.
At the first
annual Orlando Winter
Open, held Dec. 11-12,
Florida State Champion
Marv Leff came out to
play his 1st match and
quickly dug himself a
grave. Against Virginia
Beachs Sol Lewis, from
down 2-0 and at 24-all in
the 3rd, out Marv,
struggling, almost came,
but eventually, 19-in-the5th, tumbled back in. Of
course he resurrected
himselfwinning the
Consolations easily from
Mike Auerbach. Tommy
From Southeastern Regional TT News, Feb., 1966
Cohen almost went
L-R, Back: Howie Ornstein, Sam Hoffner, Paul Gendler, Mike Auerbach.
down too, but steadied in
Front: Ray Mergliano, Mike Charney, Marv Leff, Tommy Cohen
172

the 5th to oust Sam Hoffner. Tommy then took

out the #2 seed, N.Y.s vacationing Howard
Ornstein, before losing in the final to Jerry
Garmanian.
In the Doubles, Marv and Tommy,
unseeded, swept through without the loss of a
game, beating Hoffner/Ornstein in the final.
Other winners: Class A: Ray Mergliano over
Lewis. Class B: Mike Charney over Bard
Brenner in 4, then Paul Gendler, 28-26 in the
4th. Seniors: though Hoffner threw everything
but his sweatband at Soltesz, he couldnt get
through Pauls defense.
Over at the Columbus, Ohio Courts, the
Dayton Net & Paddle Club (Don Lyons, Barry
Rost, and Jim Supensky) defeated the
Cleveland Club (Danny Vegh, Klaus Esch, and
Jim Richling) to win the Ohio Intercities.
Charleston, West Virginias Junior star Steve
Parsons, who had to leave early because of
Photo by Mal Anderson
Danny Vegh
inclement weather, had the best Individual
record (16-0), but Daytons Lyons (27-1) was
the mainstay of the winning team, losing only to Dick Evanss bird-dogging defense.
Clevelands Vegh, however, with a 26-2 record, was given the Outstanding Player Award.
At the Indiana Open, I dont know what sort of an award the winners received, but a
prize-money move was evident, for in the Handicap event, winner Dick Evans received $71.50
and runner-up Don Lyons $31.50. Mens Singles went to Richard Hicks who, by mixing high
lobs with chops, was able to repel Dell Sweeriss hard drives. Millie Shahian won the
Womens from LaVerne Von Willer.
The same weekend the USOTCs were being
played, Phoenix, AZ hosted the Desert Empire Open.
Ray Fahlstroms dependable defense and the capacity
to execute the kill shot allowed him to beat, first, the
#1 seed Aki, then Tucsons Carter Lenoir whod
surprised 2nd-seed Froehlich. Heather Angelinetta won
the Womens from Pauline Walker. Mens Doubles
went to Aki/Froehlich over Bill Guerin/John
Harrington. Mixed Doubles: Froehlich/Angelinetta.
Consolation: Mark Adelman. Under 17: Bill Kenig.
Under 15: won by 13-year-old Gary Bochenski,
Phoenix Boys Champ the last two years. Gary, a
starting guard on the Glendale Parks and Recreation
Championship team his father Lou coaches, will win
the upcoming Phoenix Clubs Handicap tournament by
taking six consecutive matchesthe last one from his
From the 1964 U.S. Open Program
dad.
Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom
173

Photo by Mal Anderson

Pattys going to play abroad?

The 2nd annual Winter Open, held in San

Diegos Balboa Park, was a benefit tournament
to send Patty Martinez to England in March, 1966.
On Dec. 17, 1965, Pattys father Jess wrote
International Chair Harrison that, since he thinks he
can get sponsorship, it seems quite likely that
Patty will go to the German Open (Feb. 26-27) and
the English (March 2-5). Except that, as Harrison
writes back, the English Open has been cancelled
because the ETTA is running the Europeans and
cant do both. However, Rufford notes that thered
likely be English tournaments holding Junior events
that Patty could play in.
Then Rufford hears that the Welsh Open
will be played on the original English Open dates,
so he lets Jess Martinez know that and dutifully
writes to Waless Nancy Evans, ITTF Secretary
Roy Evans wife, for entry forms to the Welsh
Open. But perhaps mindful of how Sharon
Koehnke was hyped for the English Open some
years ago, he warns:

Dont play this big in your advertising,

incidentally. For one thing, the trip is not yet definite. For another, even though Patty
holds both the U.S. and the Canadian open titles, she is no world-shaker. We just dont
have any good women on this continent. Her family thinks she is so good that she can
travel to Europe and clean up over there. We [sic] think she is good only on US and
Canadian terms, and we are hoping that she will make the trip and thereby learn more
of her deficiencies [so as to be encouraged to improve, yes?].
With his customary thoroughness (Ill get Patty abroad if it kills me), Rufford sends
Jess a list of 9 tournaments that in the space of a month Patty could play in, mostly in England,
and assures him the host associations would welcome her. But on Jan. 16, Jess writes back
that, though Patty received the prestigious Breitbard Athletic Foundations March Award of
the Month for her Nationals win, hes having trouble getting full sponsorship. Perhaps,
however, its not just the money thats the stumbling block. His daughters only 14, and the
family has to be wary of letting her go unaccompanied, even if shes looked after by strangers
every step of the way. Anyway, shes disappointed; she doesnt go, and how much of a
difference this will make in her table tennis career, her life, is impossible to say.
At San Diego (where heavy rain caused the Food and Beverage Building to have leaks
and puddles) Patty beat Brooke Williams, 18 in the 4th, to win the Womens; and she also took
both Doublesthe Womens with Lucy Alvarado (over the Angelinetta sisters), and the Mixed
with Darryl Flann (over Ray Fahlstrom/Williams in 5). Dental mechanic-in-training Wayne
Obertone won the Mens (his first major tournament victory) from Aki whod knocked out
Helmut Vorherr, after the German native had upset #2 seed Flann by blocking back some of
his hardest smashes and outplaying him with a steady chopping game. Mens Doubles went to
174

Fahlstrom/Froehlich over Vorherr/LeRoy

Land. Seniors to Carmen Ricevuto over
Dick Hilbert. Mens As: Vorherr over Land.
Womens As: Lucy Alvarado over Kathy
Chin. Mens Bs: Neil Kuluva over Gerry
Ladd, deuce in the 5th. Womens Bs:
Martha Obermeier over Christy Cooper.
Womens Novice: Pam Ramsey.
Howard/Martinez California State Champs
The Jan. 22-23 weekend was big on
Vegas News Bureau
both the West and East Coasts. At the
Lucy Alvarado
California State Championships, Burbanks
Tournament Director George Kelemen and
CTTA President Gene Wilson, were lauded in the Topics
coverage by Fred Herbstand well they should be:

George Kelemen

The tournament [played on 12 tables] attracted

390 entries from 160 individuals representing 18 clubs and 67
cities and localitiesalmost double the number in previous
state tournaments. Press coverage was very extensive. Radio
stations broadcast announcements; the NBC television station
(Channel 4) carried two 5-minute film reports on opening day;
the wire services reported results.
A congratulatory letter from Governor Pat Brown
was included in the souvenir program. The Mayor of
Burbank officiated at the trophy presentation. An electric
scoreboard for the four major finals added to the pleasure
of over 500 spectators. And, believe it or not, the last
match was over at 9:30 p.m. (Mar., 1966, 10).

Top-seed Jack Howard, 31, who according to Herbst/Angelinettas CTTA Newsletter

spends six months of each year in California and New York on assignment from General
Electric as an electrical engineer at North American in Downey, working on the Apollo
project, won the Mens final in 5 from Darryl Flann, after Darryl, #1 as of Jan. 1st in
Kelemans CTTA Championship Ratings, had gotten by Froehlich in 5. Womens winnerher
sixth successive tournament of the California seasonwas Patty Martinez over Brooke
Williams whod eliminated Heather Angelinetta and 1948 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles finalist
Betty Jane Schaefer McCloskey.
Sweeris/Hirschkowitz Win Easterns
Apparently the Prince Georges Club at Hyattsville wasnt doing so great, and, since
Bowie and Melba Martin had gone back to North Carolina, the Kronlages decided to hold the
Eastern Open in the hope they could make some rent-money for the Club. Could the results
have been expected? These Easterns had probably the largest number of upsets in any
tournament for some time.
175

Best early matches in the Mens were: Bob

Kaminsky over Tim Boggan; Bowie Martin over
Tibor Back; Jimmy Verta over Sol Schiff; Herb
Horton over Harry Hirschkowitz; Vic Landau over
Dave Sakai; and Jeff Swersky over Landau in 5.
Best in the 8ths: Marty Reisman (after a two-year
tournament lay-off, but a recent weeks worth of
exhibition practice at the NY Coliseum), 19 in
the 4th, over U.S. #25 Fred Berchin whod
barely escaped 16-year-old Dick Farrell, 19
in the 5th. Rufford Harrison tells us that,
though Freddie plays with sponge,
he plays Coach Alan
Morans orthodox rubber
game. Rufford was
delighted to see flashes of
the Reisman of oldthe
unbelievably fast kill, the
Drawing by Dean Johnson
unpredictable angles, the superMarty Reisman
quick reflexes, the fleet footwork.
But this sparkling show (see also
Dean Johnsons admirable drawing of
Marty on the
cover of the Feb.,
1966 Topics) was
followed by Martys exit in 4 (after losing the 3rd at deuce) to looper Jerry Kruskie who then
downed Bukiet in the semis, deuce in the 4th. Twenty-year-old Dell Sweeris, last seasons U.S.
#20 but now having clearly served his apprenticeship, also advanced out of his semis,
stopping Defending Champion Marty Doss whod earlier told a reporter he figured to have the
edge this tournament playing on my
home court where I know the tables,
the floor and the lighting.
In the all-topspin final, after
winning the 1st, 24-22, and keeping
his momentum, 21-18 in the 2nd,
Kruskie seemed in controlas he did
Photo by Mal Anderson
even after Dell had won the 3rd and
Dell Sweeris
4th, for in the 5th Jerry had a 17-7 lead.
Then the unusual happenedand, as I
watched and listened, it was as if Dell
himself couldnt believe what was
happening. As he won point after
point hed voice not words but little
high-pitched involuntary exclamations
of surprise untilamazingly, hed
won 21-18 (a 14-1 run)!
176

The Womens, too, offered a

surprisefor
in the quarters an
Priscilla Hirschkowitz
unknown named Usha Mukunda playing
in her first U.S. tournament (turns out,
coached by Barna, she was Indias #3 in
1962), after losing the 1st game, 21-7,
proceeded to defeat Defending
Champion Connie Stace three straight.
Good news for Barbara Kaminsky whod
play Mukunda and not Stace in the
semis, eh? Uh, maybe not. Down 2-0,
Barbara made a gutsy rally, but in this
expedited match she was lucky to win the
4th and 5th at 19. Meanwhile, Priscilla
Hirschkowitz (shed already been out on
a School Tour with husband Harry?) was able to hit through Violetta Nesuakitis in 5. The final
was anticlimactic compared to the two semisfor Priscilla beat Barbara with straight-game
ease.
Other results: Mens Doubles:
(new guard) Sweeris/Kruskie over (old
Photo by Mal Anderson
guard) Schiff/Hazi and Bukiet/Doss in
Tibor Hazi
the final. Womens Doubles:
Kaminsky/Nesukaitis over
Hirschkowitz/Kronlage, 18 in the 5th
and in the final Stace/Chaimson, deuce
in the 4th. Mixed: Sweeris/Stace in a
34-point total win over Kruskie/
Hirschkowitz whod knocked out
Bukiet/Kaminsky in 5. Thus we
readers doff our hats to Dell for his
three wins. In a Seniors blood-bath:
Bill Cross over Hazi, -18, 16, 19, 29!
Rufford Harrison, Capt. of the
1965 World Team, found Sweeriss
and Kruskies play here gratifying, for
it proved that these two learned more
from their trip abroad than any other
[player] that I can remember. He also
praised Yvonne and Carl Kronlage and their helpers, who conducted the tournament in exemplary
fashion in a hall that was hopelessly too small. But, as a friend of Reismans remarked, There is no
class left in the sport. The hall was dirty and smoky, and the players looked like so much tickytackylegal, solid dark ticky tacky with dirty shoes. When are we going to clean up? (TTT, Feb.,
1966,7).
Hey, in answer to that question, one need only read Jack Carrs March, 1966 Letter to the
Editor (3) to discover the man whom the Disciplinary Chair now considers a USTTA role model:
Praise is in order for Tim Boggan.
Photo by Mal Anderson

177

At a recent Baltimore tournament it was noted that Tim Boggans dress set an
example which will be hard to equal. The first thing which caught my eye was his maroon
shirt. Then it was noted his trousers were the same color. As I approached to congratulate
him on his appearance, I noticed both his shirt and trousers were neatly pressed and a
perfect fit. As I was talking to him, I noticed that his socks were the same maroon color and
were suspended so that his skin did not show. His shoes were immaculate.
Later he lost a match he should have won. His deportment during and after the
match was impeccable.
Congratulations, Tim.
Theres no need for me to comment furtherthe Letter speaks for itself.
SELECTED NOTES.
*After attending his first USTTA E.C. Meeting in the summer of 64, Jack said he was
requested to give his views on said Meeting, and, as hed had much experience in preparing
very specific agendas, he felt free to do so. After reviewing the [USTTA] Constitution and
Bylaws, Roberts Rules [of Order], and reading the summer minutes several times, Jack had
plenty to criticize. You might say, with his wayward this and it pronouns, he hardly knew
where to start:
The annual [64 summer] meeting was not held within the dates prescribed by
the Constitution. There was E.C. unanimous consent to hold it early but no motion was
made to this effect. Hence, the minutes are correct in not mentioning this. However,
with no statement in the minutes, the entire annual meeting was not legal. Since it was
illegal, this should be the first item on the agenda of the N.T.C. meeting. Per Roberts
Rules this cannot be done even with unanimous E.C. approval. So, on second thought
the best thing to do is to forget it.
Jack commented on roughly 30 items in the summer Minutes where Roberts Rules of
Order did not prevail. One more example:
Suggestions are out of order per Roberts Rules. They must be in the form
of a motion except when used as clarity. However, since these suggestions are now in
the minutes [How about a Tournament Evaluation Committee? How about holding
the U.S. Open in the same place each year?], they should be disapproved and struck
from the minutes. Otherwise, they become old business and must be taken up at the
next meeting before any new business. In future meetings the chairman should not
allow any suggestions.
Since several E.C. members had probably not read (or ever would read?) the USTTA
Constitution and By-Laws, the ITTF Constitution, and Roberts Rules, Jack had best be
named Parliamentarian for the next Meetingand was. Later, at some Meetings, hell be put
into the Presidential Chair, presumably so the Meetings will be better runif better run
means following Roberts Rules by rote.

178

Chapter Fifteen
1966: Pre U.S. Open Tournaments (D-J Lees Early Life; Reign BeginsWins at
Akron). 1966: Bukiet/Nesukaitis U.S. Open Winners.
Boggan was one of the two U.S. players who showed for the Feb. Quebec Open at the
Maisonneuve Sports Centre in Montreal, but he was beaten in straight games in the semis by
John McLennan, Jr. The winner was Howie Grossman, whod been down 2-1 to Karl Bolwin.
Having to hurry to catch a train back to Toronto (en route to Montreal, the Rapido hadnt
been so rapida broken engine axle had caused a 4-hour delay), Howie quickly outplayed
McLennan with well-placed, quick, crisp shots. Grossman also won the Mens Doubles with
his friend Martin Ivakitsch over Ken Kerr/Eddy Schultz, 19 in the 5th.
Neither Max Marinko, the recent Ontario Closed Champ in Mens, Mens Doubles, and
Seniors, nor the runner-up in all three of these events, Modris Zulps, played in this
tournament. Nor did any of the best Ottawa playersincluding their Closed Champ Gerald
Howell, as well as Derek Marsham, Peter Kwok, and the Ngai brothers, Stan and Ed. Former
Ottawan (eventually hell move to the States) Ralph Spratt had to be on the scene though, for
he was now living in Montreal. As was Irish immigrant Bill McGimpsey, whom well see later
running Syracuse, N.Y. tournaments. Bill scored the most surprising upset of the tournament
by ousting in the 1st round Defending Mens Champion Guy Germain.
In the Womens, Canadian Closed Champ Violetta Nesukaitis, who a month earlier had
lost the Ontario Closed to Helen Sabaliauskas, 18 in the 5th, soundly defeated, in Helens
absence, Denise Hunnius. Womens Doubles, however, went to Hunnius/Nesukaitis over
Adminis/Marie (nee Duceppe) Bouchard, back playing, after 3 years, as housewife and mother.
News editor Jose Tomkins
From Dean Johnsons The Game Was Called Life
whom Im indebted to for
Sol Schiff
Canadian info past, present,
and future, for her News will
soon replace Topics as the
official media outlet for the
CTTAteamed with
McLennan to win the Mixed
with victories over Grossman/
Bouchard, Germain/Hunnius,
and in the final Ivakitsch/
Nesukaitis.
At the Feb. Genessee
Valley Open, Sol Schiff rose to
the occasionmightilyin two
extraordinary matches. In the
semis, against Buffalos
diminutive defensive specialist
Morris Meyers, he rallied from
down 2-0 to win 22-20 in the
5th. Then in the final, again
down 2-0, he again rallied to
179

defeat the soon-to-be-moving-to-NYC Pranas Gvildys, who in the

Ontario Closed had extended McLennan to deuce in the 5th.
The 1966 Monroe County Mens Champion is Rick Covalciuc,
20-year-old R.I.T. student, who upset former Champ Helmut
Schaller in the final. Mens Doubles went to Schaller/Mike Ezzo
over Bill and Dave Hunt in 5. Rose Encao took the Womens
from Rita Bott.
Why the
Photo by Mal Anderson
New England
Alan Moran
tournaments
werent being
reported to Topics,
I dont knowbut
Lem Kuusk
you sure can see
why former
Connecticut State Champ Lem Kuusk sent me
the following results. First, the Feb.
Massachusetts Openyup, Lem won it, knocking off Boggan, Kruskie in 5, and in the final
Sakai whod stopped Schiff in the quarters and Fred Berchin in the semis. Then at the March
Providence New England Team Championships (8 cities represented), Lem, with the only
undefeated (7-0) record, led his Springfield team (George LaPierre and Fred Simmons) to a 53 victory over Boston (Frank Dwelly, Benny Hull, and Don Gage).
The 80-entry Jan.Westchester Closed, held at the County Center in White Plains, N.Y.,
was run strictly for member-residents of Westchester County (membership fee: $.50). New
Rochelles Irwin Wolfe, President of the Westchester Club, with the help of Irwin Red Klein
of the County Dept. of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, put on the tournament, which was
run by George Schein. (Former longtime Westchester #1 man Bill Gunn likely didnt attend.)
Berchin won the Mens over Vic Landau whod eliminated Tibor Back in the semis. Freddie
also won the Doubles with his mentor Alan Moran in a tense 9, 20, 19 comeback over
Landau/Alan Marshall. Womens went to Marianne Bessinger over Ruthe Brewer Grimler,
U.S. #2 in 1940, and, like Marianne, a usual competitor at this tournament. Bessinger also
paired with Marshall to win the Mixed from
Grimler/Andy Arnold.
At the Feb. Prince Georges
Hyattsville tournament, Mark Radom,
down 2-0 in the semis to Tibor Hazi,
finally pulled it out deuce in the 5th. Then,
in the final, down 2-1 to Fred Berchin, he
started serving very short and blasting the
topspin returns, and pulled that out too.
Several Long Islanders drove
through a blizzard to the Jan. 29th Liberty
Bell Open in Philadelphia. Tim Boggan won
Photo by Mal Anderson
the Mens from Joe Andrews who scored
Mark Radom
the days biggest upset by beating Dave
Sakai. Mens Doubles, however, went to
180

Sakai/Marty Theil over

Boggan/Andrews in 5.
Class A went to Andrews
over Class B winner Dr.
Maurice Kendal. Seniors:
Sid Jacobs over Dave
Mandel.
The 4th annual Rubber
City Open, held Feb. 1213 at the Firestone
Clubhouse Gym in Akron,
Ohio, was missing nearby
Clevelands Danny Vegh,
but perhaps he was busy
coachinghed soon be
one of the USTTAs half
dozen Certified Coaches.
Or perhaps he couldnt
come because he couldnt
get someone to mind his
Euclid Ave. Pool and Table
Hes No. 1, alright
Tennis Emporium.* Or
perhaps hed heard that
helloSouth Korean star
Lee Dal-Joon who was
giving exhibitions in the States with Richard Bergmann for the Harlem Globetrotters** was
playing in the tournament.
(D-J Lees Early Life; His U.S. Reign Begins)
Naturally everyone was curious as to who this Lee Dal-Joon or quick-to-be Westernized
D-J Lee was. Ive given you glimpses of his South Korean table tennis successes, now Ill let N.Y.
Times reporter Gerald Eskenazi (see the Mar., 21, 1972 issue) give you D-Js boyhood
background:
Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, on May 3, 1940. His father owned two
restaurants and a hotel. But during the Korean conflict, Lees father, two brothers and a
sister were killed. His mother took the seven remaining children to the hills to avoid
bombing. When they returned, the restaurants and hotel were reduced to ashes. Young Lee,
barefooted, sold sweet potatoes and peppers on the streets.
It was a hard life during the war, he says. We had no money to go to
schoolyou had to pay even to go to elementary school. But sometimes I didnt have
pants, or I couldnt pay for books. We all worked hard to send me to school.
He had started [playing table tennis] at the age of 8, after watching his older
brothers and sisters. They wouldnt let him play, so he often learned by himself, batting
the ball across the dining room table, or against the wall (Sports, 50).
Eskenazi then tells us that D-J graduated from high school and got a job as a bank clerk.
181

But how he became South Korean Champion from 1960 to 1964 this reporter doesnt say. D-J
confides that his name Dal-Joon means everything gets through easilybut who knowing even
part of his story could believe that?
Anyway, with this tournament in Akron, D-J starts his U.S. reign, and it will be a long,
long time before any native-born U.S. player can beat him.
Though he drops a game to Bernie Bukiet in the semis, he handles Marty Doss, the
U.S. #2 and Defending Champion, comfortably enough in the final. The Topics reporter said
that, though Doss played extremely well, he was simply overwhelmed by the quick
Koreans deadly accurate, deceptive drives and smashing attacks.
In his BukietA Remembrance, Tom Aldridge of Indianapolis describes his
moments of delight in watching the 47-year-old Bukiet take on the much younger Korean Lee
who with his penholder grip (and a diminutive square racquet covered only on one
side)was a master of topspin:
D-J started the match spinning his way past Bernie, but by the second game
Bernies blocks were forcing some of Lees smashes to overshoot. Dick Hicks (whom I
had traveled to Akron with) yelled, Use your forehand, Bernie. And, by God, he did
just that, especially in the third game, countering Lees topspin. It was the fastest
exchange at the highest level of play I had seen up to then. And Bernie was scoring
points with his offenseenough to win the third game [23-21]. The gallery exploded;
no one was expected to take even a game off Lee (and for the next several years few
American players did in USTTA open play). In the end of course Lee prevailed.
Bukiet shared even more of the tournament gloryfor he and Lee won the Mens Doubles
from Doss/Sweeris. (In the Singles, Dell had been down 2-1 in the quarters to
Hicks, had rallied, but then had
fallen in the semis in straight
games to Doss.) Bernie also
paired with Ann Evans to take the
Mixed from D-J/LaVerne Von
Willer. Other winners: Womens:
Evans over Ann Shook. Womens
Doubles: Evans/Shook over Von
Willer/Norma Hicks. Seniors: Lou
Radzeli over Paul Brown.
LaVerne Von
Willer
Continuing now with other
pre-U.S. Open tournaments, I
note that Ohio State won the 14-team National
Intercollegiates, held Feb. 19-20 in Columbus,
Ohio. The Defending Champions, the University of
Cincinnati, came 2nd. Cincys Barry Rost took the
Mens title from Toledos Ralph Weiner; Brooke
Williams, far from Santa Barbara where backers had
raised $300 for her trip, the Womens over Oberlins
Novice Fawcett, Ohio State University PresiCheri Papier. Not resting on its laurels, Ohio State
dent, congratulating Brooke Williams on
issued a challenge to any Mid-Western University for
winning the 1966 U.S. Intercollegiates
182

home/away from home play. Michigan State accepted and, though

losing, put up a good fight. In their Angelo Cup play (named in honor
of a supportive OSU Professor), Ohio State won in Columbus, 5-4,
then in East Lansing, 6-3. Playing for Ohio State were Ailton Pinto,
John Hsu, John Hirsh, and Len Johnson; playing for MSU were Gary
Compton, Ralph Stadelman, and Del Anderson.
The results of the 1966 Michigan State Closed did not appear
in Topics but were printedalong with short Whos-Who-inMichigan-TTA bios and photos, as well as State Rankings in 17
different eventsin the Detroit U.S. Open Program. Perhaps a
captive readership there? Of course Sweeris and Stace dominated the
major events. In the Mens final, Dell beat Chuck Burns who in the
semis had stopped Eddie Brennan in 5. In the Womens, it was Stace
over Andrea Gerber. Connie also won the Mixed with Dell (over
Gerber/Paul Potter) and the Mens Doubles (sic: 25-23 in the 4th over
Brennan/Leo Griner). Dell didnt play with Connie in Womens
Doubles, but she won that anyway.
Suddenly surfacing to win the Mar. Des Moines Corn Belt
Open was Mike Ralston. Up 2-0 but down 18-12 in the 3rd game of
the final against Great Plains Champ Houshang Bozorgzadeh, Mike
rallied and with his signature shot, a vicious backhand, finished off the
Mike Ralston
former Iranian Champion. Houshang found some measure of
retaliation, though, in pairing with Hamlin to take the Doubles from Ralston/Joe Sokoloff. Other
winners: Class A: Lenny Bass over Scott Grafton. Class A Doubles: Bass/Grafton over Steve
Flansburg/Tom Walsh. Seniors: Duane Maule over Martin Krakauer.
Up in Manitoba Leon Cox won the Winnipeg winter tournament, but several players
Hans Hirsh, Bruno Fischer, and Otto Kochwhod immigrated from Germany were also
impressive. However, everyone was talking about, one, Calvin Slobodian, an ambidextrous
player who switched the racket from hand to hand between each shot so as to always keep
hitting on his fore-hand. Talk about fast hand-speed and quick counter-playtoo bad U.S.
players whod never heard of Chicagos Herb Chubby Aronson werent seeing him in action.
Although the flu epidemic caused a number of defaults, the Santa Barbara Club, under
Tournament Chair Howard Wilcox and with Brooke Williams as Referee, held its first Open
tournament evera move first encouraged no doubt by the earlier exhibition and clinic given
by USTTA Certified Coach Gene Lee and Certified Coach-to-be Williams that drew 500
spectators to UCSBs Anaacapa Hall. Jack Carr tells us that through Brookes initial meeting
with Frank Rohter, head of Santa Barbaras Recreation Departments swimming program (and
head, too, of their physical fitness research lab that emphasizes cardiovascular testing), she
was introduced to Bill Bertka who, impressed with Gene, hired him as a Table Tennis and
Badminton Coach for the City. Later, in appreciation, the USTTA would award the Santa
Barbara Recreation Department a plaque for their service to the Sport. More good news in
that some Santa Barbarans had formed a Patrons Association hoping to find ways of raising
funds to send promising juniors to sanctioned tournaments (TTT, May, 1966, 12).
Wouldnt it be wonderful, Carr said, if more cities could follow suit. Of course one
remembers Jacks own encouraging coaching at the Hampton Roads Boys Club in Newport
News, VA and the many tournaments these boys, funded, went to that honed their games and
183

helped them to be Championsonly now, with Herman Prescott leaving the Association, we no
longer see that Boys Club represented at tournaments. Clearly guidance and funding are
indispensably important if players are to make their mark. Here at Santa Barbara we begin to
hear of Wendy Hicks, Brookes protg, and Ray Minc, one of Genes best prospects. Mens
winner at this Feb. 26-27 Santa Barbara Winter Open was Darryl Flann over Shonie Aki whod
eliminated Dave Froehlich 24-22 in the 4th. Hometown heroine Brooke won the Womens from
Angelinetta.
While touring with the Harlem Globetrotters, D-J Lee and Richard Bergmann came to
Pasadena, CA where, before 200 spectators, they played and won matches against Darryl
Flann, Jack Howard, and Shonie Aki. In a Mixed match, Bergmann (who lost a 5-gamer to
Dave Froehlich) paired with Heather Angelinetta to defeat D-J/Pauline Walker. Lee and
Bergmann were then said to be off to San Francisco, the Caribbean, New York, and Asia.
Id read, too, that, before going to the West Indies, the pair played in the Pacific
Northwest Open in Seattle, and, that, though as expected Bobby Fields lost to D-J, he beat
Richard in the semis. Of course Bergmann/Lee won the Doubles. As went to Sam Babener.
Bs to Al Hamer. Seniors to Earl Adams. Perhaps the best player living in the Northwest, that
other Leethe Canadian, Larry Leedidnt compete?
Bukiet Wins Again
Of the 375 entries listed in the Detroit U.S. Open Program, about 20 came from
Californiawhich is enough to win how
many National titles, do you think? In the
huge Mens Draw, players who were not
seeded or placed had to win twice just to
reach the round of 64. The most surprising
advancers to the 16ths were Frank
Tharaldson, -18, 23, 19, 10 over #14 seed
Dave Sakai; Lem Kuusk (from down 2-1)
over Chuck Burns; and Bob Kaminsky, 17, 12, -17, 23, 20 over Canadian
International John McLennan, Jr. Some
players expected to advance did so
perilously: Mark Radom, 18 in the 5th, over
George Payotelis whod outlasted Tony
Poulos in 5; El Salvadors Carlos Avelar,
Jr., 17 in the 5th after being down 2-1 to
Photo by Mal Anderson
Karralis whod stopped Mitch Silbert 19 in
1966
Barna
Award Winner Dick Hicks
the deciding 3rd; Barna Award winner Dick
Hicks in 5 over Richard Farrell; and Jim Lazarus, from down 2-0, over Ron Chapman who this time
next year will be a member of the winning Quebec Team at the First Canadian Winter Games.
The round of 32 will be remembered for Howie Grossmans two-down rally to edge
Tharaldson 19 in the 5th; Kruskies 18 in the 5th win over Harry Hirschkowitz (Harry whod
been down 2-0, feels its difficult to chop loops with sponge, does better with his hardbat
Leach); Kaminskys 2nd rallythis time to beat Mike Peterlein deuce in the 5th; and Martin
Ivakitschs down 2-0 comeback over U.S. #18 Laszlo Varenyi deuce in the 5th (Martin will be
playing for Canada at the 67 Stockholm Worlds). Also worth noting is Kuusks 19, -18, 19, 18
184

upset of #12 seed Fred Berchin; and, after hed

eliminated Pranas Gvildys, Boggans near 3game upset of #2 seed Pecora before losing 17
in the 5th. Miles called Tims forehand grip
hopelessly bad, says the only good part of his
game is his ability to discombobulate his
opponent.
Not too long after my match with Danny,
Id written a number of hyper playersnapshots for a tournament program, and
heres part of what I said about Pecora:
An extremely nervous, fast, and
intensely forceful player. His deceptive
change-of-pace serves set up viciously
aggressive game. Plays from a crouch and
bazookas the ball hard as he can at
you.Momentum of his spring and followthrough-forehand-hit often jackknifes him down
to floor.Can play a 3-game match in less than
7 minutes.

He discombobulates others?

Miles, using inverted sponge on his forehand and hard rubber on the backhand, scored
with straight-game victories that included his dismissal of 27-year-old Defending Champion Erwin
Klein. Erwin, we learn from Issue 4 of the 1965-66 CA TTA Newsletter, had been Bergmanns
choice as currently the best
U.S. player. Hed
predicted that it would be
a mistake for Klein to
play penholder (The
Chinese-type grip is the
best but Klein wouldnt
have the agility required to
make the most of it), and
Erwin did return to his
shakehands grip. But, said
one player, Klein was
completely baffled by
Miless two-sided racket
because he did not know
how much spin was on the
ball.
In his BukietA
Remembrance, Tom
Aldridge said that
Photo by Mal Anderson
Miles, using a heavy,
Itll be Miles over Klein in the quarters of the 1966 U.S. Open
185

pips-out sponge (as I recall, he

then stowed his playing gear in a
grocery
sack),[countersmashing] with
his patented cartwheel forehand
(the stroke should end at your
right ear), was, as usual, too
strong for 4-time U.S. Champion
Klein. Erwin jabs at Miless
well-honed chisels, then leads
with a loopand the New
TTT, Apr., 1966, 3
Yorker plasters it with his
Against Kruskie,
[whirling forehand].
the famous Bernie
Meanwhile, as Tom says,
th
block
in the 8 s Bukiet was too much
for Blommer. Then against
Kruskie, after losing two deuce
games but often staving off Jerrys loops with well-placed blocks, Bernie started putting away
forehands to win the 5th 21-10. Thus the stage was set for the Miles/Bukiet semisor would be as
soon as Bernie stepped on the soft ball Dick had wanted for the match. It was, said Tom, one of the
most thrilling matches Ive ever seen:
First Bernie tries to quick hit through Miles chop, and the ball mostly misses
the table. Bernie is a little nervous. Then, after a few jabs, Bernie tries to lead with
forehand topspinand gets it smashed down his throat, as with Kleins loop. Everyone
starts saying this is Miles year once again, hes on fire, and Bernies going the way of Klein.
But then, after losing the first game, Bernie changes his tactics. Instead of leading or

Bukiet (R) on his way to beating Miles in the 1966 U.S. Open semis. The umpire is Dick Evans.
186

topspinning in any way, he does nothing but jab the ball in his characteristic right-off-thebounce manner, giving Miles nothing to counter. In addition he shows his outstanding table
game by moving Miles all over the table. However, Miles is also a top-notch chiseler, and
the game drags on foryou guessed it15 minutes, the ump calls expedite, and the
psychology of the match changes. [Editor Fred Rohm, reporting in Topics, says the
Expedite Rule came in midway through the 1st game.] On Miles serve Bernie keeps jabbing
until Miles tries a forehand lead. But Miles, now perhaps a little more nervous, starts
overshooting with his cartwheel. Bernie wins the second game [23-21, after being down
19-14!], and the gallery is entranced.
And so it goes for two more games: Miles cant get the point on his serve, and
Bernie can. In fact Bernie gets so confident toward the matchs end that even on Miles
serve Bernie begins to lead with his forehand, Miles reverts to chopping it, and Bernie
puts it awayand [14, 10] wins in four. People talked about that match for a long time
afterward.
On the other side of the Draw, Sweeris advanced to the semis by stopping Best
Sportsman Houshang Bozorgzadeh, 19 in the 4th, then Gusikoff, 19 in the 3rd. Pecora reached

Pecora (R) on his way to beating Sweeris in the 1966 U.S. Open semis. The umpire is Jim Rushford.

Sweeris by first beating Schiff, whod struggled 19 in the 4th with Jim Verta, then, on winning the 1st
game at deuce, by finishing off Mike Ralston in 4. Against Danny, Dell tried gamely to get back into
the match, but lost three straight, 19 in the 3rd.
About to play the final, Bukiet, says Aldridge, may be a bit nervous (he consults with
New Albany, Indianas Bernard Hock, whos been custom making Bernies racquets
Bernie, unlike Miles, likes the handle glued solid to make his 5-ply bat faster). Pecora, Tom
says, is filled with angst to the point of distraction. Bernie, in winning 16, 18, 21, thought that
Danny was very nervous, that he made a lot of mistakes and [was] taking chanceshitting
too much. Rohm asks and answers his own question, Some say Pecora had a plane to catch.
With a shot at the championship on the line, does that make sense?
In any case, continues Tom, this is one of Bukiets greatest moments of glory. Everyone
is cheering him and he is standing by the table beamingas it turns out, for the last time as a
National singles winner. In a life so dominated by the sole activity that gave him recognition, he was
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now at one with the crowdand

with himself.
In a later interview with Editor
Rohm, Harry Hirschkowitz (with wife
Priscilla by his side) tells us why he
wasnt surprised that this particular
47-year-old could beat this particular
21-year-old:
For six or seven weeks prior
to the nationals Bernie Bukiet
practiced every single day [often
against Miles], several hours per day
and he practiced very, very hard for
this tournament. And he was not only
in good shape [hed stopped
smoking, was running on a track
field] but he was set mentally [as he

Photo by Mal Anderson

1966 U.S. Open Mens

Champion Bernie Bukiet

was not in last years final with

Klein, said Harrys wife
Priscilla]. He went on a diet,
went to bed early and got up
early. He was as sharp as I can
recall. He played outstanding
table tennis during this
tournament.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Harry & Priscilla

Hirschkowitz

Editor Rohm said some people

hed talked to thought Pecora choked.
Did Harry agree?
No. I think Pecoras
game is over-rated. He has a
flashy game and he is a very
good player but people tend to over-rate his game because of that flashiness. Hes a very
erratic player, he has a great forehand kill shot but when hes pressed, especially against
Bernie Bukiet, when Bernie is returning that ball and youre out of position you have to be
very quick to get that second or third ball. Bernie is placing that ball all the time against his
opponent.Pecora was missing the second and third shots because he could not get in
position (TTT, June-August, 1966, 10).
Canadas Nesukaitis Wins
In the Womens, there were some great matches in the 8ths (all, unfortunately, being played
at the same time): Violetta Nesukaitis, down 2-0 and at 20-all in the 4th, eliminated 9-time U.S.
Champ Leah Neuberger; Brooke Williams upset #4 seed Barbara Kaminsky, 19 in the 4th; and
Indias Usha Mukunda 18, 27, 19, 7 struggled with Andrea Gerber, then, down 2-1, came back
to beat Millie Shahian. Also, Connie Stace was 24-22 in the 4th threatened by Heather Angelinetta;
188

and Bernice Chotras, winning a key 19 3rd

game, ousted Denise Hunnius in 4. Best
quarters match was Defending Champion
Patty Martinezs 5-game win over Pauline
Somael whod earlier helped to persuade #7
seed Donna Chaimson it was time to retire. But
Patty then fell to 1963 U.S. Open Champ
Chotrass pick-and-hit tactics, while
Nesukaitis was downing Williams and
Mukunda.
Rohm, in summarizing the Nesukaitis/
Chotras final, said that Chotras seemed
content to push and slow drive against
Violettas steady chop defense causing
exceptionally long volleys. In the 4th game,
with Nesukaitis leading 2-1, but down 10-8,
the expedite rule (favored by Chotras) came in,
whereupon Violetta demonstrated a well
polished driving stroke which overwhelmed
Chotras. Violettasuch energy; she played in
1966 U.S. Open Womens Champion
6 eventsthus became the first Canadian to
Violetta Nesukaitis
win a major U.S. Championship.
Later, in an interview with Rohm, Harry and Priscilla Hirschkowitz (see their togetherness
photo on the cover of the June-August, 1966 Topics) were discussing Pattys win. Harry thought
that in the final Bernices nerves were very poor, and that throughout the event Violetta showed
great tenacitywonderful strokes and a tremendous desire to play.
And yet, though 14-year-old Nesukaitis succeeds 14-year-old Martinez as the new
Womens Champion, she was not the Junior Miss Championdidnt come close to winning,
for she lost this teeny-bopper final to Patty, 14, 18, 10! Harrys wife Priscilla may have offered
an explanation as to why Violetta averaged only 14 points a game against Patty:
[Patty] has a very hard style for the American girl to play against. She plays
up close to the table and moves the ball well. She makes the woman move and the
American women dont like to move, they are very slow. We get very tired from
moving after her angled shots.You must use topspin [against her]. Never defend,
you cant defeat her defending. [Violetta is still more comfortable on defense] (TTT,
June-August, 1966, 9).
The best Mens Doubles matches saw Berchin/Sakai over Pat Alexander/Jim Supensky
19 in the 5th; Boggan/Silbert over Bozorgzadeh/Hirschkowitz, -20, 18, -22, 19, 19; Burns/
Varenyi over Ralston/Sokoloff, 26-24 in the 5th; and Veillette/Brennan over Farrell/Radom, 25-23 in
the 5th. Kruskies hard hitting and Sweeriss extreme topspin brought them the title. Rohm called
the Defending Champions Bukiet and Klein fumbling, and said they were frequently caught at the
wrong side of the table. Still, in winning 19 in the 4th, the usurping team didnt exactly run away
with the match.
There were fierce contests in the Mixed too. Miles/Williams over Radom/Nesukaitis in
189

5; Blommer/Angelinetta, 21, 19, 24, over Kruskie/Hunnius whod knocked out Sakai/Martinez, 18,
-18, -20, 22, 24; and Howard/Chaimson over Hicks/Ann Evans in 5. Best, however, were Bukiet/
Kaminsky who, though down 2-0, rallied to eliminate Schiff/Neuberger, then in the final edged
Defending Champs Sweeris/Stace in 5. Womens Doubles winners were Nesukaitis/Kaminsky 3zip over Defending Champs Stace/Chaimson in the semis, and Neuberger/Hunnius in 5 in the final.
With 40 tables available for play in the mammoth hall, and as many Championships at stake,
including 9 Consolation titles, the list of winners is long. Some other results: Mens Consolation: Sam
Veillette over Bowie Martin. (Sams son, Mike, whose photo was in the Program, wasnt the
youngest entry in the tournament--he didnt play.) Womens Consolation: Ann Evans over Melba
Martin. Mens B Singles: George Brathwaite over George Rideout who four matches earlier had
26-24 in the 5th prevailed over Al Hibner.
More results: Senior Esquire (a new, Over 60s event): CAs Dr. C. Harold McAllister
(once head cheerleader for Stanford in their 1925 Rose Bowl game against the Four Horsemen of
Notre Dame) over Torontos 68-year-old Tom Wisman recovering from a recent operation.
Esquires: Bernie Hock over Bill Byrnes whod escaped Laurie Ault, 19
in the 3rd. Esquire Consolation: Gene Bricker (would you believe in
2004 hes still playing in a U.S. Open!) over Mel Sylvan. Esquire
Doubles: Hock/Gene Bricker (for the second year in a row) over Bill
Byrnes/Antonio Vasquez. Seniors: Chuck Burns over Frank
Tharaldson, 17 in the 5th, after Frank had upset Defending Champion
Schiff. Senior Doubles: Burns/Bill Cross over Bukiet/Fran Delaney, -16,
20, -17, 20, 19 (with Bernie, I hope, still getting satisfactory
recompense).
Mike Veillette
More results: Boys Under 17s: Danny Robbins in 5 over Mark
Radom whod downed Steve Parsons in 5. Boys Under 17 Doubles: Tony Poulos/Mike Peterlein
over Radom/Fred Henry whod eliminated Parsons/Dick Farrell in 5. Boys Under 17 Bs: Jerry
Dominguez over Martin Snoop whod
ousted Bill Kenig 19 in the 5th. Boys
Under 17 B Consolation: Chuck Michell
over Bruce Allen. Boys Under 17 B
Doubles: Mike Auerbach/Mike Charney
over Bill Hunt/Greg Miller whod survived
Ed Zabiela/Paul Brathwaite 19 in the 5th.
Under 17 Mixed Doubles: Radom/
Nesukaitis over Robbins/Andrea Gerber,
after Danny and Andy had staggered by
Peterlein/Alice Green 26-24 in the 5th.
Boys Under 15s: Steve Parsons
over John Tannehill in 5. Boys Under 15
Consolation: Roger Lewis over Pat Cox.
Boys Under 15 Doubles: Tannehill/
Parsons over Dana/Martin Snoop. Girls
Under 15: Nesukaitis over Green. Boys
Under 13: Danny Ybema over Scott
Danny Robbins,
TTT, Oct., 1962, 12
Chapman whod recovered from a badly
1966 U.S. Junior
Bernie Hock,
injured leg. Boys Under 13 Consolation:
Champion
1966 U.S. Esquire Champion
190

Bill Lesner over Pierce Logan, 19 in the 4th. Boys Under 13 Doubles: Chapman/Ybema 24-22 in
the 4th over Richard Nochenson/Steve Sheckard. Girls Under 13: Janice Martin over Flora
Nesukaitis.
For the first time the Nationals incorporated wheelchair play. Two events, managed by Stef
Florescu, and drawing 19 participants, were heldthe Novice Quadriplegic, won by Detroits Ed
Reiss over A.V. Searcy; and the General Wheelchair Open, won by Columbus, Ohios John Gray
over Dick Ryan. In a June 26, 1966 article in the Columbus, Ohio Dispatch, Carolyn Focht tells us
that 29-year-old Grays been playing table tennis for only a couple of years. An electronic
technician at the Ohio Rehabilitation Center, he was paralyzed from the waist down when a bullet
lodged in his spine in a hunting accident nine years ago. Wheelchair recipients of the Herb
Schindler, Jr. Sportsmanship Awards were Joyce
Mazzoni and Jack DeGuvara. George Buben
received the Michigan Wheelchair Athletic Club
Award.

SELECTED NOTES.
*The time-line relationship between
Danny Vegh and D-J isnt clear to me, but Id
heard that when D-J first appeared at Dannys
(primarily Pool) Emporium and they began
playing a t.t. money match, Vegh didnt even finish
itjust conceded, saying, Youre too good for
me. So, no hustle for Lee there. However, when
later, after hed moved from Columbus to Cleveland
and had taken over Veghs place, stories abounded
that he had the usual opportunities and was quick to
take advantage of them.
**The April, 1966 Topics noted that Abe
Saperstein, owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, died
recently in New York. Mention is made of D-J and
Bergmann, and also of Bukiet and Bergmann. Marty
Prager told me of a time in Chicago when Bergmann
brought Saperstein himself up to the Net and Paddle
1966 U.S. Open General Wheelchair Champion
Club to check out Bukiet as a possible exhibition
John Gray
partner for Richard. And what do you think
happened? said Marty with a chuckle: For the first time in my life, I beat Bernie.

191

Chapter Sixteen
1966: E.C.s Ship of State Shipshape? 1966: End-of-Season Tournaments. 1965-66
Seasons International Results.
By the time of the Detroit Nationals and the E.C. Meetings there, USTTA members
had been privy to the Campaign Statements of those running for office (see TTT, Feb., 1966,
8-9). There were four positions open. Richard Feuerstein (incumbent) was running for
Presidentunopposed. Graham Steenhoven (incumbent) was running for Executive VicePresidentunopposed. Rufford Harrison (incumbent) was running for Recording Secretary
unopposed. And Jack Carr (incumbent) was running for Vice-Presidentunopposed. John
Read originally intended to run, but then changed his mind and withdrew, saying it would be a
disservice to table tennis if he ranfor Carr should be unanimously elected. (As weve seen,
these incumbents have given considerable service to the USTTA, but perhaps, too, they were
running unopposed because of the new By-law restrictions limiting eligibility for the E.C. to
those whod already served on the E.C. or at least on USTTA committees. At any event, all
four of these incumbents would receive about the same number of votes219-227.)
The following lines from Feuersteins Statement catch
my eye: We have had very little time to plan for the future of
table tennis. Now our organization has reached the point when
it soon will be in proper working order. And heres Harrison
on the same theme: [Thanks] largely to Jack Carr, EC
meetings have recently been conducted much more efficiently.
This should enable us, in future meetings, to devote less time
to routine matters and more time to planning. And Carr: At
the request of the President and approval of the E.C. I was
chairman of the last two meetings. The businesslike manner
with which these were conducted, avoiding personalities, is
readily reflected by the minutes.
At the March 26-27, 1966 E.C. Meeting, the pattern of
the previous E.C. Meeting prevailed. Burns was again absent
USTTA President
(Feuerstein didnt know whya comment later expunged
Richard Feuerstein
from the Minutes), as was Aki who of course would have to
come from California. Harrison wanted the Meeting to be held in Executive Session (closed to
the public), but this motion was defeated.
Corrections to the previous Minutes were made (6 changes).
Resolved, via the Treasurers Report, that the USTTA traveling trophies, which are
featured as an asset, be given to the Michigan TTA, in whose care they were at the time of the
meeting, to be disposed of as the MTTA sees fit, the trophies being essentially worthless. Ah,
40 years later, what would Chuck Hoey, the ITTF Museum curator, say about that?
Tournament Chair Jimmy McClure resigned, so a replacement had to be found for him.
Coaching Chair Carr wanted to resign but would wait until a satisfactory replacement could be
found. There were still no Eastern or Great Plains Regional Directors. Some committees
needed memberswhich was perhaps one reason why Carr wanted to combine two
committees into one. USTTA Historian Leah Neuberger, in a June 15, 1966 letter to Jack,
would complain:
192

I really dont understand why you are so strict about combining the Historian
and Librarian jobs. You have to realize that the USTTA has no headquarters and
therefore if you find someone that is willing to work on a certain job why try to make it
more inconvenient for them just because it doesnt fit in with the by-laws. There are so
many more important problems. (Jack would relentthe jobs would remain
separate.)
Harrison moved that the Chair of the Membership Committee (Bob Rudulph who was
at the Meeting) be funded up to $2500 per year to engage clerk-typist labor on an as-needed
basis. No second. How about $1500 per year? No second. Matter deferred to summer
meeting, but in the meantime: Resolved, $300 for clerk-typist as needed.
The Membership Chair submitted motions that were referred to the Rules Committee.
(1) That the life-membership requirement for EC members be dropped in favor of a threeyear membership. (2) That after at least three continuous years of honorable service on the
EC, members could purchase a life membership for $25, not $50. (3) That members of the
EC be allowed free access to sites of all sanctioned tournaments. (4) That choice seating be
reserved for EC members at all sanctioned tournaments. Hey, theres so little rewardgive
this highly enclosed group about to plan the future of table tennis some perks.
Oh, oh, the E.C. wanted, for various reasons, to suspend Bob Ashleyand finally did;
but, after he was suspended, it was later discovered there was no regulation making it illegal
to play with a suspended player, so he was un-suspended. David Sakai, however, was another
matter. The chief charge against him was, like Doss, hed misrepresented his age in
tournamentsbut, though Marty had been conveniently put on probation, David was
suspended from April 1, 1966 through the 1967 U.S. Open.
Steenhoven moved that USTTA officers be
forbidden to make derogatory statements in publications
without the approval of the Executive Committee. This
was passed (though in a democracy dirty laundry is aired,
isnt it?). Harrison understandably dissentedhed objected
to the subject even being discussed. Why? Because
Grahams motion was prompted by an article Rufford wrote
that had appeared in the Nov., 1965 South African Table
Tennis News wherein hed stressed for the most part a
negative image of table tennis in the U.S., calling it,
accurately here, a backward sport.
Steve Isaacson
Apparently (though it didnt come up at the
Meeting, for it isnt entered in the Minutes) Steenhoven had second thoughts about Steve
Isaacsons article in the April, 1966 issue of Tennis magazine calling for the induction of
five charter members into a Table Tennis Hall of Fame (31). Steve expected an
announcement of the establishment of such a Hall at these Detroit Nationals, but Graham,
perhaps thinking it inappropriate that Tennis sought to establish the Hall, now wanted
nothing to do with Steve and nixed the whole ideaso it would be 13 more years before
the Hall became a reality.
Detroits Jim Rushford moved that the 1967 U.S. Open be awarded to the San
Diego TTA. Passed unanimously. Jim then moved that the 1966 U.S. Open Team
Championships be awarded to the Michigan TTA. This passed with a single objection
193

from Harrison who wanted assurances that the tournament would have a high standard of
conduct. More than a little friction between Steenhoven and Harrison? Still, theyd
continue to work together.
Resolved that an attempt be made to bring Hans Alser (former European Champion)
and Swedish Sportsman of the Year Kjell Johansson (current European Champion) to the
U.S. for a televised tournament and tourat no expense to the USTTA. And how was that
going to happen?
Resolved, that USTTA clubs be invited to send their coaches to Jack Carringtons
June, 1966 clinics in various cities in Canada (cost: $25 per person for two days), and that
the USTTA match expenses provided by the clubs for their coaches, one coach per club, up to
ten coaches and up to $50.00 per coach.
Youth Development was a function of the USTTA Coaching Committeebut, though
the U.S. Certified Coaches (Mal Anderson became the 7th) were very interested in paper work,
in making sure a barrage of coaching and training articles (some translated from Swedish and
German sources) were printed in Topics, they didnt have the initiative, the vision, the
experience, or the expertise, as the Europeans did, to try to build a generation of world-class
players. At the present time, theres no USTTA Junior Program, and only a few locally
organized Coaching Clinics. Likely, our players will get as good as they can mostly by playing
in domestic tournament after tournament after tournamentin some extreme cases, just by
bumming around.
One world-class player, Dal-Joon Lee, had come to live here. How long would it take
for any native-born player to beat him? What youth had an image of himself/herself as a
potential world-beater? If one of the worlds best should happen to be in the U.S. for an
exhibition or two of limited duration, our most promising youngsters might not even get the
chance to see him/her in action.
Resolved that a U.S. player be sent to Expo 67 (Montreal trade-fair), and that he be
clothed up to the amount of $100. (As well see, the selection of this player will precipitate a
brouhaha bordering on farce.) What about U.S. players going elsewhere? Like, the 1967
Worlds? Impossible for the USTTA to help themthe Association had no money, and no
incentive or means to raise any. Unlessthere was one way.
Sure to cause controversythough a clear sign the Association wanted to back its
affiliateswas this move: a raise in USTTA Membership dues (prompted by Sweeriss article
in the Feb., 1966 Topics urging same?). Senior (name will be changed to Adult)from $2 to
$3 if member of an affiliated club; otherwise $4. Juniorfrom $1 to $2.50 if member of an
affiliated club; otherwise $3. Multiple (three years)from $5 to $7.50 if member of an
affiliated club; otherwise $10. Lifefrom $25 to $50.
The price of Topics, too, was raised: a one year subscriptionfrom $1 to $2.50 if
member of an affiliated club; otherwise $3. A single copy of Topics cost $.40.
Harrison proposed something radically new: an additional USTTA membership
initiation fee of $1but this was defeated.
Something controversial, however, was passed: the elimination (come Oct. 1, 1966) of
playing permits.
In an unusual vote, when Steenhoven suggested the Meeting be adjourned, three of the
seven attendees, Harrison, Dick Evans, and California Junior Coach Lou Dubin (Akis proxy)
objected.
What else had they wanted to talk about?
194

End-of-Season Tournaments
With Millar Boczars help (and, as
Dexter Grey told me, with furnishings he
donated from some of his properties), Bob
Ashley was about to open his new 7-table
Hollywood Club on Lexington Ave. But,
first, just a week after the Nationals, Bob,
Milla, and George Keleman ran their initial
Annual Masters Tournament at the North
American Aviations Recreation Park. Two
hundred paid spectators watched Erwin
Klein win the Mensbut not without a
struggle: after being down 10-4 in the 5th to
Dave Froehlich, he started finding the
corners with unreturnable slams; then in a
4-game final he took Darryl Flann whod
rallied to get by Shonie Aki. Patty Martinez
beat Heather Angelinetta for the Womens
title.
Other
Photo by Mal Anderson
results:
Glenn Cowan
Mens
Doubles: Klein/Ashley
over Wayne Obertone/
Flann. Womens Doubles:
Pauline Walker/Lucy
Alvarado. Mixed
Doubles: Ashley/Martinez
over Froehlich/
Angelinetta. Consolation:
Wil McGruder over Jack
Hoffner. As: Tool and die
maker Chuck Zsebik over
Ayers. A Doubles: John
Hanna/Harold Kopper.
Novice: John Miller over
Darryl Flann
Gil Sanchez. Seniors:
John Hanna over Gene Wilson. Boys Under 17: Glenn
Photo by Mal Anderson
Cowan, 14 (he and his family have moved West, are now
Scott Chapman
living in Bel-Air) over Scott Chapman. Girls Under 17:
Angelita Rosal (first mention of this future Hall of Famer) over Pam Ramsey. Under 17
Doubles: Cowan/Chapman over Bill Capps/Bill Gerhardt. Under 15s: Cowan over Chapman.
Under 13s: Chapman over Jeff Ticehurst.
Three weeks later Bob had his Hollywood Courts Grand Opening tournament, and
this time Klein, hampered by an ankle injury, was beatenby Jack Howard who also went
through Flann 3-0. Jack told me that, as Erwin served, he, Jack, used to move either two steps
195

left or right, so the serve Erwin favored against him wouldnt catch him in the awkward elbow
spot. In Mens Doubles, Jack and Erwin were upset by Froehlich/Obertone, but then Dave
and Wayne went down to Flann/Ashley. In the Womens, Angelinetta was too strong for
Walker; and she and Froehlich continued to be the odds-on pair to reach any Mixed final,
winning here over Walker/Ashley.
The West Coast and Topics continued communicating: one page of the June, 1966
issue had the usually deja vu results of three CA tournamentsnone of which Klein entered,
as perhaps he was now preoccupied with endorsing and selling department store Intersport
tables. At the Long Beach City College Gym, hard-hitter Flann beat soft-hitter Froehlich, 19 in
the 4th. Ashley, the #2 seed, was upset by Howard Wilcox who was then eliminated by new
proud papa Ron Von Schimmelman. Womens winner was Martinez over Angelinetta.
The May 7 Western States Open was held at the fabulous Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas
(double room for $10)with Flamingo arrangements handled by Fred Herbst and Western
States play among the 103 entries handled by George Kelemen. Jack Howard, the Topics
write-up said, was invincibleboth off court and on, for at one point he was defaulted for
temporary disappearance and then re-instated by tournament committee vote after a
satisfactory explanation. Whered you go, Jack? What did you do?Never mind, hes got a
mind of his ownwants a scoring system for t.t. like tennis, and thinks players ought to play
in whites. To win the Mens, Howard beat Froehlich, then looped at will against Ashley. One
upset caused quite a stir: peripatetic Harry McFadden over Darryl Flann, 23-21 in the 4th.
Womens winner wasno surpriseMartinez over Angelinetta. Mixed Doubles went
tosurprise!Vallerie Bellini/Flann (with Baby Belliniin
hungry attendance) over Froehlich/Angelinetta, 29-27 in the
4th. As: George Maak over Gene
Wilson in 5. Seniors: Dick
Badger over Wilson. Under 17s:
Bill Kenig over Scott Chapman.
Under 15s: Chapman over Bill
Gerhardt. Under 13s: Al Everett,
down 2-0, over Chapman.
Everett had been the talk
of last months Arizona Closed
when he won not only the Under
The Kenigs:
14s but the Bs. Some of the
father Sy and son Bill
other winners, however, were to
be expected: Mens: Norm
Schwartz. Mens Doubles: John
Harrington/Bill Guerin. Seniors:
Vallerie and
Sy Kenig. Under 17s: Bill Kenig.
Baby Lynette Bellini
Be assured that the results
of the April 17th Ontario Open, held in Torontos Masaryk Hall,
would be in Jose Tomkins Canadian News, and that Violetta
Nesukaitiselected April 4th by a Toronto radio station as
Citizen of the Weekwould win the Womens. Marinko
took the Mens, 3-2, and the Seniors, 3-0, over Zulpsbut
lets call Modris Citizen of the Day for he was in two more
196

finals and won them both.

He took the Mens with
Howie Grossman from
Max and Art Saltpeter, and
the Mixed with Velta
Adminis from Ken Kerr
and Eileen Smith (whod
soon be returning home to
England). Harry
McFadden reached the
Mens semis with great
wins over Canadian
Internationals McLennan
and Grossman.
Violettas Citizenship
Award was more than
matched by the
Achievement Citation
From Canadian TT News, May-June, 1966
given in May to long-time
Margaret Walden--once a winning player, now a winning official
CTTA SecretaryTreasurer/ Ontario TTA President Marge Walden by Ontario Premier John Roberts. In her
May-June, 1966 News, Tomkins tells us something of Marges 30-year table tennis career
(which, astonishingly, will last another 30 years). Adept at basketball, softball, and especially
bowling (her husband, Erle, too, was a sports enthusiast), Marge, as far back as 1940,
partnered the later U.S. and English Open Champion Peggy McLean to win the first
scheduled Canadian open womens doubles crown. Also, after a back injury curtailed her 10year playing career in which she won many local titles, she
reportedly coached Audrey Perkins Sturman to the first womens
Canadian closed title in 1950. Coaching beginners, particularly
girls, over the years has been of particular interest to Marge. In
1963 and 65 she Captained the Canadian Team to the World
Championships.
At the April Pennsylvania Closed, Bill Sharpe reached the final
by rallying to win the 3rd, 4th, and 5th games from Ray Arditi, then
ousted Marty Theil, 19 in the 4th. Bob Patterson defeated Ray
Sheckard 20, 22, 24 in the quarters, Mike Zukerman 21, -19, -17,
21, 21 in the semis, and, after being down 2-0, Sharpe in the final.
No such matches in the Womensno such event.
At the May Mid-Atlantic Open in Philly, the Mens was won by
Fred Berchin, the Womens by Bernice Chotras. Boggan/Harry
Liedtke took the Doubles. Other results: As: George Brathwaite
(by now George was also the United Nations Champion over
Marcy Monasterial). Alan Papier came away with four titles: Under
17s, Under 17 Doubles with B winner Jeff Hertz, Mens
Consolation, and A Doubles with Winston Bobby Cousins.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Richard Nochenson was best in 15s and 13s.
Ray Arditi
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The 66 New Jersey Closed, held in Edison (Club President

Dan Dickel) was pretty much a repeat of the 65 one. Jeff Swersky
successfully defended his Singles and, with Harvey Gutman, his
Doubles titles. Last year Helga Johnson was the Womens winner; this
year it was Ronni Klein. Harvey again won the Mixed with his teenage
sister Bonnie whose Junior Miss title went to Klein. Nate Stokes gave
way to NJTTA President Bill Cross as Senior Champ. Gabe Fedorko
won the Under 17s, replacing Clay Steinman. Clay, however, took the
Under 15s, and Richard Nochenson the Under 13s. Last years B
winner was Mike Kuklakis; this years Consolation winner Ralph
Vescera.
Last spring, after Id returned to the Game from a 10-year
absence, Id proudly told Frank Davison, the aging Director at Mary
Larsens Club, that Id win the 1966 Long Island Closed, but he, in
that all-knowing way of his, was sure I wouldnt.
As it turned out, at this
May Closed held at the Rockville
Centre Rec Center, Frank was the
something less than International
Umpire in the chair at my semis
match with Harry Liedtke whod
N.J. Club President
come to the U.S. from Germany
Dan Dickel
where hed been a friend of
Eberhard Schoeler, the German Champion. At 20-18 in the
5th, my favor, Harrys return went long and I whirled
around and gave an Indian victory whoop. But when I
turned back to shake Harrys hand, Frank was pointing to
the table edge: Harrys ball had hit he was saying, nodding
the secret truth out of that vast hidden store of private
table tennis knowledge. Ohhh, Frank! I said somewhere
between despair and sympathy.
So, although the spectators supported my view
Photo by Mal Anderson
(Did that ball hit? I incredulously asked Hal Green who
Harry Liedtke, 1966 Long Island
was sitting in the front row adjacent to the table. Missed
Closed Runner-up...no,
by a foot, he said), I, confused, played on (a mistake, I
winner...no...runner-up
think now) and so did my friend Harry, also confused, one
moment trying to dump (which I half-expected him to), the other trying to win. As it
happened, he got 3 points in a rowthen sportingly offered to default. Then, so I could play
in the final, Harry and others (and I dont know whether this was to the Letter of the Law but
it sure was to the Spirit of it) persuaded Frank to reverse his decisionan almost unheard of
occurrencethen (strangely you might think) had to persuade me to play, for I was very
uncertain as to what I should rightly do. To this day I think Frank unconsciously wanted to
prove me wrongwrong, really, as to my earlier claim that Id win the titlethough being
very fair-minded he would never have taken the point from me deliberately.
Danny Ganz, the Topics Long Island columnist, began his account of this strange
happening by saying that the Mens saw the gremlin tweek the nose and clog the ear of our
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chief referee, and left no doubt

in the mind of the reader that
Frank was wrong and Harry
quite a sport. Yes, I did go on to
take the final from Hal Green,
but, after I was up 2-0, I had to
go 5 to do itand it certainly
wasnt the satisfying title for me
it might have been.
Other results: Womens
Singles: a deuce in the 5th thriller
that saw former Champion
1966 Long Island Closed
Tybie Thall Sommer defeat
Senior Champion
Defending Champion Alice
Mitch Silbert
Green with a beautiful bit of
defensive play on the last
point. Mens Doubles: Boggan/
Mitch Silbert over Dave
Mandel/Alan Papier. Mixed Doubles: Hal/Alice Green over Danny Banach/Eleanor Leonhardt.
Novice: Bobby Cousins over Mike Bodzek. (Bobbys fast, flat flicks almost upset Liedtke.)
Seniors: Silbert over Sid Jacobs. Boys Under 17: Papier over Bob Shur. Boys Under 15: Bill
Steinroeder, Jr. over Gary Adelman. Boys Under 13: Adelman over Charles Freund.
Seasons International Results
Although for 3-4 years after the 63
Worlds, the E.C. wouldnt push for training or
funding a U.S. Team to the World Championships,
there was, in the mid-60s, an unprecedented
proliferation of articles in Topics about what was
going on in table tennis abroad.
At the 1966 European Championships,
Defending Champion Sweden defeated Russia to
take the Mens Teams. In Mens Singles,
Defending Champion Kjell The Hammer
Johansson, who in 64 had edged Eberhard
Schoeler deuce in the 5th in the semis and bested
1958 and 60 winner Zoltan Berczik in the final,
won again. (Latest Hungarian rankings in this new
age of topspin have once invincible defender
Berczik #7 in Hungary.) Kjell defeated, among
others, East German Champ Siegfried Lemke;
Bill Steinroeder
Gary Adelman
Yugoslav Champ Dragutin Surbek; former Czech
Champ Yaroslav Jardo (pronounced YARdo)
Stanek (whod been down 2-0 to Englands #1 Chester Barnes, easy winner over Belgiums
recent Top Ten winner Norby Van de Walle); and, from down 2-0, new Czech Champ Stefan
Kollarovits. (Kollarovits had downed Dorin Gurkan Giurgiuca after the Romanian, said to
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have the greatest loop in Europe, had stopped both the new English Champ Denis Neale and
the Hungarian Champ Sandor Harangi whod advanced over Swedens Carl-Johann Bernhardt
deuce in the 5th).
In the final, The Hammer defeated the Czech Vlado Miko whose victims included
Yugoslavias Vojislav Marcovic, Swedens 62 European Champ Hans Alser, and Russias
Anatoly Amelin. The Russian had knocked out Hungarian lefthander Peter Rozsas whod
come from 2-0 down to eliminate West Germanys 25-year-old Ebby Schoeler, newly married
to Englands Diane Rowe.
At these 66 Europeans, the Hungarian women, who hadnt won since 60, beat Russia
to take the Womens Teams. In Womens Singles, Romanias dour, grim defender Maria
Alexandru, who back in 60 had won both the Womens and Mixed Doubles, defeated in 1-2-3
order Englands Rowe-Schoeler (about to retire to be a Dusseldorf housewife?), Hungarys
Defending and 3-time Champion Eva Koczian, and Russias Svetlana Grinberg in the final.
Grinberg had eliminated Czechoslovakias 1965 English Open Champ Marta Luzova.
The Mens Doubles was a reverse of the 64 finalthis time Johansson/Alser beat
Stanek/Miko in 5. In Womens Doubles, the 62 and 64 Champions, Rowe-Schoeler/Mary
Shannon-Wright were knocked out in the semis by Luzova/Irena Bosa-Micocziova who were
then beaten in the final by Koczian/Erzsebet Jurik. Mixed went to Miko/Luzova over Barnes/
Shannon-Wright whod stopped the Defending Champions Rozsas/Sarolta Lukacs.
As regards the Asian players, 3-time World
Champion Chuang Tse-tung, whose penholder backhand
Barna much admires, won the Chinese Mens Nationals,
while shakehand defender Lin Hui-ching took the
Womens. At the Scandinavian Open, Chinas 22-year-old
Wang Chia-sheng won the Mens (over Johansson,
reportedly taking injections for tennis elbow that had
kept him out of the 65 Worlds), and Li Henan, future
U.S. National Coach, the Womens. That Doug Cartland
was an observer at this Open prompted the Editor of
Swedens Bordtennis to say that the 49 team of Miles,
Reisman, and Cartland had to be the best team the U.S.
ever sent to a Worlds.
The new Japanese Mens Champion was 18-yearold Nobuhiko Hasegawahe played shakehands and was
reported to have a 35-hour, 7-day table tennis workweek
over 2-time World Mixed Doubles Champion Koji Kimura,
deuce in the 4th. Japans current World Womens Champion
Naoko Fukazu had an 18-hour, 6-day workweek. In her try
TTT, Aug.-Sept., 1965
for the National title she was eliminated in the quarters,
Chinas 3-time World Champion
deuce in the 5th, by Shimoyama who then lost to the new
Chuang Tse-tung
Champion, Sachiko Morisawa.
Remember how at the 1954 Worlds Japans players were using hypodermic needles to
inject themselves with some mysterious substance (Metapolin? A benzadrine
rejuvenator?). Well, now theyve found something else to banish tiredness. Bukiet,
Neuberger, take note. At the 67 Worlds, look for the Japanese to use oxygenmaybe 60,000
liters a day.
200

Chapter Seventeen
1966: California Leads the
Way in Summer Tournaments. 1966:
E.C. Adjustments/July E.C.
Meeting.
From June through
September, 1966 California was like
a foreign T.T. Association, for it held
at least 9 tournaments that were
reported in Topicsmore than all
other states in the U.S. combined.
One of these in particularthe July
Pacific Southwest Junior Open at
Los Alamitosseemed to have an
Asian or European bent since it was
just for Juniors, both boys and girls. I
must say, however, that I was
surprised to read in Rufford
Glenn Cowan-Harrisons account of the 1966
four more trophies for the All-American Boys collection
German Junior Championships (TTT,
Oct., 1966, 10) that in Germany only the Top 10 Juniors may play in adult events, and that few
of the previous German Junior Champions went on to become German Internationals.
Clearly Glenn Cowan was now the Wests (maybe the U.S.s) best young player. Here
at Los Alamitos he won the Boys
Under 17; the Boys Under 17
Doubles with Scott Chapman; the
Junior Mixed Doubles with Patty
Martinez, the Boys Under 15; and
19 in the 3rd narrowly missed
winning the Boys Under 15
Doubles when he and Chapman
were upset by Rob Lange/Greg
Rosal.
National Womens Champion
Martinez on her casual, gumchewing way to winning the Girls
Under 17 gave up only 50 points
Photo by Mal Anderson
total from the quarters on. Angelita
Angelita Rosal
Rosal, the Under 17 runner-up,
came first in Girls Under 15 over
Pam Ramsey whod eliminated
Angies sister Monica in the semis.
In Girls Under 13, Cindy Cooper
won two tough finishing matches
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downed future U. S. Hall of Famer Judy Bochenski, 19, 20 in the semis, then just edged
Ramsey, 19 in the deciding 3rd.
Erwin Klein played in only two of these summer tournamentsbut won them both.
Darryl Flann and Dave Froehlich broke even, each winning and losing two finals. Froehlich
and Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom also split tournaments. Froehlich/Bob Ashley dominated the
Mens Doubles during this summer stretchwinning five of their six pairings together.
Whats this? Patty Martinez won only 3 of the 4 tournaments she played in. At the July
San Diego Closed, Patty on her home court had had little trouble with Brooke Williams, but at
the Helix High School Gym in La Mesa the following month, Brooke rallied from down 2-0 to
take the final from Patty. Both Patty and Brooke twice defeated Heather Angelinetta during
this string of tournamentsthe most exciting of these matches being at Director Leon Lees
June Semana Nautica Open where Heather had led Brooke 15-10 in the 5th and then had been
up match point before succumbing. Heather, however, did win 3 tournamentsall over
Pauline Walker. The Angelinetta/Froehlich Mixed partnership took 4 tournaments, but couldnt
beat, twice lost to, Martinez/Ashley. Early in the season, Heather, paired with Ray Minc, won
a fun eventthe Draw Doublesfrom her sister Maureen and Ashley, 19 in the 5th.
John Hanna excelled in a number of Senior and A eventsthe most challenging ones
being his Senior win at the Southern California Open over Richard Badger, 23-21 in the 5th,
and his exhausting but very satisfying 22, -18, -19, 24, 22 A final at Semana Nautica over
Howard Wilcox. Glenn Cowans toughest competitors continued to be Scott Chapman and
Rob Lange.
One tournament that got
special attention via Dan Goodmans
article in Topics was the Golden
Gate Masters Open, held in July at
the new multi-million dollar
gymnasium complex at the College
of Marin in Kentfield, California
thats just north of San Francisco.
Players appreciated the perfect
Photo Mal Anderson
lighting, the speaker system, air
Rob Lange
conditioning, the playing floor, etc.
Dan said that six major newspapers in the Bay Area gave this tournament considerable
coverage. Further, since the tournament was publicized on KGO-TV (ABC), it was
expected that ABC affiliated stations on the
Hideki Dick
West Coast would later carry a one-half hour
Yamaoka
color program on table tennis (Sept., 1966,
5). Mens was won by Froehlich over Flann;
the Womens by Angelinetta over Walker.
The only state, outside of the Midwest
and the East, to report a summer tournament was
Alabamathe Montgomery Club held a Sept. 34 tournament at the Central Y. Mens Champ?
Japans Hideki Dick Yamaoka whos begun
serving as a liason between Topics and Hikosuke
Tamasus Butterfly Report, thus enlightening
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U.S. readers with up-to-date world-class coaching articles and sequence photos. For example,
in his first articles, Dick took us through the evolution of the loop, pointing out that players
slow-looped and/or high looped against a choppers push, but against a hitters push they
couldnt do that because the hitter had learned to attack the slow loop; hence the need for the
fast, low loop. In Topics that followed there were photo sequences and descriptions of
Kimuras smashes, Hasegawas serves, and the one-armed Kitamuras fifth-ball attack.
This Montgomery tournament, described as a huge
success, might have been even more successful if, in
addition to the 40 male entries, some women could have
been found for the fun affair. Huntsvilles Don Gaither, 5game runner-up to Yamaoka in the Mens, won the As over
Chuck Michell, the Under 17 winner who this season would
be runner-up in the Atlanta Closed to Bernie Tucker.
Yamaoka/Gaither took the Mens Doubles from Ray
Mergliano and John White, the Seniors winner. Clay
Whitelaw was best in Bs; runner-up was the Under 17
runner-up, James Thompson.
Doug Cartland, 52 and
playing with a hardbat, with
which he accidentally hit himself
in the eye, dominated the
summer Hyattsville Open. In the
Singles, he beat in succession
Photo by Mal Anderson
Tim Boggan, Fred Berchin, and
Don Gaither
Mark Radom. Dougs quarters
with Boggan was very unusual in
st
that after losing the 1 he lost the 2nd from 20-13 up. I remember
as he rounded the table he said, Well, Ill just have to win the next
threeand he did. George Brathwaite upset Schiff in 5, then
played a great match against Radoms loop and pick-shot game,
but lost 21-19 in the fourth. Cartland playing with Berchin was
behind 2-0 in the final of the Doubles against Bob Kaminsky/
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jimmy Vertabut again won in 5. Not surprisingly, the A winner
Cartland
won--but not easily,
was Brathwaite over Sid Jacobs. Bs to Bobby Cousins.
not without batting an eye
Ohio began
the new season with the Lake Erie Open in
Cleveland. USTTA Certified Coach John
Weekes likely had a smile on his face, for
two of the players who did well here and in
the upcoming Columbus Sweepstakes
tournamentRichard Farrell and Lou
Radzeliwere said to have been coached
by John. 1965 U.S. Open Under 13
Champion John Tannehill won the Mens
from John Spencer. Closest match in that
event was John Temples 5-game win over
Winston Bobby Cousins
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Senior Champ Radzeli. Mens Doubles went to Farrell/Joe Bilka. Certified Coach Evans must
have gained another notch of respect from young Tannehill, for Dick beat John in the final of
the As in a close 4-game match. A-1 in A Doubles were Spencer/Anne Shook.
Just prior to the CNE tournament in Toronto, the Columbus Club hosted a prizemoney tournament. This time Tannehill easily downed Evans to win the Mens. No hard
feelings thoughthe finalists paired together to take the Doubles from Spencer/Radzeli.
Evans also won the Class Afrom Consolation conqueror Lyle Thiem who in the As had
struggled to get by Sid Stansel in 5. Dicks wife, Ann, came first in the round robin Womens.
The Evanses were best in Mixed Doubles. Radzeli not only downed fellow Clevelander, Ohio
TTA Secretary/Treasurer John Broderick, to win the Seniors, but considerably increased his
days earnings by taking the Handicap event from Tannehill.
Columbuss U.S. Wheelchair Champion John Gray did himself proud with a bigger
sweepstakes win than any won here. In the annual Paralympic Games at Stoke-Mandeville,
England, among athletes from 26 countries, John didnt get a medal in the t.t. eventhe lost
in the 16ths to the Italian runner-up. But, in addition to participating in javelin and basketball
competition, he did win the wheelchair zig-zag slalom-run held at the National Spinal-Cord
Injury Hospital. Way to roll, John.
E.C. Adjustments Needed
Time now for the Association officials to have their annual summer Meeting. Back in
March at Detroit, it had been resolved that the USTTA Membership dues be increased all
aroundAdult, 3-year Multiple, and Life were doubled, the Junior Membership tripled. In
addition, it was resolved that playing permits be eliminated as of October 1st, 1966. These
changes provoked controversy, drew Letters that appeared in Topics.
The first one was from LITTA President Dave Cox who pointed out that at his May
Long Island Closed fully 72 of the 138 individual entrants (among them quite a few Juniors)
were not USTTA members of any kind, but were willing to pay $.50 for a playing permit.
Most of these 72 played in a restricted singles eventClass B: $1.50; Novice: $1.50; Junior:
$1.25. Dave said that, since these players are unlikely to join one of the affiliated clubs and
hence qualify for [a $.25] USTTA club membership (why wouldnt they join? is that difficult
to do?), they wont be back for next years Closednot if they cant compete on a playing
permit; the cost for their one-time tournament would be prohibitive.
Dave could understand the need for increasing Membership fees (though surely, he
said, a $2 fee for Juniors was 100% raise enough). However, he was surprised that the USTTA
had an operating deficit of over $2000 last year (whered he get that info?) and criticized the
Association for not making the Membership aware of the grave financial situation of the
USTTA. Grave? Perhaps. But the May 31, 1966 USTTA Balance Sheet printed in the Nov.,
66 Topics would show a $2,370.82 net profit from regular accounts and a $2,010.82 net
profit from the Senior and Junior International Team Fund accounts (9)though obviously
this latter profit was earmarked for use.
The second Topics letter (for both see TTT, June-August, 1966, 5) was a side-by-side
rebuttal of Daves by Membership Chair Bob Rudulph, the E.C. member whod pushed to get
the new fees passed:
The fact of the matter is that in the total of all tournaments where player
permits are permitted less than 5% of all participants enter on permits. Furthermore,
204

within this 5% are player permits sold to members who forget to bring their membership
card to tournaments and/or cannot prove membership in an affiliate club. The pressure on
this 5% to join either an affiliated club or the USTTA certainly cannot hurt the promotion of
U.S. table tennis.
The fact that 72 of 138 entrants in the Long Island Open [sic: for Closed] bought
player permits is scandalous. Something must be amiss with the New York-Long Island
clubs since these players felt they were capable of and/or interested in tournament play but
were not interested in becoming table tennis club members.Local clubs must actively
seek new members and design activities around them to survive!
The third letter printed in Topics (Sept., 1966, 8) was Sol Schiffs and it was written to
the E.C. only a few days before their July Meeting in Detroit. Sol said he was very much
against your recommended increase in dues for full senior members, junior members and the
elimination of player permits. He wanted the permits kept, but urged they be raised from $.50
to $1. He argued that it shouldnt be the full members whose dues are raised, many of them
players who spend hundreds of dollars traveling to tournaments in many localities all over the
country, but the club members who play only locallyraise their dues, said Sol, from $.25 to
$1. Actually, why not do both? The players who spend hundreds so passionately can surely
afford a mere $2 more a yearthe more so because they probably get to see their name in
Topics. One of the reasons for the Membership raise, Rudulph had pointed out, was that the
magazine costs $.35 a copy to edit, publish and distribute. A $3 a year membership or
subscription to the magazine brings in only $.33 a copy.
July E.C. Meeting
So given this public response, what action, if any, at their summer Meeting did the E.C.
take? They made compromises. They said Club membership cards were good only for Closed and
1-star (not 2-star) events. They reinstated the playing permit, but accepted Schiffs suggestion that
it be raised from $.50 to $1. And they doubled all the Membership feeswhich meant they heeded
Coxs suggestion that the Junior fee be raised from $1 to $2 (not $3).
Schiff in his Letter disparaged the recent USTTA electionsaid the one-name-for-office
ballots that were sent out were an insult to the membership, were so no-choice anti-democratic as
to be more in keeping with elections in Russia or China. He also disagreed with the stringent
requirements the Association had set up for candidates wanting to run for E.C. office. It makes
one feel that the Executive Committee wants to be a self-perpetuating group.
Suddenly, with controversy, there seemed to be a little zip at an E.C. Meeting. More
communication with the membership seemed possible. Perhaps the Association wasnt so
moribund after all; perhaps progress could be made.
With the extra money coming in, Rudulph now got his Membership Committee
funded up to $1200 for the 1966-67 fiscal year, on an as-needed basis to engage the services
of a clerk-typist. The U.S. Team to Canada would be outfitted at a cost of up to $400. Editor
Fred Rohm, now Advertising Chair, got $300 to cover the cost of seeking advertising
through secretarial help. (An ad taking up the back page cover in Topics cost $125, any other
one page ad $96; the cheapest ad, 1/12th of a page, was $12.50. Those taking ads for 9 issues
were given a discount.) Intercollegiate Chair Dick Evans was funded up to a $100 to
furthernegotiations with the Association of College Unions International. Perhaps the
USTTA Intercollegiate Championships could combine with an annual ACU-I event?
205

Resolutions were made regarding U.S. Teams. Of immediate interest was this:
that in view of the long-range plan to send a complete team fully funded by the
USTTA in 1969, no team be funded to go to the World Championships in 1967. In his Letter
to the E.C., Schiff had urged full funding for the 67 team, but didnt indicate where that
funding could come from. As an experienced U.S. world-class player and team captain, it was
clear to him that Our players can only improve their caliber of play when they are able to
compete against players from many countries with varying stylesthey cannot improve their
games playing against some European players who may come over to the United States to play
a few exhibition matches against them.
Other resolutions pertaining to U.S. Teams were:
that the Selection Committee be instructed to select a team consisting of players able
and willing to pay their own expenses in going to the World Championships in 1967 ( this
team, however, was to be fully outfitted at USTTA expense).
that the Selection Committee be instructed to select an international squad, to be
periodically amended by addition and deletion, from which the team for the 1969 World
Championships will be selected; that round-robin tournaments be authorized among these
players at least three times annually and preferably at all three-star tournaments; and that
the International and Selection Committees work with other committees in fund raising
and [in taking] other appropriate measures [efforts to be managed by Steenhoven and
Read].
The question of whether captains and players of U.S. Teams had to be U.S. citizens
was referred to the Rules and Selection Committees. However, an advisory vote was taken
with the following results. Answering FOR were: Steenhoven, Rushford, Muehlenbein,
Veillette (Burnss proxy), Read (Akis proxy), Carr. AGAINST were: Harrison, Evans.
(During next years summer Meeting, a vote would be taken on this question and it was
resolved that players representing the U.S. did NOT have to be U.S. citizens.)
New appointments were made and not made. Ranking Chair John Read became the
National Tournament Director. Regional Directors under him were Mal Anderson (Eastern),
Harry (H) Blair (Southeastern), Richard Hicks (Midwestern), Richard Feuerstein (Great
Plains), and John Hanna (Pacific Region). It was agreed that any USTTA club would almost
certainly have to be a member of its District affiliate, and that all affiliate members were
required to be USTTA Club members or USTTA full members. California and Ohio led the
states in numbers of affiliatesboth had nine. Michigan, after all that hype in the U.S. Open
Programs, had only twoDetroit and Grand Rapids.
Since there was no TV Chair, the TV Committee would be subsumed under Public
Relations Chair John Dart who announced in his Committee Report that hed spent, mostly on
news releases, $114.68 of the $150 allotted to him since the fall of 65. John emphasized that
the USTTA needed a Recordbookbut the only one being compiled was the mammoth one
Historian Leah Neuberger was doing for herself. Thered be no Womens Chair this season and
beyonda shameful omission. Also, though a 15-year-old wrote a Letter to the Topics Editor
urging a Junior Committee, no such committee was forthcoming.
Regarding cash awards at tournaments:
No limit at tournaments when no representatives of foreign ITTF affiliates
[are] playing. Awards limited, when such players participate, to travel, meals, hotel and
broken-time expenses, plus the sum suggested in the ITTF regulations (about $15).
206

Regarding compensation for Exhibitions: player has to have a National or International

Exhibition card if he/she receives more than: room and board, $16.00 per day or $8:00 each;
round trip traveling expense (from city of residence to city of exhibition, as determined by the
Exhibition Committee), $0.10 per mile. Failure to make the necessary registration to Chair
Bernie Tucker will result in the players suspension. Bernie was delighted to report that as of
May 31 there were 38 registered Exhibitionists, none hopefully doing more harm than good.
Regarding compensation for coaches, per Jack Carrs standing order motion:
[use] the Junior International Team Fund to match funds of affiliated clubs
to defray the expenses of USTTA certified coaches to travel and conduct coaching
clinics for juniors at affiliated clubs, such money to be limited to $50 per club per year
and to be within the limit of the Fund, the money to be dispensed by the Coaching
Committee.
Four resolutions were passed with the result that the official USTTA emblem would
consist of the eagle, the Olympic shield and the initials USTTA.
Note was taken of attempted rival associationsthe USTTF, being run by Mr. Frank
Tichy in Chicago, and the ATTA, being run by Mr. Percy Rochester in New Jersey. I dont
know if Rochester actually held an April, 1966 tournament at Gusikoffs, following the strictly
Amateur Athletic Code he espoused. But as I have an entry blank and a news release for it
proclaiming 1100 youngsters have been invited and that Bukiet would sign autographs (was he
a professional, could his autograph, especially on a racket, be considered a no-no
compensation?), the USTTA was right to want to make an inquiry. Tichys Federation Ill
know absolutely nothing aboutnot until I see his entry-flyer announcing a 1968 U.S. Pro
National Championship. Rochesters Association, since it would involve only youths, might
be taken seriously enough to find support from the USTTA?
A racket rule was clarified:
If the wood side of a table tennis bat is covered with a legal material then both
sides of that bat must be the same color. When plain wood is used as a playing surface
then it must be stained a dark color that will not effect the playing surface. If the wood
side of a bat is not used it may be covered with any material, such as cork, which is
meant to aid in the grip.
Since the rule of the table tennis day is, well, some rule, I might also mention that over
in England 37-year-old electronics engineer Colin Clemett, Chair of the ETTAs Stewards and
Umpires Committee, and a longtime member of their E. C., keeps players wired. Hes
particularly on the lookout (see Table Tennis, Jan.1966, 4) for their bad habitssuch as
bouncing the ball before serving. At the moment thats bouncing the ball on the racket, but, in
time, though Colins not in that space-time continuum yet, also bouncing it on the table in
cupped hand. Another of his bete noirs is stamping the foot loudly on the floor at the moment
of serving. Ah, he says, as weve had to ban finger-spin, so perhaps one day well have to
abolish foot-spin. Think so?

207

Chapter Eighteen
1966: Jack Carringtons Clinics. 1966: CNE/Canadian
Tournaments. 1966: U.S. Tournament Play Preceding the
USOTCs. 1966: U.S. International Team Squad (ITS)
Established. 1966: Canadian Women, New York Men Win
USOTCs. 1966: E.C. Vs. Erwin Klein.
Jack Carrington, a former English International, former
Editor of Table Tennis, the official English TTA magazine, and
for a time now the ETTA Director of Coaching, came to Canada
in June of 66 to conduct a series of cross-country coaching
clinics from Montreal to Vancouver. This Tour was financed
largely through part of a $4,000 government grant given to the
CTTA by the National Advisory Council for Fitness and Amateur
Sports. Jack was accompanied by his wife Elsie, well known in
From Table Tennis, Dec., 1965, 17 her own right as a class player,
Coach Jack Carrington
coach and efficient organizer.
The June 3-5 Toronto clinic was written up in the
Canadian News by Editor Jose Tomkins (May-June, 1966,
9-10) and in Topics (Sept., 1966, 4-5) by Detroit attendees
Jim Rushford and Sam Veillette. Ken Kerr, a former
student of Jacks, met the Carringtons overnight train
from Montreal; there was some media coverage; and the
West End Y provided three tables for practical work in the
large hall with an adjoining discussion room, complete with
blackboards and projector and screen for film showing.
Rushford and Veillette were impressed by
Carringtons professionalismfrom his appearance and
From the 1968 U.S. Open Program
demeanor to his group-participation teaching approach.
Jim Rushford
During one session involving five players, each taking turns
at the table, a feeder (person, not a robot) would position balls to a certain spot, and after a
player had hit ten balls he would step to the end of the line and the coach would explain what
he was doing wrong. Rushford and Veillette noted that among aspects of the Game
Carrington emphasized were footwork and touch.
Ontario TTA President Ken Polyak who, after leaving Hungary, had lived in
Manchester, England, hosted a reception for the visitors and graced them with an appropriate
giftwall plaques depicting Canadian wild fowl. Local officials Marge Walden, SecretaryTreasurer of the CTTA since 1953; Marion Jennings, 1967 Ontario TTA President-to-be; and
Gord Freeman, OTTA V-P, took the Carringtons to dinner and gave them a sightseeing tour.
Later, at Union Station, Howie Grossman saw them off as they headed toward their next stop,
Winnipeg. Later, circling back to Toronto, Jack and Elsie got another write-up in the News for
their Ontario clinic. Granted that for the 1965-66 season the CTTA had only 658 members, it
was strange that there was no media coverage in Ottawa, and, as in Toronto, no response from
organizations and schools with fitness and sport programmes. Indeed, I gather that the Tour
was very disappointing, or, alright, not as successful as hoped (only a total of 62 people
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countrywide attended). Ralph Bender, Boulder, Colorado Club President, took the long
journey either to Saskatoon or Calgary, only to find the advertised clinic cancelled. On
returning, he petitioned the USATT to reimburse him for his expenses (and by a 4-3 vote with
two abstentions he got $50).
Pecora/Hirschkowitz Win CNE
For many U.S. players the Toronto CNE Championships, held
annually over the Labor Day weekend, remain memorable. Typical are
some of Pauline Somaels reminiscences. I recall, she says,
when one sometimes killed a giant horse fly left over
from the judging with one sharp forehand drive [play was
always in the animal judging ring]when Bukiet played 12year-old Erwin Klein in an early round and was kidded for
beating a child (little did they know!)when the fireworks
display signaling the end of the Ex coincided exactly with the
finals of the Mens Singleswhen small children would decide
to use the top of the arena as a running trackwhen one player
actually blamed his loss on the roller-coaster, and one other was
defaulted for staying too long at [Bingo] (CTTA News, Oct.,
1966, 12).

Pauline Somael-would harm a fly

In the 1966 Mens International Matches, the U.S. (under Captain John Read)
defeated Canada (under Captain Ken Scullion) 6-1but 6 of the 7 matches went three games
and the straight-game match, won by Danny Pecora over Derek Wall, South African star
recently come to Canada after several years in England, was 18, 21 close. As Tomkins in her
News write-up tells us, the lone Canadian win came when Wall/Modris Zulps, playing together
for the first time, prevailed 24-22 in the 3rd over Pecora/Dell Sweeristhis despite a
momentary reprieve given Pecora, for after serving into the net at deuce he argued
successfully that Modris distracted him by indicating to the umpire that a let should be called
because of interference from the next table. Larry Lee, Canadas best, lost two big swing
matches19 in the 3rd to Sweeris, and 18 in the 3rd to Bukiet. Bernie also won a 19, 19, 18
nail-biter from Wall. To complete what appeared to be a rout but wasnt, Pecora downed
Marinko, and Sweeris stopped Zulps.
The U.S. took the Womens International 6-2but aside from Violetta Nesukaitiss
matches, the others were dull. Violetta beat Patty Martinez in the 3rd, but 10, 20, 15 could
easily have lost to Priscilla Hirschkowitz. Indeed, with Denise Hunnius, Violetta did lose the
doubles in 3 to Priscilla and Patty. Poor Denise was shut outlost another doubles with
Violetta to Priscilla/Connie Stace, both of whom also defeated her in singles. Not only Stace
but new U.S. Team member Brooke Williams had a convincing win over Velta Adminis.
Violetta played one singles and one doubles match in the Junior Mixedbut her 2-0
win over Alice Green was all Canada (Captained by Tomkins) could do. U.S. Captain Dick
Evanss duo of John Tannehill/Glenn Cowan were too strong for Eddy Zabiela/Elliot
Zimmerman.
In the Inter-Provincial Mens Matches, Ontario killed Quebec, 6-1. Only Guy Germain
with a win over Zulps and a 19-in-the-3rd loss to Marinko could put up a formidable fight. The
209

Inter-Provincial Womens play, however, was fiercely competitive. Paired with Joyce Abraham,
Hunnius rebounded from her dismal 0-4 International showingwon two key doubles
matches from Nesukaitis/Adminis, 19 in the 3rd, and deuce in the 2nd. Ah, if only Denise had
also been able to win that deuce-in-the-third singles against Violetta. But all wasnt yet lost for
Quebec: at the 11th hour the Tie was tied 5-5. Only then against Adminiswormwood for
Hunnius again. So what lover of French-Canadian melodrama could blame Denise if, after
losing the Womens Closed final to Nesukaitis in 5, off shed go to absent herself in a glass or
two of absinthe.
O.K., the Mens Open. With 97 entries, naturally some
disappointments there too. Take the quarters: Larry Lee,
whod successfully defended his Canadian Closed title against
mid-fiftyish Max Marinko, was up 2-1 on Bobby Gusikoff, but
couldnt put him away; Dick Hicks, 1-1 with Defending Champ
Pecora, stalled out at deuce in the 3rd and couldnt start up
again; Marinko, down 2-0 to Sweeris after dropping the 2nd at
19, won the 3rd but not the needed 4th; and Doss, though
taking the 1st against Bukiet couldnt take another.
In the
one semi,
Bobby, down
2-0, fought
back against
Danny, but fell
in 4. In the
other, Dell,
down 2-1,
rallied to beat
Bernie who
Photo by Mal Anderson
says the make
Larry Lee
of the racket he
uses often
changesButterfly, Yasaka, Star Playerit
doesnt matter; rather, you have to be lucky
andpick up the right sponge. Was Bukiet
Photo by Mal Anderson
maybe unlucky in this match with Dell? The
Dell hammered Bernies blocks
News mentioned an unfortunate incident
that extended the 2-1 break time from 5 to 15 minutes in which Bernie, leading,
apparently lost his composure. But, having whetted our interest, the article doesnt tell us
what caused the delayIm sure this far into the tournament Bernie didnt have any
sudden bout of hay fever. Topics said that Sweeris found the answer to Bukiets
maneuvering blocks: he hammered away at Bernies extreme forehand. In the final,
however, Pecora was able to retain his title in an 18-in-the-4th topspin match with Dell
because of his shorter strokes and fast reactions.
In the Womens Open, against the favored Nesukaitis in the semis, Hirschkowitz lost
two games under 10, but, craftily getting the match into Expedite, outhit Violetta (whom U.S.
Coach Dick Yamaoka says is quite good at opening a 3rd-ball attack) to win 19 in the 5th.
210

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo by Mal Anderson

Leah (Miss Ping) Neuberger

1966 CNE Womens Champion Priscilla Hirschkowitz

Against Martinez in the other semi, Leah Neuberger had a score to settleand, girl, did she
heavy-chop Patty into little bits: allowed her only 44 points total. But, oh, in the final, Leah,
leading Priscilla 19-16 in the 5th, couldnt finish, lost in deuce. Years ago shed told a reporter
her biggest problem was that she didnt have the killer instinctand after last years 20-15 in
the 5th loss to Martinez and now this, one might, for all her titles, believe it. Share a glass or
two with Denise, Leah.
Howd the Doubles go? Strange
Photo by Mal Anderson
but all the partnerships successfully defended
The ring proves it
their 65 titles. In the Mens, Pecora/
Blommer beat Sweeris/Hirschkowitz in the
final in 5. In the Womens (years later
doctors will tell us a drink or twos good for
you), Hunnius/Neuberger (it was Leahs 18th
Womens Doubles title at the Ex) downed
Hirschkowitz/Martinez 3-zip. (Patty, with
her off-form showing here, needed some
kind of fizz or fuzz?). And in the Mixed,
Bukiet/Barbara Kaminsky defeated Sweeris/
Stace who at 1-1 couldnt win the deuce 3rd
momentum builder. But, never mind, having
announced their engagement at this
tournament, theyve enough impetus to take
them out of these Fairgrounds and on into
Life.
Other results: Seniors: Marinko,
refreshed after visiting his hometown
Ljubljana this summer, over Mitch Silbert.
Junior Mens: Howie Schwartz,
unaccountably (after losing the first two
211

games 12, -10), over Cowan (15,

12, 14). Junior Miss: Martinez over
Nesukaitis, 18 in the 4th. Boys:
Cowan over Tannehill, -10, -18, 18,
21, 12. (I dont know if Errol
Caetano, Canadas future #1, played
at the CNE, but he did win the
Under 15s at the Toronto Junior
League tournament at the West End
Y back in May.) Girls: Alice Green
over Janice Martin, -19, 19, 18, 18.
Midget Boys: Ray Martinez over
Eric Andre. Midget Girls: Martin
over Janice Sweeris.
The CNEs Open and
Closed Championships counted for
two of just 13 CTTA tournaments
held last season, and Ontario was
the only province to hold the
requisite five tournaments needed
for any of its members to have a
National Ranking. In the one fall
Quebec tournament I have record
of, both Guy Germain and Denise
Photo by Mal Anderson
Hunnius dominated as hat-trick
1966 CNE Girls Champion Alice Green
winners.
At the early-Oct. Central Canadian Open at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Derek Wall
downed Martin Ivakitsch, 23-21 in the 4th, after Martin had eliminated John McLennan,
Tim Boggan, and Defending Champ Modris Zulps. Ken Kerr earned a place on the
Canadian Team to the USOTCs with wins over Germain (-19, 18, 21) and Marinko (-20,
20, 19, -17, 18). Derek, demonstrating not only a variable chop defense but a forehand
loop and backhand flick, also won the late-Oct. Toronto Harmonie Open over Marinko in
a close match.
Violetta Nesukaitis was the Womens winner at the Falls over Hunnius in the semis
and Defending Champ Helen Sabaliauskas in the final. Violetta also won in Toronto over
Adminis who earlier at the Central, leading 2-0, had been upset by Betty Tweedy. Niagaras
Mens Doubles winners were Boggan/Germain; runner-ups Ivakitsch/Grossman. In Womens
Doubles, Velta and Jenny Marinko forced Nesukaitis/Hunnius into a 25-23 4th. Mixed at the Falls
went to Ivakitsch/Nesukaitis.
Other Central Canadian results showed U.S. players at the center of the action:
Seniors: Marinko over Jim RushfordMaxs penhold shovel shots angled this way and that
from his anchored square stance, coupled with his ferocious pick-hits and drops, were
understandably too much for Jim. Bs: Torontos Bela Bill Soros (whod knocked out
Grossman in the Mens) over Buffalos Jim Dixon in the semis, and Sam Veillette in the final.
Womens Bs: Audrey Sturman over Michigans Janice Martin. Cs: Detroits George Payotelis
over Violetta Nesukaitis.
212

U.S. Play Preceding the USOTCs

The Hyattsville, Maryland Club, which I believe
by now Si Ratner had taken over from the Kronlages,
hosted the Oct. Congressional Open. Marty Doss,
playing with an old-fashioned pimpled racket, defeated
Tibor Hazi in 4 to win the Mens. In the Hazi-Folk
semis, Tibor was leading in the 5th 18-12 when Larry
made one of his spectacular recoveries bringing the
score to 19-all. During the next two points, the
players eventually went for point-winning smashes:
Hazi scored on his to take the ad; Larry missed his.
At the Florida Closed in Orlando, Miamis
Marv Leff successfully defended his Mens titlewith
a straight-game semis win over Ray Mergliano and a
turnabout final over Lenny Bass (-15, -13, 18, 13, 10).
Topics reporter H Blair tells us that Mergliano (who
had Leff down 2-1 last year) has a fine top-spin and a
Photo by Bill Scheltema
terrific loop, but suffers from lack of competition in
Florida Champion Marv Leff
Orlando. After Bass, hitting hard and accurately,
had taken a 2-0 lead in the final, Leff, a pimpled rubber player with classic strokes and a fine
defense, just got stronger. Bobbye Zacco was the Womens winnerover fellow Orlandoan
Sperry Rademaker, back now, if not to solid play, to solid ground, after being in Europe a
good part of the summer competing in kayak racing (TTT, Dec., 1966-Jan., 1977, 11).
Juniors: Mike
Auerbach over
runner-up Richard
McAfee, destined
30 years later to be
Table Tennis
Competition
Manager for the
Atlanta Winter
Games.
The only
Nov. tournament
reported to Topics
prior to the
USOTCs was the
Long Island Open
at Hempstead, run
by the same team
Photo by Mal Anderson
Photo by Mal Anderson
thatd be handling
Richard McAfee
LITTA President Dave Cox
the 67 Easterns,
LITTA President Dave Cox, Tournament Chair Dr. Mitch Silbert, and Registration and
Control Desk Official Chris Schlotterhausen. Dave, as his wife Jill tells us, had been the
(Under 18) Junior Champ at his hometown Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Later, at
213

Photo by Robert Thrun

1966 Long Island Open Mens Champ Marty Doss

Taught Doss everything he knows

London University, he not only played for his College [was Secretary and unpaid Manager of his
Team], but began a long career of running tournaments, which of course, after immigrating and
moving to Long Island, he was continuing to do now (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1971, 7). This Open was
my first write-up of a tournament, and, needless to say, from now on, for better or worse, these
History volumes will continually resurrect my (hopefully vigorous) lifetime contributionsmercifully
edited, well sometimes.
Marty Doss was the Mens Singles winner ($75 Savings Bond) and such was the
strength of the Draw (over 80 entries) that his victims included Cartland, Berchin, Gusikoff,
and Reisman.
Reisman, with manager Bill Marlens camera clicking away, was his usual flamboyant
self. There was the joking Reisman of the early rounds (I cant stand the pressure!), deucing
point after point, pre-scheduled game after pre-scheduled game, to the momentary delight of
more than one opponent. There was the somewhat disdainful Reisman of the much-lookedforward-to match with Miles in the quarters (In the quarters? Who made up this Draw?),
hitting in the third and final game a behind-the-back shot, his flippant racket rubbing it in,
slapping the point home as he swings, turns, pirouettes smiling to the spectators, his audience,
and says of Miles, Hey, who is this kid? He plays pretty good. (And Miles, having to accept
the inevitable, ironically popping the ball up for the last point, shrugging off his defeat: No
excuse, I just couldnt see the ball very well.)
There was the injured Reisman of the semis, needing to delay the start of the third
game against the ever-dangerous Jack Howard. Jack, meanwhile, was ever ready to show that
214

Photos by Mal Anderson

Fred Berchin (L) wins a tenacious victory over Vic Landau

he, too, had a sense of humor. On returning a ball thats maybe just slightly long, Jack asks Marty,
Did that hit? Imperceptibly close, old man, says Marty. How close? says Jack.
Imperceptibly, says Marty. Yeah? says Jack with the intuitive eye of a poker player who
thinks hes spotted many a bluff. O.K., Martyif you can spell the word, Ill give you the
point.
Now the Voice of the Operations Desk could be heard demanding Reismans
immediate return to the tablethat is, until the player in question pleads out, Im fixing my
blister, if you dont mind. Mind? Oh! No.Who could mind? Indeed, once Marty got
through to the finals, that Voice, surprising us all, decided to give him an award. Quiet, please!
For the player who has done more than he was expected to do. Reisman, victorious, raises
his handand gets an $18.75 Savings Bond.
There now was the Reisman of the finalsa happy Reisman. Off to a bad first
game start with the anything but disconcerted Doss, he continues to exchange backhands
and ironic mid-point pleasantries (Oh well, its only an exhibition). As the third game
moves to an end, Doss, in total control, now hits one behind his backI had a good
teacher, he says.
As for the preliminary matches, there was one that was more exciting than the rest
the 5-game Vic Landau-Fred Berchin match. There were beautiful retrieves throughout by
both players, with Landau literally down but not out, hanging on tenaciously from 15-20 in the
5th only to lose in the end to a determined Berchin.
As for Defending Champ Gusikoff who, along with Miles, might have been someones
best bet to winwell, he, too, lost a close one, to Doss. How do you like this? he says.
Hes playing bad and Im playing worse.
There was, however, if I may say so, nothing worse than the finals of the Mens
Doubles. Doss and Schiff hit Boggan/Silbert 8, 10, 14 silly. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! was
all one could hopelessly, disgracefully say.
The women? They had their usual sharply contested matches. Of particular interest to
me was the Barbara Kaminsky-Bernice Chotras match in the quarters. Bernice, down 2-1, had
rallied to take what one could only call a comfortable lead in the 5ththat is, she was up 185. But then she proceeded to lose to a suddenly inspired Kaminsky 11 points in a row before
steadying to win. Neuberger beat Nesukaitis, 19 in the 4th, then lost in the finals to Chotras
($50 Savings Bond) in a robust if perhaps predictable 5 games. Womens Doubles went to
Nesukaitis/Kaminskyin the semis over Alice Green/Yvonne Kronlage whod upset Priscilla
215

Hirschkowitz/Lona Rubenstein, 15, 13, -21, -21, 20, and in the final over the World Champion nee
Thall sisters, Neuberger/ Tybie Sommer. Seniors: Marv Shaffer over Frank Dwelly. Bs: Danny
Banach over Bernie Lieber.
U.S. International Team Squad Established
In order to establish the best available players for a fully funded U.S. Team to the 1969
World Championships in Munich, the USTTA formed a Sub-Committee of Rufford Harrisons
International Committee with Graham Steenhoven as Chair and John Read as Vice-Chair. Selection
Chair Steve Isaacson will determine those men, women, and juniors whod qualify to participate in
round-robin International Team Squad (ITS) Matcheshopefully at all three and four-star
tournaments. Participants pay $5 for their play, and all funds collected go towards ITS expenses.
The first of these Squad Matches took place at the Detroit USOTCs in mid-Nov. with the
following results:
MEN: Jack Howard (7-0). Dell Sweeris (6-1beat Blommer 19 in the 3rd). Laszlo
Varenyi (4-3lost also to Hicks). Mike Ralston (4-3lost also to Varenyi). Jim Blommer (34). Hicks (3-4lost also to Blommer). Dan LeBaron (1-6beat only Tannehill, 19 in the
3rd). John Tannehill (0-7). WOMEN: Connie Stace (4-0). Barbara Kaminsky (3-1). Ann Evans
(1-3beat only Shahian). Millie Shahian (0-4). Janice Martin (2-2though her win over
Shahian was by default).
Canadian Women/New York Men Take USOTCs
The Canadian News allowed us to
see the format for Womens play at the
USOTCs, held Nov. 12-13 in Detroits
Cobo Hall. It showed that ties were
played in a 6-team round robin, that all
possible 9 matches were played out
among the teams, and that Canada (5-0)
won for the 3rd year in a rowthis time
over 2nd-place finisher Chicago.
Though Chicago, led by Barbara
Kaminsky (12-2) and Millie Shahian (123), couldnt stop Connie Stace (14-1)
from scoring three wins, Grand Rapids
try for the runner-up spot fell 5-4 short.
The records of the winning Canadian
women were: Violetta Nesukaitis, 14-1,
Denise Hunnius, 12-3, Velta Adminis, 81, and Jenny Marinko, 3-3. Violetta lost
only to Ann Evans, 23-21 in the 3rd. Ann,
who for her play this season would for
Ann Evans, again ranked in the Top Ten
the second time be ranked in the U.S.
Top Ten, was a good forehand hitter against chop, her former husband Dick, reminiscing,
would say. Perhaps in some measure, he added, because of her partnerthat is, Dick
himself, a chopper. Soon, though, their marriage will break up and Ann will stop playing table
tennis altogether.
216

The format for Mens play was the same as last years: preliminary round robins brought forth
winners to play in a conclusive round robin. However, Editor Fred Rohms coverage in Topics left much
to be desired, for though he detailed the records of the top 26 players, he didnt tell us what teams played
against one another in the initial round-robins, who won them, and who then competed in the final round
robins. This was strange, since he himself attended the tournament.
The News said that Canada (Kerr, Marinko, Wall, Zulps) had to withdraw from the
final round robin when one of their players, name not mentioned, fell ill. (Wall, at a healthy 91, was the only Canadian whose record was listed in Topics.) This withdrawal is hard to
understand, for didnt Canada send four players to Detroit? And wouldnt they have struggled
on, as Somael and Cartland once did, with only two players?
Topics made it clear that the New York men won the tournament (though minus Bukiet
who, after losing to Berchin in a Sept. Baltimore tournament, was off on a Globetrotters 2ndTeam Tour with Bob Ashley). The New Yorkers (and their winning records) were: Howard
(10-1 and winner of the Most Valuable Player Award), Berchin (10-1), Miles (8-2), and
Boggan (7-3). Indeed, Rohm devotes his entire article to selected matches of just these four
players. Howard has mastered the loop and topspin game, he writes. But then he says:
His [Howards] only loss came from [Washingtons] Clark Goldstein [14-3]
who forced Howard against the barrier for more than half the play with his overpowering smashes. Howard proved he could defend from afar by lobbing and chopping
Goldsteins consistent smashes up to ten times in succession. However, Goldstein was
more consistent and always seemed to hit number eleven.
As for Berchin, his only loss came from Joe Sokoloff [16-2] of Kansas City who
proved that he could slow counter and chop just a little better than Berchin.
Miles gets a paragraph:
Miles seemed to be hitting a little more than usual but was overpowered by
the strong backhand kills of Mike Ralston [14-5]. Miless chops were no match for
Ralstons smashes which he executes by running around the table so that he can hit
almost every shot with his backhand. Miles took the brunt of an outstanding lift-and-hit
attack of John Tannehill who scored an upset over the old master (17, -14, 17).
Rohm reserves his account of a New York win for me:
Boggan, who lost to Ralston, Radom [13-4] and Folk [13-4], fought his
hardest match against Don Lyons of Ohio. Thirty players took time out to watch this
event. Ohioans were predicting a Lyons win because they felt that Boggan could not
hold out against Lyonss drives. But Boggan who plays a consistent block and drive
game had different ideas. When Lyons won the first game at 13 the Ohio players were
all smiles, but frowns began to appear as Boggan made it look easy in the second
game, winning at 12. Even this writer felt that it was all over when Lyons took a
commanding lead of 11-1 in the third and final game. But Boggan, who plays well
under pressure, came alive and began hitting while not looking at the ball [sic] (a shot
he is famous for), and won the game at 19. Boggan then went into one of his famous
war dances while the crowd roared its approval (TTT, Feb., 1967, 3; 8).
217

Well now, what else exciting, or silly, is happening this

weekend in Detroit? Ah, the E.C. Meeting of course.
No, Vice-President Burns didnt attendhadnt since
July, 1965but all were resigned to that and to the fact that
Burns hadnt resigned. Jack Carr who was going to resign as
Coaching Chair withdrew his resignation, in view of the
outstanding cooperation of the Executive Committee and of J.
Rufford Harrison in particular. (Anybody know what
cooperation hes talking about?) President Feuerstein,
burdened, was still trying to resign as Affiliates Chair. Regarding
the stringent requirements to run for E.C. office that Schiff
objected to, I see, though not from the Minutes, that an aspirant
no longer needed to have a Life Membership but a valid
membership for the proposed two years of office, and that if one
wanted to serve as President or Executive Vice-President he/she
need NOT have been an E.C. member for two years or even at all
From 1968 U.S. Open Program
(TTT, Nov., 1966, 3). The slate for the 1967 election of officers
USTTA Treasurer
was Muehlenbein for Treasurer (unopposedwhod want that job?);
Rudy Muehlenbein
and (with Boczar and Schiff deemed ineligible) Isaacson, Rushford,
Tucker, and Veillette for the three Vice President spots (Burns wasnt running again).
The following players were named to the U.S. Team at the 1967 Stockholm Worlds:
Men: Bukiet, Gusikoff, Klein, Miles, and Sweeris; Women: Neuberger, Stace, and Williams.
The Team was to receive no more than $650 for uniforms and incidental expenses. Money was
tightTreasurer Muehlenbein in his interim Oct. 31, 1966 Report, said that the USTTA was
currently operating with a NET LOSS in its regular accounts of $495.22. However, the next
interim Jan. 31, 1967 Report would show the U.S. operating with a NET PROFIT in its
regular accounts of $1,175.98. (Much depended on when members renewed their
memberships?)
Hope the U.S. didnt have to play China at the Worldstheir TTA was saying nasty
things about our country. As far as the 1969 U.S. Team to Munich was concerned, the E.C.
opposed trying to solicit donations for the Team either through Topics or through conventional
publicity by the USTTA Public Relations Committee (whose expenses to date in that Oct. 31
Treasurers Report added up to $6.12). Erwin Klein wanted to hold the 1968 U.S. Open in a
Vegas hotelbut that Open had already been awarded to Detroit. Klein was encouragedor
rather the E.C. wanted to encourage Kleinto hold an alternative event.
E.C. Vs. Erwin Klein
The one item of consequence at this Nov. 11-12 E.C. Meeting had to do with trying to
decide what player would represent the U.S. at EXPO 67 in Montreal. This International
Invitational tournament, conceived by the CTTA President since 1957, John Hunnius, and set
for April 29-30, 1967, would have a field of 8 world-class players, each representing a
different country. Canada would send its Champion, Larry Leebut who would the U.S.
send?
Topics Editor Fred Rohm (see TTT, Feb., 1967, 4) tells us that from the very beginning
Hunnius, 1966 recipient of the CTTAs first Perc McLeod Memorial Award, knew who he
wanted that U.S. player to be. In a Jan. 26, 1966 letter to USTTA International Committee
218

Chair Rufford Harrison, he wrote: unless you have strong objections

we would like to specifically ask to have Mr. Erwin Klein even though
he may not be your national champion at that time. Rohm says that on
Feb. 3, Harrison replied that he doubted that Klein would be allowed
to participate because he was under suspension at that [Jan., 1966]
time. However, since Kleins suspension would be up by mid-March,
1966, I, for one, dont see why Rufford responded so. In April, Rohm
says,
Jack Carr wrote Hunnius that the USTTA would like to pick its
own player.
But by early September at the Toronto CNE, International
Chair Harrison and Selection Chair Isaacson were, according to
Hunnius (see CTTA News, Mar., 1967, 8), assuring him that Klein
John Hunnius, CTTA
would be the U.S. representative. But then in an October letter to
President--wants
what he
Hunnius, Harrison seemed to hedge on that assurancehe wrote
wants:
only
Klein
will do
that both the Selection and International Committees had approved
sending Klein and that he was our probable nominee. Why
probable? Because Harrison had gotten wind that E.C. members
were opposed to Klein? Or because, as Rohm writes, that as of Oct. 22 Klein had not made
himself available for this trip by filing the necessary forms with the USTTA?
Rufford, Rohm says, now writes to Hunnius, and asks, How about Pecora instead of
Klein? This brought no reply.
That brings us to the Meeting in Detroit where on Nov. 11 a number of E.C. members
votes (Read, with Akis proxy, was delayed, didnt arrive in time for the vote) were in sharp
contrast to Ruffords:
Motion: that Erwin Klein be the U.S. player to Expo 67. Defeated 2-4-2.
FOR: Carr, Harrison
AGAINST: Steenhoven, Veillette (proxy for Burns), Equipment Chair Carl
Cantrell (proxy for Rushford), and Evans
ABSTENTION: Feuerstein, Muehlenbein
Motion: that Dell Sweeris be the U.S. player to Expo 67. Passed 6-0-2.
FOR: Steenhoven, Veillette, Muehlenbein, Cantrell, Carr, and Evans
AGAINST: None
ABSTENTION: Feuerstein, Harrison
Motion: that Klein be the Alternate. Defeated 2-5-1.
FOR: Carr, Harrison
AGAINST: Steenhoven, Veillette, Muehlenbein, Cantrell, and Evans
ABSTENTION: Feuerstein
Motion: that Pecora be the Alternate. Passed 6-0-2.
FOR: Steenhoven, Veillette, Muehlenbein, Cantrell, Evans, and Carr
AGAINST: None
ABSTENTION: Feuerstein, Harrison

219

When Hunnius was immediately apprised of this vote he refused to accept ithe wanted
Klein, no one else. This prompted the E.C. to meet again the next day, Nov. 12, and, after Harrison
tried to explain Hunniuss reasonsI presume centering on Klein as World Mixed Doubles
Champion and 4-time U.S. Singles Champion; that is, he had a name, would be a drawing card
the E.C. voted again:
Motion: that Klein be the U.S. player to Expo 67. Defeated: 4-5-0.
FOR: Read, Carr, Harrison, and Evans (who actually wanted to vote
against; Dick made the Motion merely to get the issue settled and over
and done with, but then Parliamentarian Carr said that as maker of the
Motion he had to vote FOR it).
AGAINST: Feuerstein, Steenhoven, Veillette, Rushford, Muehlenbein
Hunniuss position was that he had still not heard any strong objectionshed heard
only that the USTTA E.C., disregarding their own International and Selection Committees
recommending Klein, just didnt want Erwin to go (preferred, with four of the voters from
Detroit, Sweeris). The E.C. members, on returning home, then took another vote. I dont
know whymaybe because Hunnius was pressuring them, threatening not to have any U.S.
representative. (Hed get a Russian?) This time the vote was 4-4 (with someone not voting)
and since a tie defeats the Motion, Klein was still not acceptable.
According to Rohm, Hunnius then called President Feuerstein, but found him
unapproachable. So he tried Evanswho, as it happened, even before the call, had changed
his mind (why?) and in still another vote gave Klein his needed 5-4 majority.
This Nov. 11-12 E.C. Meeting came to a close with the following item:
In a discussion of the International Team Squad, Steenhoven took exception
to some remarks by the Chairman of the International Committee [Harrison] and
indicated his dissatisfaction with some matters. On being pressed, he indicated that he
would resign. He was asked if he would put his resignation in writing, and he
acquiesced. This was not done at the meeting.
Ruff and Graham were not only testy, but testing one another?No, of course
Steenhoven didnt resign. As USTTA Executive Vice-President he stayedin line for the
Presidency.

220

Chapter Nineteen
1966-67: Winter
Tournaments. 1967: D-J Lee/
Violetta Nesukaitis Win
Easterns/International Team
Squad Matches.

Dave Froehlich,
California #1

EXPO 67 was still

months off, so Klein wasnt in
any hurry to prove himself in
California tournaments. In
fact, he entered only one of
them this winterthe Feb. 1819, 2-star California Open.
Here with his straight-game
win over Dave Froehlich,
whod upset Jack Howard in
5, Erwin was pronounced the
new California state
champion. It was Froehlich, though, relentless in practice and tournament play, whod
achieved the #1 CA ranking. Not only was he strong in Singles, but in Doubles too. Here,
he and his preferred partner, Ragnar Ray Fahlstrom, downed Seymour Shenkman/
Harold Kopper in the semis in 5, then seemed more focused in finishing off Howard/ Glenn
Cowan 3-0 in the final.
In an interview with Don Lindo (see TTT, May, 1967, 8-9), Dave, when asked how
much he practices, said, I usually try to get in 3 days a week at least and many times 4
(especially, Im sure, if theres a tournament coming up). He also said, I try never to lay off
more than two days in a row. In response to Lindos questions as to how long his practice
sessions are, and how he uses that time, Froehlich responded:
Each session I try to get in at least three hours of straight practice, and this
includes no sitting down or resting at all.I am after a stamina build-up so that when I
get in a tournament I will be able to play many vigorous matches at length without
having my strength sapped.
Some fellows aresteady enough to [permit me to] really work on strokes
alone.[With those that are not,] I will play games but only one wing games, playing
all backhand, forehand, or defense but at all times I am striving to develop my game,
never to go out and have funbecause the only fun I get out of the gameis when I
have 21 points and my opponent doesnt.
In the midst of these California tournamentshed won at San Diego and Santa
BarbaraFroehlich who said hed begun playing at Easter-time 6 years earlier, took his game
afresh to Phoenix and chalked up another tournamentover his winning Doubles partner
Fahlstrom (they beat Adelman/Norm Schwartz). Such successes would help Froehlich, via 19
tournaments, to rise to a Top 15 U.S. ranking this season.
221

The following weekend, Davewho says, If only it

were possible, hed go to Japan, enroll in their table
tennis college and really learn the gamewas
indefatigably on the road againthis time to the Feb.
4-5 San Jose Open. Here, however, an unknownand
unseededrecent arrival from Hong Kong, Edmund E.
Fong (now of San Francisco) accurately spun and
smashed [his way to victory over Froehlich]. But with
partner George Maak Dave took the Doubles from
Aki/William Yeh.
Regarding the Women on this western circuit: if
Patty Martinez played, she won (almost always won
the A events too.) Otherwise Angelinetta was usually
the Womens Champ. Back in Nov. at San Diego
Heather lost a 28, 8, -20, 17, -18 semis horror to
Pauline Walker, but thereafter Pauline couldnt contest
against herat Santa Barbara, for example,
Angelinetta won 10, 10, 12. Heather had another
semis lossin San Jose to young Wendy Hicks,
arguably, with
TTT, Sept., 1963, 13
Norm Schwartz,
her 22, 16, 18
former Arizona Open Champion
win over
Angelita Rosal
at the California Open, the best Junior Girl next to
Martinez in the West. Mixed Doubles results?
Froehlich/Angelinetta were in all six finals. Two they
lost to Patty and brother Jess, but they took the rest,
including a 19-in-the-5th retaliatory win over the
Martinez pair at San Jose.
Among the
Seniors, John Hanna won
twicein the L.A. Open
over Fred Herbst, and in
the CA Open over Carmen
Ricevuto, after Carmen
Photo by Mal Anderson
had eliminated Fred 19 in
Wendy Hicks
th
the 5 . Ricevuto also lost
in Phoenix to Edgar Stein
who in a Letter to the Editor made it clear that he didnt care if
Hasegawa, the server in a photo sequence in Topics, was the
Japanese or even the World Champion, his serves were illegal.
In his write-up of the March 4-5 Pacific Coast Open at Phoenix
(see TTT, June-July, 1967, 13), Club President Forrest Barr said
that Fahlstrom, seeded #2 behind Froehlich, was fortunate even
to advance beyond the opening round, for 17-year-old Bill Kenig
battled Fahlstrom on even terms through four games and well
Carmen Ricevuto
222

into the fifthwhen Fahlstrom down 14 to 17 rallied for 7 consecutive points to win. Since Koenig
was the Phoenix Closed Mens Champion and had started with a 24-0 record in the Phoenix
League (amazingduring the first four weeks of play not a single one of the 44 members on the 11
teams was absent or even tardy!), it seems strange to me that he should meet the #2 seed in the 1st
round. But of course, though he came close, he didnt upset Fahlstrom, and eventually both top
seeds reached the final.
In that interview with Lindo, Froehlich had said, I have one desiream in table
tennis for one thing: I want to be regarded by the professionals who play the game as a
good player. I want to be comparable in stature to players such as Erwin Klein, Jerry
Kruskie, Bobby Gusikoff, and Danny Pecora. Where, by the way, is Kruskie? Those
other players are Top 10 this 66-67 season, but Jerry isnt mentioned, not even as having
Insufficient Data. Has he left the Sport? If so, why? Klein, Froehlich himself says in his
Interview, is far above any player that we have in the United States today. So if Dave
wants to be comparable with Erwin, he has work to domost immediately now in this
Phoenix final with U.S. #18.
The slam-bang style of Froehlich and Fahlstrom made for a crowd pleasing finale,
Barr wrote. It was principally Fahlstrom on the attack and Froehlich retrieving beautifully and
counter-driving. In the end Fahlstrom proved a bit more accurate and consistent inprevailing
21-15, 14-21, 21-12, 16-21, 21-10.
Some other results: Womens: Martinez over Angelinetta. Mixed Doubles: Martinez/
Adelman over Angelinetta/Froehlich, 26, 16, 18. As: Harry McFadden over Wil McGruder in
5. A Doubles: Cowan/Al Everett over John Hanna/Harold Kopper, 18 in the 4th.
Since the St. Charles, Missouris St. Louis Federal Business Association Closed was
restricted to Postal, Federal and Military Employees and their families, I didnt think it
important enough to mentionuntil I saw the
Mens winner was one, Harvey B. Meyer. But
Ill leave my explanation for a footnote.* Be
sure to read it, eh?
It would seem with all the hype Dell
Sweeris was getting he shouldnt have had
any trouble winning the March Michigan
Closed. But trouble aplenty he had. In the
semis against Eddie Brennan he was down
2-0 before rallying, and in the final against
Chuck Burns it was as if the two were
playing on the table in Chucks office (where
everyone knows hes unbeatable), for Dell,
losing one game 21-5, was beaten 18 in the
4th. Danny Robbins, too, fell to Burns but not
before hed outlasted Leo Griner deuce in the
5th. Some compensation for Leo though, for
he and Brennan took the Mens Doubles
Leo Griner
from Sweeris and his protg Dan LeBaron.
Womens of course went to Connie Stace over Janice Martin, and the Mixed of course to
Connie and Dell over LeBaron/Martin. A Singles: Detroits Pasteur School Principal Bob
Quinn over Verling Copeland.
223

At the Dec. Buckeye Open in Columbus, Don Lyons won

the Mens from Barry Rost. Ann Evans took the Womens from
Janice Martin. Mens Doubles: Lyons/Chris Tetzlaff over Dick
Evans/Tannehill, 19 in the 4th. Mixed Doubles: John Spencer/
Evans over Lyons/Martin. As: Roger Lewis over Evans. Seniors:
Lou Radzeli over Brown, Allen, and Freddie Borges. Under 17s:
Mitchell. Under 15s: Wampler.
Why, you may wonder, is Tannehill not playing in
the Junior events, and where did Borges come from? Dick
Evans, co-owner of the Columbus Club with Spencer and
Bong-Mo Lee, offers an explanation. He begins by telling
us that, even before John was a teenager, his father, Chet,
editor of the local newspaper in Gallipolis on the Ohio
River, started bringing his son to Columbus, and, after a
time, since his wife was repeatedly ill, he would leave John
to spend the weekend in the home of some of our club
members, usually John Spencer. So, young John got to
play lots of table tennis, you say. Yes, but thats not all.
Dick continues:

Lou Radzeli

Spencer & Tannehill became the local t.t. odd

couple: both were intellectually precocious game
players. Not just t.t. but also all sorts of board games including chess. Spencer was one
of the best chess players in Columbus. Fred Borges would occasionally come to our
club during the years he was a teacher at a nearby college (Otterbein, I think [in
Westerville, Ohio]) and play with Spencer. John rapidly improved in table tennis under
the coaching, primarily of Bong-Mo Lee. I was more of a trainer and practice partner
than coach. Within a couple of years John was beating nearly all the players in
Columbus.
John isnt competing against the local juniors because
hes too good for them and so will let them fight it out for the
trophies? Or maybe he just wants to play chess with John and
Freddie? Borges has a history of teaching at different schools
and is the model for the eccentric Hugo Batzlinger in Dick
Miless Oct., 1966 Sports Illustrated story A Bat about
Ping-Pong.**
The March Ohio Closed Mens Singles was won by
D-J Lee, now coaching at the Columbus Courts. He had wins
over Don Lyons in the final, 8, 10, 8; Tannehill in the semis,
15, 17, 12; and Evans in the quarters, 7, -20, 13, 19 (can
these scores be right? if so, what kind of hustles going on
here?). Best matches were Lyons over Spencer, 19 in the 5th,
and Tannehill over Radzeli, 24, -19, 18, -18, 18. Womens
went to Cheri Papier over Delores Dee Kennedy, the
Cincinnati Champion.
224

Cheri Papier, Ohio Champion

Photo by Mal Anderson

Michigan State Captain Ralph Stadelman

Photo by Mal Anderson

1967 U.S. Intercollegiate Champion Vic Landau

The March U.S. Intercollegiate

Championships were also played in Columbus. The University of Cincinnati (Barry Rost,
Bert Jacobs, and Mike Sherrick) won the 8-school Team event by defeating, 5-3, both the
Ohio State Defending Champions (led by Captain Ailton Pinto, 15-2) and the runner-up
Michigan State team. MSU was able to clinch their upset over OSU 5-3 when their
Captain, Ralph Stadelman (15-2), played brilliant defense against the all out attack of
penholder Pinto.
Individual honors went to Vic Landau, a mathematics student from City College of
New York, wholl be a USTTA Top 30-ranked player this season. In the final, he beat Lim
Ming Chui from Hong Kong, a 19-year-old engineering student at MIT, winner of both the B
Singles and Doubles at the Jan. New England Championships, whos been in the U.S. only 7
months. In the final, Landaus steady push and chop defense consistently forced Chui into
offense errors. The last game was played in Expedite, but although this would seem to favor
Chui by forcing Landau to exchange offense, Landau demonstrated alert ability to pick-hit the
winning ball.
Vic, the Westchester Closed Champion over Berchin, won the Outstanding Player
Award for his perfect 18-0 individual record in the team event. He later teamed with last
years Singles winner, Barry Rost, to win the Doubles from the University of Daytons Venu
Chari/Chris Tetzlaff (TTT, Apr., 1967, 3).
Its not clear to me when or even where the Pennsylvania Closed was played. It was
scheduled to be played at the Olney Recreation Center in North Philadelphia, but perhaps it
was not, for Id read (see the 1974 Eastern Open Program, 3) that in March, 1967 Marty
Weinstein, father of one of the junior members of the [Philadelphia] Kensington Club, found
another hopefully permanent place to play:
225

This was in Memorial Hall, the huge 1892 exposition site located in Fairmount
Park, near the Zoo. The facility was so much better than that of the Center City T.T.C. that
their club decided to pool with the Kensington club and form a bigger club under the title of
Philadelphia Table Tennis Club. The playing area part of the building was an indoor
concrete tennis court, with room for six tables. There was a 30-feet high ceiling with room
for lights to be put up. There was an adjacent gymnasium in which to hold major
tournaments. With the concrete floor, however, players had tired and sore feet almost all of
the time. This, coupled with the 10:00 P.M. closing time of the building, left a lot to be
desired.
Wherever this Closed was played, there were no big favoritesso, not surprisingly,
there was an interchange of winners in the various events. Results: Mens: Bob Fritsch over
Marty Theil, 25-23 in the 4th. In another exciting match, Bob Patterson 19, 21, 21 edged
Jonathan Ou. Mens Doubles: Bill Sharpe/Theil over Fritsch/Patterson. Class A: Theil over
Sharpe, 19 in the deciding 3rd. A Doubles: Peter Podol/Mike Zukerman over Robinson/Milt
Lederer. B Singles: Herb Vichnin over Robbie Robinson. Seniors: Lederer over Fritsch.
Under 17s: Jeff Hertz over Steve Sheckard. Under 15s: Sheckard over Ellis Alley. Under
13s: Earl Weinstein over Mike Udo.
At the Jan. Hyattsville Winter Open, Barbara Kaminsky won the round-robin Womens
over runner-up Barbara Bohning Hammond whod defeated Yvonne Kronlage. In the Mens,
Marty Doss overpowered Mark Radom in the first two games but then ran into a stone wall
of counter driving which must have so
discomfited him that he was lucky to win the
4th at deuce. George Brathwaite was the
biggest surprise of the tournament. He played
mainly a long defensive game with occasional
quick drives to beat Clark Goldstein, then went
4 in the semis against Doss. As went to
Bobby Cousins over Lenny Klein, whod
eliminated a not aggressive enough Brathwaite.
In developing his game, The Chief had
abandoned his hard bat for sponge and perhaps
even now was having daily counterhitting
practice with his Jamaican friend Val Nicholson
at the U.N. Gradually hed be giving up the
defensive play he was often successful with here
in favor of topspinwould be opening with a
soft forehand or backhand loop and following
up with continuous forehand loops and
backhand loops & counterscontrolled
aggression, as he put it (Table Tennis World,
Jan.-Feb., 1996).
In Dec., Fred Berchin won his 3rd straight
Baltimore tournament. In the final, spectators
were thrilled with his counters against Boggans
From Tim Boggans Winning Table Tennis, 1976, 173
deceptive hit-where-hes-not-looking-flatGeorge The Chief Brathwaite
226

forehands. Leg cramps slowed down Boggan in the third and fourth games and took a little off the
torrid pace of the match. In the semis, Fred defeated Dave Gaskill whod upset Folk. Tim had
advanced with wins over Hazi and Radom.
Other results: Mens Doubles: Boggan/Mitch Silbert over Radom/Folk in the semis
and Hazi/Verta in the final. Womens: Barbara Hammond over Eleanor Pritchett and Julie
Pearson. Mixed Doubles: Hammond/Hammond over Verta/Kathy Silva. Mens As: Lenny
Klein -22, 22, 14 over Bill Sharpe whod -18, 24, 17 survived Marty Theil. Bs: George
Rocker over Bob Berkebile, -18, 24, 18 in the semis and John Teal in the final. Under 17s:
1st: Berkebile . 2nd: Bob Saperstein.
Marty Doss, playing with a pimpled rubber racket, won the State Championship over
Larry Folk. In the semis Marty had had no trouble with Radom, the Baltimore Closed
Champion whod persevered (from down 2-0) to beat Klein 23-21 in the 5th; but Larry was
barely able to beat Bob Kaminsky deuce in the 5th. Mens Doubles in both tournaments went to
Folk/Radomin the Jan. Closed they had to go 5 to beat Dick Davidson/Ben Beverly. The
Womensactually Womens As since Barbara Kaminsky obligingly sat outwas a replay of
the City Closed with Eleanor Pritchett again coming 1st over Julie Pearson. The Kaminskys
were State Mixed Champions; Don Marston/Pearson, the best in Baltimore.
Carl Gundersdorf had a fine State
Carl Gundersdorf
tournamentwon the As over Si Ratner,
and with Merr Trumbore took the A
Doubles. Klein, who in January had to
default the Senior final to Davidson because
of a bad ankle, was on solid enough footing
now to take the State titlebeating both
Verta (19 in the 3rd) and Hazi (deuce in the
3rd). Bob Berkebile won the Under 17 State
title over the Under 15 holder Dan David.
D-J Lee/Violetta Nesukaitis win
1967 Easterns
The Eastern
Open, held Feb. 3-5 at Hempstead, Long Island (17 events, prescheduled matchesthe 16 top players byed as in the Nationals to the
round of 32130 entries in the Mens Singles alone; 600 or more
spectators for the Sunday evening matches) was surely one of the most
successful tournaments in this country in recent years. As expected
(Whos there to beat him?), Dal-Joon Leecoming into each of his put
away shots like a discus thrower giving an all out heavewon the
Mens, beating Howard, Sweeris, and Reisman (whod forgot to bring
his racket, and had to send to New York for it). Lee lost only one
game (the first of their match) to an obviously very satisfied Howard
(What? says Jack, rounding the table as if to shake hands with D-J,
What! We play more than one game?)
In the semis, the repeat Reisman-Doss match was a great
crowd-pleaser. After Marty had lost the 66 Long Island Open to Doss,
Jack Howard--quick to
Reismans self-appointed manager, Bill Marlens, idolizing Marty (a
shake hands
227

phenomenon of a human beinga man of unfathomable potential), insisted he go into training. Said
Bill, I arranged to have him picked up and driven to the gym for a twice a week workout. He ran
track, lifted weights, did some boxing, swimming, went to the steam room. So did all this effort
make a difference?
After winning the 1st game at deuce, Reismancontinually catching Doss off guard
with his long-sleeved, cats paw swipe of a forehandhad a fairly easy time of it until the
middle of the 3rd game. Then Doss begins ballooning the ball back, sometimes 20 feet
high, and Reisman, incongruouslyswinging as if hes chasing butterfliesbegins to net
the ball, to miss. Doss grins. Reisman quips: And to think I was such a great tennis
player.
Still Reisman is playing so well that the score stands 19-17, then 20-17 match point,
thenoh, ohDoss in frustration slaps his hand against his bat, breaking it! Reisman, in a
sporting gesture, offers him hiswell, pretends to. Doss rummages around, comes up with
something he continually looks at like its a piece of junk. ThenmiraculouslyOh. A
point! 20-18! Then another! 20-19! And then 1-2-3 more! Doss, unbelievably, is still in the
match!
Reisman shakes his head. The crowd goes wild. Doss is laughing. Reisman, the better
perhaps to handle that balloon defense, retreats back with manager Marlens who administers
him oxygen. In the 4th game there is one fantastic point. Reisman, comfortably ahead, playfully
bloops one ten feet in the air. Doss sends it back 20 feet up. Reisman (enough of this) snapricochets it towards the gallery. Doss runs, gets under itup, up, up, 35 feet high. Reisman
waits, looks at the gallery, smiles, waits, swings (hah, hah, only foolin, good people, plenty of
time), swings again, catches the ball and drops it neatly over the netonly to have Doss come
charging in from nowhere to blast the ball out of sight. Bravo! Bravo! But, old bat or new, it
was just not to be Dosss tournament.
Nor, likewise, was it to be Pecoras (still not fully recovered from his encephalitis
Editor Rohm said he looked peeked and [was] hitting less than usual. Pecora played
Reisman in the quarters and by match time was an established 8-5 underdog. Reisman lost the
1st at 19 but was
never in trouble
thereafter, once
clowning, on
exchanging sides, by
playing Sir Walter
Raleigh, pretending
to wipe away with
his jacket the
unhappy Pecoras
(How can you lose
to this man? You
stink!) sweat from
the floor, and by
obliging the
audience at break
Photo by Bill Marlens, from TTT, Mar., 1967, 3
time with his
D.J. Lee (R) on his way to beating Marty Reisman in the final of the 1967
cigarette trick.
Eastern Open
228

Rohm wrote that Reismans reactions were good and that physically he seemed to be the
equal of D-J Lee. But Martys old-style game, 60% chop, couldnt possibly stand up to any good
topspin players loops and hits. So should Reisman step up his training? Uh, no. Right now Martys
thinking about his impending divorcemaybe not from Marlens, but from his wife Geri.
Perhaps the most interesting match of the tournament was the quarterfinal one between
Sweeris, Rohms leading proponent of the new-style game, and Miles. Dick had had his hands
full earlier with N.Y.s Jonathan Katzand I dont know which was the more surprising: that
Chief Referee Rufford Harrison didnt see red when Katz played his early matches in what one
wit called red pajama bottoms, or that Jonathan, to the delight of the crowd, then played the
5-game match of his life against Dick. Afterwards, before meeting Dell, Miles disposed of
Ralstonmuch envied backhand or nothree straight.
In the beginning, Sweeris, having perhaps received too much advice about how to play
against a 10-time National Champions famous chop, seems too tense, too cautious.
Moreover, as play progresses, Miless returns begin ticking the net and sometimes
backspinning against the net so that theyre just impossible to return. What can I do? Dick
says to a complaining Sweeris. Its my only chance.
At the start of the 4th game, Sweeris, down 2-1, receives more advice: Hit him in the
middle. And hit he does, ball after ball, to a really spectacular 9-4 lead. Lets go, old timer,
says Miles. But Dells lead is 16-8.Only then, suddenly, its 17-all! Dell again goes ahead 1917 (Thats it! he says.) Then 19-18 (Thats it! mocks Miles). But then Dell runs it out.
At the beginning of the 5th, they shake hands. After the 1st point, Miless foot comes
partially through his dilapidated left sneaker. Huh? Whats this? The end of the match? Or is
Miles to play with one shoe off, one shoe on? Or in his sweat socks? Or in his bare feet? Ah!
Turns out hes got another left shoe in his locker nearby, one thats been giving him a blister.
What the hell, he says, winning the match is worth a toe. But the last game soon becomes
lop-sided. Up 13-5, Sweeris, all confidence now, swings at and misses Dicks serve. No! he
says. Yes! says Miles. Stick in there, baby, yells Sweeris a few points later, mindful of the
lead he blew in the last game. I will! says Miles. But with Dick unable to hit successfully to
keep Dell from playing his by now grooved attacking game, the match goes on inevitably to its
predicted end.
In the Mens Doubles there were two particularly exciting matches. Errol Resek/Vic
Landau over Gusikoff/Ralston, 19 in the 5th. And Harvey Gutman/Jeff Swersky, catching fire,
doubling up for an aggressive one-two forehand/backhand attack, taking the first two, but only
two, from Lee/Sweeris, the eventual winners over Pecora/Blommer.
In the Womens Singles, Leah Neuberger whod straight-game eliminated Barbara
Kaminsky in the semis, pulled a muscle and so couldnt play in the final against Violetta
Nesukaitis, nor in the final of the Mixed with Lee against Sweeris/Stace, down-2-game
survivors of a stubborn Folk/Nesukaitis pairing. Leah, however, with partner Connie, was able
to take the Womens Doubles from Violetta and Barbara. Janice Martin provided the big
surprise in the Womens Singles. She beat Defending Champ Priscilla Hirschkowitz in 4 and
went on to take a game from Nesukaitis. For her fine play she was the recipient of a special
$25 Outstanding Junior Award donated by Reisman. The LITTA then gave their $25
Outstanding Junior Award to John Tannehill.
Other results: Early-round 5-game Mens matches: Berchin over Sharpe; John
Nesukaitis over Hirschkowitz wholl coach and play at your club for a weekend$40 plus
expenses; Lem Kuusk over Kaminsky; Danny Robbins over Boggan; Radom over Harvey
229

Gutman; and Reisman over Kuusk (whose 5-game win at Providence in January over Frank Dwelly
had given him his second straight New England Championship). Womens quarters matches of
note: Kaminsky, 3-0, over Bernice Chotras; Martin 18, 20, 16, 13 over Marianne Szalay whod
ousted Somael, 19 in the 4th.
Mens Bs went to Al Schwartz over Dan Green, 19 in the 4th; Womens Bs to Szalay
over Vija Livins. Mens Consolations: Draw Official Don McGraw over Mal Anderson, 24-22
in the deciding 3rd. Womens Consolations: Shazzi Felstein over Pat Pecora, 19 in the 3rd.
Esquires: Si Ratner over George Gus Sempeles. Seniors: Bill Cross over Nate Stokes, 19
in the 4th. Senior Doubles: Frank Dwelly/Ben Hull over Cross/Stokes. Under 17s: Tannehill
over Danny LeBaron whod been 2-1 down to Howie Schwartz. Under 15s: Tannehill over
Andy Arnold. Under 13s: Janice Martin over Gary Adelman. Wheelchair Singles: Serge
Jelenevsky over Hubert Beckles.
International Team Squad Matches
Of the ITS Matches played at the Easterns, the most talked about one was Pecora vs.
Tannehill. John was ahead 19-15 in the 3rd when Pecora hit a shot out that caught the upright
to the net and 90-degree-angled back in to turn the match completely arounda 6-straightpoints, 21-19 reversal. For the disappointed Tannehill, however, who already conducts himself
like a champion, and who commutes 100 miles on weekends to practice with Lee (the spot, I
understand, is now 10 points), there will be, in the East, in the West, many more memorable
tournaments like this to come.
SELECTED NOTES.
*The name Harvey Meyer would have meant nothing to me were it not for an incident
I witnessed almost 30 years later at the 1995 U.S. Closed in Las Vegas and wrote up for the
USATT magazine then called Table Tennis Today:
64-year-old Harvey Meyer of St. Louis collapsed in the Vegas Convention
Center playing hall, but was kept alive through the quick action of a team of hastily
assembled player-doctors whom Dr. Michael Scott at the Players Party later paid glad
tribute to. (I myself thought the way our Executive V.P. Dr. Jiing Wang was pumping
away astride Meyer, whose eyes looked unblinkingly into nothingness, that he too was
going to have an attack.) Good news I heard next morning from fellow St. Louisian
George Hendry, who, repeatedly in contact with Meyers wife monitored his condition
for us, was that Harvey had awakened to say, quite humanly, Im thirsty. Bad
newsthough this, too, had to be included in a prayer of thankswas that while
somebody had taken care to keep Harveys wallet for him, somebody else had lifted his
table tennis bag containing his glasses and Harvey was quite put out that he couldnt
watch TV (March-April, 1996, 15).
** Dicks story offers Herwald Lawrences New York Broadway Courts as
background and centers on a Department of Defense Table Tennis Exhibition Tour of military
bases in the Far East that Dick takes chess nut Hugo, his partner, on. (The story, in which
Hugo is excessively, quirkily argumentative, is based on a real-life Far East Tour Dick took
with Freddie in 1953.)

230

Chapter Twenty
1967: Canadian Winter Tournaments/
First Canadian Winter Games. 1967: April
Tournaments. 1967: Why the U.S. Cant Be As
Good As Red China.
Before the Canadians left for the World
Championships in Stockholm in early April,
Toronto and Montreal put on a series of winter
tournaments, including the First Canadian
Winter Games. Because he was not yet a
Canadian citizen, the South African immigrant
Derek Wall would not be eligible to participate
in these mid-Feb. Provincial Games, and, as
well see, Ontario would feel his loss.
At the Nov. 19 West End YMCA
Open, Derek won his third straight Canadian
Photo by Mal Anderson
tournament beating Max Marinko in the final
Derek Wall
and, bizarrely, Howie Grossman in the
semis, 10, 6, 3! A month later at the Montreal Championships, held in the N.D.G.
Community Center, he won againin a close match with Guy Germain. And at the end of
January he was the Ontario Closed Mens Champ over Modris Zulps in the semis, and
Marinko in the final.
Since Dereks doing so well, I think Id better give you at least a little background on
him. He grew up, an educated, privileged sportsman, says he started playing table tennis when
he was about 15. I really wanted to turn pro in cricket, he told Jack Marks of the Toronto
Globe and Mail, but there were no pro teams in South Africa. I would have had to go to England
and my parents didnt like that. Along his route to becoming the 1958 South African Table Tennis
Champion, Derek of course learned not only the two official languages of South Africa, English and
Afrikaans (Kitchen Dutchthat is, inferior Dutch), but also a smattering of Swahili, Zulu, and
Xosa.
In 1959, moving from Southern to Northern Rhodesia, he stayed the night at
Tundama. Fell asleep under his white mosquito netting (it was hot, hot, hot) with the door
open and the reading light on. Sometime later he awoke, as in a dream, as if blind to reality.
Yes, he could eerily make out, the light was still on, but why was it so dark? And then he
realized that his white mosquito netting was no longer white but blackswarming with bugs.
As my friend Derek is the kind of person who watched Hitchcocks The Birds with
half a hand over his face, or once came up out of the tube into Trafalgar Square, only to have
the pigeons drive him underground again, you can imagine his horror at the net that was
blanketing him. I have to get out of here! he yelled, and closed-mouth threw open the net
and ran for his psychic life to another room.
In Dar es Salaamthe Heaven of Peace (Why is it called that? Because its the only
place on the East Coast of Africa where there are no sharks inland)Derek coached the
Tanzanian Team. Began by sitting in a chaira throne chair, as it wereand beating all
comers. Oh? I said. Howd they take to that?
231

Listen, he said. I was a table tennis STAR, man. I was always treated very well by the
blacks. If theyd have had too much pride, they wouldnt have played me while I was sitting in a
chair.
After three months in Tanzania Derek moved on for a month to coach the Kenyan
Team, both at Mombasa and Nairobi. After that he was off to Cairo and Tunisia.
In 1960, Derek arrived in London (All the top players knew I was coming). And for
half a dozen years or so he played all over England and the Continent, even representing
England in Singles at the 1963 Prague Worlds. (The English roster in the Prague Program
includes D. Wellwhich former USTTA Historian interpreted as David Wells.)
In 1964, Derek began the first of his two Globetrotter tours with Bergmannthis one
around Europe. Dereks the best exhibition partner I ever had, Derek said Richard said.
Bergmann really won Walls admiration. He was such a perfectionist, said Derek. Hed put
everything he had into our half-time act. Afterwards, sometimes, hed literally be sick, would puke in
the dressing room.
So far, Derek isnt the Canadian National Champion, but, give him time, he will be.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo by Mal Anderson

Quebec Open Winner Larry Lee

Toronto Open Winner Max Marinko

Marinko, meanwhile, though he wasnt winning Doubles with Wall, would keep his #1
ranking in Canada with wins over Martin Ivakitsch (including a 21, -26, 9, 20, 7 thriller at the
Mar. Toronto Open); over Grossman at the Ontario Closed; and, by now having switched his
one-sided-racket-covering from rubber to sponge (no, thats no April-fool joke), over Toronto
Open titleholder Zulps to take the Apr. 1-2 Ontario Open. Providence, however, wasnt
completely on the side of just this one Province. Quebecs Germain came over to Sherbrooke
in mid-Jan. to win the Open Singles from Eddy Schultz and with him the Doubles; and the
following week who turns up at the Sarnia Open but Canadas bespectacled #1, Larry Lee
from British Columbia. Hed been in Montreal, something of a wanted hot property for a
sports-taped show, and on his way to winning at Sarnia can be seen using his signature hand
fan in between matches to try and cool himself off. Later, after his participation in the Winter
Games, the 21-year-old lightning fast Lee, stayed east to win the Quebec Open over Ivakitsch.
232

In addition to taking the two Singles events, Lee also took the two Doubles eventsfirst
with Grossman over Marinko/Wall in 5, then with B.C.s William Yee. Grossman and Ivakitsch,
Howies friend and winning Toronto League teammate (Ken Kerr also played with them), were in
five Doubles finals during this stretch, losing two (the last after being up 2-0) to Zulps and his regular
partner Laimon Eichvald.
As for the Canadian women, of the six
winter-event finals she played in, Violetta
Nesukaitis, who with her father/coach John had
also appeared on Montreal TV (in a show
called The Little People), won four, lost
twoboth to Denise Hunnius, who was also
undefeated in Montreal over Velta Adminis, and
in Sherbrooke over Marie Bouchard.
1967 Canadian Winter Games
The First Canadian
Winter Games, sponsored by
the National Health & Welfare
Department of Canada, was
held Feb. 12-14 at the Centre
From Canadian Table Tennis News, Apr., 1966, Cover
Monseigneur Marcoux in
Violetta and father, John
Quebec City. It drew almost
2,000 participants in 13 sports. Table tennis
Officials for the 11-teams (10 Provinces and the Northwest Territories) that would play a
complete round robin were: Yves Lavoie, the Tournament Chair; Claude Bergeret, the
Governor Delegate; John Hunnius, the Technical Delegate; and Ken Scullion, the Chief
Referee. Three men and three women made up each teamand for both sexes play would
consist of round robin singles (played out regardless of the tie score) and two doubles
matches. Each
member of the 11
Mens teams would
play 30 singles
matches overall;
each member of the
Womens teams 21
matches overall, for
three Provinces
didnt bring any
women players.
In the first
tie of consequence,
Quebec (Germain,
Schultz, Ron
Chapman; Hunnius,
Bouchard, Tweedy)
Quebec Gold Medalists in First Canadian Winter Games, L-R: Guy Germain,
defeated British
Betty Tweedy, Denise Hunnius, Ron Chapman, Marie Bouchard, Eddy Schultz
233

Columbia (Lee, Yee, Tony Simnett; Joy Owens, Nancy Craig, Margaret Yuen) in a match that was
so 6-6 close that for the only time in the tournament a Mixed Doubles play-off was called for. This
was won by (see Jose Tomkins write-up in the CTTA News, Mar., 1967, 3-6), Germain/Hunnius
over Lee/Owens (though, as Tomkins says, Owens, after a four-year lay-off, played very well). This
of course was a huge 7-6 win for Quebec.
In the second and decisive tie, Quebec defeated the favored Ontario team to take the
gold. Highlights were Tweedys win over Adminis, and Germains two straight win over Zulps
(from 16-20 down in the 1st and 11-17 down in the 2nd).
Ontario, with Nesukaitis (21-0) solidifying her position as the only undefeated
singles player in the Games, won the silver from B.C. Zulps (28-2) rebounded to beat Yee
and, in a match of brilliant hitting and counter attacking, gave Lee (29-1) his only loss.
Grossman also beat Yee, and was praised by reporter Tomkins for the coaching he gave
players from lesser provinces before, during and after matches. B.C. was handicapped
because Klaus Katzenmeier was just a couple of months short of being a citizen, and,
according to Simnett, Katz and Larry Lee are the finest players in Canada. Katz uses
inverted on the forehand and pips-out sandwich on the backhand. He is, says Simnett, a
deadly player with tremendous footwork, quick crisp hits on both wings, the best loop in
the country, and a [solid] defence. Margaret Yuen, a 19-year-old penholder from
Vancouver, coached occasionally at the B.C. Chinese club by Lee and Yee, caused a stir
by looping through Violettafor one game.
The #4 finisher, Alberta, had held a mid-Nov. Mid-Western Open at Calgary, where
hometown hopeful Jerry Szulczyk, though down 2-0 in the Mens final to Defending Champ
Hong Mar of Edmonton, had rallied to win in 5. Another title, too, for Jerry: the Doubles with
brother Gene, the CTTA V-P for Alberta. June Smith, Womens Champ over her winning
Ladies Doubles partner Irma Baker, completed her hat-trick by taking the Mixed with Charles
Kish, runner-up in the Novice to Les Ruscinsky.
The Saskatchewan team, headed by its CTTA V-P Eric King, did as well as could be
expected with a 6-4 record. In Nov., C.Y. Chai from Malaysia had successfully defended his
Saskatoon Closed Championship over Leo Larsen whod teamed with King to win the
Doubles.
The Manitoba team, who finished 6th with a 5-5 record, brought their winning Mar.
Open Doubles pair of Bruno Fischer and Hans Hirsch. But it was their Kelvin Slobodian who
caused some consternation [by] returning balls casually well with both hands. When someone
told his opponent to Play to his backhand, the guy answered, Which one?
The Prince Edward Island team, who came with sandpaper bats and without playing shoes,
finished lastthough any finish was a good one for those who had blistered and bleeding feet from
the three days of hard play to which they were not accustomed.
Well pick up the Canadians again at the Worldsbut if you cant wait, you might try
to see their celluloid show:
Denise Hunnius and Jose Tomkins will be seen as two girls playing table
tennis throughout the first Canadian Winter Games in a French National Film Board
Production on the Games. Directed by award-winning Jacques Bobet, the film will be a
55mm colour short at theatres or available through the National Film Board for private
showings (News, Mar., 1967, 16).

234

April Tournaments
Far-away Glenn Cowans first recorded Mens title comes at the Apr. 1st Pasadena
Closedover Mark Adelman, after Mark had stopped Dave Froehlich in the semis in 5. Mark
and Dave won the Doubles, thoughover Glenn/Jess Martinez, Jr. whod been 17, 14, 24, 19, 21 lucky to get by Wil McGruder/Jim Bristol. As anticipated, Heather Angelinetta defeated
Pauline Walker to take the Womens. Mixed went to Dave and Heather over Les Sayre/
Charleen (no longer Fields) Hanson.
And where, later in April, were Froehlich and Angelinetta? Why in Las Vegas of course
for the Open there, sponsored by the Flamingo Hotel. And were the players having fun at the
tables? Yepsome more than others:
The weekend was so crowded that some funny incidents occurred with the
room reservations. Chuck Zsebiks room was somehow given away so he and his wife,
Candy, had to settle for a sumptuous suite with a private swimming pool (at the
confirmed rate of $10 a day). Gene Wilson and Harry McFadden were likewise forced
to change to a suite with 30 living room, 3 television sets, 2 bathrooms, private bar
(TTT, June-July, 1967, 12).
So, though this city hosting the tournament was quite different from the others, the
major event winners wereAngelinetta over Walker in the Womens; Angelinetta/Froehlich
over Billie Bergstrand/Walker in the Mixed; Froehlich/Harry McFadden over Bergstrand/
Adelman in the Doubles; and Froehlichwait, the finals in the 5thDaves got a 5-point
leadbut, no, trying to play safe defense, he cant hold it, loses 21-19 toBergstrand.
Whos Bergstrand? A Swedefrom Uppsala, described as one of Swedens top players since
he was 15 years old. Whats he doing in this country? Hanging out (especially at Ragnar
Fahlstroms Little Sweden smorgasbord restaurant?). Practicing for the Nationals coming up
in three weeks.
That same Apr. 22nd weekend, the St. Louis and St. Charles Closeds were held in
tandem. Gerald Schuster lost
From USTTA Newsletter,
the St. Louis tournament to
Sept., 1961, Cover
Bob Chen but won the St.
Chuck Burns, 1967
Charles one. At St. Charles,
Central Open Winner
too, Jean Varker was a 4event standoutwon the
Womens over Sonia Saale,
the Junior Miss, the Under
13s, and the Mixed with the
areas best Junior, Dave
Ford.
There was no
Topics write-up on the Apr.
3-star Central Openbut
with Chuck Burns beating
John Tannehill for the
Mens title, there sure was
an Age vs. Youth story there.
235

And one that continued into the Mens Doubles where in the final teenagers Tannehill and Danny
LeBaron were poised enough to 20, 20, 18, 18 oust Burns/Sam Veillette. Burns of course was
unbeatable in Seniors play. In Doubles, Chuck and Jim Rushford downed Radzeli/Emery Lippai.
Janice Martin was the Womens winner over Millie Shahian; and with Tannehill the Mixed Champ
tooover Shahian/Jim Lazarus. In both the 17s and 15s Tannehill defeated Pat Cox. A Canadian
pair fought it out in the B Singles with Bela Bill Soros getting the best of Bob Jewell in 5.
No surprises in the New Jersey Closed. Jeff Swersky beat his cousin Harvey Gutman in the
Mens. Ronni Klein won both the Womens (over Helga Johnson) and the Junior Miss (over
Harveys sister Bonnie). Gutman/Swersky took the Doubles from Bill Cross/Dean Johnson. Mixed
Doubles winners were the Gutmans over Norm Schuman/Klein. Cross was better than Nat Stokes
in Seniors. Novice: Eugene Kuznier over Ron Herman. Under 17s: Bob Saperstein over Clay
Steinman. Under 15s: Richard Nochenson over Mitch Sealtiel.
At the Long Island Closed, the Reseks were resolute in pursuit of titles and trophies.
Errol defeated Defending Champion Tim Boggan in 5; and Errols sister Priscilla (no longer
Hirschkowitz) won the Womens, 3-0, from Alice Green, after Alice had eliminated 4-time and
Defending Champ Tybie Sommer, 18 in the 4th. Priscilla/Alice were of course the Womens
Doubles winnersover Eleanor Leonhardt/Joan Hantusch. Errol/Priscilla took the Mixed in 5
from Boggan/Sommer. Errols hat-trick had him winning his 4th Closed event here, the Mens
Doubles with George Brathwaite, from Boggan and Mitch Silbert.
Junior results: Boys Under 17: Don Jaffe over Bill Steinroeder, 24-22 in the 5th in the
semis, and Stan Klein in the final. Under 17 Girls: Sitkoff over Sommer (thats Tybies
daughter, Marilyn). Under 17 Doubles: Jaffe/Steinroeder over Klein/Charles Freund. Under 17
Consolation: Leonhardt over Art Budin. Under 15s: Klein over Freund in 5. Under 15
Consolation: Budin over Don McGraw. Under 13s: Gary Adelman over P. Jaffe. Under 13
Consolations: John McGraw over R. Freund.
By getting into the flow of all these Junior events, the Long Island Association is
working to insure its future. Lets hope that the kids, too, get their awards at the LITTA
seasons-end Dinner because, aside from the festive drinking and dancing at Ginos in Babylon,
this ones gonna show films of the Worlds, and also a 30-minute movie of the 1966 L.I.sponsored Easterns taken and edited by Stan Wishniowski. The kids would not only enjoy the
conviviality, but almost certainly would see shots they could learn from.
It was also a good idea to fete two reporters at this DinnerBob Zellner from
Newsday and Charlie Scheeler of the Long Island Press. Know who else was on Long Island
at the moment? Liz Smith, the syndicated columnist wholl still be active in her 80s come the
new millennium. Shes playing table tennis? No, but while shes doing her book on Jackie
Kennedy shes corresponding with one of the best of playersher friend Ruth Aarons. Liz
wants to get together with Ruth to do a t.t. piecesays shell come back to New York on a
moments notice to see you anytime, anyplace. Glorias, for caviar perhaps? She closes her
June 20th letter to Ruth with Much love, then adds as a P.S., Sports Illustrated will buy!
At the mid-April Maryland Open, Marty Doss defeated Lenny Klein whod upset both
Tibor Hazi, deuce in the 5th, and Fred Berchin, 19 in the 4th. Something weird must have
happened in the Seniors, for red-faced Tibor was bloody merciless in his 3, 4 [sic] rout of
Lenny. Perhaps the Mens play was thought just too brutal for any women to watchso, by
not offering any Womens/Girls events, they thoughtfully spared them any embarrassment?
Mens Doubles went to Berchin and mentor Alan Moran over Brathwaite/Sam Takayama.
The Apr. 1 Central Florida Closed featured mostly Orlando players, while the Apr. 15
236

Florida Open drew mostly Miamians. Ray Mergliano won

the Closed over Paul Soltesz, 19 in the 4th, but Soltesz/Jim
Leggett came through in the 5th to win the Doubles from
Mergliano/Richard McAfee. Last seasons best Women
players played true to form here with #1 Bobbye Zacco
besting #2 Sperry Rademaker. Soltesz took the Seniors
from Paul Jackson who 16 years earlier was the U.S.
Open Over 50 Champ.
The First Annual Florida Open, held in Fort
Lauderdale, drew 120 entries. Lenny Bass avenged his
Closed loss with a -15, 17, -18, 19, 18 win over Marv
Leff. Marv, however, teamed with Tommy Cohen to take
the Doubles from Bass/Peter Rapp. Womens: Sperry
Rademaker downed Caron Leff in the semis, then took
straight-game revenge on Bobbye Zacco whod almost
gone further south in her deuce-in-the-3rd semis against
Loretta Opes.
Like the Long Islanders, the Miamians ought to be
congratulated for fostering Junior play. Boys Under 17:

Photo by Andy Lance

Ray Mergliano

Steve Diamond over

Richard McAfee. Girls
Under 17: Donna Lee Sugg
over Sheila Hainline, 24-22
in the 5th. Under 17
Doubles: Diamond/Scott
Loring over Jerry and John
Quick. Boys Under 15:
Diamond over Chris Sylvan.
Girls Under 15: Hainline
over Vasquez. Boys Under
13: Sylvan over the Quick
brothers. Girls Under 13:
Melinda Storch over
Michelle Lyon.
So who played in
the Seniors here at Fort
Lauderdale? Laszlo Bellak
for one, for to the
accompaniment of many a
grinning spectator enjoying
From TTT, Nov. 15, 1967, 12
the Doubles, he and Dr. Mel
Back: Ray C. Rose, Supervisor Ft. Lauderdale Department of Recreation,
Sylvan took a 2-0 lead, then
flanked by Lenny Bass (L) and Chris Sylvan.
almost toppled the eventual
Front: Melinda Storch and Sheila Hainline.
winners Leff/Cohen in the
th
5 . Laci then absented himself from the Seniorsand his boyhood friend, Sandor Glancz, a player
we hadnt heard of in years, took that title. Dont suppose these former World Champions wanted
237

to pay their way to represent the U.S. at Stockholm,

do you? Actually thats not as far-fetched as it
would seemfor they did pay their own way to the
69 Munich Worlds, and played in the Jubilee Cup to
boot.
U.S. Cant Be As Good As Red China
Of course by far the most significant
absentees from this 1967 Worlds would be the
Red Chinese whod been dominating the Sport.
They were said to be caught up in Chairman Maos
Cultural Revolutionlocked in struggle with the
Red Guards so that some [players, coaches] may
be in detention, informants said. Rumor was that
Chuang Tse-tung had been jailedbut Chinas
TTA Secretary said that Chuang had participated in
Photo by Rufford Harrison
the 67 Games for the New Emerging Forces of Asia
Sandor Glancz
(TTT, Mar., 1967, 7). Think thatll give us a better
chance of rising at least a spot in the Rankings?
Experienced U.S. Team member Bobby Gusikoff had no illusions about U.S. prowess.
He would tell Wall Street Journal reporter Lee Berton in July, 1968 that We wouldnt and
couldnt be as good as the Chinese, no matter what we do here [in the States], unless our
players were willing to sacrifice a normal life to the sport as they do there.
We get a glimpse of that Chinese sacrificea sacrifice one wouldnt always call a
willing onefrom an article I Fought in Red Chinas Sports War in the June, 1967 Readers
Digest (73-78) by Shih Pen-Shan (as told to Lester Velie). As the General Secretary of the
Republic of China TTA acknowledged in a June 15, 1967 letter to our International Chair
Rufford Harrison, Shih was apparently on the Canton table tennis team and fled Mainland
China, arriving in Taiwan in Jan., 1967. Though I dont know if what he says in the following
excerpt is true or not, it does plausibly suggest how China has so many play-for-pay, salaried
professionals, and how they then become the best players in the world:
The first lesson an athlete learns in Red China is that sports are not for fun.
The Canton Physical Cultural Institute[thats the one Shih says he was
drafted into at age 13] turned out to be an unusual schoolmore a military barracks
than a school. We wore uniforms and were tumbled out of bed at 5:30 a.m.
We had academic classes on only two afternoons in the six-day school week.
And even these classes, as in the military, were given over to tactical problems. The 16
boys and girls in my table tennis program used geometry to figure the most effective
angles of arm to table, or paddle to table, at which a ball could be hit with most force
or spin.
Our training was divided into two areas, physical and idelogical. The physical I
can only describe as Chinese torture. The Chinese know that in table tennis it isnt only
the wrist that counts, but the upper legs and lower back. To build stamina we began
where athletes of other countries leave off. After running miles over hilly country or
swimming dozens of laps in the pool, wed tie sausage-like sandbags around our calves and
238

thighs and run in place until tears of agony rolled down our cheeks. Or wed use an iron
paddle ten times the weight of the ordinary one, and stroke the ball until our wrists and
forearms swelled.
But it was the exercises for sharpening our reflexes tocope with the lightning
pace of the modern gamethat the torture pressed against the borders of human
endurance.The coach would stand beside a lamp that flashed signals in five colors.
Wed run forward at top speed at the green, backward at blue; stop dead at red; hop
sideways to the left at yellow, right at white. Woe to the sluggard who didnt respond
fast enough. For punishment, hed continue starting and stopping like a puppet at the
end of a string, untillike a puppethe would fall in a heap to the floor.
[The] communist cadre played an even more important role in our lives than
the coaches. For while the latter had charge of our bodies, the cadre [who wanted us to
be automatons] had charge of our minds. Your primary purpose, he would say, is to
serve the political aims of the state. [That meant the capitalistic, property-owning
Americans and Japanese were money-making, greedy imperialists in conflict with the
noble Chinese workers who do not look to possess capital or property.]
Mao Tse-tung himself was the source of the ideological instruction.
[Power comes from the barrel of a gunthat was one of his oft quoted
sayings, no doubt proven when Chiang Kai-shek fled the Mainland in 1949.]
Since Mao held that in war all thoughts of self must be suppressed, we [table
tennis players] were allowed no private lives. We trained in the greatest
secrecy.When we visited our families on Sundays, we were warned not to discuss
our work. And when we returned [to school]we would be questioned. Where had
we been? What vehicles did we take and over what route? Whom did we talk to?
I was subjected to other parts of the ideological preparationthe training
in obedience, for instance. In a match with Indonesia, which China was wooing
politically, the cadre told me to let an opponent win some games. Spectators familiar
with my play knew I was throwing games, and shouted insults at me. But I had to
swallow my humiliationI was merely a tool of state policy.
Everywhere we went, we had to study Maos works right through the very
morning of the day on which our matches were played. Id be sick with shame when I
had to go through this idiocy.
When the Chinese table-tennis team won the [1965] world
championshipthe players startled the audience with the deadpan explanation that
Mao had done it. It wasnt because of our better playing, but because we held high the
banner of Maos thought.
[This iron rigidity was going on even before the Red Guards went amuck in
Maos name. So dont expect the hard line against the U.S. by such sports enforcers to
disappear quickly. The purpose of sport, they said,] is to promote peoples unity
against imperialism and to give impetus to the forces of revolution struggling against
U.S.-led lackeys.
Sowho could think otherwise?its surely all to the good that the U.S. Team wont
be playing against, or having anything to do with, Red China.

239

Chapter Twenty-One
1967: World Championships: Swaythling
Cup, Corbillon Cup, Singles and Doubles Play.
The 1967 World Championships were
staged Apr. 11-21 at Johanneshovs Ice Stadium,
Stockholm, with Schildkrot balls pluckily flying
back and forth over 18 Stiga tables. In Stage 1 of
Swaythling Cup play (41 teams), the U.S opened
against an Iranian team that had beaten us at the
65 Ljubljana Worlds. Right off, this was a very
crucial tie, for which Captain Schiff decided to
play Klein, Sweeris, and Pecora, whod taken the
Touring Bukiets place on the Teamand in a
smart to our pride we lost 5-4. It wasnt the
veteran Iranian #2, Amir Ehteshanzadeh, who hurt
us, but their #1 Houshang Bozorgzadeh and

especially their #4 Mohsen Eslami. It was

also the disproportionate number of close
games we couldnt win. Houshang beat
Klein 24-22 and 22-20; beat Sweeris 2119, 23-21; even beat Pecora 23-21 the 1st
game before losing the next two badly. And
though Danny was our mainstay, losing
only the one match to Ehteshanzadeh, he
was beaten that 1st game with Amir 22-20.
Eslami stopped Sweeris 18 in the 3rd, and
in the climactic 9th match, after the U.S.
had led 4-2, he beat Klein 19, -17, 19.
Bummer.
Photo by Mal Anderson
The Stage 1 ties that we continued to
Houshang Bozorgzadeh
play were of little interest. We were clearly
superior to Luxemburg (5-1) and hapless Turkey (5-0). But, despite Schiffs quote in the Apr.
9 New York Times that we have a pretty good chance of beating them [thats Russia], we of
course had no chance against themPecora, Gusikoff, Klein couldnt take even a game from
the overpowering threesome of Stanislav Gomozkov (gmasKOV), Sarkis Sarkhojan, and
Anatoly Amelin (aMAYlin). This meant that, having come 3rd in Stage 1, in Stage 2 we werent
eligible to contest among the top 8 teams, werent eligible to contest even among the secondtier 9 through 16 teams (Iran, without another win, would finish 16th).
Best we could do, if we won our remaining three ties, was 17th. We began by downing
Indonesia 5-2, but it was much more of a fight than one might assume from the score. Miles,
playing his only tie, struggled: he beat Soewindo in 3 after losing the 1st; beat Purnomo 18,
240

20, 21; lost to Susanto 19, -20. Pecora likewise struggled: he 17, 21, 13 rallied to beat
Susanto; lost to Purnomo 17, -18, -23. Sweeris had work to do too: beat Purnomo 19, 17;
beat Soewindo in 3 after losing the 1st at deuce.
Israel was weak: we zipped them 5-0though Pecora played deuce games with two
opponents, and Sweeris stopped Yosef Yeshua with a 26-24 1st game. Against Finland, Klein,
Pecora, and Sweeris all took turns losing a match; but with Erwin winning in the 3rd, Danny
taking two straight-game matches, and Dell coming through in the clutchover Langstedt 15,
22 and Elsinen 16, 21, 15we advanced a 5-3 winner.
For 17th place, then, we played Indiaand lost 5-3. Gusikoff split his matchesbeat
Monty Merchant, whom well see later running a club in the States; lost to Farokh Khodaiji,
dropping the 1st at deuce. Sweeris, though twice failing to win the 1st game, came back to beat
Merchant and Gudalore Jagannath, then faltered badly against Khodaiji. Pecora, whose record
was 9-5 going into this tie, just couldnt get another winlost to all three Indians, including a
taut deuce-in-the-3rd try against Jagannath.
So we finished 18thwith Rufford Harrison and Sol Schiff both pretty much reflecting
on the same, though perhaps not perfectly understood, page. Rufford, whod put in a bid for
the U.S. to hold the 1975 Worlds, concluded:
We should select new, young teams who will learn not only new techniques
but also discipline and respect. For it is a complete lack of these characters in some of
our players that prevents all of them from succeeding.
Discipline and respect. Why is that so many of our best young players have had in the
past and will have in the future problems with discipline and respect? I suggest that there are
various ways for individualsand table tennis is an individual sportto discipline themselves,
and that some of these ways may be freely at odds with methods coaches and officials want to
impose. Respect of course has to be earned.
Captain Schiff later complained that Miles and Klein were not team-supportive and
ought to be kept off all future U.S. teams, but admitted that when players had to pay their own
expenses it was hard to get full cooperation. In his Report, Sol,
acknowledging that we were far behind many other countries,
stressed the need for promising young players to represent us.
Gusikoff, Pecora, and Sweeris were possible future U.S. Team
Captains. He said he didnt think most of our U.S. coaches,
certified or not, could teach table tennis as its played among toplevel players, and suggested, as did Harrison, that outstanding
players from Europe or Japan be brought to the U.S. as coaches.
Sol also urged anew the idea that our best players be funded to
play in tournaments in various sections of the country, for
otherwise local champions, lacking stiffer competition, will
remain only local champions.
With regard to that old USTTA bugaboo, gambling, Schiff
apparently had mixed feelings. I personally do not see anything
wrong with gambling, but neither do I condone it. Though its
a form of amusement engaged in not only by our players, but by
outstanding players all over the world, Sol, as U.S. Team
U.S. Team Captain Sol Schiff
241

Captain (and perhaps future U.S. Team Captain?) assumes he has to take a stand against it.
This gambling problem, he says, should be looked into by the ITTF. He sharply criticizes
Alex Ehrlich, an aficionado of the Sport for 30 years, once a great and still a popular player,
and a longtime friend of Miles, Reisman, and Cartland. Its Ehrlich, Schiff says, who invariably
initiates bets here, there, and everywhere. Swedish newspapers mentioned Miles and Reisman
by name as gambling, so Sol chastises them even though theyve been discreet and havent
shown any money changing hands. He says, with a practice-room wink as it were, I would
not have minded this [gambling] so much except for the fact that our players lost, even though
they were given handicaps of from 6 to 8 points a game.
In Stage 1, Canada was in 6-team Group 3, and had only one win (5-0) over Palestine
(Gaza). They were blitzed by the 1-2 teams of Sweden and Denmark; saw Larry Lee, with
wins over Bert Schoofs and Dutch National Champ Bert Van der Helm, resist the Netherlands
2-5 (the same score by which Canada had lost a pre-Worlds warm-up match to them in
Amsterdam); and, with Guy Germain unable to score a win, lost a 5-4 toughie to Scotland.
In Stage 2, though they were beaten 5-0 by New Zealand whogo figurejust snuck
by Luxemburg 5-4 (a team the U.S. dispensed with 5-1), Canada did come 2nd via a three-way
play-off: they accumulated a 9-7 record with a 4-5 loss to Ghana but a 5-2 win over
Luxemburg who, after defeating Ghana 5-1, came up just short with a 7-6 record. Though
losing to Emmanuel Quaye, the Ghana Champion whod toured with Richard Bergmann,
Ivakitsch and Zulps won two matches each, but poor Germain just could not come out on top
in any super-close match: after winning the 1st game from Sam Hammond wholl later for a
time be living and playing in the U.S., he lost the next two deuce and deuce; lost to Quaye 19
in the 3rd; lost to Allotey 19 in the 3rd.
Canada was scheduled to play Scotland again, but this last tie was canceled and
Scotland, because of its earlier 5-4 win over Canada, was placed 27th, Canada 28th.
The eight teams vying for the Championship were divided into two round robin
groups. In Group 1-A were Japan, the USSR, Yugoslavia and West Germany whod knocked
out the seeded Romanians 5-3 when, in swing matches, Martin Ness, after losing the 1st game
23-21, gave Dorin Giurgiuca his only loss in Cup play, and Erich Arndt beat Radu Negulescu,
19 in the 3rd. In Group 1-B were North Korea, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and England whod
5-2 advanced over Hungary when only Janos Borzsei could muster up wins.
The Group 1-A favorite to get to the final was Japan, and they didwinning 5-0 over
the Yugoslavs, 5-1 over the West Germans, and 5-3 over the Russians. Gomozkov did his best:
straight-game stopped Hajime Kagimoto and Mitsuru Kohno, and 19-in-the-3rd just missed
nailing Nobuhiko Hasegawa; Sarkhajan downed Kagimoto, and 18-in-the-3rd threatened
Hasegawa; Amelin didnt win a match, but he was scrappylost a 22-20 final game to
Hasegawa, and lost to Kagimoto after being 1-up and at 22-all in the 2nd.
The Group 1-B favorite in Stage 2 to get to the final was North Korea, and they did
winning 5-0 over the Czechs, 5-1 over the English, and 5-1 over the Swedes who surely hoped
to do better than having to near miraculously 5-4 prevail over the Czechs to finish 2nd. Our
ITTF Delegate, Rufford Harrison, tells us that after Hans Alser had lost to Rotislav Stepanek
and then to current English Open Champion Jaroslav Stanek deuce in the 3rd, and Karl-Johan
Bernhardt had lost his two, it was Kjell Johannson whod kept Swedens hopes alive by
trouncing Miko and downing a stubborn Stepanek in 3. In the 7th match, however, with
Sweden behind 4-2, Johansson was down 1-0 and 20-15 match point to Stanekthen rallied
to win the game 23-21 and the match. Whereupon Alser, after losing the 1st to Miko, also
242

rallied; and Bernhardt beat

Stepanek in the 3rd. Some
comeback, huh? Sweden
would then defeat West
Germany 5-2 for 3rd place,
and at tourneys end
Johansson would receive the
newly-formed Swaythling
Clubs Fair-Play Player
Award (his prize: a Polaroid
color camera).
The Japan-North
Korea final was won by Japan
5-3. Hasegawa (16-1) and
Kohno (10-3) were beaten by
Kim Chang Ho (15-1);
Kagimoto (14-3) by Jung
Swedens Spectacular Kjell Johansson
Ryang Woong (10-1).
Canadian ITTF Delegate
Marge Walden reported that, with the tie tied at 3-all, Hasegawa controlled his game with
[Pak] Sin Il with flashy attacking and counter offensive play, thus making the North Korean
World #11 the more ill, for it was his third loss to the Japanese in this final tie. Kagimoto
clinched the Championship for Japan by besting Kim whod been undefeated until this very last
match.
The Swaythling Cup had been donated by Lady Swaythling,
ITTF Founder/President Ivor Montagus mother, and here to
present the Cup to the
winners was Ivor himself,
retiring now after 40 years
in office,* to be succeeded
by Welshman H. Roy Evans,
winner of a close ITTF
election over Swedens Ake
Eldh.
From 1967 Stockholm
Worlds Program

Photographers glued instantly to her

Corbillon Cup Play

Swedens Ake Eldh
The U.S. began its
Corbillon Cup play (28 teams) against New
Zealandand Connie Sweeris started us off right
by easily beating Yvonne Fogarty. Since Leah
Neuberger had told Captain Schiff she only
wanted to play doubles, that put Brooke Williams
up against the New Zealand Champ Neti Traill.
Glamorous Brooke (photographers glued
instantly to her) had been in Europe for two
months now, enjoying the training of Jack
243

Carrington, and being quite noticeably the only American to have played in this years English
Open. There, before losing to European Champion Maria Alexandru, she defeated the
Australian #1 Joan Lane. Here in this opening New Zealand tie against Traill, Brooke lost 2-0
but made a 24-22 fight of it in the 2nd. It would seem Sweeris/Neuberger had a good chance to
beat Traill/Fogarty, but they went down two straight. And Connie also lost her singles to Traill
2-0, though at 19 in the 2nd.
Ah, the U.S. vs. Japanthat would be fun? Well, anyway, an experience. Brooke got 1
and 5, the U.S. pair in the doubles 7 and 8, which is just what Connie scored in her tie-ending
singles. From the sublime to the ridiculousagainst Norway, all was over with very quickly;
Brookes opponent got 6 and 7.
At least the American women would be matching the American men. In the round
robin for Groups placing 3rd, they, too, were undefeatedindeed, went the men one better:
didnt lose a match (though Connie was extended to 19 in the 3rd by Luxemburgs Nicole
Reinert). But then they dropped a 3-0 tie to Cambodia. (Bhopa Rattanak, the Cambodian #1
whod had a win over the Swedish #2, Eva Johansson, beat Brooke 5, 7). Thus our women
finished exactly where the men did, 18th.
What could Schiff say? Nothing bad about Connie or Brooke. He did hear,
however, that Leah had confided to the Canadians that if shed have played more singles
(she did play and win two handily) we would have finished better than 18th. In Sols
judgment, Leah wouldnt have won a single match Connie or Brooke lost (the choices
being Traill, Rattanak, or Cambodias Sok Cheng Tan who beat not only Connie but
Violetta Nesukaitis 8, 12). Schiff laments rightly that Womens table tennis in the U.S. is
in a deplorable state. Much time and effort, he says, must be spent to bring up the level
of womens play almost to the level of mens playfor the Chinese, Japanese, and
Russian women are perhaps good enough now to be able to win the U.S. Mens
Championship. As in other countries, our men must do something that Sol says in all his
years hes never seen them dopractice with our women.
Stage 1 saw West Germany and Poland zero in on Canada. Stage 2 brought more of
the same from Cambodia and Denmark (Nesukaitis lost to Else Hansen deuce in the 3rd). But
the Canadians did beat the Swiss 3-1. And they did secure 21st place with a 3-2 win over
Luxemburg when Nesukaitis won two and Denise Hunnius/Nesukaitis beat Reinert/Liett
Wivines.
In Stage 1 play no seeded team was challenged. In Stage 2 Group 1-A play, Japan
dropped only one matchwhen Marta Luzova of the #2 finishing team, Czechoslovakia,
beat current Japanese National Champion Noriko Yamanaka deuce in the 3rd. In Group 1B play, Hungary, the USSR, and Romania all beat West Germany. But then a 3-way tie
developed: Hungary edged the USSR 3-2 (Eva Koczian won two; Erzsebet Jurik beat
Zoya Rudnova in the 5th match 19, 20, 16); Romania beat Hungary 3-1, but lost to the
Soviets 0-3 (Svetlana Grinberg won a narrow victory, was down 1-0 and at 22-all with
Alexandru). Therefore given the tie-breaking tallyUSSR 5-3, Hungary 4-5, and
Romania 3-4the Soviets advanced.
The Championship was won by Japan, 3-0: Yamanaka over Rudnova, 17, 20; Naoko
Fukazu (the only woman undefeated in Cup play) over Grinberg, 18, 17; and Yamanaka/
Fukazu over Rudnova/Laima Balajshite 20, 19, 14. Word has it that not only their famous
Captain/Coach Ogimura will retire, but so will Yamanaka and Fukazuto get married and
lead a normal life.
244

Mens Singles Play

From The Table Tennis
Miles was in Kjell Johanssons
Report, Dec., 1970, 57
quarter, and, after one easy match and
Russias
a series of fortuitous byes, was
Stanislav Gomozkov
scheduled to play him in the round of
32. Only, surprise, much to the dismay
of his myriad fans, the Swede had been
beaten in the round before, 3-0, by
Gomozkov. This Russian with the
much admired backhand then started in
on Miles: 21-1521-9.But now a
strange thing happenedDick won a
gameand, from 22-all, another!
O.K., so Dick didnt win the 5th, but for
a moment he sure reminded people that
20 years earlier he must have been
quite a player. Actually, he wasnt that
terrible nowthe Indonesian, Loka
Purnomo, whod lose to Kohno, but
whod reached these 16ths with a down
2-0 comeback over the #2 German,
Martin Ness, had been beaten in the Teams by Miles.
Klein, too, was in this quarter, and he too, with a straight-game win over an Israeli and
a 19-in-the-5th squeaker over Swedens Rolf Andersson, made the round of 32 before losing 3zip to the East German #1 Siegfried Lemke. No disgrace in that though, for at the recent
Austrian Open Lemke, with his steady defense and sudden, explosive kill, had beaten
Johansson, Czech Champ Kollarovitz, and had forced the winner Miko into the 5th. Canadas
Zulps, in Kleins 8ths section, fell to Russias David Brodsky who then went down to North
Koreas Pak Sin Il.
In the companion side of this half of the Draw, Pecora lost his gritty opener, 17, -17, 14, 23, -16, to Swedens Jorgen Rosberg whom Miko had to go 5 with before he advanced
over Balkan Games Champ Guirgiuca. Canadas Germain, meanwhile, did it againcouldnt
win, not with a 2-up lead; he lost to New Zealand Closed finalist Murray Dunn. Gusikoff had
no trouble with the French Cup player Jacques Gambier, but was beaten easily by Swedes
Johansson. Thats Jan Johansson who was quickly eliminated by Jung Ryang Woong. The
North Korean was then upset, deuce in the 4th, by Indias Khodaiji who was no match for
Sarkis Sarkhojan, 5-game advancer over Yugoslavias Anton Stipancic. Koji Kimura also
reached the round of 16 with a 4-game win over Englands Denis Neale.
The top part of the other side of the Draw saw former U.S. star Norbert Van de Walle
open with a win over Yugoslavias Zlatko Cordas (wholl later play in the U.S., coach for
Canada, and still later be the ITTF Competition Manager). Van de Walle then moved on
through three more opponents, including North Koreas Keng Neung Hwa, before losing to
Ebby Schoeler. Norby had gotten to show the fast loop hed acquired since leaving the States
when the U.S. Team, just off the plane, had squeezed in a Practice Match with the Belgium
Team on Apr. 7th in Herentals. Friendly score: Belgium 6U.S. 1 (Sweeris beat Norby, Norby
beat Miles).
245

Sweeris opened with an 18-in-the-4th win over Luxemburgs Fernand Boden, whom
Gusikoff and Pecora had beaten in straight games in the Teams, then was outclassed by
Japans Kagimoto, a later 20, 20, -20, 17, -17 loser to the Romanian Negulescu. Larry Lee,
who in Canadas team tie with Scotland had lost the 9th match to Malcolm Sugden, lost to him
again, after which the Scot went down to Kim Chang Ho, another last-16 advancer.
Yugoslavias Edward Vecko upset Stanek, -15, 18, 23, -17, 19, but then fell himself in 5 to
Russias Amelin.
In the companion side of this half of the Draw, Canadas Martin Ivakitsch beat a
Welshman, then lost to Georgly Streinikov. This Russians advance was immediately stopped
by Yugoslavias Istvan Korpa who also ousted, to more local fans disappointment, Hans Alser,
the current Swedish Closed Champion (over Johansson). With both of the top Swedes out
early, attendance fell off considerably (Schiff felt that not only was the country cold, the people
were too). Fortunately for the organizers, a British insurance company would have to bear
the estimated loss of $18,676.
Back in December in the Bangkok Asian Games, Iranian-cum-American Bozorgzadeh
reached the semis; here, though up 2-0, he was eliminated by Japans Kenji Kasai who went
on to 16, 18, 20, -20, 18 outlast West Germanys Erich Arndt.
Canadas Derek Wall went down docilely in his 1st match to New Zealands non-Cup
player Terrence OCarroll. Reisman (the only competitor to play in trousers, only one to wear
a turtle-neck shirt) eased out Ecuadors Gerardo Briceno, then was eliminated 13, 20, 19 by
Romanias chopper, Gheorghe Cobirzan. Japanese National Champion Hasegawa reached the
last 16, downing Englands #1 Chester Barnes and everyone else in straight games. As Rufford
Harrison said in his Topics write-up (see June-July, 1967, 3), Hasegawa is quite something:
He hits in mid-air, off the wrong foot, or off no foot at all, from the wrong
side of the table, while running, and with a crazy gripand he makes it all look
natural. That grip has the forefinger down
the center of the blade, so that only the tip
of the blade is available for a backhand
strike [not true: see accompanying
photo].Yet if Hasegawa ever hit the ball
with that finger, no one ever saw it.
Although
none of the U.S.
and Canadian
players reached
the eighths, well
give them the
TTT, Aug.-Sept., 1967, 12
courtesy of
Hasegawas Grip
noting how they
did in the Consolation event. Unless of course
they didnt deign to play in it. Which segue brings
me tothe Consolations for the Canadians:
Zulps was beaten in the quarters by the eventual
runner-up Susanto of Indonesia; Germain lost to
246

From Tim Boggans Winning Table Tennis (1976), 151

Japans 1967 World Champion

Nobuhiko Hasegawa

Swedens Halvarsson; Lee eliminated Antal of Switzerland, then was ousted by the eventual
winner, Chhor Nam Yang of Cambodia. In Jubilee Cup play, Schiff lost in the semis to
Andreadis, runner-up to Laszlo Foldi.
The only matches in the 8ths that were 5-game contested were Kohno over Gomozkov,
and Miko over Beleznai. In the quarters, Kohno and Hasegawa werent pressed, but the other
Japanese, Kimura, had to go 5 to best Miko. Perhaps it
wasnt possible for Schoeler to match the quarters hed
had in the 65 Worlds when he finally beat Chinas Chang
Shi-lin 27-25 in the 5th, but you gotta give him credit,
extra credit, for trying. His comeback here against Kim
Chang Ho, who at last summers Chinese Invitational in
Peking had gone 19 in the 5th with Li Fu-jung, was 20, 18, 19, 15, 21 sensational. How
justifiably right it was for him before
he came to Stockholm to have been
awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf, the
highest honor that his country can
Photo by Dagens
bestow on a sportsman. As Harrison
Nyheter, from TTT,
says, he is amazing:
June-July, 1967, 6
North Koreas
Kim Chang Ho
His [defensive]
style is unique. He chops with
short strokes starting about
TTT, June-July, 1967, 8
waist high and never dipping
West Germanys
below the knee except to
Ebby Schoeler
return loops. His returns are
not particularly low and he scores most of his points by varying the spin greatly while
using what appears to be the same stroke. His racket is hard rubber (backhand side)
and inverted sponge (forehand). Schoelers secret to fameis his footwork. In order
to chop everything waist high and achieve the deception he needs to score, Schoeler
moves around very quickly with great anticipation so that he is never out of position.
Even the hardest smash finds Schoeler waiting for it 20 to 30 feet back. In fact, he had
been waiting for it so long that very few realized he had made a great effort to get to
it (TTT, June-July, 1967, 8).

An all-Japanese final was set up, however, when Hasegawa 20, 14, 9 defeated Schoeler
(the scores suggesting that the tired German, forced to play this semis immediately after his
marathon quarters, had nothing more to give), and Kohno took a key 19 3rd game that helped
him to a win in 4 over Kimura. Although Hasegawa lost 21-19 and 22-20 games to Kohno, he
outscored him by more than 20 points in the 5-game match and so was a deserving winner.
Womens Singles Play
In the top half of the Womens Draw, Canadas Hunnius was beaten in her opener, 3-0,
by East Germanys Elke Richter who, in advancing to the quarters, would upset Balajshite,
the Russian National titleholder wholl soon be Amelins wife. Defending World Champion
Fukazu of course was much too strong for Richter or the expected-to-call-it-quits Di Rowe247

Schoeler. Brooke Williams lost her opener in 4 to Swedens 1966 #1-ranked Junior Girl,
Birgitta Wiktorsson; Birgitta, however, could go no further because of Englands #1, Mary
Shannon-Wright, advancer to the last 8 in 5 over Polands Czeslawa Noworyta. Canadas
Adminis, as a reward for eliminating a Finn, got to play Hungarys 1961 World Finalist Eva
Koczian, and was probably content with 23 points total. Koczian wasnt content though, for
she was stopped by Russias Rudnova. Leah Neuberger had played some pretty good matches
against the Japanese in her timebut not this time; Saeko Hirota drubbed her 7, 11, 14. But
Hirota could not advance to the quarters eitherbeing up 2-1 on Alexandru wasnt enough.
In the bottom half of the Draw, Nesukaitis lost her opener, 3-0, to Russias Rita
Pogosova who was beaten by Polands Szmit-Calinska who was beaten by Japans Sachiko
Morisawa 6, 12, 10. Grinberg was upset in 5 by Eleonara Mihalca, but the Romanian couldnt
capitalize on her winshe fell to East German Champ Gabriele Geissler. Against Eva
Johansson, Connie Sweeris, down 2-0, fought back, but got off to a bad start in the 5th and
couldnt recover. Naturally the Swede didnt hope to beat the Czech seed Marta Luzova, and
though maybe Agnes Simon did, she didnt. Yamanaka advanced without giving up 15 points
in any one game.
All of which, before the quarters begin, brings me to the Consolation event. Brooke
beat New Zealands Fogarty; lost to Swedens recent Closed finalist Lena Rundstrom. Connie
beat Swedens Anna-Karin Widen; lost to Nesukaitis 18, -4 [sic]. Earlier Violetta had beaten
Australias Lyn Gilbert; afterwards she lost to semifinalist Annemarie Wijnants, the 1966
Netherlands Champ, 19 in the 3rd. Polands Miro Lisowska was the winner over Joan Lane,
whom our Brooke had beaten at the English Open.
Three of the four quarters paired Asians vs. Europeans. Who do you think won? The
Japaneseall in straight games. In a match Harrison picked for best spectator appeal penhold
hitter Rudnova beat chopper Alexandru, 3-0. But then Rudnova too was trouncedby
Defending Champ Fukazu. Morisawa lost the 3rd game 23-21 to Yamanaka, but 21-6 bounded
back, and also took the 5th. After the final, Fukazu was no longer the current World Champ
Morisawa, victorious in 4, had not even played for Japan in the Cup!
Mens Doubles
Bravos to Sweeris/Pecora for -17, -32 [sic], 11, 16, 15 turning their opening match
around against the Finns Pentilla/Langstedt. Faced, however, with the North Koreans Pak and
Kim, they could only succumb. Cordas/Arndt got by Schoeler/Ness in 5, but then up 2-1 and
at 22-all in the 4th against Barnes/Neale, they couldnt finish. Nor could the Koreans, for in a
13, 17, -20, 15, 21 melee of a match the English advanced by them to the quarters. Lee/
Germain beat a Moroccan pair, then falteredat 1-1 dropping a pivotal deuce 3rd game in a
loss to Stellan Bengtsson/Mikael Svensson. The Swedes were then clobbered by Gomozkov/
Amelin. Also advancing to the quarters were the Yugoslavs Korpa/Vecko with a straightgame win over Kagimoto/Satoru Kawahara. Canadas Wall paired with Indias Khodaiji to
stop two Swedes, then were beaten in 4 by Sarkhojan/Brodsky who couldnt take down Miko/
Stanek.
In the other half of the Draw, Alser/Johansson were being hammered in their first
match by Kimura/Kasai, but rallied from down 2-0 to win, then advanced easily to the
quarters. After Miles/Gusikoff beat a Welsh team, they were eliminated by the Koreans Jung/
Duk Chi Jun. Reisman/Klein lost their 1st match to Irelands Jim Langan/Tom Caffrey, 13, -17,
22, -17, -19 who then knocked out Bozorgzadeh/Ehteshamzadeh, 3-0, before losing to
248

advancers Lemke/Wolfgang Vater. The East

Germans (from down 2-0) had 26-24-in-the5th barely survived Ian Harrison/Stuart Gibbs
after the Englishmen themselves had been
down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 3rd with
Swedens player/coach Christer Johansson
(Kjells brother) and Bjorne Mellstrom.
Zulps/Ivakitsch went down, down, down to
Yun Sam Kim/Neung Hwa Kang. But neither
these Koreans, nor Yugo duo Surbek/
Stipancic were ready to beat Hasegawa/
Kohno.
A European team was sure to reach the
final, and it was Amelin/Gomozkov3-0
From 1969 Munich Worlds Program, 86
over Barnes/Neale, and 20, 19, 19, -18, 20
1964 European Doubles Champs Miko and Stanek
over the 1964 European Champions Stanek/
Miko. Then an all-European final was assured when Alser/Johansson (playing quite a bit of
topspin defense) shook off Hasegawa/Kohno, 19 in the 4th. As Rufford Harrison pointed out, it
would be the first World Championship title for either country, and the tension led to erratic
play that saw leads made and destroyed in bewildering succession. In the end, the Swedes
eked it out, deuce in the 5thand the Swedish crowd, naturally biased, blasted off the roof.
Womens Doubles
Sweeris/Neuberger opened with a win over an Indonesian team, then were -9, -14, -7
destroyed by the Russians, Balajshite/Signe May Pajsarv, who advanced to the quarters.
Canadas Adminis paired with Australias Denise Gavros and were eliminated 3, 11, 12 by a
Bulgarian team that 8, 13, 14 was powerless against top seeds Yamanaka/Fukazu. Also in the
top half of the Draw, the underdog Yugoslavs Cirila Pirc/Radmila Stojsic advanced to the last
8, as would Hungarys Koczian/Erzsebet Jurik.
Nesukaitis/Hunnius didnt win their opener, but they made a respectable 18-in-the-4th
showing against two unheralded Swedes. Advancing were the powerful Rudnova/Grinberg
pair, along with the English team of Mary Wright/Karenza Smith. Brooke Williams, partnered
by East German defender Richter, had to have played very well, else the two could not
possibly have put up the 20, -19, 15, -18 fight they did against the USSRs Pogosova/
Evdokija Golubkova. Advancing over the Russians, however, was the West German team of
Agnes Simon/Edit Bucholz.
The #1 seeds, Fukazu/Yamanaka, reached the final by eliminating, first, the Balajshite
team, beating them in the 4th, 21-6; then the Koczian team, beating them in the 4th, 21-8. The
#2 seeds, Morisawa/Hirota, bested Grinberg/Rudnova in a fierce 19 in the 5th struggle that
enabled them to take on their teammates in the final. And take them, they did, deuce in the 3rd,
in what Harrison called a dull match. Shades of Ann Haydon here in Stockholm 10 years
earlierthis would be the second final Fukazu lost, a third was coming up.
Mixed Doubles
So, with three 67 World titles to her credit, could Morisawa win a 4th? Well seebut
only Rozeanu in 53 had done it.
249

In the top half of the Mixed Draw, Pecora/Williams, down 2-1 to the Finns Pentilla/
Keva, won in 5, then lost a 20, -17, -19 competitive match with Englands Barnes/Wright
who couldnt beat Swedens Alser/Eva Johansson who in the quarters couldnt average 14
points against Hasegawa/Yamanaka. Ah, how the mighty have fallenKlein/Neuberger lost
their 1st match in 5 to a Danish team that then kept Morisawas hopes alive until she and
Kohno went down to Amelin/Rudnova. Wall/Hunnius, after being up 2-0, dropped a sourending, 19-in-the-5th opener to a Luxemburg pair who were of course just one more beaten
pair in a section that brought forth Miko/Luzova to lose, from 2-1 up and at 21-all in the 4th,
to Amelin/Rudnova.
In the bottom half of the Draw, Zulps/Adminis beat a Jersey twosome 21, 19, 15
(Jersey, whod finished 36th in the Mens Teams, brought only one woman player), but then
put up -8, -15, -21 commendable resistance against Jozsef Papp/Koczian. The Hungarians fell
to Giurgiuca/Alexandru, semis advancers over the Schoelers. Ivakitsch/Nesukaitis lost their
opening round, -11, -9, -12, to an East German team afterwards a goner, like Sarkhojan/
Pogosova, like Neale/Smith, to Kimura/Fukazu. An all-Japanese final was assured when
Hasegawa/Yamanaka prevailed 23-21 in the 4th over Amelin/Rudnova, and Kimura/Fukazu
gave up only 38 points total to the defenseless Romanian choppers. Thus, having won the
Mens and Womens Teams, the Mens and Womens Singles, the Womens Doubles, the
Japanese, with Hasegawa/Yamanakas 4-game win, added a 6th titlethe Mixedto
reestablish, in the absence of the Chinese, their domination of the Sport.

SELECTED NOTES.
*Ive of course referred to Ivor Montagus influence and
accomplishments elsewhere, particularly at some length in
Vol. I. Now, with Montagus retirement, Rufford Harrison,
writing in the Nov., 1967 issue of Tennis magazine (30)
speaks of Ivors linguistic ability, his tact, his ability to
compromise that helped him to hold the ITTF-member
countries together.
Rufford also has this to say of him:
His college degree was in zoology, and he is still
on the board of the London Zoo. Most of his lifes work,
however, has involved books and films. He is a movie
From 1969 Munich Worlds Program
director in his own right (e.g., The Thirty Nine Steps), and
Ivor Montagu,
he is often referred to in the writings of that industry, such
ITTF President, 1926-67
as Chaplins autobiography. [Note especially Montagus
own With Eisenstein in Hollywood.]
Rufford says, Montagu is well known in international political circles. No doubt. So
well known, in fact, that, as Bob Kaminsky would later point out to me, Nigel West, in his
1999 book Venona, accused Ivor of being a traitorous Soviet spy, code name Nobility.
Whether this charge is true or not, I cant say. But as Montagu was a staff writer for the Daily
Worker, and head of the Great Britain Communist Party, youd think the Brits would have
monitored him rather carefully.
250

Chapter Twenty-Two
1967: EXPO 67
International Invitational. 1967:
Geza Gazdags NYC Vanderbilt
Invitational. 1967: Fukushima/
Martinez Win U.S. Open.
A week after the World
Championships in Stockholm,
Montreal was hosting its World
Exposition known as EXPO
67and on Apr. 29-30 an
International Table Tennis
Tournament was held in the
1500-seat entertainment centre,
Garden of the Stars. Eight
world-class players, each
representing a different country
(necessarily a country
participating at EXPO), played
a complete round robin for
money prizes$450 for 1st, $225 for 2nd, $125 for 3rd.
From Sweden came the 1964/66 European Champion, and now World Doubles
Champion, Kjell Johansson. From Germany, two-time World semifinalist Ebby Schoeler. From
Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jardo (YARdo) Stanek, World #13. From England, their 21year-old National Champion Denis Neale. From South Korea, their ex-National Champion
Lee, Dal-joon. From Japan, 1963 Asian Champion Hiroshi Takashima, accompanied by his
Coach, two-time Tokyo Open Champion Manji Fukushima. From the U.S., after the
brouhaha over his selection, the World Mixed Doubles Champion of a decade ago, Erwin
Klein. And from Canada, their Canton, China-born Champion, Larry Lee, whos attending a
B.C. university on a table tennis scholarship.
USTTA Selection Chair Steve Isaacson
Eberhard
gives us an overview of the play there:
Schoeler
In the absence of South
Korean Lee Dal-joon, who was unable
to obtain a visa, Japanese coach Manji
Fukushima was allowed to play but
unbeknownst to the approximately 400
spectators his matches did not count
although the official announcer
constantly identified him as the
tournament leader.
Final results showed Schoeler,
Takahashi, and Fukushima with
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identical 6-1 records, and since Takahashi had lost fewer games many assumed he was
the winner. However, host John Hunnius explained that since Fukushimas record
didnt count and Schoeler had beaten Takahashi, the German was the champion.
Steve speaks of the confusion in that Montreal Garden, and perhaps understandably
it carries over into Jose Tomkins write-up of the tournamentfor she says, since Fukushimas
record didnt count, Schoeler (who had lost only three single games throughout [was] the
winner by one single game over Takahashi (who had lost four). Actually, the overall gameswon-and-lost records of the three 6-1 match-tied players were as follows: Takahashi 18-4,
Schoeler 19-6, Fukushima 18-6. If the tie were broken using these records, Fukushima
wouldnt have been first, he would have been third. If the tie had been broken, as it would
have been today, using the records of just the three tied players, Schoeler, 4-3, would prevail
over Takashima, 3-3; and Fukushima, 3-4, would be third. So, though Fukushima was being
described as the leader of the tournament, perhaps in the end, as an extra player, he didnt
want to win it. In his last match, he had a straight-game loss to Takashima. Of course, since
Fukushimas record didnt count, the tie was broken as it would be todaywith Schoeler
coming 1st because of his head-to-head win over Takashima.
Tomkins spoke of how the audience was impressed by the extreme physical fitness of
the Asian and European players. Play, she said (see CTTA News, July, 1987, 3-4), mostly
consisted of quick blocking, topspin hitting and counter-attacking, occasional loops and, when
Schoeler was involved, the most controlled defence in the world. The results of the matches
follow:
Schoeler d. Larry Lee, 19, 15, 15; Fukushima d. Johansson (vacationing? noncompetitive?), 7, 15, 13; Takahashi d. Klein, 11, 8, 10; Stanek (from down 2-0) d. Neale, -19,
-19, 16, 16, 19. Tomkins has this to say of these two Europeans:
Neale follows no definite pattern of
practicing, mostly playing games. He trains with the
Middlesborough Football [Soccer] Clubdoing weightlifting, push-ups, etc. Stanekplays three hours of table
tennis five days a week during the season, two hours
concentrated on stroke practice and one hour on games,
this practice following half an hour of exercises,
including skipping and weightlifting with the playing
hand only. He attends training camp for three weeks in
August when all day is spent on physical fitness and one
hour on table tennis.
Takahashi d. Neale, 19, 16, 15; Stanek d. Lee, 14, 20,
13; Fukushima d. Schoeler, 13, -20, 17, 14; Johansson d. Klein, From Table Tennis, Dec., 1962, 21
14, 12, 21.
Englands Denis Neale
Takahashi d. Stanek, 13, 14, 17 (with Stanek retrieving
seemingly impossible shots; Schoeler d. Johansson, 10, -16, 10, 13; Fukushima d. Klein16,
10, 19; Neale, using pimpled sponge, d. Lee, 10, -19, 12, 10. Topics Editor Fred Rohm
commenting on these International players (see June-July, 1967, 7-9) says of Neale

252

his form is very different from the others. Neale stands erect during the
volleystands stiff-legged and shuffles quickly from side to side. He has an excellent
forehand smash which is very deceptive in direction and makes most of his points for
him.
Schoeler d. Neale, 19, 10, 11; Takahashi d. Lee, 10, 10, 15; Neale d. Klein, 10, 20, 19;
Fukushima d. Stanek, -8, 14, 23, 18.
Schoeler d. Takahashi, 14, 15, 10; Johansson d. Lee, 12, 15, -19, 11; Stanek d. Klein,
11, 14, 16; Fukushima d. Lee, 17, 10, 18.
Schoeler d. Klein, 14, 15, 16; Neale (from down 2-0) d. Johansson, -18, -15, 18, 19,
19; Larry Lee (from down 2-0) d. Klein, -20, -18, 15, 19, 18; Fukushima d. Neale, 13, -12, 16,
20.
Stanek d. Johansson, 18. 16, 13, -18, 18; Takahashi d. Johansson, 15, -18, 15, 19;
Schoeler (who didnt think the playing conditions were very good) d. Stanek, 21, 18, -14, -17,
11 (match expedited in the 2nd game). The EXPO 67 Program said that Schoeler, who plays
with sandwich rubber on one side and ordinary pimpled rubber on the other has the fastest
footwork in Europe. Takahashi (with hard backhand smashes) d. Fukushima, 17, 19, 16.
Tomkins said that the Japanese players warm-up looked like a rhythmic exercise. She
described their match as one of continued counter attack, extended thrilling rallies, but
repetitious strokesnot the variety of the Europeans.
Geza Gazdags Vanderbilt Invitational
From Montreal all of these players except Larry Lee and Erwin Klein came to New
York Citywith Schoeler and Johansson first stopping to play an exhibition at Danny Ganzs
Rockville Centre, Long Island Club against Gusikoff, Resek, Boggan, and a few others. The
Long Island paper Newsday (May 13, 1967, 10-12 W) devoted three pages to their reporter
Myron Mike Waldmans George-Plimpton-like preparations for playing (Gotta get rid of the
sandpaper bat, Mike) and his actual play against Schoeler. Ebby was already tired, but in the
next 48 hours was committed to playing more exhibitions with Johansson, and as many
matches in Gazdags International Invitational as he could before hurrying off to catch a plane
in time to play in a tournament in Germany.
Hungarian refugee Geza Gazdag, owner of the Grand Central Terminal tournament
venue, the Vanderbilt Athletic Club in NYC, had ideal conditions for international play, high
lights, large court and plenty of seats (see Rohms write-up in TTT, June-July, 1967, 7-9). D-J
Lee represented, I guess youd say, both South Korea and the U.S. unless you wanted to call
37-year-old Marty Reisman, brought in for local color, the, well, North American continental
representative. And I dont think youd want to do that, for Rohm is particularly hard on
Marty:
[Reisman] looked very unathletic and so did his game.Every time he
chopped he got a loop or smash for a return. Every time he tried to hit he found that he
had misjudged the tremendous topspin and either lost the point or got himself in
serious trouble. The scores he received do not indicate the level of play because the
stars would run up a lead of 12-15 points early in the game [sic] and then play around
with him [Stanek beat him 28-26 one game], giving him shots he could hit so that they
could demonstrate their lob defense.
253

Photo by Mal Anderson

1967 U.S. Open Champion Manji Fukushima

Results of this tournament, where for the first

time in the U.S. half-a-dozen world-class players
1963 Asian Champion Hiroshi Takashima
have momentarily clustered: Group I: 1st:
Fukushima (d. Schoeler, 12, 13; d. Neale, 19, 8; lost to Takahashi, -21, 11, -18). 2nd: Takahashi
(d. Neale, def.; lost to Schoeler 20, -17). Neale (d. Schoeler, def.)
Fukushimas forehand attackhard smashes, drives and loopsis so well-placed,
says Rohm (whos also apparently turning into a coach, though not a Certified one), that even
though Schoeler got to the shots he was unable to judge the spin correctly. Fred also thinks
very highly of Takahashis game:
From The Table Tennis Report, 1, 1969

Takahashi featuresprobably the hardest backhand smash ever seen in the

USA. In spite of the awkwardness of the pen-holder backhand, Takahashi can hit with
accuracy any part of the table with smashes as hard as the hardest forehand drive. His
consistency was so amazing that no player dared to put more than one shot to his
backhand in a volley. Over 90% of his first backhand drives scored points.
Group II: 1st: Stanek (d. Johansson, 18, -18, 11; d. Lee, 16, -19, 14; d. Reisman, 11, 26. 2nd:
Johansson d. Lee, -13, 19, 23; d. Reisman, 15, 15. 3rd: Reisman d. Lee, 12, 14.
FINAL: Fukushima d. Stanek 19, 23, 22. 3RD PLACE: Johansson d. Takashima, -19, 16, 14.
Rohm describes both Johanssons and Staneks games. Here he is on Johansson:
Johansson is tall, about 6 5, and leans over the table. He uses a closed
racket on both backhand and forehand but takes a longer backhand stroke than do the
others.Kjells hammeris a forehand delivered from a crouched position, the
follow through leaving him with both knees on the floor [sic; if this were so, how long
would it be before hed need knee replacement surgery?]. If the hammer is returned [as
the god Thors was] Kjell is there waiting for it. He moves from table to the back
barrier with the greatest of ease. He can lob eight or ten of the hardest smashes with
ease, all the time loading every ball with topspin.
And heres Rohm (with perhaps some outside help) on Stanek:
254

Stanek is, by far, the most athletic table

tennis player of the group. Although others exercised
to keep in shape, Stanek, besides exercise, plays a
good game of soccer during the season. His game is
all topspin with the typical European backhand which
is rarely seen in the USA. This shot is a short stroke
which rapidly moves from a half open racket position
to a completely closed position. The effect is
extremely fast vollies [sic] on the backhand with
topspin. The stroke was invented to counter the fast
backhands of the orientals. The greatest advantage in
this stroke is the instant recovery time. Since the arm
is rarely extended more than a foot from the body,
vollies can go on indefinately [sic].
At tournaments end, Fukushima/Johansson put on a
fun doubles exhibition against Stanek/Neale:
No one really kept score including the umpire
Photo by Dagens Nybeter. From TTT,
because Johansson was busy stealing the show with
June-July, 1967, 6
unbelievable antics. During one volley he lobbed a ball
Jardo Stanek
extremely high and then ran to his opponents court, pushed
Neale out of the way, and smashed his own lob. He then proceeded to run back and return his
own smash!Johansson had some tricky serves but one stole the show. After shaking his
racket violently at the ball, with a quick motion he threw the ball across the table. It was done
so fast that only a few spectators realized what had happened.

Gazdag looks on as Johansson (L) and Alser camp it up

255

After Gazdags
tournament, the two
Japanese and Stanek and
Neale went to Columbus,
Ohio, where D-J was living,
for a Thursday evening
exhibition at a local high
school. An article with DJs photo hyping
the exhibition had
appeared in the
previous Sundays
Columbus Dispatch,
but talk to Dick
Evans, whod
umpired at EXPO 67
and was the
overseeing USTTA official at
this exhibition, and youd

have to conclude that what gate there was didnt amount to much.* Results: Fukushima d.
Lee, 3-0 (in 3 deuce games); Takahashi d. Neale, 3-0; Stanek d. Neale, 3-1; Stanek d. Lee (in
3 deuce games); and Fukushima d. Takahashi, 3-1.
Minus D-J, the other four Internationalists now joined Larry Lee for tournament play
in British Columbia. In an Open event, Fukushima beat Takahashi in Singles, the Japanese won
the Doubles over the Europeans, and Stanek took the Centennial Special over Neale after
each had eliminated a Japanese player. After that, while Fukushima and Takahashi went off to
San Diego for the May 12-14 U.S. Open, Stanek and Neale traveled to Montreal for the
N.D.G. Open. There Stanek, who beat Neale 3-0 in the Singles, stayed with the Gero family
and obviously did a good job of coaching daughter Shirley, for she won the Girls Singles and
with Womens Champ Hunnius the Doubles. Stanek paired with Eddy Schultz to take the
Doubles from Wall/Germain. And Neale, who was guest of the Ralph Spratt and Alan Miller
families, won the Mixed with Womens runner-up Marie Bouchard.
Fukushima/Martinez Win U.S. Open
Topics Editor Rohm had accepted my earlier articles on the Long Island and Eastern
Opens, and had agreed that Id write up this 67 Nationals. However, when I submitted the
article, he rejected it, saying that though your story captures a lot of the pathos and in other
ways puts the reader in the action, it is not good sports reporting. He complains that the
articles too long, the paragraphs are too long, the sentences are too long, and that the
parenthetical expressions distract the reader. Such an article, he says, has no place in Topics.
Well, of course, that pissed me off. But if Fred shouldnt have been so dismissive, I
shouldnt have been so vainfor, granted he had a point that my writing certainly wasnt what
he was used to, and that it did need, as I see now, more than a little shaping up and definitely a
number of lines cut. I responded with indignation to the USTTA E.C. and others, sending them
copies of the write-up and ending my covering letter this way:
I have decided (the write-up is, after all, on the U.S. Championshipsan
event that ought to be covered), despite the extra effort, money, and aggravation all
this has caused me, not simply to let the matter dropI mean, considering how angry I
am at Mr. Rohm, that would be a most unreasonable thing to do, to say, Oh, and
let the matter drop.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Fukushima has a backhand too

Executive Vice-President Graham Steenhoven

was sympathetic, and, though the write-up didnt get
into Topics, Graham included it (by now edited by me) in
his Program for the 1968 Detroit Nationals. Although
for the record Ive added here other event winners and
occasional comments on them to my original write-up,
much of the impressionistic, energetic original remains
hopefully with its virtues, though fortunately not with all
its faults, mostly still intact.
The San Diego Nationals was, if I may say so,
something of a disorienting experience. Twenty-fiveyear-old Manji Fukushima (Japan), employed by the
Citizen Watch Co. of Tokyo, ever imperturbable, polite,
256

business-like (Watch. Ready? Watch, please. Comes now spin serve)

defeated good-humored, off-court-casual-capped Dal-Joon Lee (South
Korea) in an angled-off, alley-oop, ring-out-rifle-crack, caromcornered back and forth loop and hit exchange of a match that 17, 18,
14 saw him become the first foreign star to win the Mens Singles since
Englands Johnny Leach did it in 50.
Although the fired-up, gum-chewing, anything-but-inscrutable
Lee played brilliantly in the semis, downing in straight games (Is he the
one who looks like a movie star?) Hiroshi Takahashi (formerly World
#4), he appeared, at least to one spectator, to a certain Mr. Donuts
Kowalsky of NYC (must be a 4-5 point game), no match for the
slender, doll-like Fukushima, semifinal 4-game conqueror of waspwaisted, 66 Asian Games victor Chung-Yong Kim.
Where were who?
South Koreas
The shakehands Americans?
Chung-Yong Kim
Closed out, apparently. You
looked over at a quarters
match and there, straight out of a highbrow Ingmar
Bergman movie, or some grim Western, was
Swedens impassive Billie Bergstrand, cracking the
ball with his distinctive, almost pardon-me-like little
backhand karate snap, or shootin them down the
line with his fast-draw Billy-the-Kid slap-at-the-hip
forehand.
At another table was Israels Joel Shohan,
come to study at San Francisco State. To him went
the honor of playing the most unusual and exciting
point of the tournament. Against the spindly, 95-lb.
Photo by Mal Anderson
attacking Kim (head swaying incongruously out
Swedens Billie Bergstrand
there like an affable if undernourished preying
mantis), Shohan, an experienced soccer goalie, went down-up, down-up, flung himself here,
there, yet somehow always scrambled to his feet again to keep the point and the spectators
rush and roar of approval alive. The Americans, it seemed, were all but lost in the excitement.
Where were the familiar faces of Miles, Reisman, Pecora, Sweeris, Doss, Gusikoff,
Schiff, Burns, Cartland, and the others? They didnt showthis despite the fact that the E.C.
had specifically instructed that the phrase No gambling permitted not be printed on the entry
form. And though to be sure 58 Junior Champ Len Cooperman was there whom I was
instructed to see hit a forehand, he said, Whats the use? and didnt touch a racket. And
neither did L.A. bridge expert Eddie Kantarwhom I remember from his exuberant rubber
play 15 years or so agothough he said he still took a hand in the game now and then. And
though Bobby Fields played, and beat 5th-or-was-it-6th-seeded Joe Sokoloff of Kansas City, he
talked mostly that night, there amid the cigarette smoke in the sky-high room atop the El
Cortez Hotel, of matches past.
As for sentimental favorite, Defending Champ Bernie Bukiet, who spoke idly, I
suppose, of maybe a wife, a job, of maybe coming back to New York, he, having been stopped
in the 16ths by Mark Adelmans 3rd-game 24-22 Nureyev-like leap of triumph, was clearly
257

upset. Small consolation, but some compensation surely, that hed win the Senior Doubles
with Fran Delaney. Thus there were only two Americans who reached the quarters. One was
Jimmy Blommer, with a hard-fought 5-game win over can-he-really-be-trying?, no longer
chubby Erwin Klein, after Erwin had barely gotten by fellow Californian, 63 National Junior
Champ Alex Salcido, Mens Consolation winner here over Harry McFadden. Salcido hadnt
been playing much table tennis and heres why:
[hes] the leader of a teenage band that placed fourth in a Los Angeles TV
contest involving 150 bands from all parts of Southern California. Despite their
nameThe Thingsthe band members are well-dressed, well-groomed and look
quite human. The group was signed to a [recording] contract during a [66] Christmas
party hosted by Milla Boczar at her Hollywood Table Tennis Courts where more than
100 persons danced and partied (TTT, Feb., 1967, 15).
The other American advancer, also with an upset, was Ohios John Tannehill, slingshot
vanquisher of the one-time Easts rough-bearded Howard. Tannehillwhom I swear I heard
someone refer to as a teeny bopper and whom I also swear I heard someone refer to as
walking bent over, all serious and solemn, like an old man.
Disorienting, too, from an American point of view, was the Mens Doubles, won so 14, 8, 9
convincingly by the popular, gentlemanly Japanese over the South Koreans. Fields and Howard lost
a 5-game match to the Swedish team of the visiting Bergstrand and his California host Ragnar
Fahlstrom; and Froehlich and Boggan put up some 17, -19, 19, -11 resistance against the coachand-manager-accompanied Kim and his already mid-westernized partner Lee. As for those who
hoped to see Klein/Bukiet play well (theyd won in 64 and 65, remember?), well, they were
disappointed. They didnt play at all, for Klein suddenly had urgent business elsewhere.
From the disconcerting outset (24 tables set up at the playing site proper, but practice hours
on these rigidly restricted to Thurs. eve. 7-10, Fri. aft. 2-4:30), it seemed that in some ways the
object of the organizers was to just to get it all over and done with. Certainly, initially, the
tournament was not everything everyone wanted it to bethe crowd-pleasing Czech, Stanek, tried
at the last minute to enter, but, despite Pecoras known-in-advance absence, there was
(understandably, given how hed affect the seedings)
no place for him in the Draw; the p.a. system was
often so bad as to be almost useless; and the lighting
could have been better. Worse, there wasnt enough
provision made for the (maybe-they-didnt-expect-somany?) spectatorshence what were those who had
paid their money to do, what with the better players
beginning their matches as many as four rows of
tables away from the bleachers, but to interrupt game
after game, the adults walking, talking, milling
together here and there, as their children skipped and
ran about. Very frustrating for the players.
Ten-time U.S. Open Womens Champ Leah
Neuberger was forced to play (Whoever heard of
such a thing!) three Saturday afternoon matches
From 1966 CNE Program
in a rowthe 13, 17, 12 eighths against a retired
Was damn tired
258

Valleri Bellini; the 12, 20, -20, 18 quarters against, as Millie Shahian once again remarked to
Drawmaker John Read, Guess who?; and the 26, 16, -19, -18 semis against Patty Martinez
(now theres a teeny bopper)and, as she made it quite plain to a reporter, she was damn
tired. No wonder it later came out in the San Diego Union that when a tournament wasnt run
properly so that she, Leah, could get enough rest, she couldnt beat anyone, including it may
be that very reporter.
What Defending Champion Violetta Nesukaitis had to say to anyone back home whod
helped to fund-raise $550 for her to make the trip, I didnt hear. She lost her Singles semi to
CNE Womens Champ Priscilla Resek, 0-3; the Womens Doubles final with Angelinetta to
Martinez/Resek, 0-3; the quarters of the Mixed with Boggan, 0-3, and the final of the Junior
Miss to Martinez, 0-3. Such, however, is the nature of the Nationals that a lesser but no less
enthusiastic player, Marianne Szalay, could win two titlesthe Womens Consolation, and
with Pat Kennerly the Womens A Doubles.
Expressing something of
the same sentiment as the tired,
aging, but still very competitive
Neuberger was Californian Allan
Herskovich who hadnt played in
a tournament for three years He
said he was on the tables in
various events for 6 and hours
straight, lamented that he never
even got to see a match (They
were always shaking hands), and
that it damn near killed him. In
the Esquires, Allan lost a deucein-the-5th semis match to Gene
Wilson who went on to win the
Photo by Mal Anderson
event over Ed Reyes whod
Thats Lenny Klein--has a determined look, eh?
knocked out the Over 60s
Champ Si Ratner. In the Seniors, after rallying from 2-0 down to beat Wilson, then winning
the National title from Indianas Harry Deschamps, Baltimores Lenny Klein stumbled off
stunned from the court to the Ive-got-to-call-home privacy of a telephone booth. Seniors
Consolation went to Si Kenig over Jess Martinez, Sr.
So relentlessly were late-round matches played off that by Sat. evening party time
(o.k., buffet timebut, oh, that grape ad didnt mix), there were only two players left standing
in both the Mens and Womens Singles. And a whole day to play yet.
Would many player-spectators go on Sunday morning to the famous San Diego zoo?
Shouldnt miss that. But better hurry back to Balboa Parks Federal Building, for, as it
happened, the organizersTournament Chair Alex Pal Alvarado; Tournament Secretary,
Pals wife Lucy; and Treasurer Dave Ramsey, along with at least a dozen experienced
California tournament control-desk workers (among them, John Hanna, George Kelemen,
Gene Wilson, Heather Angelinetta, Harold Kopper, and Shonie Aki) no longer feeling pressed,
began pleasing everyone with table/bleacher arrangements that now could showcase local
California players in 5-game matches that continued to stimulate audiences. Not only was the
adult play suspenseful, enthralling, but so was the boys and girls.
259

The Mens Class A final,

between 20-year-old Jess Martinez,
Jr., now stationed at Edwards Air
Force Base in the nearby Mohave
Desert, and University of Houston
mechanical engineering student
from Hyderabad, India, A. V.
Hanumanth Rao, was for the
hundreds of cheering spectators no
minor event. Martinezs fast, hardhit, body-oomphed-all-the-waythrough loops and drops, returned
time and again so effortlessly by the
cat-footed, two-time Texas State
Champion Rao, finally allowed Jess
Photo by Mal Anderson
to avenge his 3-0 Mens loss to the
Jess Martinez, Jr., Class A Winner
Indian defender.
The Mixed Doubles, won by Patty Martinez/Billie Bergstrand over Kim/Priscilla
Hirschkowitz in 5 in the semis, and over D-J Lee/Angelinetta in 5 in the final, was precursor
to the much-awaited Patty-Priscilla Singles match-up.
In the 1st game of that Womens final, Priscilla was up 17-13, 19-17 but couldnt hold
on to win. Said local reporter Jerry Magee, The only thing which bothers Miss Martinez, it
seems, is her hair, which always is getting in her eyes. Except for brushing it aside and
occasionally fanning herself with her paddle, she plays
as unconcernedly as one would in a neighborhood
game. In the 2nd, Priscilla caught a ball on her bat and
at 16-14 served off the table. But Fortune smiled and
Patty at 20-18 couldnt make her point. Match all even.
In the 3rd, with both girls playing pit-pat, pushing for an
opening to get in their forehands, Martinez calmly
seemed to find more, did less patty-caking, took more
chances, and so the score stood 20-17 her favor. But
then Priscilla, desperate, flaming up (Atta baby!), got
3 in a rowonly to miss a short serve and, as her
momentum waned, lose the gameand the match.
The Junior Doubles was won in straight games
by Glenn Cowan/Rob Lange over Bob Bisno/Stan
Rosal. But there were two 5-game upsets in a row in
the Junior Mixed Doubles. In the one semis, the
eventual winners Ray Minc and Wendy Hicks, two of
Coach Gene Lees students from Santa Barbara, beat
favored Tannehill and off-court Catcher-in-the-Ryecapped Janice Martin, the Under 15 Girls winner over
Hicks, and the Under 13 Girls winner over Angelita
Photo by Bill Collings
Rosal. In the other semis, long-haired Bob Bisno of
Hairs always getting in her eyes?
L.A. and San Diegos own Martha Obermeier, after
You mean...like this?
260

being down 2-0, took out the California team of Lange and Patty
Martinez. Young Miss Obermeier was so astonished and happy,
especially happy, that she just couldnt keep from crying.
Nor was she the only one who took winning and losing so
seriously. In the Boys Under 13 semis, Dennis Simpson blew a
20-15 lead in the 5th to Greg Rosal and burst out right there at the
table. Greg didnt go on to beat Ray Martinez, but he didnt cry at
not taking a game from him either. Womens Champ Patty and
Under 13 Champ Ray thus became the first brother-sister national
champion combination in [U.S.] history.
In the final of the Boys Under 15 Championship between L.A.s
Cowan and the Midwests Tannehill, Glenn, down 2-0 and 23-24
match point, had backfired an Ive-been-saving-this-serve off the
Photo by Mal Anderson
edge of the table. Now they were having a rematch in the final of
U.S. Open Girls Under 15
the Boys Under 17. And Tannehill, whod beaten Glenn 3-0
and Under 13 Champion
earlier, looked to straight-game do him in again, for he won the 1st
Janice Martin
game 21-3! But then with both boys looping and countering, and
Cowan getting the best of the breaks (Let serve! cries Tannehill, catching the ball, but, no,
the umpire awards the point to Cowan), the match is soon evened. Then Cowan, playing
superbly, goes on to win the 3rd. In the 4th, Tannehills down 17-19but with the California
partisans up off their seats, unable for some time now to restrain themselves, yelling highfisted encouragement to Cowan at every hit or miss, John calmly 1-2-3-4 times blasts the ball,
the game (and with it the title?) out of Glenns reach.
In the 5th, however, Cowan does another about face and runs the score to 14-6!
(Good!Thats it!Good! scream the Californians again as Cowan again goes for his
towel.) But then (ohhOhhh) 14-7911(and as I couldnt help but think of Heather
Angelinetta losing a point in the Mixed, throwing up her hands and yelling, Dont do
this!)15-14! Tannehill, too, may have gone for his towelbut not to throw it in. Streaks go
either way, thoughand now Cowan again puts another face on things. He steadies for 5 points in
a row to 20-14. Then151617and then Cowan out! And the Californians out! Mobbing
him, hoisting him up! Hooray! Hooray! Boy, you could have heard them at Tiajuanathey couldnt
give him enough ears. And the game-battered ball, where was it? Tannehill had walked over and
neatly put it under the net. There were, after all, other matches to come.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Evans later told me that any revenue from this Whetstone High exhibition was
far surpassed when the Club was rented out for a straight-pool match between the
National One-Pocket Champion, Danny Jones, and Luther Whimpy Lassiter, another
great U.S. player. Although promoter Jones owned the pool hall across the street from
the table tennis club, he needed a one-table arena and a place to set up bleachers to
seat 500 spectators, so since it was easier to clear away t.t. tables than 1,000-pound
pool tables, Jones rented the Columbus Club at $200 a night for three nights. Which
meant that, on the Friday afternoon before the weekend matches started, 10 husky
guys had to hustle a heavy pool table across busy Cleveland Ave. while Dick stopped
traffic. Fortunately, he said, in those innocent days there wasnt much road rage or
I might have been killed.
261

Chapter Twenty-Three
1967: End of Season Tournaments. 1967: E.C. Summer Meeting. 1967: Summer
Tournaments.
Following the U.S. Open, the Japanese stars Fukushima and Takahashi went to Santa
Barbara where they were given the keys to the city by Mayor Don McGillivary. With the help
of Santa Barbara Club Secretary David ORork, the Montecito Lions Club, and the local
Recreation Department, Leon Lee not only coordinated three exhibitionsat the University of
California in Goleta, at the Naval Station in Oxnard, and at the Santa Barbara High
Schoolbut welcomed the world-class visitors as house guests.
Im sure Santa Barbaras smart, attractive Brooke Williams would
likewise be welcomed as a guest into many homesthe more so
because she could talk not only about the Worlds but about her
months stay in England receiving coaching from Jack Carrington.
Brooke praises Carrington (who has no U.S. counterpart) and the
strength of Englands Coaches Qualification System:
Head Coach Jack Carrington is paid by the Government and
the English Table tennis Association to train Englands coaches, manage
ms
illia
the English team, and to administer mass rallies throughout England to
W
oke
Bro
discover and develop talent among the school children. [And no nonsense
from the boys in particulartheyd better be properly attired in regulation tailored
shorts and tucked in shirtsand wearing clean white tennis shoes, or they dont participate.]
The privilege of wearing the badge of a qualified national coach of England is a
highly coveted honor not easily acquired. It is gained only through graduation from
one of the forty coaching schoolsor seminarsof which Mr. Carrington is the
central director. Here trainees resemble university students taking notes in a seminar.
Mr. Carrington, who also lectures at Oxford and Cambridge, is intellectual in his
approach, and lectures superbly.
To be a qualified coach one must have, in addition to theoretical knowledge, a
high level of playing standard [what the U.S. does not require] and the ability to
teach.No matter who one is, he must, in order to become a qualified coach, be
passed at the end of these sessions by the central examining body after a thorough final
examination (TTT, Aug.-Sept, 1967, 6-7).
Despite Brookes involvement, the presentation of the Barna Award to her at the U.S.
Open as the player contributing most to the game during the year provoked controversy. It
was as if she herself had failed an examination before a central examining body. (See the Aug.Sept., 1967, 8 and Nov., 1967, 8 issues of Topics.) Fellow Californians protested the handling
of the award, listed many occurrences inconsistent with good sportsmanship, and emphasized
the progress and accomplishments of some Californians who do most of the work and get
none of the credit [a thought echoed by Heather Angelinetta in The Handful in the Nov.,
1967 Topics]. Editor Fred Rohm wrote an Editorial defending Brooke (U.S. #6 last season),
spoke of her accomplishments (primarily, coaching, teaching, and writing about the Sport),
and said she was the victim of poison pen letters[that] came from rank-and-file CTTA members
262

and CTTA officials alike.Jealousy has no place in sports and certainly

no place in the top ranks of the CTTA.
Where Fred got this information from I dont know, but
just as his rejection of my article prompted a mildly critical Nov.,
1967 Letter to the Editor from LITTA President Dave Cox
wondering why Topics hadnt printed a major article on the U.S.
Open (something like the lively and informative one on the
Easterns)so Freds accusatory CTTA Sour Grapes Editorial
brought forth a rebuke, though a much sharper one than the Long
Island Letter, in a Nov., 1967 Rebuttal by Fred Herbst.
Only one CTTA letter was sent, Herbst said, and that went
to the USTTA E.C. The letter was endorsed by a unanimous vote
of the CTTA E.C. and represented the sentiments of the great
majority of California USTTA members, and the only USTTA E.C.
member from California.[We] will not prolong the mess by
Fred Herbst
replying to the many inaccuracies and to the slanders against CTTA
contained in the article, nor will we indulge in a public character
assassination.The editorial does not reflect the official position of
USTTA or its E.C. It is the prejudiced opinion of one writer who
has misused the columns of a worthy magazine.
Underneath this last soul-wounding sentence is a photo of Fred
Rohm that ends the page. Turns out hes resigning as Editor. I wont say
that Fred who runs at least 1 mile a day and 2 miles on alternating
days, has run away from the magazine; rather that, as hes been
conscientious, he doesnt need psychic attacks, especially as hes
young and uncertain about his future. He lists his health and continued
academic study as the reasons for his resignation. Fred was formerly a
full-time student at the University of Delaware; now hes gone to the
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. His two-year tenure as
Topics Editor is rightly praised by the new Editor, Harry H Blair:
[Freds] innovations and improvements in the format and content of
Photo by Mal Anderson
the magazine were noted with appreciation by practically every reader
Fred Rohm
of the magazine.
The very week after the U.S. Open, the 13th Annual L.A. CountyCalifornia State Closed
was held at Ford Park, Bell Gardens, and who do we find playing in it but Bernie Bukiet cause he,
uh, moved to Hollywood from New York last week. This indifference to the distinction between a
Closed and an Open of course prompted the USTTA E.C. to state that the results of this
tournament would not count towards ranking and that the sponsors would have to pay fees
appropriate to a one-star event. Bernie was accompanied by his partner-in-crime, Dave Sakai,
who, after being suspended for a year, had controversially been reinstated by four members of the
E.C., and later, with some discussion, by a formal vote of 5-1-1 with Steenhoven and the Detroiters
for, Harrison against, and Read, Carrs proxy, abstaining.
Bukiet, whod predictably not played well at the Nationals after his Globetrotter swing with
Bob Ashley, didnt do well at this tournament eitherthat is, he didnt win, was beaten in the final in
4 by Jack Howard. Jack also won the Doubles with Sakaiover Dave Froehlich and Seattles
Bobby Fields. The Womens winner was another transplanted New Yorker, Priscilla Resek, who
263

outclassed Heather Angelinetta. Priscilla paired with Sakai to win the

Mixed tooover Froehlich/Angelinetta. As went to Harold Kopper
over Wil McGruder, deuce in the 5th. A Doubles: Jim Bristol/
McGruder over LeRoy Kondo/Ichiro Hashimoto, 25, 21. D-J Lee
and his successor as Korean National Champion, Kim Chung-yong,
returned to Columbus where they had a Midwest Open final that
rivaled the Stanek/Neale one in Ottawa: Lee was down 2-0 and 1911 in the 3rd, but with twenty-foot lobs and vicious counter-drives he
forced Kim into the 5th.
The First Annual Tennessee
Open, held in May in Nashville, saw
Photo by Don Gunn
Indianapolis Club Manager Dick
Harold Kopper
Hicks win the Mens from Dick Yamaoka who would soon become a
welcome addition to the roster of USTTA Certified Coaches. Mens Doubles: Hicks/ John White
over Yamaoka/Clay Whitelaw. Class A: Jerry Glass over Nashvilles White. Two weeks later at the
Columbus Midwest Open, John was awarded the Gold Parchment Certificate. (From the skin of
a goat that was roasted, then gilded? White was roasted as
the goat of the tournament?No?Alright, you tell me
what the Certificates for.)
E.C. Summer Meeting
With the start of a new season, lets see who the E.C.
officers are and what theyre doing, then well pick up the
summer tournaments. Joining President Feuerstein, whom the
Association was going to buy an electric typewriter for
(costing no more than $250), are Executive Vice-President
Steenhoven, Recording Secretary Harrison, Corresponding
Secretary Evans (an appointed not elected office), Vice
Presidents Carr, Veillette, Rushford, and Bernie Tucker, and
Treasurer Muehlenbein (whose son Frank is the U-13
TTT, June, 1970, 4
Champ of their Livonia, Michigan Club). Fred
John White
Herbst replaced John Dart as Public
Relations Chair. Steve Isaacson resigned as Selection Chair and was
temporarily replaced by Rushford.
Veillette is the USTTA Rules Chair and reports that some Rule
changes are in the offing. It will soon be a law that in an Open tournament
the loser of a match will be required to umpire immediately following his
match. Failure to do this could result in default or disciplinary action. No
er
longer can the Expedite rule be put in at the request of both playersthey have
Cov
,
4
196
e
to wait out the 15 minutes. If the service order in a doubles match is mistakenly
ay, illett
M
e
,
T
V
T
reversed, and 5 points havent gone by, play reverts to the correct order; if five or
T
Sam
more points have gone by, play reverts to the order in which the game started. In
serving, ball rests on servers palm that must be stationary and above the playing surface. Ball is
tossed, free of spin, near vertically upwards so that the ball is visible at all times to the umpire.
Player strikes the ball as it descends.
Ah, those historic USTTA Traveling Trophiesthe E.C.wanted to dispose of them,
264

didnt they? Alright, one last inspection at the coming Team Championships, then after the 1968
U.S. Open theyll be given the pitch. And with them the Catok Trophy too; itd been seven years
now since the poor fellow had died in his 30s and his parents had provided this Trophy in his
memory; it never once was awarded to anyone.
Steenhoven was to head a Committee that would consider all requests of
manufacturers and would arrange a joint meeting between the manufacturers and the
Association at the Sporting Goods Fair, Chicago, February, 1968.
Grahams proposal that only U.S. citizens should be eligible to represent the U.S. in
an international match was defeated.
The E.C. was right not to pursue the suggestion that $25.00 be credited to any
tournament sponsor scheduling and conducting under-15 and under 13 girls events. That
could have cost a bundle. But they were right to offer a free one-year USTTA membership to
any girl entering an U-15 or U-13 event.
There had been a World Teen-Age Show in Chicago last year and a former candidate
for the USTTA Presidency, George Koehnke (whose daughters in the 1950s had been U.S.
Team members), thought an international Junior table tennis tournament in connection with
this Show would be apt. So, though notifying our International Chair Harrison of his
intentions, he very much on his own sent out invitationswhich, as it happened, the Taiwan
Association accepted.
In a July 10, 1967 letter to Hideki Dick Yamaoka, Rufford explains what happened
next: Apparently Koehnke had offered originally a $5000 scholarship for the winner of this
tournament, so the Taiwanese ran a nation-wide tournament to select players to come and
compete for the scholarship. The Taiwan Association gave the Teen-Age Show organizers but
not, as protocol would dictate, the USTTA, whom they never did consult, three weeks notice
that two Juniors and a coach were coming and sent them off to Chicago. Unfortunately for
them the table tennis tournament had been canceled. The Show said theyd sent a letter to
Taiwan telling the boys to stay homebut apparently that letter was never received. Their
arrival then was a surprise to Koehnke, but he, or somebody, at least arranged for them to play
informal matches with Pecora and Blommer, whom they beat.
According to Harrisons letter to Yamaoka, the Taiwan coach, though reportedly
not holding the USTTA responsible, said that this matter had been referred to the
Chinese Embassy, who would get in touch with the Department of State about it.
Problem is: the Taiwan Association spent $4,000 getting the boys and their coach here.
Thus, Harrison no doubt sought some guidance at this July E.C. Meeting, and certainly
did from Yamaoka as to whether the Oriental mind thought he should write a letter of
apology to the Taiwan Association on behalf of the USTTA, or, since hes heard nothing
from the Taiwanese or the State Department, and since the USTTA really didnt have
anything to do with the tournament, just leave well enough alone. He says the issues been
complicated because the Show is going, or has gone, bankrupt, and it is extremely
difficult to get any satisfaction from anyone.
Ive no idea what Yamaokas response was, but my guess is Harrison, compulsively
interested though he is in furthering his International liaison identity, didnt send any letter of
apology to Taiwan. Meanwhile, at the E.C. Meeting, Dick, whod been named Captain of the
U.S. Mens Team to the CNE, was suggested as a replacement for Jack Carr as Coaching
Committee Chair, but he declined. Columbus, Ohio Coach Bong-Mo Lee will eventually take
the position. The Committee was to receive a budget of $1,000 to be used for coaching Junior
265

Team Squad members. Along with Yamaoka, Jim Rushford (Captain of the U.S. Womens Team to
the CNE), and Dick Evans and John Read (last years U.S. CNE Captains) would be evaluated
(by whom?) with a view to selecting the U.S. Team Captain for the 1969 Munich Worlds. There
would be just one Captain? It was noted that Leah Neuberger would like to be Captain of the
Womens Team.
No U.S. Team, or any countrys table tennis team, will be part of the Olympics
though this year the French proposed that the ITTF look into the possibility that Table Tennis
might be included in the Games. One problem is the sham Amateurism practiced by some
countries where players are really full-time athletes drawing a salary masked as per diem
expenses or the like. As our ITTF liaison Rufford Harrison put it, Is the sport less
wholesomeless gentlemanly, lesswell, sportingif the player thinks so much of it that he
wants to do nothing else?
Summer Tournaments
The June 3-4 New York Open started the 1967-68 season for the Easternersbut why
were there no events for Juniors? Because there were no Juniors playing at Gusikoffs Club?
In the Mens, Stanek (Europe #2) was still in the U.S. and still beating Nealethough rumor
had it that sooner or later hed be going home to marry a gymnast. Neale was struggling
barely beat Harry Hirschkowitz 19, 19, 20 in the quarters, then had to rally again from 2-0
down against Marty Doss. Mens Doubles of course went to Stanek/Nealeover Errol Resek/
Tim Boggan. Womens winner was Tybie Sommer over Pat Phipps whod eliminated Alice
Green. Mixed went to Stanek/Felstein over Boggan/Sommer. Other results: Mens Bs: Alex
Shiroky over Sam Takayama (whod upset Resek in Singles), then over Doon Wong in the
final. Womens Bs: Marilyn Sommer (Tybies daughter) over Schlapek. Cs: Larry Butcher over
Elliott Heith, 19 in the 3rd. Consolation: Curtis McNear over Don McGraw.
Stanek won again the following week at the Philadelphia Quaker City Openthis time over
Chung-yong Kim. Editor Fred Rohm wrote that Jardo was down 2-0 to the Asian Champ due to
what he called nervousness and the unsettling organic noises produced by certain Philadelphia fans from
the corners of the arena. But the Czechs strong physical conditioning helped him to prevail in the
intense heat (over 90 degrees all the time). The heat also slowed Kim down; his
hard smashes werent so hard, and he was unable to penetrate Staneks superb
backhand returns which were directed all over the table.
If the Philadelphia fans were making those vulgar organic
noises, did the New Yorkers look good in comparison? Alas, no.
Extensive gambling highlighted the otherwise dark corners of the
recreation hall. Of course Gusikoff, who about this time had
appeared on the TV show Whats My Line?, needed some
settling-down stimulation, for he arrived two hours after the Draw
was closed but was allowed to play, then was beaten in his 1st
match by Fred Berchin. Harry Hirschkowitz put up a
respectable 16, 17, 19 defense against Kims loops in the
quarters that perhaps took a toll on the Korean. But it was
Errol Reseks -11, 15, 21, -19, 16 upset of Neale that had
everyone in and out of the corners talking. Rohm said that
9
Denis, visibly exhausted from the heat, lost control of his
,
969
y, 1 ek
l
backhand
flicks and had no forehand smash what-so-ever.
u
,J
es
T
TT rrol R
E

266

Rufford Harrison, after seeing Neale wilt, felt sorry for him, said that on a typical hot
summer day in England the temperature would be 20 degrees less than what it was here. Nor
from Ruffords point of view was it just the heat that was responsible for Neales loss:
Constant play against poor opposition, with just an occasional game [that
is, match] against Stanek, whose play he knows from back to front, is taking the edge
off his game completely. [Compare D-J Lees 10, 10, 15 semis loss to Stanek?] When
Neale and Stanek are at their best, I dont think there is a player on this continent who
could get more than 14 points against either.
Yet, says Rufford, as good as Denis is, he just lost to a second-rate player (Resek,
then U.S. #26, was afterwards battered 7, 11, 9 in the semis by Kim). Since Neale is
committed to play in two weeks at Geza Gazdags Second Vanderbilt Invitational, Rufford
says Denis wants to rest, get more used to the climate, and perhaps do some good training to try to
get back on form.
Other Quaker City results: Mens Doubles: Lee/Kim d. Stanek/Neale in 5. Womens: Alice
Green d. Shazzi Felstein. Womens Doubles: Felstein/Phipps. Mixed Doubles: Lee/Green d. Stanek/
Felstein. As: George Brathwaite d. Sam Takayama.
Rufford Harrison and Pauline Somael in their Topics write-up (Aug.-Sept, 1967, 6) said
that Gazdags Second Vanderbilt International was not the success that all had hoped, and most of
the subsequent tour of the Catskills had to be cancelled. Each of the four seeded players, with the
exception of a tired Neale who drew a bye, had a
single preliminary match, and all were won in
TTT, Oct.,
straight games: Swedens World Doubles
1968, 8
John
Champion Hans Alser over Gusikoff; D-J Lee over
Tannehill
Canadas Derek Wall; and Stanek over John
Tannehill. Only this last pre-lim was of interest:
Tannehill played most of this match
evenly with the top Czech. He blocked Staneks
loops effortlessly and effectively, and moved
speedily to maintain his own topspin attack from
both sides. The Columbus 15-year-olds physical
training is paying off, as is the work of his mentor,
Lee.
Against Neale in the round robin semis, DJ, the best topspinner in the U.S. today, retreated
and even chopped. With his venomous backhand,
Neale had Lee at his mercybut again and again
the Englishman missed so many forehand kills that
the match wasnt close. Nor could Neale contest
against anyone else. Faced with Stanek, Lee was
so surprisingly ferocious as to 2-1 avenge his bad
beating in Philadelphia. But Alser stopped Lee, 20. When Stanek followed by besting the Swede 2267

1, a three-way tie developed. Alser (3-2) was declared the winner; Stanek (3-3) the runner-up; and
Lee (2-3) third.
Before coming to Gazdags Invitational, U.S. Boys U-15 Champ Tannehill had
beaten U.S. #10 Hicks, 3-0, at the Elkhart, Indiana Summer Open. In the Womens,
though, U.S. Girls U-15 Champ Janice Martin, who played sax and clarinet for her
Emerson Junior High band in Livonia, couldnt have tooted her own horn, for Millie
Shahian, whod won her first U.S. Open Championship 25 years earlier, was still too
tough to beat. John and Janice, however, did win the Mixed (over Dick and Norma Hicks
whod knocked out Shahian/Jim Lazarus), and, as expected, they each took their
respective Junior title. Best match of the tournament had to be the final of the Mens
Doubles when Hicks/Harry Deschamps 9, -18, -17, 19, 23 rallied to outlast the youthful
Tannehill/Dan LeBaron pair.
Lee also was busy before coming to Gazdags Invitationalhad gone to the 4th
Orlando Summer Open (86 entries from 10 states), where in the final he 20, -13, -15, 18,
16 topspinned down Stanek, after Yardo had all but 4, 12, 7 obliterated the Souths best
player, Marv Leff. Mens Doubles of course went to Lee/Stanek over Leff/Tommy Cohen
whod had to go 5 with the Mel/Chris Sylvan father/son combo. It was the 1st time Marv
had experienced world-class play, and he and Tommy were arm-weary from pounding
balls (I am hitting it hard as I can, said Marv to slightly querulous Tommy), while D-J and
Jardo, showboating for the onlookers, continued their effortless lobbing.
A young woman on the move was Janice Martinshe won the Womens in 5 from
Marianne Szalay; the Girls 17 from Olga Soltesz; the Mixed with D-J over Stanek/Szalay; and had
a 2-up lead in the As before succumbing to Staneks host here in Orlando, Central Florida Champ
Ray Mergliano.
At the 3rd Montgomery Open, Sol Schiff defeated Dick Yamaoka in the final. Semifinalist
Paul Rankhorn of Nashville scored two upsetsover Don Gaither and Clay Whitelaw. Juniors
Chuck Michell/James Thompson took the Mens Doubles from Schiff and Senior winner John
White. In the As, Whitelaw, smacking in forehands, rallied
from 2-1 down and deuce in the 4th to beat Michell. Bs:
Joe Simmons, though falling behind 2-0, came back to stop
Thompson who won the 17s from Michell.
The June San Francisco Open, the first of three
summer tournaments in Northern California, saw Dave
Froehlich win the Mensover Ed Fong in the final in 5. Jean
Veit took the Womens from Virginia Spiersch. Watch the
ball is the #1 axiom in our Sport. See what happens when
Veit, who has the habit of playing with her mouth open, takes
her eye off the ball. Oh, o.k., it was hit awfully hard. Mens
Doubles: Froehlich/Sakai over Aki/Bijan Maghen. Mixed: Aki/
Spiersch over Froehlich/Marilyn Lima. As: Ramon Fernandez
over David Chan. Seniors: Allan Herskovich over Sam Lima.
At Kentfield, CAs College of Marin, Jack Howard
easily won the Golden Gate Masters over Dave Sakai, but
Jack had to go 5 to beat Glenn Cowan in the quarters. Don
Lindo reported that in the semis Bukiet was two games up on
1969 U.S. Open Program, 22
Sakai after winning 5 and 7! Then, strange change, hed lost
Ed Fong
268

the next two, 14 and 13. In the 5th,

Bernies ahead 8-6 when Sakais return
curves around the net and catches the
edge. That makes it 8-7. Or does it?
Bernie argues that the net didnt extend
the full 6 inches beyond the table as
required. Tournament Director Dan
Goodman wasnt about to try to intervene
on Bernies behalf. He pointed out that
Bukiet had won four matches at that table
and had requested it for his match with
Sakai. After his protest was disallowed,
Bernie was very calm and cool, reported
Goodman. He wasnt antagonistic. He
simply shook hands with the umpireand
left the court (TTT, Nov., 1967, 11).

From 1969 U.S. Open Program, 3

Jean Veit--plays with her mouth open...for the moment

Such an uptight reaction. Whyd Bernie do it? Had

an overwhelming feeling he was going to lose and hoped
to save face?
The 5th Annual San Diego Open, played at Balboa
Park, drew 112 entries. Darryl Flann, 1966 Pacific Coast
Champion but competitively inactive for months, won
Photo by Don Gunn
Ramon Fernandez
the $75 1st prize in the Mens by beating Californias #1
Dave Froehlich, 3-0, in the semis, and then Glenn
Cowan, 3-0, in the final. However, were it not for his steady defensive play and accurate pickhitting, Darryl would not have survived his -21, 19, 20, 15 quarters with top-spinning, hard-hitting
Mark Adelman. Mens Doubles went to Cowan/Jess Martinez, Jr. over Froehlich/Ray Fahlstrom.
Womens winner was Priscilla Resek over Heather Angelinetta. Patty Martinez didnt play Singles
but she won the Womens Doubles with Angelita Rosal (over Angelinetta and Pauline Walker) and
the Mixed with her brother Jess (over Froehlich/Angelinetta).
The Northern CA Open drew players from Southern California and Washington State.
Froehlich easily defeated Seattles Rob Roberts whod -17, -13, 19, 15, 21 rallied to beat Ed
Fong in the semis. Fong, however, paired with Aki to win the Doubles over McGruder/Bill
Leishman. Womens went to Pauline Walker over Angelinetta. Mixed to Aki/Walker over
McGruder/Yuriko Kirby whod upset Froehlich/Angelinetta. A Doubles: Roberts/Bard Brenner
over Leishman/Joe Lee. Bs: Steve Varela over Brenner: -20, 20, 12, -20, 14. B Doubles: Bud
269

Barbee/Jeff Mason over Dan Goodman/Fred Herbst.

I note at this tournament the reappearance of Azmy Ibrahimhe lost in the A finals to Joe
Lee. Having moved to Northern California, he hadnt played for a year, but was back competing at
Shonie Akis urging.Years later he told me hed come from Colorado to California, did exhibitions
with Bob Ashley, and helped Alex Salcido improve his table tennis by playing with him in his
garage. Also, since Alex was a guitarist and singer (over an 11-year stretch hed progressfrom
Teen Magazineto The Pat Boone Show), and since Azmy was a near professional bongo player,
they had something else to practice togetherperhaps having first shut the garage doors?

270

Chapter Twenty-Four
1967: Englands Denis Neale, Canadas Violetta Nesukaitis Win CNE. 1967: Fall
Tournaments. 1967: Grand Rapids Women, California Men are U.S. Team Champions.
Another fall season getting underway and so time for the 27th Annual CNE
Championships, held Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at the Toronto Fairgrounds. However, the USTTA E.C.
at their July Meeting declared that, beginning in 1968, U.S. players would no longer receive
participation points for playing in this longtime popular and prestigious tournament. This
doesnt make sense, for surely the Association ought to encourage what little international
competition is available to the players.
In a Nov. 8, 1968 letter to Leah Neuberger, Jack Carr says his understanding is (he
himself is not sure?) that these Canadian championships do not help U.S. table tennis. Of
course Jack doesnt go to the CNE, see year after year the top-player competition, the twocountry camaraderie, attend the Players Party. He says, If CTTA President Hunnius would be
a little more responsive to correspondence (say, one or two answers a year), then perhaps the
E.C. [particularly he himself?] would be more receptive to having Canada count. One of the
big reasons we had to cut out Canada from three-point credit was that we very seldom if ever
received a complete tournament participation listing or results. Nevertheless some degree of
cooperation and goodwill has certainly been forthcoming, for Topics covers this tournament
year after year (1968, 67, 66, 65).
I must add though that this year Captain Dick Yamaoka complained in his Report that
the CTTA wasnt paying enough attention to the International Matches. To further team spirit,
Dick urged that special seating courtside should be reserved only for players and captains of
the contending teams. He said that in the Mens Match when I informed them that I selected
[the] XYZ system, they did not know what it [or the opponents ABC 9-match order of
play] meant. In Junior Matches, some of [the] umpires furnished by the CTTA could hardly
keep the score.
Dick recommended that part of the expense of players of the U.S. teams be paid by
the USTTA, for it might help morale, help the captain to have better control over the
players. In fact, said Dick, if this years trend of the hippies and musicians continues to next
year, the USTTA may need to provide[a] special fund for the haircut[s] for junior players.
Dick didnt like the hotel recommended by the CTTA, said it was by no means adequate,
and as a result some of the players moved to other hotelswhich certainly didnt foster
team spirit. Also, though he was the Captain, hed never been told by the USTTA just how
theyd selected the players, and so when asked couldnt answer the question. Perhaps all this,
and whatever else he had to say, would make a good impression on whoever might be
evaluating him as a possible U.S. Team Captain to the 69 Worlds?
In the International Mens Match, the U.S.Dell Sweeris, John Tannehill, and Danny
Pecora (alternate for D-J Lee whom I presume couldnt get a visa)for the 2nd straight year
defeated Canada (Max Marinko, Derek Wall, and Modris Zulps) 6-1. Again, only the Wall/
Zulps pair could provide the lone win (over the 1965/66 CNE Doubles Champs Pecora/Jim
Blommer). Most exciting match was Pecoras deuce-in-the-3rd victory over Canadian Closed
Champ Larry Lee.
For the International Womens Matches, U.S. #3 Leah Neuberger and U.S. #7 Millie
Shahian were by-passed so that teenagers U.S. #9 Janice Martin, U.S. # 13 Alice Green, and
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unranked Grand Rapids teenager Sue

Wright could join Connie Sweeris and
so gain needed match experience. As a
result, Canada won 6-3with Violetta
Nesukaitis as the strong and Jenny
Marinko as the weak Canadian, and
Green losing a 19, 18, -20 thriller to
Helen Sabaliauskas who also stopped
Sweeris in 3.
The U.S. Juniors (Alice Green
and the California boys Ray Minc and
Rob Lange) dropped a singles and
mixed doubles match to Nesukaitis, but
were too good for Canadians Art Holler
and Errol Caetano (half a dozen years
away yet from dominating Canadian
Mens table tennis), and so won 4-2.
Best early-round matches in the
63-entry Mens Open were Sam
From 1969 CNE Program
Helen Sabaliauskas
Matossian, Canadian #7 in last springs
rankings, over Art Saltpeter, Referee
Committeeman under Chair Howie Grossman whos about to move to Los Angeles with a
permanent visa; Larry Lee over Tim Boggan; Max Marinko over Dick Yamaoka; U.S.
Intercollegiate Champ Vic Landau over Derek Wall; John Tannehill, deuce in the 4th, over Sol
Schiff; and Modris Zulps, 19 in the 5th, over Harry Deschamps.
After easily defeating Canadian #1 Lee, Bukiet, whod returned to New York after
living for a while in California, had a two-game lead on the English National Champ Denis
Neale but couldnt hold it. In the companion section of the Draw, young Tannehill 19, 19, -16,
-20, 18 kept his poise against the aging but still tough Marinko, then, up 2-1, couldnt withstand
Pecora whod earlier rallied to a deuce-in-the5th win over Dave Sakai. In the semis, Neale,
Jim Blommer
as Rufford Harrison in his Oct., 1967 Topics
write-up of the tournament tells us, had come
to Toronto, fresh from a win in the New
Zealand Open, and though one of the worlds
top blockers, wrested 4-game control from 2time Defending Champion Pecora, in the end
even by chopping.
In the other half of the Draw, Bobby
Gusikoff, without giving up a game to Glenn
Cowan, Zulps, or Blommer, advanced to the
final. Landau went down 19 in the 4th to
Blommer, while Fred Berchin, retrieving
from all over the court, was pulling the upset
of the tournament by knocking out Sweeris.
Dell, down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 3rd, had
272

Photo by Mal Anderson

TTT, Oct., 1967, Cover

Bobby Gusikoff--was he ever better?

Dennis Neale, 1967 CNE Mens Champion

staved off defeat, only to lose 18 in the 5th. After a grueling 17, 20, 22, -19, 19 fight with Berchin,
Blommer was enabled to lose to Gusikoff in the semis.
The final was a marvel for not only Harrison but everyone else lucky enough to watch it. No
one had ever seen the former U.S. Open Champion, the now 31-year-old Gusikoff, play so
sensationallyespecially, as Rufford said, when ball after ball was wrong for a mere mortal to try
to hit in. Heres Ruffords description of the match:
Neale played quite well, but the New Yorkers racket seemed magnetic, and
its effect on Neales returns was devastating. His arm whirling like a windmill, Gusikoff
blasted the ball crosscourt or down the line at will to leave his opponent standing out
of range. He took the first and third games, and never looked like losing the second
when, at 20-17 ahead, he blasted a few too many. Neale won it and thus earned the
chance to catch his breath in the five-minute break. It also gave him the chance to
think. Neale is a master at changing the pace, as he showed in the fourth game by
considerably slowing down. Gusikoff was visibly tired by this time, and could no
longer reach out his flailing arm to kill every ball in sight. By the time the fifth came
around, the New Yorker was out of contention. But we did enjoy the excitement while
it lasted (3).
Rufford also had praise for the Canadian Closed Mens final:
At one end [of the table] was the favorite, Derek Wall (Toronto), who got
there with the expected win over Marinko, and [at the other end] dark horse Modris
Zulps (Hamilton, Ont.) who did it by upsetting the previous titlist [Larry Lee]. Walls
racket has one sheet of sponge, but his loop was not working; he behaved like a top-grade
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pimpled rubber defender,

returning unreturnable balls
from both wings. Zulpss
racket was sponge, but his
rubber was five (count them:
F-i-v-e) years old; he behaved
like a pimpled-rubber attacker,
hitting everything and missing
almost nothing. Wall usually
ends his matches with a face
like a cross between a beetroot
and a stoplight. This time he
got turned on after about the
second point. Thats the sort
of game I dont mind losing,
said this sportsman after the
fifth game (3).

Photo by Mal Anderson

1968 Canadian
Mens Champion
Modris Zulps

In the Womens Open, 10time Champ Leah Neuberger,

whod downed Sweeris in 4 in
the semis, won a 26-24 2nd game from Violetta Nesukaitis, but no longer had the strength or skill to
sustain a pick-hit attack against the Canadians strong defense. (Yamaoka reported that the U.S.
should develop some defensive players of their own, both men and women.) Violetta also took the
Closed from Sabaliauskas, and the Junior Miss from teenage topspinner Janice Martin who downed
Shirley Gero in the Girls final in 5.
There were no real surprises in Doubles playexcept perhaps the ease with which
Neale/Sweeris won over Pecora/Blommer, and the little more than token resistance
Sweeris/Martin put up against Nesukaitis/Neuberger. In the Mixed, Dell and Connie were
straight-game superior to Neale/Marie Bouchard whod eliminated Bukiet/Nesukaitis.
Schiff in taking the Seniors had a fairly easy time with Marinko. Tannehill 10, 10, 23
didnt let Cowan back into the Junior final. Richard LeBaron, Dans brother, won the
Boys from Torontos Vic Skujins, the Under 13 winner over Mike Veillette in the semis
and Marty Posen in the final.
Fall Tournaments
The Waltham, MA Club, with the strong one-two punch of Dwelly and Hull, won the
New England Team Championships by edging, deuce in the final game of the final [5-4]
match, the runner-up South Shore, MA players whod ousted the Defending Champion
Providence team 5-3.
The chop is NOT DEAD YET said Al Schwartz in his Topics write-up, for in the
Sept. Open at the Irvington, N.J. Club Harry Hirschkowitz on his way to winning the Mens
survived a near 1st-round defeat by beating Harvey Gutman, 19 in the deciding 3rd, then in
succession did in Bernie Bukiet, Vic Landau (whod eliminated Errol Resek), and finally Dave
Sakai 19 in the 5th. Though Daves hair was constantly getting in his eyes, he saw enough to
down Schiff and, after losing the first two games, Gusikoff as well. Mens Doubles went to Jeff
274

Swersky/Gutman,
cousins, next-door
neighbors, and fellow
college students at
Rutgers University,
who beat Resek/
Boggan.
Womens winner
was Alice Greenover
Serena Choi who
reportedly was once
ranked seventh in
South Korea.
However, not only has
Photo by Mal Anderson
Serena not played much
Jeff Swersky and
in the last two years, but
Harvey Gutman
even in Korea had little
experience competing against Alices pimpled rubber/
chop defense-style game. Still, Chois attacking play did
mesh well enough with Schiffs to allow them to take the
Mixed from Gusikoff/Green (Nov., 1967, 6).
Photo by Mal Anderson
Something called the USTTF Professional
Alice--she doesnt always win,
doesnt always play
ChampionshipsEastern Region, which drew most of
New Yorks top players, was held Oct. 1, but, aside
from the Results, neither Topics nor the E.C. Minutes mentioned any details, and although I played
in the tournament, Ive no recollection of it. The F suggests USTT Federation, as distinct from
Association, and Eastern Region suggests there are, hopefully, other Regions where Professional
play was being encouraged.
There were 10 Preliminary Group Round Robins and out of these (in some inconsistent
way?) 16 players advanced to Single Elimination. Two of the
most improved N.Y. players were Errol Resek and George
Brathwaite. Errol just got by Hong Kong immigrant Lim Ming
Chui, 19 in the 3rd, then forced Bernie Bukiet to deuce in the
4th. George, whos originally from Guyana, had played in the
Caribbean Closed this summer, and had done well as runnerup to take a game from native Jamaican Orville Les Haslam,
for Les, England #7, a 6, 3powerfully-built hitter, had beaten
Denis Neale in the Dec., 1966 Middlesex Open and also
Englands #1, Chester Barnes, at the English Closed. George
downed Fred Berchin in straight games, then lost to Gusikoff in 4.
Bobby continued his explosive play by downing Bernie in the
final, 18 in the 5th.
Hirschkowitz won his second tournament in as
many months, the Pennsylvania Open, by defeating
Gusikoff (Bobby again showing uncharacteristic staying
power) 15, 23, -23, -21, 19 in the semis, and Berchin 15,
Harry Hirschkowitz
275

21, -21, 14, 19 in the final. Harrys ability to vary the spin on his
chop and to pick and hit made the difference. Top seed Jack
Howard was upset by Resek who in turn was eliminated by
Berchin, after Fred, up 2-0, had won by default from Bukiet.
Jack paired with Harry to take the Doubles from Bukiet/Sakai.
Shazzi Felstein was the Womens winnerover Alice Green.
Class A went to Dave Gaskill over Marty Theil. Class B: Resek
(Hes eligible for the Bs? No, this Resek is Errols brother,
Albertico) over Jonathan Ou.
Three weeks after that Eastern Professional tournament,
Dell Sweeris ran a 65-entry American Table Tennis Classic in
Grand Rapids that he hoped, in conjunction with the USTTA,
would initiate a Professional Association. Prize money was the
chief attraction, but players wishing to retain their amateur
status will receive trophies. After both preliminary and final
Qualification play, the $200 winnerover Sweeris ($150)
whod bested Pecora ($125) in 5 for the runner-up spotwas
D-J Lee. In other matches of note, Chuck Burns ($100) rallied
from 2-1 down to beat Tannehill ($35) whod gone 5 with
Pecora; and Dan LeBaron ($50) upset Richard Hicks ($0).
Other money winners were: Jim Blommer ($75) and Danny
Robbins ($25).
This past August, D-J married Linda Williams of
Photo by Mal Anderson
Columbus. Douglas S. Looney in the Mar. 18, 1972 National
Shazzi Felstein,
Pennsylvania Open Champion Observer tells us that when Linda met D-J he was selling wigs.
The first time I saw him, she saidit was Jan., 1967all of us
in the office made fun of him. Why? Because he had this habit of saying Hello four or five times
before giving the other party a chance to speak. Linda eventually did speak (we never thought
about the racial intermarriage, although his mother was worried about how the children would
look)said plenty.
The Sept. 30th Florida Closed read more like the Orlando Closedthough Howie
Schwartz, a Yonkers, N.Y. Miami Dade Junior College student, won the Mens from an
exhausted Sam Hoffner, after Sam had managed to get just enough balls through Paul Soltesz
to 24-22-in-the-5th reach the final. City favorite Ray Mergliano, despite a 2-up lead, was beaten by
Schwartz in the quarters. Ray did rebound
Photo by Brian Miezejewski
thoughtook the Mens Doubles with Mayer
Steve Federico
in 5 from Schwartz/Richard McAfee whod
outlasted Soltesz/Jim Leggett 25-23 in the 5th.
Paul, whod played in Hungary and was said
to now be gradually getting back in shape
after not playing for ten years, also lost in the
Seniors to Hoffner, again in a close 19-in-the-4th match. Womens went
to Bobbye Zacco over Judy Trulock in 5. Class A: Steve Federico over
Keith Tyler whod survived a 5-gamer with Ted Bourne.
Teens battled for the Mens in the Sept. 21 Southwest Open,
held at the Salvation Army Boys Club gym in Oklahoma City. Thanks go
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to Ken LaFleur and other members of the Organizing Committee. Many-time Tournament Director
LaFleur would soon receive recognition in Topics not only as Oklahomas first USTTA Certified
Coach, but also for his untiring energy and many accomplishments:
Ken LaFleur received his Masters Degree from Harvard University. He has
played table tennis for over 30 years, is a former All-Service Champion in table tennis
and in badminton, singles and doubles, and is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Ken founded the Oklahoma City Table Tennis Club, the Western Electric Table Tennis
Club and the Oklahoma State Table Tennis Association (Oct., 1968, 4).
In Southwest Open Double Elimination play, 14-year-old Kevin Bell initially beat precocious
John Tannehill in straight games. But having advanced to
the winners bracket, he was 15, 24 stopped by Dell
Sweeris, and then was eliminated in his second encounter
with Tannehill. John, meanwhile, had rallied to down Dell
in 5, then finished him off 3-0 at 4 a.m. Reportedly the
largest tournament ever run in Oklahoma, it was also the
longest, running more than 20 consecutive hours because
of the record number of entries. Sweeris and Tannehill
took the Doubles. In As it was Kevin over brother David
Bell. Bs: Norman Behymer over Sam Chan in Expedite.
The Puget Sound Open, held Oct. 28 at Seattles
Rainier Rec Center, was the first sanctioned tournament
run by the newly formed Pacific Northwest TTA.
Vancouvers Klaus Katzenmeier, helped by two deuce
Photo by Bob Dimery
games, won the Mens from Rob Roberts whod upset
Kevin Bell
Pacific National Champ Larry Lee in straight games. In the
final, Klauss steady defense and vicious backhand flicks
overcame [Robs] strong looping, topspin, and forehand
smashes. In Mens Doubles,
Larry Lee/William Yee rallied
from 2-0 down to beat
Roberts/Joe Lee. Marilyn
Shoal took the round-robin Womens; Sue Wong was runner-up. Class A
went to Tom Ruttinger over Hou-Min Chang. Ruttinger also won the 17s
and the B Doubles with PNTTA Executive Secretary Jim Goodwin. Novice:
Bill Ladd over Carl Lehrhoff. Seniors: Gerald Addy over Bill Rapp.
Profits from the Long Beach Open, held Nov. 4-5 at the
Washington School Gym with Gene Roseman as Tournament
Tom Ruttinger
Director and Richard Badger as Official Referee, would help to fund
the California team to Detroit for next weeks USOTCs. In the
Mens, Bobby Fields steady chop was too much for Jack Howards
murderous loop; moreover, though Bobby seldom hit,when he did
Howard was unable to return them. Bobby also teamed with Dave
Froehlich, whod given him a deuce-in-the-4th battle in Singles, to take
the Doubles from Darryl Flann/Mark Adelman. Womens went to Patty
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Martinez over Val Bellini who still cant resist playing in an

occasional tournament. Mixed winners were Bob Ashley/
Martinez over Froehlich/Angelinetta.
Lou Dubin, California TTA Junior Coach, whod been
praised by USTTA Ranking Chair John Read for having
six out of seven nationally-ranked players in both the
[1966-67] Boys and Girls Under 13 divisions, brought a
great many youngsters to this tournament. Forty-two
entries in Boys Under 17! How did he do it? Im
reminded of that fellow 15 years ago visiting an E.C.
Meeting who, on hearing Board members talking about
the difficulty of getting boys and girls interested in the
Sport, jumped to his feet and said, You must love
themand the rest will be easy.
Grand Rapids Women Win USOTC
California not only sent a Mens Team to the Nov. 11-12
Photo by Don Gunn
Lou Dubin
USOTCs but a Womens Teamwith Captain Mary McIlwain
and the two most promising girls on the West Coast, Wendy
Hicks and Angelita Rosal.
Gene Lee never coached a prettier or
more popular Santa Barbaran than Wendy. She
was smart too, had a head for the game. A
straight A student at La Cumbre High School,
how excited this 14-year-old must have been to
be the fun recipient of Wendy Week among
her fellow teenagers. Cmon, only 25 cents a
ticket. Win a prize, and get our Wendy to the
U.S. Open Team Championships.
Angelita, born one of seven siblings
July 12, 1955, has a family background thats
half Sioux Indian from Fort Totten, North
Dakota (where on the Indian reservation all
the Rosal children lived for a time) and
Filipino (Indo-Pino). A group of friends,
headed by Ethel Jones in San Diego (thats
where Angie and her family live) raised some
funds for her and her mother to make the
trip, and the Statler Hilton provided free
hospitality for them in Detroit. I never even
wanted to play this game when I first saw it,
shed later say. My father met some fanatic in
San Diego who kept after him to learn the
game. Its a sport, this guy kept saying. When
my father got interested, my mother sent us kids
Photo by Mal Anderson
[Stan, Greg, Monica, and me] after him to keep
Wendy Hicks
Angelita Rosal
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him out of trouble. I began playing when I was ten years old. I didnt like it until someone told me I
might have potential, then I began to take it seriously. If you take it seriously youre hooked.
Well, you are, and you arent. With the USTTA favoring youth, and the morale of the
women players at low ebb, the New Yorkers, the Maryland/D.C. players, even those from
Ohio and Indiana just didnt have enough desire to enter this once prestigious event. In the
weak 6-team Womens play, California, without Martinez, Resek, Bellini, Williams,
Angelinetta, and Walker, wasnt expected to do well, and, aside from Wendys 10-5 record,
didntonly the Chicago team (without Shahian) was worse. Michigan came 4th, but USTTA
Womens Chair Betty Hibner apparently had to include Houstons Marianne Szalay (9-6) to even
make a team. Canada, led by Outstanding Player Violetta Nesukaitis (14-0 without losing a
game) and helped by Denise Hunnius (8-3), Marie Bouchard (6-3), and Jenny Marinko (5-4), was
too strong for OntarioVelta Adminis (11-4), Jose Tomkins (9-6), and Audrey Sturman (7-8).
You might think that the two Grand Rapid stars, Janice Martin, 14-0 (she didnt play
Nesukaitis), and Connie Sweeris, 14-1 (she lost only to Nesukaitis), who scarcely used Jan
Sweeris (2-1) in their ties, just won the tournament by themselves. But, ah, not quiteturns
out that the unexpected win by Grand Rapids Sue Wright (6-5she didnt play Hunnius)
over Canadas Jenny Marinko was the 5-2 key to safely locking up their victory.
California Men Win Mens USOTC
Although such aging but still formidable Easterners Miles, Reisman, Cartland, Bukiet,
Gusikoff, Hirschkowitz, Monasterial, Doss, Dwelly, and Hull who had once graced this
tournament were among the missing, the Mens play here in Detroit featured a record 32
teams. In addition, USTTA Coaching Chairman Bong-Mo Lee held a helpful clinic in which
both Bobby Fields and Jack Howard were greatly impressed by Lees knowledge of table
tennis tactics, exercises, strokes and analyses of others games.
Preliminary Team matches led to four round-robin Groups of 8, the strongest being
Group A that would decide the Championship, and the weakest Group D. Someone later
wrote into Topics asking why a player like Dell Sweeris is rated a Group B player? Answer:
Though his Group B record was a perfect 21-0, Dell was in a sense a casualty of the early
competition, for he had loyally chosen to play for a Grand Rapids team that just wasnt strong
enough to advance, and so would miss the keener competition in Group A he would have
enjoyed. Also failing to advance into Championship contention were the relatively strong B
teams of Washington (Larry Folk, 17-3; Bob Kaminsky, 15-6; and Lem Kuusk, 11-7) and
Mississippi (Dick Yamaoka, 15-8; Clay Whitelaw, 13-7; and Sol Schiff, 15-10).
I might as well voice here what Jack Howard is thinking if not yet saying aloud. He
objects to the USOTC format of so many meaningless matches. Why, hed say, should a
mans record consist predominately of wins over 15 weaker players. This is no accurate test of
stamina, imagination, or ability. Its just busy work. Weaker teams, he said, should have to
play off for qualifying spots before any of them are put up against the better players.
With Outstanding Player John Tannehill (17-3) leading the impressively named
International Juniors team (John had wins over N.Y.s Sakai and Resek, Illinois Blommer but
not Pecora, and Californias Flann and Fields), youd think theyd do better in Group A than 07 last, but Dan LeBaron and Roger Lewis (both 7-15) found the opposition too tough. Indiana, 16, was able to beat the Juniors when Hickss loss to Lewis was offset by Harry Deschamps upset
win over Tannehill. Detroit, 3-4, managed to beat Illinois when Jim Blommer, not at his best (7-7),
lost to Chuck Burns (2-3) and Leo Griner (10-10), and Jim Lazarus (11-3) obligingly clustered his
279

only 3 losses in this tie. However, when Ohio, 3-4, though a quick loser to Illinois, easily downed
Detroit, they finished 5th as a result of their head-to-head tie-breaking win. D-J Lee (18-1), I might
add, didnt lose a game, but for some unexplained reason (later explained) defaulted to Canadas
Derek Wall.
Canada knocked off Illinois to finish 3rd, for LaszloVarenyi (8-6) lost all 3, Blommer
fell to Wall (20-3), and Pecora (18-3) was upset by Modris Zulps (11-9).
Coming into the final tie against undefeated New York, California was 5-1 with a loss to
Illinois when Bobby Fields (15-5) was stopped in straight games by both Pecora and Blommer,
and Darryl Flann (8-5) couldnt muster a win. However, were California to win this last tie
against New York, they would be declared the Champions.
Boggan (5-2) was Captain of the N.Y. team and had enough sense not to play himself in the
final. California Captain Jack Howard (16-1lost only to D-J) sat out Flann. But the hyped East
Coast vs. West Coast rivalry, spurred on by California supporters Milla Boczar and Bob Ashley, codirectors of the Hollywood Courts, failed to produce a taut final. Why? Because Howard downed
Sakai (11-6) and Landau (11-4); Fields (after being down 1-0 and at deuce in the 2nd) prevailed over
Sakai, then Resek (19-4); and Wayne Obertone (8-3), whod earlier upset an uninspired Marinko (9-9),
though losing to Resek, wrapped up the tie with his contributing expedite win over Landau. Topics Editor
H Blair wrote that, after Obertone in his zeal was observed to hit one or two when Landau served,
Captain Howard said, Wayne, when Landau serves,
Photo by Mal Anderson
let him do the hitting. Obertones reply was, I got
Wayne Obertone
mixed upand it almost brought down the house
(TTT, Feb.-Mar., 1968, 16).
No mix-up about this historic result
though: the 5-1 victory was a first ever for
California men in these Championships.

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Chapter Twenty-Five
1967: Fall E.C. Meeting. 1967-68: Early Winter Tournaments. 1968: Gusikoff/
Nesukaitis Eastern Open Champs.
USTTA President Richard Feuerstein wasnt present for the Nov. 10-12 E.C. Meeting
at the Detroit Teams, so Executive Vice-President Graham Steenhoven took the Chair. Bernie
Tuckers marriage this summer put an end to his Vice-Presidency, and a motion was made to
accept the Presidents recommendation that John Read, Chair of both the Tournament and
Ranking Committees, be appointed to finish out Tuckers term. V-P Sam Veillette sought
unsuccessfully to table this motion, then asked for a ballot votewhereupon Read was
elected.
Feuerstein had originally assigned his proxy to Read with the proviso that, if John were
elected to office, Detroits George Buben would receive it. However, V-P Jack Carr, as
Parliamentarian, urged that, because the Presidents agenda had not met the 2-week
notification requirement, it be declared illegal, and Bubens proxy, being too late for
compliance with the By-laws, not be allowed. Detroits Steenhoven, as Chair of the Meeting,
overruled Parliamentarian Carr and declared the proxy legal. When Recording Secretary
Harrison objected to this move, Carr had a roll call. Read sided with Detroits Jim Rushford
and Veillette, and Livonia, Michigans Rudy Muehlenbein, USTTA Treasurer, to defeat
Harrison, Carr, and Corresponding Secretary Dick Evanss votes, so Bubens proxy was
accepted.
The E.C. then approved the Nominations Committees slate for the upcoming election
of USTTA officers. For President: Steenhoven vs. Harrison. As will happen, though, Rufford
will withdraw from the race: Personal circumstances quite unrelated to the USTTA prevent
my running for office. Hard to imagine, with his wife not so long ago referring to herself as a
Table Tennis Widow, that there are even a few circumstances in Ruffords life that arent
related to table tennis. For Executive Vice-President: Feuerstein vs. Carr. For Vice President:
Membership Chair Bob Rudulph vs. Photography Chair Mal Anderson. For Recording
Secretary: Cyril Lederman vs. Dick Evans (who, with Reads withdrawal, was added by the
E.C.).
Jack Carr made a Confidential assessment of
would-be Presidents Steenhoven and Harrison, listed
their pros and cons, and sent this towho? Graham he
credits with having almost single-handedly formed the
Michigan TTA, then taking the lead in running U.S.
Opens and Team Championships. Hes also Quite
strong at E.C. Meetings. Yet, says Carr, Some feel
[Jack included?] he lacks the administrative ability to
be president. Graham has a domineering manner,
and Frequently makes far too liberal an interpretation
of the rules, even to violating them when it is to his or
MTTA advantage. Grahams illegal 1965 petition
placed Burns & Rushford on ballot, causing Bill Cross
to resign as Nominating Committee Chairman. (Carr
From Jack Carrs Advanced Table Tennis
was one of those defeated by Burns and Rushford in
Jack Carr
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that 1965 election.) Jack

also says, Hicks,
Rudulph, Harrison,
Neuberger, Rohm, Dart,
& Read have all written
about [Grahams] poor
correspondence. (Jack
keeps close track of such
deficiencies, eh?)
As for the Englishborn Harrison, in his
capacity as International
Chair he always helps
U.S. teams. At home, he
TTT, Mar., 1964, 13
Photo by Mal Anderson
did a good job as
Graham Steenhoven
J. Rufford Harrison
Recording Secretary, and is Strong at E.C. Meetings. But Jack himself is nothing if not
criticalhas a litany of complaints against Rufford. He was a strong advocate of the USTTAs
1958-59 sponge ban which in Jacks eyes was not only illegal butand this is a highly
questionable assumptionprobably set back U.S. caliber [of play] many years. As
Equipment Chairman, he caused loss of some of our most important contracts (e.g. Harvard
and Halex). Id like to hear how that happenedI think History will show Rufford, a
naturalized American citizen, to be very conscientious in doing his duties.
Carr, who in a Nov. 8, 1968 letter to Leah Neuberger will describe Rufford as a
wonderful person, reminds his readers that Harrison is a foreigner who will not become [a]
U.S. citizen because he is [a] professed agnosticone who at an ITTF Meeting voted for
Red China against will of USTTA. Also, Rufford seems to enjoy causing troublehes
Entirely too critical of others in a volunteer organization. By actual count he has criticized 36
officials causing some to resign and lose interest. The actual count of course is Jacks.
What a way to spend ones timecompiling such minutia to be used against ones colleague!
And to what end has Jack appointed himself Arbiter this Judgment Day? To indicate
that both of these Presidential candidates are flawed?To suggest, consciously or
unconsciously, that he, Jack Carr, embodies the virtues of these men? Steenhoven: Dedicated
to table tennis; past and present committee chairman; Great help with writing Constitution
and Bylaws; has a position of responsibility outside of table tennis. Harrison: Dedicated to
table tennis; Outstanding correspondent; past and present committee chairman; Great help
with writing Constitution and Bylaws; Great help with writing of Advanced Table Tennis
[Jacks book]; has a position of responsibility outside of table tennis; Always willing to offer
advice; Knows USTTA and ITTF rules quite well.
A coincidence, is it, that these are all precisely Carrs qualificationswithout the
flaws. Why, youd think Jack wanted to be elected USTTA President himselfand feels he
could do a better job. Perhaps in time his fellow E.C. members will come to see this and
support him for the office?
Since new E.C. member Reads responsibilities were increasing, Bob Kaminsky was
asked to head the Tournament Committee. But he declined, and apparently nobody else
wanted to head it either, so John stayed on as Chair, needing to take note of any up-to-date
By-Law interpretation, such as a USTTA district affiliates ranking system shall be used for
282

seeding purposes at all sanctioned tournaments within its district, except three-star and fourstar events.
Neither the Treasurer, nor the Equipment Chair whod been Tucker, now replaced by
Steenhoven, could explain to Harrison the serious decline in revenue from the sale of
equipment seals. Bernie had been the E.C. overseer for the Exhibition Committee (which no
one wanted to Chair), as well as Fred Herbsts Public Relations and TV Committees; Rushford
now took E.C. responsibility for these while turning over to Read responsibility for his own
Tournament and Ranking Committees. Jack Rugoff of Phoenix was named Library and Film
Chair; and soon thered be a Books Committee Chaired by R.C. Bollinger of Penn State.
These last two appointments allow me to mention Table Tennis (77 pages, $1), the
new instructional book for beginners by Rufford Harrison and racquet-minded sportswoman
Margaret Varner that I reviewed in the Dec., 1967-Jan., 1968 issue of Topics. Surprisingly, at
the time Varner first visited Ruffords Newark, Delaware Club in the company of famed tennis
player Margaret Osborne DuPont, shed never played table tennis in her life. Well into the
book, after advising the aspiring player to display no bursts of temper, the authors follow up
by saying, Be a model to others. In this, I see Ruffords playing hand, for in illustrating a
single elimination draw from the 8ths onwith Harrison and Varner having worked their hardfought way to the finalsthe reader sees (in as gallant a show of sportsmanship as was ever
whimsically conceived) Varner win the title, 2, 5, 3.
Much of this anything-but-light-hearted Nov. E.C. Meeting was taken up with
bureaucratic niceties. Again and again no action was taken because of deferred items, tabled
recommendations, or discussions that required further discussions for change. Meanwhile, 10
more Standing Rules were added to the 22 established since last year. The Association was
cramped inward; there seemed to be little or no thought toward outward expansion.
President Feuerstein will say in his upcoming
Campaign Statement for Executive Vice-President, Most
of the time of the Executive Committee members has been
taken up with problems in getting our Constitution and By
Laws and manuals in order, and in general just getting the
USTTA properly organized [Jack Carrs yearly
preoccupations]. Within the next couple of years we should
be able to put into operation many of our ideas to expand
organized table tennis. Of course this is just what
Feuerstein and Harrison were saying two years ago:
Feuerstein: Now our organization has reached the point
where it soon will be in proper working order; Harrison:
[Thanks] largely to Jack
Carr[the E.C. should be
Richard Feuerstein
enabled,] in future meetings, to
devote less time to routine matters and more time to planning. But
the ideas, the plans, are few and far between.
Meanwhile, Sweeris, who cares passionately about the Sport,
is fuming over the fact that even among those on the E.C. theres a
negative, even cynical attitude toward U.S. table tennis. Why, he
asks, in issue after issue of the U.S. magazine, are there foreign
TTT, May, 1965, Cover
players on the cover? In an undisguised salvo at Harrison, he
Dell Sweeris
283

questions why every issue has two or three pages of International News in which the main
object seems to be to praise European and Asian players and downgrade U.S. players. He
objects to the U.S. World Teams hes been a part of being criticizedespecially by someone
who could not score 5 points off a top player. After all, he says, we were spending our own
money (and for some our last cent) to play for our country as best we could. It hurts him to
feel that when a youngster reads articles like these, his opinion of table tennis is not built
upits destroyed (TTT, Apr., 1968, 5).
Of course some E.C. resolutions at the Meeting were inevitable. Liability coverage
would be bought for USTTA officers, and medical insurance for any U.S. team traveling
abroad. E.C. officers attending a meeting other than the summer meeting [would] receive $20
for hotel expenses and half of the[ir] transportation expense.
If requested by recreation departments, YMCAs, boys clubs, and similar
organizations, official USTTA affiliate memberships [would] be provided free of charge to
juniors participating in events sponsored by them. This will draw in a lot of new members,
leading to adult members, will it?
The E.C. felt that tournament sponsors should be permitted complete freedom in their
choice of awards [including money prizes], and that a sum equal to the value of the intended
awards should be posted in advance with the sponsoring official; were this sum to be a
percentage of the tournament income, it should be estimated. (The Canadian TTA would
agree that their players could play in U.S. tournaments where money prizes were given.) But
the E.C. took no definitive action, the matter being left to the discretion of the National
Tournament Director. After Sweeris gave a brief presentation regarding the Professional
Association he wanted to form, the E.C. took no action, but agreed that Evans should discuss
the proposed association with Sweeris, with a view to eliminating any disagreements, then
report back to them.
Evans did talk to Dell who spelled out his very specific plans for a series of money
tournaments. Since Dell did not in any way want to be at odds with the USTTA, Dick
recommended the E.C. work with him. Steenhoven, Harrison, and Carr were amenable, as
likely others were toobut whether Sweeris, granted his initial enthusiasm, could actually
bring off this ambitious project remained to be seen.
It would seem the following Letter to the Editor in the
June, 1968 Topics wont help his cause. One of Floridas
best women players, Sperry Rademaker, aware that
tournament organizers are starting to give prize money,
wants everyone to take heed of the Amateur Athletic
Unions Definition of an Amateur:

TTT, Nov., 1967, 12

Sperry Rademaker

[A]nyone who plays for money, whether or not

he actually receives any, or who plays against anyone who
is considered a professional, is then a professional in ALL
sports. This jeopardizes the athletic career in other sports
of anyone who plays table tennis.
Many of the younger players may find that they
have skills in other sports, with college or Olympic
potential, and they should not lose this opportunity.
Tournament directors who are giving money prizes
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should be required to point out the consequences of professionalism in the entry

information.
I should also like to briefly point out that money prizes should not be necessary
to gain a large entry at a tournament. The great success of swimming and track is a
good example, where thousands of athletes compete, at their own expense, for medals
and (rarely) small trophies(11).
This Letter will be followed by one from Ottawas Patrick Arkell in the Oct., 1968
Topics buttressing Rademakers points, but, like her, not defending the amateur rules, just
making one aware of them:
It is, I believe, contrary to the laws of the ITTF to play for monetary gain.
As I understand the laws there is a limit of 75 Swiss francs, or about $18, on the value
of prizes that are given.
It is well known to followers of this and other sports that players have been
banned from both national and international competition for participating outside the
regulations (13).
So, because of the many who feel subject to such rules, how is Dell, or anyone else, to
bring the Sport to pay-for-play prominence in the U.S.?
Early Winter Tournaments
Editor H Blair was very conscientious about giving the results, and what coverage
was available, of tournaments all around the country. Following in his footsteps, Ill start with
his own Orlando Winter Open. Surprise here was not the mid-fiftyish Laszlo Bellak winning
the Seniors from Sam Hoffner, but of
Photo by Mal Anderson
him taking the Mens. In the semis from
Olga Soltesz
Marv Leff (whose game Laci knew so
well from play at his house or at the Coral
Gables University Bowling Lanes), and in
the final, after being down 2-1, from
Nashvilles Clay Whitelaw whod stopped
Lenny Bass in 5. In the Masters roundrobin play-off, Whitelaw was 1st, Leff 2nd,
Ray Mergliano 3rd. Doubles went to the
established partnership of Leff and Tommy
Cohen over Mergliano and Boys U-17
winner Richard McAfee, 19 in the 5th.
Bobbye Zacco took the Womens from 13year-old Girls Champ Olga Soltesz.
The night before the Gadsden,
Alabama Open, the local Association President and Tournament Chair H. Westbrook Wes
Finlayson served as M.C. at the Clubs Annual Banquet and received a plaque for his continuing
service to the game in this area. In Mens play at the new East Gadsden Rec Center, Don Gaither
defeated Larry Bartley in the semis and Defending Champion Dick Yamaoka in 5 in the final.
Others in this event well hear much of in the future were Ralph Kissel, Homer Brown, and Pete May.
285

Tom Aldridge in his Topics write-up tells us that

at the Jan. Indiana Open the Mens winner, D-J
Lee, looked somewhat ragged in both ITS play,
where he dropped a
game to hard-hitter
Clay Whitelaw, and
in his Mens matches
with Sweeris in the
final, and especially,
I should think, in his
19, 18, 21 semis
with Tannehill. Tom
says John has vastly
improved his ability
to kill a chopped ball with his forehand without the necessity of as
much prior buildup or looping. His loss in the ITS matches to
U.S. #32 Deschamps, who also beat him at the USOTCs, can be
attributed to Harrys unique hard-rubber defensive/offensive
sidespin play that throws off Johns timing (Feb.-Mar., 1968, 9).
Other winners: Mens Doubles: Lee and Tannehill over
Sweeris and U.S. #10 Hicks who in Singles went 5 with U.S. #38
Leonard McNeece
Barry Rost. Womens: Connie Sweeris over Marianne Szalay.
Womens Doubles: Sweeris and Sue Wright over Szalay and Mary McIlwain (Marys now living in
Indianapolis). Mixed Doubles: Sweeris/Sweeris over Tannehill/Wright. Class A: Dick Evans over
Leonard McNeece.
I dont know where the Mid-American Closed was playedbut it sure had to be some
Closed cause event finalists there were from Oklahoma City, Denver, Topeka, and
Missouris Kansas City, St. Louis, and St. Charles. U.S. #11 Joe Sokoloff had an easy time in
the Mens, giving up on the average only 12 points a game to runner-up Bob Chen whod
escaped Jerry Plybon 19 in the 5th in the semis.
The late-Nov. Open at the Hollywood Courts drew more than 150 entries for its 19
events. Jack Howard won the Mensover Dave Froehlich. Bobby Fields rallied to down
Mark Adelman in 5, then, despite tremendous returns, lost in the semis to Froehlich, deuce
in the 4th.
In Womens play, Pauline Walker did well to beat the precocious Wendy Hicks, 19
in the 5th, then, from 2-0 down, was able to come back against Heather Angelinetta by
winning the 3rd at 19, and, on an adrenalin high, reach the final where, against Patty
Martinez, with all eyes following her spirited play, she had a 20-20 shot at taking the 1st
game. Patty, meanwhile, though shed win the title, 3-0, almost didnt get to the final. In
the semis, she was down 2-1 and down in the 4th to Vallerie Bellini before smashing in
four consecutive winners to turn the match in her favor.
Other winners: Mens Doubles: Flann and transplanted Canadian star Howie Grossman
over Fields/Froehlich, deuce in the 4th in the semis and Glenn Cowan/Jess Martinez deuce in the 5th
in the final. (This was far from Glenns worst loss about this time though, for within a month his
father, Phil, would die young, at 48, after a short illness.) Mixed Doubles: Martinez/Martinez over
Flann/Bellini, 14, -21, -28, 19, 19 in the semis, and Froehlich/Angelinetta in 4 in the final.
Walter Matthau accosting Mary McIlwain-and Mary loving it

286

Does Froehlich ever miss a California tournament? Now hes up in Oakland, winning
one final after anotherover Allan Herskovich in the Singles; with George Makk (over Allan/
Lee Land) in the Mens Doubles; and with Heather Angelinetta (over George/Yuriko Kerby) in
the Mixed. An easy win in the Womens for Heatherover Jean Veit. As went to Azmy
Ibrahim over Peter Yeung. Bs to Steve Varela over Jim Vinzant. Seniors to Bud Barbee over
Allan Herskovich. At least Allan doesnt have to travel all those hundreds of miles home. How
do they do it? Why do they do it?
In late Nov., the
British Columbia TTA
held a Hungarian
Memorial Open that
was won by Klaus
Katzenmeier over
Larry Lee. The CTTAs
B.C. V-P, Chandra
Madosingh, writing in
Jose Tomkins
Canadian News, speaks
of a match-turning
point in the 5th when
Lee was leading 12-10.
Larrys sizzling hot
shot seemed to go by
Klaus but he chased it
down twenty feet to
return it with a
tremendous fore-arm
top spin that bounced
on the net and then
From the 1969 U.S. Open Program
From the 1969 U.S. Open Program
caught the inch
Jean Veit
Azmy Ibrahim
white line at the other
end of the table. After that, returning nearly everything, he
went on to win 21-16 (Mar., 1968, 7-8). I must say it seems
ridiculous to me that the Canadian Association considered Lee
to have Insufficient Data and so didnt rank him for the 6768 season. In addition to his B.C. play, he came East for the
CNE, won the Sarnia and Quebec Opens, and was 28-1 at the
Montreal Winter Games.
The Genesee Valley Clubs late-Nov. Open at Rochester
went to Buffalos Jim Dixon over Mike Ezzo, 19 in the 4th.
Ezzo, however, paired with Rick Covalciuc in the Doubles to defeat
Norm Rose/John Spearman. Rose went down again in a tough 5game Seniors match to Charlie Burroughs. Tops in B and C Singles:
Meadsville, PAs Jim Mullen over his brother Gary. B Doubles: Joe
Photo by Mal Anderson
Costanza and Tournament Director Walt Stephens, whom the Club
Walt Stephens--wants to be
was pushing for USTTA Vice-President via a write-in vote.
USTTA Vice-President?
287

Mens winner at Montreals Centre

Canadas Derek Wall
Notre-dame de Graces late Nov.
tournament was Derek Wall over Alain
Thomas with whom he paired in Doubles
to defeat Sol Schiff/Howie Ornstein.
Alains from Le Mans, France, and has
committed to teaching two years at the
Toronto French Schoolthis as a new
alternative in France for those who prefer
overseas teaching to National Service.
Denise Hunnius won the Womens from
Marie Bouchard but lost the Mixed with
Wall to Shirley Gero and Ivan Csillag, reportedly the Israeli champion, now living in
Montreal. Shirley, who has the potential to be a Canadian Closed Champion, is a 10th grade
scholarship student at the scholastically acclaimed Wagar High School in Montreal.
It was Wall again at the Sherbrooke, Quebec Openthis time a triple winner. On these
slow tables (with a maximum of only 4 in play) he beat Ron Chapman in 5 in the Singles;
teamed with Thomas to take the Mens Doubles from Csillag/Sam Matossian; and scored with
Hunnius in the Mixed over Csillag/Gero. Denises husband, John, the CTTA President for
some years, had just bested the competition to be named President of the Canadian Amateur
Sports Federation, and now, holding down two important positions, surely wont have much
time for anything else. Denise, too, showed shes strong-mindedpersevering in the final of
the Womens from two games down to win the 3rd at 19 and go on to easily defeat Bouchard
who in the semis had escaped Shirley Gero, 19 in the 5th.
Wall does get around. He held a t.t. workshop (attracting nearly 100 people) and gave
an exhibition at the New Brunswick Centennial Winter Games. In the accompanying
tournament (embarrassingly, a mere 15 entries) Dereks exhibition partner, C.Y. Yang, won the
Mens from Guy Martin. Doubles winners were CTTA V-P for New Brunswick Don Barnett
and Peter Hedges.
Eastern Open
The 37th (1968) Eastern Open Table Tennis Championships, held annually since 1932
(the American Ping-Pong Association also ran a couple of Easterns, in 1933 and 34), was
played Jan. 21-22 at
Philadelphias Fairmount Park
Memorial Hall. Everyones
favorite, #1 seed D-J Lee, didnt
make the tournament.
Reportedly, he didnt get his prescheduled match-time card in the
mail, hence wasnt sure he was
entered or not, and didnt want
to risk coming all that way for
nothing. Just wasnt anybody he
could call, huh? More believable
(see Jack Carrs Jan. 22, 1968
288

letter to the E.C. and others) is that neither D-J nor Bong Mo Lee attended because their entries
were refused by the tournament committee since the entry money did not accompany the entry
blank. Apparently, 20 entries that came in late were also refused, their entry fees returned.
Sol Schiff, according to Carr, was involved in a
controversy. Robert Robbie Robinson, the Center City Club
President, Cyril Lederman, the Referee, and Marty Weinstein
(asserting himself as the Tournament Chair) all told Jack and
Graham Steenhoven that Sol had originally agreed to supply the
trophies. However, when two weeks before the tournament Sol
heard that Jimmy McClure was going to donate the balls, there was
a problem. Sol said that he couldnt give the trophies at his usual
price (which included the engraving that Sol himself did) but would
have to charge what other companies would. In response,
Weinstein said he told Sol they were going to accept Jimmys ball
offer and would go elsewhere for the trophies.
Sol Schiff
But in such a short time where were they going to go to get
the price that Schiff, had he not been perhaps rightly miffed, would
have charged, so they decided, though this was traditionally a very
prestigious tournament, to get medals instead of trophies. When Schiff heard that, he withdrew
from the tournament. That is, he later insisted, he withdrew only from Singles, not Doubles.
Weinstein, however, though admitting Sols entry fees had been paid, his check cashed, would
not let him play Doubles. Robinson and Lederman said theyd allow Steenhoven and Carr to
overrule the Weinstein Tournament Committee, but Jack, Graham, and Rufford Harrison who,
because his wife had severely burned herself, was only intermittently on the scene, concluded
there was no rule allowing E.C. members to do this.
Schiff himself had a different version to tell Carr. According to Jack, Weinstein had
approached Sol with a proposed price for the trophies. But Sol said he could not meet that
price for the Easterns, feeling that such an important tournament warranted better trophies.
Well then, what would Schiff charge? Sol gave a rough figure but said that it was not
definite, hed get back to Marty. But Sol wanted a package deal, would supply both trophies
and balls, as had been their past practice. Schiff also said that in a telephone conversation
Weinstein had agreed to place Schiffs ad in the program and that Schiff would pay him at the
tournament site. The ad was not in the program.
After the Mens event, which Gusikoff won, Carr said that Bobby, on being given not
the trophy as contracted on the entry blank but this disappointing medal, complained
bitterly to him. Said something like, Probably thisll be the last Easterns Ill ever win. How
do I explain this little thing to my wife?
Ill pick up the thrilling highlights of the Mens shortly, but first a summary of the other
winners. In early play in the Womens, New Yorker Shazzi Felstein, U.S. # 16 last season, had
Violetta Nesukaitis down 17-10 in the 1st before losing 21-18then, before having to give it
up, was 22-all with her in the 2nd. However, thereafter in her matches, Nesukaitis, winning with
straight-game ease, seemed a whole class above Bernice Chotras in the semis (notice a little
grimace or two of disgust from Bernice, do you?) and Connie Sweeris in the final. Violetta
also won the Womens Doublesteaming with Barbara Kaminsky to defeat Chotras/Sweeris.
Mixed winners were the Sweerises, but, down 2-1 in the final, they had to rally to beat
Hirschkowitz/Kaminsky. Mens Doubles went to Tannehill/Sweeris over Bukiet/Sakai.
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Other winners: Mens As: Alex Shiroky over

New England #1 Lem Kuusk. Womens As:
Marianne Szalay with successive winsover
Felstein, Sue Wright, and Gloria Amoury in the final.
A Doubles: Bill Sharpe/Marty Theil over Mike
Lieberman/Sid Jacobs whod survived 24-22-in-the3rd matches against Al Nochenson/Nate Stokes and
Dan LeBaron/Ralph Stadelman. Bs: Elmer Wengert
over Steve Rigo. Consolations: Theil, 19 in the 3rd,
over Bob
Kaminsky and
Danny Banach in
the final, after
Martyd had a
Photo by Mal Anderson
slight
Marianne Szalay
misunderstanding
with some security
guards. Esquires:
Marty
Bill Cross over
Theil
Jimmy Verta.
Seniors: Cross over Stokes who upset National Champ
Lenny Klein. Senior Doubles: Bukiet/Fran Delaney over
Cross/John Nesukaitis.
Dell Sweeris, assisted by Jack Carr, held an hour
clinic for 26 Juniors at this tournament. Those benefiting
from work on what Jack said Dell focused on, the
Japanese-type forehand drive, were no doubt some of the following finalists. Boys
Under 17: Tannehill over LeBaron. Girls Under 17: Nesukaitis over Alice Green. Under
17 Doubles: Tannehill/LeBaron over Eli Koulis/Charlie Freund. A highly erratic,
enthusiastic match in this event between young David and Scott Rubenstein (sons of
Marty and Lona Flam Rubenstein) and Bruce Weinstein and Larry Shillerwith David in
tears and Bruce near fainting. Boys Under 15: Richard Nochenson, 19, -21, 13, -21, 19 in
the semis over Rich LeBaron, and in 4 over Mitch Sealtiel in the final. Carr said that
Nochenson told his father he couldnt have won without Jacks post-clinic individual
instruction. Boys Under 13: Rumble over Weinstein.
Carr said in that Jan. letter to the E.C. that young Weinstein, accompanied by his
father, had attended an Amateur Table Tennis Association (ATTA) Percy Rochester clinic in
Philadelphia a week earlier. This Association was just for Juniors. Marty was impressed by the
television, radio and newspaper coverage, by the turnout of 30 boys (most of whom were
beginners), and by Rochesters ability to coach.
Percy, abetted where possible by his AAU connections, was said to visit the areas
the USTTA has not touched, such as undeveloped and underprivileged regions. Since the
ATTA was strictly an amateur organization, Percy said it could never merge with the
USTTA since our Association allows professional players. However, because the ATTA
was getting the kids interested, the USTTA will reap the ATTA endeavors in the long
run. This Im sure History will record as wishful thinking. Would, though, that the
290

USTTA could give Rochester, who in seeking to help kids with table tennis and so affirm
his own identity, an Award as an acknowledgement of his efforts. But maybe he wouldnt
accept it, for hed become as discontent with our Association as former President Herman
Prescott.
O.K., now finally to the Mens eventthere, two of the best matches involved
Tannehill. In the 8ths, he had to go 5 to advance past Vic Landau, then met Harry
Hirschkowitz who somewhat surprisingly had been established as a 2-1 favorite. So well was
John hitting out and beautifully dropping the ball that he had the New Yorker almost beaten
was up 2-0 and up in the 3rd. At which time I remember a guy from behind me saying to
another, I dont think you know whats happening out there. Harrys playing a negative game.
Theres no way for him to win a point. Some 200 stiff chops and nothing balls later, Harry,
with a 9-6 lead in the 5th, gave John one of his long, baleful, I-know-you-cant-win stares, and
it was all over. Whatever Harry had started doing to the ball John
couldnt read and lost confidence.
Eventually the event narrowed down to an all-Eastern
semifinal: Hirschkowitz against Bukiet who, up 2-0, had held on,
23-21 in the 3rd, against Sweeris; and Gusikoff against the easygoing, gum-chewing Larry Folk who, to almost everyones surprise
and his own chuckling amusement, had overcome David Sakais
steady but not powerful loop attack through a combination of
pimpled rubber forehand chops and (since Dave couldnt push this
kind of spin well) one ball, point-ending hits.
The match between Bukiet and Hirschkowitz begins as
expected: Bernie stays at the table, rolls, drops, rolls, drops.
(Nobody ever times matches in this country, says a spectator.)
But then with games 1-1 the pace quickens. Bernie, indefatigable,
is hitting out hard now again and again while Harry is chopping
and lobbing from all over court, criss-crossing, arcing all reachable
space. Stop! Time for the Rule. Expedite? Expedite what? Neither
Bukiet not Hirschkowitz have played better in years. The match
David Sakai
couldnt be more exciting.
No matterthe 3rd game continues as before: Bernie
strategically holds the offense regardless of serve. Back and forth
points are traded until, with the score 19-all, the umpire calls Fault!Bernies foot has just
moved the table. Point for Harry.
Bernie does not like this call, does not like the umpire, perhaps has not liked
him before. Words are exchanged. Harry is given the ball, and serves. Bernie in anger
doesnt even look, just swats the ball away as hard as he canonly, miraculously, on
its tracer-like way to the stands, it hits Harrys side of the table! What theDeuce!
Point to Bukiet.
The crowd goes wild. Its the greatest shot theyve ever seen. Harry impulsively
rounds the table, a funny ironic smile on his face, and shakes hands with Bernie. Play
continues, but theres no chance now Bernie is going to give up this gamethe madness has
left him. Harry, however, seems paralyzedloses the next two points easily. And now the
match is no longer a match. At the 4th-game end, Bernie comes over to shake Harrys hand.
Harry waves him away; hes been sportsman enough.
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The other semis, between Gusikoff and last years U.S. #24 Folk, is something of a
joke, is it? One observer after another gives Larry little chance. When, however, he wins the 1st
game at 15 and takes an early lead in the 2nd, an upset looks to be in the making. Then
Gusikoff (What am I doing here? Am I going crazy?) quits flailing away at the ball, finds the
pattern of rolling to the forehand side, and evens the set.
In the 3rd game the match is anything but a jokethe scores 18-19 with Larry serving.
Up goes the ballnow the oomphed sidespin strokeand, oh, oh, whiff! Again, up goes the
ballagain the sidespin, to be made more vicious this timeand whiff! This is
embarrassing, says Folk, who of course after that cant regroup.
To many, the final match seems something of a gamble. Why bet on the outcome?
When Bobby is good, hes very good, but Bernie is always steady.
Gusikoff wins the 1st at 17, and at 13-all in the 2nd Bernies in trouble, cant let this
game get away from him. But, having been visibly troubled for the last few points, Bobby now
stops play and wants to know whos whistling. Whistling? No one is whistling. Its Bernies
shoestheyre squeaking. Another point. Squeak. Squeak. The audience titters. What is
this? Bobby says to Bernie. You werent making noise the first game. Another point.
SQUEAK. SQUEAK. The audience begins to laugh. Dont think about it, Bobby shouts a
voice from the gallery. SQUEAK. SQUEAK. Surprisingly, Gusikoff settles down to win.
Squeak, he says to Bernie as the game point ends.*
In the 3rd, Bobby has Bernie 11-4. In the 3rd,
Bernie has Bobby 14-12! Is that possible? Now, since the
tournament Program says Gusikoff fatigues and loses
his touch in the long ones, whos the favorite? But
Bobby lasts just long enough to put together a string of
staccato shots and, despite Bernies rock-like returns on
being match-point down, gets one final one through him and
ends this somewhat dizzying tournament by pirouetting
table-top high, hands up to heaven.
It is Bobbys last chance at the Easterns. In 69,
70, 71, 72, and 73, the Mens winner, his entry
accepted, will be D-J Lee.
TTT, Nov., 1966, 9

SELECTED NOTES.
*Readers of Vol. III will recall (see pages 299300) that in the final of the Dec., 1958 Connecticut Open, Bukiet had won the first two games
from Reisman, then had lost the next two, then, when Marty objected to Bernies tactic of
suddenly squeaking his sneakers, Bukiet defaultedand Reisman was vilified, judged to be
using a ploy on Bernie!
Squeak!

292

Chapter Twenty-Six
1968: Mid-to-Late Winter Tournaments (Sweerises Win Long Island Open).
1968: E.C. Decisions.
The 16th annual Arizona Open saw Dave Froehlich
blank Mark Adelman to win the mens. Mark had rallied
from 2-0 down and at deuce in the 3rd to smother 17-yearold Glenn Cowans hopesno, wait, the Phoenix fire still
burns. Theres Glenn taking the Under 17s, 19 in the 3rd,
from Gary Bochenski in the semis and from Rob Lange
20, 19, 12, 15 in the final. And Glenn again with Wil
McGruder winning the Doubles from Froehlich/Adelman.
In the Womens, Angelinetta was too strong for Marianne
Szalay, and Heathers Mixed partnership with Dave too
formidable for Marianne and her Fort Worth partner
Richard James. As went to Mac Horn over Tony Martin. A
Doubles: Richard James/David Bell over Norm Schwartz/
Tony Martin. Seniors: Horn over Edgar Stein, 18 in the
5th. Under 15s: Al Everett, the best player in Phoenix,
over Greg Bochenski. Under 13s: Kevin Bell over 12year-old Judy Bochenski.
It seems strange to me that the Atlanta Association
Dave Froehlich,
would
hold its Mar. Greater Atlanta Closed the same
Arizona Open Champion
weekend as the U.S. Open. I
checked to see if any of the 415 entries in Detroit were listed as
coming from Atlanta propernone were. Better to stay home and
play, huh? For sure, no problem at this local tournament for the
resigned USTTA E.C. member Bernie Tuckerhe won
everything he entered. Took the Mens from Sam Cannella. The
Doubles with Jim Thompson from Newman and Atlanta Club
President Joe Simmons. Even won the Mixed with his wife Gail
who in the Womens put up a good fight against Owen, runner-up
to Roma Harper. Womens Doubles, however, didnt go to Harper
and Owen; they were beaten by Lucille Curly Bailey/Jerguson,
the finalists in Womens Senior Singles. (Hey, why not offer
women who want to play an added event.)
USTTA Executive V-P Graham Steenhoven was so
pleased with the Atlanta Parks and Recreation Departments
willingness to interest boys and girls in table tennis that he
personally attended this tournament, served as Chief Referee and
umpired some matches, and (see the April, 1968 Topics cover
photo) was presented with the Blood Out Of A Turnip Award
by Parks representative Ron Ransome. BloodTurnip? Whats
TTT, Apr., 1968, Cover
that for? For doing the seemingly impossiblegetting some
Steenhoven receiving his
publicity about the tournament in the newspapers.
Award
293

Photo by Mal Anderson

Eddie Brennan

From 1968 U.S. Open Program

No U.S. tournaments reported up

Betty Hibner (L), Barbara Payotelis (R)
through the Midwest, but Michigans Janice
Martin won the Ontario Sarnia Open from Canadas #2 Velta Adminis, 18 in the 5th. Mens went to
the earlier Sarnia Closed winner, Derek Wall, now the Canadian #1, over Chuck Burns who more
than a quarter of a century ago was the U.S. Open runner-up to (remember him?) Lou Pagliaro.
Poor Chuck, did you see the 21-5, 21-7 drubbing Derek gave him? Embarrassing, yes? Perhaps.
But then you must also have seen the two games Burns won from Wall.
Actually, you might think of this tournament more as the Detroit rather than as the Sarnia
Open. Eddie Brennan paired with Wall to take the Mens Doubles from Eddies homeboys George
Payotelis/John Hart. Brennan also won the Mixed with Audrey Sturman over Wall/Jose Tomkins.
Jose, however, may have gotten a laugh from that Get Smart show that found a new use for table
tennis equipment: handgrenades disguised as balls, and guns in the handles of bats. Martin/
Tomkins were best in
Womens Doubleswith
Adminis/Jenny Marinko the
2nd-place finishers. Sam
Veillette, whod just opened
up a second hair salon, won
the Mens Bs from
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jenny Marinko
Martin; and Betty Hibner
took the Womens Bs from
Barbara Payotelis. In the
Cs, Bob Retherford came
runner-up to Bill Cheng.
At the 116-entry
Feb. Toronto Closed, Max
Marinko won the Mens
over Martin Ivakitsch
whod upset Wall in 5 in
the semis. The other
294

semifinalist, Modris Zulps, had advanced via 18, -18, 18, -19 17 counter-attack combat with
Art Saltpeter. In Mens Doubles, Marinko/Ivakitsch, after starting 20, 19 against Zulps/
Laimon Eichvald, were abruptly stopped, and lost 21-16 in the 5th. (Zulps and Eichvald are
teammates on the Hamilton, OntarioY team that will come 2nd in next months Canadian
Senior Mens Volleyball Championships.) In the Womens, Audrey Sturman downed Adminis
in 5 in the semis, but Jenny Marinko, not to be outdone by her husband, matched him Singles
title for Singles title.
Reportedly 42 boys and girls played in this tournament.
Under 17s: Ricky Cheung over Eddy Jasinski. Boys Under 15:
Errol Caetano over Vic Skujins, deuce in the 3rd. Girls Under 15:
Flora Nesukaitis over Susan Scholl. Boys Under 13: Skujins
over Marty Posen. Girls Under 13: Sherry Scholl over Susan
Scholl.
From Jose
Tomkins News (Mar.,
1968, 5), we learn that
Shirley Gero is a gifted
pianist whos won
awards at several music
festivals, and who, last
year as a 9th grader,
graduated with
distinction from McGill
Universitys Conservatory
of Music. Now Shirleys
Photo by J. Ligers
From CTT News, Mar., 1968, 10
the heroine of the Feb.
Vic Skujins
Quebec City Opengame
keyed to flashy glissandos
across the draws of her every entered event. She
won the Womens Singles, her first major, from
Denise Hunnius in 5; won the Womens Doubles
with Denise over Duceppe and Betty Tweedy; won
the Mixed with Ivan Csillag over Wall and Hunnius.
Derek was the Mens Singles winner over Eddy
Photo by J. Ligers
Schultz, and, with Montreals Peter Morgan, a
From CTT News, Mar., 1968, Cover
Shirley Gero
stalwart South African following in Walls
footsteps, the Mens Doubles winner over Csillag
and Sam Matossian.
Marv Shaffer, whod won the New England Class As, tells us that the Connecticut
State Open, held Mar. 10 at the Bridgeport Community Center, had some unique features:
First, the entry fees were not by event, but by the NUMBER of events
entered. That is, it cost $5.00 to enter one event, $7.50 to enter two events, $9.00
for three, and $10.00 for four.
Second, the entry fee entitled the participant to a free monogrammed Tshirt and [a] freebuffet-type supper served at 5:30 (TTT, May, 1968, 4).
295

Unfortunately, said Shaffer, the one-day

Marv
tournament ran very late. Eight tables were used, but
Shaffer
there were 120 entries anda bad mistakeplay wasnt
scheduled to start until 11:30 a.m., after which poor
table control compounded the problem.
Tim Boggan was the outstanding player of the
tournament. In the 50-entry Mens, he beat Errol Resek
in the quarters and then [-20, 19, 20, -21, 18] upset topseeded Fred Berchin in the semis. In the final, he lost in
4 to Surasak Koakiettaveechai, the Thai national
champion currently attending school in Boston. Earlier,
Surasak who was about to be the 1968 New England
Closed Singles and Doubles Champ, had been in 16, 19,
8 trouble with George Brathwaite. Mens Doubles went
to Surasak/Lim Ming Chui over Bill Sharpe/Hidley.
Womens winner was Alice Green over Shazzi Felstein.
Father Hal Green/daughter Alice won the Mixed from
Father Mitch Silbert/daughter Carol. Class A (60 entries) went to Bill Sharpe over Doon
Wong, 19 in the 4th. A Doubles: Sharpe/Mitch Sealtiel over Don Gage/Bill Dean.
Fred Berchin won everything at the Feb. Westchester Closedthe
Mens (over Bob Hopkins); the Doubles with Alan Moran for the 4th straight
time (over Peter Kwok/ Irwin Wolf); and the Mixed with wife Andrea (18, 24
over Kwok and Westchester Womens Champion Sylvia Feiner).
This brings us, ring-around-the-country, to the most important and
perhaps best run tournament in the East before the upcoming Nationals
the Feb. 16-18 Long Island Open. Can anyone doubt its the best run? No
smoking, drinking, eating or gambling.Try to keep the applause to a
minimum, its disturbing to the fine players. Dominating this Open (WS,
MS, WD, MD, XDa triple crown for each) were indeed two fine
players, the Grand Rapids husband/wife duo, Connie and Dell Sweeris.
Michigans Janice Martin reached the Womens final with a 20, 6,
-14, 8, 16 semis win over Bernice
Mort & Evelyn
Bob Hopkins
Chotras, U.S. Open Champion 22
Zakarin
years ago. But in the final, after
st
nd
dropping the 1 game, she lost a key 25-23 2 , and,
though she forced Sweeris into the 4th she could do no
more. Connie, whod been undefeated in the ITS
Matches played before the Open, thus won the $50 1st
prize, Janice the $25 2nd prize. In the Womens Doubles,
Sweeris/Martin 18, 25, 18 stopped Chotras/Neuberger. In
the Mixed, the Sweerises straight-game swept away
Martin/Tannehill.
The highlights of the Mens Singles play Ill come to
in a moment, but first some other results: Mens Doubles:
Sweeris/Bukiet over Swersky/Gutman whod eliminated
Hirschkowitz/Sakai, -18, 16, 20, 19. As: Lim Ming Chui
296

over George Brathwaite. Bs: Al Schwartz over 12-year-old Gary Adelman in 5, then Stu Lassar,
19 in the 4th. Womens Consolation: Evelyn Zakarin over Eileen Fuller. Seniors: Henry Deutsch
over Frank Dwelly, -8, 18, -14, 20, 21 (after Frank had been leading 20-16 match point in the 4th).
Senior Doubles: Bukiet/Delaney over Dwelly/Hull. Boys Under 17: John Tannehill over Stan Klein.
Girls Under 17: Janice Martin over Marilyn Sommer. Boys Under 15: Charlie Freund (from down
2-0) over Gary Adelman.
The big news in the
Mens was the now well-known
presence of 17-year-old Surasak
Koakiettaveechai (Caw-kyet-ayee-chai) from Bangkok. A
very nice boy, said Frank
Dwelly. Plays at our Waltham
Club, is willing to play with
anyone. In the 8ths, this young
Thai Champion, a shakehand
not a penhold attacker, is about
Photo by Mal Anderson
to play Harry Hirschkowitz, and
Surasak Koakiettaveechai
word has gotten round that the
kid took a game from World Champion Hasegawa at the last Asian Championships in
Singapore. Cmon, someone says, you know Harrys chop. How good can he be? He lost a
game to Brathwaite, so hes no D-J Lee, thats for sure. Harryll chop him down. But
someone else says, Harrys tired already. Hes been playing cards since two oclock this
morning. So what? says the first guy. Schiff thinks Harrys the only one whos got a
chance to beat this guy. Look, Ill give you 2-1 right now Harry wins the tournament.
But as it irrevocably happens, Harry, playing crew-cut Koakiettaveechai, is down 2012 match point in the 4th. Only suddenly the grim-faced Thai cant batter through one last
point: 20-1213141516171819! Now Surasak serves, dropping his left hand,
masking the ball. Harrys return is understandably hightoo highand from this he cant
recover. The umpire, some felt, shouldnt have been a member of Surasaks club.
In the quarters, Surasak, not given the best of draws, is faced with Dell Sweerisand
not only Dell but Rufford Harrison who very soon says to him, I want you to throw that ball
up. This warning disturbs Surasak,
who well might feel he is doing no
Dell Sweeris
wrong. And thereafter he seems to
lack confidence, seems often to be just
steering the ball. Sweeris, meanwhile,
becomes more and more aggressive,
ends by knocking the ball in from all
over the court.
Next up for Dell is his semis
against Bukiet. Everybody overplays
Sweeris, says one observer. Dells
all arms and legs. Bernies the only
one here who knows how to contain
him. Perhaps this is true, for Bukiet
297

wins the 1st at 19. But, as play

progresses, theres no containment, and
Bernie (These tables not good for
defense, you think?) can only twirl his
bat and smile ironically as Dell catches
fire and swats his way to the final.
On the other side of the Draw, in
the 8ths, Marty Reisman is in the endgame 3rd on his way to finishing Boggan.
I told you not to bet on your daddy,
he says as Tims youngest boy, 5-yearold Eric, breaks down and begins
sobbing.Turns out Eric couldnt care
less about the match, he wants to go
outside and play on the swings.
In the quarters, Reisman and
Dave Sakai are having difficulty getting
started smoothly. First Marty breaks his
Photo by Mal Anderson
shoelace. (Same act for 20
Dave Sakai
years.Usually saves that for deuce,
doesnt he?) Then, the match under way, the umpire warns Reisman about the open palm
service rule. Reisman in turn warns Sakai. After which, everyone having done his duty,
Reisman scrupulously practices for the remainder of the match what can only be described as
some secret, masterful form of yoga, palm rigidly outstretched as if stricken with rigor mortis.
However, it is not Sakais loop that brings about Reismans downfall, but rather his
own very spotty play. Its apparent that, like Dick Miles (who in spite of a bad knee has come
to watch), Martys not played in a tournament in months. David, moreover, after his loss to
Larry Folk in the Easterns, is now much more on the attack.
Next opponent for Sakai is Gusikoff. Bobby had played two bad but three very good
games in the quarters against Tannehill. Had, in fact, so often whacked in those forewarnedabout serves of Johns that one could see the young Ohioan saying to himself in baffled
disgust, D-J, Bong-Mo, tell me, is what Im seeing here real?
Sakais aggressiveness shows to particular advantage when he plays Gusikoff in
the semis. Its obvious that, though Daves kill is not a killer, hes the best exchanger.
Down 2-0, Bobby goes back to play defenseand with surprising success. At 19-all
Bobby gives David an unlooked-for nothing ball and David smacks it offno, not off,
sorry, it hits the edge. And then Bobby, irritated, losing patience, swats the next point
away.
In the final against Sweeriswell, aside from taking the one game, there is nothing
Dave, whod had but a single loss in the warm-up ITS Matches, can do. He has nothing to
be ashamed of, has played wellbeating Swersky, Reisman, and Gusikoff handily. But
Sweeris is just too goodsurely he has never played so overpoweringly well. Rufford
Harrison even said his forehandDells not Ruffordsrivaled Johanssons. At
tournaments end, its easy to picture Dell, the $100 1st prize in his pocket, flying high in
spirit homeward, hope in heart not only for his own play, but for the future of the Sport in
the U.S.
298

E.C. Decisions
The E.C. held a Meeting, Feb. 16-18 at the Long Island Open. Present were President
Feuerstein; Executive V-P Steenhoven; Treasurer Muehlenbein; V-Ps Veillette and Rushford;
Mal Anderson, Proxy for V-P John Read whod broken his leg; Cyril Lederman, Proxy for
Corresponding Secretary Dick Evans whose teaching duties wouldnt allow his participation;
and Rufford Harrison whose resignation as Recording Secretary was formally accepted with
regretLederman to act in his stead for this Meeting. V-P Jack Carr was absenthad in his
capacity as a Senior Engineer for the Newport News Shipbuilding Company to go on
submarine sea-trial duty. He didnt appoint a proxy because he felt they shouldnt be allowed.
The E.C. appointed Jack to be in charge of Public Relations.
Treasurer Muehlenbein reported that the USTTA had $10,000 cash on hand. Would
they be spending any of that? Cant say for sure yet. The anticipated revenue for the
International Team Fund by May 31st was $4,800. There would be a final round robin among a
pared-down group of ITS players at the Nov. 16-17 Detroit USOTCs that would determine
the selection of the U.S. Mens and Womens Teams to the 1969 Munich Worlds. It was
suggested that Cobo Hall be the permanent site for the USOTCs. The 1969 U.S. Open
would be in San Francisco, the 1970 Open in Detroit.
The E.C. deemed that some Disciplinary actions were necessary. The Philadelphia
Center City Club couldnt run any further sanctioned tournaments unless they reimbursed the
USTTA $50that was the difference of cost appropriated for the awards at the Easterns
when medallions were substituted for the usual trophies. Also, problems again with Doss and
Sakaithis time regarding debts they owed. Doss was in West Germany, not suspended but
under probation by the Deutscher Tischtennis Bund. Carr urged that Dosss USTTA
membership not be renewed. Apparently no definitive action was taken on Marty, but Sakai
would be suspended for six months and wouldnt be allowed to play in the upcoming U.S.
Open. Bill Cross, the Disciplinary Chair, was to tell Dave at the end of the L.I. Openthat is,
when he came off court after playing the final. Didnt want to disturb him at the wrong time.
Thereafter, for years, Sakai and the USTTA would part company. Whod ever think that
decades later Dave would be enshrined in our Associations Hall of Fame?

299

Chapter Twenty-Seven
1968: D-J Lee/Violetta Nesukaitis Win U.S. Open (Danny Seemiller Makes His
Appearance.) 1968: E.C. Doings and Undoings. 1968: Election Results.
Again the Program for the U.S. Open (our 38th one, 415 entries), held Mar. 15-17, at
Cobo Hall, is parochial and embarrassingwith all photos and stories limited to local
Michigan clubs and their strongest player/official supporters. Worse, there wont even be a
story in Topics about the tournament, only abbreviated results.
In the Mens, 32 players were exempt from two rounds of Preliminary play, and were
then joined by another 32 players whod advanced (first in a 2/3 then a 3/5 match) from a field
of 126.
On the #1 seed, 27year-old Lees side of the
Draw proper, the best matches
to watch were not of course
D-Jsthough (Oh
SHHugarh! he might say
good-humoredly on missing a
shot) he did drop a game to
Brathwaite, and played two 19
games with surprise
semifinalist Danny Robbins.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Before losing to #16 seed
Danny Robbins
Richard Hicks in 4, Harry
Hirschkowitz, the #7 seed,
had far less trouble with Max Marinko than he did with current Ann Arbor City Open
Champion Ron Beckman, now in Chicago enjoying a teaching fellowship at the University
of Illinois.
Laszlo Varenyi, though having to go
deuce in the 4th with Michigan TTA Chairman of
the Board Jim Rushford, upset #8 seed John
Tannehill in straight games. However, he then fell
in 5 to Vic Landau. Meanwhile, Jim Lazarus,
before being stopped by Vic, had come back from
the dead in a -16, -20, 16, 18, 19 advance over
John Hart. Canadas Modris Zulps, whod gotten
by Seattles Harry McFadden, -18, 12, 20, 19,
went down to Robbins. Biggest surprise of the
8ths was Dannys 4-game win over #4 seed
Gusikoff, after Bobby had struggled through a 5gamer with Glenn Cowan.
Photo by Mal Anderson
At last years Easterns, Bobby, talking to
Laszlo Varenyi
a N.Y. Times reporter, had done a sardonic
monologue on some Japanese t.t. companys
latest proliferating Catalogue:
300

Now here we have QD153, an inverted sponge for

left-handed penholder players who like to play attacking
game, or there is the KV075 for handshake player who likes
soft defensive backhand but hard-fast forehand. Now the
SS443 is for the pimpled rubber over sponge but one
Th
eM
ounce lighter for fast offense. Then the SK664 is thin
on
olo
sponge over 5-ply with inverted rubber on the backhand
gu
ist
and a faster sponge over inverted baked Butyl rubber for the
forehand.
Bobbys opponents here hadnt been doing anything bizarrelike, as hed told the
reporter, baking their rackets in an oven, or soaking them in secret solutions. Robbins didnt
beat Gusikoff with a freak racket, and his steadiness was apparent when he went on to defeat
Landau, 19 in the 4th, before succumbing to Lee. Deservedly, Dannys fine showing here would
move him up to U.S. #12 this season.
On the other
side of the Draw, the
#2 seed, Western
Michigan University
student Dell Sweeris,
reached the semis by
gliding 3-zip through
all opposition, most
notably #5 seed Dan
Pecora, as well as
Canadas Martin
Photo by Leo Bernat
Ivakitsch. Martin had
Dell Sweeris gliding three-zip through Dan Pecora
trounced Clay
Whitelaw, after Clays gutsy 17, -15, 16, 19, 17 rally
had moved him by #10 seed Errol Resek. Both Derek
Wall, the 9th seed, and Bernie Bukiet, the 6th seed, were
beaten in 4-game contested matches by Surasak who
in the semis, in perhaps the best match of the
tournament, was 17, 17, 16, -20, 22 finally eliminated
by # 3 seed Jack Howard. Jack then prevailed over
Sweeris, 18 in the 4th.
Howard, as weve seen, had learned how
important training and conditioning were to a wouldbe Champion. Unhappily for Jack, his 7, 20, 19
winning opponent in the final was well aware of this
too. Indeed, hugging his left, diamond-point tableedge, ever ready to begin his forehand spin attack, D-J
had also spoiled Jacks perfect record at the USOTCs.
A few years later, D-J would tell Douglas Looney of
the National Observer that when he was in South
D-J tells us how he wins
Korea he used to practice 8 hours a day, 7 days a
301

week. Now, he said, before a U. S.

Open, hed practice 5-6 hours a day,
and run 2 miles 3 times a week.
Also, with his right playing arm hed
lift an 8-pound weight at least 200
times daily, and swing his racket 200
more times. D-J said hed do all this
more for mental rather than physical
conditioning. It was a confidence
builder: I know Im stronger and in
better shape than my opponent, so I
win. And he didthe first of his six
straight U.S. Championships.
In the 26-entry Womens, it
was largely the old generation vs.
the new. And the old acquitted
themselves well. True, Millie
Shahian was beaten -13, -10, 7, 20,
-14 by former South Korean star
Serena Choi, but the score showed
her stout heart. Bernice Chotras,
however, swept away teenagers Alice
Green and Defending Champion Patty
Martinez in 6 straight games, giving
up only 44 points to Alice and 46 to
From CTT News, May, 1968, Cover
Patty, then in the semis took a 2-1
1968 U.S. Open Champion and Six-trophy Winner
lead before being stopped by #3 seed
Violetta Nesukaitis
Connie Sweeris.
On the other side of the Draw, Barbara Kaminsky prevailed in 5 over Wendy Hicks,
and Leah Neuberger eliminated Janice Martin in 4. (Listen: When Janice hits in that winner,
wont Miss Ping say, Hey, thats my best chop, young lady!) Barbara and Leah were then
beaten by Torontos Violetta Nesukaitis, the 1966 U.S. Open Champion, who before this
tournament had upped her usual twice-a-week practice sessions. In the Canadian News (see
the smiling Violetta, huge trophy in hand, on the May, 68 cover), Assistant Editor Sheila
Jewell wrote that it was only Violettas 16, 20, 19 match with Leah that had worried the 16year-oldwhich was understandable since in the final she wasnt pressed at all by Connie.
Heres Sheila assessment of the now two-time U.S. Open Champion:
Before a match she is nervous and tense, but once it is under wayVioletta
keeps her cool, only allowing herself occasional quiet mutterings if she makes a bad
move. While playing she is sure of her ability and never relaxes her concentration, but
once the tournament is over she reverts to the shy, introverted teenager she is (3).
Other winners: Big 3 Doubles: Mens: Bukiet/Sweeris in 4 (the only game they lost) to
Lee/Tannehill whod 16, -18, -19, 19, 18 survived the team of Blommer/Hirschkowitz.
(Surprise: why wasnt Jimmy partnered by Pecora? Danny didnt play Doubleshed been ill
302

or injured?) Womens: Nesukaitis/Kaminsky, the 66 U.S. Open Champions, over Sweeris/Martin

whod advanced by knocking out Chotras/Neuberger, 24-22 in the 4th. Mixed: Sweerises, winners
in 65, were winners again in a 3-0 (63-32-point) crusher over Bukiet/Nesukaitis.
Mens Over 40/50/60: 40s: Chuck Burns 18, -17, -19, 7, 9 over a tiring Max Marinko
whod 20, -16, 18, 17 eliminated Hal Green in the quarters and 17, 10, 20, -19, 18 Bill
Cross in the semis. 40 Doubles: Bukiet/Fran Delaney, 17 in the 5th over Sol Schiff/Bill Cross
whod ousted Burns/Rushford in 5. Womens 40s: Mary McIlwain over Velta Adminis. 50s:
Marinko over Cross. 50 Doubles: Schiff/Cross over Burns/Bill Byrnes whod downed both Ed
Bacon/Tony Vazquez (23-21 in the 5th) and Herman Whitey Lykins/Jim Pierson. 60s: in a
repeat of last years final, Si Ratner over Harold Dutch McAllister. Cincinnatis Walter
Judge Alexander, 85, was an entry.
A Committee of Ratner, Rushford, Fred Herbst, Sid Stansel, and Long Island TTA
President Dave Cox selected Schiff for the
1968 Barna Award.
Sol Schiff wins 1968
Youth winners: Boys: Under 17s:
Barna Award
Surasak over Tannehill in the semis, -18, 15, -18,
20, 13, and over Cowan in the final, 19, -19, 17, 19, 18. Had to have been great matchesand not
a word on them. Under 17
Doubles: Tannehill/Dan
LeBaron over Bob Bisno/Ray
Minc in 4. Under 15s: Mitch
Sealtiel over Al Everett in 5. Under
15 Doubles: Everett/Ray Martinez
over Sealtiel/Richard Nochenson.
Under 13s: Gary Adelman, after going 5
in the semis with temperamental John
Quick, over Martinez whod won a 2321 in the 5th battle with Chris Sylvan.
Under 13 Doubles: Quick/Sylvan over
Adelman/Earl Weinstein. Also, this same
year, young Sylvan won the National
Under 14 Doubles title in tennis.
Future U.S. superstar Danny
Seemiller, having entered the tournament
along with his older brother Bill who
taught him the Game, lost in the 15s in
5 to semifinalist Charles Freund, and in the 13s in 4 to semifinalist Quick.
Girls: Under 17s: Violetta Nesukaitis over Janice Martin whod upset
Defending
Champ Patty Martinez after being down 2-0 and winning the 3rd
Photo by Mal
precariously at 19. Under 17 Doubles: Nesukaitis/Shirley Gero over Angelita
Anderson
1968 U.S. Open Girls Rosal/Flora Nesukaitis. Under 17 Mixed: Nesukaitis/Bob Bisno over Sue
Under 15 Champ
Wright/Danny LeBaron in the semis and Martinez/Cowan in the final, both in 5.
Wendy Hicks
Under 15: Wendy Hicks over Defending Champ Martin, 19 in the 5th. Under
13s: Angie Rosal over Judy Bochenski.
Men/Juniors Class Play: As (128 entries): George Brathwaite over Richard Farrell (The
303

George
Brathwaite,
1968 Class A
Winner

From 1968 Caribbean Championships Souvenir Programme.

Fuarnado Roberts, 1968 U.S. Open Class B Winner, shown

here with his 1965 Jamaican teammates, winners of the
Caribbean Team Championships. L-R: Glen Mitchell,
Captain Baz Freckleton, Robbie, and Leo Davis.

Chief wore a huge headdressdidnt lose a game.) A Doubles: Brathwaite/Fuarnado Roberts in

the semis in 5 over Bisno/Minc, and in the final, 23-21 in the 4th, over Ray Mergliano/Clay
Whitelaw. Over 40 As: Bill Rapp in 5 over Howie Ornstein. Under 17 As: Tom Ruttinger over
Richard Nochenson in 5. Under 17 A Doubles: Ruttinger/Philip Woo over Gary Adelman/Charles
Freund. Bs (143 entries): Jamaicas Fuarnado Roberts, winner of the first Caribbean Singles
Championships in 1958, and in 1965 a member of the winning Jamaican Team, over Roy Fatakia whod
gone 5 with Ray Minc. (Through 8 matches, Robbie lost only 1 game.) B Doubles: Jim Davey/Austin
Logan in 5 over Mike Ezzo/Rich Covalciuc. Over 40 Bs: George Chotras over Dr. Duane Maule who
played in his first Nationals in 1935. Here in Detroit all four of his kids played, including 10-year-old
Kevin. And guess what? His wifes pregnant.
Womens/Junior Miss Class Play: As: Serena Choi over Shazzi Felstein, after Shazzi had
rallied from 2-0 down to eliminate Marianne Szalay. A Doubles: Choi/Szalay over Velta Adminis/
Jose Tomkins. A Mixed: Angelita Rosal/Ray Minc over Marcia Gayle/Brathwaite then Szalay/
Richard James, both in 5. Under 17 As: Shirley Gero over Sue Wright whod 19-in-the-5th stopped
Flora Nesukaitis.
Consolations: Mens: Barry Rost over David Barnes.
Womens: Velta Adminis over Shazzi Felstein. Over 40s:
Maule over John White. Over 50: Julius Paal over Sam Weiss.
Under 17 Boys: David Ford over Richard McAfee. Under 15
Boys: Chris Sylvan over Van Adams. Under 13 Boys: Ron
Ryel over Mike Veillette. Class A Mens: Bob Kaminsky over
Hugh Shorey. Class A Womens: Barbara Payotelis over Mona
Buell. Class A Over 40: Michigan TTA President George
Buben over Elkhart, IN Club President Leonard Hoover.
Class A Under 17s: Charles Freund over David Ford. Class
B: Stan Wallen over Jerry Button whod replace Dick Hicks
as Midwest Regional Tournament Director. Class B Over 40:
Ed Bacon over Sam Weiss.
What a boon to the Sport to have Cobo Hall (so
Ed Bacon
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huge that the organizers had to use battery-powered carts to move around the place). All these
come-to-play events were possible because the Hall could easily accommodate the 42 Nissen
tables in play.
E.C. Doings and Undoings
The USTTA, meeting in Detroit, Mar. 17, found a way to spend some of that $10,000 cash
on hand. Ranking certificates, at a cost of 10 cents each, would be presented to all nationally ranked
players. In order to economize, a two-year supply would be obtained. This year the USTTA will
have a booth at the 27th Conference and Exhibit of the National Industrial Recreation Association
at the Statler Hilton Hotel, Detroit, June 15-18maximum expense for that: $100. Also, a U.S.
Team to the CNE will again be outfittedat a maximum cost of $350.
O.K., I know you want the Association to spend some real moneyespecially since
therell be less Junior revenue coming in: the E.C. ruled that anyone under 17 who enters a
sanctioned tournament will be given a free USTTA membership. Be pleased to hear then that
the famous Japanese player/coach, Ichiro Ogimura, World Champion in Singles, Mens and
Mixed Doubles, will come to the U.S. this summer. In July or August hell hold a coaching
clinic open to prospective U.S. World Team members. Approximate expenses to bring him
here are: Air round-trip (Tokyo-Detroit) $800, plus 2 wks. expenses at $200 a week.
Resolved: to carry over unspent funds from [the] coaching budget and to supplement this
amount to a maximum total of $1200.
Although no discussion of the Team Captain for the Munich Worlds appears in the
Mar. 17 Minutes, there are, a couple of days after this Meeting and beyond, CONFIDENTIAL
letters on the subject from, as youd expect, Jack Carr and Rufford Harrison. Ill begin not
with Jacks Mar. 21st letter to Rufford changing his vote and consequently changing who the
Team Captain to Munich will be, but with Ruffords Mar. 28th letter to the Selection
Committee urging absolute secrecy. From his summary of events, influenced Im sure by
Carrs earlier letter explaining his now overwhelming choice for the opposite candidate hed
first voted for, one can see what was not being made public in Detroit.
There were really
only two contenders
for the Captaincy
John Read and Dick
Evans, though no one
considered either an
ideal captain. A third
candidate, Jim
Rushford, was thought
maybe insufficiently
forcefulnot likely to
do a good job with
advance
preparation[and
perhaps] had a
narrower knowledge of
table tennis than the
other two candidates.
Dick Evans
John Read
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The Captain would have to be a team manager,

and be able to give tactical advice, but in doing so
would also be expected to consult with the players and
encourage their own analyses. Here, writes Harrison,
agreeing with Carr, the nod goes to Read. However,
with regard to advance preparation, Read was weak (as
Ranking Chair, he was late in submitting rankings), and
Evans had a further edge because of his work as Chair
of the International Team Squad.
The unannounced 3-2 vote of the Selection
Committee favoring Evans over Read was as follows:
For Evans: Jack Carr, Rufford Harrison, Dell Sweeris
For Read: Jack Howard, George Schein
Then, says Rufford, whos the Selection Chair,
he got Carrs Mar. 21 letterthe result, said Jack, of
further knowledge of the prime candidatesand a more
Jack Carr
comprehensive reevaluation of facts known previously.
Question is, should Rufford now send this letter to the other Selection Committee members?
Carr appears to invite him to do thatbut his words have strong, pull-back strings: For your
convenience copies are enclosed for the other members, should you consider it proper
decorum to distribute to the others, particularly if you feel it advisable to write a rebuttal and
distribute that at the same time. But why suggest that only Rufford write a rebuttal? Because
Jack knows he wont? And therefore wont send Jacks letter to the others: it remains, though
the responsibilitys now Ruffords, CONFIDENTIAL.
Ah, decorum. And now, as with Bill Gunn, we have Jack moving stealthily as Moral
Arbiter, and Rufford as his Assistant. Based on what Jack has written him, Rufford writes
brutally (as if John had served jail time), Read is a convicted gamblera particular no-no for
Rufford because its the thing that gets us more adverse criticism, privately and publicly (in
the foreign press), than anything else. Rufford, after reading Jacks letter, also writes, Evans
has been alleged to be weak in his handling of moneyanother no-no because the Captain
will have a good deal of money to handle.
In his letter, Carr has pointed out to Rufford that some years ago (say 20?) Read was
suspended for gambling. Jack remembers specifically how at Lawrences Read played Ty
Neuberger for $25 after derogatory remarks made against Johns [gimpy] leg. But now he
thinks John has learned his lesson and no longer gambles. Indeed, Carr feels John has an
outstanding sense of responsibility in money matters working for an insurance company, and
has been knowledgeable and careful about certain USTTA expenses.
Carr had talked to someone (apparently at the Mar. 16-18 U.S. Open a few days
before his Mar. 21st letter) whom he doesnt name, whod influenced him to change his vote.
This someone, he says, was a member of Evanss [1967] USOTC team. Thats team
(singular)which makes Carrs obfuscation the darker because Evans, who didnt play in that
67 Team tournament, had Captained two teams there: the International Juniors (Ohioans
Tannehill and Roger Lewis, and Michigans Dan LeBaron) and Ohio #1 (D-J Lee, Don Lyons,
John Spencer, and Richard Farrell). This someone (either Lee or Tannehill?) said that Evans
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was irresponsible concerning money matters[though he] didnt mean Evans was dishonest. Its
just that he and his wife Ann occasionally had money problems and that this had a bearing on
Evanss recent divorcethough Jack himself adds, I personally have some [sic] doubt about
that. Then, says Jack, there was the personal loan made by Schiff to Evans and the fact that there
was an undue time delay between the time of the loan and the first payment [forced by Carr, else he
wouldnt vote for Dick for E.C. office]. And of course, wrote Jack to Rufford, we remember the
unjustified expenditures of the 1963 World Team[and] we dont want to go through that again.
Carrs willingness to give unquestioned credence to this source suggests, but doesnt
confirm, that hes talking to D-J Lee, himself probably very much concerned with money
matters, rather than to a kid in his mid-teens whos likely had little experience at the
complexities associated with responsibilities and who might change his mind tomorrow. At any
event, this comment is hearsay, and, after all, it is rather normal for a couple who arent
particularly well off, one of whom may want to spend money one way, another another way, to
have money problems. So the supposition, the 63 analogy, Jack jumps to is certainly suspect.
I begin to get the feeling Ive had before that Jacks involvement in anything is,
underneath, all about Jack and his need for attention, for recognition.
Carr said he checked with two of Evanss USOTC team members, including one who
was on the ITS (obviously Lee or Tannehillthe same someone as before? Carrs submarinelike obliqueness, his torpedo motives armed for the attack, always urge me to try to go
elsewhere to verify his conclusions), and these two, said Jack, did not prefer Evans as
Captain. One said that Dick neither gave advice nor sought the advice of others, and was
difficult to work with. This certainly sounds like D-J talking, for he and his cousin, Coaching
Chair Bong Mo Lee, might well bristle over any Captain who wasnt pretty much completely
compliant with their interests (as Read would be?). This is the more likely when Carr writes
that at the U.S. Open Bong Mo complained that Evans was belittling him, was of the
opinion that Bong Mo really didnt know much about tactics.
Carr wrote, too, that an Evans team member [Lee or Tannehill?] told me that he
[Dick] was not liked by those in Ohio, principally because he did things unilaterally [like
Steenhoven?]thus became president of his own club and the Ohio Assn. Also, Carr adds,
while Read continued to be steadily employed by an insurance company, Evans had three jobs
within the past 5 years.
The proposed Selection Manual states that the team captain should be a coach. Read
isnt the Certified Coach that Evans is, but Carr believes thats just a formality, for he thinks
that John has probably coached tactically, organizationally, and inspirationally more than any
other [coach] in this country. The one time out of eight that Varenyi beat Bozo [sic: for
Bozorgzadeh] was in the 1966 USOTC finals as a Read team member. Where does Jack get
stuff like this? Hes talked privately with Read but not with Evans? (Jack recalls in his letter
that John declined to run against him for E.C. office two years ago.)
On and on Carr goeson the one hand, patching together whatever he can think of
that favors Read (he speaks French and wrote me that he is acquainted with European
customs), and on the other, criticizing Evans for not admitting his many mistakes (if thats
what they are) as Read is wont to do, and enumerating as many of them from the past as he
can. At the 1967 USOTCs, D-J Lee lost his only match of the tournament, was defaulted,
because Capt. Evans wasnt alert in time to the fact that hed overslept. That, too, sounds like
D-J talking. Evanss change of vote for the Expo 67 representative resulted in unpleasant
publicity in Topics and Tennis magazines. This vote change was made after the results were
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announced,contrary to parliamentary procedure, and caused the USTTA to be represented by the

lesser of two capable players [Klein rather than Sweeris], although [this was] unknown at the time.
The overkill (and believe me I havent given you all of it) is really astonishingthe more so
because Jack originally voted for Dick as Captain, is about to vote for Dick in the E.C. election,
and later, in an April 3rd letter to Harrison, will modify his earlier negative view of Dicks unilateral
actions in Ohiosays, Lets realize that even though maybe Evans was unilateral with his club,
district and tournament, he did organize these, which is more than can be said for Read or Rushford.
Being unilateral in this regard may not be too bad, since it [this organization] may never have been
done at all if it hadnt been done in that manner; we can not possibly be fully aware of the local or
state conditions in Ohio.
Better Jack thought in that reflective way after talking repeatedly with that someone
probably Lee. Instead, after hes sneakily sunk Evanss ship, he closes on the 4th page of his
single-spaced Mar. 21st letter with an invitation to Rufford: Perhaps, he says with typical
deviousness, you can shoot this full of holes, deny unintentional half-truths, etc. Ive tried to
give a correct representation, but naturally tended [sic] toward Read.Please give us [sic] a
letter favoring Evans. May we [sic] have your rebuttal and enclose it with copies of this? Of
course, Carr, despite the oh-so-civilized, pretty-please closing that follows his unleashed
attack, really isnt interested in any possible corrective readings, else he would right away have
sent his CONFIDENTIAL letter to other members of the Selection Committee. Perhaps
Howard, for one, would have been appalled to read itand changed his vote to balance Carrs
reversal.
Rufford isnt going to train his guns on Jackhes had enough of him. Besides, since
he doesnt think either Read or Evans will make a very good Captain, he isnt interested (as
Carr almost certainly knows) in pursuing the matter (talking to the not even named Ohio
someone, as any rebuttal would require). But though Sweeris (who of course hasnt seen
Carrs letter) will obligingly change his vote, Rufford rejects Carrs request that he change his
so that Read will be elected unanimously. That, he said, would hardly reflect the reality of the
Selection Committees difficultiesor at least Carrs difficulties. Besides, Rufford still prefers
Evans to Read because of the formers stronger organizational ability. The Team, he insists,
would be better prepared with Dick as Captain.
Thirty-five years later, I showed Carrs letter to Dick Evans. Heres the gist of his
reply:
I feel the need to write you a bit about some of the heresay and distortion of
the facts. First, there were no financial problems related to my divorce from Ann
Andre. We were a low income couple during the entire 10 years we were together,
partly because one or both of us were students during that time.It is true that the
Columbus club owed Sol money which we were slow to repaybut we did repay him.
He had advanced us equipment when we were getting the Columbus club started, and
we were pretty broke for the first year in operation.
It is also true that I had 3 jobs in 5 years. When Ann finished her graduate work
at Brown U. [Dick at that time had been a social worker in East Providence, R.I. and
had occasionally given exhibitions in various places with Sol Schiff], I took a social
work job with the Ohio Youth Commission in Columbus. I resigned that position two
years later after a change in the management of the Juvenile Diagnostic center where I was
the social work member of a psychiatric team. There was a serious personality conflict
308

between me and the new head of the social work department. He asked me to resign and I
did. I then taught high school for 4 years before the Pickaway Co. Brd. Of Ed. refused to
renew my teaching contract at the end of the 1970 school year because of my active
opposition to the Vietnam War. I had demonstrated in the March on Washington in Nov.
69, participated in the protest that closed OSU in the spring of 70 and resulted in Kent
State in May of that year. It was a job firing that I am still proud of. Carr may have
discovered these things in his excavation of my private life, and given his employment history
with the Navy, might not have approved of what he discovered. [Carrs letter is dated Mar.
21, 1968, so of course Jack couldnt have been privy to the events Dick refers to in 1969
and 70. However, as I know from a Nov. 18, 1968 letter Dick wrote to Cheri Papier, he
was already a controversial teacher at his high school, one who had no qualms about
upfront stating his views on current eventsviews which, as Dick says, likely Carr would
not share.]
I feel fairly certain that the derogatory remarks about me from an Ohio team
member came from D. J. because of what he must have heard from cousin Bong Mo,
with whom I never had a very good working relationship, and who may have been
somewhat envious of my rise to table tennis prominence in Ohio, thinking himself
better qualified as coach & team captain than me. And I admit that he probably was a
better, and more active, coach than me but he certainly was not better in dealing with
details or in organizational skills. A fact which I think my subsequent history has shown
to be true. As coach/team captain of the Ohio team at the NTCs [sic: for USOTCs], it
would have been futile for me to attempt to coach or advise D.J. who was a player in
the top 20 [D-Js best was World #23] and had no respect for my opinion about
anything relating to the sport. When he slept in and was defaulted, it was already too
late for me to phone him when it happened. He would have been defaulted before he
could get there. Perhaps I should have played the mother role and gave all of them an
early bird wake up call. But they were, with the exception of Tannehill, responsible
adults who knew the importance of these matches.
It was gratifying to learn that in spite of this Carr blitzkrieg, Rufford continued
to support me. I understand the lack of support from Jack Howard & George Schein
who hardly knew me at that time, but who had known John Read.So, there you have
it: my side of the story.
Which Carr was not interested in.
Election Results
As Harrison points out in an article in the April Topics, there were roughly 50% more
votes in the 1968 E.C. election than usual. Why? Because Topics Editor Harry Blair, whod
given up his Southern Regional Tournament Directors job to Hugh Babb, had to work a lot
of over time and couldnt avoid a delay in getting the March issue out. Consequently, said
Rufford, the campaign literature had to be sent out with the ballots. It obviously helps to have
the candidates literature right there when X-writing time comes round. As for write-ins,
forget themthe leaders, Joe Sokoloff and Walt Stevens, between them could muster only
6% of the total vote (10).
With Harrisons decision not to run for the Presidency (in the interim hes moved from
Newark to Wilmington, DE), the way was open for Steenhoven to secure an uncontested 413
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votes. Feuerstein, who was hardly a dynamic President, lost his bid to become Executive VicePresident to Carr, 279 votes to 162 votes. (Said Harrison in commenting on Jacks win: You
dont get up at 5 AM to write letters all over the country and then lose an election.)
Membership Chair Bob Rudulphs V-P win (222 votes) over Mal Anderson (135 votes) and
Steve Isaacson (61 votes) also drew an explanation from Rufford: Having efficiently sent
membership cards to every member of the Association, he figured to be well known. The
office of Recording Secretary was won by Dick Evans (237 votes) over Cyril Lederman (207
votes).
With Evans elected, his old office of Corresponding Secretary became vacant. No doubt
Lederman figured he might be appointed to it, but at the Summer E.C. Meeting President
Steenhoven would chooseDetroits Madeline Buben, wife of
the Michigan TTA President George Buben. This would not go
unnoticed by Lederman whod write the following Letter to the
Editor:
[An] interesting situation has arisen that possibly will
reduce the effectiveness of the
Executive Committee. I refer to
the following members: Graham
B. Steenhoven, President; James
Rushford, Vice President; Sam
Veillette, Vice President; Rudy
Muehlenbein, Treasurer; Mrs.
Madeline Buben, Corresponding
From the 1970 U.S. Open Program Secretary.
Madeline Buben
The above mentioned
persons all reside in the Detroit
area. The USTTA Bylaws, Article IV (E) states that An
Executive Committee meeting quorum shall consist of five
Executive Committee members. It seems that we should
Cyril Lederman
possibly change our name to Michigan Table Tennis
Association.
It is unnecessary to point out the obvious dangers of this situation; it is something
that requires immediate attention. In reviewing Mr. Steenhovens campaign statement, he
stated that he wanted to give representation to all states. Im curious to know how he can
justify selecting a Corresponding Secretary from Detroit (TTT, July, 1968, 5).
Steenhoven made no public response. Perhaps he told Cyril in private what he thought
of his curious request.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight
1968: End-of-Season Tournaments ($1100 Masters Classic). 1968: European/Asian Play.
Harrison thought that perhaps President
Steenhoven would appoint someone from the
West Coast to the vacant Corresponding
Secretary office, especially since next seasons
U.S. Open would be held in San Francisco. But
though he didnt, that didnt mean the Pacific
Northwest and California were dead to the
USTTA. At the Oregon Open, Carl King
Cole was back to win the Mens in 5 from
Harry McFadden whod stopped Bill Leishman,
-9, 13, 23, 24. Cole paired with Leishman to
take the Doubles from Earl Adams/Jeff Kurtz.
Carl King Cole
At the Sacramento Open, Tony Sutivej,
whod been the Thai Champion just before
Surasak, won the Singles from George Makk,
and the Doubles with Peter Yeung (after being
rd
down 2-0 and at 21-all in the 3 ). Womens winner: Jeanne Wrase. As: Yeung over Chan. Bs: Jeff
Mason in the semis over Abellera, 25-23 in the deciding 3rd, and in the final over Gerald Zeilenga,
24-22 in the 4th. Seniors: Abellera (thats Tom Abellera who 10 years earlier played for
Washington, D.C. in the Intercities?) over Sam Lima. Under 17: David Chan over Mason. Under
15: Mason over Leung, 19 in the 3rd.

TTT, Apr., 1968, 6

L-R: Neil Hirt, Gen. Mgr. of Lamb Chevrolet, Dell, D-J (dreaming),
Glenn and Erwin (also shown on left)

Hooray! The Lamb Chevrolet Co. of National City, CA put up an unprecedented $1100 in
prize money for their Apr. Invitational Masters Classic. The venue was their Chevvy showroom,
and Don Lindo was there to thank Mark Adelman, the organizer of the tournament, and to cover
311

the story for the Apr. Topics (6-7). Although there was no entry
fee, the tournament hype suggested that the very best players in
the country would participate, and, as there were just 1st through
5th-place prizes in the one Invitational event, it drew only 10
players. Those from other areas of the country who were extended
invitations must have figured they had little chance to meet
expenses, and so didnt come. But what they missed! Heres Don:
As far as hospitality was concerned, a fairy
god-mother couldnt have done better. Lamb Chevrolet
provided players with luxurious autos for their use
during the two-day stay and, when the company
learned the players were dining at a local restaurant,
they picked up the tab. After the tournament, Neil Hirt,
General Manager of Lamb Chevrolet, arranged a gettogether at his home.
Of course D-J Lee took the $300 1st prize with a smile,
but, as Don says, in that showroom, table tennis wasnt the
only thing on his mind. D-J hopped behind the steering wheel
of a new Chevrolet Corvette with all the exuberance of a kid
mounting a rocking horse. One would have thought he
expected to get the car instead of the check.
It wasnt just Lee who was the center of attention
thoughfor upsets were abundant. In fact, the real hero of the
tournament proved to be the 17-year-old boy wonder Glenn
Cowan. Says Don, who can turn a phrase, Although it may be
said that two things Cowan lacks most are self-control and a hairPhoto by Rufford Harrison
cut, he seemed to be bothered by neither. Down 0-2 in games to
Glenn, looking to win
Sweeris, he staged an amazing comeback to win the next three
Best-Groomed Award
[including the 4th at deuce]. Then, against Erwin Klein, after
being given the score equivalent for the first game of a pat on the head and a bounce on the knee
(Glenn didnt get 10 points), he proceeded to show little respect for his elder and finished him
off 3-zip. Also, against Ray Fahlstrom (whose one win was over Richard Rodriguez, 19 in the 4th),
Glenn at 1-1 took the key 3rd game, 22-20. As for Klein, whod end up in 5th place, he had the same
fast start against Sweeris that he did against Cowan, then was totally out of it.
Adelman, who finished 6th, had his moments. He viciously looped and mercilessly
smashed his way to victory in straight games over the defensive classicist, Wayne Obertone.
Wayne, in turn, though he won only one match, made that one counthe beat U.S. #3 Danny
Pecora. Howie Grossman, like Obertone a rubber defender, almost stopped 3rd-place finisher
Pecoralost deuce in the 5th. Lindo had this observation to make about Danny:
Playing relentlessly throughout the competition, his serious and quiet
demeanor was occasionally broken by a one syllable mock laugh (given when his
opponent made a great shot)a laugh which had the unusual quality of conveying
Pecoras bewilderment at his opponent making such a good shot, as well as Pecoras
surprise that he himself didnt return it.
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Sweeris avenged himself against 4thplace finisher Cowanbeat Glenn, as did

Pecora, in a play-off match. Dell then came
runner-up to Lee, acquitting himself well by
taking a rare game from the Champ. The
sponsorship of this professional tournament
gives hope to Sweeris and others that money
prizes will stimulate growth and interest in
table tennis and thus raise the Sports stature in
the U.S. Time will tell whether Amateurism, or
Shamateurism, rules will, or will not, be a
prevailing force against this new movement.
U.S. #16 Joe Sokoloff, who sells table
tennis and billiard trophies, equipment and
Joe Sokoloff
sportswear out of Kansas City, had done well
in the ITS Matches at the U.S. Openbeating
Cowan, Tannehill, and Pecora among others, while losing only to top finishers D-J Lee and
Jack Howard. Two weeks later he won the Oklahoma City Open over David Bell. However,
David and his brother Kevin took the Doublesfrom Joe and Richard James. Womens went
to Norma LeBlanc over J. Preston; and Norma and her husband came 1st in the Mixed over
Preston/Ken LaFleur. As: Ed Ellis over Dewald. Bs: Bob
Petty over Glen Markwell. Cs: Russ Finley. Seniors:
Dewald over Lou Coates. Under 17: K. Bell over Behymer in
5. Under 15: Behymer over Billy LaFleur, 18 in the 3rd.
Sokoloff came the following week to the Great Plains
Open, but for whatever reason defaulted all his round-robin
semifinal Singles matches and his Doubles final. Mens
winner was U.S. #14 Dick Hicks over runner-up Frank
Tharaldson who defeated Roy Fatakia (from down 2-0), 18
in the 5th. Bob Chen/K. Wong took the Doubles after
Sokoloff/Dave Ford had eliminated
Hicks/John Maley in 5. Jean Varker
won the Womens from Norma
Hicks, the Womens Bs from Erma
Fatakia, and with Christy Logan the
Womens Doubles from Sonia Saale/
Photo by Leon Nevil
Fatakia. Mixed, however, went to
Norma La Blanc
the Hickses over Pierce and Christy
Logan. As went to Roy Fatakia over
perennial St. Charles Closed Champion Jim Wachter in the semis and
Larry Chisolm in the final. Bs to Gerald Schuster over Homer Brown
in 5, then Ackerman in the final. Cs to Joe Bujalski. Come seasons
end, the St. Louis Club will present a USTTA Emblem Award to Art
Fiebig for his help with Junior Players.
Chicagos Steve Isaacson is playing in the Central Florida
Closed? Yes, and, having escaped Jim Leggett in 5, winning the Mens
Art Fiebig
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easily over Paul Soltesz. Surely, though, Steve didnt play with his checkerboard? Dont laugh.
Heres what Bob Rudulph reports in the Apr. Topics (11):
[Steve with his checkerboard] has worked up a devastating offensive game,
a retinue of serves, a following of fans, and a patter of burlesque comments to interject
during play. After defeating one opponent with a series of unbelievable and
unreturnable drives, he quipped, This is the worst checkerboard Ive ever played with.
Does anyone have a sponge checkerboard?
On another occasion, after defeating a USTTA official (whose name we wont
mention, but whose initials are J. Rufford Harrison) he offered the use of his
checkerboard to the not-too-happy official and a 19-point spot on the condition he use
only the white squares.
Bob Hughes won the Delaware Closed Singles and (with Don Estep) Doubles. As:
Rufford Harrison in the semis (from down 2-0) over Jim Miller and in the final over
Blaine Tilghman whod eliminated Estep in 5. Bs: Miller over Bob Hoffheinz.
Consolation runner-up Evan Guyer painted a new ball with orange-red fluorescent paint
and took it to his Wilmington, DE club for a tryout. Yes, yes, yes, he said, I can really see
ita big improvement over the white ball. And what did his club-mate, Rufford Harrison,
the DuPont chemist, and soon-to-be ITTF Equipment Chair, think of that? Hah, hes not
surprised: the impact of color TV in Europe could well put a premium on more
adventurous color-schemes; hence, research in Germany suggests that a yellow ball can
be seen more easily against a black table.
Twenty-eight years after he won the Pennsylvania State
Championship, Mike Lieberman did it againthis time by
beating Dave Gaskill whod reached the final with a 5-game win
over Marty Theil. Last year Mike was awarded the Seymour
Coren Award for his non-playing contribution to Philadelphia
tennis. (Years later Mike would be part owner, president and
head professional at a 950-member prestigious tennis club, so
already he must have been well on his way to such success.)
Presumably, too, by this time Mikes into karatethe Okinawan
Kempo style that Gene Wilson mentions in a later piece on him
(TTT, Apr., 1982, 28). Certainly at this PA Closed, Mike was
dominating events as if he were mastering katas. In the Doubles,
he paired with Dave to defeat Theil and Bill Sharpe. In the
Mike Lieberman
Seniors, he flattened Sam Weiss, after Sam had 24-22-in-the-3rd
sent Milt Lederer to the mat.
D-J Lee didnt play Singles in the Ohio Closedwhich of course resulted in Tannehill
winning the semifinal round robin over runner-up John Spencer, Dick Evans (1-2), and Dick
Winters. Lee, however, did partner Bill Hodge to a 19-in-the-4th Doubles win over Tannehill/
Richard Farrell. Womens went to Cheri Papier over Doris Mercz, and the Mixed to Papier/
Tannehill over Doris and her husband Ferenc (Frank) Mercz. As: Jim Supensky over Art
Holloway whod prevailed 23-21 in the 5th over Lyle Thiem. A Doubles: Thiem/Holloway over
Supensky/Mercz in 5. Under 15s: Mark Wampler over Under 13 winner Bruce Allen.
Seniors: Lou Radzeliin the final over Bob Allen and in the semis (from down 2-0) over
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Cincinnatis Ed Morgan, whose wit and humanity, Dick

Evans notes, have long been a salving presence in Ohio
table tennis.
Canadians, with one exception, won every event at
the Apr. Ontario Open. The Ontario TTA, I note, gives a
break to the Juniorsdoesnt charge them entry fees at
their tournaments. In the Mens final, Derek Walls
stonewall defence finally wore down Marinko in the 5th,
especially after Maxs 11, 17, 18, -22, 19 semis with
Martin Ivakitsch took a heavy toll on him. Womens
winner was of course Violetta Nesukaitis over Shirley
Gero. But Shirley teamed with Jose Tomkins to outplay
Violetta and her sister Flora, said to have been partners for
only the second time. What with Violettas steadiness and
Floras brilliant attacking, the hope is theyll be
unbeatablethat is, in North America. Mixed went to
Violetta/Ivakitsch over Velta Adminis/Modris Zulps. Mens
Photo Bill Scheltema
Ed Morgan
Bs: Buffalos Jim Dixon over Carl Thorpe, then George
Rideout, both in 5.
At the New Jersey Closed, Jeff Swersky beat Harvey Gutman, 23-21 in the 4th, after
Harvey had to work against Mike Kuklakis and Nate Stokes. Jeff and Harvey, as expected,
took the Doublesfrom George Holz/Norm Richter. Womens winner was Serena Choi over
Harveys sister, Bonnie Gutman. Mixed went to Choi/Swersky over Gutman/Gutman. As:
Jerry Fleischhacker
over Ivan Steibris.
A Doubles: Mitch
Sealtiel/Bob
Saperstein over
father Al and son
Richard
Nochenson, 23-21
in the 5th. Seniors:
Stokes over
TTT, Apr., 1965, 9
Photo by Mal Anderson
Nochenson, 18 in
Stu Lassar
Danny Banach
the 5th. Under 17s:
Sealtiel over Fleischhacker. Under 15s: Sealtiel over Nochenson.
Tim Boggan, with his constant picking and great defense, won the Long Island Closed
over George Brathwaite in the semis and Defending Champion Errol Resek in the final. Mens
Doubles went to Brathwaite/Resek over Boggan/Mitch Silbert, 19 in the 4th. Jamaicas Monica de
Souza, the 1966 and 67 Caribbean Champion, took the Womens from Margaret Burnett in the
semis and Alice Green in the final, both in 5. In Womens Doubles, the Monica/Margaret duo at 11 won the pivotal 3rd game to beat Eleanor Leonhardt/Vija Livins in 4. Mixed winners were
Brathwaite/Burnett over Boggan/Leonhardt.
Other winners: As: Danny Banach in 5 over Sid Jacobs who survived an 18, -15, -20,
22, 16 marathon with Stu Lassar, later in Iceland Bobby Fischers t.t. sparring partner as the
eccentric Grandmaster relaxed for his famous World Championship match with Boris Spassky.
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Seniors: Henry Deutsch over Phil Hadland,

27-25 in the 4th. Senior Doubles: Mitch
Silbert/Jacobs over Bernie Lieber/Dave
Mandel. Boys Under 17: Charles Freund
over Stan Klein, 23-21 in the 5th, after Stan
had rallied to down Bill Steinroeder in 5.
Girls Under 17: Alice Green over Marilyn
Sommer. Under 15s: Freund over
Leonhardt, 23, 15, 21, then Adelman, 16,
20, 21. Under 13s: Adelman over John
McGraw.
Some fierce matches in the May
New York Open. In the quarters, Sam
Takayama, down 2-0 and at deuce in the
3rd, came back to beat Resek, then 20, 30, -15 went down swinging as they say to
George Brathwaite who, having previously
defeated Berchin in 4, reached the final.
Henry Deutsch
His overpowering opponent there was
Bukiet whod beaten Landau 3-0 in the semis, but whod been forced into the 5th in the
quarters with Boggan. Womens winner was Chotras over Neuberger.
1967-68 European/Asian Play
Id presumed New Yorker Shazzi Felsteins name would be in the N.Y. Open
results, for surely by now she was back from vacationing in Europe. At any event, in his
Topics article (May, 1968, 3) on the 1968 European Championships, held Apr. 17-24 in
Lyon, France, our International Chair Rufford Harrison elaborates on what Shazzi, a
spectator, has seen there. Attendance was very poor, said Shazzi. There were almost
no spectators at all, even at the finals.The only other American there was Doug
Cartland, unless you count Norbert Van de Walle. He sends regards to all his American
friends. Shazzi thought the matches very exciting, but, she said, I missed having a team
to root for. Shes looking forward to the Munich Worlds where I can cheer for the
Americans and watch the Oriental players.
Good thought, Shazzthe more so because it allows me, before returning to talk
of the Europeans, to segue into whats been happening with the Asian players. Best for
the U.S. to be prepared, eh?
At the 1967 Asian Championships in Singapore, neither China nor Taiwan
participated, though no doubt for different reasons. Rumors were rife that Chinas #1
Chuang Tse-tung and his Coach, Fu Chi-fang, were killed as they attempted to flee
China, and that #2 Li Fu-jung and #3 Chou Lan-sun had managed to escape, probably
to Taiwan. As it turned out, these were false rumors. Rufford refers to a letter sent by the
Chinese TTA to ITTF Founder President Ivor Montagu. According to Rufford, this letter
says that the Chinese table tennis players are currently taking part in the Cultural
Revolution and that, fortified by this experience, they will return.
The TTA of the Peoples Republic of China makes clear in a Feb. 29, 1968 letter to
ITTF President Roy Evans that The Cultural Revolution is a force to be reckoned with:
316

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, initiated and

led by our great leader Chairman Mao personally, has spread to
the whole of China, arousing the 700 million people. In the short
space of a year and more, this unprecedented revolutionary
movement has won decisive victory and blazed out for our country
a brilliant path for the consolidation of proletarian dictatorship and for
the complete realization of the socialist revolution. It has educated the
masses, the youth and also our sportsmen and workers for physical
33
culture. It has greatly promoted the ideological revolutionization of the
71,
, 19
6
2
.
o
a
pr
whole nation. As a result, our great motherland has never been so strong
nM
e, A
Tim airma
as it is today. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is a very important
Ch
mark indicating that Marxism-Leninism has developed into the era of Mao
Tse-tungs thought. The revolutionary people of the whole world support resolutely
our Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution; they are greatly inspired by its victory and see
their bright future in it. Only U.S. imperialism, Soviet revisionism and reaction of various
countries are frightened out of their wits by Chinas Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
and rack their brains to slander and curse it.
In another letter, written at the same time, this one to ITTF Secretary-Treasurer A. K.
Vint, the Chinese TTA shows, again, that everyone in table tennis had better take heed of its
unequivocal position:
We resolutely oppose the I.T.T.F. and its committees to discuss, under whatever
pretext and in whatever form, the application for membership from the so-called Table
Tennis Association of the Republic of China of the Chiang Kai-sheks bandit gang. We
resolutely oppose the Asian Table Tennis Federationto which the table tennis
organization of the Chiang Kai-sheks bandit gang is affiliatedbeing listed side by side
with the recognized continental federations. Those who disregard the 700 million Chinese
peoples firm stand and insist on serving the U.S. imperialists plot to create two Chinas
shall be responsible for all the serious consequences arising therefrom.
So, no wonder neither China nor Taiwan were entered in the Asian Championships.
Did Singapore want to get in the middle of a Two Chinas war? Did the ITTF? But want to
or not, would the Federation have any other choice but to be drawn into it?
In Mens Team play, it was Japan over South Korea 5-2with Kim Chee-hwa
defeating World Champion Nobuhiko Hasegawa, and Chung-Yong Kim, semifinalist in our
1967 San Diego U.S. Open, beating World Runner-up Mitsuru Kohno. Reportedly, our current
U.S. Junior Champion Surasak had the third best record in this team event. The Womens
Teams saw Japan prevail over South Korea 3-2with Choi Jung-sook defeating Saeko Hirota,
and Choi/No Hwa-ja beating the World Doubles Champions Hirota/Morisawa.
In Mens Singles play, Japans Hajime Kagimoto, prior to losing in the semis to
Kohno, won in 5 over Houshang Bozorgzadeh who was spending some interim years in Iran
before coming permanently back to the States. Chung-Yong Kim, though beaten by the
eventual winner Hasegawa, stopped future World Champion Shigeo Ito in 5. In Womens
Singles play, runner-up Choi Jung-sook, before losing in the final to Yoon Ki-sook, a shakehands
defender with a surprise backhand kill shot, eliminated 17-year-old Choi Hwan-hwan whod
317

upset World Singles Champion Sachiko Morisawa. Mens Doubles went to Kohno/Ito over
Hasegawa/Kagimoto. Womens Doubles to Morisawa/Hirota over Nagata/Yukie Ohzeki. Mixed to
Shiro Inoue/Hirano over Hasegawa/Nagata.
At the 1968 Asian Championships in Djakarta, South Korea won the Womens Teams,
but in the Singles the best their Choi Jong-sook could do was come runner-up to the current
Japanese and now Asian Champion Yukie Ohzeki. In a Mens Singles semi, the 1967, 68 Japanese
Champion Ito upset World Champion Hasegawa, but then fell to Mitsuru Kohno. At Japans
Intercollegiate Championships, the mens winner was Kawaharaover Hasegawa and Kagimoto.
Kohno, too, was upset, as was Hirota. Still later, at the S.E. Asia and Pacific Championships
(SEAPATT),* Japan finished 1st in both Team events; Hasegawa took the Mens from his winning
Doubles partner Ito; and the Japanese won the Mixed. However, the South Korean women were
best in Singles and Doubles: Choi Jung-sook defeated Yoon Ki-sook; and Yoon/Kim In-ok were
A-o.k. over Choi Jung-sook/Choi Hwan-hwan.
Of course, these Japanese and South Korean players will be the Orientals at Munich
that Shazzi Felstein and how many other Americans will want to watch. Meanwhile, back to
the Europeans.
This was the first year of the European League (minus the strong Swedish, Yugoslav,
and Romanian teams). It was won, despite an unexpected 3-4 loss to England, by Russia (5-1;
32-10 in Games W/L) over Czechoslovakia (5-1; 31-11 in Games W/L). However, at the Feb.
29-Mar.2 English Open, the Russian Mens team of Stanislav Gomozkov, Europe #1 who
cant be more than 20, and Anatoly Amelin, only 21, were beaten 3-2 by Istvan Korpa, the #1,
and Dragutin Surbek, the #2, Yugoslav playersthis despite the fact that Moscow University
engineering student Gomozkov had won the Singles (over Hungarys Istvan Jonyer, Matyas
Beleznai, and Peter Rozsas) and with Zoya Rudnova the Mixed (over this seasons highly
successful pair, Denis Neale/Mary Wright). No surprise then that Korpa/Surbek were powerful
enough to take the Mens Doubles from the Romanians Dorin Giurguica/Radu Negulescu.
In this 6th European Championships in Lyon that Shazzi was watching, the Russian men
lost the Teams to the Swedes (3-5)Hans Hasse Alser at this point, Shazzi said, was
playing marvelously. Also representing Sweden on this winning Team was one, Stellan
Bengtsson II (the second Stellan Bengtsson to play for Sweden), known, says Rufford,
because of his size and age (about 14) as Mini-Stellan.
However, neither the Russians nor the Swedes could win the Mens Singlesthat went to
unseeded Surbek (SHOOR-beck) who powered through Germanys Eberhard Schoeler, Hungarian
Open winner Beleznai in 5, and, before downing Hungarys modern defender Janos Borzsei 18 in
the 5th in the final, Swedens Alser. Suddenly, said Shazzi, the Swede looked nervous and played
terribly. But, hey, she said as much about Gomozkov whom she didnt see lose those League
matches to Englandor win the English Open. Gomozkov, she said, Doesnt look so good.
Doesnt play a smart game, gets rattled. Uh-huhbut, oh, that backhand.
By way of explanation for his loss to Surbek, Hasse, whod eliminated Jardo Stanek, told
Rufford that he can play against hitters and choppersbut not against spinny players like himself.
Swedens Kjell Johansson also lost to Borzsei in 5. Shazzi said that in the final of the Mens Doubles
the World Champion Swedes played incredibly badly in losing to the unseeded Yugo team of
Edvard Vecko/Anton Tova Stipancic (STIP-an-chitch).
At the earlier English Open in Brighton, all four Womens quarters matches had gone
5 gamesit was Romanias Eleanora Mihalca over Hungarys 1958, 60, and 64 European
Womens Champion Eva Koczian; 23-year-old Svetlana Grinberg over Englands Wright;
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Hungarys Erzebet Juric over the Czech Marta Luzova; and Romanias Defending European
Champion Maria Alexandru (from down 2-0) over Russian penholder Rudnova. Shazzi says
Rudnova looks terrific, but can get nervous. Especially when shes ahead? For, says Shazzi,
shes the best player from behind Ive ever seen. Mihalca, the surprise winner, won the three
close games that allowed her to beat Grinberg in the semis and Alexandru in the final.
Grinberg/Rudnova also came up short in Womens Doubles when Luzova and Jitka Karlikova
Czechmated them, 3-2.
I assume that the Russians, as theyd done at the 67 Worlds, had selected their Team
to the Europeans well in advancewhich, they said, eliminated nervousness because the
selected players were not plagued by the fear of losing their places. But although theyd gone
to Tokyo for matches with the Japanese, this didnt help them play the Europeans any
better.** Indeed, in Lyon Barna thought their nerves were bad. They lost the Womens Team
event therewere able to beat the Czechs 3-0, but then got blanked in the final by West
Germanys Agnes Simon and Edit Bucholz.
In the Womens Singles, the Czech sensation, 15-year-old Ilona Vostova (VOSH-tova),
stopped Grinberg (the Russian looked very bad most of the time, said Shazzi), then beat
Rudnova in a classic, counter-hitting final. And, in spite of what Shazzi called their funny
looking (but effective) style, Luzova/Karlikova repeated their English Open Womens Doubles win
over Rudnova/Grinbergthough it was a miracle of rare device that allowed them in the semis,
from 13-19 down in the 5th, to ice Mary Wright/Karenza Smiths warm rush to English glory.
Finally, though, Gomozkov/Rudnova were able to bring one European Championship back to the
motherlandthe Mixed over Giurgiuca/Alexandru. It was a terrible final, said Shazzito which
one could only instinctively reply, Well, not many people had to see it.

SELECTED NOTES.
*This SEAPATT tournament is not to be confused with the 1967-68 seasons
Southeast Asian Peninsula Games (SEAP). The SEAP Team event was won by South Vietnam
over Thailand. In Singles, South Vietnams Inh Le-Van defeated Thailands Chayanond
Wuvanich, later known when he comes to live for a time in the States as Charlie Wuvanich.
Doubles winners are Surasak and his partner Peter Pradit who, after some years in the U.S.,
will play for us in the 1973 Sarajevo and 1975 Calcutta Worlds.
**Nor did an experiment they tried at an international tournament they held in
Marchplaying Doubles without the center linehelp. Which reminds me of an article Id
read from the Apr. 29, 1966 issue of the Cornell Daily Sun involving a law student intent on
setting a Talkathon record by speaking for 82 hours, allowing himself only two-minute eating
breaks. Here, specifically is what that student intended to do:
His topic is Ping-Pong Balls and Items Relevant to Them.After a three
hour introduction and a 21-hour dissertation on the ping pong table[the student will
discuss] the derivation and placement of white lines on the table.
Since in Vol. III wed seen International Chair Rufford Harrisons interest in doing
away with the center line, would that he, if not I, could have gone to Hughes Hall for that
Talkathonor, well, for the most pertinent part of it.

319

Chapter Twenty-Nine
1968: Gazdags Third Vanderbilt
Invitational. 1968: Summer Tournaments. 1968:
Ogimura Coaches in U.S. 1968: Denis Neale, Patty
Martinez CNE Champions.
By far the most publicized end-of-season
tournament in the U.S. (Tickets $3, $5, $6) was
Geza Gazdags Third Vanderbilt Invitational, held
Mar. 23-26 at his Vanderbilt Athletic Club in New
York Citys Grand Central Terminal building. Kudos
to the Hungarian-born promoter for again bringing
international stars to our country. The N.Y. papers
gave the 10-player field good coverage, USTTA
International Chair Rufford Harrison provided us
with an
entertaining read
Photo by Mal Anderson
in Topics (May,
Geza Gazdag
1968, 6-7), and
an ABC crew was on hand to film a program with Dick
Miles doing commentary that would be aired later.
Meanwhile, said Rufford, CBS carried several glimpses of
the play on news broadcasts, along with some shots of the
Swedish warm-up exercises.
Six of the invitees were Europeans (but none, as
hyped, from rising Russia): Czechs Jaroslav Jardo Stanek
and Vladimir Vlado Miko; Germans Bernd Jansen and
Conny Freundorfer; and Swedes Hans Hasse Alser and
Kjell The Hammer Johansson recently off an elevenmonth stint in the army. The other four players were living
in the States: Americans Jack Howard and Bobby Gusikoff;
and (in the absence of the hoped for Japanese) the Asians
D-J Lee and Surasak Koakiettaveechai.
The opening Team Matches, Davis Cup-style, were
divided into two groups. In Group A (3 teams), Asia
went down to both Germany, 3-1 (Lee beat 9-time German
Champion Freundorfer), and to Czechoslovakia, 3-0. In
Photo by Rufford Harrison
ABC TV Team of Dick Miles (L)
advancing to the final, the Czechs beat the Germans 3-2.
and Bud Palmer
Nineteen-year-old Jansen, Germanys #2, was able to finish
both Stanek and Miko in 3, but Freundorfer, formerly a
hard rubber player who retired several years ago to set up a sporting good store, couldnt
help.
In Group B (2 teams), the U.S. was thrown to Sweden. Dont laugh when you serve,
said Bobby to The Hammer whom he was having a wee bit of trouble with. But our guys,
necessarily coming 2nd, got to play a 3rd-Place Match against Germany. The U.S. lost of
320

coursebut respectably.
The Goose had told
N.Y. Post reporter Dick
Klayman, Ill have to
pick people out of the
audience if I hope to
beat somebody. And
after a not-too-serious
doubles warm-upwith
young son David
stretching to get his
paddle arm above the
table in a try to make
ball contactBobby did
o.k., won a game from
Photo by Mal Anderson
Freundorfer. But
Cmon, Bobby, get ready!
Gusikoff was outplayed
by his own teammate,
for, lo, Howard knocked off both Germans, jumping in exaltation after his victory against
topsinner/hitter Jansen. Rufford said Bernd couldnt handle Jacks suddenly varying spin
and speed.
The final went to the favored Swedes over the Czechs, but, experienced of course as
they all are in knowing what to expect when playing one
another, it was 3-2 close. Indeed, after Miko had taken out
Alser two straight, and the Czech pair had upset the World
Champions in doubles, both Johansson and Alser lost their
first game in singles, then rallied to win. Perhaps because
there was no public information about prize money at this
Invitational (if indeed there was any), reporter Klayman was
interested in just what kind of a t.t. living Hasse made.
Turns out 26-year-old Hasse is also in the business of
raising race horses. I own 12 horses, he tells Klayman, but
the way theyve been running Ill never be able to give up
table tennisI play in tournaments six months a year, both in
my country and away, and I had hoped to quit in two years.
But maybe I wont be able to afford to. Right now, Alser
has parlayed his European and worlds doubles championship
into a $40,000-a-year deal. The night before the tournament
started, he went out to see the trotters. Nopehe didnt bet,
said, I dont know much about that (May 23).
As for Johansson, long, lean and handsomeslick
and suave, he told Daily News sports columnist Gene
Ward that hes employed full-time as a goodwill
ambassador for a Swedish sporting goods concern, and
TTT, May, 1968, 6-7
that his expenses for his world travels are paid for by
Jack Howard exalts in upsetting
the Swedish TTA (May 28).
Germanys Bernd Jansen
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Miko, also 26, has an impish, hustlers look. Harrison said

that he lacks some of Staneks finesse, then adds, Mikos finesse
comes in knowing how many points to get in practice. You mean
these boys are known to play for money? Oh, yeah. Give him
three months here, and hed own the club, said a New York
spectator.
Miko takes liberties? Well, tries to, said Harrison:
Vlados backhand service is a model of legality, but on the
forehand he often throws the ball horizontally back at the racket.
Warning! Same again. Fault! Black look from Vlado. No reaction from
umpire Harrison. A few points later: Fault! At 17-18 no less.
Mischievous-looking Miko
Play stopped for five minutes while Miko refused to play.
Harrison remained obdurate, and Jack Carr explained the service rule to the spectators
and to the Czechs [who must have loved that]. By this time Miko was determined to show
em, and opponent Alser was cold. Hasse never won another point in that game, and, with
no concentration, he was never in it in the second. He was also elsewhere in the doubles.
[So much for insuring that enforcement of the rules makes play fair for both?]
With regard to the Individual matches, well take the Doubles firstand quickly lose
the Americans and the Asians (including, in a last match, substitute Bernie Bukiet replacing
Surasak who had to get back to Boston). After Stanek/Miko had surprisingly been forced into
the 5th against Jansen/Freundorfer, they again met the Swedes, and this time, said Harrison, we
could see how Kjell and Hasse won the world doubles title last year:

TTT, May, 1968, Cover

Swedens 1967 & 1969

World Doubles Champions Alser (L) and
Johansson

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Footwork and unrelenting topspin were the main factors. Hasse does a fair
amount of chopping in singles, but not when his compatriot is with him. Then he hits
everything, often reaching behind Johansson to do it. For motion personified, watch the
Swedish doubles pair.
In singlesa surprise, for who suddenly came in to play a match but Marty Reisman!
And, golly, he won the 1st game from Freundorfer at 19. Was the German flustered? Confused
by Martys rubber racket, deft table game, or spiffy attire? Maybe. Anyone like Marty, even
up?No, guess not. Freundorfers the winner: 21-12, 21-5. And Mikohes in a death
struggle with Gusikoff? Just won the 1st 24-22, then lost the 2nd at 18. Gusikoffs outscored
him, even up, by a point. Anyone like Bobby?No? Mikos the winner: 21-12. Howard lost 20 to Johansson. Ditto Surasak to Alser, the Thai teen initially helpless against Hasses lobs.
Lee, described by columnist Ward as, A little guy with an exuberant
mannerhad the crowd with him whenever he played because of his
infectious smile and a penchant for giving himself pep talks. He did
well to defeat Jansen, and even better to beat Miko 15, 20, 17. Gotta
watch D-J thoughMal Anderson faulted him immediately for one of
those cunning little aces that come from nowhere out of the back of his
hand. I wonder, Do these guys have umpires when they play practice
games for a few bucks?
After Alser advanced by Lee, and Johansson by Stanek, Jardo
beat D-J for 3rd-Placethe 19, 21, 22, 16 scores suggesting exhibition
Shows exuberance
play? Heres Harrison on the Swedes final:
In a filmed interview before the [match]Dick Miles had told [ABC]
commentator Bud Palmer about Kjells attack and Hasses great defense. Well, Dick
cant win all the time. Had he known that Alsers only defense against Johanssons
hammeris attack, he might have predicted that it would be Kjell who would spend
the evening leaping over the barriers.
Not all the time, however. Alser too covered all the court, as the two Swedes
put on a dazzling show that left the audience limp. Is it true that they played standing
on the table? someone later asked me. Did Johansson really return a ball with his
head? You mean they really changed ends in the middle of a point? They did so
muchthat the mind boggles.
Word was that Johnny Carson wanted to sign them up for his Tonight show and was
disappointed they couldnt stay around for the shoot. Understandably, they were wanted
elsewhere.
Summer Tournaments
Surasak was back to win the June 2nd, George Schein-run Westchester Openbut not
by a lock, rather just the merest wisp, 25-23 in the 5th over Fred Berchin. Mens Doubles went
to George Brathwaite and Alex Shiroky over Surasak and Lim Ming Chui whod upset Bukiet
in the Singles. Harrison, perhaps just wanting an excuse to keep up an international contact,
had earlier queried the Hong Kong Association as to new arrival Chuis standard. Womens
winner was Susan Woo over Montreals Betty Tweedy. Dont expect to see former Champions
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and Westchester Club Presidents Marianne Bessinger and Bill Gunn at

this or any other tournament, for they have even more reason to be
inactive. Last October Marianne married, and this summer Bill will
suffer a stroke and a heart attack and spend two months in a hospital.
At the June Orlando Summer Open, Joe Sokoloff beat Steve
Isaacson in the semis, and Dick Hicks in the final. Late-round 5-game
matches saw Tommy Cohen, before losing to Hicks, over Clay
Whitelaw, Isaacson over Lenny Bass, and Hicks over Chuck Michell.
The Masters event also went to Sokoloffover Isaacson. Womens
winner was hard-hitting Olga Soltesz over Dawn Whitelaw. But
Dawn teamed with hubby Clay to beat father Paul and daughter Olga
in the Mixed. Sokoloff/Bass took the Mens Doubles from Whitelaw/
Ray Mergliano. In an article in the June, 68 Topics, USTTA Certified
Coach Sokoloff stresses the importance of the non-playing hand
(dont let it dangle there limp; raise it, use it to help provide forward
Joe Sokoloff
impetus to your stroke). Joe also offers a tip on footwork: when going
to your right for a shot (dont go horizontally, but go right and back a
step, so you can shift your weight forward and come back into position).
Miamians, including prominent Table Tennis supporters Fred Fuhrman and Bob Walker
have a new place to playthe Fellowship Room of the
Miami Shores Presbyterian Church. Bob, 50, formerly
Florida State Champ before leaving the Game years ago, is
again quite an enthusiast. He enjoys playing competitively
and is probably practicing two hours every day and
keeping in shape by running about six miles a week.
At the Aug. Grand Rapids Summer Open, Tannehill
defeated Dell Sweeris who was forced into the 5th to down
Surasak. Unranked Ron Beckman scored a huge upset over
U.S. #4 Danny Pecora to make the other semis. Mens
Doubles went to Sweeris/Surasak over Tannehill/Dan
LeBaron. Jack Loth won the Seniors from Francis
Raniville. Connie Sweeris was the Womens winner over
Janice Martin. In viewing a Mal Anderson photo sequence
of Janice, the Topics Coaches Corner assessment was
that she didnt adjust her normal counter-driving stance for
Fred Fuhrman
one better adapted to hitting chop.
Is Klein Back? asks Don Lindo after Erwin defeated
U.S. #2 Jack Howard three straight to win the Mens at the late-July 6th Annual San Diego
Open. In his semis against Cowenwhom a bevy of U.S. certified coaches say, Doesnt
move his feetKlein had played a steady game, mixing rapid table exchanges with an
effective chop defense. But it was Erwins encore performance in the finals that was most
impressive.The smooth execution of shots varied from crisp fade-away drives to
unbelievable chop returns of the loop. Talk all you want of Howards holocaustic
combination of overpowering spin and blistering drive, at this Open Klein showed almost
uncanny control of Howards spin and a superior table game. (But then again maybe Klein
isnt back, for three weeks later at the Santa Monica Open, Jack beat Erwin in 4.)
324

Ogimura Coaches in U.S.

Ogimura made his
first appearance in North
America during August.
His U.S. itinerary included
two weeks of coaching in
Grand Rapids, Columbus,
and Los Angeles. Heres
how Rufford Harrison
introduced Ogi to
Topics readers:
A Japanese with a
Swedish accent? Thats
Ichiro Ogimura, twice
world [singles] champion
turned exporter and
Photo by Mal Anderson
SCI News, June, 1995, 9
manufacturer of Barbie
Multi-time World Champion
dolls, who perfected his English while coaching the
Ichiro Ogimura
Swedish team.
Ogi must be the worlds number one student of table tennis. Ask him how to beat
Joe Doakes, and hell write you a
whole book on it. Got a Charlie horse?
Ogi can fix it, having attended courses
on sports injuries. A cold, perhaps?
His bag is stocked with the latest in
antibiotics. Your racket isnt quite
right? Mr. Ogimura will recommend
just the right type of wood for your
game (Aug.-Sept., 3).
Michigans Dell Sweeris was about
to become the USTTAs Coaching
Chair and Im sure was aghast to think
that some whod come to Ogimuras
Grand Rapids clinic initially were quite
content to try to steadily counter-hit
10 balls in a row, whereas of course
Ogi didnt want to let them off the
tables until theyd managed 100.
Rufford, however, was pleased to
report that when all was said and done
the players put heart and soul into the
project, and, though outsiders would
find it hard to believe, participated to
the point of exhaustion.
325

Sweeris himself paid tribute to Ogimura, to his magnetic personality, and his ability
to take control, motivate and change even our thinking.
In ten days, Ogimura accomplished more than any other coach had
accomplished in ten years. Team spirit and co-operation among the players was high.
Training and practice were vigorous and long. Better yet, we were beginning to think
at a world-class level as opposed to a national level.
His pleasant, courteous and friendlyattitude made us all play well for Ogi,
our Country and ourselves. I have heard nothing but praise for Ogi.
Dells experience with Ogimura, the questions he asked, and the answers he received,
motivated him to provide a Portfolio One for his own students. This includedwell, just about
everything basicCircuit Training Exercises, Stroke Principles, Controlled Practice.Our
minds must be keen, fresh and organized. Our great desire must be backed up by a definite
plan. He asked his students to write out what you want to accomplish, both this year and in
five years, and specifically indicate how you were going to do itwith what monthly goals.
Neale/Martinez Win CNE
Converging for the 28th prestigious time on what some pill-takers this hay fever Labor
Day weekend called the Toronto Exhibitions Sheep and Swine Building were at least 150
tournament-hardened regulars. All were looking forward to seeing the Big Three: Denis Neale
(England #1, Europe #7), the 23-year-old Defending Champion who for three weeks had been
moving about Ontario via a government-financed Canadian Coaching Program; Dal-Joon Lee,
the U. S. Champion (No American player will beat him for at least 5 years); and Ichiro
Ogimura of Japan, the former World Mens Singles, Mens Doubles and Mixed Doubles
Champion, now retired, who for several weeks had been conducting coaching clinics in the
U.S. (The E.C. would okay a $300 supplemental budget for him.)
It quickly became known that Ogimura had won the confidence of the top American
players (sometimes he had them run through a kind of no playthat is, though no ball was
used, he coached them through a stylized no-point phantom game, a strategy pattern of
precisely-timed-to-the-second swings and movements). No surprise then that here in Toronto
he soon became the target of every would-be table tennis archer (Am I supposed to straighten
out my forehand on the follow through?Is conditioning really that important?). And not
only was he approached at the tournament proper, but later by those emboldened, drink in
hand, at the smoke-filled Player-Party rooms of the Royal York Hotel.
Opening day at the tournament centered on the International Matches. In the Mens tie,
the U. S. was represented by D-J Lee, for the first time able to get by the immigration
authorities, and also, in the absence of Californias Howard (mindful of the cross-country
expense, Jack had no angel to help him wing his way here), by Sweeris, Tannehill, and Cowan.
For the Canadians it was Wall, Larry Lee, Marinko, and Zulps. The U.S. won 6-2: the
Canadians could take only their opening and closing singles matchesLarry Lee over Sweeris,
perhaps not quite fully recovered from his summers hernia surgery; and Marinko over
Tannehill.
But, ohhh, what the Canadians did to our women. Right away, it was come-from-behind
wins in their first two singles matchesHelen Sabaliauskas, -18, 19, 11 over Connie Sweeris, and
Denise Hunnius over Janice Martin, -20, 18, 21 (Denise retrieving Janices repeated match-point326

down smashes from far back behind an adjacent table, then leaping ecstatically over the barrier into
the arms of Captain Ken Kerr). When Violetta Nesukaitis followed by 7, 14 annihilating Patty
Martinez, Canadas momentum was unstoppable and they went on to whip the U.S. 6-0!
In the Junior Mixed, our National Boys Under 15 Champ Mitch Sealtiel split close
matcheswinning 18 in the 3rd over Bob Wong but losing 19 in the 3rd to 15-year-old
Vancouver looper Philip Woo. A much-improved Alice Green downed Shirley Gero, 2-0, and
Cowan, though losing the mixed with Alice, 19 in the 3rd, to Woo/Gero, added two singles
wins to give the U.S. a 4-2 victory.
In Mens Open play, last years finalist, Bobby Gusikoff,
came cold to the table for his quarters match and lost badly to
John Tannehill. Understandably Gord Freeman (Tournament
Chair for the 21st year and this years deserving Perc McLeod
Memorial winner for furthering Canadian table tennis), along
with Operating Committee Chair Roy Medcalf and Referees
Committee Chair Art Saltpeter, wanted to get on with the lateround matches. But considering Bobbys recent record in this
tournament (66 semifinalist, 64, 65, 67 finalist), surely a
table could have been opened for him to warm up, especially
when Tannehill had the preparatory benefit of playing Junior
matches.
Glenn
From 1964 U.S. Open Program
Cowan,
Chuck Burns
though
beaten in
Gord Freeman
the
quarters by Neales exciting sword and
thrust, block and shield game, had earlier,
like Gusikoff (over Marinko) and Tannehill
(over Resek), a worthy opponent in wily old
fox Chuck Burns. Glenn, looking for a place
on the U.S. Team to the 1969 Munich
Worlds, had gotten two haircuts in the last
two weeks, and now, down 2-1 to Chuck,
was being advised by Ogimura (in diagrams
he didnt exactly understand) tobottom
line, Glennmove Burns a little to his right
on the serve and then loop to his backhand.
Above all, and this advice was echoed by
Gusikoff and the New Yorkers, he was not
to rush the stiff-chopping veteran.
His head stuffed, his body loose
from having followed an Ogimura exercise regimen (epileptic head and finger wiggling, Charlestonlike knee-knocking), he made it looping through the 4th. Then Burns tired, and when Chuck was
down 11-19 and his racket slipped out of his hand, Cowan picked it up. Everybody applauded this
sportsmanship, including, ironically, Burns, who well knew, had the situation been reversed, how
327

easy it would have been to serve youth so.

In the Seniors, Chuck, a 5-time winner, fell to the eventual and also now 5-time winner
Marinko in the one semis, while Hal Green knocked off Lou Radzeli, 21 in the 4th, in the other.
A story went roundperhaps it originated at this tournamentthat, unbeknown to Max, the
umpire of his match with Burns was betting on Chuck to win and had no intention of being
impartial, particularly when his man was down in the deciding game. He began calling lets
whenever it looked like Chuck might be in troubleand, sure enough, Burns pulled up to 1920. Then, so the story went, Chuck choked and threw away the last point, and also his racket,
though not straight at Marinko. Max never complained about any of it, and, later its said, when
told hed been hustled, seemed even slightly amused.
Although Chuck held his own with Max over the years, he admitted that Max could
beat players I couldnt even touchlike Doss, for instance.
Marinko had a flawless, ageless style, said Chuck. If I had my
choice of two players to represent the game at its exhibition best I
would pick Bellak and then Marinko.
Sweeris protgs came away with trophies: Muskegons Dale
Scheltema won the Midget Boys over Bruce Weinstein, and Dales
sister Kathy was runner-up in the Girls to Janice Martin. Midget Girls
went to Sheryn Posen over
Susan Scholl. In the Boys
Under 15, budding
superstar Errol Caetano
Laszlo Bellak
beat Phillys Earl
Weinstein.
Cowan went on to have an up and down
tournament. Off to a good opening in his muchawaited Junior final with chess enthusiast Tannehill,
he soon found himself overturned. But then later in
the semis of the Mens Doubles, Glenn and D-J came
from down 2-0 to beat Bukiet and Sweeris, and in the
final Glenn continued to play beautifully against the
marvelous fighting rallies of the Canadian Closed
finalists, Derek Wall, this years Champion, and his
ever-determined partner, Modris Zulps (surprise winners
over the still late-swinging Gusikoff and his partner
CNE Midgets Champion
Dale Scheltema
Neale).
In another quarters match, the fiery Boggan lost to
a domineering, top-spinning Sweeris, but not before hed upset two-time winner Pecora. At match
point (20-17, 20-18, 20-19), Boggan hit one of his no-look cross-court forehands in (hed been
Captain of his University Golf Team, and, swatting the ball from a sideways position, could
deceptively hook it, hit it straight, or fade it), then followed that final winner with his racket high into
the air, and roaring repeatedly, continued to shake his fist absurdly at the amused, applauding
spectators.
The bearded Boggan had a very good tournament. Partnered with Patty Martinez in mod
beads (you should have seen the Omar Khayam outfit she wore to the Players Party!), he got to the
final of the Mixed Doubles. Along the way, he and Patty beat, first, Pecora (watched by wife Pat
328

and pretty little daughter Laura) and his partner, the

ebullient (if her daddys winningand he was) Alice
Green, then the favored team of Neale and Nesukaitis,
before losing to D-J and Barbara Kaminsky.
Beaten by Neale in straight games (while Lee in
the other semis was trouncing Tannehill), Sweeris had his
troubles begin early. Down 2-0 and 12-7 in the 3rd to
Indianas Harry Deschamps (who plays with rubber
during the season, with sponge in summer, and seems
only to mix other people up), Dell finally rallied, began
hitting the ball out in front of him.
Momentarily plagued by a sore shoulder (too
many Ogimura push-ups: 28 in 45 secondsD-J can
do 34perhaps if Dell practices?), he won a
reasonable postponement of his match (it was already 11
p.m.) with the primed-up, ageless Bukiet. Next early
afternoon, in the uneven light, Bernie (who off-court was
CNE Mixed Doubles Finalists:
a smash in his blue shirt, white tie, striped outfit, and dark
Boggan/Martinez. Tim is obviously
sunglasses) said he couldnt see, said, after losing in 5, it
savoring the advance.
was the wrong time to play.
As for the Women, Helen Sabaliauskasshed finally defeated Nesukaitis to win the
Closed, and in the Open had prevailed over Janice Martin in 5midnight Friday was certainly not
the right time to be finishing up a tight match. Shes down 17-18 in the 5th to Leah Neuberger (in a
match that began at 10:25) when suddenly a grounds man comes in and demands positively all lights
out, now. Is 18 the final score in Canada? asks Miss
Ping. No, it isnt. And, whats more, the match is
immediately going to be expeditedwith disastrous
results for primarily defense-minded Helen.
Leah (sunglasses on, sunglasses off) went on
to give Violetta a close 5-game fight, as in fact
Millie Shahian had done earlier. Meanwhile, in the
other semi, Junior Miss winner Martinez, after
having been down 2-0 and now down 10-18 in the
5th to Kaminsky, was piling up (how she did it only
poor Barbara knows) nine points in a row. Then,
after losing two points to Barbaras desperate
forehands, she slammed in a gutsy forehand herself
to eventually win at deuce. But some solace for
Barbarapaired with Patty she took the Womens
Doubles from Sweeris/Martin in the semis, and
Nesukaitis/Neuberger in the final.
Hence, again, it was Patty and Violetta for the
Womens Championship. But although Violetta had
beaten Patty with embarrassing ease in their
International Match (Patty has, over the years, a
notoriously bad record in the U.S.-Canada ties), this
1968 Canadian Womens Champion
329

replay had Violetta being blanked, all her last years titles taken from her, looking elsewhere for a
winner.
Not, of course, that she had to look far. At tournaments end, there was only one
match to watch: Neale against Leewith Rufford Harrison umpiring. As play gets under way,
the audience is restless, speculating. Neale serves, D-J returns the ball, and Denis catches it,
asks Harrison to quiet the crowd. Harrison replies, Love-One. Neale shakes his head, circles
around, looks for a minute as if he might quit, then comes back into service position.
Soon D-J, half smiling, half grimacing, is servingviciously. Neale, however, is quick
to adjust. Point after point his rebounding backhand aggressively staves off his attackers
hopping, spinning forehand. Ball after ball caroms off his instinctively placed racketand then
a sudden inspired thrust far to Lees forehand and Neale himself devastatingly swings to the
attack. So goes the pattern of play.
At 19-all in the 1st, Denis gets a break, a net ball. Ah, but this game is too important for
Lee to bemoan his luck. Like some magic, never-tiring discus spinner he whirls away (5, 10,
15 times) at the ever-reappearing ball. Then one of those quick deflecting thrusts of Neales
and Lee is forced back. The crowd, sensing whats about to happen, yells. Lee, retrieving,
twists and turns, manages to balloon the ball back.
The crowd gasps. Neale waits like a samurai, sword poised for the blow that will kill.
Down, mercilessly, he swings, and the ball is on its way to the gallery. Spectators arc its flight.
Lee, back near the barriers, jumps upand counters it out of the sky! OHHHH! But then there
again is Neale, relentless, somehow already waiting, as if time were suspended, who countercounters Lees return far into the now exploding, wildly applauding, never-seen-anything-like-it
crowd!
In the 2nd game, Lee comes back, evens the
match. But thats it for D-JNeale refuses to
yield. In the 3rd, down 18-20, Lee, shaken,
serves off. At the start of the 4th game, the
Exhibition rockets go off in the sky. Down
below, nothing changes. Lees a spinner,
someone says. He doesnt play table tennis.
Neale plays table tennis.
At evenings end then, Lee, we know,
can be beaten. And beaten again perhaps?
By someone in training? Someone who, for
30 minutes or so, as Ogimura might say,
single-mindedly watches a star? Clearly
here in Toronto, if not elsewhere, the idea
must occur to someone.

Table Tennis Report, 12/69, Cover

Denis Neale
330

Chapter Thirty
1968: Fall Tournaments. 1968: California Women,
U.S. Men Win USOTCs. 1968: E.C. Meeting (U.S. Team to
1969 Munich Worlds Chosen).
Though no one wrote it up for Topics, there must
have been a Professional Tournament of some kind at
Sacramento over Labor Day weekend, for in round robin
play D-J Lee came 1st, Dell Sweeris 2nd, Erwin Klein 3rd,
and Glenn Cowan and Tony Sutivej tied for 4th. In Mens
Doubles, CNE Champions Lee/Cowan continued
establishing their partnership with a win over Sweeris/
Sutivej. Womens went to Angie Rosal in a 19, -26, 24, 13, 10 thriller over San Franciscos all-out hitter Jean
Veit. David Chan won the As over Ruttinger; Ruttinger
the 17s over Chan. A Doubles: Leishman/Bard Brenner
over Brian and David Chan. Bs: Ladd over C winner Earl
Jones, 25-23 in the 4th. Seniors: Allan Herskovich over
Bud Barbee.
Thailands Tony Sutivej
Northern California
players participated in two
November Opens, at Cupertino then Oakland. Both were won by
Thailands Tony Sutivej, a small, bespectacled, 24-year-old
penholder with an explosive forehand. He beat, first, Peter Yeung
(whod rallied to down Steve Varela in 5), then Bijan Maghen
(after Bijan had -15, -12, 20, 18, 16 squeaked by Azmy Ibrahim).
Bijan, from Iran, is said to have a deceptive game, but you can
usually tell he puts lots of spin on the ball. At Cupertino, Yeung/
George Makk took the Doubles from Sutivej and Dan Goodman,
electronics/real estate man
who was largely responsible
Bijan Maghen
for organizing Marin County
tournaments and forming the Marin County TTC.
At least a few women played in these Opens.
Virginia Spiersch dominated Singles and the Mixed with
Shonie Aki. Sam Lima won the only Seniors offered
over Jack Mason. In the Under 17s at Cupertino, Jacks
son, Jeff, lost the Under 17s to Leung (B Doubles
winner with Jim Vinzant), but then in Oakland downed
Class B winner Denis OConnell. Best in 15s: Tommy
Mullins. Steve Varela was a standout in the Aswinning
over Ramon Fernandez, then coming runner-up to Wil
McGruder. Barbee 21, -19, 22, 21 struggled to take the
Cupertino Bs from Pacific Coast columnist/
Photo by Don Gunn
photographer Don Gunn.
Jack Mason
331

At the Nov. Long Beach Open, run by Gene

Roseman and with at least some winners kissed by
Miss Port of Long Beach, Howard was the Mens
Champover Mark Adelman. His band bandied
about or not, Salcido quickly got back to doing his
touch t.t. thingcame 1st in the Doubles with
Grossman whod knocked him out of the Singles.
Womens went to Hicks; runner-up, Rosal. In the
absence of Cowan and Martinez, Howard/Hicks took
the Mixed from Grossman/Angelinetta. Senior
Doubles went to Roseman and Dick Badger over
Lee and 51-year-old Fred Herbst. Fred has a
background in newspaper work and probably got
into it back in New York City where he spent the
first half of his life. As: Jerry Plybon over Bill Capps.
Bs: Jeff Mason over Plybon. Boys U-17: Plybon
over Mason, deuce in the 5th.
Photo by Don Gunn

Jeff Mason
Gene Roseman being bussed by
Miss Port of Long Beach

At Atlantas second 3-star Southeastern

Open (80 entries), Mergliano, described by
Sam Cannella as forever looping, defeated
Clay Whitelaw by winning both the 2nd and
5th games at deuce. As went to Ralph Kissel
over Herb Beckham. Biggest upset was in
the Womens where
Melba Martin
prevailed over Soltesz,
20 and 19. As Olga
had been to Ogimuras clinics in Grand Rapids and Columbus, perhaps she
was still assimilating what shed learned there? This year at the Southeastern
there was a Pro event with cash prizes that produced an entirely different set
of winners than the Mens Open. First was Don Gaither; second, Michell;
third, Ralph Kissel; and fourth, McAfee.
Tennessee also crowned its State Champions in Sept. As
expected, Clay Whitelaw took the Mens, but Dr. Hans Dietl, having
arrived from Munich, gave him a 17-in-the-5th fight. Mens Doubles went
to Whitelaw and Senior winner John White in 5over Homer Brown/
Larry Bartley whod 19-in-the-5th escaped Dietl/Hugh Babb. Womens
winner, as expected, was Dawn Whitelaw. In both the Under 21s and the
As, Homer Brown defeated B winner Campbell.
Herb Beckham
332

At the Fall Get-Acquainted Closed at Rochester, N.Y., Helmut Schaller not only won the
Mens over Mike Ezzo, but the Handicap, too, from Craig Graci. David Hunt/Charley Burroughs
took the Mens Doubles from Ezzo/Bob Brickell. Seniors went to John Kazak over Don Coluzzi.
Rick Hamilton, a finalist in both the B and C Doubles, and who is, or will be, the Genessee Valley
Club Secretary, will discover that in a space of two years the Club will have lost almost 50
members. He says when the Under 30 set particularly find out theres no money in the Sport, they
leave. There were no women players at this tournament to get acquainted with.
At the Oct. New England Team Championships, held at the Waltham Club, Worcester beat

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo by Mal Anderson

Frank Dwelly

Benny Hull

Boston in the final 5-3. Surasak, playing for Worcester, was undefeated (10-0). In the final he took
3: over Peter Salmon, Bill Dean, and Lim Ming Chui. But it was his teammate Paul Sandman who,
though he lost to Salmon, was given the Most Valuable Player Award for his key wins over Dean
and particularly Chui. Benny Hull and Frank Dwelly, playing for the #1 Waltham Club, had 9 and 8
wins respectively. Sandman with 7 wins had the 4th best record.
The Fall season comes to its climax with the Nov. 16-17 USOTCs, especially since the
USTTA had decided at its Summer Meeting that the U.S. Team to the 1969 Munich Worlds
would have to be picked no later than at these Championships.
California Women Win U.S. Team Championship
Prior to the Nov. 15-17 ITS Matches, Team Championships, and E.C. Meeting,
USTTA V.P. Jack Carr, in a Nov. 8 letter to Leah Neuberger, speculates about the probable
U.S. Women Team members:
With five from Detroit being on the E.C. can you really imagine Janice
Martin being left off the World Team? Neither can I. In all probability the team will be
made up of Janice, Patty Martinez and one of the following: Kaminsky, Chotras, Hicks,
Green or Sweeris (although it is rumored she is pregnant and wont be able to go). Brooke
333

[Williams] wrote
that Wendy is not
playing so well
now (her loss to
[Lucy] Alvarado
substantiates
that). Alice Green
has a ways to go,
and from what
Hal has said and
written Im not
sure if she still
retains the
interest. So that
leaves either
Chotras or
Kaminsky. Also,
there is the
requirement that to
1968 USOC winning womens team, L-R: Angie Rosal, Wendy Hicks,
be considered the
Heather Angelinetta and Patty Martinez
player must
participate at the USOTCs.
I have no objection at all to your being the #4 woman on the womens team
and with the designation assistant captain. However, John [Read, the U.S. Team
Captain] has not written the Selection Committee or said anything about this. Ill prod
him on it.
Just happened [sic] to think. If you dont play at the USOTCs, I dont know
how you could be on World Team, since that is one of the requirements.
Topics doesnt list the results of the Friday night ITS Matches, but Martinez lost only
one match, and Alice Green beat Hicks, Martin, and Kaminsky. In Team play, Patty would be
20-0, winning the Most Valuable Player Award, Wendy 17-1, Connie Sweeris 24-2 (but, yes,
shes pregnant and so cant go to Munich), Alice 21-3 (with wins over Shahian and Canadian
Champ Sabaliauskas), and Janice 18-4. So, since Chotras (who beat Martinez, and lost in 5 to
Sweeris at the U.S. Open) and Neuberger (who went 5 with current U.S. Open Champ
Nesukaitis at the CNE) didnt play, and Barbara Kaminsky was 16-7, the selection of the
Womens Team was easy. But all very exciting to Alice who got so carried away that, in losing
to Hicks and Martin the second time around, she suddenly discovered that she was playing
with father Hals look-alike Star Player instead of her own Hock. Never mind, shell eventually
calm down; right now well leave her in the privacy of a telephone booth beside herself with
tears of joy.
Who won the 12-team round robin Womens Championship? As you might have
guessed from Patty and Wendys very strong play, California; helped by Angie Rosals 9-1 and
Heather Angelinettas 8-6 records, they didnt lose a tie. Canada, though falling 5-1 to
California, was (10-1) 2nd, thanks to Nesukaitis (24-1, lost only to Martinez), Helen
Sabaliauskas (13-5) and Marie Duceppe (14-7). Third was Grand Rapids (9-2) who went down to
334

Canada 5-1 and California 5-2 (Connie scoring over Hicks and Angelinetta who gave Martin a
tough 19 in the 3rd match). Some consolation for the Grand Rapids players though, for Sweeris,
Martin, and Sue Wright were Defending Championsand the E.C. had (5-4) passed a rule that any
member of the previous Womens USOTC Championship team would receive $25 if she returned
to help her team defend their title. Illinois (8-3) was 4th; their roster: newcomer, Englands 1965
Maccabiah Games runner-up, Irene Ogus (17-5), Barbara Kaminsky, and Millie Shahian (13-6
with a near win over Hicks).
Ohio Men Win U. S. Team Championship
In Mens play, the 42 teams were divided into 7 seeded groups of 6 teams each. By
Saturday evening, all the seeded teamsOhio #1, California, Canada, N.Y. #1, Illinois, N.Y.
#2, and Grand Rapids #1had played their 5 round robin preliminaries and were ready to tie
on a nightcap. Before play, D-J Lee gave a short TV interview in which he assured the
sportscaster that, yes, he was getting plenty of good competition in this country, but that (and
this with a smile) fortunately he had not yet lost a match. Nor would he lose one here. His 210 record would earn him the Most Valuable Player Award.
As it turned out, the eventual winner of the tournament, Ohio #1 (Lee, John Tannehill,
Don Lyons, and Richard Farrell), had its closest match right off with the #1 New Yorkers
(Bobby Gusikoff, Bernie Bukiet, Vic Landau, Tim Boggan, and Errol Resek). In the allimportant first match, it was Gusikoff (whod opened in the Friday night ITS Matches with
wins over Cowan and Sweeris) against Tannehill whod killed him at the CNE. This time
Bobby was plenty warmed-up, and theyd go deuce in the 3rd, with Gusikoff winning on a
surprise, snake-like shot, backhanded counter-clockwise from his forehand side, that sent the
New Yorkers up out of their seats jumping and cheering.
Second match: Bukiet wins, but Lyons unexpectedly takes him to three.
Third match: Lee and Boggan.
Fourth matchBut no, wait a minute. So
much noise out there. Whats happening?The testy
Boggan is hitting in Lees serves?Is ahead 10-2?
Cmon! Lees playing with a hair brush? Boggans
taken some sort of terrific pill?Amazing, Tims won
the first game 21-8! Its likeMandrake the
Magician.Ridiculous. Lee takes a bathroom break.
Meanwhile, practicing perhaps the forehand of
his daddys dreams, little left-handed Dong-Chin
Jeffrey Laurence Lee sleeps peacefully on the
sidelinesthat is, until his mother Linda complains
that some man shouting Dammit! Dammit! has
awakened him. Boggan, then, is soon taken care of.
(The real threat to Lees inviolability is to come
Sunday in the Ohio-Illinois tie when Danny Pecora, in
a very fine example of what writer Ernest Hemingway
calls grace under pressure, plays all the way to 19 in
the 3rd before missing one last loaded sidespin serve.)
The Ohio-N.Y. tie continues with Bukiet beating
Photo by Mal Anderson
Tannehill in three. Bernie (U.S. #6) has been politely told
Jeffrey, D-J and Linda Lee
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that at age 51 he is not going to be considered for the U.S. Team this year, and that everyone hopes
instead he will look to his future. (This prompts another New Yorker to remark that if Bernie wins
one more tournament he might be suspended.)
In the fifth match Boggan outsteadies Lyons, and with N.Y. up 4-1, it looks good for
the Easterners. But Lee beats Gusikoff and Bukiet, and Tannehill beats Boggan, so the ties
tied 4-4. Now its all up to Lyons and Gusikoff.
Don, a lefthander from Dayton, Ohio, is something of an unheralded player, a spoiler
type, with (as I heard one knowledgeable observer say) a kind of bastard penholder grip
that is, though hes a shakehands player, he uses only one side of the racket, and in attacking
keeps his thumb on the edge of the blade. In preparing for this tournament, perhaps this match
of a lifetime, Don had been playing four times a week, running wind sprints, and in the process
losing 20 pounds. He beats Gusikoff in straight games, holding firm in the 2nd when Bobby
rallies from far behind to tie it up, only to lose at 19.
Heres Dick Evans writing about this match to Cheri Papier on Nov. 18, 1968, the
Monday after the tournament:
Lyonss hit and block game was just the thing which Gusikoff had grown up
on. But Don was psychologically up for the matchspinning, hitting, blocking and
talking to himself (Thats it, Donnie!).At 18-all [or perhaps 19-all] in the third
game the volley must have crossed the net a hundred timeslike a ball on a rubberbandwhich was hooked to both players bats. Would they never miss! Then Gusikoff
let loose a forehand kill down the line which should have been good for a point in the
world tournament but which Lyons in desperation and falling jabbed at and[brought it
back] over so fast that Gusikoff was still recovering from his swing at the side of the table
and had no chance for a return![In a moment,] the shocked and disbelieving Lyons had
felled the giant, and the Ohio fans went wild. If Lyons hadnt been so damn big I would
have carried him around Cobo myself. The poignant sequel came a few minutes later when
on the sidelines, out of view of others, by himself now,[Donnie shed] joyful tears.
Next morning, Sunday, 9:00 a.m., the New Yorkers are out again, trying to stay alive.
Here, against Grand Rapids (Sweeris, Surasak, Danny LeBaron), Resek is almost the hero. He
rallies to tie Sweeris at 18-all in the 3rd, but misses a hangar. He has Surasak 18-12 in the 3rd,
but doesnt win. When Bukiet cant pull it out against Surasak from 18-all in the deciding
game, its all over, almost before it began, for N.Y. #1.
Grand Rapids, however, is still undefeated. On Saturday night, theyd beaten New
York #2 (Doss, Miles, Schiff, Cartland). Doss downed Surasak, but the veteran Cartland
(Theres no room for tactics any morelater modified by Howard to No room for slow
tactics) couldnt work the near miracle some still hoped for, and Miles, on losing to Sweeris
and Surasak, as he was later to lose to Howard, could only remark, Everybodys loop around
here is different!
So, its undefeated Grand Rapids against undefeated Ohio. The big match here is
Surasak-Tannehill. Surasak, youll remember, is the teen Thai who beat the young Ohioan for
the National Junior Championship. Since then, however, John has adopted the following
rigorous two-hours-a-day training program given him by Ogimura:
Jog half a mile; run 220 yards fast as you can, then jog 220 yards (repeat 4 times); warm
down with a of a mile; go home, serve into board and whack back 200 made forehands;
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shadow-trainthat is, anticipate opponents table placements by moving fast to imaginary

numbered positions on your side of table (repeat seven-second movements forty times); swing
backhands and forehands hard as you cansixty times a half minute (repeat 2-3 times), finish off
with 100 sit-ups.
As for Surasaks preparation, well, he told me he hurt his arm earlier looping against Miles.
Result: Tannehill wins in three deuce games. Ohio
wins the tie. And now its Grand Rapids against
undefeated California (Howard, Sutivej, Cowan,
Grossman). Glenn, who brought violet sunglasses
and a jump rope, and for some reason didnt use
either, gets by Surasak 19 in the 3rd, but then loses
to Sweeris after winning the 2nd on an edge ball
and serving twice off the table at the start of the
3rd.
Sutivej, #3 in Thailand just before his
arrival in the U.S. and now studying finance at
the College of Marin near San Francisco, loses
to his shakehands compatriot Surasak who had
beaten him in 1965 in the semis of the Thai
Championships in Bangkok. But then, down 18Sutivej (L) mentoring Surasak
rd
20 in the 3 to Sweeris, Sutivej walks away from
the table, comes back, waits, brings from Sweeris an incredulous smile, a raised hand (Stop! How
can you do this!), servesand wins the point. Down 19-20, Sutivej walks away from the table,
comes back, waits, servesand wins the point. Then (and Dell is not smiling now) takes the match.
Howard begins by losing to Sweeriss 5th-ball attack (topspin serve to Jacks
backhand, return to backhand; angled-off hit to Jacks forehand, return is without much spin;
Dell moves over and smashes). But then Jack beats Surasak and Grand Rapids is out of it
indeed, will also lose to 3rd-place Canada (Wall, Larry Lee, Marinko, Zulpstheir team to the
1969 Worlds).
Illinois (Jim Lazarus, 15-5, Pecora 13-5, Leonard McNeece, 6-3, and Joe Sokoloff, 4-12)
would stop both N.Y. teams to finish 5th.
Undefeated California of course must also play the two
N.Y. teams. N.Y. #2, however, can get no closer than Miles to
Howard. Down 9-11 in the 3rd, with Jack waiting comfortably
for Dick to miss, 10-time U.S. Champion Miles rifles in half a
dozen forehands out of the pastall but one for point-getters.
(The one exception occurs when the umpire unexpectedly calls
Let! and Dick shouts, No! No! But then this Miles rifle
shot caroms back, Crack!, from Howards gunpowder
backhand so that Jacks remarkable return catches Miles
suddenly grinning and yelling, Yes! Yes!)
In the California-N.Y. #1 tie, Gusikoff initiates things
well enough by playing to Sutivejs rather weak backhand, has
him down 1-0 and 20-18 match point in the 2nd. Then, just as he is
to hit what he hopes will be his final winning shot, his glasses slip
down onto his nose and after that, for the rest of the match, its as if
Dick Miles
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he can never see again. When Bukiet loses to Cowan, after first walking off the court in protest over
a let ball, California is ready to take its place in the final with Ohio whod 5-3 downed Canada
(Wall, 17-5, had wins over Tannehill and Lyons; Larry Lee also beat Lyons).
The California team is in red playing shirts, the Ohio team in blueas if the colors were
transcontinentally prearranged. Although in the Friday-night ITS Matches, Cowan had lost to
Tannehill, Sweeris, and Gusikoff, in the first match of this tie, Glenn beats John in straight games
even though Johns strokes seem better grooved. In recent months Tannehill has shortened his
backswing and come to depend (one thinks there is little of the gambler in him) more and more on a
steady, temporizing backhand (A baby stroke. A baby stroke, Lee in a moment of rather
frustrated fatherly concern called it.) Here, for all his consistency, John is powerless to stop the
aggressive Californian who, in hitting his forehand, appears to take a golfers good long look at the
ball and then, as it begins to get behind him (coaches say too far behind him), flings himself into it.
Sutivej makes it 2-0 for California with a win over Lyons, and now Howard plays Lee. Go
to his backhand! Go to his backhand! Howard keeps telling himself. But Lee, following (how long
by instinct now) the advice he once wrote in his native Korean on the wooden, unused side of his
bat (TAKAHASHI STYLE. Make him go away from table) forces Jack to play to D-Js always
waiting forehand. California 2, Ohio 1.
Now Sutivej and Tannehill. The first two games are traded. God bless! says Tannehill as
he misses a shot. You can tell hes hitting harder now, his game automatically beginning to show the
results of all those repetitive hours of training. (You mustnt
think, Ogimura has told him. You havent time.) In the 3rd
game, John gets three service aces by the lefthander Sutivej.
Just as Tony, anticipating, moves to his left to take the forehand
offensive, Tannehill stirs the crowd by serving fast down the
opening line. (The Swedes pass the Japanese this way, says
Sweeris.) So Tannehill wins. And now Lee beats Cowan, and
Howard beats Lyons. California 3, Ohio 3.
In the Lee-Sutivej match, most of the drama centers
around umpire Jack Carr invoking the service rule. He
warned Sutivej both about dropping his hand and
obstructing his opponents ability to see the ball. He also
warned Lee about hitting the ball on its ascent. (It really makes
me mad, says D-Js wife Linda, when people try to say D-J
serves illegally.) Lee wins in straight games to make it Ohio 4,
California 3.
And now the crucial match: Tannehill vs. Howard. The
One should also learn how to serve
steadily improving Ohioan is even better than he was against
Takahashi style?
Sutivej. Time and again, said one observer, John forced
Howard from the table with his machine forehand which hit harder the farther away Jack got until he
was back against the barriers and beyond! Tannehill wins the 1st 21-15. In the 2nd, Howard has
him 4-1 and then loses 9 in a row. Down 8-12, Jack serves into the net, then rallies to 12-14. But
Howards counters fail, he loses four straight, and eventually the match. Ohio wins the
Championship! In the melee that follows (so reminiscent of the Ohio-New York #1 tie) I couldnt
tell whether Tannehill was on top of Lyons or vice-versa.

338

E.C. Meeting
The USTTA E.C. repeatedly met while the Team Championships were unfolding
and picking the Mens Team was no more difficult than picking the Womens. None of the
favorites had hurt their chances. Lee (21-0), Sweeris (24-2), Howard (16-3), Tannehill
(17-4), and Cowan (13-5). Originally the Budget for the 1959 World Team was $5,500 for
7 players and the Captain. Now of course there were 9 players, but, with the help of
$569.26 in Membership solicitations, it appeared everyones way would be paid.
Alternates were: Men: 1st: Gusikoff; 2nd: Pecora; 3rd: Vic Landau; Women: 1st: Neuberger;
2nd: Shazzi Felstein (whod been in Hararlem watching the Netherlands Open
whereYugoslavias European Champion Surbek had won the Mens, and Germanys notso-retired-housewife Di Rowe Scholer the Womens).
From the perspective of the new millennium it was more than a bit startling to see on
the October cover of Topics, the four photos of the Munich-Bound Womens Team that
would be decided in mid-Nov. Then the more confusing to read that USTTA members might
get the 1968-Jan., 1969 issue of Topics before the Nov., 1968 one. Explanation? Membership
Chair Bob Rudulphwhod reported in July that the USTTA had 1,517 regular Adult members,
411 Junior members, and, from the 82 Affiliates, 2,106 members at $.25 eachhad resigned. Since
no successor was in place, President Steenhoven and his helpers were trying to take up the slack.
Hence, stencil files, addressing machine, typewriters, and all the other paraphernalia (theres a lot
of it) had to be packed and shipped to Detroitand this caused time delays. Because the Dec.Jan. issue contained the Nationals entry blank, with its deadline for entries, it couldnt be delayed,
so the Oct., Nov. issues tumbled out late, and the rushed Dec.-Jan. issue instead of the customary 16
pages had only 12.
However, Editor H Blair, praised by former USTTA Public Relations Chair John Dart for
improvements in copy layout and increased ads in the magazine, was authorized to use a new printer
and to go 16 pages in the upcoming issues of
Topics. Back issues of the magazine, providing
they were available, could be bought for $.40
each. Topics distribution lists on gummed tape
easily affixed to envelopes sold at the rate of 3
cents per address on a per state basis. The
price of USTTA pins variedfrom $1 apiece for
a quantity of 10 to $.40 apiece for a quantity of
250. The USTTA Rules Manual cost $2. Any of
the seven films the USTTA had could be rented:
$5 for affiliates and $15 for non-affiliates with a
required deposit and only to be rented to a
USTTA member.
According to Books Chairman R.C.
Bollinger, or Library Chairman Jack Rugoff (theres
a need for both these Chairs?), the USTTA Library
had 14 books, including the 1968 141-page
newest, Dick Miless The Game of Table Tennis
(J.B. Lippincott, $5.95). This was an instructional
book, pretty much for beginners, with graphic
drawings by action artist Gustave Rehberger. From
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the perspective of the 21st century, Ive selected a few excerpts from my now 35-year-old review (TTT,
Feb.-Mar., 1969, 6-7) that I think might resonate with todays readers.
Dick says of the practice machine, the Stiga Robot, How I wish it had been available
when I was learning the game. And hes not kiddinghes now, as I write, almost 80, and still sets
it up and hits balls. Most important to Dick is the grip: a poor grip absolutely forces poor strokes.
He urges the reader to play shakehands. The penholder grip, he says, is an unthinkably poor grip
for every stroke in the game except one, the forehand drive. The incredibly agile Orientals with
their all-out attacking styleare the best players in the world despite their limitation.
Dick says that the circular swing of the redoubtable Miles forehand, unique (although not
unorthodox), came to him (as Keats said poetry ought to come) quite naturally. Defensive play is
a method of winning too; it does not represent cowardice. Try to imagine when practicing that
you are carrying near your body a pocket, or hoop, or basket that the ball must fall into. Adjust your
timing so that your stroke contacts the ball just as it falls into the pocket. The pocket is always on a
line with your forward foot.
Dick talks about the trouble with the backhand drive: the arm must stretch across the
bodyand is thus deprived of the longer backswing; to get any real power on the backhand attack
a great deal of wrist snap must go into the shot.And snapping the wrist hard enough to matter
leads to a loss of control. Heres one of the tips he offers: The drop should almost always be
placed on your opponents forehand. Why? Because its more difficult to stretch over the table with
the forehand.
The most controversial lines, even for his time, are these: The newcomeris astounded to
find out how relatively unimportant the serve is.The servers advantage in the modern game is
minimal. Oh? Tell it to the Japanese, Dick.
In Jan., Miles will accept an invitation to play in a Japanese Club Tournament. This from the
beginning looks like a no-no from the point of view of the Japanese TTA, and sure enough three
well-known Japanese players who participatedFujii, Hoshino, and Kawaharawill be suspended.
Miles, however, will not be, so long as he doesnt play against them later.
Jack Carr will give up his Disciplinary Chair to Eugene Wilson. Gene, as we see from his
Table Tennising Through Europe article (TTT, Oct., 1968, 4), recently treated himself to an 18-day
vacation in Europe. In Mestre, Italy, the mainland part of Venice, players stood in line to play the
American. In Paris, he visited a building owned by the Power Company where three table tennis
clubs occupied large rooms and were open all day. Total annual rent paid by the three clubs, with
plenty of space for three tables in each, is 50 francs ($10.12). There, in a center table match with an
umpire, he 26-24 in the deciding 3rd beat Max Lucas, reportedly the 1968 Disabled Person
Champion of France.
Dick Evans was resigningfrom both the E.C. and his Intercollegiate Committee Chair.
Hed be replaced as Recording Secretary not by another Detroiter but by Cyril Lederman. Carr
was surprised that Dick, though he did mess up a working agreement with the ACU-I, had
resigned from his Intercollegiate position, for, said Jack, Dick was making out very well
financially running the Intercollegiates each year. Jack notes that Jim Rushford had been the
Exhibition Chair for over a year, but that Topics cites the position as Vacant. Then he adds,
Maybe Topics is correct after all.
What with cash prizes awarded at more and more tournaments, the idea of money for the
better players was starting to be addressed. Some E.C. members continued to think that if these
players could play and/or coach outside their geographical area, they would bring fresh interest in the
Sport to many an affiliate. But of course the players had to have incentives to travel. So an E.C.
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Motion was made: Move that the USTTA match $50 in funds raised by tournament sponsors or
club affiliates for any of the Top 5 Men or Top 3 Women players of the moment (not to exceed
$200 a person per fiscal year). Alas, the motion failed.
However, another Motion was passedthat the top 10 men & 5 women ranked be
paid $25 maximum in fiscal year for participating in any 3 Star Regional tournament outside of
their region of residence.
A Motion that the Bylaws be changed so that not more than three E.C. members shall
be from any one state except for the incumbents, to be effective in 1971, failed.
Those running for E.C. office in the coming USTTA elections are: For Treasurer, Rudy
Muehlenbein whos running unopposed. And for the three Vice-President spots: Mal
Anderson, Richard Feuerstein, Fred Herbst, Cyril Lederman, John Read, and Sam Veillette.
Since I know these candidates wont be discouraged, I feel free to include here the Opinion
New Englands Bill Dean will unload on seeing some of them elected (TTT, June, 1969, 3; 12). Here in
part is what hed have to say:
Im wondering how a sport can even exist that
is being run by an organization that has, in effect, done
nothing to promote the sport.If the USTTA was a
business it would have been defunct years ago. Yet it could
(and perhaps should) be run as a business selling an
exclusive product: professional table tennis.
Ive never seen an organization with so many
oddball (and downright dangerous) characters in it. I
cant remember all the tournaments Ive played in where,
if I won or was winning a match, I was beset by an
opponent that would rant and rave, curse and swear,
Bill Dean-pray to God, and God knows what else. I remember
plays a little sport
two times when I was almost hit by thrown rackets.
As long as so much petty bureaucracy,
misplaced officers time, and general banality exists in the
USTTA, the sport hasnt got a chance!
Sure, I know that the die-hardsthe people
whove been controlling the USTTA for so long they
creakwill say, Well, if youre so smart, why dont you
run for office and give the entire USTTA the benefit of your views.
Well, Id be happy to, but I also know that I wouldnt (with the status quo)
have a chance to be successful. At least not what I would consider successful. The
USTTA must undergo a vast overhaul.
Why dont we have some organization subsidize the sport, and take it out of
the hands of these people whove done nothing with it for so long?
Yes, as a member of the organization of this poor little sportIm bitter.
Shouldnt we all be?

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Chapter Thirty-One
19681969: Mid-Winter Tournaments.
1969: D-J/ Violetta Win Easterns.
Ill start, as I did with the fall tournaments,
by showing you whats going on in the Pacific
Northwest. Harry McFadden won the Jan. Puget
Sound Open in his hometown, Seattle, by beating
not D-J but the other Lees, Joe in the semis, Larry
in the final, both in straight games. Mens Doubles
went to Tom Ruttinger/Joe Lee over Larry Lee/
Peter Leong. As: Leong over Tore Fredrickson.
Seniors: McFadden over Mike Fraher. 17s:
Ruttinger over Bill Ladd. Under 15s: 10-year-old
sensation Eddie Lo over Danny Mattson.
At the Feb. 8th Salem, Oregon Y, Carl Cole
won the Capital City Closed, but Earl Adams
defense softened Carls blasting forehand, and in
the 5th Carl was reduced to pushing for the entire
game. Earl and Beavertons Les Sayre took the
Doubles from Eugenes Jeff Kurtz and Oswegos
Bob Ho. Womens winner was Coos Bays Elsie
Photo by Mal Anderson
Spinning over Oregon State student Karen Berliner.
Elsie Spinning
Karen and husband Steve won the Mixed from
Spinning/Larry Bartel. As: Kurtz over Schuff.
Collegiates: Kurtz over Tim Leatherman. Under 17s: Mattson over Bartel. Portland artist/
teacher Jack McLarty took the Seniors over Schuff; and in a human interest match, Jacks
12-year-old son, Charles, was runner-up in the Novice to Joe Pufka, a mite Charless senior
best guess is, hes about 70
Two weeks later at the Oregon State Championships, King Cole was dethroned by
Bill Leishman. Just as hed started strong against Adams in Salem, so Carl took the first game
from Bill here, finishing with 5 straight kill shots.
But then Bill, playing to Carls backhand, forced
him to old-style push. This was Carls undoing,
for Bills new-style loops then easily won the
day. Adams/Sayre again won the Doublesfrom
Cole/Leishman. As: State Universitys Leatherman
over Kurtz in 5.
The 17th Annual Arizona Open, under
Tournament Director/Referee Lee Butler, was held
(for 87 entries) in Phoenixs spacious Cortez High.
In the Mens final, Howie Grossmans defense
Photo by Don Gunn
withstood Mark Adelmans 5-game attack. The
Howie Grossman
two finalists teamed together to take the Doubles
from Denvers Jerry Plybon and Phoenixs
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promising 15-year-old, Al Everett, 23-21 in the 5th.

Grossman completed his hat trick by partnering Heather
Angelinetta to a win in the Mixed over Everett/Tybie
Sommer whod gotten by Norm Schwartz and Tybies
daughter Marilyn. In the Womens, it was Heather over
Judy Bochenski who won the Under 15s from Barry
Nelson, the Under 13s from brother Mike. As: Jeff Mason
over Harold Kopper. Bs: Dennis Gresham over Tom
Sacra. Under 17s: Mason, down 2-0, over Plybon.
Minnesota, with a 35-year history of organized play
but in recent
years often
uninterested in
reporting
tournaments,
finally got their
Dec. 1, 1968
10,000 Lakes
Photo by Mal Anderson
Open results
Judy Bochenski
(but no writeup) into the
June, 1969 Topics. The Mens was won by Lee over
Rao, 11, 15, 6. I presume thats not 27-year-old A.V.
Hanumanth Rao, but local player Deleep Rao. And I
presume thats D-J Lee, whom the Minnesota top
Dr. Alan Goldstein
players and budding promoters, Dr. Alan Goldstein,
Charlie Disney, and Lloyd Jones must have brought into
the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to give exhibitions/coaching clinics. Half a dozen years ago Charlie
had gone to Ken Kluffmans Maywood Club in Chicago, and
ever since had been interested in promoting the Sport. Mens
Doubles went to Chris Faye/Disney over Alan Goldstein and his
son Mark, the best Junior in Minnesota.
Michigan, whod also been very lax in reporting
tournaments, must have made a New Years resolution. At the
Dec. 28-29 Detroit Holiday Closed, John Hart, down 2-0, rallied
to defeat Eddie Brennan. In the quarters, Eddie had 5, 19, 24, 18, 14 struggled to get by Janice Martin whom Topics will give
the May, 69 cover to (six sequence shots) so that the coaches
can criticize her backhand counterdriving: her stroke is a
shoving motion which does not have enough spin or speed.
Hart teamed with George Payotelis to take the Doubles from
Brennan/Jim Rushford, deuce in the 5th. A/B Doubles went to A
winner Imants Karklis and Tom McEvoy. Boys Under 17 to
Lester Davis. Girls Under 17 to Sue Hildebrandt over the Under
13 Girls Champ Debra Hunter. Under 15s to Mike Veillette over
Ron Ryal. Women were off on a holiday from this tournament.
Sue Hildebrandt
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The Feb. Muskegon Open drew a car-full of

Chicago players. Sweeris won the Mens, but what a
20, 18, -17, 19, 22 time he had with the Net and
Paddle Clubs Jim Lazarus. In the Mens Doubles,
Sweeris/Ybema beat Lazarus/Frank Tharaldson.
Womens winner was Millie Shahian who 10, 7, 3
crushed Hildebrandt in the semis and took Betty
Hibner 3-0 in the final.
Sweeris, I might as well take note here, had
earlier flown to Long Island for a 1-star 2-man Team
tournament, I presume not because of the maximum
$42.50 and trophy clock he might win but because the
format called for him to play a great many Eastern
players and he thought the experience, as well as the
time, effort, and expense, worth the trip. After
Saturday afternoon matches, the following 10 teams
were divided into two round robin Groups (out of
Photo by Bill Scheltema
which, after Davis-Cup-style ties, two teams from
Frank Tharaldson
each Group would advance to meet in a criss-cross
semis, the winners to play in a final. Group A: Rigo/Sealtiel; Resek/Boggan; Surasak/Frank
Dwelly; Jeff Swersky/Harvey Gutman; and Larry Folk/Clark Goldstein. Group B: Sharpe/
Danny Banach; Sweeris/Bukiet; Vic Landau/Brathwaite; Lim Ming Chui/Benny Hull; and Sam
Takayama/Joe Andrews.
Coming out of Group A were Resek/Boggan (4-0) and
Surasak/Dwelly (3-1). Errol and Tim won the Doubles, but,
although both lost to Surasak, both beat Dwelly (though in the 5th
match Boggan was 10-all in the 3rd with his surprisingly
ambidextrous. always serious opponent). Advancing from Group
B were Sweeris/Bukiet (4-0) and Chui/Hull (3-1). Ming and
Benny provided the big upset of the tournament in beating
Landau/Brathwaite. Penholder Chui, who has a good pointgetting forehand, used the wooden side of his racket over and
over again most effectively. The unusual spin he gave the ball
could not be returned by a regular temporizing push shot because
the ball would pop up and be hit away for the point. Thus Ming
defeated both Vic and George, and, since Hull plays good
doubles, they likely won that too.
In the one criss-cross tie, Resek/Boggan again won the
deciding doubles, for, though both lost to Chui, both beat Hull. In
the other criss-cross, Surasak completed a perfect 10-0 singles
record downing both Bukiet and Sweeris (after being behind 1316 one game, 13-18 the other); however, Surasak/Dwelly lost the
Photo by Mal Anderson
doubles and Frank was beaten in both singles.
Lim Ming Chui
In the finals, Boggan, troubled the whole tournament
with a touch of bursitis, opens against Sweeris who, because of an early morning commitment
in Detroit, is in a rush to catch a plane. Dell not only loses the first (Youve got to make Tim
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stop cursing, he says to the umpire midway through the game), but, worse, in the 2nd finds
himself 20-15 match point down.
But then suddenly inspired (hit, hit, hit) he gets 7 in a row! Boggan, properly quiet
now for a game and a half, walks round the table and sticks out his hand. Hey, no, the match
isnt over yet, says Dell. Indeed not. Ten minutes later, Sweeris is again 20-15 match point
down. And this time Boggan, after stopping to look ironically at the crowd, gets his winning
point and then lets outoh, what a prolonged, really uncivilized roar. Long Island columnist
Danny Ganz writes that Boggan sometimes leaves a bad impression with the onlookersI
myself hear the same thing, and I dont have to ask why.
Now Resek (Does he really try?), stroking smoothly, aggressively from both sides,
wins a surprise 19-in-the-3rd victory over the steady, never-it-seems-out-of-position Bukiet.
The tie has not gone as Dell had hoped, and its apparent that if he and Bernie try to win, they
have to play three more matchesin which case Dell is not going to catch his plane, is he?
Bernie says hes tired (hes also played in a round robin Seniors). He wants to know why he
should continue with the doubles if its not necessary, if Dell will leave soon. Play singles, he
says to Sweeris. Errol and I say o.k.
Dell is 1-all with Errol whenyes, arrangements have been madethere is one last,
overlooked flight and Dells booked on it: no problem. So Sweeris wins. And quick the
doubles go to the National Champions. And quicker yet Bukiet, grinning, disposes of Boggan,
who cant seem to play all of a sudden because of his bursitis.
The New Year started for D-J Lee and John Tannehill at the Indiana Open in
Indianapolis, where D-J beat John 3-zip. More of an attention getter for the spectators though
was Richard Farrells 20, -16, -16, 22, 16 match with Dick Hicks. Lee/Don Lyons took the
Doubles from Tannehill/Farrell. Womens winner was Mary McIlwain over Ann Shook. Mary
also won both Doublesthe Womens with Norma Hicks, the Mixed with D-J.
Since at the Feb. Lake Erie Open in Cleveland, Lee was elsewhere, Tannehill had a
rather easy time of it, except for his 19-in-the-4th quarters match with Tim Morgan, his
winning Doubles partner. Runner-up was John Spencer, and runner-up too in the Doubles with
Lyle Thiem. As: Mercz over Thiem. A Doubles: Mercz/Bill Hodge over Thiem/Morgan. Bs:
Sam Balamoun over Gary Mullen.
At the Gadsden, Alabama Open (the unsigned Topics
write-up badly mixed up several names), neither Clay Whitelaw
nor Don Gaither could bring home a winnerboth lost to
Indias Hanumanth Rao, now based in Houston. In the final,
Rao used his quickness and accuracy to cause the six-foottwo, 210-pound Whitelaw to defend. With Clay on the move,
it was clear he wasnt as physically fit as Rao, and he could do
no better than lose in 4. Doubles winners were Whitelaw/
Gaither over Ralph Kissel/Howie Schwartz. Womens went to
Dawn Whitelaw over Mary McCoullum. As: former N.Y.
junior Schwartz over Augustas Herb Beckham. Bs: Schwartz
over Red Wilder.
Dick Hicks warmed to the New Years Open in
Atlantawon the Mens over Gaither and the Pro event over
Whitelaw. Clay paired with Ray Mergliano to take the Doubles
Photo by Gerry Barr
from Hicks/ White. Womens went to Roma Harper over
Hanumanth Rao
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Photo by Mal Anderson

Hou-Min Chang

Photo by Mal Anderson

Jim McLain

Norma Hicks. Mixed to Norma and Dick over Clay and Dawn Whitelaw. As: Hou-Min Chang
over Emory University student Mike Auerbach. Hou-Min, originally from Taipei, had played in
the Northwest, but is now an Asst. Prof. Of Wood Chemistry at N.C. State. Later this year,
hell win the Raleigh Triangle Open the very day his wife gives birth to their baby daughter,
Lisa. Bs: Larry Bartley over Auerbach. Cs: Chang over Jim McLain. Under 17s: Ralph
Lipscomb over Jim Altenbach.
The Feb. Fort Lauderdale Florida Open saw Joe Sokoloff
down Marv Leff in 5. Win or lose, Marv says he loves the Game,
says its always appealed to him because it seemed to be the
most non-discriminatory sport.Size, weight, height, physical
impairment never became an obstacle for those who wanted to
play seriously. Doubles went to Mergliano/Richard McAfee over
Leff/Chuck Michell. Olga Soltesz took the Womens from
Roseanne Mergliano, but Roseanne teamed with husband Ray to
win the Mixed from Olga/John Quick. Laszlo Bellak was best in
Seniors, but Paul Soltesz made a 23-25-in-the-4th match of it.
Freddie Berchin won the Jan. Open at White Plains, N.Y.
in a 5-game semis with ex Hong-Konger Peter Kwok and a 5game final with Sol Schiff who, in eliminating Bill Sharpe, just
seems to go on playing well forever. Stan Klein, on getting by
Danny Banach in 5, won the As from Sharpe whod been forced
into the 5th with Joe Andrews. Junior winner was Sealtiel over
Roseanne Mergliano
Charles Freund. Under 13s went to Ricky Rumble over Steve
Wolf. This County tournament was run for Westchester TTA President Irwin Wolf by George
Schein whod just been invited to join the 1967-formed Swaythling Club International via its
USA representative Jimmy McClure, a Dunlop/Victor Barna distributor. Barna, the President
of this Club, formed for Champions and Officials whod represented their country at a World
Championship, invited George because hed Captained the 1955 U.S. Team to the Utrecht
Worlds and had been recommended by McClure. Last year, Barna had refused to invite Miles
and Reisman to join.
Who should be playing in the Long Island Closedno, not Miles or Reismanbut,
just as unexpectedly, Marty Doss whod apparently established residence in Elmhurst (and was
working for a carpet firm?). He was beaten in the semis in 4 by Resek; while in the other
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semis, Boggan stopped

Brathwaite 3-0. In the final, Tim
lost the first two games. Then,
having developed cramps
midway through the 2nd game, he
massaged his legs, took some
salt pills, and forced Errol into
the 5th. Had he won that one,
said Danny Ganz, they would
have given him a saliva test.
In the Womens, Alice
Green was an easy winner over
Margaret Burnett. In Mens
Doubles, Doss and Hal Green
(Senior Champ over Henry
Deutsch) won a tough 5-gamer
with Resek/Brathwaite. In the
Mixed, George teamed with
1969 Long Island Closed Womens Doubles Winners:
Vija Livins and Eleanor Leonhardt
Burnett to defeat the Greens, 18
in the 5th. Vija Livins/Eleanor
Leonhardt took the Womens Doubles. Alice Green won the Under 17s over Stan Klein. Class
A singles and doubles went to Ernst Willer over his partner, Trinidad-Tobago newcomer Rory
Brassington.
Eastern Open
The Eastern Open was held Feb. 6-8 at Rochesters Kodak Park Recreation Center
and, brrr, New Yorkers couldnt forget that unforgettable weekend. Drift after drift of snow,
all of us stuck, helpless, unable to change things. But the times, they are a changin: I find that
35 years ago when I did this write-up, a tougher, harsher tone had come into my writing.
Eventually I would be impelledidealistically, sometimes undiplomatically, attackinglyto
take the lead in trying to move the Sport in this country. Here at Rochester all ran true to
form: from Tournament Director, to Chief Referee, to Publicity, to Scheduling, to Draw, to
Seeding, to Trophies, to Program Editor, to Dal-Joon Lee, to Violetta Nesukaitis. All went as
might be expectedand all with the best of intentions, Im sure.
I mean, you could hardly blame Cyril Lederman for again wanting to enforce the
Rules (with regard to ones cursing, say, it was sportingly understood that, well, a little show
of passion, a Damn!, would be permitted). Or John Read for again wanting to make up a
Draw that would, if not please, at least pacify, everyone, or almost everyone (Why, says
Bukiet, they never put me against Tannehill?). Or Dal-Joon Lee for again caring enough to
win a trophy tournamentas if in a prestige Open no prize money was necessary.
And certainly Walt Stephens, the conscientious Tournament Director, had a nice, large,
rather decently lit gym for us, and lots of fast (though perhaps too tightly netted) tables. So
many tables, 16 of them, in fact, that, when the matches started, a fair number of them were
not in use. And not to be practiced on either. Which was really infuriating.
After all, isnt it perfectably reasonable to suppose that there should have been at least
two championship tables just for the better players to practice onif only for the player/
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spectators sake? Isnt it fun even to watch the Champs warm-up? Let those who are less
skilled get their warm-up in preliminary matches, or let them play, if they so desire, with those
indefatigable juniors (most often local players) in the practice room of a kind the Easterns
provided, and which may best be found in almost any Boys Club or Y on a brawling Saturday
morning.
Of course Im assuming that the better players ought to get a special privilege or
twosince its really they who make the tournaments, especially the prestigious tournaments
such as this one. Though I 2004 note here Minnesota Promoter Charlie Disneys longtime
dictum: Reisman couldnt wave at the audience without someone putting up the tables, and
though I wouldnt want to foolishly discount the importance to the Sport of those who
promote and stage tournaments, for me the player, especially the entertaining, accomplished
player, is 1st in hierarchical importance. Or is one to take the position that Table Tennis is really
not a spectator sport? To take the position that Table Tennis is a participant but not a spectator
sport is to judge, convict, and sentence it to a lifetime of closed-up anonymity.
Also, I think its rather absurd for the Eastern officials to ask the players to wear
flimsy, ugly-looking numbers on their back. If a player, Marty Doss, say, isnt known by sight
to the just-happened-to-wander-in, never-knew-there-was-such-a-thing viewer and his neverknew-there-was-such-a-thing family, friends, and neighbors (and how many of these
hypothetical people are there, really?), well then just Dosss name in the Program isnt apt to
mean anything more. Names of players should be properly affixed to the courts where they
play.
Also, its demeaning for the better players to be asked to umpire matches, particularly
since, having given so much of their lives to the sport, they often take losing much harder than
do those players interested in social exercise who say its all just a game. Is table tennis just a
game to Bukiet? Really, a good player ought not to be made sport of in this way. Its enough
to make them want to form their own association.
Imagine Dal-Joon Lee being upsetand then ask him to focus his attention on, if you
can believe it, an early mixed doubles or a consolation match. Such a thing, carried to that kind
of heroic extreme, staggers the mindit couldnt happen with such an iconic figure, you say.
Or take another absurd case. Is it right (not to be modest) for a better player such as
myself, on losing, to be deprived of watching one of the matches Ive come maybe hundreds of
miles to see and perhaps, like so many of the other better players (say, maybe 75% of the Top
25?), become so involved with as to want to bet on?
And now, having gotten warmed-up regarding this Eastern Open, perhaps its time for
me to talk about the matches? Nope, cause the matches themselves lead me to still another
gripe. Why, as they did in this tournament, wait and wait and wait and then put a number of
good matches on all at once? Hours and hours we yearn for matches of more interest, more
consequence, and then Doss vs. Zulps, Bukiet vs. Boggan, Tannehill vs. Resek, all side by
side, so close that unable to play a point for ball-chasing, at least half the players involved (My,
my, why are they so high strung?) are openly ranting or grumbling. I mean, its just
irresponsible.
But lest I somehow be accused of being irresponsible, let me get on with the business
at handthe matches its odds-on I saw.
Early matches of interest in the Mens: Canadas Martin Ivakitsch over N.Y.s Alex
Shiroky (who was later to win the Bs in 5 from Buffalos Jim Dixon); 1967 Canadian Closed
Champ Modris Zulps over N.Y.s Fuarnado Roberts, 19 in the 4th; 21-year-old college senior
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Vic Landau over his more than 21-year-old senior Chuck Burns, 19 in the 4th; and MIT
Electrical Engineering student Lim Ming Chui overor, check that, rather make it the almost
short-circuited Tannehill over penholder Chui and his wooden-side nothing balls in 4, with
John somehow pulling out the 2nd and 4th games from 16-20 down.
In the 8ths, current Canadian Champ Derek Walls loops beat N.Y.s very steady,
gentlemanly Brathwaite in 4, getting lucky in the could-have-been-a-turning point 2nd with an
edge at 19-all. Also, Bukiet defeated Boggan in 4 after losing the 1st and, after being down 512 in the 2nd, and walking away from the match only to come back with the ball broken and,
at the end, a somewhat mended pride.
In the Gusikoff-Lyons 8ths matchyoull recall Dons upset win over Bobby at the
USOTCs that gave the victorious Ohio team its vital 5-4 win over New Yorkthe aggressive
serve is of vital importance. Either Lyons gets to follow with a loop (Hes got a little sidespin, a
little hook on it, says Bobby), or Bobby gets to whip in the kind of quick, one-ball follow even the
likes of Denis Neale was powerless to prevent. This time, Bobby, the favorite (who as Defending
Champion is a bit put out about being seeded 3rd), wins in 5. Lyons, ahead 15-11 in the 5th, suddenly
becomes paralyzed (First time its ever happened to me, he said later) as Bobby gives vent to a
10-1 hot streak. And, ohh, Donnie, would you believe I got $60-$10 on this match!
The four quarters matches are worth commenting on. D-J (whos spent much of his
warm-up time industriously around one specific tablethe one featuring D-J Lees Warm-up
Suits, Shirts, Shorts, Paddles, Balls, Rubber Chackwhere hes exchanging autographs, as it
were) loops and drops, loops and drops, loops and drops to Walls backhand. One one
occasion, Lee misses a drop, grins: but this is not picked up by the Bolex Macrozoom camera
zeroing in from the sidelines on his footwork. (Cameramans Bill Marlens?) On another occasion,
Wall misses a backhand down the line and, flicking his bat in
irritation, says, Thats the shot! You can assume Derek
didnt get many shots like that, for D-J advances in 4.
To see who gets to play Lee in the semis, Doss and
Tannehill go at it. In winning the first two games, John plays
both backhand and forehand as well as Ive ever seen him
playand this in spite of the fact that in the 2nd he starts off by
missing Martys first four serves and setting up the 5th. Its

Bill Marlens

only a few minutes later, though,

that Doss shouts to himself,
Quit underplaying! Followed
by, The serve comes right out of
his hand. I cant see the ball!
But then turnabout. In the
next two games Tannehill begins
to err on the backhand exchange
and Doss is playing much better
and has begun to take heart. At
the start of the 5th, Tannehill

John Tannehill
349

rounds the table, looks far down court (exactly where, it might be difficult to tell) towards the
door near where D-J has enterprisingly stationed himself, and, waving his hand high, in a kind
of semiphoric code, shouts Off?
The answer No! is relayed backand almost immediately Doss is down hopelessly
3-11Did I say hopelessly?9-1613-1818-19! And what incredible shots, backhand
and forehand, Martys been hitting in. But then (What? Try to hit in still another? Is that what
hes thinking? With the percentages way against him?) he decides not to gambledecides not
to force anymore, will let Tannehill make a mistake. But John, playing coolly with all those
hours of practice behind him, as if there in front of him were the home practice-board hed
mastered for so long, and under no time pressure now, gets two by Marty, and the best match
of the tournament is over.
Umpire! says Doss. They want me to umpire! He cant believe it. And offers a
dollar to any Junior in the gym, any Junior anywhere, to volunteer to do the job.
If Sweeris goes out there with the idea of going bang, bang, bang against Bukiet, hes
going to lose, says a pretty-sure-of-himself spectator. His strokes not that good. This match
depends on how soft Bernie gets. The first two games Sweeris cant play at all. Ahead 7-4 in
the 3rd, Bukiet hears the umpire call the score 6-5 and objects. Although Sweeris first says,
The umpires in charge of this match, he belatedly agrees that the score ought to be 7-4.
Bernie wants another umpire; Dell doesnt. Bernies upset; Dell says, Want to default?
The umpire remains, if not unmoved, unchanged. As for the matchSweeris gets three
in a row and when Bernie eventually loses this game hes finished. Fate has fatally infiltrated
his psychethe match is no longer his to win. In the 4th, 5 points behind, he wants to conserve
his energy, tries to give up the game. Can you default a game without defaulting the match?
asks a relentless Sweeris. He is getting tougher, isnt he? They play on to the inevitable end.
Dells semis opponent will be Gusikoff or Landau. (And whats this? Mary Jane!
Gusikoff is playing like a girl?) Vic wins in straight games. I just cant get up for him, Bobby
says. Reminded that hes being called to umpire a consolation match, Gusikoff says, Are you
kidding me? Well, he does have something else to dohes co-chairman of the U.S.
Maccabiah T.T. Committee, and is looking for contributions to field a 69 U.S. Team.
In the one semis, Landau takes the 1st game from Sweeris, 21-14. How is it that so
many people tend to underestimate Vic? One ought to remember he had a good chance of
getting to the semis of last years NationalsDanny Robbins beat him, 19 in the 4th. But then
once again, after seeing Landau lose the next 3 to Sweeris, those same people will tend to
underestimate him again. Why is that?
In the 1st game of the other semis, Challenger Tannehill has Champion Lee down 2014. And loses! Just goes putty soft against Lees serves. In the 2nd, John comes from 17-19 to
20-19but again cant win: Lees last minute forehand counters are too strong. A spectator
near me suggests that Lees putting on a pretty good exhibition. Exhibition! says another.
Are you joking? If ever I saw the next heir apparent, its this kid!
As the tournament moves to its inevitable climax, people are still talking about how
really well Tannehill played, and about how difficult it is to decide just how hard Lee played.
Some wonder openly how much he really cares about winning this traditionally prestigious
tournament.
O.K., while the Consolation finals are going on, Ill give you the highlights of other
events. Violetta Nesukaitis, using a home-made Flora-style bat put together by her father
(tapered handle, sponge on one side/hard rubber on the other) that apparently not only John
350

swears by but Violettas sister Flora as well, easily won the Womens over Alice Green who in
the semis had stopped her winning Womens Doubles partner, Janice Martin, in 4. Violetta
also took the Mixed with Bukietwhich surprised Martin/Sweeris and a number of tooconfident wagerers.
Mens Doubles went presumably to whoever paired with D-J, and this tournament it
was Chui playing with a Shanghai racket stamped Double Happiness. In a 2/3 quarters
match they rallied to beat Resek/Boggan, 19 in the 3rd. Afterwards in the semis, though down
1-0 and 14-18 in the 2nd to Doss/Gusikoff, they evened the match, then eventually won in 5,
thanks to Chui who, though behind match point in that 2nd game, boldly smacked in a serve.
Dell and Bernie also rallied in the quarters after being down 1-0 and 17-19 to Tannehill/
Lyons, then went on to finish runner-ups in 5 to Lee/Chui. Mens Consolation went to Siggy
Kunz over Bill Hodge. Womens Consolation
Photo by Bill Scheltema
to Jose Tomkins over Kathy Scheltema.
Bill Hodge
And now lots of drama in the Mens
Singles final between Lee and Sweeris. The
odds around me: 20-1untaken! D-J, whos
being called a Hochstapler! (whatever that
means), wins the 1st at deuce (after Dell had
him 18-12).
In the 2nd, Lee seems bothered by his
legthough he gamely runs after loose balls.
Hes down 13-17 (Hochstapler I hear again),
then narrows Sweeriss lead to 17-19. At which
point Dell serves into the net. At 19-all, Lee
returns the favor, puts Dells serve into the net
(Hochstapler!). Then, at 21-all, Lee gets a
cramp! But you know the rules. Play! says
umpire, U.S. Team Captain John Read. Play!
And Sweeris wins 23-21. One game each. You
can bet no ones offering 20-1 now.
Sweeris is playing marvelously well. Its just a matter of time, says an unknown
voice behind me, maybe a year, before Dell gets to D-J. In the 3rd game, Lee is stricken with
more cramps, but hangs on to win.
During the rest period, D-J is ministered to by a succession of well-wishers: a wouldbe masseur, his wife (Lees wife, that is), and by any number of newly recruited sympathizers.
Quick, out comes the salt shaker, the water, the suddenly found tangerine. (Tangerine! Id like
one of those myself. Where did one find them?) First time Ive ever gotten a cramp. First time
its ever happened to me, says Lee to the reporter whos writing it all down. But then he
perseveres, soon says hes all right, and, sure enough, goes back out to win in 4. Again he is a
Championand apparently feels fine. After all, better to have cramps than a bad case of
bursitis, say.
So the play, the drama, at another Easterns is over. And next time?Perhaps therell
be a much needed shot in the arm?Who knows?

351

Chapter Thirty-Two
1969: Spring Tournaments/Lee, Martinez Win Long Island Open.
There are of course many, many tournaments round the U.S. that year after year no
one ever wrote up, and that I wasnt there to see; but since I feel obligated, while stressing my
own past coverage, to note for the record as many of these as is reasonably, readably possible,
I begin again in the Northwest and will gradually sweep Eastward.
At the Mar. Western Washington Open in Seattle, Harry McFadden defeated Bill Rapp
in both the Mens and Senior Singles. In getting to the final of the Mens, Bill had fine wins
over two CanadiansPhil Woo and Eric Calveley who in the not too distant future would
begin putting out his BCTTA LeTTers. However, even more notable was Earl Adamss great
18, -19, 18, 18, 27 comeback against Bill to take the AAs. Doubles went to the Chandra
Madosingh/ Penso pair over Woo/Bill Ladd. Nancy Craig won the Womens. Danny Mattson
the Juniors.
Vancouvers 9th Chinatown Open had William Yee taking the Championship over
Vinkovic who won the AAs from Calveley. Ladies: Margaret Yuen over Nancy Craig. As:
Penso over Madosingh. Bs: Ying Chan over Eddie Lo. Juniors: Allan Wong over Robert
Wong. Seniors: Earl Adams over Harry McFadden, 17 in the 5th.

From the 1980 Pacific

Northwest Program

Photo by Marie Martha-Monast

From CTT News, Mar., 1968, 7

Earl Adams

William Yee

Photo by Don Gunn

Joe Lee

Vancouver also hosted the Apr. British Columbia Open, won by Derek Wall over Joe
Lee. Earl Adams writes in Jose Tomkins Aug., 1969 CTTA News (16) that, after losing the 1st
game of his semis at deuce with Max Marinko, Joe developed extreme leg cramps and had to
take a 15-minute break in the second game. (They probably wouldnt let Joe do that in the
States: you cant stop the match because of crampstoo easy to fake?) Then pumped full of
salt and water he tied it up. Though continuing to suffer mobility problems, he went on to
win the 3rd. After which he took the 5-minute option break and, after a rub down and more
salt and water, managed to beat Max. However, he had nothing left and so no-contest lost
to Wall. Derek also took the Doubles with Modris Zulps over Yee/Leong.
Before playing in the Long Island Open and then going off to Munich for the Worlds,
U.S. Team members took titles at the Hollywood Southern California Open. Jack Howard
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won the Mens, 26-24 in the 4th, from Glenn Cowan

whod beaten Erwin Klein after Erwin had stopped Bobby
Fields in a 7, 13, -29, 17 Dont-you-dare-take-me-forgranted quarters match. In Mens Doubles, Glenn and
regular CA partner McGruder defeated Fields/Bob Ashley.
Wendy Hicks scored a 1st in both the Womens (over Girls
U-17 Champ Patty Martinez, 3-0) and the Mixed with
Howard (over Patty and Shonie Aki whod 19, -15, 16,
10, 20 rallied to escape Howie Grossman/Heather
Angelinetta).
Some other results: As: Zak Haleem over Jerry
Plybon who paired with Patty to take the A Doubles in 5
from Jim Bristol/Ichiro Hashimoto. Bs: Nick Mintsiveris
over Ralph Bender. Womens Bs: Monica Rosal over Joy
West. (Joy, I presume, is the daughter of James Dale
West, well-known player and seller of t.t. equipment , as
well as a high school biology teacher. Cs: Dieter Huber
over B and C Doubles winner S. Kitzes. 15s: Ray
Martinez over Tommy Mullins. 13s: (in an event that saw
the first Topics appearance of future U.S. star Ray
Monica Rosal
Guillen) Jim Laing over Dave Laing in a brotherly giveno-quarter thriller, 18, 20, -17, -27, 19.
Quick-hitting bros, Dave and Kevin Bell
of Fort Worth, won the Mar. Oklahoma City
Two-Man Team eventthough Amarillos Jay
Evans was able to beat both. In Class B, Dennis
Crawford/Glen Markwell just nudged out
Oklahoma State students Sam Chan/Tom Lee.
(This State University, located in Stillwater, just
opened a new $3.3 million air-conditioned Phys.
Ed Center where its hoped t.t. tournaments can
be played.) Class C went to Rudy Crawford and
Ron Shirley (whom well see later as a very
successful U.S. Open promoter). Juniors to
Norman Behymer/Dennis Crawford.
At Kansas Citys Heart of America Mar.
Open there appeared a jolting name from the
past: Dick Ichkoff. Dick must have had an itch to
Photo by Gerry Barr
play in a tournamentand, whats more, in
Dave Bell
winning the Seniors, he outfoxed Steve The
Fox Flansburg. Jerry Plybon took the Mensover this seasons St. Louis Closed Champion
Larry Chisolm. Larry paired with St. Charles Closed Champ John Maley to win the Doubles
from Gerald Schuster/Jim Wachter. Womens went to Jean Varker; runner-up was Christy
Logan, the Girls 17 Champ over Diana Myers.
At the Great Plains Open in St. Charles, Roy Fatakia won the Singles (over Chisholm)
and the Mixed with wife Erma (over R. W. Kirkland/M. Ritchie). Jean Varker took the round
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robin Womens from Ritchie who (considering she lost the Womens Bs to Diana Myers) did
well to-13, 10, 22, 19 defeat Fatakia for the runner-up spot. Myers (who didnt play in the
Womens?) beat her winning Womens Doubles partner Varker in the 17s, but lost to her in
the 13s.
Through the Canadian TTA News coverage of
the Apr. 20th Manitoba Open, held at the Manitoba
Institute of Technology, were introduced to the gung-ho
U.S. t.t. promoter/player, Charlie Disney:
Disney, a Minneapolis stock-broker
from 9 to 5, and a force to be reckoned with in
Minnesota table tennis where he ranks number
two in singles competition and first in the
doubles game [with Alan Goldstein], arrived on
the scene unannounced but his knowledge of all
facets of the game quickly became evident. As
president of the Minnesota YMCA Table Tennis
Association he performed the role of goodwill
ambassador issuing invitations to the upcoming
Minnesota Open. As a missionary in the cause of
spreading the word about table tennis he
discussed the development of the game with
officials of the Manitoba Association. As a first
class player he debated the games fine points
Charlie Disney
with the experienced players and gave coaching
instruction to anyone who asked. He managed to referee some key games and offered
his assistance in the running of the various events. (16-17).
Charlie himself may have written this unsigned article, but thats o.k. because it was
quite a work weekend for him, and he deserves the attention. Moreover, he won both the
Singles (over many-time Manitoba Champ Frank Hodl) and the Doubles with M.I.T. local,
Shun Tin Wun (over the Hungarian Clubs Hodl/Zoltan Gergely). Hard-hitting Art Koberstein
took the Bs from Dr. Harold Stone.
At the Minnesota Open a week later, local star Deleep
Rao, not having to compete against D-J, finished 7-0 1st in an 8man final round robin. The others: 2nd: Jim Lazarus (5-2, lost also
to Fatakia). 3rd: Roy Fatakia (5-2, lost also to Pashuku). 4th: Paul
Pashuku (3-4). 5th: Charlie Disney. 6th: Chris Faye. 7th: Alan
Goldstein. 8th: Ted Stomma. Doubles: Disney/Goldstein over
Lazarus/Pashuku. Womens: Becker over Armstrong. Class A:
Paul Pashuku over Doug Maday. Mark Goldstein took 3 events:
the Bs over C winner John Hinde; the Juniors over Beninato;
and the Boys over Don Larson.
Plenty of the usual action in Ontario, and some new
faces. At their Mar. Open, Graham Gear, formerly the Welsh
Photo by Bill Scheltema
#1, beat Max Marinko, 19 in the 4th. Also winning the
Jim Lazarus
354

Womens 19 in the 4th: Violetta Nesukaitis over Velta Adminis. Mens Doubles: Martin Ivakitsch/
Franz Ried in a 5-game upset over (too many rum and cokes?) Gear/Derek Wall. Bs: Bob
Trifunovic, Chair of the Ontario Coaching Committee, over C winner Kurt DEndel. Mens B
Doubles (and with these two come the 70s future of Canadian t.t.): Under 17/Under 15 Champ
Errol Caetano and Joe Eng over Siggi Kunz/Bill Cheng. Jr. Miss: Flora Nesukaitis over Darinka
Jovanov, daughter of George Jovanov wholl later be President of the Ontario Association.
Photo by Mal Anderson

Algimantis Saunoris,
The Iron Doctor

Photo by Mal Anderson

At the Ontario Open in Toronto the last weekend of the

Mike Skinner
season, players and spectators were able to see the visiting
Algimantis Saunoris, many-time Russian Champion. A surgeon from Vilnius who Captained
the Soviet National Team to the 63 Prague Worlds, he was nicknamed The Iron Doctor.
Still a good player, though of Senior age, he won everything he entered: the Mens (over
Modris Zulps in 4); the Mens Doubles with John Nesuakitis (over Max Marinko/Art
Saltpeter); and the Mixed with Violetta (over Zulps/Velta Adminis). Under 17s: Ricky Cheung
over Paul Klevinas, 22, 18. Under 15s: Klevinas over Vic Skujins, -20, 19, 19.
Ontario Publicity Director Mike Skinner writes that at the Mar. Quebec Open Derek
Wall, Graham Gear, and Franz Ried, all scheduled to play in the Mens quarters, were
involved in an early morning car crash (too many rum and cokes?). All, however, were later
able to play their matches. Derek downed Claude Landry in 4. Gear, often hitting with great
gusto, beat Ron Chapman in 4 (though in the 2nd from 15-all, Ron with the help of some
tricky serves ran out the game). Graham displayed great sportsmanship when at 18-17 [in
the 4th] with the ball up for a kill he noticed Rons spectacles falling off and immediately called
for a let. Though fellow Montrealers cheered on Guy Germains sharp hitting, he fell, -10, 25, 18, -19, to Rieds smooth defensive play.
In the one semis, Walls heavy topspin did in Ried. In the other, Gear faced Peter
Morgan whod outlasted Mike Schreiber 20, 17, -21, 20 (after the Expedite Rule had come in
at deuce in the 4th). Graham played his usual game, and, in repeatedly looping and dropping,
likely tired the South African after his drawn-out quarters, for, though Peter socked in two
winners at 19-all in the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead, he couldnt contest in the 4th and 5th. Gear then
went on to upset Wall, 6, 19, 19 in the final.
355

Other results: Womens: Violetta

Nesukaitis over Shirley Gero in 4. Mens
Doubles: Wall/Gear over Chapman/
Schreiber. Mixed: Wall/Nesukaitis over
Gear/Marie Duceppe. Womens Bs:
Marie Kerr over Pat Quintyne, the 1964/
65 Barbados Champion who on coming
to Toronto had won last years West End
Ys B event over Flora Nesukaitis. In the
quarters, Pat, participating in her last
Canadian tournament as a resident (she
would marry Bob Hildebrand and begin
playing out of Philadelphia), wore down
Canadas Marie Kerr
the more experienced Velta Adminis with
a steady defence; then in the semis, defeated Joyce Abraham Hecht
whod advanced in 5 over Marie Duceppe, bothered by a painful
right shoulder (News, Aug., 1969, 21-22).
Photo by Mal Anderson
Naturally D-J Lee won the 18th Annual Columbus
Pat Quintyne
Midwest Open, but this seasons #2 John Tannehill and #3 Dell
Sweeris didnt meet. D-J, in downing Dell 3-0 in the one semis, opened with a 21-4 game;
and John, in downing Dick Hicks in 4 in the other semi, opened by losing a 28-26 game.
Womens winner was Janice Martin over Ann Andre (formerly Evans). As: Spencer over Jim
Supensky. Bs: Temple over Lehman. Mens Consolation: Sam Veillette over Art Holloway.
(Sams advertising in Topicshopes to sell a slanted-handle racket; its for the shakehander
who wants the racket head down ala the
penholder.)
Clay Whitelaw, U.S. #28 this season,
upset Dick Hicks, U.S. # 17, in 4 to win the
Apr. Tennessee Open in Nashville. Clays strong
topspin attack allowed him to suddenly turn the
match around after hed lost the 1st and was
down 14-19 in the 2nd. Dicks wife, Norma, won
the Womens over Roseanne Mergliano. For the
3rd straight year, Dick took the Doubles with
John White, Senior Champ over Gene Bricker.
Can you guess what family was
dominant at the Apr. Central Florida Closed?
Paul Soltesz was runner-up in the Mens to Ray
Mergliano; won the Seniors over Laurie Ault;
won the Mens Doubles with Jim Leggett over
Mergliano/Richard McAfee; and won the Mixed
with daughter Olga over the Merglianos.
Arguably, Olga, with her point-winning
forehand, is a better doubles than singles player,
perhaps because shes played with her dad once
Florida winners, L-R: Scott Bennett,
a week in a local doubles only night. Here she
John Quick, Olga Soltesz and Steve Harner
356

also took the Womens

Singlesat the expense
of Roseanne Mergliano
and Bev Hess whose
dad Randy was the
Consolation winner.
Steve Bennett won the
17s, and the As from
Jim Leggett, but lost the
Bs to Andy
Beckenbach.
The end-ofseason North Carolina
Spring Open at Raleigh
Randy relaxing
was won by Kuo-San
Chung over Fred
Mercz. Chung, I hear from Steve Isaacson, was
Nationalist China Air Force champ,[and] he and his
wife have represented Formosa in international bridge
tournaments. Currently, Kuo-San is a doctoral
student in Electrical
Kuo-San Chung
Engineering at Duke
(TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1970).
Womens went to Doris
Mercz over Melba
Martin. Chung/Hsieh
took the Doubles from
Hou-Min Chang/Bowie
Martin, 18 in the 5th.
As: Mercz over Jim
McQueen. Bs: Nelson

Jim Fulks and Norman Kilpatrick

Photo by Mal Anderson

Bev Hess

Tugwell over Stan Peele (from down 2-0 and at 2019 in the 3rd). Under 17s: Jim Altenbach over Keith
Armes.
Results of the Kanawha Valley League,
sent in by Tournament Chair Norman Kilpatrick,
saw the team of Jamie Pierson, Kermit Drake, and
Clarence Darnell best the team of Jim Fulks, Tom
Carpenter, and Ramona Kilpatrick, 5-3. On the
last day of the season, Norman won a Handicap
tourney over Steve Clair whod upset top-ranked
Whitey Lykins and Jamie Pierson. Participants in
this League, Dick Evans tells me, have generally
come from several of the chemical/industrial
plants that line the banks of the Kanawha River.
357

Play has been at the North Charleston Community Center, under the leadership of Fulks, for
decades.
The 8-team Mar. Pennsylvania Team Tournament saw powerful Philadelphia (Bill
Sharpe, 7-0; Erich Haring 6-0; Dave Gaskill, 8-1; Mal Anderson, 7-2; Marty Theil, 7-2) defeat
all comers. State College, led by Dick Yamaoka (12-0, though the only Philly player he met
was Theil), finished 2nd. Danny Seemiller, playing for 7th-place Carlisle, posted a 4-7 record
(with losses to Erich Haring and Mal Anderson); but we think hell improve, right?
The Pennsylvania Closed,
followed by the Open, will be played on
back-to-back Mar. weekends. Gaskill
won the State Championship over
Sharpe. But Bill teamed with Theil to
take the Doubles from Dave and Mal.
Lancasters George Woods took the
Seniors (from Tom Shirley) and the Bs
(from Barry Rodgers). Danny Seemiller
was both the U-17 and U-15 Champion,
though he was hard-pressed by Bill
Zatek.
At the
Open, Bukiet
Photo by Mal Anderson
didnt win like he
Dave Gaskill, 1969 Pennsylvania State Champion
used tobut he
didnt lose either. In his semis, after being down 2-1, he stopped
Mitch Sealtiel whod advanced past Boggan in 5; then in the final he
13, -14, -20, 16, 21 eked out a tension-filled 5th over Errol Resek.
George Brathwaite/Harvey Gutman easily won the Doubles from
Resek/Boggan. Womens winner was Margaret Burnett over Terry
(nee Larsen) Green, Dannys wife. Burnett also paired with
Brathwaite to take the Mixed over Hal and Alice Green. (Why didnt
Alice play Singles? Maybe she needed to spend more time at home?
Her mom had been quoted as saying, Alice hasnt left for Germany
yet, and I already miss her!)
Phillys last tournament of the season was the Quaker City
Openwon by Bukiet over Brathwaite. The Chief did well to beat
Landau in 5, then Resek who, though going 5 with Brassington, had
Terry (nee Larsen)
winning games of 7, 13, 6. Doubles went to Resek/Boggan, deuce in
Green
the 5th, over Bukiet/Landau.
At the N.J. Open in Trenton that closed the season (N.J. Closed Champ Jeff Swersky
and his winning Doubles partner Harvey Gutman didnt play), Resek clinched his U.S. Top 10
ranking by knocking off Bukiet, 23-21 in the 5th. State Champ Serena Choi defeated Margaret
Burnett to take the Womens. Mens Doubles went to Brathwaite/Shiroky over Resek/
McNear. As: Ernst Willer over Peter Kwok. Bs George Holz over Erich Haring. Seniors:
Doug Cartland over Marv Shaffer. Boys Under 17: N.J. #1 and U.S. #5 Sealtiel over U.S. #15
Skerratt. Junior Doubles: Skerratt/Scott McDowell over the Szeliga brothers. Under 15: Rumble
over Jersey Champ Szeliga. There was no event for the State Girls Champ Murielle Stern.
358

Long Island Open

Alright, Ill tell you
with little ado who won the
Mens at the Apr. 11-13
Hempstead, N.Y. Long
Island Open. Won, from the
8ths on, 9, 10, 713, 9,
1212, 15, 99, 10, 12.
He beat Schiff, Surasak,
Cowan, and Resek. Yes, of
course, it was D-J, and all I
can say about any of his
matches is that he got a
little irritated when umpire Mal Anderson faulted him on serve not once but twice. I will add,
though, that D-J, who years from now will be working at Caesars Palace at the baccarat
tables, was already learning a few things from card manipulator/magician, the Long Island
columnist for Topics, Danny Ganz: Our standard fee for teaching Dal-Joon Lee how to spot
marked cards and how to second deal was a full one-half hour on the practice table.
Obviously, for any player ambitious of winning the $50 runner-up prize, the aim was
not to be in Lees half of the Draw. But who could help that? Not Marty Doss certainly. The
proud winner of this tournament in Nov., 1966, Marty not only did not get the recognition of a
free entry ($4.50), he did not even get a seeding. Worse, despite his very close match with
Tannehill in the Easterns, there were those who bet on Cowan against him.
(Theres no Association rule
against gambling, said USTTA
Executive Vice-President Jack Carr
who ran a well-attended coaching clinic
here. Its open gamblingpeople
shouting, pad in hand, at strangerswe
object to.)
In their 8ths match on Lees side
of the Draw, Doss and Cowan trade
games, and then in the momentumbuilding 3rd, with Cowan forcing more,
looping all outas all agree he must if
hes to winDoss takes the lead 20-18.
Then 20-19, 20-20. And now Doss
pushes a ball into the net. Good!
shouts Cowan, causing fellow
Californian Howard, among others, to
shake his head in shame. Beautiful
backhand and forehand exchanges
Photo by Earl H. Goodison, from TTT, Nov., 1965, 6
continue, deuce upon deuce, until
Marty Doss
Cowan wins 26-24.
In the 4th game, Doss, leading comfortably at 19-13, playfully hits an under-the-leg
shot. Cowan then rallies to 20-17, prompting one slightly uneasy wagerer to shout, Hey,
359

dont use that leg shot again! and another whimsically to advise, Your leg is pimpled not inverted!
I cant help but feel Im at a fun sporting event, and I wonder how many other tournaments
there are round the country where spectators enjoy themselves by betting and commenting. Id
judge not too many. But such interaction is what the Sport needs. Certainly I agree with Jack
Howard that, though spectators may shout anything, give any advice no matter how preposterous,
he, as a Coach, is not permitted to yell to his player, Serve short! Thats absurd.
In the 5th, although Doss keeps the ball to Cowans backhand where he cant power the
ball, Glenn leads at the turn 10-9. Then Doss fails to return serve. Good! says the villainous
Cowan. Down 10-13, Doss frisbees a shot off the edge of his bat high into the gallery. Get a
new ball, he says. But Cowan goes down under the seats to retrieve it. Behind 15-18, Doss
protests, The serve comes right out of his hand. But, no, theres no help. One last balloon
defense, a flight of showmanshipand then its all over. Cowan of course is complimented
but as to his much discussed winning manner, well. Come, come, someone points out, Ive
heard Doss snarl and call the ball Bastard! out there. But Good! says another, is surely
much worse.
In the Cowan-Tannehill quarters match that follows, John, up 1-0, but down 19-20 in the
nd
2 , fails to return serve and the games are even up. Many times during their play it looks as if the
ball has gotten past Cowan but then at the last
moment he counters a forehand down the line
for a point. Tannehills forehand stroke, many
think, is too short. He doesnt look to end the
point, says one knowledgeable observer.
Down 1-2 and 17-18 in the 4th, Tannehill
returns service and Cowan unexpectedly
belts the ball through him. Perhaps this
shakes John, for now he cant return
Glenns 19-17 serve, and soon has lost the
match.
In a moment Ill start my way to the
climax of the Mensfor all the undecided
action is not with Cowan and his $25 semis
prize, but with who will emerge from the
other side of the Draw to meet Lee in the
final. First, however, I want to tell you who
won the other events, which I regret now
for whatever reason I didnt write about.
Womens Singles went to Patty Martinez
in the semis over Janice Martin who, up 2-1,
then went down docilely 12, 13; and in the
final over Wendy Hicks, 19 in the 4th, after
Photo by Mal Anderson
Glen Cowan
Wendy had knocked out Alice Green, 3-0.
Besides beating Wendy and Alice in the Girls
Under 17, Patty also took both Doublesthe Womens with Wendy over their fellow teammates; and
the Mixed with D-J over Hicks/Howard, 19 in the 4th.
Class A went to Joe Andrews of the U.N. over Rory Brassington, and the two of them lastditch rallied round the flag to win the A Doubles from Sealtiel/Steve Rigo, -16, -19, 20, 7, 19.
360

Esquires went to Tony Vasquez over

Mitch Silbert who had to default
because of back trouble; Seniors to
Lenny Klein over Hal Green in 5.
Green/Sid Jacobs took the Senior
Doubles from Vasquez/Irv Levine.
Mens Consolation winner was Raouf
Kamel over Bill Hodge; Womens
Consolation winner, Eileen Fuller over
Catherine Bobetski. Wheelchair: Serge
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jelenevsky over Bart McNichol.
Sid Jacobs
Under 13s: Scott Kirby over John
McGraw.15s: Barry Wonk over Gary Adelman. And Under 17s: Tannehill over Cowan, 3-zip!
O.K., back now to the other side of the Mens Draw to the Howard-Bukiet quarters
match.
Leading 20-15 in the 1st, Bernie almost loses it. Jack rallies to 19 before Bernie, ticking
the net just enough to disrupt Jacks timing, gets the ball by. Then, like a man beginning a
walking race, he head starts to the other side. Bernies strategy, obviously, is to block, block,
block in that ageless, anchored way of his, and then, when given the chance, to hit one hard
forehand through. Jack, in addition to that wicked forehand hop, has a fine backhand loop and
a slash put awaythat is, if the ball comes up soft to him hell swipe it, viciously, in.
After Howard wins the 2nd and 3rd games, both players engage in a marvelous 4th. Towards
the end-game, Jacks usually reliable backhand wont go in and they play to deuce. Then Bernie,
ahead 21-20 misses a forehand and the crowd groans. At 21-all they exchange the most exciting
point of the tournament, and one from which Bukiet
cannot recover. Bernie, getting the offense, sends
Jack back, left; right; le-no, right again; le (Jacks
whole left side is open)-no, right again! And, starting
to move left, mis-anticipating, Jack cant get to it,
can he?
Yes! Up from under the table, spinning!
spinning! Here it comes! But Bernie, old
warriors arm up, waits. And then heswhat?
faking a drop? changing his mind, trying to drop?
no, trying to hit it after all? And thenoh!he cant
handle it! Whiffs it! (The ball, Im to learn later from
Howard, has imperceptiblycompare their 1st
gameticked the net, and has, like a live thing,
Photo by Mal Anderson
some unexplainable white butterfly there in the gym,
Jack Howard
darted away.)
But although Jack eludes Bernie he is not yet safely home to the finals. There remains, not as
anticipated the at-home anticipating, any day father-to-be Sweeris (last year Dell and Connie had
won everything here), but the somewhat unpredictable Resek. How many remember he beat Jack
deuce in the 5th in their last encounter a couple of years ago? Some feel that Errol, fresh from his
victory in the Long Island Closed, mightjust mightprove troublesome.
Errol had gotten off to a very shaky start. In his 1st match against a much-improved Mitchell
361

Sealtiel who last month had won the South Jersey Open, he was down 1-0 and down 20-17 in the
2nd before rallying to win. Had he lost that 2nd game, the general feeling was that he just wouldnt
have had the juice, the psychological strength, to do anything more in the 3rd than go through the
motions.
Now, though, he advanced to meet, not the expectant Gusikoff (his wife, Diana, is
expecting), but The Cooked Gooses 13, 15, 13 conqueror, Lim Ming Chui. Such is, or was,
Bobbys deserved reputation and/or charisma that there was still to be found someone who could
offer 6-1! on what turned out to be no match at all. (Hah! Did they know, did we that Ming had
been drinking HONEY?)
Again Errol gets off badly to battle. He suffers a
serious psychic wound when, leading all the way to the
end, he loses the 1st at deuce. (You might recall here,
too, along with Errol, that Chui had beaten him the last
time they played.) As the 2nd game gets underway, Errol
is anything but up. He soon fails to return three serves
and is down 6-12.
And then, wonder of wonders, Errol suddenly
begins muscling in shots from side to side. He catches
up with the somewhat (and who can blame him?)
befuddled Chui, wins 21-19 on an edge. And now, flying
high, his two-winged attack coming all in a rush, he
soars to an 8-2 lead in the 3rd and electrical engineering
student Chui is shocked, grounded.
Errols next match, the semifinal against
Howard, would make a good final for any TV-covered
tournament in the country. Ive never seen Errol up like this.
His momentum carries him to a 1st-game winagain on a
deciding edge.
But then its apparent hes going to have continuing
problems. If he lets Howard spin, hell be snipered dead.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Also, its being pointed out by any number of well-wishers,
Lim Ming Chui--a honey of a player
whom fortunately he cant hear, that he has without doubt
the worst serves of any good player in the Game. Hope begins to teeter for him when he loses the
2nd at 14, the 3rd at 12.
But after the break, hes back batting the ball in and wins the 4th handily. On into the 5th and
a 17-13 lead. Change of serves. Errol catches the ball on the edge of his racket and badmintons one
across the barrier and into the next court: 17-14. Then 17-15. His friends stir, shift in their seats.
(They remember how in a recent Philly tournament Bukiet had beaten him by creeping up in the 5th
from something like 11-19. Resek couldnt be thinking about that now, could he?)
Crack! Errol hits a solid shot infor a point? Maybe not, for Howard is there. Back comes
the balldown onto the nethangs therethen drops back on Howards side. Play continues
with Errol winging in two winners that lifts him to 20-16 match point. Hes going to win!
But then he decides to wait for Jack to miss. Only Jack isnt about to go down that easily.
So. 20-1720-1820-1920-20! And it looks like its not Jack whos going to collapse but
Errol and his friends. Only then strong, steady Fate seizes Errols hand and gives him a net, 21-20,
and an edge, 22-20, and the match.
362

Resek was lucky, yes, but

in large part hes deserved to
win this tournamenthes
played brilliantly in spots. Now,
before the final match, pictures are
taken: Errol and D-J together. D-J
is holding the trophy. Not that it
makes much difference: for a
week afterwards, every day, Errol
checks the Long Island Press.
The picture never appears.*

SELECTED NOTES.
* Ah, but it didIm
looking at it now. In the April 27th
Long Island Press, though,
strangely, two weeks after the
event.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Errol Resek

363

Chapter Thirty-Three
1969: Swaythling/Corbillon Cup and Singles/Doubles Play at the Munich Worlds.
1969: USA Players in Semis of English Junior Open.
Dave Cox, President of the Long Island TTA, had hosted a dinner party for the U.S.
Team members at the Long Island Open, and on Sunday morning theyd appeared at an Island
McDonalds drive-in in all their unaccustomed uniform smartness (Our best-dressed-ever
team). Since McDonalds had provided a blazer and slacks for the men, and a blazer and
skirts for the women, the Team had an all-smiles group picture taken for themselves and their
sponsor. Barna distributor Jimmy McClure also made a contribution: two sets of shirts and
shorts for the men and two sets of shirts and skirts for the women. And Dell Sweeris
provided a pair of Koyo-Bear shoes for each Team member. So, on leaving N.Y.s JFK airport,
Apr. 14 for the Apr. 17-27 Munich Worlds, the Team members were in good spirits.
But then, as U.S. Team Captain John Read reports (see Topics,
Sept.-Oct., 1969, 6-7):
On our arrival in Frankfurt, we went to the
Frankfuerterhof Hotel as guests of TWA. Our luggage was directed to
the wrong rooms at 2 AM.Little did we know that European hotels
take bags to the rooms directly from the entrance, without stopping at
the desk. [So how do they know where to take them?]
On Tuesday morning I called Lufthansa Airlines to confirm
our departure. I was told that, due to a spring schedule change, there
was no such flight as the one shown on our tickets. Finally, we took a
flight about an hour later and arrived in Munich at 3 PM. [Apr. 15].
We had previously notified the Deutsche Tisch Tennis Bund of
our arrival time and they had sent their vice-president and an
interpreter to meet us. They waited about an hour, then left shortly
before our arrival. [Why? Surely the airlines could tell them the new
U.S. Team Captain
John Read
arrival time. Of course, if a team came in with only 40 or so hours
remaining before the matches were to start, one might expect plenty
of last-minute problems.] After a phone call to their office, we took taxis to our hotel.
There we found out we could not register without the official form which would have
been given to us at the airport.
So three of us went to their office (DTTBO), where once again we were
disappointed: Our reservations were all fouled up! After arguing for two hours over
accommodations (three to a room without bath or shower, etc.) we returned to the
hotel. Ten persons of various dispositions and states of exhaustion had waited nearly
three hours in a very small hotel lobby to find out where they were to stay. Our arrival
was not a huge success.
That same evening a weary U.S. Team traveled twenty-five miles by automobile to
Machtscheabben Township, a small Bavarian town of 3000, to play a warm-up match.
Patty Martinez and Wendy Hicks filled in on both the womens and mens teams as this
warm-up was to be the best of 17 matches!!!! Luckily for our tired athletes, the German
team was quite weak. We won easily, 9-1, with Wendy Hicks losing to a German man.
364

Some preparation for the Worlds, huh?

No, not the best way to try to make Rufford Harrisons
predictions in the Long Island Open Program come true:
Our men should come back from Munich
ranked at 11th or 12th, partly because of the presence of
Dal-Joon Lee on the team [pre-1969 Worlds ranking:
#26] and partly because we do have a team of dedicated
men at last, something that we have not had in my
memory. [Lets see, Rufford came to the States in 1953,
so when he talks of dedication (by which he more
properly means team spirit), I dont think he ought to
be dismissive of the U.S. successes of 1954-57; these
players, mavericks included, were decades dedicated,
else, believe me, they could not have known how to
win.] The women will not rise to 11th, partly because they
dont have a Dal-Joon Lee and partly because they still
have a way to go. But they too are improving, and they
have more dedication than previous teams ever thought of.

Photo by Howie Ornstein

Rufford Harrison

Even Ruffords elevation of effort into an assumption of continuing Team compatibility

and improvement seems to me, and it will be borne out at the next Worlds, mere wishful
thinking. This is a nice team, a young, inexperienced onehence manageable. Captain
Read was delighted to say, we have never had a more well-behaved and sportsmanlike team.
They have, in Harrisons words, the right attitude to table tennis. There were no players here
whod independently cause trouble, prompt journalists to write bad things about the U.S.,
embarrass Rufford. All will be, as he likes it, orderly.
If you wondered why Rufford wasnt present at all the matches, he explains that he
drank beer and attended fistfuls of Meetings (some of lesser importance, but two of
Congress, four of the Advisory Committee, two of the Equipment Committee, one of the
Rules Committee, one of the Junior Commission, one of continental representatives, and one
on the measurement of ball speeds). He reports that players have an interest in yellow balls,
and that the ITTF has upped the prize money allowed for any event to $250. However, in the
U.S., so long as theres no overseas participation, even Open tournaments can be considered
Closed ones, and monetary awards, apparently in excess of $250, permitted.
Three Americans now have ITTF positions. Jack Carr is on the Junior Committee.
Rufford Harrison is the newly-appointed ITTF Equipment Chair, the Rules Committee
Secretary, and is now serving a third term on the Advisory Committee. Graham Steenhoven, in
a close vote, is the newly-elected ITTF Vice-President for North America, replacing Canadas
John Hunnius, and so also serves on the Advisory Committee. Harrison and Steenhoven, with
accommodations and perks befitting their stature, will for the most part be spared the Teams
travails.
And, aside from any problems in play, there will be, as Read relates, more discomforts:
The hall [it was in an Ice Stadium] for the first three days was extremely
cold and windy. Until hot air blowers were obtained by the organizers, the players had
365

to play in 35 to 40- degree temperatures much of the time. [Then, as Canadian Jose
Tomkins tells us, on the last few days, the heat was unbearable during the individual
finals.].
Other arrangements, such as [for] meals, were extremely poor. Each team was
to eat their meals at the hotel, but matches were scheduled during meal hours. After
the U.S. team squawked sufficiently, we were allowed to eat at the hall. But, to get the
organizers to finally make this decision, we had to protest for two days, get our
interpreter to threaten withdrawal, get other teams to protest, etc.
Transportation arrangements from the hotel were unreliable; we had to take taxis
on many occasions to ensure we would not be defaulted. There was no practice at the
[tournament] hall after the first day, the practice hall being fifteen minutes away by bus.
All of these arrangements improved considerably as the tournament progressed,
but President Steenhoven (and many other non-team members[among whom were
George and Madeline Buben, Cass and Betty Martin, Bill Gunn, Fuarnado Roberts, the
Zylers, Milla Boczar, Leah Neuberger, Jess Martinez, and Vic Landau] will not soon
forget the Control Ushers. They would not let anyone in the playing area unless they
had a press pass or an ITTF officials badge. [Was this a surprise? If they didnt do this,
hundreds of aficionados would be all over the playing area, right?]
U.S./Canada Swaythling Cup Play
In our Swaythling
Cup opener we defeated
Argentina 5-1: Tannehill lost
16, -18 to perhaps the best
Junior in South America,
Eduardo Benitez, and Cowan
20, 19, 7 almost lost to him
toobut Benitezs Cup
record was an unimpressive
6-12. Then we also beat
Switzerland 5-1. Sweeris lost
in 3 to the Swiss #1 Marcel
Grimm (16-5). Given our 5-1
loss to Czechoslovakia,
whom we had no chance
against, we could at best
finish 13th and at worst 24th.
Lee had an excellent 19 in
the 3rd win over Vlado Miko,
From CTT News, Aug., 1969, Cover
but no one else could take so L-R, back: Larry Lee, Modris Zulps, Margaret Walden, Ken Scullion,
Derek Wall, Max Marinko. Front: Jose Tomkins, Shirley Gero,
much as a game from any
Violetta Nesukaitis and Marie Bouchard
Czech. Who in the world did
Rufford think we could beat
to move into the Top 12 1st Division? Surely he got a little carried away with this TeamLee
would be 16-5; Sweeris 7-6; Tannehill 5-5; Howard, suffering a hemorrhoid attack after easily
winning his opening two matches against Switzerland, 2-6; and Cowan 3-7.
366

The U.S. struggled with Scotland, but won 5-3. Brian Kean scrambled by Tannehill, 19, 11, 19, but lost to Lee; Malcolm Sugden beat Sweeris and Tannehill comfortably (this fall,
Sugden would be the first Scot, $240 richer, ever to win a major tournament in England); but
Lee and Sweeris had no trouble with Eric Sutherland. That made the tie 3-3. Now, in a big
swing match, D-J downed Sugden, -14, 5, 23. And with the Team up 4-3 Tannehill had some
breathing roomthough its well he won, for if Kean could defeat John, he could have
defeated Dell in a 9th match too. Scotland finished #30.
The U.S. also struggled with Austria, but again won 5-3: Howard lost all 3, including a
nasty 23-21-in the-3rd one to Franz Thallinger; Lee stopped Gunter Heine easily, but against
Heinz Schluter (13-7) was in 20, 20, 27 near-death danger of not being resuscitated; Sweeris
beat Schluter 2-0, Thallinger 19, -15, 17, and, though we had Lee left, Heine in our 2nd nearloss swing win, deuce in the 3rd. This team we could have lost totheyd finish just ahead of
us, #16 to our #17.
Wales, though Fraser Anderson downed Tannehill, couldnt otherwise take a game from us.
Cambodia 5-3 beat us in a tough match.Yang Chhor Nam was too good for our teens;
but Lee stopped him. And both Lee and Cowan took out Serey Tan. Bou Khau allowed
Cowan only 24 points total, but had to grapple mightily to get by Sweeris 25-23 in the 3rd. Had
Dell won that match, D-J might have risen to the occasion against Bou (15-5), or Sweeris
might well have beaten Tan. Captain Read said, Lee did a yeoman job for four days. But not
being in peak physical condition, he was unable to keep up his torrid pace.
We were 5-0 shut out by Indonesia: Empy Wuisan (13-3) stopped Sweeris 19, 12 and
Lee -14, 10, 12; Sugeng Soewindo (17-2), who would upset former European Champion Kjell
Johansson in the Singles, had solid wins over Howard and Sweeris; and Loka Purnomo was 24, 14, 16 too good for Lee. At the 1967 Worlds, Id best remind Rufford, the U.S. defeated
Indonesia 5-2: the aging, undedicated Miles beat Soewindo in 3 and Purnomo 18, 20, 21;
Sweeris beat Purnomo, 2-0 and Soewindo in 3 (and Pecora beat Hadi Susanto who didnt play
this 69 tie). I must add though that, in the recent Asian Games at Djakarta, in the Teams, the
Indonesians with a home crowd behind them defeated the South Koreans 5-2. So maybe
Wuisan made a difference, or the whole team had improved.
Our last tie we lost 5-4 to Bulgaria: Cowan went down to all 3 players. Tannehill beat
Totor Velikov and Totor Beschowischky, while Lee got the better of both Totor and Peter
Velikov. But in a match Lee figured to win, he was beaten -14, -20 by Beschowischky (7-10).
However, we did do better than the Canadian men who, as Derek Walls write-up in
the News put it, did well to retain 28th place, especially since the standard of play in the last
two years has improved tremendously, due mainly to the European League where there is
continual international competition throughout the season.The Canadian mens team was by
far the oldest in age, and. lacking the international competition that most other teams manage,
it was a very creditable performance.
Because in 1967 Canada finished 10 spots behind the U.S., they couldnt be expected,
given their requisite Draw, to do better than 25th. They lost 5-0 to Russia. And lost 5-0 to the
Netherlandsthough, as Derek said, with some tough breaks:
At 18-all in the 3rd set [against Bert Schoofs] I was faulted on my service; at
20-18 Schoofs hit the top of the net and the ball trickled over to give him the match.
Larry Lee led Franz Schoofs 20-19 in the 3rd.Larry missed a sitter and Schoofs went
on to win 22-20 [official score was 21-19].
367

After downing Chile 5-2 (Zulps lost two), Canada beat Greece 5-2 with Modris winning 19
in the 3rd from Emmanuel Diakakis (Greece was runner-up in the B section of the European
Team Championships). Next up, Peru, coached by former World Doubles Champion Laci
Stipekand again the Canadians won 5-2. Against Belgium, however, they could get only two
winsex-U.S. star Norby Van de Walle (16-5) didnt give up a game to Zulps, Lee, or Wall.
Canada, as Derek continued to put the best face on things, then beat the top team in Africa,
Ghana, 5-2 [actually, this year Nigeria, who didnt play in the 67 Worlds] finished 29th, Ghana
37th]. In their last tie, the Canadians, spent, with nothing left, lost to Luxemburg 5-0.
U.S./Canada Corbillon Cup Play
Our U.S. Womens Team opened with a 3-1 win over Norway (Wendy lost deuce in the
3rd to Rigmor Sorensen). Since we couldnt take a game from the strong South Korean team,
this 1-1 start assured us that, like our men, we couldnt finish better than #13, nor worse than
#24. Next, we beat Denmark, 3-1 (Alice lost to Britta Rasmussen). Then, though our men
couldnt do it, our women downed Bulgaria 3-1: highlight here was Janice Martins 23-21 in
the 3rd win over Albertina Rangelova.
That brought us toCanada, whom we defeated 3-1, thanks to Pattys deuce in the 3rd win
over Violetta. Belgium took us down 3-2: Janice couldnt help us in singles, and Patty, after
winning the 1st easily from Josiane Detaille (10-2), and leading 8-4 in the 2nd, was, according to
Captain Read, the victim of repeated illegal serves which the umpire, despite protests, would not
warn or fault Detaille for. This apparently really bothered Patty and she was quickly out of the
match. But she rebounded, came through in singles over both Cambodiansan easy victory over
Bhopa Rattanak (whod beaten our Brooke Williams 5 and 7 in 67); then a very hard one, 14, 20,
18, over Sok Cheng Tan (whod beaten our Connie Sweeris in 67). But Janice/Patty dropped the
doubles, 18 in the 3rd. And Alice, though contesting, couldnt add a win; she lost the 1st to Sok 2523, and fell to Bhopa (8-3) in the 3rd. For 17th place, Switzerland was 3-0 easy.
Read rightly praised Martinez, who had an 11-2 singles and with Hicks a 4-1 doubles
record. All Patty needs, he went so far as to say, is improved footwork and the will to play
every point. She would be in the
top twenty in the world with just a
few minor improvements. He
also said he was pleased with the
other teenagers performance.
However, if Martinez hadnt been
there.Hicks was 1-3 in singles,
Martin 1-2, and Green 1-3and
even with Martinez they were 1-2
in doubles. Hence, for Harrison to
write (TTT, Aug., 1969, 9),
These girls, with Patty, and
others back home, can make the
top ten in a couple of years if
they are willing to make the
effort, and if the USTTA can help
them is akin to frothing at the
Photo by Mal Anderson
mouth.
All Patty needs...is to have that ball hit the sweet spot?
368

Canada opened their Cup play with a 3-1 win over Spain (Shirley Gero lost 19, 17 to Pilar
Lupon). This put them on a parallel course with our women. Jose Tomkins in her Aug. News report
said that their next tie against Czechoslovakia, which they lost 3-0, was yet particularly thrilling
because Shirley and Violetta played a remarkably threatening 6, -19, -9 doubles match with Jitka
Karlikova/IlonaVostova. (Karlikova is the European Womens Doubles Champion with Marta
Lustova who, for some had-to-be-serious reason, wasnt playing in Munich; Vostova is the 15year-old European Singles Champion. So what an incredible upset that would have been!)
That 1-1 start put them on a parallel course with the U.S. Next opponent: Bulgaria. Violetta
won two, but that wasnt enough; Gero couldnt win a game in singles or doubles. Cambodia then
overwhelmed even Nesukaitis.
With regard to the U.S. tie, where Canada lost the crucial doubles 2-0, though leading
16-12 in the 2nd, Editor Tomkins said if she were Captain she would have played Gero rather
than Duceppe. Why? Because the American girls lack practice against defence and a singles
might have warmed Shirley up for the all-important doubles. Had Violetta won her match
against Pattyshed been slow on her feet in the first game, but had eventually led 20-19 in
the 3rdWendy and Shirley might have had a tie-changing set-to?
Like the U.S., Canada beat Denmark 3-1 (Gero lost to Susanne Poulson). But then
Belgium defeated them, 3-1, when Nesukaitis/Duceppe 20, -21 failed to win the doubles, and
Detaille (and her serves?) 7, 11 destroyed Violetta. The Austrians also beat the Canadians, 3-1,
for Violetta lost to Gabriele Smekal. Canada thus finished #22with Nesukaitis 9-5 in singles
and 2-5 with Gero in doubles. Neither Shirley nor Marie won a match in singles or doubles.
Swaythling Cup Winners
Wall, writing in the Aug. Canadian News, had this to say about
the Japan-West Germany Swaythling Cup final:

West
Germany, led by
Eberhard Scholer, was
superb in the
Swaythling Cup. They
reached the final
through great play by
Scholer, Jansen and
The Table Tennis Report, 10/69
Lieck and were backed
Eberhard Ebby Schoeler
by the enthusiastic
support of the huge German crowds. West Germany looked quite capable of beating Japan. But it
was not to be; they lost 5-3 after a
369

thrilling match. Scholer won 2, beating Ito (14-2) and Hasegawa (16-2) [Ebby (21-1) lost
only to Kohno (15-1) 21, 14, -17], and Jansen played a great match to defeat Hasegawa.
Lieck seemed very nervous and was unable to cope with the heavy topspin drives of the
Japanese due to his lack of backhand counterattack (5).
Yugoslavia came 3rd with a 5-0 rout of South Koreathough Kim Chung-Yong, our
67 U.S. Open semifinalist, almost 22, -21, -18 beat Istvan Korpa, the 63 European Junior
Champion. Sweden was 5th with an easy 5-1 win over England (Neale beat Bo Persson). A
really good tie to watch, for 3rd place, was Czechoslovakia over Russia 5-4with Miko
winning all 3 and Stanek 2, the big one, with his Team down 3-4, over Gomozkov, 23-21 in
the 3rd. Said Harrison, Gomozkov [the current USSR Champion] looked quite lethargic. [Still
hed be a singles quarterfinalist before losing to the winner Ito.] That great Russian backhand
was still there, but the rest of Gomozkovs game is less forceful than in the days of yore.
Oh, oh, Russian coaches wouldnt like to hear that. According to an article by A. and L.
Vainshtein (translated by John Dart from the Soviet sports magazine Sportivniye Igri and reprinted
in the Aug., 1968 issue of Tennis magazine, 34-35), the Russians, on studying films theyd taken at
the 1965 Moscow International Championships, had been trying to improve their players attacks
by slowing up their speed before hitting the ball and then increasing it during their follow through.

Corbillon Cup Winners

Rufford, in the Aug. Topics,
said, the once-great Japan never
even reached the final, for the first
time in thirteen years. The culprits
were the RumaniansAlexandru [91], Mihalca and Crisan. In fact,
Japan barely beat Czechoslovakia, 32, for 3rd place because, though
From 1969 Worlds Program, 89
Vostova (11-1) won her two singles,
Russias 1969 World Womens Doubles Champions
she and Karlikova still didnt mesh
Zoya Rudnova (L) and Svetlana Grinberg
well and 21, 17, -20 lost the killer
doubles to Japanese Champion Toshiko Kowada and Defending World Champion Sachiko
Morisawa (10-2). In the final, the Rumanians were blitzednever won a game from Russians
Zoya Rudnova (5-2) and Svetlana Grinberg (7-0).
U.S./Canadian Mens Singles/Doubles Matches
Despite the encomiums being given to our players by Read and Harrison, they really
didnt do much advancing. Gusikoff, Cowan and Howard to get to the 1st round proper had to
win two Qualifying matches. Bobby was immediately beaten by the Luxemburg #2 Gaston
370

Krecke. Glenn 16, 20, 20, 18 got by Indias Kalyan Jayant (3-12 in 2nd Division Team play), then,
up 2-1 and at 19-20, lost in 5 to Marcel Grimm whom Howard had beaten easily in the Teams.
Jack downed the Scot Sutherland, then Paul Pasternak, an Israeli, to reach the main Draw where he
was given a drubbing by the Indonesian Purnoma.
Lee, Sweeris, and Tannehill all fell in the 1st round: D-J 21, -20, 18, -16 to Karl
Scholl, the West German #13; Dell to West Germanys Ernst Gomolla, 3-0*; and John to
South Koreas World #16, Chung Cha Hyun. Theres no record of any of them participating in
the Consolations. Like the Canadians, they were all played out? How much motivation did
North Americans need to work at staying fit, very fit?
In Mens Doubles, Howard/Gusikoff defaulted (Jack was hurtin). Lee-Sweeris downed a
Peruvian pair, then had the fun of playing Shigeo Ito/Mitsuru Kohno. Cowan/Tannehill, down 2-0,
rallied to beat two Norwegians, then, though miraculously winning a 23-21 2nd game from
Nobuhiko Hasegawa/Tokio Tasaka, couldnt average double figures in the other 3. In the Mixed,
Lee-Martinez, Howard-Hicks, Tannehill-Green, and Cowan-Neuberger all lost their openers (none
in 5) to, respectively, Greeks, Netherlanders, West Germans, and Finns. Sweeris-Martin beat a
Luxemburg team 3-0, then lost 11, -5, -21 to Hasegawa-Yasuka Konno.
Not to knock them, but this is a U.S. Team everyones so proud of?
The Canadians were maybe worse. Lee, Wall, Zulps all lost their Qualifying openers to,
respectively, Denmarks Hansen, 8, 9, 16; Switzerlands non-Cup player Birchmeier 9, 12, 16; and
the UARs Ybrashi, 16 in the 5th. At least Zulps and Lee played in the Consolations. Modris lost
early to a Finn who got to the semis. But Larry did o.k.beat Peruvian, Welsh, and Norwegian
entries before losing to Ghanas formidable Ebenezer Quaye. In Mens Doubles, when Max
Marinko didnt show, Lee was without a partner and didnt play. Wall/Zulps went down right away
to the pick-up pair, Scotlands Sutherland and Somewheres Santoario, 3-0. In the Mixed, ZulpsGero lost to Cambodians Tan-Tan in 4, and Lee-Duceppe to Austrias Schluter-Smekal. WallNesukaitis, however, did, after all, have a little bit left. Behind 2-0 to Luxemburgs Gaston KreckeNicole Reinert, they then gave up only 37 points to run out the match. Then they beat a Nigerian
team in 4. Then, alas, they were crushed by Shigeo Ito-Toshiko Kowada.
U.S./Canadian Womens Singles/Doubles Matches
Neither Green nor Martin made it out of the Qualifier, but at least they lost to good
playersAlice could average only 10 points a game from Englands Karenza Matthews; but
Janice made a strong 16, -19, -11, -19 attempt to defeat West Germanys Monica Kneip.
Wendy, down 2-0, to Frances Michele Boiteux, won the 3rd at 19 and took the match. Then
she eased herself into the Draw proper with a 3-0 win over Denmarks Britta Henriksen.
Better yet, she now took a game from the Russian World #4 Svetlana Grinberg. Patty, with her
dead-ball blocks and forehand flat hits, caused a stir by surprising the Swedish #2, Eva
Johansson, 3-zip, then straight-game did in Waless Margaret Phillips. No disgrace in Pattys 30 loss to Rumanias Carmen Crisan, World #13 (she might give Patty a 5 to 7-point spot).
Miss Ping (this would be her last competitive Worlds) was holding her ownbeat Australias
Joy Brown, 3-0, then, helped by a 25-23 game, she downed Ghanas #1 Ethel Jacks in 5. Still
fighting at the end, she was beaten by Yugoslavias Irena Cordas, 15, 14, 20.
In Womens Doubles, Patty-Wendy lost their first Qualifying match to the USSRs Asta
Gedraitite and East Germanys Petra Stephan, wholl win the Womens Consolation; and AliceJanice lost theirs to Yugoslav Cup players Mirjana Resler-Irene Srbek. Miss Ping picked up
Australias Vicki Wheller, and Wheller picked up Miss Ping, and out they came from the Qualifier
371

Top-left: The Table Tennis Report, 6/69. 1969 World Mens Champion Shigeo Ito.
Top-right: Photo by Rufford Harrison. 1969 World Womens Champion Toshiko Kowada.
Bottom: TTT, Aug., 1969, Cover. The Munich Eissporthalle.

with wins over Luxemberg and Welsh pairs. Then, after meeting West Germanys Di Scholer-Wibke
Hendriksen, both needed a pick-me-up. No problem for Leahplaying or not, she knew how to
court attention: at least two complete changes of clothes every day, including jewelry.
All three Canadian women in the Qualifier lost their opening matches. Duceppe was
badly outclassed by a Finn; Gero lost in 4 to Tan; and Jenny Marinko went down in straight
games to a Dane. Violetta, however, beat the Austrian Helene Jahn in 4, then the Netherlands
Mieke Ten Broek 14, -14, 20, 21, before losing to Di Scholer, 21, 15, 19. In Womens
Doubles, Duceppe-Marinko were quickly done in by West Germans. But Nesukaitis-Gero
prevailed over a Swiss pair in 5, before losing to Ito/Miho Hamada, 10, 5, 10.
372

Mens Singles/Doubles Highlights

Defending Mens Singles Champ Hasegawa
was upset in the 8ths, 17 in the 5th, by Yugoslavias
Anton Stipancic who just stood back and blocked
Hasegawas loops. Tovas teammate, European
Champion Dragutin Surbek (a spinner so used to
spinning and looping that he doesnt put away the
high balls that he should), as well as Swedens
touted Stellan Bengtsson, no longer so Mini, were
stopped by Japans Shiro Inoue, next years Japanese
Intercollegiate Champion, whod lose in the
quarters to Tasaka. Stipancic, meanwhile, in his
quarters, had forced Japans Kenji Kasai into the 5th,
after which Kasai, a world-class chopper with a
world-class attack (hes also a world-class Qualifier),
wasnt able to show the strength or skill necessary to
challenge 24-year-old Shigeo Ito.
Of course, as usual, all eyes were on West
Germanys Scholer whod advanced with just a bit of
troubleover Irans Houshang Bozorgzadeh in 4,
From 1969 Munich Worlds Program
Russias Anatoly Amelin in 5, and the Czech whod
Dragutin Surbek
23-21 in the 4th ousted Swedens Alser, Jardo
Stanek, in 4. That put Ebby into the semis, where, though armed with a 2-up lead, he still had
to keep battling, on into the 5th, with Tasaka whose no-spin, pips-out play was giving him big
trouble. And then, what crowd support Scholer had for his final, especially after winning the
first two games easily. He would be the first German ever to win the World Mens Singles title.
But thenwhat was happening? Unthinkably, Ito had gone ahead in the 3rdhad wisely
stopped spinning and looping so much and started hitting flatter, more normal drives, and had
won game point. Now something went out of Scholer and into Ito. Shigeo began attacking
with confidence, and Ebby couldnt stop him. But it wasnt Swaythling Club Award winner
Scholer crying at the end, it was Ito. Heres Rufford Harrison on the award presentation:
[Ito] stood on the dais, beribboned and trophies in hand, weeping like a
child as he heard the warm acclaim of an unbiased crowd that had seen their
Wunderkind thwarted in his best attempt at the cup. Back on the floor, Ito shook hands
with his team as one of the girls attempted to dry his streaming face, and he collapsed
into the arms of a trainer (TTT, Aug., 1969, 7).
Any collapsing in Mens Doubles? Not from the Defending Champions Alser and
Johansson. They retained their title by quickly straightening themselves out after being down
2-1 in the 8ths to the Russian team of Sarkis Sarkhoyan/Gegam Vardonjan; thereafter they
never had to go 5, and finally, convincingly, beat Hasegawa/Tasaka for the title.
Womens Singles/Doubles Highlights
Rufford, commenting on the Womens play in his Aug. Topics article (7), said, There
are no longer any great names in womens table tennis. Japans Defending Champion Sachiko
373

Morisawa lost her first match to Englands #5 Pauline Piddock; Russian Champion, 22-year-old
Zoya Rudnova, was beaten 3-0 by Di Scholer who with good reason cant stay retired; the South
Korean #1 Choi Jung-sook, down 2-0, couldnt quite recover and lost in 5 to West German
Qualifier Rosemarie Seidel; and European Champion Eleanora Mihalca was beaten by Japans 16year-old, shakehands High School Champ Miho Hamada.
In the quarters, Japans new World Champion, 21-year-old Toshiko Kowada, 18, -16,
19, -19, 19 barely escaped Rumanias Crisan. Then, having picked up confidence, was able to
hit through Maria Alexandru (whom shed lost to in Cup play), after Maria had earlier eked
out a deuce-in-the-5th win over Polands Danuta Samit-Calinska. Kowadas final opponent,
ranked only ninth in Europe, was 19-year-old Gabriele Geissler, an East German whom the
crowd acclaimed as if she came from this side of the Wall. Since Kowada won the
Championship from her, 20, 4, 17, 8, with relative ease, we can but admire her plucky
struggle to reach the final. She beat in succession South Koreas Kim Soo Kyung 17 in the 5th;
Russias Svetlana Grinberg in 4; West Germanys Edit Buchholz 18 in the 5th (after being down
2-0 and at 20-19 in the 3rd); and in the semis Japans Hamada deuce in the 5th (after being
down 2-0 and at 22-all in the 3rd).
Womens Doubles went to the Russians Rudnova/Grinberg via two tense struggles: in
the semis, -15, 26, -19, 19,17 over the South Koreans Choi Jung-sook/Choi Hwan Hwan; and in
the final in 5 over the Rumanians Alexandru/Mihalca whod eliminated the previous Champions,
Morisawa/Hirota.
The Mixed Doubles almost saw 4 Japanese teams in the semisbut Denis Neale/Mary
Wright advanced over both Shiro Inoue/Morisawa and Tasaka/Kasuko Ito before losing to the
Japanese Champions, now the World Champions, Hasegawa/Yasuko Konno. The runner-up
pair: Kohno/Saeko Hirota (from down 2-1 and at deuce in the 4th) over Ito/Kowada whod 19in-the-4th ended Europes hopes for a Gomozkov/Rudnova victory.
Thus, in Chinas absence, Japan took home 4 Championships,
Russia 2 (their first World titles), and Sweden 1.
USA in English Junior Open
Captain John Read tells us (Topics, Sept.-Oct., 1969, 7) that
two U.S. two-player teams of Martinez/Martin and Cowan/Tannehill
were last-minute entries in the May 2-4 English Junior Open at
Foldestone, Kent. In both the Girls Team event and the Doubles,
Patty/Janice lost in the semis to English players. In the Doubles,
they reportedly almost advanced to the finalslost 19 in the 3rd to
Jill Shirley/Sue Howard. In the Singles, Patty downed the #4 seed,
Guntschof of Sweden, and Englands #2, Cornock. Then had to
succumb in the semis to English Corbillon Cup player Shirley who
in the Qualifying Singles at Munich had been up 2-1 on Japans
eventual semifinalist Miho Hamada.
In the Boys Team event, Glenn/John upset Czechoslovakians
in the 1st round, then dropped a very tough match to Sweden,
losing six of seven deuce games!!!! In the Doubles, they again beat
the Czechs Dvoracek/Suchobar, then lost to the Swedes. Singles
winner was Dvoracek over Swedens Stellan Bengtsson who against
Tannehill had been down 14-18 in the 1st, 15-17 in the 2nd, but had
374

The Table Tennis Report, 1, 1970

Stellan Bengtsson

won both. Read felt our juniors were as good as any juniors there. But Id have to make the Not
quite correctionfor they didnt win.
Still, Johns right on the money when he writes, Let usdedicate ourselves to finding
a way to give these youngsters the coaching and playing opportunities they deserve.This is a
must if we are to regain world class standing.
SELECTED NOTES.
*German aficionado Peter Becker in an
Aug. 25, 2004 e-mail to me said that D-J Lee
probably played in European tournaments in the
1960s, whether he was then giving exhibitions
with Bergmann or not. Peter says D-J for sure
played in the 1964 Dutch Open where he lost in
4 early to German defender Ernst Gomolla who
went on to beat Stanek and 1958/1960
European Champion Zoltan Berczik before
losing in the semis to the eventual winner
Alser. This of course is the same Gomolla who
we see 5 years later zip Dell.

375

From Deutscher Tischtennis-Sport, 20-7

Ernst Gomolla

Chapter Thirty-Four
1969: Lee/Hicks Win Pacific Coast. 1969: Lee/Martinez Take U.S. Open. 1969:
Gazdags 4th NYC Vanderbilt Invitational.
John Read, in his U.S. Team Captains Report (TTT, Nov., 1969, 4; 10), writes that
President Steenhoven had asked each U.S. Team member at the Munich Worlds to give him a
critique on the WC and tell him what we can do to improve. So John himself urges the need
for U.S. regionally-representative players, foreign coaches, extended clinics, Team captains for
both men and women, and a Team manager. Also, despite the helpful inclusion in Topics of any
technical explanation of spins and strokes, any commented-on photo sequence, any illustrative
diagram of Topspin: Concave Downward vs. Concave Upward by the USTTA Coaching
Committee, John concludes that, With all due respect to our coaches, we have no-one who
would be capable of doing a good job of coaching our top players, except a former or current
top player [think of Ogimura hired by the Swedish TTA]. This person would, of course, have
the respect of the team.
Rufford Harrison had spoken of the need to keep the
experienced Read as U.S. Team Captain but had also said that
we needed a back-up Captain. There could be no doubt who
was making a move toward that position, or in fact moving to
succeed John (after acting as his assistant in Munich). In
answer to Steenhovens request, Jack Howard writes an Open
Letter he wants published in Topics. It appears in the Sept.Oct., 1969 issue (3), and heres much of what he has to say:
I believe the miserable travel arrangements
(inconvenient flight times, overcrowded room arrangements,
restricted tickets) point out that the next Worlds team captain
should more closely follow the travel arrangements. I, for one,
did not realize the travel arrangements shortcomings.
(Obviously, or I would have done something about it!)
However, I hope that the next team captain will learn from our
oversights and will insist on a detailed itinerary from whoever
handles the 71 Worlds travel arrangements.
Photo by Mal Anderson
As for the Worlds itself, we were simply not prepared!
Jack Howard
The other teams were too well-practiced, disciplined, and
experienced. I dont know what can be done to expose our developing players to worldclass play. Vanderbilt tournaments, visiting foreign coaches, and occasional visits by foreign
world-class players are good, but not nearly adequate. However, any such exposure is
premature until our players are good enough to benefit from contact with the worlds best.
[Sounds questionable to me. Jack wants them to get better, but not by contact with the
best, but by contact with the second or third bestwhich will improve them how much?]
Jack then says he has a planwhich is: that Jack, who at the moment runs a clinic
every Saturday at Milla Boczars Hollywood Courts, will shape up our players. For the price
of a plane ticket and hospitality, hell be available almost any weekend. Hed go from city
376

to city, exchanging thoughts and techniques with the best player-coaches available, and would
aim to make sure that, when he leaves any particular locale, there are those there who will
continue the agreed on way-to-improve approach. Jack, presently a Systems Engineer with
IBM, has found a new table tennis goalplaying and winning is of course still very important
to him, but its not enough. He wants to change his own life and the lives of other enthusiasts,
wants really, at least at the moment, to be a table tennis missionary.
Lee, Hicks Win Pacific Coast
After just returning from Munich, and only one week before the San Francisco Nationals,
Jack is of course attending the $600 May 2-4 Pacific Coast Open, run under the progressive and
tireless leadership of Alex Pal Alvarado at San Diegos Balboa Park. That Howard was there no
one could doubt, for, along with Don Lindos article on the tournament in the July Topics (7),
theres a photo of Jack and, underneath, the single word Concentration.
Howard did not win the Mens, howeverdidnt even come 2nd. Dal-Joon Lee easily
took the final 4-man round robin and the $200 1st prize. D-J did lose a gameto Jacks wellplaced, powerful drives. But, says Lindo, its questionable as to whether an American will be
able to beat the speedy, lithe South Korean in the next few years.
So if Howard wasnt the $150 runner-up at this Pacific Coast tournament, who was?
Erwin Klein, thats who. Erwin in recent months has appeared to have limited his practice
sessions at the Hollywood Table Tennis Center to eye movements in front of a television.
Nevertheless, Kleins dazzling array of forcing counters and uncanny execution of occasional
fadeaways allowed him to beat Howard three straight, the last two games very convincingly.
Klein and Lee then had a match with some streaky moments for each. In the 2nd game, after
Erwin had D-J 14-7he got to 15, Erwin did. Down 20-15 in the 3rd, Erwin lost it at 19.
Along with Lee, both Klein and Howard ($100) defeated Bobby Fields ($50) whose
devastatingly accurate pick-hit game had taken out the master rubber chopper Wayne
Obertone, 5-game advancer over Bard Brenner.
San Diegos own, Patty Martinez, like Glenn Cowan, was playing at that English Junior
Open in Kent, and in her absence Wendy Hicks defeated Angelita Rosal, 3-1. Angie reached the
final with a deuce-in-the-4th win over Heather Angelinetta, after Heather had barely survived young
Judy Bochenski, 19 in the 5th. In her semis, Wendy abruptly stopped Pauline Walker who, though
having been down 2-0, had gotten by Cindy Cooper, Novice winner in 5 over Pam Ramsey. Mens
Doubles went to Lee/Ray Fahlstrom ($35 each), 3-zip, over Howard/Mark Adelman ($25 each).
Ragnar Ray
Fahlstrom
Photo by Mal Anderson

Cindy Cooper

377

Other winners: As: 17-year-old Jeff Mason ($35), thanks in part to his Robot
workouts, over Zak Haleem ($25). A Doubles: Haleem/Lee Johnson over Howie Ornstein/
Danny Banach. Class B: Norm Schwartz over Bill Cooper. Cs: Bill Kenig over Lou
Bochenski, deuce in the 4th. Consolation: Frank Suran over Harold Kopper. Seniors: Fred
Herbst over John Hanna. Senior Doubles: Herbst/Russ Thompson over Ornstein/Fred Borges
in 5. Boys 17: Mason over Al Everett, 23-21 in the 5th. Boys 15: Ray Martinez over Greg
Rosal in 5. Boys 13: Scott Kirby over Ray Guillen. Girls 17: Angie Rosal over fast-improving
Judy Bochenski. -19, 15, 20, 17. Girls 15: Rosal over Bochenski, 19, 20, 19.
After this tournament and just before the U.S. Open, D-J Lee and Jack Howard were
on TVin a long segment on the Joey Bishop Show. Topics printed this short review:
[They] demonstrated strokes, with Howard narrating, then teamed up
against the formidable entry of Bishop and his sidekick, Regis Philbin. The [KleinHoward] singles counter-driving brought gasps and applause; the doubles fun-time was
good for many laughs
A nice touch ended the program with the players presenting a paddle to Bishop
with his name inscribed on the wood side in English and Korean (June, 1969, 2).
Lee/Martinez Take Nationals
The 39th Annual U.S. Open was held May 9-11th on
15 new Nissen tables at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium
under Tournament Chair Dan Goodman. Dan put out an
attractive Program, and though the USTTA had rejected his
request for $300 for a Nationals Party (they gave him an
unrealistic $200), he himself wasnt restrictivehad his
party on a boat which cruised about on San Francisco
Bay while Shonie Fingers Aki played the organ. Both
Don Gunn, who intends to write a West Coast News
(Gossip?) column for Topics, and Editor H Blair, who
suggested it, provided coverage of the Open in the
magazines July issue (8-11). I dont know if the organizers
were disappointed to have received no more, no less than
280 entries, but Id guess that was a good turnout. Blair
said almost 60% came from California, but maybe not more
than 10% from East of the Mississippi.
Women missing, permanently missing, were Bernice
U.S. Open Tournament Chair
Dan Goodman
Chotras, Pat Pecora (shed later be a stained-glass expert),
Priscilla Resek (shed marry, become Priscilla Parker), and
Vallerie Bellini (who I heard would be an international square dance caller). Also missing were
all out-of-the-Northwest-area Canadians, and U.S. players Alice Green, Leah Neuberger,
Barbara Kaminsky, Mildred Shahian, Connie Sweeris, and Janice Martin. Men missing,
permanently missing, were Jim Blommer and Danny Pecora (he had a serious knee injury?).
Also missing, Miles, Reisman, Schiff, Doss, and Sakai, and, presumably because of the
expense (there was no prize money), all out-of-the-Northwest-area Canadians and this
seasons #7-#14-ranked men players, all from New York or New England: Surasak, Bukiet,
Gusikoff, Resek, Chui, Boggan, Landau, and Brathwaite. Their absence raised a debate about
378

whether or not future U.S. Nationals should be held in some (accommodating?) mid-point of
the country. Dan Goodman argued that the tournament ought to be in various parts of the
country. He thought in that way t.t. would not only get more exposure, be good for the
Associations public relations, but would do much to reduce the political overtones connected
with Detroits current hold on major championships.
According to Gunn, the 23-event tournament started with a tribute to God and
Country: The color guard marched in, the national anthem was played, [and the Official
Referee] John Hanna led us in the pledge of allegiance.
Strange for a National Championship, but there just wasnt much action in the Mens
($6.50 entry fee + $1.50 referee fee). Through the 16ths and the 8ths there were only two taut
matches: Al Everett in the only 5-gamer came back to oust Carl Cole, and Joe Sokoloff beat
Mark Adelman 24-22 in the 4th. Two heated matches in the quarters though. One was
Tannehills 13, -19, 20, -8, 16 win over Cowanwhich wasnt even mentioned in the writeups, not even a passing reference to the fact that both juniors scored exactly 91 points. The
otherand I have to question first how U.S. #3 Sweeris could earlier have been so 20, 9, -10,
18 challenged by unranked, unheralded Erich Haringwas the
Dell-Erwin Klein match. This was won by Erwin, 11, -20, 17, -17,
21, after Dell had led 15-9 in the 5th. Blair said this was a
spinning, hitting and counterdriving, match, and Gunn
commented that Erwin, though precariously behind, never did look
pressed.
While Lee was 12, 7, 7 embarrassing Howard in the one
semis (worst beating Ive ever seen said one observer),
Tannehill in the other broke out of a game apiece deadlock with
Dell to demolish him 12, 9. Oregons Les Sayre, in a July Letter to
the Editor, found it most amazing that, after Kleins all-out
attack against Sweeris, he then made a complete change to
defense against Tannehill, then switched back to
counterdrivingall to no avail. The final saw D-J, whom Gunn
thought responsible for Tannehills effective but ugly twisted
backhand, permit John all of 40 points.*
In the Mens Doubles, CNE Champions Lee/Tannehill were
Les Sayre
easy straight-game winners over Sweeris/Tannehill (Dell unable to
Defend his title in Bukiets absence). Best matches were back in
the 8ths: Jim Bristol/Earl Jones over Bill Leishman/Joe Lee, -12, 25, -14, 18, 17, and Bard
Brenner/Ed Fong, 18, -14, 14, -19, 19 over Joe Sokoloff/Bob Ashley.
The Womens was almost as predictable, and on the whole as boring, as the Mens.
Why the Indonesian women came to the U.S. rather than to Munich surely has some in-group
explanation, but it didnt find print. Anyway, they added a bit of spice to what was really just
another West Coast event. In the quarters, Patty Martinez defeated Carla Tedjasukmana, 19, 11,
17, and in the semis, Nili Sari, 15, 16, -17, 8. Angelinetta, down 2-0, won the 3rd from Sari 26-24,
then the 4th, but couldnt complete the comeback. In the other semis, Wendy Hicks defeated Jenny
Siswono, 17, 19, -21, 11. The final went to Patty, 3-0, though Wendy deuced the 2nd game.
Womens Doubles winners were Martinez/Hicks over Sari/Siswono.
Mixed: Lee/Martinez over Howard/Hicks in 5.
Plenty of action in Class A. In the 8ths, Ron Von Schimmelman beat Bill Cross, 19 in the
379

5th; Bob Bisno defeated David Chan in

5 (from down 2-1 and after winning
the 4th at 19); and David Bell stopped
Tom Ruttinger in 5. The eventual
winner was Sacramentos Jeff Mason
in 5 over Philip Woo whod escaped
Bill Sharpe, 23-21 in the 4th. Best
match was not Jeffs final, but his wild
14, 19, -21, -21, 22 8ths with San
Leandros Steve Varela. Olga Soltesz
From the 1969 U.S. Open Program
took the Womens Asin the semis
Virginia Spiersch
over Kathy Chin, 24-22 in the 4th, in
the final over 69 Nationals Secretary Jean Veit whod ousted
Virginia Spiersch in 5. A Doubles went to Bristol/Jones over Sharpe/
Haring, survivors of grueling 5-game matches with Lee Johnson/Russ
Thompson and Ramon Fernandez/Azmy Ibrahim.
Other results: Mens Consolation: Kevin Bell over Richard
Photo by Don Gunn
James.
Womens
Consolation: Bochenski over Veit. Senior Esquires
Ron Von Schimmelman
(a replay of last years final): Si Ratner over Charles Dutch
McAllister. Esquires: Cross over Allan Herskovich. Seniors: Cross over Harry Deschamps. Senior
Consolation: Tore Fredrickson over Lenny Adelman. Senior Doubles: Ruben Gomez/Helmut
Vorherr 24-22 in the 4th over Bill Rapp/Harry McFadden whod eliminated Cross/Herskovich in 5.
Boys 17: For his scheduled quarters match with one of the crowd favorites, Jeff Mason,
Tannehill was two minutes late, so was defaulted. Since, as Gunn said, he took it in apparent good

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo by Ken Lowden

1969 U.S. Open Senior and Esquire

Champion Bill Cross

1969 U.S. Open Over 40 Finalist

Harry Deschamps

1969 U.S. Open

Over 60 Finalist
Dutch McAllister

grace, he was later given the Good Sportsmanship Award. I wouldnt have taken it in good grace,
and I think it quite stupid to deprive the players and ($2 a ticket) spectators of a looked-forward-to
match for such a small infraction. Whats more, as Sayre makes clear in his Letter, such a draconian
measure wasnt applied to the player he waited almost 10 minutes for. Mason advanced to meet in
the finalwell, yes, presumably Cowan, but one had to... 18, 21, -19, 17, 13wait while Glenn
was a little slow to take care of business with Philip Woo. Not so in the final thoughhe beat Jeff,
3-0.
Junior Doubles: Cowan/Bob Bisno over Allan Wong/Woo. Boys 15: Kevin Bell over
Norman Behymer. Boys 13: John Quick over Scott Kirby.
380

Girls 17:
Martinez, 17, 8, 8,
over Siswono
whod knocked out
Hicks in 4 with the
help of a deuce 3rd
game. In the
quarters, Bochenski
defeated Soltesz in 5.
Junior Mixed
Doubles: Mason/
Angie Rosal won,
but were forced into
1969 U.S. Open Boys Under 13 the 5th by Soltesz/
Champion John Quick
Quick (the Nov.,
1969 Topics would carry photo sequences of each).
Photo by Mal Anderson
Girls 15: Rosal over Pam Ramsey whod eliminated
1969 U.S. Open Girls Under 15 Champion
Angies sister Monica in 5. Girls 13: Bochenski over
Angelita Rosal
Rosal.
Gunn, in his write-up, said he couldnt understand why a boy (or girl) who can reach
the finals of championship singles, and play on our [U.S. Team] is still allowed to play in junior
events. No person should be both junior and adult champion at the same time. Patty Martinez
was quite irritated by these lines, for they applied to her personally and she didnt agree with
them.**
Gazdags 4th Vanderbilt Invitational
Following the U.S. Open, in the last week of May, Geza Gazdag would be holding his 4th
Vanderbilt Invitational in NYC. Story was that this Hungarian promoter
had wanted to hold his Invitational every year for eight years, and had
been in discussions with the USTTA about it. Jack Carr, in a Dec. 27,
1968 letter to Leah Neuberger, said that Geza and Graham Steenhoven
had a meeting in Canada, and in less than five minutes they were
screaming at each other. They both claim that the other is completely
unreasonable. Jack also told Leah that it was he who earlier had done
much to get Gazdag in agreement with ABC: I dont think Geza would
have met the terms if I hadnt interceded, and telephoned him about it
many times.
The Minutes of the USTTAs E.C. February 9th Meeting in
Rochester show the various points of view expressed with regard to
Gazdag holding his 4th Invitational:

Photo by Mal Anderson

Promoter Geza Gazdag:

Has entered his own
tournament?

Bob Gusikoff (New York), who had been invited by

the President,stated his opinion that several players in the Vanderbilt
tournaments were dissatisfied by financial and other arrangements,
and by the conduct of the sponsor Geza Gazdag. He concluded that,
although Mr. Gazdag was helping table tennis considerably by staging
381

it before the public [earlier, Bobby had called Gazdags Invitational the most exciting
thing that has happened to table tennis in this country], an exclusive agreement
between Mr. Gazdag and the USTTA would work to the detriment of the sport in New
York.
After considerable discussion, the President proposed that he write to Mr.
Gazdag, offering assistance in the staging of subsequent events; regretting that the
USTTA could not enter into an exclusive contract; soliciting a request for a future
tournament sanction, and promising full support for the request in accordance with
the USTTA By-Laws. A copy of the By-Laws was to be enclosed with the letter.
J. Rufford Harrison suggested that Mr. Gazdag would probably make no
further move towards the promotion of table tennis after receiving a letter in such
a negative vein. He noted that in 30 years nobody else had done what Mr. Gazdag
had now done three times in two years, and he urged that the door be kept open
for negotiation.
Harrison proposed that the USTTA attempt to negotiate a contract with
Gazdag subject to his affiliation as a Club. Seconded by [Cyril] Lederman and
passed. Voting was 4 for, 1 against, and two abstentions.
The Invitational was held, and Harrison, whod pushed for it, did a lengthy write-up of
it in the Aug. Topics (4-6). The big drawing card was the just crowned World Champion,
Japans Shigeo Ito, who was accompanied by teammate Kenji Kasai whom Ito had beaten in
the semis.
Rufford, in describing Itos at-the-ready position, says he awaits services outside the
backhand sideline, yet kills
Photo by Bill Scheltema
the fast ones that go out the
This rackets weight is
extreme forehand.
suitable...for Hock
Momentum frequently
carried him half the length
of the court, yet on a
sudden return he was back
and ready. Anyone aspiring
to this athletic agility has
his free time cut out
completely.Whats
that? He doesnt have the
right kind of racket? The
weight of it, said famed
bat-maker Bernie Hock,
was unsuitable. Well,
mgod, dont tell Itohes
doin o.k.
As for Kasai, hes the
most stylish player we have
seen since Chang Shih-lin,
with Changs style
transferred to an orthodox
382

grip. Beautiful chops taken

inches from the ground as his
racket frequently scraped
Gazdags synthetic turf; cat-like
footwork for the drop shots;
and, when on form, unerring
hits in all directions every time
the slow loop came a couple
of inches too high.
The two other new
faces at this Invitational were
Yugoslavias Anton Stipancic
(STIPanchich) and, not Edvard
Vecko with whom Stipancic had

TTT, Aug., 1969, 8

Kenji Kasai

won the Doubles at the 1968 European

Championships, but Istvan Korpa. Immediately
after their play in New Yorkand this was why
Gazdag (negotiating?) had earlier been in
Canada?Korpa and Stipancic would travel to
Toronto to coach and play a friendly match or
two. This gave Jose Tomkins the opportunity in
her Aug., 1969 News (18-19) to give us some
background on both players.
Stipancic, described as a student at a
Polytechnical College [a 20-year-old student of
table tennis is surely what he is], comes from
the town of Duga Resa, where his father was
caretaker of a gymnasium, and Stipancic spent
the best part of his day in the gym which was just a
stones throw from his home. He was 11 years old
From the 1969 Munich Worlds Program
when he started playing seriously, and in 1963, at
1968 European Doubles Champions Stipancic and Vecko
the age of 13, he first represented his country.
The 24-year-old Korpa comes from Senta, a town close to Belgrade, is of Hungarian parentage
and still attends University. When he was 10, his brother, who was one of the ten best players in
Yugoslavia, had no one to practice with and Korpa had to serve as his partner. He started playing
internationally in 1961 andwould that Don Gunn were reading thisbecame European Junior
Champion in 1963 when, though he wasnt the Yugoslav National Champion, as a senior ranked
player he was trying to be.
In Yugoslavia, the 10 players chosen for the two annual one-month-long clinics are
trained by special coaches who endeavor to develop their individual qualities. The players are
on the table for 4 and hours at a time, and in addition have 1 and hours of physical
training. They are fed lots of vitamins and twelve hours sleep a night is essential. You can
bet that these two players were not now, either in New York or Toronto, getting an abundance
of vitamins or sleeping from dusk to dawn.
The remaining entrants in Gazdags 8-man Vanderbilt Invitational were the Czechs Stanek
and Miko, back for the third time, and the U.S. pair Lee and Sweeris.
383

Japan won the Team event. They beat the U.S. 5-0and during one point when Kasai was
lobbing against Lee (great lobs, too, accurately placed near the end line), Rufford was particularly
impressed by Kenjis footwork. He went chasing after a ball to his far backhand, and, as he
successfully lofted it back, his racket flew from his hand and landed two or three yards away.
While Lee alertly prepared to make the dropshot, Kasai found time to run to his racket, pick it up,
get back around the table, and make a return. Rufford said he was disappointed to learn that it
takes him twelve whole seconds to do the hundred meters.
The Japanese did lose a game to us in doubles where, even though the chopper Kasai
could attack, his play didnt seem a natural complement to Itos aggressiveness.
This was perhaps evident when, against the Czechs, Japan lost the swing doubles
match, 24-22-in-the-3rd, and, though Ito edged Stanek 19 in the 3rd, Kasais two losses caused
Japan to drop the 3-2 tie. Oh! Now as I note, in the U.S.-Czech tie, Staneks straight-game
loss to Lee (23-21 in the 2nd), and his 19, 21 (after being down 20-15!), 18 slim success over
Sweeris, matches contributing to the Czechs 4-1 victory, Im suddenly thinking, Why, so
much of this is exhibition play!
Though not from Sweeris of course who, as always, was giving his all. Hed never met
such strong players before, and taking a game from any of them was for him almost like
getting a passport to heaven. How intensely into the Sport Dell was. And how right for him
to receive this years Barna Award. As USTTA Coaching Chair, hed hit upon the idea of
sending out monthly Coaching Releases hed put together to anyone whod send 12 selfaddressed, stamped envelopes to him. These releases covered strokes, theory, mental attitude,
practice, general knowledge, and training. By now 130 players had signed up for this free
help (some catching up on past months releases, or speeding ahead so as not to have to wait
the full year). With this intensity, and now this Vanderbilt experience that he felt had improved
his play, Dell was ever more zealous to spread the gospel of the Sport. He was, like Jack
Howard, another table tennis missionary.
In the Yugo (5)-U.S.(0) tie, Korpa lost the 1st game to Sweeris, then won the next two
easily; ditto Stipancic with Lee; ditto in the doubles; then
Stipancic lost a game to Sweeris. We were losing those last
games 12, 15; 13, 16; 8, 15; 13, and with Korpa 16, 15. But
we were contending! Or so many thought. And now if the
Czechs were to beat the Yugos, theyd win. But, though
leading 2-1, they didnt win. Now if the Yugos beat the
Japanese, theyd win. But if the Japanese beat the Yugos 3-2,
thered be three teams tied among themselves at 1-1/5-5.
Thenuh, no, dont go there.
So what happened? Japan won 4-1and damned
if they didnt do it with the help of a 19 in the 3rd doubles
win. Later, in the final of the Doubles event, Ito/Kasai
returned the favor: lost 19 in the 3rd.
The 5, 6, 137-pound Ito told one reporter that
he always liked baseball more than table tennis, but felt
he didnt have the right body for it. Another reporter
quoted him as saying if he were a six-footer he would have
played basketball. Undeniable reality at the moment? Hes a
Japans 1969 World Champion
table tennis scholarship student at Senshu University in
Shigeo Ito
384

Tokyo, and has won here at the Vanderbilt Invitational the 8-player round-robin Singles. He lost
only once, in his last match to Stipancic (I was not able to keep psychologically prepared for the
last day, he said). The greatest contrast in these two players individual play may be in their
serves. Ito was so aggressive that opponents preparing to meet him needed a slow motion
camera to analyze his sleight-of-hand moves that spun or sped the ball at them. The lefthander
Stipancic, on the other hand, was the most lackadaisical server in the tournament. He served
half the time just to put the ball in play, and often did not achieve that primeval objective.
Stipancic (5-2), with his stay-at-the-table fast reflexes, was the runner-up, just a touch
better than Kasai, Korpa, and Miko (who, because of the enthusiastic response to the
tourney, won a thrown-in, nonsense Handicap event, which Lee didnt even stay for, and in
which Errol Resek, taking D-Js place, finished last). Kasai, Korpa, and Miko (all 4-3) shared
3rd place, as if wanting to make the whole tournament a sort of group entertainment. Stanek
(3-4) was 6th. D-J (2-5) was 7th (I was using my wrist too much. Ive been playing so much
that I cant feel the bat any more. When I stopped using the wrist my play improved.). D-J
had a win over Korpa (whom Rufford thought more consistent than Stipancic, with the
harder kills and the more solid, forcing strokes), and a -13, 20, -19 near win overwould
you call him lazy, listless, sleepy from too much sleep?Stipancic. Dell, whom Rufford never
fails to champion, was 8th (0-7) in a spectacular showing.
I dont know what the players got for their efforts, particularly the World Champion
(other than to hold the Vanderbilt Gold Cup). I cant believe their wins or losses mattered
muchthough it never seemed to Harrison that he was often watching exhibition play. Nor do
I know what Gazdag got for his effortsother than good coverage in the New York Times
and Post.
Rufford said that Geza used two indoor lawn-tennis courts renting at $24 an hour
each and he replaced tennis by table tennis for a week. Said that Geza, in his quest for
publicity, hosted no fewer than four TV companiesincluding the three major networks.
Said that, though Geza charged seven dollars a session, surely the highest that anyone has paid for
table tennis anywhere in the world, perhaps just publicizing that ticket-price would raise our public
image. Since, as Harrison said, the event
was staged on short notice, Gazdag may
have thought that charging less, as Topics
columnist Danny Ganz would have wanted
him to, really wouldnt have brought in, in a
compensatory way, that many more
spectators. Anyway, Rufford hoped that
Gazdag didnt lose as much as the smallish
crowds would suggest. (Bravo, though, to
Charlie Disney and his party of Minnesotans
who, seeing Ito on the Johnny Carson
show, couldnt resist coming to see him in
person.)
SELECTED NOTES.
*Jack McLarty, Portland, OR artist/
teacher, made the following woodcut of the
From The Table Tennis Report, 70/11
1969 U.S. Open Mens Final between John
L-R: Chris Faye, Alan Goldstein, Charlie Disney,
Tannehill (L) and D-J Lee.
Gus Kennedy, Doug Maday
385

Jack McLarty

**This isnt-becoming
argument was the same one that Bellak and Hazi had used with Dick Miles when in 1943 they
thought he might win the U.S. Open. Dick had also entered the Under 18s, but they persuaded him
to withdraw. Later, John Varga wanted to make restrictions on Juniors; for example, if a boy won
the U.S. Juniors, he couldnt defend the next year; had to give someone else a chance.

386

Chapter Thirty-Five
1969: Summer E.C. Meeting. 1969: Summer Tournaments (U.S. wins Maccabiah
medals). 1969: Stanek/Martinez Take CNE.
As a result of the annual USTTA election, Public Relations Chair Fred Herbst and
Photography Chair Mal Anderson became the new Vice-Presidents replacing Jim Rushford and
Sam Veillette. Ranking Chair John Read retained his V-P position; Rudy Muehlenbein
remained the Associations Treasurer;
and Cyril Lederman continued as the
appointed Recording Secretary. Those
who still had another year to serve in
their term of office were President
Graham Steenhoven, Executive VicePresident Jack Carr, V-P Bob
Rudulph, and Corresponding
Secretary Madeline Buben.
As usual, a number of
Committee Chairs would remain
vacant (Exhibition, Table Tennis Week,
and Television). And, as usual, when a
Photo by Mal Anderson
number of Committee Chairs resigned, Myron Mike Edgerton,
Jerry Button
Leonard Hoover Memorial
there was little attempt to find any
Award Winner
newcomers to replace them: Veillette, whod lost a close election for
V-P, replaced Rudulph (Membership); Lederman replaced Veillette (Rules) and Boczar
(Nominating); Carr replaced Rogoff (along with Books Chair Bollinger) as Library & Film Chair;
Herbst replaced Muehlenbein (Advertising). Stuart Lassar was named Intercollegiate Chair (and in
Topics quickly pleaded for help). Dick Hicks replaced John Read as National Tournament Director;
Erich Haring replaced Mal Anderson (Eastern Director) and Myron Mike Edgerton replaced
Jerry Button (Midwest Director). Mike, 41 years old, a printer by trade, would receive the first
Leonard Hoover Memorial Award. Hed been Tournament Director for the Elkhart Club for the last
three years, and on Leonards death had succeeded him as Club President.
As of Jan. 31, 1969, the USTTA seemed financially quite solvent with $18, 377.44 in
the bank. $6,000 of that then went to fund the World Team (John Read was lauded not only
for the fine job he did as Captain, but for having spent $500 less than he was budgeted for).
However, in addition to the fact that Topics and mail expenses would be up, the
Association began to see that, after outlays here and there, money was again short. When the
matter came up of a nominal salary for the President, Steenhoven thought that was
unwise, and preferred just normal expenses.
The approved Membership budget for 1969-70 was $1,725.
Apparently $600 was being allocated to promote growth and number of affiliated
clubs as a broad base of organization for the USTTA. This involved a study of how to pursue
that objective and some E.C. travel expenses. As of the July, 1969 Topics, I counted 106
nation-wide USTTA Affiliated Clubs and Leagues. A year ago there were only 76. Perhaps part
of the reason for the increase is Editor H Blairs willingness to call attention to tournament
activity across the country by listing in Topics as many results as possible.
387

A 10-minute silent 8 mm film, with matching comments on a tape

recorder, had been prepared (by Sam Veillette?), and could be rented from
the USTTA (affiliates $1; others $5). At their July Meeting the E.C. was
shown an 8-minute, 16mm film from Associated Ideas featuring John
l
Tannehill. In return for a payment of $784.62 for the production costs
hil
ne
n
and
Tannehills expenses, the USTTA received two copies of this
Ta
n
h
promotional film.
Jo
President Steenhoven requested Jack Carr to order 500 copies of his
book, in lots of 100, at a 50% reduction with the USTTA as distributor.
A Bylaw change was put forward, but deferred, that would eliminate Club
Membership cards and the right to play in a one-star tournament. Carr wanted a substitution
in the Rules Manual: The District Affiliate area should not exceed one-third of its Tournament
Regional area. One-star sanction regulations will apply to any closed tournaments which
exceed one-third of the Tournament Region area. These regulations may apply, but will they
be ratified by the E.C. at a subsequent Meeting, and, if so, will they be observed?
Ah, if conflicts arise over who has the final say between the Referee and the local
Tournament Committee, Reads thought was that the Referees power ought to be limited to
jurisdiction on the playing rules. Lederman would like him also to have the power to default.
But this subject, like a good many others, was referred to a Committee, then deferred.
The E.C. agreed that approval for tables and balls be for a minimum of three years,
and that the minimum fee for either tables or balls be $100.00 per year per company. Racket
approval charge to manufacturers will be $.05 a racket. Commencing Nov. 1, 1970, the E.C.
wants players to use only USTTA approved racketsin sanctioned tournaments. To
encourage the purchase of rackets that meet such standards, the Equipment Committee
recommends a fee of $1.00 per racket. Fred Herbst was going to threaten suit against
manufacturers who persist in describing their t.t. equipment as Officially Approved when its
not.
Coaching Chair Dell Sweeris had earlier proposed that the USATT reconsider the
matching funds conceptthat is, the Association would give $50 to any affiliated club if,
one time during the 69-70 season, that club would contribute $50 of their own to enlist the
services of a Certified Coach. (Each Coach could participate in as many as four clinics a year.)
Dell had also proposed that in the summer of 69 a free Coaching Clinic for two weeks be
arranged for 20 top junior players under age 17. Dell thought if this Clinic and an
accompanying Junior Team Championships were held in Grand Rapids, he could arrange
hospitality to reduce expenses. Cost to USTTA perhaps $1,000. The E.C. had nixed these
proposalssaid there was no money in the Coaching Budget for them.
Indeed, the Coaching Budget had been cut to $1,250allocated to $600.00 coaching
clinics in clubs, $500.00 for summer training camps, $100.00 for coach-by-mail expense, and
$50.00 miscellaneous expenses. Clubs have to pay transportation for coach, and pay the
coachs hospitality.
D-J Lee had run a coaching clinic in Indiana (the USTTA had paid him by crediting
his advertising account) and, in a first, the Association would send him off on a monthlong fall tour of 16 clubs in 15 cities. Since each club would chip in to share the
airplane transportation costsfrom $25 to $50 each, the Tour would cost the USTTA
about $800. The money would come from the budget of Chairman Dell Sweeriss
Coaching Committee.
388

Summer Tournaments
Lees Tour, when it came, wouldnt take him to the Seattle Seafair Openso named,
Earl Adams tells us, for a week of nautical celebrations prior to the running of the unlimited
hydroplanes on Lake Washingtonthat tournament was another Lees province. Vancouvers
Larry Lee, priming himself for a good season, won both the Singles (over Tom Ruttinger) and
the Doubles with Bob Leong (over Junior winner Bill Ladd and runner-up Philip Woo Cheng).
Vo Qui Han, a player new to Topics, won the AAs over Ladd; the As over Leong; and the A
Doubles with Tim Leatherman.
Cowan and the Indonesian women we saw at the Nationals dominated the San
Francisco Open. Glenn won the Mens over his winning Doubles partner Bob Bisno whod had
to struggle by Azmy Ibrahim, 18 in the 5th. Jenny Siswono took the Womens over her
compatriots, runner-up Nili Sari and Carla Tedjasukmana whom she also beat in the final of the
As. Siswono also won the Mixed with Cowan (over Lee Johnson/Sari) and the Juniors (over
Leung). Seniors went to Bob Stone over Don Gunn who suggests that the USTTA ought to
find a good training site for its young players, maybe in a military camp, and provide both a
coach and a therapist.
Given this San Francisco tournament,
you might expect to see (though perhaps she
hasnt moved there from Chicago yet?), the
former English #5, Irene Ogus. This summer,
Irene, accompanied by Bernie Bukiet and Ping
Neuberger represented the U.S. at the
Maccabiah Gamesa sort of Jewish
Olympics, Rufford Harrison in his Apr.-May,
1970 (8) write-up called it. Irene and Leah won
the Womens Teamsbeat a South African pair,
3-2. Irene was runner-up in the Womens Singles
to Australias Suzy Javor. Suzy didnt play at the
Worlds, though (her husband?) Karol Javor was
Captain/Coach of the Australian Mens/Womens
Teams there, and in fact was innovatively
(madly?) urging that one-game matches be
played in the Teams at the Worldsto cut
down the number of playing days and therefore
expenses.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Irene Ogus--two golds and a silver at the
In the Mens, our aging, ageless
Maccabiah Games.
wonder, Bukiet, reached the last 16 before
losing to Lipinski, an Argentine. However, in
Mens Doubles, Bernie and his Australian pick-up partner Polachek came 2nd to the Yosef
Shifman/Yosef Yeshua pair. Shifman, an Israeli whod made the round of 64 at the Munich
Worlds with a 23-21-in-the-5th win over Yugoslav National Edvard Vecko, won the
Singles over Englands Defending Champion Jeff Ingber. Mixed went to Ogus/Ingber over
Shifman and Canadas Joyce Hecht. So, two golds and a silver for San Francisco, so to
speak.
At the Seamana Nautica Open at Santa Barbara, Cowan, gaining confidence,
developing for better or worse more independence, won a 26-24 in the 5th thriller from
389

Howard. Someone asked Cowan how he kept his energy up. Candy, he said. Lots of
candy. Womens winner was Siswono over Tedjasukmana who was also runner-up in the As
to Ray Minc. Boys U-17: Mason from down 2-0 over Denis OConnell. Girls U-17: Siswono
over Hicks. Under 15s: Siswono over Under 13 winner Judy Bochenski.
In a warm-up for the Toronto CNE matches, Howard won the Aug. 23-24 Santa
Monica Openover Howie Grossman, survivor of a 19, 21, -18, 19, 19 tooth-and-claw
semis with Ron Von Schimmelman. Who stopped Cowan I dont know (maybe Glenn ran
out of candy?), but he and McGruder easily won the Doubles from Minc/Bisno. Womens
went to Patty Martinez over arch-rival Hicks. Patty also won the Mixed with Glennin 5
over Jack and Wendy. As: Martinez, 17 in the 5th over OConnell. A Doubles: Russ Thompson/
S. H. Shu. Bs:
Thompson over
Badger. Cs: Doug
Stewart, who
worked for the
New Zealand
Embassy in L.A.,
over G. McGhee.
Boys Under 17:
Ed Keleman over
Ray Martinez.
Girls Under 17:
Elsie Spinning
over Joy West.
Under 15s:
Martinez over
Barry Nelson in 5.
Under 13s: Eric
Thom.
Phoenix,
Arizonas U.S.
Under 13
Champion, Judy
Bochenski, was
on the wing.
Shed opened her
season at the June
14 Rocky
Mountain Open in
Russ Thompson:
Denver, where
The
Ringmaster
shed won the
Womens over
Larson, the Under 15s over brother Mike, the Under 13s over Diana Myers, and with
Wherry had lost the Mixed in 5 to Myers and Mens Singles winner Jerry Plybon, Under
17 Champ over Judys brother, Gary. Shed also come 2nd in the Bs to Dean Edmonds.
Wherry, runner-up in the As to Mens runner-up Bob Leatherwood, paired with Bob to
390

take the Doubles. Judys dad, Lou, was runner-up in the

Seniors to Cavanaugh; and her mom, Dottie, partner to Lou,
reached the semis of the Mixed. Its axiomatic: the family that
plays together, even as they more from Arizona to Oregon,
stays togetherand after decades the Bochenskis will still be
doing business together as the famous North American Paddle
Palace Table Tennis Distributors.
Fort Worths Richard
James, whod lost early in the Mens
at the Nationals and then lost the
final of the Consolations there,
Lou Bochenski
wasnt about to duplicate that
experience at the June Central
Oklahoma Open. As Tournament Co-Director Ron Shirley tells us
in his Topics write-up (Dec., 1969, 11), Richard adroitly did the
hat trick. He won the Mens from David Bell, took the Doubles
with him over Kevin Bell and Chattanooga Covenant College
student Homer Brown, 19, -20, 19; and teamed with Marcia
Clark to take the Mixed from Junior Champ Dennis Crawford and
Womens Singles winner Ozella Henderson. As went to U-15
winner Norman Behymer over Lon Clark who, down 1-0 and at
22-all, defeated Crawford in 3. Bs to Homer Brown, the new
Southern Region Ranking
Chair, over Sam Chan.
Seniors to Clark over
Richard James: hat trick at
Lou Coates.
the Central Oklahoma Open
Marlene Tyler,
Cub Reporter, writing (TTT, Dec., 1969, 4) on the
Brevard, FL Clubs Missileland Open, held at Merritt
Islands new and spacious Civic Center, had
conflicting things to say about Tannehill whos
spending the summer in Miami. Hes gone a bit
mod, she says, since we knew him as a lad. [This
may not be a good thing?]. No doubt, though, that
hes still the gentleman and good sport hes always
been. Then she closes her article this way:
Now at 17, his head is a bit too big.
A showman he is, and wants it that way. Hed
Photo by Mal Anderson
Homer Brown
prefer to play, rather than to get an education.
Since The Establishment has now regained its
rightful place in our Space Age, we [sic: she speaks for all mankind? has perhaps
already seen John with long hair?] can give him a bit of advice. Go back to school,
John, and on to college. A good sport can carry his own weight anywhere in the world,
as long as he knows how [didnt she just say he already does know how to be a good
sport?].
391

Dick Evans, co-owner/manager of the Columbus Club where Tannehill plays, in a later
Letter to the Editor (TTT, Mar., 1970, 12), criticizes Mrs. Tylers public audaciousness and
snide asides, says they serve no purpose except to arouse those who know far better than
she the assets and liabilities of John Tannehill.
Of course, Evans (he was brought up not in Columbus, Ohio, but in Charleston, West
VA), has long held respected table tennis positions, so who could believe he was ever one to
be totally opposed to Mrs. Tylers Establishment, to have really walked on the wild side? Still,
since his West Virginia state motto is Mountaineers are always free, there is that liberal side
to him. And as Tannehill is fast approaching manhood, there will soon be some goings on at his
Columbus Club that Mrs. Tyler wouldnt approve of and that I wont tell her about, but Dick
will (via a Nov., 1997 letter to me). Soon Tannehill, in this I dont want to say Spaced Out
Age, will grow into the Clubs resident teenage hippie, and will have invented a game:
We called it Strip Ping-Pong and it could only be played after hours with
the draperies closed and the front door locked. It was a game for the boys, although
there was one of our Club mascots who liked to join in because, not only did she like
just about any excuse to take her own clothes off, she liked seeing this particular John
in the nude.
For sure, a person had to have some moments of levity in his life if he were going to
run a table tennis club. Dick would do it for 10 years. Good thing he had that job as a social
worker, cause what with rent, heat, and electric bills, it was really only the twice-a-week
leagues that allowed the place to survive. He also learned that if you wanted something to
get done, you had to do it yourselfeven simple things like sweeping floors, taking out trash,
and setting up tables.
As part of his summer stay in Floridahes finishing his last year of high school
therethe U.S. #2 was probably often basking on a beach somewhere, so he wouldnt be
dumping matches to get his clothes off. But though Tannehill won the Mens at the June
Orlando Summer Open, he sure did lose a lot of gameswent 5 with Lenny Bass, 5 with
fellow Ohioan Jim Supensky, and, in the round-robin semis, 5 with Joe Sokoloff, who also
lost in 5 to Mens runner-up Clay Whitelaw, after Clay, ranked #1 in the South last season, had
been down 2-0 to Lyle Thiem
At the Tri-State Open in White Plains, N.Y., George Brathwaite took the Mens from
Fuarnado Roberts; and Serena Choi the Womens from Elaine Fuller. As: Peter Kwok over
Bill Sharpe. Under 17s: Stan Klein over Ron Skerratt. Under 13s: Ricky Rumble over Steve
Wolf. In the semis here, we note the appearance of soon-to-be young Champions, Jeff
Zakarin, 11, and Scott Boggan, still-wiping off the birthday cake, for the day before the
tournament hed just turned 8.
Stanek/Martinez Take CNE
The 29th Toronto CNE was held on a hot, hot Labor Day weekend (Oh, its never
been this hot at the Exhibition), in the small animal judging ring at the extreme end of the
Coliseum. (Go one way, see and smell real live, prize-winning bulls; go another, to the stalls on
the Midway, and Hurry, hurry, hurry, get your Smoking Donkey Cigarette Dispenser here. All
very simple. Just press down the ears, and out under the tail comes, surprise, the joke of a
filter tip.)
392

Want a commemorative poem? Steve Isaacsonll oblige. Heres his

But if some used-to-air-conditioning, used
to insect-repellent city dwellers found the playing
The CNE
conditions a mite uncomfortable, well, really, what
By Steve Isaacson
would anyone suggest doing about it? Presumably it
The first round, I thought,
was not just because of the animal smells or the flies
Would be an easy win
(Boy, youre in big trouble if you take a long yawn
A chopper from the west,
in this place) that Denis Neale, Mens winner the
From Manitoba.
last two years, declined at the expense of what
No problems youd suppose.
audience there was to make the trip.
But on the way I fell in
The opening U.S. vs. Canada Team ties
Love with an angora goat,
were without D-J Lee too. But maybe it wasnt yet
From the Calgary
a case of Been there, done that. One partisan
Farm of Sol and Sophie Rose.
fellow said, We didnt need him this yearand
And now, though neighbors frown,
since the U.S. Men won 6-2, he was right. Still, the
We live in wedded bliss
tie wasnt a rout. Tannehill beat Derek Wall 19 in
On the farm in Calgary,
the 3rd; Sweeris had to go deuce in the 2nd with
Away from the stalls,
Modris Zulps and 18 in the 3rd with Philip Woo; and
The hit and the miss.
Cowan split 19 games with Zulps before winning.
Errol Resek lost to
this years Canadian Closed Champ Larry Lee (winner over
runner-up Wall), and with Sweeris in doubles to Wall/Zulps
(though itd be with his Welsh friend, Graham Gear, that Derek
would win the Closed Doubles).

Photo by Mal Anderson

Heather Angelinetta...wins
for U.S. over Canada

The Womens tie was won by the U.S., 6-5. Did they need
Patty Martinez? Well, add em up: Heather Angelinetta lost to
Canadian Champion Larry Lee
Violetta Nesukaitis and Jenny Marinko; Janice Martin lost to Helen
Sabaliauskas and Nesukaitis; Olga Soltesz lost to Marinko. Hello? Patty, come in. She did: beat
Sabaliauskas, Nesukaitis (19 in the 3rd), and Marinko (2-0, but from down 17-9 in the 2nd); and in
the doubles with Martin beat Nesukaitis/Marinko and Nesukaitis/Sabaliauskas (22, -13, 21). A
damn gutsy showing. But that just made the tie 5-5. So sharing the role of heroine had to be
Heather because in her 11th hour match she downed the favorite, Sabaliauskas, 17 in the 3rd.
Photo by Mal Anderson

393

And the Junior International, since weve never lost, I

presume we won that too? Au contrairewe got blitzed. Mitch
Sealtiel lost to Philip Woo Cheng in 3; Judy Bochenski lost to
Shirley Gero in 3; Ray Martinez lost badly to Errol Caetano; and
Sealtiel/Bochenski mightily resisted but also (8, 19, -18) lost in 3.
In Inter-Provincial play, Ontario Mens and Womens were
best. Additional Junior Team matches were organized by Alan
Miller and Jacques Bobet, Sr., with help from George Jovanov. In
the future its hoped theyll be played at the CNE; this initial time
they were played at the Toronto Club, but with great success. Six
teams composed of three players eachan 11, 13, and 15 yearoldfought it out. 1st: British Columbia (Ed and Victor Lo, plus
Montreals Guy Jasmin). 2nd: Ontario #1 (Mike Jovanov, Paul
Klevinas, and Sharon Posen). 3rd: Montreal #1 (Rod Young,
Laurentian Open Junior winner Jacques Bobet, and Peter Miller).
In the Womens Open, Defending Champion Martinez made
Jacques Bobet, Jr.
it look easywent through in succession Soltesz, Millie Shahian
(who defeated Gero in 5), Connie Sweeris, and Nesukaitis without losing a game. Spectatorinvolving matches were Marinko over Leah Ping Neuberger, 18 in the 5th, Sabaliauskas 25, 17, 10, 19 over Joyce Hecht, and Sweeris, just beginning to play again after the birth of her
daughter Michelle, over ex-Barbados Champ Pat Quintyne in 5. Womens Doubles went to
Martinez and Irene Ogus over Ping and Violetta whod beaten Irene rather easily in the
Singles. Martinez/Glenn Cowan took the Mixed, first, from visiting Czech star Jardo Stanek/
Gero, then in the final from Bukiet/Nesukaitis whod downed the Sweerises in straight games.
Janice Martin won the Junior Miss from Gero.
Violetta continued her streak of fourout-of-five Canadian Closed Singles titles by 7,
15, 4 destroying Sabaliauskas who beat her last
year. Best Helen could do in the Womens
Doubles with Jose Tomkins was to come runnerup to Gero/Hecht. The Mixed went to
Nesukaitis/Larry Lee over Gero/Philip Woo
Cheng.
In the 40-entry Open Juniors, Sealtiel sure
made up for his loss to Woo in the Internationals,
outlasting him 20, -19, 25, 18, 9 (even after being
caught in that pivotal 3rd game trying to serve
penholder!). Boys U-15: John Quick over Ray
Martinez. Midget Boys: Dale Scheltema over Mike
Veillette, deuce in the deciding 3rd. Junior Miss:
Martin, pressed 24, -19, 8 earlier by Sue
Hildebrandt, over Gero, embarrassingly at 12 and
9. Girls U-15: Bochenskis later much acclaimed
flat forehand is still something of an awkward slap,
but its good enough for a win over Hildebrandt.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Midget Girls: Debra Hunter over Sandra Leja.
Judy Bochenski
394

In Mens play, taking the place of Neale and Lee was the personable #1 seed, Jardo
Stanek who, on trying to sneak in a moments practice, was told, like the most ordinary of
first-round losers, quickly, curtly, to clear the table.
That Stanek was in need of practice after coaching Juniors in Quebec since early
August, that he had indeed lost some of his competitive edge, was all too apparent when he
met Boggan whod been complaining with sound and fury to revered longtime official Gord
Freeman and his tournament committee that, as a quarter-finalist in last years tournament,
why the hell was he playing the #1 seed in the round of 32? If I may say so, the bearded one
sometimes appears to be not so much angry as mad. Still, I like his color, his energy.
There he was, a $5 nine-point underdog, playing Jardo a surrealist serve-and-hope-tohit-one-in type of game. Flailing away even at the Czechs deceptive serves, alternately missing
absurdly his own service and hitting in some no-look-around-the-shoulder, back turned underthe-arm shots, he actually jolted a 19-all game from the pre-tournament-acknowledged-winner.
I might also mention that Tim was surprised
to find out that his son Scott, along with Florida
enthusiast, 51-year-old Bob Walker, had been
interviewed by a reporter and that a story and a
photo of the two of them would appear in
Saturdays Toronto Telegram. Tim was further
surprised, not to learn that his son liked to play gin
rummy and poker, but that hed bet a friend 50 cents
that Stanek would beat his father. Amazing the bets
some innocents will make.
Once having fallen so low, Stanek, who
between matches took to resting his feet in Samsonlike sandals, soon started to regain some of his
strength. Meeting him in the quarters was the Thai
Surasak (conqueror of both Ontario TTA President
Ken Kerr, and former Canadian Champ Modris
Zulps). Their match had some extended exchanges,
but in the last two games the pattern was the same:
from 14-all or so, Staneks forcing combinations, his
ever-stiffening backhand and climactic, hardhopping forehand loop, dominated so that he was
able to run rampant out.
Jardos semis opponent, whom he also beat
convincinglyand yet, no paradox, in three
From the Toronto Telegram, Aug. 30, 1969
creditably prolonged, well-played gameswas New
Bob Walker, 51, and Scott Boggan, 8
Yorks George Brathwaite. This summer The
Chief was a member of the Guyana team that won the Caribbean Championships. Also, in the
concurrent Central American Open, he was runner-up in Singles to Orville Les Haslam,
Jamaicas best, but based now in London where he ranked among Englands Top Ten players.
Brathwaite advanced to Stanek and the semis with three good wins.
In the 16ths, he beat 3-time Canadian Closed Champ Larry Lee in straight games,
obviously no easy task. Larrys of course from Vancouver, but hes going to be playing more in the
Toronto area now that hell be doing graduate biological research at the University of Waterloo.
395

In the 8ths, perhaps it wasnt surprising that Brathwaite was down 2-1 to Errol Resek
(though crazily, George, normally so steady, had been behind 15-1! in the 2nd game). Two
weeks earlier, Errol had emerged victorious from the underground of Doug Cartlands N.Y.
Summer OpenNot enough tables, not enough lights, not any loud speakers, no practice
tables, and a host of loud, raucous, rude, unintelligible spectators was the way Danny Ganz
had described it. Since at this 73rd St. Club tournament, Errol had beaten both Surasak and
the-back-from-Germany Doss (settle down, settle up, Marty, before youre suspended again),
it was strange that when he resumed his match with Brathwaite he seemed to have lost all
competitive instinct. Just didnt want to stay at the table and play. The more he went back,
the more I knew I had to keep rolling, keep forcing him even more, said George who, only a
year or two ago was almost exclusively a defensive player and who, in the semis to come, was
several times out-countering Stanek.
In the quarters, Brathwaite got revenge over a well-cut-sideburned Wall whod ousted
him in last years Easterns. Derek had knocked Dell Sweeris out of the tournament in 5 in the
8ths, winning the last 6 points after being down 15-18. I dont know whats the matter with
me; Im just not concentrating well, said Dell. He was troubled the more because, despite
having improved to D-Js standard (34-push-ups in 45 seconds), he was upset in the Elkhart
Summer Open by Jim Lazarus. (Sweeriss loss will pass, but in just two months, a tragic one
will have to be sustained: the Elkhart Club will lose its 9-year Founder/President, 50-year-old
Leonard Hoover, when a train on which he was serving as fireman hit a stalled train.)
Sweeris is now in a transition period: like Tannehill, hes switched to pimpled
sponge.The inverted bat, according to Dell, involved him in a lot more necessary motion,
hence his loop was leaving him open to
Photo by Mal
quick deflecting block shots or, if he played
Anderson
a chopper, often he would be getting his
George
own spin back when he tried a follow-up
Brathwaite
hit. The experienced Wall, however, and
many other observers feel that Dell, a good
spinner, is making a mistake in switching.
Certainly it was clear that he didnt have
enough confidence in those vital closing
moments of his match with Derek to crack
in any of those grand, gangly shots were
so accustomed to seeing.
Sweeris, then, didnt make the
quarters, and so it was Brathwaite over
Wall. The big problem I had, said George
after the match, was to guard against
being worn down by Dereks exceptionally
graceful game. With Wall, you do all the
work. Hes a much smarter player than
Resek. He knows what hes doing all the
time.
The idea of wearing George down
(Look at Brathwaites legs!) must seem
ridiculous to anyone who has seen him play
396

or who happened to look skyward to the enclosed horizon there in the arena. For George
could sometimes be seen jogging easily around the circular-tiered Coliseum track or doing
various arm-outstretched gymnastics like some high-flying birdman or opponent-Black-Angelof-Death. Hes a very patient player, said the red-faced Wall.
On the other side of the Draw it was to be Jack Howard and Glenn Cowan in the
semis. In the 8ths (disappointingly, of the last 15 matches in the Mens from the 8ths on, 10
were won in straight games), Jack easily disposed of Max Marinko. Does Max still teach
Latin? It seems to be a language that wont die out. Marinko was later to retain his Seniors
crown over Sol Schiff. Theres only one great Solan aging sort of Hamlet (or Ghost) of the
table tennis theater: to try or not to try, that is the question.
Then in the quarters Jack overpowered, blew away The Windy Citys Lazarus. Jim,
whos switched from rubber to sponge, had done well to defeat 3-time U.S. Champ Bukiet, 30. Bernie said it was so hot he couldnt put any spin on the ball. Also, he felt he had to keep
telling Jim to towel the sweat from his hands before serving. You play a good match, said
Bernie shaking hands You wet.
Cowan got to the semis as if hed come, not
from California on a high-up jet, but by thumbing in
the rain from the recent rock festival at Woodstock.
First of all, he had trouble with Montreals Guy
Germain, a former Junior Champion here, who himself
had all he could do to score 26 points in the 5th to beat
the first of his long-haired, mustachioed opponents,
N.Y.s Alex Shiroky. (They ought to get Alex a
monkey and an organ, said one wit.) But Shiroky did
have an inspired moment or two: in Mens Doubles,
won as expected by Stanek and Howard, he teamed
with Brathwaite for a fine upset win over Wall and
Zulps.
This summer, at the Laurentian Open in Mont
Rolland, Quebec, Germain had teamed with Claude
Landry to take the Mens Doubles, and with Joyce
Photo by Raul Gil
Hecht to take the Mixed from Womens winner
Alex Shiroky
Sabaliauskas/Mens winner Eddy Schultz whod beaten
Guy in the semis. (On winning, Tournament Organizer Schultz was given a champagne
reception and a ride around town in a convertible with the huge trophy.) Germain, then,
whod also represented Canada at two World Championships, was not the sort of opponent
anyone, especially the U.S. #6, would want to meet in the 1st round.
Against Guy, as Howard pointed out to me from the sidelines (and incidentally to
Glenn), Cowan was doing everything wrong: was not serving deep to Germains backhand,
was not looping, was not keeping the ball away from the corners where Guy liked to crack it.
When, finally, Glenn apparently did heed Jacks advice, it was all overGuy got only 10 in the
5th. This seemed, then, as good a time as any to ask the powers that be, the USTTA E.C.,
whether the very experienced Howard shouldnt be seriously considered as a coach for the
U.S. Mens Team to the 71 Worlds.
Following straight-game wins over Marv Shaffer (he had a six-year-old in the
tournament) and ex-U.S. Intercollegiate Champ Vic Landau whos headed for the hospital and
397

a knee operation that will keep him out of action for some time, Cowan met in the quarters
Fuarnado (pronounced Few-are-NAH-dough, but also by some as Fernado or Fernando, or
even Ferdinand) Roberts. Robbie, a heavy rubber chopper with a deceptive one-ball hit, had
beaten in his 2nd-round match Lim Ming Chui. Ming with Peter Salmon, a grad student at
Northeastern (beaten here, 19 in the 4th, by Resek), would soon be making in the Universitys
TV studio a 20 minute videotape called The Game of Table Tennis. A good copy back then
sold for $65. What it would sell for now, I dont know.
After his win over Chui, Robbie will then down, 3-zip, John TanneTannehill, upset!
That same serious, bespectacled Tannehill, disciplined student of Ogimura and last years
runner-up to National Champion Lee?
Well, not exactly. If Cowan
looks like some not-quite-so-cleanedup pirate cavalier out of an old Errol
Flynn movie, Tannehill with his newly
acquired long curls, contact lenses, and
Miami Beach bell-bottoms, looks the
picture of a young 16th-century Leonard
Whiting gallant. Asked why he, like
Sweeris, had changed to pimpled
sponge, the one-time junior, who in his
2nd match had gone 5 with Joe
Sokoloff, replied, Because its more
fun! You understand? More fun! I can
feel the ball.
O.K., so Tannehills into fun.
But hes also, at the moment anyway,
plenty realistic. Dont blame my loss
on the paddle, John warned me. Ive
trouble with a chopper because Im
letting the ball drop below the top of
the bounce.
Now in the quarters, it was
Photo by Bill Scheltema
John Tannehill
Cowan and Roberts. Glenn, as it turned
Glenn Cowan
out, won three straight. Still, he was
(13, 21, 18) rigorously extended those last two games by his lithe-like-the-dancer-he-was
opponent. I was never so tired in my life, said Glenn staggering into the Mens Room. At
18-all I didnt know if I was going to win that 3rd game or not. And if I didnt win that one.
A little later Cowan goes out to play Howardand Jack, since hed lost to Glenn in their
last three meetings, is not particularly happy at the prospect. However, Jack grabs an early lead, and
Glenn, who often plays something like a serve and one game, is only once in the match. At 17-19 in
the 2nd, he needs to take a chance, tries to make one of those marvelous long-armed running
smashes hes famous for, but, perhaps bothered by the non-wooden floor thats occasionally too
slippery for him, he misses. Howard, 2-0 comfortably on top, then forces out the match from both
sides. Well, says Team Captain John Read to Jack, we may have to consider you for the 71
Worlds. No, not me, says Jack, which is perhaps not what John wants to hear. Despite all the
incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, Jack maintains hes not long destined to be a player.
398

In the 4-game final against Stanek,

Howard gets off to the worst imaginable
start, is down 0-5. And yet he manages to
win the game at 19! Is this possible?
Knowing how nice a guy Jardo shows
himself to be (Wouldnt it be terrific if he
could leave troubled Czechoslovakia and
live in the States for a while?), some
spectators are wondering if this isnt the
second gift of a game Stanek has made this
tournament. Others are sureafter all, hes
a teacher in a university, isnt he?that hes
very responsible, very practical, has, like
Neale and Lee, his reputation to think of,
and is not giving anything away.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jack Howard

Amusingly, during their play,

Jack has three times forced Jardo
back and has tried to dropshot him. I
say has tried because Jacks lowest
drop is about 4 feet high! Twice
Stanek comes rushing in, and twice
like the wildest of experienced
exhibition players loses the point by
absurdly batting the ball over Jacks
head. The third time, however, he hits
the ball inwhereupon Jack
applauds, smiles, sticks up a finger,
then three fingers, and stage mouths
1 out of 3! During another point,
Jack suddenly gets cramps, grabs his
leg with one hand and pops up the
ball with the other. Jardo whacks it
in, says under his breath, as if its all
over, as if shaking hands, Sorry,
Jack.
In a Sept. 14, 1969 letter to
1969 CNE Winner Jardo Stanek
the International Committee, Rufford
says hes considering making some personal suggestions to the CTTA that will improve the
look of this tournament. He does in fact do this, and the CTTA listens to him. Next year, they
will add an extra day, Sunday, to their regular Thursday through Saturday play, and now, given
considerably more time and space, they can have a special gradated-age Team event for
Juniors at the Coliseum venue, and can also give special attention to staging the International
ties with appropriate dignity. After all, says our International Chairman, if there is a major
International event here, it ought to look like one.
399

Chapter Thirty-Six
1969: Fall Tournaments. 1969: Junior
Team Ties Begin at the USOTCs. N.Y. Men,
California Women Are USOTC Winners.
National Champion D-J Lee wasnt at the
CNE because he was touring the country, or at least
he was in Livermore, CA for their Sept. 6 Open.
USTTA Public relations Chair Fred Herbst had
described Lees Tour, including 6 California cities,
Livermore being one, as lasting from Oct. 1 through
30. But D-J certainly hadnt gone West just to win a
tournament from George Makk. Or a trophy. He
probably gave a clinic and picked up some extra
bucks doing individual coaching. Lee, available for
Mens Doubles, partnered David Chanbut they
Photo by Don Gunn
didnt win, were beaten by Shonie Aki and Azmy
George Makk
Ibrahim whom Makk had downed in his Singles
semi, 18 in the 5th. Womens went to Iqbal over Schick. Mixed to Aki/Schick over Makk/Iqbal.
As: Steve Varela over Chan in 5. Seniors: Bob Stone over Sam Lima. Sam said that D-Js
visit to his Cupertino Club was a tremendous success.We had about 200 people for the two
nights and gained 20 new club members.Lee is a hard and conscientious worker; he gave
personal help to all he could (TTT, Nov., 1969, 11).
D-J wasnt in San Diego for their Sept. 20-21 Golden
State Open, but Howard, Chair of the International Team
Squad Committee, wasand maybe a part of him cared more
about Cowans progress than his own, for he lost badly to
Glenn. In the Womens, Martinez (19, 20, 9, 7) broke
Hicks for a then unchallenged win. However, Jack, who having
assisted Ogimura at his L.A. clinic will soon be a USTTA
Certified Coach, had been mentoring Wendy to where theyd
improved their Mixed Doubles play and here beat Cowan/
Martinez. New faces in Mens Doubles: Jirabhadj and
Ukapatayasakul (later known as Bill U) defeated Ray
Fahlstrom/Mark Adelman in 5. As: Ron Von Schimmelman
over Denis OConnell 23-21 in the 5th. Seniors: Russ
Thompson over Jesse Martinez. Senior Doubles: John Hanna/
Danny Banach over Thompson/George Kelemen. Everimproving Angie Rosal won the Girls 13 and 15 over Cindy
Cooper.
Photo by Mal Anderson
A very literate someone wrote a Letter to the Editor
Russ Thompson
(name withheld by request) deploring the fact that at this
Hollywood tournament a prominent playerapparently [again] paid one of his opponents to
dump the match. Wanna play detective? The one perp lies so far above suspicion that the
finger of guilt couldnt possibly point in his direction, but in the words of Machiavelli, Many
400

see what you seem, few know what you are. Fred Herbst,
Corresponding Secretary of the California TTA, said his
Association didnt like H Blair printing that anonymous
poison pen letter. CTTA investigation showed two
dumping incidents, five years apart. In one of these, a guy
wanted to play a certain opponent in the next round, so
offered $5 for the assured win. Herbst said that the letter
writerBlair pointed out that he wasnt anonymous, that
H had met him and had the impression he was sincere
and had the best interests of table tennis at heartwas
neither a member of CTTA or USTTA, nor a tournament
player. He does, however, participate in small-wager gambling
around the fringes of our tournaments (TTT, Mar., 1970, 3).
Had criticism driven Editor Rohm to resign? Will criticism
drive Editor Blair to resign? More detective works needed.*
A week before the
Photo by Mal Anderson
USOTCs, at Long Beach,
Fred Herbst
Howard won the Mens from
Denis OConnell, whod go on
to take the Oakland Open in
late Nov. Womens winner:
Martinezover Angie Rosal
whod been forced into the 5th
by Kathy Chin. Strange that
Wendy, though going to
Detroit, didnt play Singles.
But she and Jack won the
Mixed from McGruder/
Martinez and Adelman/Rosal.
As the decade was
coming to an end, Lee,
Sweeris, and Howard were
going out into the field as
no other coaches had done.
Photo by Fred Grobee
Their efforts suggested that
Denis OConnell
table tennis was important.
Dell had gone to Oklahoma City this summer (see Ron
Shirleys article in TTT, Dec., 1969, 9) and had conducted a
very successful Regional clinic. Eighteen players took part in
ten three-hour sessions that emphasized circuit training
Photo by Steve Kazak
(and physical exhaustion like that found in football
Kathy Chin
training), as well as on-court ball-control and patternpractice. Thanks to Sweeris, the Oklahoma City media took an interest in the Sport that
theyd never had before: three network television stations filmed the clinic, the citys top
radio station devoted a ten minute feature to it, and Sweeris got more than 200 lines in
the Oklahoma City Times.
401

About the same time that D-J was giving a clinic in nearby Bartlesville, Howard
capitalized on the Oklahoma City success story by attending a mid-Sept. Southwestern
Regional there. And along with him from two other different Regions came Surasak and the
peripatetic Tannehill. John won the Single Elimination Mens over Jack, with Surasak coming
3rd after crushing Houstons Hanumanth Rao. Mens Doubles went to Tannehill/Dennis
Crawford over Surasak/Norman Behymer. Wendy Hicks took the Double Elimination
Womens from Marianne Szalay, but not before losing a match to her. As: Dennis Gresham
over Don Weems, 23, 22, then John Orange. Seniors: Edgar Stein (after being behind 2-0)
over Rich Puls. John Quick won both the 17s (over Steve Dodgen) and the 15s (over Jerry
Crawford). Jean Varker took the Girls 17s and 15s.
Kingsport, TN held its first Open tournament Oct. 25
at the Civic Auditoriumand 31-year-old chemist, Dr. Hans
Dietl, mixed quick hits and precise placements to take the
Mens. In round robin semis play he downed runner-up Don
Gaither, 3rd-place finisher Clay Whitelaw who lost a 5-gamer
to Don; and Ralph Kissel. In the Double Elimination
Womens, Hanss wife, Eleanor, hit through Amelia Halkiades
in the final, after Amelia had wrenched out a deuce-in-the-3rd
win over Dawn Whitelaw. Mens Doubles went to Whitelaw/
John White over Dietl/Gaither. As: Kissel in 5 over Homer
Brown whod advanced over Bob Flowers deuce in the 5th.
John White, who started playing seriously during WWII while
serving in the Navy at Pearl Harbor, won the Seniors from
Neil Holloway.
Photo by Duain Rich
Hans and Eleanor Dietl
Another
Regionalthe
Oct. 18-19 Southeastern in Atlantadrew D-J,
Dell, and John Tannehill, and in the semis round
robin they were joined, not by Sol Schiff who
took a game from Sweeris, but by Clay Whitelaw.
To no ones surprise, D-J, with his consistent
topspin game and kill shots, won the $100 1st
prize, didnt lose a game. Dell was continuing,
despite his critics, to use pips-out rubber (though
on a little slower racket English-style
Butterfly, A-003, 1.5 mm that gives him, he says,
a steadier hit on the backhand). He had a great
match with John who, after his loss to Fuarnado
Roberts at the Canadians, had given up his pips
and gone back to inverted. In their Dec., 1969
Topics (8) coverage of the tournament, Sam
Cannella and Bernie Tucker said that Sweeris
Photo by Don Gunn
played a totally offensive, hard-hitting game
Dell Sweeris
(forehand and backhand), hitting shots that had
the crowd oohing and aahing continuously. However, Tannehills blocking and occasional slams
were equally impressive, allowing him to finally win out in five games, three of which were deuce.
402

Mens Doubles went to Sweeris/Homer Brown over

Whitelaw/Ray Mergliano (Lee didnt enter; Tannehill played with
Miamis Bob Walker). Connie Sweeris, captivating everyone with
her charming personality, won every event she enteredWomens
Singles (over Olga Soltesz, 18 in the deciding 3rd); Class A (over
Norman Behymer); and Mixed Doubles with Dell (over Tannehill/
Soltesz). Class B: Behymer over Tom Tarrant. Seniors: John White
over Paul Soltesz. Under 17s: Behymer over Quick (both had
come to Dells summer clinic here in Atlanta?).
The Far Rockaway,
Queens, N.Y. Columbus Day
Beginners Tournament marked the
1st appearance in Topics of future
U.S. superstar Eric Boggan. Danny
Ganz reporting on the days sea-ofunknown-events said that Eric won
a trophy simply for being the
youngest entrant (6). The
organizers had an evening
TTT, May, 1963, 23
Invitational (about $200 in prizes)
Danny Ganz
for 8 players (Surasak, Bukiet,
Resek, Chui, Boggan, Brathwaite, Sam Takayamaand Reisman).
A scoring system, by one, Dr. Monroe Berg, was adopted that was
Photo by Mal Anderson
so unique I cant recall it ever being used again. With one match to
Captivating Connie
go, Bernie needed to win one of his two remaining games with The
st
Chief to take the $75 1 prize. He didnt do it. Boggan lost his last game to Bukiet 21-14. Had he
gotten the 15th point he would have finished 4th. There were four money prizes.
Al Schwartz tells us there was some
strikingly effective old-fashioned pimpled rubber play
at the New Jersey Open, held Sept. 27 in Irvington.
In the mens quarters, Fuarnado Roberts, down 2-0,
rallied to oust Mitch Sealtiel, 19 in the 5th, then had
a breather against Alex Shiroky, who downed
Boggan deuce in the 4th; then in the final met fellow
chopper Rory Brassington whod gotten by Resek,
26-24 in the 4th. The two finalists fought it out in an
old-style back-and-forth, pick-and-hit manner -with the win going to Robbie, whod again rallied
after being two games down.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Its hard to keep up with D-J Lee, because
Al Schwartz
its not easy to figure out where he is. That Oct. 130, 15-city itinerary Fred Herbst provided Topics with didnt include D-Js Oct. 18-19 appearance
in Atlanta. Whats more, it didnt include his appearance the week before at the Central Canadian
Open in Niagara Falls where he won the Mens from Larry Lee, after Larry had stopped a courageous
(19, 24, -20, -11, 19) rally by Derek Wall. Biggest upset? Sam Veillette over Canadian World Team
member Martin Ivakitsch.
403

Of course D-J won the Doubles with Derekover Modris Zulps/Peter Gonda. And of
course D-J won the MixNo, he didnt. He and Sue Hildebrandt averaged a mere 13 points a
game in a humbling loss to Larry Lee/Violetta Nesukaitis, Womens winner over Jenny
Marinko. Of course, Topics coach Jack Carr, looking at Mal Andersons photo sequence of
Sue in action (Dec., 1969, 10), was properly critical. She does have some work to do, the
more so because she lost the Junior Miss here to NesukaitisFlora Nesukaitis. But she was
gamecame from 2-0 down to win the Bs from recent Perc
McLeod Award
winner Betty
Tweedy. The
Nesukaitis sisters
may not make the
dreamt-of perfect
pairing; they lost
the Womens
Doubles in 5 to
Marinko/Jose
Tomkins.
Handicap winner:
Photo by Mal Anderson
Doreen (a.k.a.
George Buben
Darinka) Jovanov.
Seniors: Marinko over Lou Radzeli. Jr. Men: Bill Lesner
over Mike Veillette. Mens Bs: Gonda over Bill Cheng.
Peter Gonda
Mens Cs: George Buben (from down 2-0) over Vic Tapay.
USOTC Junior Championships
And now to USOTC Tournament
Director Bubens cavernous Cobo Hall.
Something new this year: a Junior Team
Championship, though rather decided on at
short notice. (Seven of the 12 teams were from
Michigan.) Muskegon (Lester Davis, Tom
Herder, Dale Scheltema) beat Pontiac (Bill
Lesner, Jeff Smart, Mike Veillette, David
Klemm) for the title.
Muskegon had to struggle along the way
1969 USOTC Junior Team Winners, L-R:
though, barely 5-4 besting a team from Lansing
(Gary Gilbert, Lester Covington, David Vaughn, Lester Davis, Tom Herder and Dale Scheltema
Burhan Thabit). The Davis-Gilbert match, won
20, 20, 7 by MVP winner Davis (22-0), meant the have-to-live-with-it difference for Gilbert
and his Lansing team.
The Pittsburgh players (Dan Seemiller, Bill and Don Zatek, Hank Colker, Paul
Koerner) were for a time in contention with a 5-2 win over Lansing. But their shot at
Muskegon missed the mark when Davis beat Seemiller (23-3) deuce in the 3rd. The 15-yearold unranked Seemiller, however, with his unusual, one-side-of-the-racket, window-wiper
style, was going to be increasingly noticed.
404

This was a marvelous round robin tournament for the juniors, and I was sorry that I didnt
know in time about it definitely being scheduled. There are some boys in the East whod love to
play. Next year, huh?**
ITS Matches
The Friday International Team Squad matches for both men and women will start the
grueling weekend. An hour or two before play begins, ITS Chairman Jack Howard can be seen
moving not only chairs, but tables, barriers, papers, players, loud speakers, everyone and
everything. His clear, crisp, knowledgeable instructions to the combatants have the authority
of a computer.
I, for example, whod be playing 15 matches for N.Y. #1 on Saturday and Sunday,
was programmed to play in rapid succession a round robin of 8 matches, and I did, and
nothing functionally went wrong with me, I behaved admirably. Heading the list of those
who defaulted at least one match, though, was D-J Lee, who decided not to play at all. I
suppose he thought hed be playing enough, eh? I mean, even though it was soon abuzz
that Tannehill had scored a breakthrough by beating him in the Ohio Team Tryouts, what,
after all, did he have to prove?
For these ITS matches Howard was also a playeran undefeated one. He beat Resek
in 3, and edged Sweeris 19 in the 3rd. And Errol beat Dell tooin straight games. Cowan most
certainly didnt help his 71 U.S. World Team causelost to Brathwaite, Boggan, and Sealtiel.
And Patty Martinez, something was off-key with her: if the posted results were to be believed,
she (21, -23, 21) barely managed to beat Kathy Scheltema, and did lose to Irene Ogus. But
there would be quite a few more ITS matches before the U.S. Team was picked. Right now,
there were immediate Team Championships to be won.
Mens Championship
And that was worry enough, especially for New York #2. For come 9:00 a.m. Saturday
and the first tie of the Championship, where is New York #2? Brathwaites here, and his wife
Merle. Where, though, is the ageless, mod-minded Bukiet? And what story will Roberts have
to tell us and laugh over? And Brassingtonhe isnt expected until later?
Its now 9:15. Bernie and Robbie gave an exhibition in New York last night? Merle
begins making unsuccessful phone calls. Minnesota #2, smiling amiably, waits at the table.
Field Marshall Steenhoven begins his tour of duty,
George has to play his 1st match. The phantom loser on the table next to him has
already come off. Another comes and goes; invisible anguish. George is disturbed alright; he
cant put a ball away. Indeed, he loses the first game. But not the next two. Two more
phantom losers come and gowhere are they? Georges 2nd match is a real drag: against weak
opposition he has all he can do to keep the ball in play. Again he loses the first game. But not
the next two. Inevitably, N.Y. #2 bows to its conqueror, Minnesota #2. A fatal loss? Well,
maybe a 2-5 score is better than nothing?
And thenho!here comes Bukiet and Roberts! Plane connections bad, says
Robbie. Very bad. As play proceeds, Chicago #1 beats Minnesota #2. The three teams will
be tied, but N.Y.s record is best and will allow them to take their seeded place in Group 1A.
Joining them there are: the powerful California team; the Michigan team, Captained by
Sweeris; the Ohio #2 team, the outclassed, bridge-playing Maryland team; and, finally, the
Ontario #1 team. How the latter got there is something of a story.
405

In the qualifying heat, this Ontario

team (Martin Ivakitsch, Graham Gear, Ron
Bickerstaffe) had lost one tie, to
Philadelphia (Sealtiel, Sharpe, Dave
Gaskill, George Rocker). But Philadelphia,
too, had been beaten by Logan Square.
This Northwest-Chicago team, meanwhile,
had suffered two losses, one to twicedefeated North Carolina. Hence the
officials (an official?) had to break the tie
not only for the #1-#2 positions but also for
Photo by Jose Tomkins
the #3-#4.
Ontario Advancers, L-R: Ron Bickerstaffe,
Philadelphia Captain Gaskill is told
Graham Gear and Martin Ivakitsch
that International Rules on Team
Championships apply only to World Championships, and so, despite the fact that Philadelphia
had beaten Ontario 5-2, a play-off would be necessary. (At this point I remembered the 67
USOTCs when my New York team played California in the final round robin, and how,
though we each ended up with one loss, it would be understood that California would be
declared the winner because, practically speaking, it was time for the tournament to end and,
well, they had beaten us and what was the sense of playing them again?)
This decision is of course disappointing to the Philadelphia team members who are the
more disturbed when they learn that the #3 position has been arbitrarily assigned, without a
play-off, to North Carolina because they have after all beaten Logan Square and because, well,
what difference really will it make, #3 or #4, and this will expedite the running of the
tournament.
Another inconsistency that is figuratively thrown in the face of President Steenhoven in
highest appeal is that, according to the USTTA rules, the play-off is to consist of three matches
only, the ABC-XYZ players pairing off, with play to be on one table only. However, apparently
again to expedite matters, and regardless of the fact that the players, in always wanting
anxiously to know how their teammates are doing, might find it difficult to concentrate, the
officials (an official?) decided to use three tables simultaneously.
And, as might be expected under these circumstances, Ivakitsch beats Sealtiel, Gear beats
Sharpe, and, well, its all over for Philadelphiaor rather not quite, since it is officially requested of
an enraged Gaskill that he go through the formality of completing his match with Bickerstaffe.
Meanwhile, over in the opposing Group 1B section is N.Y. #1, Canada, Indiana,
Illinois, Washington, and, as it will turn out, Scarborough.
Who?
Scarborougha Toronto suburb team.
So?
What do you mean, so? Come quick! Theyre beating Ohio #1, D-J Lee and Tannehills
teamthe Defending Champions! Stopping them from even advancing!
I arrive on the scene to find that D-J Lee is not playing this tie (Did we think wed
need him?); that Tannehill has been upset by Alain Thomas; that Lyons, too, has lost to
Thomas in a key match, 25-23 in the 3rd; and that the other Ohio player, Paul Brown, has 22,
23, -19 lost to Karl Maschewski, and soon must lose to Thomas, and is now playing Bill
Cheng in what has to be the deciding match.
406

Paul Brown and Bill Chengits the biggest match of their lives, perhaps the biggest match
of the tournament. As play begins, the crowd comes, grows, is quickly picked up, like pinssingly,
in twospushed to a magnet. Cheng looks a little too inscrutable, as if slightly paralyzed, and
Brown, whose somewhat cramped strokes appear no match for his opponents, a little too
determined. Clearly Brown, from my hometown, Dayton, is the underdog, and I find myself rooting
for him.
But Cheng has his supporters too. Foremost of whom is Torontos Derek Wall who
assumes the role of Coach from the sidelines. D-J Lee, meanwhile, is hovering in the
background, ignored. There is an Ohio Captain, but nobody seems to know who he is. And for
some reason he doesnt seem to be showing himself.
In the 1st game, Cheng gets off to a 2-1 lead, but is down 2-4 when umpire Rufford
Harrison warns him about his serve. This bloke doesnt know whats happening out there,
says Wall. Take it easy, baby, he yells to Cheng. And then to me, Hes a bundle of jelly.
And then to Cheng, Short serve and loop!Thats it, Bill!
The game continues, close. Lee moves in from the background. Positions himself.
Watches. Perhaps he doesnt know where to stand, what to think.
Short serve and loop! Wall calls out again, quite illegally. Theres more drama when
a Coach can interact from the sidelines, less drama when he cant. This bloke, if he doesnt
choke, is 10 points better than the other man. I tell you, Tim, when he practices against me, I
think he could be a top-class player.
The would-be top-class player edges the anguished-looking, unknown Brown 19 in the 1st.
They change ends. And now Lee moves closer. Speaks with Brown. What can he say?
Brown is so contortedit seems its his very life hes trying to win.
But its no good. Cheng is no longer paralyzed. He gets off to a lead in the 2nd, is up
10-6, and now he has a peculiar habit of jumping at a shot and sticking out his tongue. From
someplace down deep Brown tries once more, gets to 12-13. But then it slips away, is gone.
Brown dashes to the Mens Room. I look over at my friend Jairie Resek, Errols
wifeshes crying.

Jairie Resek
From CTT News, Jan., 1970, 16.

Can you believe these guys beat anybody? Scarborough Conquerors, L-R:
Bill Cheng, Alain Thomas and Karl Maschewski

Lee is infuriated. Turns out hes had two Johansson paddles stolen. Had left instructions, he
thought, with the unknown Ohio Captain to watch over them.
He says hes going to write a long article on Table Tennis in the United States. Name names.
To which I only say, Maybe I should edit it?.
407

Sunday will be a trying day for some. In Group

1A, Maryland interrupts its bridge game long enough to
lose all its matches, while Ohio #2, Ontario #1, and
Michigan lose 3 ties each. The dedicated 16-year-old
penholder from Dayton (they do try hard there), Tim
OGrosky, whos been playing less than a year, beats
Ontarios golfing Ivakitsch and New Yorks fastimproving Brassington in three, and extends both
Brathwaite and Roberts to three (though after losing at
19, then coming from 14-19 down to win at deuce, he
drops the 3rd game to Robbie 21-2).
Michigan (Sweeris, Danny LeBaron, Mike
Veillette) cant get by Ontario because LeBaron can
beat only Gear, and Veillette cant win a match.
Sweeris (with a 20-0 record) wins the Most Valuable
Player Award, but, as in years past, he cant be pretty
Photo by Mal Anderson
much a one-man team and be a contender.
Ohios Tim OGrosky
Against N.Y. #2, Dell out-exchanges
Brathwaite and gets through Roberts two straight,
receiving an unexpected assist from Marshall Steenhoven. At 17-all in the 2nd game, Graham
complains that there is only one match going on in the tie. Butif I and the rest of the audience may
say sowhat a match! Robbie gets so steamed up (whats the need of expediting things now?) that
he practically throws away the last four points in disgust. Then, faced with the still dangerous Bukiet,
Sweeris drops the 1st at deuce, wins the 2nd, and at 20-15 in the 3rd appears a solid winner. But
Bernie keeps coming, gets to 19and then, ohh, fails to return Dells serve. LeBaron? Veillette?
They cant help.
Against California, as Sweeris is winning his three, Veillette finally comes through,
beats Howie Grossman in a close match. Now if LeBaron can only win one. His last chance,
the 9th match, is with Cowan. Of course hes not supposed to win, but, well, hes played two
close games with Howard, Cowans not been playing up to standard, and strange things can
happen. Anyway, its worth getting LeBaron excited about.
First game to Glenn, and now as they round the table each player is addressed by his
Coach. Umpire Bob Kaminsky says, No coaching now, Dell, you should know better. He
does. At the Worlds, you can coach as long as play is continuous. Thats why, in the OhioScarborough tie, right in front of umpire Harrison, as Cheng keeps playing, Wall could yell
advice and encouragement to him? When can you coach, when cant you? Whenever you can
get away with it? Has a player time to catch his breath after a game? Be coached momentarily
but legally then? Is that part of continuous play? Anyway, whats the hurry? Play here is
continuous, or at least continuing. Cowan wins the 2nd at 10. California, along with N.Y. #2 is
still undefeated.
Over in Group 1B, its a foregone conclusion, with Lees team out of it, that the only
important tie will be N.Y. #1 vs. Canada. In fact, some of the better players on the other teams
seem to recognize this. Dick Hicks, in compiling a 15-0 record, doesnt play against N.Y. or
Canada. Jim Lazarus of Illinois doesnt play against Indiana. Finish 3rd or 4th, what does it
matter?
5-0, 5-0, 5-1, 5-1these are my Teams uninteresting ties up through Sunday afternoon.
408

Now, though, there remain those matches that will most capture the spectators. Spectators? Poor
Mrs. Steenhoven, sitting there in the sun-setting west, waiting with tickets for people to come in. At
one point (I fancy rather desperately) even going so far as to ask me (I was in my jump suit, but
missing the requisite identifying button) if I were a player. A player! I shout indignantly,
menacinglyand then, yes, she recognizes me.
Things do start to pick up, thoughwhat with the important matches at hand, and
people soon to be starting for home, including Team Captains voting in advance for MVP.
California plays N.Y. #2 first. Its Bukiet and Cowan on one table, Howard and
Brathwaite on the other. The schedule demands two-table activity. Look here, look theretry
not to miss anything. Here, youre not there, Ill make it easy for youfirst, Bukiet-Cowan.
Back and forth, back and forth, interminably, goes an early exchange. It prompts the quip,
One more like that and there wont be time to tie it all up. Bernie, coming back slowly from
retrieving the ball, knows the fellows said something, smiles at him, unconsciously puts a hand
to the back of his truss.Bernie blocks, blocks, sets up a hanger, misses, drops his
racket.Now hes jammin the ball into Glenns backhand, is up 11-9. Cowan connects with
an explosive backhand. Thats all right, says N.Y.s #1 partisan rooter, Gusikoff, let him hit it
in like that. Let him win like that! He means he wont. And Glenn doesnt. Is finished in the
2nd game too.
In the Howard-Brathwaite match, N.Y. #1 umpire Sam Takayama talks to Howard
about his serve. Howard assures him he knows a lot about it. This is one of those hes been
practicing the last 6 months. Brathwaite, up 13-8, begins playing defense. Hit it, George!
somebody shouts. Take a shot.You yellow banana-head! Howard, down 14-17, yells.
But then from 14-18 its 18-all. George is more aggressive now. But its too late, Jack wins it
at deuce.
In the 2nd, George rolling right along, leads 19-17. He serves, then cant return Jacks
return. Ohhhhs! At 19-all George loops one in. Then backs up and its deuce. He rolls, wins
the point. Backs up and its deuce. And deuce again. Jack misses a hanger, but then angles one
instill deuce. Then George misses his sitter. OHHHHS! And Jack ticks the net, gets a setup, and wins! A big one for California.
By now Mark Adelman and Roberts are beginning play. Someone wants to bet me $2;
Id like to make it $20. Of course Robbie is too good for Mark. He wins two straight and
lights up a Marlboro.
In their 1st game, Howard gets off to a 6-0 lead against Bukiet, and Bernie is never in
it. In the 2nd, Bernie starts badly, misses three backhands in a row, is down 4-9. But handicap
play is often not a handicap for him, the spots made up and now its 18-all. Down 18-19,
Bernie serves off. Then Jack lobs back a smash, and Bernie cant handle it. California (3)
N.Y. #2 (2).
Adelman falls to Brathwaite and Bukiet, so now Californias in a must-win situation. It calls
for Howard/Cowan to team up against Roberts. Jack sits all alone on the far side of the barriers
facing Cowan and the rather large player-audience sitting or standing behind Glenn. Jacks an
isolated Captain, a surreal figure. The Man in the Glass Booth. Who in this case knows the answer
to the $32,000 question: How can Glenn beat Robbie? California (4)N.Y. #2 (4).
The decider: Cowan vs. Brathwaite. Who do you like?
Two early good breaks for Cowan bring shouts of Tighten the net! and Start over!
As play progresses, George is much too soft, is down 4-12, must lose the 1st. In the 2nd, its a
different storyor is it? George, up 17-13, relaxes, and its 18-all. Then Glenn cant return serve,
409

George flicks in a winner, and its a game apiece.

In the 3rd, Brathwaites off to a 5-1 start, is up 10-6
at the turn. But, just like last game, Cowan catches him. But
then at 14-all Glenn whiffs one, then misses a loop, and his
momentum is stopped. George goes on to win the tie for
New York #2. Hes The Chief alright. Up go his hands in
victory, down come the court barriers, and hes brought back
to his bench smilinga golden tooth, a golden touch. Is
kissed by his wifeand maybe by Bukiet and Roberts.
Now Canada plays N.Y. #1. To begin with, its
Boggan against Wall. Derek has won 18 straight matches
without the loss of a game. Boggan is out by the table
pacing around in circlesthe id coiling up in a kind of zen
George Brathwaite
concentration, or some such whacky thing he fancies.
st
Up 20-12 in the 1 , Boggan cant seem to scare up
another point. Wall deuces it! Servesand Boggan hits it in hard for a winner! Coward! he yells,
shaking his fist. Caught surprised, Derek loses the game. Next game, its all Wall. Third game,
Boggans up 19-16. Tries to be tricky, serves off. Then Wall gets an edge. Then its deuce. Three
times Wall gets the ad. Three times Boggan serves the ball, hits in the return. Then he misses. Wall
loops, the ball catches the top of the net, hangs there, spins over. Boggan goes off talking to himself.
Thats the match we needed. Gosh, darn it, he says. Can you hear him? Gosh, darn it.
Gusikoff, though, starts strong, keeps it up just long enough to edge Zulps deuce in
nd
the 2 .
Larry Lee plays three 3-game matches. Beats Boggan, but loses to Resek and
Gusikoff. Then, after Zulps loses to Resek, Wall keeps Canada alive with a 19, 9, 18 win over
Gusikoff.
Now, about six in the evening, the big match is Wall (20-0) vs. Resek (15-0). I wonder
how many votes each of these players got for the MVP Award. I wonder what consideration
was given them. Could it be that some Team Captains didnt know their records, or didnt care
to know? (As if I didnt know.)
Resek loses the 1stand it looks like its going to be Boggan and Zulps in the 9th. But
then Errol takes command, loops home the next two for an easy win.
Now, in Detroit, an all New York final! You can imagine how popular this might be. At
least I, from Ohio, can imagine it.
Still, the crowd is fair. Applauds Roberts when Boggans glasses go sailing wildly off
and Robbie, a winner, hurries to retrieve them. They cheer Bukiet (who, 15 years ago played
out of Chicago) when he holds firm against Resek, -17, 19, 16.
Brathwaite and Gusikoff is the match N.Y. #1 has to win. But Bobbys rally to deuce in
nd
the 2 is not enough. Resek, however, avenges his CNE loss to Brathwaite.
And now if Gusikoff can beat Robertsmaybe there is still a chance. Many in the
audience know how Bobby over the years has walloped rubber chop. But Robbie is at his
exhibition best. And this is for real! Scoop retrieves, back-turned-to-the-table shots, head
fakes, shoulder fakes, pick hits, 15-foot smashing run-ins! All the angles the Globetrotters
have ever seen. Bobby is down 15-2.Then slowly Bobbys tailspin inner pilot starts to gain
control. Whak! Wonk! 19-15! But, no, the engine cant quite make it. Forced landing.
But still sky-worthy. Up change-of-serve 18-17 in the 2nd, Bobby looks at umpire
410

Harrison (18-17, says Rufford), then, too anxious, Bobby half serves, half holds it
(Gusikoff) and so puts the ball in the net. 18-all says Harrison. (Rule 4.308. When the
service change is due, the Umpire will mark the change by calling the score in the order
appropriate to the service about to begin, and follow this with the name of the server.)
Later, however, Rufford admits it was a bad call. Had the serve been good, he would
have called a let; hence, since there was no way for Bobby to win the point, he shouldnt be
held accountable for its loss. But nobody thinks of this at the timeincluding me, the N.Y. #1
Captain, so Im to blame too for not being alert enough to protest. At any event, Bobby is so
unnerved by this that, like Roberts against Sweeris earlier, he practically throws away the
remaining points.
Now if New York #1 is to stay alive, Boggan must beat Bukiet. In the 1st game,
though, he barely gets to 10. In the 2nd, hes down 6-11, then up 19-16! But Bernies steady,
steady, steady, and Tim is notoriously up and downnow, suddenly, match point down. Yaaah!
He gets the forehand in. Deuce. But, no, its not to be. Bernie wins. Raises his hands to the
applause. Has yet another triumph. His New York #2 team, once almost out of the tournament
practically before it began,
is the winner!
Womens Championship
The Womens
Group A teamsthose
contending for the
Championshipare:
California, Illinois,
Canada, Michigan,
Ontario, Orlando, Detroit
#1 and (from Long Island)
Rockville. After all-day
Photo by Mal Anderson
Sunday play, there will be
New York #2, the #1 Mens Team, L-R: Rory Brassington, George
a 3-way tie between
Brathwaite, Bernie Bukiet and Fuarnado Roberts
California, Illinois, and
Canada, all with one tie loss, which has to be broken according to each teams percentage of
matches won and lost against the whole fieldnot, as the E.C. at their Mar. 20, 1970 Meeting
would decide to have it, that the tie be broken solely among the tied teams. Thus, at this
tournament, matches insignificant in determining any particular tie winner are not insignificant should
teams have the same finishing record.
California, one of the favorites, is too 5-1 strong for 4th-place Michigan. Wendy, hitting
very well (often scoring with serve and one), takes Sweeris, whose only other loss is to
Nesukaitis. Angelita in bright red headband and pig-tails looks goodgets to19 one game
with Connie.
Theres drama for California even when playing weaker teams. Against last-place
Rockville, Rosal loses in three very close games to Alice Greenand, though the loss makes
no difference as to the tie winner, it might turn out to be a match that matters.
Even the threat of a match being lost can be fraught with tension. Take Californias 5-0 tie
th
with 6 -place Orlando, and specifically the Martinez-Soltesz match. In the 1st game, Olga is down
18-20, then fights back and is ad up before losing. In the 2nd, Olgas ahead 17-12then match411

point down. Thats alright, Olga. Youre doing fine, says Orlando supporter H Blair whose
continuing encouragement has counted for so much in Olgas rapid improvement. Doing fine? But
here Hs editorializing works. Deuce. And Olga goes on to win this game. Now had she won the
1st.
Offering encouragement to Olga, too, has been the umpire. Shes Marianne Szalay,
Olgas teammate. When Olga hits one by and Patty goes to chase it. Marianne quietly says
something to Olga that is utterly unintelligible to me. Californians Howie Grossman and
Heather Angelinetta have been watching too. And now with games tied up, Howie will have
no more of this.
Listen, he says to Marianne, I know Hungarian. Its not fair for you to be talking to
Olga. (Hungarian?.Oh, yes. Szalay, Soltesz. But Grossman? Is that Hungarian?) An
impartial umpire is requested. Jack Carr is there, but hes the Orlando Captain. Its finally
settledMark Adelman will umpire. Its alright, hes on the California Mens team.
Comfortable with the San Diego umpire, Patty goes on to win.
Californias lone loss will occur against another of the favorites, Illinois. Irene Ogus
(18-1), who a number of people feel should have won the MVP Award, will beat Angelita
Rosal, Wendy Hicks (13-1), and Patty Martinez in straight games. This former English
International has perhaps the finest repertoire of shotsincluding a marvelous backhand push
stroke that without warning turns into a flickof any woman in the country. When her
teammates, Thailands Vilai Tuntiteeraboon, whom Id never seen play before, and 2-time U.S.
Open Champion Millie Shahian also beat Angie (Millie did it 19 in the 3rd), Illinois is in
contention to take the title.
In the Illinois-Michigan tie, Michigan has no chance because of their relatively weak
3rdKathy Scheltema or Sue Hildebrandt. Janice Martin barely beats Tuntiteeraboon, 19 in
both games.
Illinois, however, will be stopped by undefeated Canada, also a favorite to win, when
Violetta Nesukaitis (17-3) ruins Oguss perfect record, and Joyce Hecht and Jenny Marinko
beat Tuntiteeraboon.
Canada does o.k. against Michigan. Janice loses to Hecht (17, 19, -19), but makes up
for it with an upset win over Nesukaitis.
Canada, however, will not rise to the occasion in their all-important tie against
California. Patty downs Hecht, Marinko, and Nesukaitis, and Wendy not only beats Hecht but
upsets Violettaall 5 matches being decided in straight games.
With Canadas one-sided loss, throwing the Championship into a three-way tie, and
giving the tie-breaking edge to California, Illinois has to grimly recall its earlier play against
Orlando, where Soltesz was the spoiler. Olga had hurt Canada with her (-20, 20, 15) win over
Marinko, but against Illinois, if she didnt score a knockout, she sure did terrible damageshe
beat Shahian and, in a thriller (-19, 20, 15) Tuntiteeraboon.
Despite her rather mediocre 8-6 record, Olga might well have been considered for the
MVP Award. For, according to my post-tournament calculations, the play in a way centered
around her as much as Violetta or Irene. That is, if California (winning percentage .767) had
won one less match (say the Olga-Patty one) and Illinois (runner-up percentage .723) had won
one more (say the Olga-Tuntiteeraboon one), not California but Illinois would have won the
Championship.
Jack Carr, in a Nov. 28, 1969 letter to Womens Chair Betty Hibner, helps us to better
understand the controversy over the USOTC MVPAwards, particularly the Womens Award. He says,
412

The tournament officials thought

incorrectly that the rules required the
votes to be cast at least (instead of
the correct not earlier than) 2 hours
before completion of the tournament.
So Team Captains, including
Orlandos Carr who tried
unsuccessfully to find records of the
Womens play, felt theyd best vote
before the climactic evening ties were
played.
Actually, according to
Jack, Violetta had no losses going
into the last two Sunday evening
ties (so, since 4 of the 16
Womens Captains were from
Canada, they probably all the
more voted for her). Only as the
tournament moved toward
completion did Violetta lose to
Janice, Wendy, and Patty. Wendy
and Patty had no losses before
playing Illinois in their penultimate
match. Irene had the one loss to
Violetta, and hadnt yet beat
Wendy and Patty. The extensive
Results in Topics had Patty as 14Photo by Mal Anderson
1but both Jack and Rufford
Victorious Californians, L-R:
(though the source was perhaps
Angelita Rosal, Wendy Hicks, Heather Angelinetta
only one of them) said she also lost
to the Thai girl. A case could be made for Wendy as MVP, but a better one for Irene who was
undefeated in the ITS Matches, then beat U.S. Champ Martinez again in the California tie.
Jack said that U.S. Team Captain John Read felt that the voting should not be made
until during, or even after, the finals (though very likely a number of Team Captains simply
wouldnt be staying that latea reason why early voting was encouraged in the first place).
Read said that he thought the winner should have to be from a team in the championship
fight; this would have eliminated Dell Sweeris. Rufford Harrison, writing in Tennis magazine
(Jan., 1970, 34) thought that George Brathwaite (19-3) should have won the Mens Award,
especially since he was such a help to the winning team. Jack said some thought that, not the
Captains, but the Selection Committee should make the choices when later they had all the
records and a chance to study them. But then the Awards wouldnt be presented at the
tournamentthat couldnt be right, right?
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a Dec. 1, 1969 letter, Jack Carr tells H that certain people are complaining to Jack
that what they send isnt getting into the magazine, or getting in quickly enough, and that one person
feels very strongly that much in Danny Ganzs monthly columns has no relevance to the general
413

readership and ought to be cut. Jack says, I feel you would rather learn
about this from a friend than from someone else [like the actual person whos
complaining?]. Youve probably heard that it was through my strong
recommendation that helped you become editor. He then goes on to praise
Hs work, and hopes he stays on as Editor for many years to come.
**These competitive all-Junior matches will eventually lead to Juniors
being selected to play on U.S. Junior Teams abroad, and to U.S. Juniors
training abroad. At the moment, though, no one is ready to take up Capt.
Westmorelands offer as stated in A Letter To Sam [Veillette], then the
USTTA Membership Chair (see TTT, Dec., 1969, 5):
I recommend strongly that anyone who has the chance
Danny Ganz
should come over here [Japan] and playespecially the juniors. You
might pass the word around that any U.S. players planning to come over here would be
more than welcome to stay with us for a week or two. Were two miles from Mitaka
(Ogimuras place [club]) and one hour by train from downtown Tokyo. (Train fare: About
fifty cents.) Also, were about thirty minutes from Asazaya-Minonie, home of the Butterfly
Table Tennis Company.
If I can be of help to anyone coming over here, dont hesitate to let me know.
Sincerely,
/Signed/ Walt
Capt. Walter W. Westmoreland
Hq. 5AF, CMR Box 2695
APO S.F. 96525
Telephone:
224-8799
Thanks, Walt. Maybe next year.

414

Chapter Thirty-Seven
1969-70: Pre-Eastern Open Tournaments (Appearance
of Adham Sharara and Mariann Domonkos). 1969:
Surasak/Irene Ogus Singles Winners at Sweeriss Central
Open.
The Northwest sure seems to be doing something
right. Don Gunn says that Earl Adams sent him the first issue
of their Pacific Northwest Table Tennis Times (PNWTTT for
short) and that it listed seven clubs in Oregon, three in
Washington, and three in Canada. Hey, Earl, former U.S.
World Team member Brooke Williams just got married this
December, and is now living in Bellingham, Washington.
Since shes Mrs. Norman Smith, is into playing tennis,*
teaches history at Western Washington State College, sounds
like she might be interested in keeping up with the Times.
Send her a copy, eh?
The Salem Club held their Capitol City Open just
before
Christmas,
and, like jolly Santa, Carl King Cole, a
Mrs. Norman Smith-throne-fixture in Oregon for many a year, was a merry old
remember her?
soul. He won the Mens from Mike Schreiber after 28-26-inthe-5th ho-ho-ho-ing upstart Allan Wong, the Under 17 winner. Mens Doubles went to Philip
Woo Cheng/Peter Leong over Tom Ruttinger/Bill Ladd. In the 7-entry round-robin Womens,
Judy Bochenski came 1st, Karen Berliner 2nd.
They opened the New Year at the Corvallis, OR
Open with Tom Ruttinger defeating V.Q. Han in the Mens
final. But both almost didnt advance out of the quarters.
Tom was down 2-1 to Leung; V.Q. down 2-1 to Allan Wong
before winning deuce in the 5th. Ruttinger and U-17 Champ
Bill Ladd took the Doubles from Adams and new USTTA
Certified Coach Les Sayre. Womens Champ: Judy
Bochenski over Rachel Pong. Judy also won both
Doublesthe Womens with Class C winner Elsie Spinning
(over
Berliner/
Photo by Mal Anderson
Pong) and
Eddie Lo
the Mixed
with Tom
(over Han/
Pong).
Victor Lo
was best in
Photo by Don Gunn
the U-15s;
Tom Ruttinger
brother
Eddie best in the U-13s.
415

From Jose Tomkins

CTTA News we learn that, after
Derek Wall had given a clinic in
Winnipeg in Oct, Manitoba held
its 12-hour, 6-event Winter Open
at MIT on Nov. 23. Favorite
Frank Hodl, whose experience
includes matches in his native
Hungary with many Hungarian
and European greats, defeated
Guyanas Andrew Ying, now a
From CTT News, Apr., 1970, 3
grad student at the University of
L: Frank Hodl; R: Andrew Ying
Manitoba whod honed his game
as a university student in Scotland. Andrew displayed a devastating forehand smash, a hard-tosolve service, and lightning fast reflexes. So why didnt he win? Hodl also took the Doubles with
Gergely (Zoltan, not Gabor). Womens went to Kleine over Jacki Gilchrist, protg of the
ambidextrous Calvin Slobodian who teaches at her Rivers Collegiate school.

CTT News, Aug., 1970, Cover

Martin Ivakitsch

The Jan. Central

Ontario Open saw Martin
CTT News, Apr., 1970, 7
Milda Milacek
Ivakitsch defeat Derek
Wall in 5 in the semis and
Bill Cheng in 5 in the final. Wall was right when at the Team
Championships he said he thought Bill could be a top-class player.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Here he stopped Marinko in the quarters in 4, then overpowered
Flora Nesukaitis
Zulps with some dazzling hitting and blocking in a straight-game
semis. Paul Brathwaite gets a nod for scoring upset wins over Peter Gonda and Graham Gear.
Ivakitsch/Wall took the Doubles from Cheng/Ken Kerr. Womens went to Violetta over Barbara
Jekir (nee DeAbreu) whod eliminated both Shirley Gero and Janice Martin. The Nesukaitis sisters
won the Womens Doubles by default when Jose Tomkins pulled a leg muscle. Mens B winner:
Milda Milacek over John Nesukaitis in 5, after John had coached himself to defeat daughter
Violetta. Womens B winner: Prague arrival Eva Polivka over Doreen Jovanov.
416

The Triangle
Jim McQueen
Open at Raleigh
saw Hou-Min
Chang defeat T.
M. Hing whod
reached the final
with a 16, -14,
19, 18, 19 rally
against Bowie
Martin. Mens
Doubles went to
Kuo-San Chung/
Steve Isaacson
over Chang/
Ming-Hsing Tai.
Womens winner:
Melba Martin; runner-up, Doris Mercz. As: Jim McQueen over Fred King. Seniors: Sol
Lewis over Mac Meredith.
At the Golden Cup Open, played Nov. 29th in Montreals Marymount High School,
Derek Wall defeated fellow South African emigrant Peter Morgan to take the Mens titlethis
after Peter, who coaches Juniors at Marymount, had won a grueling semis over Graham Gear.
CTTA News Editor Tomkins says, Grahams game may be suffering because of the travelling
he does, but this eligible Welshman has a great job as Sales Director for the Ice Follies.
And now, no height of folly, no skating on thin ice for me, for I hereby give the most
respectful attention to Joyce Hechts write-up in the News of two Chateauguay Juniors playing
in their first Montreal tournament:
Sol Lewis

Adham Sharara,
originally from Egypt [a Junior
Champion there?], had little
difficulty in winning the Junior
Singles title. He caused several
upsets in the senior events and
even beat top players like Ron
Chapman in the Mens.Sharara
has certainly made his presence
felt and will no doubt cause
major upsets in future senior
events. He has a good all-round
Adham Sharara
game
with
an
outstanding
Mariann Domonkos
forehand drive and a loop shot which is automatically a winner. He
has the right attitude towards the game and mixes his strokes well.
Ten-year-old Mariann Domonkos, who has only been playing table tennis for
the past year, did well to win the Womens Doubles title with Denise Hunnius. Denise
was very enthusiastic about her junior partner, said that Mariann gave her full support
during the matches and has the makings of a fine player.
417

Adham, 30 years hence, after years of guiding Canadian Table Tennis, will have
becomethe President of the International Table Tennis Federation; and Mariann manytime Canadian National Champion, Captain and Coach through the years of Canadas
International Teams, and, withal, Adhams wife.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Steve Rigo

A U.S. teenager, Mitchell Sealtiel, was

also showing lots of promiseRufford Harrison
Mitchell Sealtiel
in his USOTCs article for Tennis magazine
suggested he might replace Cowan and
Tannehill as our preeminent Junior. Mitch took a step in that direction when he beat Fuarnado
Roberts in 5 to win the Mens at the mid-Nov. New Jersey Open in Trenton. Robbie and Rory
Brassington took the Doubles from Mitch and his regular partner Steve Rigo. As went to Bill
Sharpe over Dave Gaskill. A Doubles: Sharpe/Marty Theil over Gaskill/Bob Saperstein.
Seniors: Mike Leiberman over B winner Marv Shaffer.
Central Open
The Central Open at the Grand Rapids Calvin College Knollcrest Campus Fieldhouse
is being played the same week as the Trenton Open. So if you were a Long Islander like me,
which tournament would you go to? Yep, I chose the snow-always-possible-in-Dec. one, 14
hours drive away! Why?
Well, Errol Resek, my Doubles partner, is going to be given $75 for expenses (and
since hes ranked in the Top 10 hell get another $25 from the encouraging USTTA). He and
his wife Jairie will take their car and we can share the driving. And itll be fun for my 8-yearold Scott to go alongsort of deer-in-the-night adventurousand, besides, hes bound to
learn something from the experience.
Also, Dell says hell probably be able to give me (Im ranked #12), in addition to free
entries, $25 or $50 expense money. And since this is the first time in my table tennis life
anybodys ever offered to help me financially, I figure I ought to be responsible and crumple up
my clothes and go. Moreover, I tell Scott that in that Reformed Calvin College Fieldhouse we
must make a special effort to watch our language, so as not to embarrass our hosts.
We knew Dell, we could tell even from the entry blank that he cared about putting on a
418

good tournament, and that, most importantly, he cared about providing for the better players.
Surasak, we understood, was flying in and would be put up by Connie and Dell at their place.
Brathwaite, who about this time had helped or would help Derek Wall give a two-day clinic
and exhibitions at Prince Edward Island, was also being blessed with some expense money, so
that his wife Merle could join him.
The Easterners thus felt they were being appealed to as professionals by a professional.
They felt in this classless sport a touch of class. I felt (and it was a good feeling) one of the
elect. So off we went Thursday night after work into the snow-flurried heart and soul of the
Midwestinto, eventually, Grand Rapids.
And there it was! Arlo Guthries Alices Restaurant. And the Cascade Motel. And
from the motels bay window the Cascade Drive-In opposite (Satans Souls, or some such
thingwith whatever voice control you wanted a hands reach from your bedside).
Next morning Calvin Collegeits not just a seminary but a liberal arts college too,
and it sported a balcony-tiered fieldhouse gym that looked brand new.
The Handicap event (1st: $40, 2nd: $20, 3rd-4th: $10) was open to all players. One game
to 50 points. The spots ranged anywhere from 45 points (Never played in a USTTA
tournament before) to 20 (State Ranking 11-20) to 0 (U.S. Ranking 1-20) to 5 (for D-J
Lee, who wasnt at the tournament).
I was at 0. And smiling seriously across the table from
me (he would later win the Seniors eventover 50s
Champ Frank Tharaldson in the semis and Hugh Shorey
in the final) was Elmer Ybema, who started at 25. He
quickly outscored me, something like 16-3, so, though I
continued to try, it seemed right from the start I was
predestined to lose. And also that Mike Veillette would be
$40 richer, Dave Shenk the runner-up?
Young Veillette was also the wildly applauded winner
(especially by father/coach Sam) in the Under 13s. After
somehow figuring out a way in the quarters to go deuce
in the deciding 3rd with Scott Boggan, and then eking out
a 15, -20, 19, 19 reverse of his CNE match with Dale
From 1966 U.S. Open Program
Elmer Ybema
Scheltema, Mike wasnt finished with his heroics. Down
2-0 and at deuce in the 3rd, he found a way to beat
Lansings Lester Covingtons forehand for the title. Lester had his event toothe Under 15s
over Gary Gilbert. Gary had to settle for being a runner-up a second timein the Under 17s
he was beaten by Tim OGrosky. Tims quit schoolto work, and train for the Sport with
Tannehill. Table tennis is going to be my life! he said. Asked why he preferred to play
penholder, the 16-year-old OGrosky replied, It gives me an Oriental feelinglike I can hit
any ball. And its truehe does lean toward a serve and one game.
OGrosky, however, was not destined to pull any upsets this tournament. Only a week
before he had inadvertently broken his bat, and now in the 8ths of the Mens he had to play
Sweeris shakehands.
Tannehill, OGroskys mentor (who next year will enter the University of Cincinnati on
a scholarship), arrived with his 8-pound Orbitron dumbbell. Remember, when he was younger
and could only make the 100-mile trek to Columbus on the weekend, how, with a fanatical
bent, he used to practice hitting balls against a board? All week, he told me, hes been training
419

hardswinging that dumbbell as much as 50 times a day to develop his forehand. And, like
some determined bullet-banded, grenade-carrying revolutionist converging on that Midwestern
fieldhouse, he carried, too, a Ton-a-matic ten-pound black belt (I do all my exercises wearing
this).
Now watch John play in the 8ths Chicagos Jim Davey (one of Pecoras former
sparring partners). He begins by mounting an attack, heavy black belt and all. The dumbbell
has been replaced by a racket (Surasak type: inverted on the forehand, the better, I suppose, to
loop with). Fifteen straight times in the course of losing the 1st and 2nd games, John with
dedicated industry and sobriety practicesand missesthe 3rd-ball attack.
Then, enough practice; be practicalhe takes off the belt. Wins the next two. Then is
back relentlessly to the 3rd-ball attack. Down 9-17 in the 5th, John sees his idealism waver, fall.
And winning point after point he goes ahead 19-18! Now, though, its not necessarily the skill,
the grooved stroke, the at-the-ready muscle-memories that prevail. OhDavey gets a net: 19all. And, why yes, Jim (he plays sometimes five, six nights a week) can loop pretty well, cant
he? And, down match point, John cant, can he? Davey wins 19 in the 5th.
How have you been playing, John? I ask him, casually, considerately, some time after
the match.
Fantastic! he says, straight-faced. Better than Ive ever played.
Joining unheralded Davey in the
quarters is unheralded John Temple
who in the 8ths was supposed to
play fellow Ohioan Richard Farrell.
But on arriving in Grand Rapids,
Dick rapidly fell asleep. In the late
afternoon he came over to watch.
Man, he said, I was so tired! I
imagine some of the other 150
entries were tired tooparticularly
these winners: Mens As: Lyle
Thiemin the semis over Janice
Martin (from down 2-0) deuce in the
5th, and in the final over Fred
Coryell. Womens As: Sue
Hildebrandt over Girls U-17 winner
Kathy Scheltema. And Bs: Bill
Bill Lesner,
Lyle Thiem,
Lesner over Leroy Bontrager.
Central Open B Winner
Central Open A Winner
On one side of the Mens Draw, we
now have a round robin between Davey, Temple, Resek, and Surasak. And on the other,
Sweeris, Brathwaite, Boggan, and Lazarus (whod lost his opening game in the 8ths to Doc
Goldstein of the thriving Minneapolis Magoos Club).** The best of these matches, the semis
and final, Ill speak of in a moment, but first a word or two about the Womens and the
Doubles.
In the Womens semis, its Connie Sweeris vs. Millie Shahian. Millie has the ad in the
1st, but cant win it, and from that point on is no longer in the match. In the other semis, its
Irene Ogus vs. Janice Martin. Irene, who generally depends on a scoop return, can also lob,
block, flick the backhand, put away the forehandshes really the most versatile woman
420

player in the States. Only in the 2nd game does Janice, coming
from 15-20 down to lose at 19, master for a moment Irenes
troublesome side-to-side placements. In the final, Irene is just
too all around good for Connie.
In Womens Doubles, its Connie/Janice over Irene/
Millie in 4 closely contested games. In the Mixed, Janice
teams with Surasak for a surprisingly unchallenged win over
Connie and Dell. Boggan and Ogus, however, play the
winners two 19 games in the semis, the 2nd of which is
particularly interesting because this Bogus team, as one wit
called them, comes from 14-20 match-point down to almost
deuce it up. One suspects that, because Boggan is roaring so
and Irene laughing so, their opponents didnt quite know
what to make of it all.
In the Mens Doubles, its Resek/Boggan (who beat
Tannehill/Brathwaite in the semis) vs. Sweeris/Surasak (who
beat the Chicagoans Ron Beckman/Jim Lazarus). Before the
match can get under way, though, Tim has to go find Errol,
who, it turns out, has been playing basketball with some
college kids in an upstairs gym and has gotten a bit of a
cramp. This match goes to Surasak/Sweeris in 5 close games
(19, -19, 19, -19, 18)with Resek/Boggan losing the 3rd
from 17-10 up.
In the one Singles semi, Sweeris (whos said to have
over 500 consecutive wins in league playI wonder who
Photo by Mal Anderson
counted them) cant out-exchange Brathwaite and loses in 4.
Janice Martin,
Undoubtedly the fact that Dell was behind the desk all day
double Doubles Winner
directing a veritable core of workers had something to do
with his loss. How much, though, its not clear. For George, who skipped lunch on Thursday
to work out in the U.N. gym (skip rope, do
Errol
calisthenics), and who then played at our N.Y. club
Resek
until late Thursday night before going into work Friday
and then leaving to come here, is at least three points
better this year than last. (Im improving with age, he
says. And who could deny it?)
In the other semi, against Surasak, Resek gets
off to a typically slow start, is down 2-9, then 9-10
(often his points are won or lost in bunches like this),
then 10-15, 17-19, before he loses at 18.
In the 2nd, when the score should be 3-3, the
umpire calls it 3-1 favor of Surasak. Errol, who from
the beginning looks as if hes supposed to lose, doesnt
in the least object. (I wonder how often hes not really
aware of the score.) Down 7-12, Errol regroups,
controls, as he so marvelously can, both backhand and
forehand, and its 12-all.
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Now, however, he fails to return serve. Then Surasak hits a ball that ticks the top of the net
and goes off the table. Or does it? The umpire thinks differently. Surasak is non-commital.
Errol is provoked. Surasak is prompted finally to let it be known that They always cheat in
New York. (Hes had two bad experiences with some questionable Gotham City characters in
tournaments and, not unnaturally, has arrived at the general from the particular.)***
Boggan, whos had some experience in these matters, assures him that they do not
always cheat, that some, like others elsewhere, never do, and that, really, Errol is an innocent.
A new umpire is requested, and its none other than Dell himself. But if Errol is thinking of
full, free sanctification, well, Dell knows the rulesthe point is played over. And Resek loses
the 2nd game at 18.
Down 9-12 in the 3rd, Errol, massing a concerted attack, overwhelms the Thai, wins at
14. Down 8-11 in the 4th, he wins that one too. Down 3-8 in the 5th (it sometimes seems he
must be behind before he can play), he moves to 11-12, then misses a hanger, cant return
serve, and misses another hanger, is again behind. Down 14-16, he whiffs a ball. To the
uninitiated, this is sort of unforgivable. But for Errol, who continually loops, its always a
calculated risk. At 15-17, he puts Surasaks serve into the net; and at 16-18 watches helplessly
as Surasak blasts the kind of 3rd ball Tannehill
had been trying to do. But still Resek refuses to
buckle, and its deuce.
Surasak serves, anticipates Errols
return to his backhand, moves over for the kill.
But, surprise, Errol has been waiting the whole
game for just this opportunity. He unexpectedly
pushes the ball far to the Thais forehand and
Surasak cant get to it. Now a short, quick
exchange, and Errol gets off a loop. This may
be it! But, no, Surasak manages to topspin it
back. The ball ticks the net, Errols timing is
thrown off, he returns it, but too high. Deuce.
TTT, May, 1968, 7
Only now for Errol there are no more chances.
Surasak
Surasak is the winner.
And the winner, too, in the hard-fought
3-game final against The Chief. Most of the drama centers on whether Surasak, who quite
early developed a leg cramp, should be given a so-called injury rest. The difficulty is
compounded because one moment he looks as though in his anguish he might collapse, and the
next (Might be a little come-on, huh? says a smiling, suspicious chap next to me) he moves
acrobatically to hit in his forehand.
According to Rule 4.220, An injury sustained through normal strains of play, like
cramps or exhaustion, does not qualify for time out. By the time the 3rd game is under way,
though, Surasak begins to drag his leg a little and now his between point pauses are longer.
But though he seems obviously to be suffering, he still hasnt uttered a word of complaint. Is it
because he cant speak English well? Or because he feels very much a foreigner, an outsider,
here in Michigan? Or what? Anyway, his silence is persuasive.
Finally, Steve Isaacson of Chicago, Boggan, umpire Sweeris, and Im sure any number
of others watching, feel the only humane thing to do is to stop and see if something cant be
done. Certainly Surasaks opponent, Brathwaite, doesnt seem to think theres any
422

gamesmanship being foisted on him. He begins to massage Surasaks leg. Which is about as far
as one can go in showing his sportsmanship.
After play resumes, Surasak wins the 3rd and final game at deuce. I go over and
congratulate him, find out hes rather surprised to have won. He says he hasnt practiced at all,
not a bit. For just a moment, I think, He is being perfectly honest, isnt he?
SELECTED NOTES.
*Famous table tennis player turned famous tennis coach, Bill Price, writing in the Jan.,
1970 issue of Tennis magazine, offers this advice to Brooke and others should they want to
teach tennis:
I do not allow my tennis beginners to use the sponge table-tennis racquets
during the table-tennis phase of their lawn-tennis learning. These beginners are taught
tennis strokes (or what I consider good tennis strokes) on the ping-pong table as a
great short cut in the learning of the difficult-to-learn game of tennis, and only the
simple pebbled rubber or sand face paddles are employed.
Did you watch the final match of the World Table Tennis Championships on TV
a few weeks ago? Pretty bad wasnt it, as a spectator sport? Although I am certain that
the two finalists, winner Fuji [sic: for Ito] and runner-up Scholer, could have beaten
any of the players of my time, I must admit that table tennis has deteriorated from a
formerly great spectator sport to one that is strictly for the esoteric (25).
Naturally there were those who agreed, and disagreed.
**Anthony Skjold, owner manager of the recently opened (Oct. 19th) Magoos, has
been sending around flyers that promoter Charlie Disney would be proud of:
[Magoos] general elegance far surpasses any club in the United
States.[It] has over two hundred members, 12 tables, a pro shop, and league play
four nights a week.All this plus air conditioning, hardwood floors, ample parking,
TVand is open seven nights a week (TTT, Apr.-May, 1970, 12).
Better check it out.
***Apropos of Surasaks feelings about New Yorkers, heres what NYCs 1950 U.S.
Open Champion, Reba Monness, forgotten and depressed, wrote in a Jan. 13, 1970 letter to
Jimmy McClure: Nobody in New York cares about anybody or encouraging young [players].
That, however, was never my experience when repeatedly I took my boys to the 73rd St. NYC
Club.

423

Chapter Thirty-Eight
1970: D-J Lee/Alice Green Win Easterns. 1970: Winter Tournaments.
Friday night, Jan. 9th, the Eastern Open begins in the comfy, floor-bright, snowsurrounded Hempstead, Long Island Recreation Center: Mr. SmolensMr. Smolensyou
have 5 minutes to reportMr. GillMr. NievesMr. Lassar.
Says one poor fellow, long since defaulted from his time-scheduled match, Five hours
on the Long Island Railroad. To go 20 miles!No, Im not kidding. Didnt you hear on TV?
Unbelievable!
Comes into the opening door of the tournament, then, the brusque element of surprise.
Tannehill, for example. After waiting, waiting, waiting at La Guardia during the late afternoon
rush hours (Didnt they get my message?), he finally arrives for the ITS matches around 10
p.m., wearing his infamous black belt. The thing hangs so heavy, one thinks maybe theres
some psychological dependence there? But, hey, whatever works for you. John quickly beats
in succession Sealtiel, Landau, Resek, and Brathwaite.
D-J again begs off ITS play. But World quarterfinalist Jardo Stanek (hes been the
house guest of several Long Islanders) is ready to oblige. You want me to play 5 matches?
O.K. No more, though, Tim. O.K.? No, were not trying to see if he can make the U.S. Team,
its just that the guys could use the professional competition. The winner of this tournament,
says Rufford Harrison in Professionalism, an article in the Opens Program being distributed,
gets no financial award; we spent that money on Jardo Staneks plane ticket. So Jardos
come to the States just to play, more or less for recreation, in the Hempstead Rec Center?
Unexpectedly comes a phone call from D-Js home. Wife Linda, walking across the
snow-lined street from the babysitters, carrying their child, has slipped on the ice and fallen
unconscious. Fortunately someones there to help her. Revived, shes been given doctors
orders not to go to sleep, else, says the doctor, she might never wake up. So, tucking the little
one into bed, she hurries to a friends apartment across from hers for coffee and conversation.
Returning home, shes met by the police. Theres beena robbery. No, no, nothing worse,
though Linda is near hysteria. Lee debates whether to leave immediately and quick drive the
hundreds of miles back home. But he talks to Linda, succeeds in calming her.
After closing his booth late Friday evening, D-J, still disturbed, gets into his car. Its
very cold out. Half a blockand hes got a flat tire. Bad luck! But its fixed, finally. Another
half a blockanother flat tire! Unbelievable! And something else. Doing the tire work, hes
broken a fingernail on his playing handits painful. This does not look like a good weekend
for him.
Nor for Bukiet. He thought hed be out of town, so didnt enter. He wishes he could
play. And so does Miss Pingshes upset early in the Womens by the Lone Star Texan
Marianne Szalay. Marianne, too, is soon not happy. In her match with Womens Class A
winner Shazzi Felstein, Marianne is angered and disappointed to tears by a local umpires
ruling. And Ive come all this way, alone, she sobs. With nobody to root for me. And Ive
tried so hard. Alright, alright, Olga will root for Marianne, even in Hungarian. But that wont
help either: theyll lose the Womens Doubles to Sweeris and an avenging Neuberger.
In the Mens, Boggan, too, gets a bit emotional, says a few words on losing to
Philadelphias Bill Sharpe who, after dropping his first two games in the semis to N.Y.s Doon
Wong, is to win the As over the winner of the Bs, Rensselaers cramp-suffering A. V. Mohan Rao.
424

Sergeant Bill Sharpe of the Philadephia Police Department doing an inspection

Since Sergeant Sharpe (oh, yes, hes a real City of Brotherly Love police officer) has
improved his game considerably in the last year, it might be of interest for us to follow,
mentally, if not physically, the self-discipline Bill, as an ex-Olympic hop, step, and jump man,
daily exercises.
Runs two miles every morning. Means maybe getting up at 4:30, he says. Do 200
sit-ups. Then 50 leg races. Thats bicycle movements. For the lower abdominals. Then 25
push-ups. Fast as you can, you know. I certainly dont. Then 10 100-yard dashes. (Its hard
to picture: are there young kids, thieves, addicts, trying to outrace him through the streets?)
Then hop 100 yards on each leg, twice. Then 100 more push-ups. And 25
WAIT A MINUTE! I say. When do you go to work?
Why, this doesnt take but an hour and a half, two hours. In fact, its only an inkling
into what I did when I was on the Olympic team. Anyway, when I get home at
night(something aboutleg press300 pounds).
HEY, he says. Arent you interested? Dont you want to hear about my wheat germ
oil, soy beans, tigers milk? I dont smoke or drink. Got three boys though.Know what
Im aiming for? The U.S. Seniors! It wont be long. Im 38 now. And I feel.
Well, forgive me. Bill was giving me a complex, I had to fade away. Id be 40 this fall,
and I could see it wasnt only Zulps (at least he drank beer) Id have to worry about. And how
many other competitors would there be? Hal Green, for onehe was best in the Seniors here,
though for an awful moment back in the quarters, match-point down, he watched helplessly as
N.J.s Al Nochenson missed a hanger to win.
425

Mitch
Sealtiel

Some compensation for Al though. With his

oldest, Richard, he won the new Father-Son event.
The local co-favorites, the Adelmans, didnt play.
But young Gary Adelman, the current U.S. Under
13 Champ, did recover from from a 102
temperature to beat Detroits Mike Veillette in the
Under 15s, then went on to be the runner-up in the
over-50-entries Under 17s. That was won, as
expected, by Mitch Sealtiel who says he wears a
golf half-glove not only to ward off blisters but just
to strengthen his grip.

From 1970 U.S. Open Program

Mike Veillette

Veillette got by Ricky Rumble in the

3 to take the Under 13s, so he may well
have thought the long car trip worthwhile.
He came from Michigan with Jeff Smart and
the Lesners, father and son, and Bill, I must
mention, played a gritty though losing U-17
match with Adelmanstayed in there from
match-point 15-20 down in the 2nd, only to
miss a lob at deuce in
the 3rd and so lose after all.
The bespectacled Smart boy carries round with him a novel pack of Ph.Dlike note cards, with character analyses, as it were, showing the strengths and
weaknesses of his imminent opponents game. Heres a brief abstraction:
rd

SERVICE. Short sidespin serve to backhand corner and then kill.

RETURN OF SERVICE. Surprise him with many returns of his hard
kills. TRY HARD, dont let up. Push goes to backhand, then hit to far
outside on forehand. Dont let him fool you into feeling sorry for him.

Photo by Mal
Anderson

Jeff Smart

Above all, Jeff tells himself, no matter who your opponent is, You just
dont go out there and playyou have a plan.
Which is what Errol Resek has in playingnever mind who? In the
Mens, from the 8ths through to the finals, there are only two matches that
arent won 3-zip, and Reseks involved in both. In the 8ths, he (23, 16, 20, 8) advances over Alex Shiroky, a too often underrated opponent,
whose springing topspin game from both wings had Bukiet match-point
down in a recent NYC tournament.
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In the quarters, Resek meets Sweeris. Midway through the 1st game, Errol, who has
lots of family rooting for him, has a 3-point lead, but cant hold it. In the 2nd, the same thing
happens (Hes slowing down again!), but only up to a point. Then Errol, finding the pattern
of serving short to Dell, begins to hold firm. Increasingly, it becomes clear that whoever can
drive the other back from the table will win the point, the game, the match. Dell, down 18-20,
fights, seems to will to get to deuce. Does.
But now, as, Shhh, the spectators get tense, both players tighten. Back and forth they
goneither can put two points together. Errol goes for his towel; Dell wipes his glasses.
Finally, at 24-25 Dell misses a sitter. Match all even.
In the 3rd, Dell gets two early good breaksis up 6-4. Then Sorry, says Errol.
And again, Sorry. You got em back! snaps Dell. (Did he use to talk like that?) And 3
more. But then Errol, up 9-6, serves off, muffs an easy return, loses 6 in a row. Sweeris is
up 17-14 when suddenly, in a poets words, dicing Time for gladness casts a moan, and
Dells concentration is broken. I heard that ball from the other table bounce against the
barrier, he says to no one in particular. Whereupon Errol gets 7 straight, runs out the
game.
In the 4th, its as if Dell is
Errol Resek
paralyzed. Errol, winging his way
over the mountain, is up 7-1.
Then 7-5. Now an exchange in
which the ball, batted back and
forth, decides to take a rest on
the net, then falls back on the
side from whence it came,
Sweeriss side. Applause.
Everybody heres a New
Yorker! comes Connies voice
from out the approving crowd.
More points won and lost. Oh,
Dell, says Sweeris failing to
return serve. But then Errol turns
two winners into losers, Dell gets
into a groove and finishes with a
beautiful 20-foot counter. Match
all even.
In the 5th, Errol again takes off, is up 6-1. But then again, as if it were some kind of
natural law, he makes first a careless serve which Dell smacks in, then serves offloses 4 in a
row. Then, as in the childrens game, green light/red light, the call unpredictable, his
confidence comes and goes? It comes, is sustainedhe wins 9 in a row, andHe came back
from 17-7 once, says Connie softlyits soon hopeless for Dell.
Commiserating with loser Sweeris after the match is loser Gusikoff. I once heard
Bobby say, Nobody knows more about this Game than I do. He meant in the U.S.? Dell,
he says, you know you cant go back from the table with that pimpled racket. Youre still
using the same inverted strokesonly now you dont get the spin. With this pips racket youre
supposed to have a backhand like Neales. You know, hit quick after the bounce. You really
ought to switch back.
427

On Reseks side of the Draw, neither Brassington, Tannehill, or Errol himself can
average 15 points a game from Stanek. On the other side of the Draw, Surasak is too much for
Staneks Doubles partner, Brathwaite. And of course Lee, following a default by Roberts
(brought on by Robbies disgust at losing to Steve Isaacson in ITS play?), will prove to be too
much for Surasak. As their match is about to start, the p.a. intones, Absolutely no gambling!
Are you kidding me? says a guy. Youd have to call Thailand to get a bet. However, the
Thai surprises by drawing to 19-20 the 1st gamethen, trying for a shot, moves the table.
After that he cant contest.
Ill come to the much-awaited Mens final between Lee and Stanek in a moment, but
first a word about the other major finals.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Dell & Connie Sweeris (R) about to take the Eastern Open Mixed Doubles Championship
from Jardo Stanek and Alice Green

In the Mixed, it looks as if Stanek and Alice Green will go up 2-0 against the
Sweerises who have lost the 1st and are 16-19 down in the 2nd. But Dell and Connie rally.
The 3rd, too, is close. The signaling Sweerises do some quick-thinking teamwork: Connie
ducks a ball right at her and Dell reaches over and, without a thought of decapitating her,
fearlessly swats the ball in. Up 19-18, Sweeris pauses. Looks down, then starts play and
gets a net. Had to think for that, he says. Hes incorporated Gamesmanship into his
Coaching Portfolio? Up 20-18, they get another net. And their momentum carries them
over to a 9-3 winning lead in the 4th.
In Mens Doubles, Lee/Tannehill lead Sweeris/Surasak 20-19 in the 1st. Dell serves
short to Lee, watches as D-Js wrist swivels, snaps the spinning ball back like something
caught in an explosion. It passes Surasak as quickly as Halleys comet over Thailand. First
game to Lee/Tannehill. At one point in the 2nd game, Tannehill gets the ball past Surasak only
to see it come hurtling back at Lee! Whats this? So fast has the action been that Sweeris,
hitting it back out of turn, fools the umpire who, as the crowd roars its approval, momentarily
awards the point to Dell. In the 3rd and 4th games, John continues to get in D-Js way a little.
But later in the 4th, John, whose Doubles play is not generally regarded as being on a par with
his Singles play, is indisputably magnificent. I couldnt ever let D-J down, he says. Hes
such a winner.
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Photo by Mal Anderson

Alice Green (R) beats Connie Sweeris to win the 1970 Eastern Open

As Connie Sweeris and Alice Green begin their Womens final, the crowd is abuzz:
Why does Alice always wear pig-tails?How can she play with no socks on?Anybody
want to ask Father/Coach Hal these questions? No, I thought nothe looks preoccupied.
In the 1st, Alice is up 8-5then loses 12 in a row. In the 2nd, up 10-8, she swings, cries,
Oh, that was the wrong shot! But its her turn to pull away. In the 3rd game, Alices strategy
is to push, push, push with her backhand and wait for the forehand opening Connie doesnt
want to give her. Down 19-20, Alice scores a series of 5 straight forehands to deuce it up.
Now Connie rather unexpectedly tries to hit one in, picks a bad ball. But then Alice, too,
misses. At 23-all, Connie gets an edge. And on the next point Alice swats the first ball that
comes to herit doesnt go in. In the 4th, its Alice all the way. In the 5th, its close in the end
game. But this time Alice, well-schooled by Hal at the break, isnt about to lose her cool
wins by being steady.
Just before Lee goes out to play Stanek (the $10-$5 favorite) he gets some advice
from Tannehill. Youve got to go forehand to forehand with Jardo, then quick angle one to
his backhand, then fast over to his forehand. Now hell drop back and you can step in and hit
him in the guts. Yeah?
In the 1st game, Stanek gets off to a 6-1 lead. Then Lee, apparently upsetting Jardo a
bit with returns from the wooden side of his racket, quickly swings the game back even. And
this is where it stays until 15-all when Stanek suddenly runs it out.
In the 2nd, Jardo, successfully hitting to D-Js backhand, forcing him to hurry his shots
before hes put back on defense, is up 12-6. Says one very experienced observer, Dont you
understand? Lee cant win. He has no one to play now. He was at his best 3 years ago when he
played Takahashi in San Diego. Stanek continues serving short. (Its not really that
deceptive, says Tannehill. All you have to do is watch.No, not the racket, the ball. If
429

theres no rotation, no spin, its a nothing ball.) And how does D-J take these serves? He
waits, arm outstretched, wrist cockedand, yes, forehand after forehand goes in. Amazing.
He wins 13 straight points from an upper-echelon world-class player. How account for that?
Then is down 6-13 in the 3rd. How account for that?
Anyway, Lee cant scramble back. Is down 2-1 in games.
In the 4th, Jardo, down 1-4, serves into the net. Then he misses two of D-Js serves.
Whew! Awful! Howd you like to have that on TV? Looks like a dump, says a guy behind
me. But he doesnt mean itdoes he? Then, with Lee leading Stanek 12-5, comes the point of
the tournament. Back and forth go 7-8-9-10 beautiful exchanges until Stanek has Lee right
where he wants him20 feet back and Jardo with open shots to the penholders backhand.
Crack! But Lee, way back, is there, backhanding a high lob. Stanek repositions himself, waits
at the ready, arms raised like a skeet shooter sighting the sky. Boom! But again Lee, way, way
back, is there, arcing it high, and Stanek has another thing coming at him still in the sky.
OOOOO! cries the crowd. But Staneks reaction time is far ahead of theirs. He makes
a perfectly angled, smother-drop to D-Js forehand. You hear the surprised shrieks at the drop; see
Lee streak in, somehow scoop the ball back. Instinctively Jardo tries to put it away, but he cant hit
it hard enough into this opposing tumblers half-countering, racket-blocking middle, and the point
continues through another built-up exchange. Until, with everyone in the gym on his feet, wanting to
feverishly applaud, Lee works, works, gets the opening, and, as his shot cannons in, the explosion is
deafening.
In the 5th, Lee begins with more acrobatics. Trying to get a drop he comes crashing
into the table, half kicks down a leg. Wow, what a show! At 5-all, Stanek serves into the net.
Someone laughs. Stanek
turnsyou can bet 2-1
he doesnt like that. Up
17-9, Lee loses a point:
Dont! he says. Up 2010: No! Dont! he
says. Up 20-12: Oh!
Dont! But Jardo can
last only so long. Lee,
finally, is home.
Lindas happy
hes stayed, huh? And DJ too, cause everyone
likes a winner. Jardo?
Hes satisfiedcouldnt
have been more
cooperative, and so has
continued creating lots of
goodwill for himself in
Photo by Mal Anderson
the States.
D-J Lee (R) wins 1970 Eastern Open from Jardo Stanek
Winter Tournaments
Prior to our Mar. Nationals, there were more tournaments reported on in Canada than
in the U.S. The newly elected Quebec Table Tennis Federation officers were: President: John
430

Hunnius; Vice-President: Eric Rothfleisch; Secretary/Treasurer: Betty

Tweedy; Treasurer: Jacques Bobet, Sr., Junior Development Chair;
Ralph Spratt, Equipment Chair; Joyce Hecht, Publicity Chair; and
Denise Hunnius, League Chair.
At the Mar. Montreal Open, Wall won the Mens over
blond newcomer Milda Milacek who in the semis had defended
just well enough to escape Germains slashing shots. Down 19-20
in the 5th, Guy returned serve fully three feet off the table. He
does have trouble winning the close ones. In a Womens semi,
Hunnius advanced over Gero, but then in the final couldnt handle
Hechts quick hitting. Milacek/George Rideout scored an upset
in Mens Doubles over Wall and Derek Marsham who, before
winning the Feb. Ottawa League Championships, had been 1-2-3
match points down to CTTA International News Editor Patrick
Arkell. In the Mens Bs, Marshams chop and backhand flick
CTT News, Aug., 1970, 4
Joyce Hecht
were too much for Hecht whod advanced over Siklos and Ron
Turini. Turini, Hecht tells us, is a brilliant pianist (has done
three tours in the U.S.S.R., three tours in South America, and five European tours, two of
them with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra).
At the Feb. Toronto Open, Wall beat Zulps in 4 in the
semis, while Ivakitsch beat Larry Lee. Derek then took the title
from Martin in a close match. Wall/Ivakitsch won the Doubles from
Bill Cheng/Errol Caetano. Huh? Peter Gonda, whod upset
Marinko in the Mens, had a sprained ankle? While he played the
Mixed too? Hard to believe because he and Jose Tomkins had to be
nothing short of sensational in winning that eventover Ivakitsch/
Inge Sagorski, Morgan/Hecht, Zulps/Nesukaitis; and Wall/
Hunnius! The Womens went, as expected, to Violettaover, first,
Hunnius, then Barbara Jekir whod knocked out Hecht.
Mens Bs went to Milacekin the
semis in 5 over Violetta, and in the final
from 19-all over Kurt DEndle. John
Nesukaitis coached Doreen Jovanov to a
From CTT News,
win in Womens Bs. U-13s to Bobet who
July,
1967, Cover
18, 20, 16 persevered to beat Paul
Martin
Ivakitsch
Klevinas; U-15s to Rod Young (has a
strong all-round game and combines this
with clever thinking); and Juniors to Sharara, a natural, charming
young man and apparently a great help to Mr. Bobet in the Quebec
Junior coaching program.
The Feb. Rochester Open drew not only some Canadians but
D-J Lee as well. Neither D-J, nor runner-up Derek Wall, had a
competitive match. Denise Hunnius easily won the Womens from
Betty Tweedy. The taken-for-granted pairings in the Mixed final,
From CTT News,
Denise and Derek vs. Betty and Sol Schiff, produced the taken-forApr., 1970, 7
granted result. Sol, however, did win the Mens Doubles with Mohan
Kurt DEndle
431

Raoover Jim Dixon/Dave Hunt; and also the Senior Doubles with Walt Stephensover
Spearman/Sengle. Buffalos Morris Meyers bested John Kazak in the Seniors, but lost the
As to Rao. Joe Costanza won the Bs, and with his son Dan the B Doubles.
At the Feb. Arizona Open in Phoenix, Houston-based Hanumanth Rao of
Hyderabad, India won the Mens with a spectacularly colorful and agile defense. In the
final he beat two-time Arizona Champion Mac Horn whod eliminated Howie Grossman in
the semis in 5. Raos toughest match was his (-16, 20, -21, 21, 13) semis with Mark
Adelman in which, down 2-1 and match point in the 4th, he got a fortuitous edge.
In a long interview with Don Lindo in the July,
1970 Topics, Mark, 28, says he feels hes worked hard
at his game, has been successful, but hasnt really
gotten his due. What does it mean if he beats Bukiet
or Cowan? He complains bitterly about the California
ranking system because it doesnt project accurately
an individuals ability. Points are given for matches
won, the more the better, and seedings/placings are
based on accumulated points. If youre recognized as
a good 2nd-tier player, but dont have the events, the
matches lagged, you dont have that many points.
Thus, youre apt to meet a top seed early, and
consequently wont get the points you might well
have gotten by playing a peer in the quarters. And,
unless you upset a top player, the same thing will
happen next tournament.
How many tournaments can he go to? Ive
got
family
responsibilities, and Ive made many
Mark Adelman
financial sacrifices as well as other sacrifices to try to
do well in table tennis. I drive 130 miles each way in one day just to practice 3 or 4
hours. If he had a sponsor, or if there were more tournaments and much better prizemoney, hes sure, given his assessment of those nationally ranked now, whom he cant get
to play against, hed improve his ranking considerably. But to have any chance to get a
sponsor he has to have a better ranking. And to get a better ranking he has to have money
to compete and not just in his area. Mark doesnt think the Game will ever go anywhere in
the U.S. unless theres MONEY to be won, a good living to be made. If I could make
over $10,000 a year in table tennis, he says, Id be taking a cut in income, but I would
take it because I love the sport and because I feel that I could support my family
adequately on that amount (8-9; 11-12).
At Phoenix, Mark paired with Howie Grossman to take the Mens Doubles over
Rao and Junior Champ Al Everett. Heather Angelinetta won the Womens (for the 5th
straight timethis year over Tybie Sommer) and the Mixed with Grossman (over Everett/
Sommer). Albuquerques Dr. Helmuth Vorherr came 1st in Class A (over Everett) and
Seniors (over Edgar Stein). Man Foo Yee was best in Bs. The Konigs, father and son,
won the B Doubles.
Phoenix Club President Forrest Barr, in his Apr.-May, Topics write-up, said that
Tournament Director Lee Butler and his Committee continue to be dismayed by the low
turn-out of women and youth. The Womens had only 5 entries; the U-17s and 15s only
432

4 (all boys). There was one entry in the U13s, Mark DaVee of Tucson. Beaten only
by Everett in the two events open to him,
he showed considerable promise (9).
Heavy rains curtailed the field for the
San Diego Open. Advancing to the Mens
round-robin semis were: Erwin Klein, Jack
Howard, Glenn Cowan, andBobby
Gusikoff (somebody said hed come West to
try to start a singing career). Don Lindo, in
covering the tournament, said that Gusikoffs
flashy style was interesting to watch but
Photo by Mal Anderson
appeared to be a bit too erratic to pose a
Mark DaVee
serious threat to either Howard or Klein. By
defaulting to Cowan, Gusikoff was assured of
finishing fourth.
Howard, down 2-0, came back to lose in 5 to Cowan; and, up 2-1, he went ahead to
lose in 5 to Klein. Earlier, Erwin was being whomped by Mark Adelmans severe spins and
powerful drives, and down 7-14 in the 5th looked to be a loser. Lindo wrote, Klein often gives
the appearance of treating the ball daintily, meeting it carefully and precisely, acting almost as
if it were a soft-boiled egg, while Adelman appears more brutal, trying to scramble it. But
Erwin, less with finesse and more with a flurry of point-winning combinations rallied for the
win. And Cowan, up 2-0 against Klein, but not a winnerwhat happened to him? Some felt
he might have been adversely affected by the umpire having ruled some of Glenns serves
illegal and consequently awarding the point to Erwin. As a result, spectators and players alike
were treated to a brief, unscheduled discussion of the angle of the ball toss [near vertically
upwards (within a 45 degree cone)], complete with referral to a rule book (TTT, April-May,
1970, 9).
Other results: Mens Doubles: Howard/Cowan over
Denis OConnell/Russ Thompson. Womens: Patty, a 3-zip
winner over Wendy, who, given her semis match with Angie
Rosal (-22, 13, 18, -19, 21) was fairy-fortunate to have come
through a clap-your-hands winner. Womens Doubles:
Angelinetta/Cindy Cooper over U-17/U-15 winner Rosal/Lucy
Alvarado. As: Patty, though almost a (-20, 21, -20, 15, 9) 3zip loser to Wendy. Bs: Stan Rosal over F. Williamson in 5.
Cs: Bill Garrett over Paul Raphel. Seniors: Thompson over
Danny Banach, 19, -21, -19, 21, 20.
The week before the Nationals, the Hollywood Club
held a Tournament of Championsand Mark Adelman really
did look like one. Had there been the prizes of Never-never
land awarded him, hed have made a bundle. He beat Gusikoff
deuce in the 4th, then Klein, 19 in the 4th, then (17, -9, 25, -16,
Bill Garrett
-18) fought the good fight in the final against Howard.
Further, Mark took the Mixed with A winner Martinez over Jack and Wendy who again lost in
the Singles to Patty. Mark also came 2nd in Mens Doubles with Grossman to Darryl Flann/Wil
433

McGruder. Best in Bs: Fred Herbst

over Bill Garrett. Seniors went to
Danny Banach over Don
Chamberlain. Under 17s: Champions
on their way: Ray Guillen over Paul
Raphel, 24-22 in the 5th (Paul beat
Ray in the Under 15s).

Jack Howard (L) coaching Ray Guillen

Adelman must surely have talked to Howard about,

and been encouraged by, Jacks plans to put together a
nation-wide computer rating system based on one used by
The International Chess Federation. Jack says Dr. Jim
Paul Raphel

Goodwin, a computer expert, had used

a similar system, on a smaller and
simpler scale, in the Pacific
Northwest, and gives it much credit
for stimulating the remarkable
growth in such a short time in that
area. Adds Jack, If the leading 100
or 200 players in the country can be
listed in every issue of Topics, with
their comparative point rating, wont
we all be trying to advance our
standings?
Jack Howard and his trusty computer

434

Chapter Thirty-Nine
1970: Lee,
Nesukaitis Win Nationals.
1970: European/Asian
Championships.
The 40th U.S. Open
was held Mar. 20-22 at
Detroits Cobo Hallwith
George Bubens MTTA
taking on the formidable
task of trying to keep 460
entries playing as much as
possible through almost 50
events.
Since the Mens
Singles drew about 150
players, a great many of
them had to play Pre-lims
to get a spot in the roundof-64 Draw proper. If only
one had known where to
look, he could have seen:
Houstons D. G. Van
Vooren over Minneapoliss
Charlie Disney (-21, 25,
21); Ohios Tim OGrosky
over Missouris Larry
Chisholm (26 in the 5th),
Pontiacs Bill Lesner over
Alabamas Ralph Kissel

Photo by Jose Tomkins

1970 U.S. Open Class A and Class B

Winner Jim Dixon

(19 in the 5th), and Phillys Marty Theil over Milwaukees

Ted Stomma (deuce in the 5th).
A good bit of excitement in the Class events too. Just
ask Jim Dixonhe won the Bs by beating Canadas Bill
Cheng, the hero of the Scarborough-Ohio tie at the
USOTCsand, bravo, Jim won the As too!
On one side of the A Draw players were having a
free-for-all. Washingtons Earl Adams began it by
knocking out Jim Davey, whod earned his #1 seed in
downing Tannehill at the Central, and Ohios John
Temple finished it, advancing to the final after a 19-inthe-5th win over Ontarios John Klaiber, and a 19, -18,
19, 20 win over B.C.s Philip Woo Cheng. But in the final
Jim was too adept for John. In fact, he lost only one
435

game in the eventback in the 8ths in a

beautifully played 19, -17. 18, 24 match
with Sam Veillette whose chop defense
against the loop is one of the finest Ive
Phillip Woo
seen from any U.S. player.
Cheng
In the Mens 1st Round proper,
southwesterner Kevin Bell, winning the
all-important 3rd at deuce, gets by the
ubiquitous Phil Cheng in 5 (see him,
helmet-haired, a durable warrior in black,
in Mal Andersons photo on the Apr.
cover of the CTTA News). San Diegos
Mark Adelman, who has steadily
improved his National Ranking from U.S. #33 to #20 to (this seasons) #15, almost loses to
the Easts Sammy Takayama, A Mixed Doubles winner with Shazzi Felstein. I dont know
whether Marks due for a break, but he sure gets one when Sammy misses a hanger at 19-20
in the 5th.
Fuarnado Roberts, in one of his good luck berets (they say he has nine of them), has to
go 5, but, cat-like, beats the Boston-based New Zealander Peter Salmon, after Peter had 15,
17, -20, 19, 20 outlasted Torontos Milda Milacek. Robbie then uses up a bit more of his
event-full life, losing the first two games before going hop, step, and jump past ex-Olympian
Bill Sharpe.
Jack Howard, the #2 seed, finds himself in his very 1st match down 1-2 and 15-18 in
th
the 4 to Quebecs Guy Germain. But poor Guy, whos been mixing Jack up with his short
serves (Jack is certain only that some have top, some havent), then smacking in follows, is too
anxious. He misses a ball that most of the people reading this could put awayand
(Sacrebleu! as they used to say in the comic books) Jack miraculously escapes.
Four-time U.S. Open
Photo by Mal Anderson
Champion Erwin Klein,
Frank Dwelly
arriving late from L.A. after
being repeatedly sick on the
plane, continues to have his
hands full with the many-time
New England Champ Frank
Dwelly. Coming down to a 1620 take-your-chances landing
in the 5th, Klein appears to
have been grounded by his
grizzled, anything-butsentimental, tattooed
opponent.
Then one point short, Frank stops play, walks over to the umpire, and shakes his hand.
Whats wrong, Frank? asks Erwin. Frank impassively explains he doesnt want to knock
Klein out of the tournament! Id probably get beat the next round, Frank told me later, and,
well, I thought maybe Klein could go all the way. (How do you think Wall, Erwins next
round opponent, is reacting to this bit of unexpected generosity?)
436

But lest you thinkwhat?that maybe it wasnt right?..that this former M.V.P. NTC
Award winner went a bit soft, wanted a sporting loss/win without having to get that last
competitive point, let me call your attention to Franks (-15, -13, 19, 15, 20) gutsy rally in the 40s
over Indianas Harry Deschamps, his straight-game win in the 50s over Defending Champion Bill
Cross, and his follow-up 4-game fight (he took that one game from 2-10 down) with this years
50s Champ Max Marinko. A shrood player, Max says of the ambidextrous, unpredictable Frank.
As the Mens continues, I see again the bewhiskered Roberts, wearing his charm, his
beret, about to play his third straight 5-game match. If a ball should hit the edge, says
umpire Steenhoven, by way of amiable beginning, be sure to tell me because I might not see
it. (So why is he umpiring? To set a good example for, say, Gusikoff? Even though Bobby
isnt here, word will get out? To recoup (at $.50 a match) the $1 umpire fee he, like anyone
else, had to pay? Or because, since so few players want to ump, hes obligingly helping out?)
Robbies opponent, twinkle-eyed Glenn Cowan, one year out of the Juniors, couldnt
be more agreeable. One gets the feeling that if he had an extra pair of violet sun-glasses
concealed in his hair or someplace, by all means, hed only be too happy to give them to
Graham right then and there.
At 16-15 Cowans favor in the 1st, Robbie hits a ball, says Edge! Glenn turns to
Graham, asks respectfully,
Did that touch the side?
Graham says he didnt think
it touched the table at all.
Robbie, up 20-19, loses the
1st at deuce.
In the 2nd and 3rd,
the beret whisks here and
there, and its as if Cowan is
somewhat wildly trying to
shoot it, but cant. Enter
Coach Howard whos
suddenly set his insight
sights on the match.
Please, says Robbie after
a while to Jack, no
coaching during play. And
Glenn, looking over, as if in
From Tim Boggans Winning Table Tennis (1976), 115
accord, nods. And, yes,
Fuarnado Roberts (but wheres his beret?)
right on through the
deciding 5th, as if it continues to stay uppermost in his mind, Glenn keeps looking, keeps
nodding, until the last meow and the lithesome beret is seen on the fence no more.
Robbies Roman-haired teammate at the USOTCs, three-time National Champion
Bernie Bukiet, gets off to a very bad start against the #3 seed, Surasak (he seems to have it in
his head hes about to be blown off court by the air-conditioner). But after exchanging ends
Bernie apparently makes an adjustmentthought currents o.k. now. So, with the match tied
1-1, the 3rd game, providing momentum, will perhaps decide the match. From 14-all they go,
up through Bernies sharply angled push to Surasaks forehand that gives the New Yorker the
big 18-17 point and causes the young Thai to press and miss. Game to Bukiet at 19.
437

At the end of the 4th, its as if, though the 68 U.S. Junior Champion is game, his
much older opponent knows all the angles. Bernie, on winning, does a little pirouette,
raises his racket, smiles. The crowd responds, shares his win, acknowledgesthe dance of
life.
In another 8ths match, Sweeris, on losing the 2nd and 3rd at 12 and 15, has to begin
looping more (hes playing with inverted?)and does, turns the match around to beat
Canadian Champ Larry Lee.Larrys not quite quick enough, says Canadian National
Coach Derek Wall. He did better going back and hitting the backhand.
Brathwaites to the right, left, three-feet-from-the-table game gives Tannehill a
good match. But John wins the big 2nd game on a net and The Chief can only extend him
to 4. I had trouble with his turnover backhand, George explains. The ball was spinning
away from me. Tannehills placements are very sharp and hes hitting the forehand
consistently harder than he has been. Im reaching my peak at just the right time, John
says. I think I can go all the way.
Coming into the quarters then: Cowan vs. Lee; Bukiet vs. Klein; Resek vs.
Howard; and Tannehill vs. Sweeris.
In the 1st, Glenns up 15-13but D-J runs it out. In the 2nd, its 19-all, then 20-19
Lee, then Glenn fails to return serve. How come, he says on losing the 3rd, I can hit a
100 backhands in practice, but cant hit one in the match? Two games I was up 11-6 and I
didnt win one.
In the Bukiet-Klein match, Erwin at first seems slow, Bernie very soft. The longer
the games go, the more likely Klein is to win, says a voice behind me. Down 17-20,
Bernie gets to 19, then misses. He walks slowly around the table, shaking his head. In the
2nd, Klein takes off and at 5-0 it looks like clear weather. But Bernie narrows it to 12-13.
Then Erwin makes a marvelous passing shot down the forehand line and breaks out of the
clouds.
As both players round the table, I look crosscourt to Dwelly, catch his attention.
He smiles, waves. But two games later, theyre going into the 5th. Again, though, Klein is
flying highis fast up 12-3. And thenoh, ohis he getting air sick? Suddenly Bernies
closed to 12-13! At 14-16, Bukiet serving, theres a terrific exchange, with Klein
managing to return an edge ball to eventually win the point. That might break
Bernie? Down 15-18, Bernie takes his timethen serves off! Oh no! he says.
What I do?
Howard, as player, coach, ITS Squad Chair, and USTTA computer guru is into so
much that, given his IBM job as well, hes got to feel lots of pressure. As Jack and Errol
get ready to play, my little six-year-old, Eric, running about, stops to tell me, I know
whats on Jack Howards back.Whats on Jack Howards back? I ask, humoring
him.JACK HOWARD.
Jack comes out grim-faced, swinging hard. But even when he occasionally gets the
first ball on, Errol blocks it back and Jack cant power the next one in. Then Resek, all the
while shrugging his shoulders, as if its the most natural thing in the world, fails to return
four of Jacks servesstill wins the 1st at 17. In the 2nd, Errol, up 7-5, misses two more
serves, puts one of his own into the net, loses 7 in a row! One game each.
Jack clearly wants to overpower Errol, force him back. It seems that whoever
spins first is going to win. Down 8-9, Jack serves off, loses 5 straightand, it follows, the
game. Resek, sensing victory, is really hoppin points throughis up 14-5 in the 4th.
438

Down 8-16, Jack

fails to return
serve, starts to
round the table to
shake hands,
thinks better of it.
But psychically,
when he sticks
that hand out, its
as if to
corroborate that
which, as the
hope-lights dim,
he sees written
on the wall.
Through the
maze of this
event, he has
reached a dark
dead end.
In the 1st,
against Sweeris,
Tannehill starts
Photo by Mal Anderson
After his losing match with Tannehill, Dells flat on his back...
strong, is up 5-1
but obviously he (and Michelle too?) is enjoying it.
and sharply
angling balls to
Dells forehand. Sweeris, unsuccessfully trying to flick backhands, cant get more than 15.
In the 2nd, Tannehill is up 12-8, down 12-13, his face showing anguish. Though John
works to control the game with his backhand then go for the point with his forehand, Dell
contests by scoring down the far forehand line, often just as John has moved left to try to
take the offense. Tannehill wins in 4, but, aside from the 1st game, the 15, -19, 19, 20
match couldnt have been closer.
Having advanced the Mens matches to their final-session Sunday play, Ill do the
same for the Women. In the Irene Ogus-Connie Sweeris quarters match, Irene is not
having the easy time with Connie that she did at the Central. Theyre into the 5th, and its
Pushomania between the two. Why? Because this time Connies got more control and her
ball isnt coming up; this means Irene cant just pick out any shot in her considerable
repertoire and attack, and since its not to her advantage to get into any counter-driving
situation with Connie, she pushes.
Ogus, the favorite, down 14-16, might very well be upset. (Are you upset, Irene?)
But then the English girl gets an edge, and Sweeris misses a kill that initiates an untimely
streak of losers. Finally, desperately needing to do something different, Connie serves off.
For the first two games of the Wendy Hicks-Alice Green match, the pattern is the
same: the girls push, then Wendy opens the point with an easy topspin and Alice counters
it in. At the end of the 2nd game, Coach Howard tells Hicks shell have to be more severe,
will have to hit off the push.
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Down 2-0 and 17-14 in the 3rd, Wendys with Hook and the
Crocodile. At this point, however, a N.Y. player who should know
better begins practicing with someone on an adjacent table.
Unbelievable. Is this for real? Or an illusion? Fast as the snap of a
finger, play is stopped. Protective Father-Coach Hal directs himself
to the offender. Words are exchanged like fists.
When play resumes, Alices concentration is broken; she misses
serves three pops net balls into theshe knows not what she does.
After the break, to her credit, Alice does regroupbut she cant
get the match point at 20-19. On into the 5th, and again Alice is
up11-6. Threatened with the Pirates plank, Wendy, somewhat
constricted, is trying to spin severely, and Alice is trying
unsuccessfully to hit in these balls. Wendy finally unties herself and
goes ahead 18-16 when Alice misses.
Wendy goes to retrieve the ball, but slowly, as if shes half
dreaming, and hears: Push to the backhand! Open the point to the
backhand!
Stop talking! says Alice. Not to Hal, to Jack. Its very
Photo by Mal Anderson
distracting!
Hal Green
At 19-16, Hicks kills hard to Greens forehand. Alice dives at it
and her clutch return ticks the net: 19-17. But 2021Wendys home. Alice shakesnods
her head bravely, holds back the tears.
In the semis against Nesukaitis (who won in 66 and 68this is her year?), Hicks
wins the 1st at 19 on a net. In the 2nd, she doesnt spin as much, hits more, loses at 19. The 3rd
is Violettas all the way. The inverted sponge shes recently put on her forehand, the faster
blade shes using, enables her to loop and get more whack into the forehand.
The 4th is again close. Nesukaitis for the first time begins missing her forehand, but
its still tied up at 12-all, 15-all, 19-all. Though Jack insists shes very tough-minded,
Wendy, after an errant ending, is, to my mind, a bit too gracious, too pleasant in losing,
too much the Darling of that Peter Pan dream to be quite severe enough this real-life
afternoon.
I cant wait to play Irene, Patty, still smarting from those two losses she had to Irene
at the USOTCs, says to me. But of course Irene, too, has been waiting, and working. She
spent a week in Cleveland where D-J helped her with her forehand, and the last week or two
shes been in Chicago, training, exercising, running, playing.
The pattern of the match is immediately clear: Irene is going to put every ball to Pattys
backhandand then try to catch her with a push that turns into a backhand flick. Down 16-18
in the 1st, Ogus runs it out. Then, after the match is tied 1-1, Irene wins the all-important 3rd at
deuce. In the 4th, Irene gets four edges, is still down 17-20. She gets to 19-20 and then she
missor, wait, the umpires questioning Martinez. Patty points to her wrist, acknowledging
shes lost the point. Bad break there, but she holds on.
In the 5th, Patty, down 6-2, is adjusting her glasses. The points grind on. Outsteadied,
down 5-10 at the turn, Patty decides to force. She steps around, misses three forehands. Is
behind 5-13. A courageous Defending Champion, she draws to 12-14. But then from 14-19 all
gives way and she must fall. However, she is awarded a trophythe annual Elmer Cinnater
one for Good Sportsmanship.
440

Irene Ogus (R) wholl oust Defending Champion Patty Martinez

There remains, before I report on the Sunday-scheduled finals, what highlight coverage
I can give to our girls and boys play.

Far right photo by Mal Anderson

L-R: Tom Walsh presenting 10-year-old Diana Myers with her winning trophy;
Diana hitting a forehand; Diana looking back.

In the 10-entry Girls Under 13, Omahas 10-year-old sensation, Diana Myers, beat
Detroits Debra Hunter in 5. In the Under 17 Doubles, it was Diana again with Missouris Jean
Varker over the two Far West teams of Angelita Rosal/Cindy Cooper and in the final Judy
Bochenski/Elsie Spinning.
Cooper and especially Rosal, who downed Bochenski in a taut (18, 20, -19, 15) match
to win the Girls Under 15, were impressive in the 17s. Cindy didnt knock out Janice Martin
but, in splitting deuce games, did stagger her (Janice may need a knee operation?), and then
Angie, coming hard after, finished her. But, as everyone expected, it was fellow Californian
441

Wendy Hicks (once a week she practicestakes a bus from Santa Barbara to the Hollywood
Courts 100 miles away) who won the event without dropping a game.
In the Under 17 Class A, Michigans Sue Hildebrandt beat Varker 20, -26, 9, 14, 13
in the quarters, then Hunter, and finally Spinning. In the Womens As, Elsie was the losing
finalist to Shazzi Felstein who back in the 1st round had to (19, -17, 18) work to get the better
of Sue Wright.
The 30-entry Boys Under 13 was won by Detroits Mike Veillette, whose toughest
match came in the semis with fellow Detroiter Maurice Hunter. In the final, Mike beat
Canadas Paul Klevinas, after Paul, despite losing two deuce games, had upset #2 seed Dale
Scheltema.

Ricky Rumble

Photo by Mal Anderson

Paul Klevinas

In the Boys Under 15, Klevinas showed grit in (20,

-18, -19, 23, 18) downing upstate N.Y.s Ricky Rumble,
while Scheltema, up 2-0, couldnt bring in the win over
Long Islands Gary Adelman. John Quick of New Orleans
was single-minded enough to drub a boy 5, 7, 2, then kept
up the pressure to oust Veillette. However, it was Texan
Kevin Bell (he didnt lose a game) over Pittsburghs Danny
Seemiller in the final.
The Under 15 Doubles saw Seemiller team with Bill
Zatek to defeat Veillette/Scheltema (they lost the 13
Doubles tooto Hunter/Kevin Bolar), then pair with Don
Zatek to win the Under 17 A Doubles, 19 in the 5th, when it
flashed into Zateks mind to counter-smash Veillettes hardhopping loop. These are Seemillers first U.S.
Championships, and, though hell continue to say he prefers
442

Danny Seemiller

Singles to Doubles, therell always be speculation as to whether hes really not a better
Doubles than Singles player.
In the 17 Doubles, Adelman/Mitch Sealtiel, up 2-0, lost to the eventual winners,
Muskegons Lester Davis/Tom Herder who defeated another strong Michigan team, Bill
Lesner/Jeff Smart, in the final. Bill did win the Junior Mixed, though, with Janice Martin over
Philip Woo Cheng/Elsie Spinning.
Lots of exciting matches in the Under 17 Singles. Quick down the list: Quick (down 20) over Californias Barry Nelson; Quick again over Missouris Dennis Orne (25-23 in the 5th);
Don Zatek (who could have lost it deuce in the 4th) over Vancouvers Danny Mattson; and
Ohio penholder Tim OGrosky (in 5) over Canadas Adham Sharara (the 17 A Singles winner,
after being down 2-0 to Michigans Don Brazell). So, 5-game matches aside, who advanced to
the final, who won this years U.S. Junior Championship? Patience, please, and Ill tell you.
Patience, did I say? Though matches are still being played on maybe 7 tables, the
USTTA has decided to call an Open Meeting there in the Arena. This of course is a bit
upsetting to someTHERE ARE MATCHES GOING ON, DONT YOU
UNDERSTAND! Another fellow wanted to burn his USTTA card. But, o.k., the E.C. is not
getting good vibes, and the Meeting will soon end. Now
All right, everybody clear out.Out of the Arena, please!Come back with your
buttons on! Otherwise you must have a ticket!
Yes, I say to the middle-aged couple, ten years out of the Game whod driven up
early that afternoon from Toledo to get the choice seats they now thought they occupied for
the finals, Im afraid they are serious.
EVERYBODY OUT! THE MATCHES WILL NOT CONTINUE UNTIL
EVERYBODY IS OUT!
Its not just goodwill the Sport needs, but money! someone near me says. They
might make $100 this way!
Sure, says another. How many non-players are there ever at these tournaments?
After nearly half an hour of this megaphone pushing and prodding, the great majority is
finally gotten behind closed doors. And then, its as if the doors are suddenly broken open and
the mob bursts through.

Photo by Bill Scheltema

Mitchell Sealtiel becomes the 1970 U.S. Open Junior Champion by beating Philip Woo Cheng

The first final is the Juniors between Mitchell Sealtiel and Vancouvers Philip Woo
Cheng. Up above, at the ready, waits Bill Scheltemas much-admired new electronic scorer.
443

Down below, opposite, Erich Haring, the 6, 2 umpire, decides hell stand. Which many
spectators will not sit for. Hey, I paid $1 for this seat, says one, and I want to see. Finally
some sort of high chair is found, and the yelling stops.
Sealtiel, up 20-17, loses the 1st, splits the next two. Perhaps Cheng will be the first
young man from Canada to win the U.S. Juniors? In the 4th, with Mitch leading 18-15, Philip
serves two off. Nerves? Afraid of being faulted? In the 5th, Cheng, leading 13-11, is faulted on
serve. The crowd boos. They cant all be Canadians, can they? Down 17-15, Mitch catches,
passes Philip. Cheng, behind 18-19, serves into the net, and cant recover. At games end,
comes a voice as if carrying all the way from B.C., Give the umpire a trophy!
In the 1st of the Mens semis, Lee is just too good for Kleinand even Dwelly knows
it. Still, Erwin, never one to be intimidated by any penholder, does win the 3rd.
In the other semi, Resek cant put any pressure on Tannehill. I think hes afraid of
him, says one spectator. Though Errols hand speed is good, hes too slow of foot. Whether
hes serving or not, Errol invariably appears off balance. He cant handle Johns spin, but John
can handle his and can immediately mount an attack.
The same pattern holds true for the Mens Doubles. Lee and Cowan (15, 15, 10) beat
Bukiet and Sweeris just as they beat Resek and Boggan. The short serves, the blocksI know
first hand how useless these are against a team that controls spin so strongly.
From one side of the Mixed Draw, the Sweerises advance to the finals (their 5th straight
such advance) by beating rather
easily the team that won the CNE,
Cowan/Martinez. But D-J and Irene
have to go 5 to eliminate Jack and
Wendy who earlier were down 2-1
and down 5-1 in the 4th to Danny
Robbins/Kathy Scheltema. I dont
know why Jack was having a
problem attacking, but he said he
aimed as low as he could and the
ball was still sailing three feet off the
table. An odd spectacle this: the #2
male seed reduced to keeping the
ball in play so his woman partner
can hit in the shots.
In the final, the Sweerises
are both countering, blocking
complementing one another quite
well. Connie, particularly, is doing a
good job with Lees twisting serves.
Shes a little heavier now, says
Dell. She doesnt rush as much.
As the match ends, you can tell from
afar who won. Dell picks up his
wife, and (shes a little lighter now)
exuberantly twirls her up and
Photo by Bill Scheltema
around.
Dell & Connie Sweeris win the 1970 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles
444

In readying herself
to try to win this U.S.
Open, Ogus has lost 20
pounds. As she begins
play with Nesukaitis, I
hear somebody say,
This match has gotta
be expedited. Violetta,
however, wastes no
time in showing us her
surprise. She opens
with three hard-hit
backhands for 1-2-3
quick points. Follows
with a forehand smash.
Down 5-12, Irene
tries to roll. This
expedites the play to
21.
Its no better for
Irene in the 2nd game.
Shes obviously having
trouble adjusting to
Violettas two different 1970 U.S. Open Womens Runner-up
1970 U.S. Open Womens Champion
surfaces. The score is
Violetta Nesukaitis
Irene Ogus
17-9 when I hear
someone say, Violetta can take one shot and win the point. Itd take Irene 11.
In the 3rd, Irenes more
focused, and is at 18-all. But then she
tries to hit in a too low balland soon
Violetta has won her third U.S. Open
Womens Championship. As for Irene,
Well, says a friend, shes #1 in the
U.S. anyway.
And now the Mens #1! Here
they comeboth of them. Schiff and
Bellak, that is. Theyve been trading
off 1st-place trophies: Schiff winning
the Over 40 Doubles with Cross over
Bellak/Marinko; Laci winning the Over
50 Doubles with Max over Sol/Bill.
Theyre coming into the Arena
much as they used to, ready to
perform. Only this time its mostly
Photo by Mal Anderson
sleight-of-handor foot. Schiff can
Still winners:
still mystify an audience with his
Schiff and Bellak
445

fingerspin serves. Is that a trick ball? asks my 8-year-old in wonder. Of course Bellaks
antics are also much enjoyed: up goes the ball on an invisible geyser of breath; up goes the ball
after its been foot-juggled about; up goes the ball off the soul of his shoe. Bukiet watches,
smiles, applauds.
After the stage is cleared for the finale, Lee and Tannehill come out and go through
their routine. During their warm-up Im reminded of what a fellow has said during the Lee-

Photo by Bill Scheltema

Photo by Bill Scheltema

D-J prepares for his final-thats Jeffrey

D-J plays his final

Photo by Bill Scheltema

D-J wins his final against John Tannehill

446

Klein match, Ah, Lee lets these guys get 16-18 points so theyll buy his jumpsuits and kola
bear shoes.
1st game: 12-8 Lee on a net. HUTZUH!(or whatever) from Lee. Followed by a
grimace. Then TUTSUH! 14-10 Lee. And now Awww! Stuuupid! Hes anything but cool,
eh? The crowd loves it, loves his individuality, his showmanship. Johns closed to 16-17, and
has D-J way back from the table. Hes ready to power in the lob return, but, oh, its hit the
tables metal edge, taken a quirky bounce, and John cant play it. At 20-18 Lee wins on a net
UGHAAH! And viciously heD-J, not Johnbats the ball away.
2nd game: Lee starts with an edge, gets off to a 6-1 lead. Up 13-6 Lee socks one in.
AHHHH!
3rd game: Its a 7-point game, says a wise old owl. Down 5-6, Lee unexpectedly
returns a shot with the wooden side of his racket. John calmly kills it. At 9-all D-J serves an
edge. At 13-11 he gets a net. Up 17-13, Lee serves one off. Pretty careless, huhas if hes
already won. And now John rallies for three brilliant points: his very sharp backhand
placements set up consecutive forehand hits. Lee is shaking his head: these were good shots.
Down 18-20, Lee serves offthe ball, he says, has stuck to his hand.
At the 2-1 break, John relaxes with Eatmore Honeyis careful about using his hands.
At ringside the consensus of Coach Howard and others is that Johns forehand is as
strong as D-Jsif he gets to hit it. But corrections are needed. John must stop trying to roll
without looking to finish the point. He ought to force the 1st ball to D-Js forehand, then block
to his backhand; he ought to roll no more than 2-4 balls, then look to kill. Instead of playing
60% to the forehand, 40% to the backhand, he must reverse this and try to put more pressure
on Lee as at the backhand he waits at the ready. Got it? O.K. Go!
4th game: Up 6-5, John fails to return serve, serves into the net, loses 8 in a row! Now
not a sound from D-J as he misses two easy shots, serves one off, drops a few more points to
bring the score to 13-11. No HUTZUHS! No TUTSUHS! Is D-J letting his enthusiasm
slip away? Down 12-15, John serves off. And though he closes to 15-16 on some really fine
exchanges, its just not enoughnot yet at any rate.
Butno doubt about itTannehill, who was introduced as the former National Junior
Champion, left the crowd buzzing. Perhaps one day soon hell be introduced as the National
Mens Champion?
European/Asian Championships
And speaking of Champions, we might take a quick peek at the World outside the
U.S., cause if we dont engage with, dont even know whats going on with, the international
stars, well be lost at that 71 Worlds were hopefully priming for.
Thanks primarily to Geza Gazdag, at least the U.S. Easterners will be familiar with the
major players at this years 7th European Championships, held less than a month after our
Nationals at Moscows Palace of Sports. The Swedes took the Teams for the 4th successive
time by edging the Yugoslavs 5-4 after being down 4-2. (Young Stellan Bengtsson tied it up at
4-all to keep Swedish hopes alive.) Swedens 1962 Champion, Hans Hasse Alser, rumored
months earlier to be retiring, again won the Mensover Jugoslavias Istvan Korpa whod
knocked out Russias Anatoly Amelin in 5 in the 8ths, Ebby Scholer in the quarters, and 64/
66 Champion Kjell Johansson in 5 in the semis.
Denis Neale, current English Champion (hes won 4 of the last 5 years) lost in the 8ths
to Alser. The Czech Jaroslav (Jardo) Stanek was beaten by Yugos Anton Tova Stipancic
447

who, after eliminating Hungarys Istvan Jonyer in 5, was himself eliminated by Johansson in 5.
Swedens Bengtsson, who had no chance against Alser, scored a gritty deuce-in-the-5th win
over Hungarys Tibor Klampar. Stipancic and Defending Singles Champ Surbek (upset in the
16ths by current West German Champion Wilfried Lieck) took the Mens Doubles from Alser/
Johansson.
Gazdag hasnt yet brought every player from this cast of characters to New York, but
he probably will, and perhaps other cities will see these great stars in action as well. Its as if
the world is saying to us, O.K., if you wont come to us, well come to you. After all, what
are the young aficionados abroad thinking, dreaming? That the monied U. S. is some potential
market, a table tennis heaven, another world.
The Women? Are we apt to see them? Anyone want to know about them? Have they any
place in our Sport? Oh well, for the record: The Russians blitzed the Czechs in the Teams. Their
star penholder, Zoya Rudnova, in a reversal of the 68 Europeans, won the Womens Singles over
Czechloslovakias Ilona Vostova. Both women had 5-game struggles in the semis: Rudnova over
teammate Rita Pogosova; Vostova over Romanias 1966 Champion Maria Alexandru. Rudnova/
Svetlana Grinberg took the Womens Doubles. Rudnova/Gomozkov successfully defended their
Mixed title. Even the Womens Consolation went to a Russian.
At the 10th Asian Championships, held (at the same time as the Europeans) in
Nagoya, Japan, site of the 71 Worlds, Japan won the Mens Teams, the Mens (1967 World
Champion/current Japanese National Champion Nobuhiko Hasegawa beat TokioTasaka), the
Womens (World Champion/current Japanese National Champion Toshiko Kowada beat
Yasuko Konno), and the Mixed (Hasegawa/Kowada beat Nishi/Tasaka). South Korea won the
Womens Teams, 3-2 over Japanwith Choi Jung-sook winning both her singles and teaming with
Ro Hwa Ja to take the doubles.
One sad
note: while these
Championships
were being played,
Englands legendary
Champion, Richard
Bergmann, 51, often
seen playing
exhibitions for the
Globetrotters in the
States, died Apr. 5th
of a brain tumor,
and of course
received encomiums
from around the
world. (See my
previous volumes
for the extensive
coverage Ive given
to Richards career.)
In Memoriam: Erwin Klein & Richard Bergmann,
U.S. Open Mens Doubles Champions, 1955 & 1956.

448

Chapter Forty
1970: Season-Ending Tournaments. 1970: State
of Association As Decade Ends.
Three weeks after his U.S. Open Junior final,
Philip Woo Cheng was a 5-game runner-up againto
Tom Ruttinger at Seattles Western Washington Open.
Judy Bochenski came 1st in the Womens 8-player
round robin, followed by runner-up Elsie Spinning and
Karen Berliner. In a surprise Mens Doubles finish,
Under 17 winner Danny Mattson and Allan Wong
rather easily defeated Ruttinger/Cheng. Then a further
surprise when, in winning the A Doubles, the Mattson/
Wong pair had to go 25-23 in the 4th to prevail over
Judy and Elsie. In the As, Wong
got by Mattson 23-21, 24-22, but
Photo by Mal Anderson
Danny Mattson
in the final went down docilely to
Lou Nagy, Senior runner-up to
Harry McFadden. Harry, a tough competitor and something of a
loner, had owned his own cab there in Seattle for a couple of years.
This would be his last complete season, for in Nov hell get the worst
call of his short life, make the connection, and soon after, having
exited his cab presumably to argue with his passenger, take two
bullets in the head.
At the mid-April State Closed in Eugene, the last Oregon
tournament of the 69-70 season, Judy Bochenski came very close to
being the only woman in the long history of Oregon play whod hold,
From 1980 Pacific
simultaneously, not only the Womens but the Mens State title. She
Northwest Program
beat Elsie Spinning in the Womens final in straight games, but in the
Harry McFadden
Mens she eventually succumbed to V.Q. Han, 19 in the 4th. Judy also
won the Mixed with Danny Mattson over Earl Adams/Karen Berliner. Mens Doubles
went to Bob Ho and Jeff Kurtz, the Editor, I believe, of the
Pacific Northwest Table
Tennis Times, over
Han/Mattson. Class As
went to Mattson over
Jim Scott who, decades
later, particularly with
his Portland Big Whack
School Championships,
will do much to bring the
Sport to Oregonians of all
ages.
Promoteand
Photo by Photo by David Thornes
Profitthats
what
Jim Scott
Judy Bochenski
449

Promoter Ron Shirley writes could

happen, should happen, anywhere,
ifand here Topics, with its June,
1970 cover, comes in on cue:
Take a promotionminded shopping center,
a communityminded
automobile dealer,
and an aggressive
Pro
table tennis club;
Pla moter/
yer
put them together
Shi Ron
rley
and youve got
the makings of
one of the finest
promotions the
sport has ever
seen.
This actually
happened in Oklahoma
City and it resulted in
some outstanding publicity for table
tennis, a visit by two of the nations
top players, and more than $500
profit for the Oklahoma City Table
Tennis Club.
The shopping center,
Shepherd Mall [see June cover
photo], brought in Dal-joon Lee
and Dell Sweeris for nine
exhibitions over a two-day period.
Photo by Johnny Melton
Shepherd Mall also purchased and
displayed trophies for the tournament and provided what turned out to be a very good place
in the center itself to play all of the tournament finals.
Ganadara Buick, a local automobile dealer, devoted some thirty television spots to
promoting the tournament and the exhibitions (1).
The Apr. 18-19 Oklahoma Openthats what Rons talking about. As Tournament Chair,
he worked with President Rudy Crawford and his Oklahoma City Club members to successfully
coordinate tournament play with the mall exhibitions. Since roughly 120 players paid entry fees, and
the Shepherd Mall was so accommodating, the Club made quite a profit. Imagine if theyd charged,
or tried to, the 500 spectators watching the final.
Ron quotes D-J as saying that, Everybody should lose now and then. It helps you
improve. Well, then, everyone but D-J should be improving? Take the Womens winner here,
Marianne Szalay (over Ozella Henderson)shell be U.S. #11 this season. Sweeris, is he getting
450

better? Hard to say: he beat Kevin Bell 20, 15, 19,

10 before losing to D-J 19, 12, -15, 16. Kevins the
kid who trounced Danny Seemiller to win this years
U.S. Open Boys Under 15, and here in the 17 final
was good enough to apparently 13, -20, 11, 3
demoralize Norman Behymer a wee bit.
Maybe, though, that loss was somehow
good for Norman, cause he did fine otherwise: won
the Mens Doubles with D-J (17 in the 5th over
Sweeris/Dennis Crawford); won the Class As (over
Dennis); won the Class A Doubles with Dennis
(over Vern
Eisenhour/
Steve Engel);
won the
Boys 17
Marianne Szalay
Doubles with
Dennis (over the Hammond brothers). As for Crawford, you
can see how (-6, -9, -12) steadily he improved by playing
D-J.
Whats this? A USTTA-sanctioned tournament in
Texas! Yep, May 2-3 at Houstons Fonde Rec Center. Ohh,
look whos hereD-J. So, no climactic finalbut, hey, its
good thing for a U.S. Champion to be so visible in so many
parts of the country.
In winning, the friendly paddle-peddler downed
Hanumanth Rao whod escaped David Bell in 5 in the
Norman Behymer
semis. Big surprise in the Mens play was junior Cecil Kost
th
who, from down 2-0, defeated 6 seed Steve Smith, then
forced David Bell into the 5th before losing. Marianne Szalay
won the Womens. Dr. Grady Gordon the Seniors (35
years later, Grady will have amassed a warehouse of
trophies and awards testifying to his major U.S.
Championships). Under 17s went to Kevin Bell, though he
had to go 5 with the surprising Kost whod advanced by
beating the Under 15 winner John Quick.
Daytons Net and Paddle Club hosted the Apr. 4-5
Ohio Closed, and, with Lee and Tannehill missing, there
were some titles up for grabs. We learn from Lyle Thiems
write-up in the Sept.-Oct., 1970 Topics (7) that Richard
Farrell got to the Mens final by beating Barry Rost, after
Barry had squelched Tim OGroskys hopes. Barrys short
and wide-angled block shots, as well as his service returns,
kept Tim constantly moving so that he couldnt get set and hit
with his usual accuracy and pace. In the other semis, Don
Lyons stopped John Spencer in 4.
Richard Farrell
451

Farrells aim was to stay away from Lyons difficult-to-return backhand blocks and counter
drives, and he did it well enough to take a 2-1 lead. Lyons evened the match though, primarily by
using a one-winged backhand attack, his forehand being far below its usual form. Although Don
failed 1-2-3-4-5-6 times to return serve, he was still leading 19-16 in the 5th. At which point he
became erratic, allowed Richard to deuce it, then, down match point, couldnt handle one last ball
to his forehand. Thus, as Lyle says, Richard becomes the first black player to win the Ohio
Closed.
Other results: Mens Doubles: Lyons/Jim Supensky over Rost/John Temple. Womens: Jo
Anne Pritchett over Charlotte Jones. Mixed winners: Spencer/Pritchett. As: Lyle Thiem over U.S.
Open Class A runner-up Temple with whom he won the A Doubles. Bs: John Broderick won the
Bs (in 5 over Clevelands Eugene Kunyo) and the Seniors (over Newarks Ron DeMent). Under
17s: OGrosky over David Goins, winner of the 15s from Gary Pritchett.
Im not sure when or where the 1970 Va-N.C. Closed was held, but in the Nov. Topics
(14) Jack Carr tells us something of what happened there. Doris Mercz upset Melba Martin, North
in Bowie Martin
Melba Martin Carolina #1, 18
the deciding 3rd.
Mercz often
passed Martin on
crisp drives
angled sharply
crosscourt to lefthanded Melbas
backhand.
Bowie
Martin, N.C. #4,
won the Mens,
but had to go 5
with Norfolks
Alex Gellen.
Jack says that, after Bowies forehands hadnt been finding the table in the 4th due to a lack of
closed follow through, he decided to play largely defense. Normally Alex plays well against
chop, for he has a good backhand push which he occasionally does with the forehand side of
the racket (a la Don Lyons of Ohio), thus giving a nothing ball which is hard to keep low.
Apparently Alex got balls he thought he could hit, but
Franks
too many didnt go in, and Bowie himself began to
judo serve
successfully make aggressive drives and counters.
Geller had gotten to the final, first, by downing
Raleighs Tommy Tarrant, #15 in the South, in a mostly
serve-and-one match. Then he upset USAF Lt. Ferenc
Frank Mercz, the Defending Virginia State Champion.
However, says Jack, Franks outside interests kept him
from practicing for this tournament. Hes one of the states
top chess players and had just competed in both the U.S.
Air Force and Virginia state championships. Then for a
month or two immediately prior to that he was busy
winning the Air Force and Virginia judo championships.
452

At the Apr. 4 National Capital Open in Ottawa, Derek Wall

won againover Germain whod knocked out Zulps in the semis.
In the Womens, it was Nesukaitis vs. Nesukaitisbut, like it or
not, the Roman goddess would have to wreathe Violetta rather
than her namesake Flora. Surprise 2nd-round upset: Jim-Wah-Ngan
(local resident newly arrived from Hong Kong) over Denise
Hunnius. Mens Bs: Kurt DEndel over Derek Marsham. Womens
Bs: Ngan over Audrey Spavins.
At the Apr. 11-12 Ontario Open in Torontodesignated a
yellow ball experiment tournament (balls o.k., but not with
Torontos brownish-orange gym floors)there was the same Wall
that not a man could get by. Derek, who the week before had won
in Ottawa, downed Buffalos Jim Dixon in the final. As with Wall, so
with Nesukaitis, inviolate in the Womens winners circle. However, in
the Mens B final, Errol Caetano, coming of age, defeated Violetta.
Womens Bs: South African native Anita Morta over Carol Wolf. Cs:
Wolfgang Bruns over CTTA Referee-in-Chief Mike Skinner.
Other results: Mens Doubles: Wall/Ivakitsch over Caetano/
Bill Cheng. Womens Doubles: the Nesukaitis flower
girls over Marie Kerr/Jenny Marinko. Mixed: Peter
Gonda and Jose Tomkins, recent Canadian
Amateur Sports Federation Award winner (House
Errol Caetano
Organ category) for her CTTA News, over
Caetano/ Nesukaitis. Junior Men: Caetano over
Mike Jovanov. Junior Miss: Flora over Mikes sister, Doreen. Boys: Paul
Klevinas over Yu Jim Pak, 18 in the 3rd. Girls: Sheryn Posen over Midget
Girls winner Sandra Leja. Midget Boys: Klevinas over Vic Skujins.
Six weeks later, at the Eastern Canada Open in Toronto, Larry
Lee won the Mens from Zulps whod stopped Marinko. Doubles went
to Zulps/Gonda over Caetano/Cheng in 5. Violetta and Flora won
Jose
everything they were supposed to. Mens Bs went to Bob Trifunovic
over Alain Thomas in 5. Girls: Mariann Domonkos over the promising Biruta
Plucas. Where, however, was Wall? It wasnt like him to miss a tournament.
Hed embarked on a leadership coaching tour that included three days in Charlottetown,
P.E.I., three days in Halifax, Nova Scotia, two days in Sackville, and one day in Fredericton, New
Brunswick. At Sackville, Derek was surprised to see that local Recreation Director Tom Wagstaff
was using a Stiga Robot. Wagstaff, experienced in training methods for many sports, soon had
Derek eating sunflower seeds, which Wagstaff said contained the greatest source of Vitamin E
(Endurance). He also thought that Russian athletes ate about half a pound a day [of these seeds]
whilst in training.
Derek particularly praised Nova Scotia TTA President Roy Gannon for working to get table
tennis into the schools, on TV, and for opening a self-supporting club boasting 17 Jacques tables
and playing hours from 4 to 11 p.m. every day. [On Feb. 1, 1971, Gannon will become the CTTA
Executive Director at the Ottawa Sport Centre] (CTTA News, Vol. 5 Supplement, Aug., 1970).
The May 30/31 Laurentian Open got a Topics write-up from Alex Shiroky, our new
Intercollegiate Champion over Lim Ming Chui. Alex was positively ecstatic in his praise of this
453

tournament:
The last spring weekend in May in Canadas beautiful Laurentian Mountains!
Discotheque. Heated swimming pool. Table tennis play over Saturday afternoon at
five, finals finished Sunday at six. Lots of prize money. The Mont Rolland [Quebec] mayor
and town councilors mixing it up at the cocktail party, and afterwards a buffet dinner, and
afterwards dancing.
I tell you, people, this is the most beautiful, the most fantastic tournament Ive
ever gone to.I got the feeling people really liked Americans here (TTT, July-Aug.,
1970, 12).
And who won this
tournament? No, not Wall,
though he beat both Fuarnado
Roberts and Bernie Bukiet in
straight games. Hint: get out
the headdress. In the semis,
George The Chief
Brathwaite defeated Shiroky,
after Alex earlier, with an assist
from his N.Y.C. player/
coaches (play to the guys
forehand; his backhands
viper-quick), rallied to defeat
Guy Germain in 5. George
then prevailed over Derek in
Brathwaite has Wall going the wrong way
the final 3-0 (24-22 in the 3rd).
By this time, as Larry Hodges would tell us on interviewing The Chief a quarter of a century later,
George had mastered a forehand looping/backhand countering game. Thereafter he would
gradually add to it a looping backhand, and so would open with a soft forehand or backhand
loop and follow that with continuous backhand loops and counterscontrolled aggression, as
he put it (Table Tennis World, Jan.-Feb., 1996, 18).
Other results: Mens Doubles: Brathwaite/Shiroky (down double match-point) took
the Doubles from Wall/Germain. Womens winner: Violetta over Helen Sabaliauskas, soon to
wed Loren Simerl. Womens Doubles to the Nesukaitis sisters, but 21, 19 barely over Hecht/
Hunnius. Mixed: Caetano/Nesukaitis over Bukiet/Sabaliauskas. Mens Bs: Kurt DEngle over
Alain Thomas. Womens Bs: Marie Kerr over Audrey Spavins. Junior Men: Caetano over
Sharara. Junior Miss: Flora over Doreen Jovanov.
Earlier, Brathwaite had also made news. In the Sept.-Oct., 1970 Topics, he wrote about
his Tour of Central America with U.S. Champ D-J Lee and his wife Linda. Their primary aim was to
give exhibitions and coaching clinics. But at a Managua nite club George danced two or three
boleros and a pachanga, proclaimed them very good for your footwork, and, after practicing so,
beat the best Nicaraguan players, Walberto Lopez and Luis Molina. Then, he says, he brought the
house down when, during an exhibition with D-J, he managed to finish a point while standing on the
table. Afterwards he and D-J played open air matches in Guatemala City, and then were off to El
Salvador where they received gifts and spirited opposition.
454

State of Association as Decade Ends

O.K., thats ittournament
seasons over. Where, as I come to
close this volume, this decade, is the
USTTA Ship of State heading? You
think were at sea, cabined in? Maybe.
But chances are were sailing
somewhere. There must be porthole
hopes. I, for one, will keep looking. You
too?
President Graham Steenhoven,
running unopposed, was re-elected for
a two-year term (1970-72). Executive
Vice-President Jack Carr, running
unopposed, was re-elected for a twoGeorge, D-J and Linda on a Tour vacation
year term (1970-72). I pause there,
with knife in hand, as it were, to slice off a section of the last (Mar. 20, 1970) Minutes of the
last season of the last decade, as recorded by Recording Secretary Cyril Lederman who,
running unopposed, was also re-elected for a two-year term (1970-72):
The President requested Jack Carr to act as Parliamentarian. The request was
declined.
Following corrections to minutes per Jack Carr.
(b) Amend 5.b. That no contract was offered to Gazdag by the President as agreed
by the E.C.
(c) Amend
5.w. That the report
from Dell Sweeris
(Coaching) was
considered
inadequate by the
President, not the
entire E.C. [Graham
didnt want to give
Dell the Barna
Award?] The
President failed to
circulate Fred
Herbsts Dal Joon
Lee coaching tour
report, as he stated
USTTA President
USTTA Executive Vice-President
he would do.
Graham Steenhoven
Jack Carr
Other
(gonna be mellow?)
(gonna
be mellow?)
comments by Jack
Carr.
President did not send out agenda two weeks in advance, Bylaw violation.
455

Minutes should have been distributed to all affiliated clubs per standing rule. [That
standing rule will shortly be rescinded at this very Meeting.]
No action taken on formation of Ways & Means Committee by President.
Gestetner stenciler not purchased although approved by E.C.
No report received from President regarding committee for improving financial
structure.
[Was a budget increase] granted to membership committee? No reply to this
question.
The President stated that he still had the promotion film that was to be sent to
Librarian in November.
President refused to discuss [Rules Committee report on Feuersteins request
that junior members not be included in the 40 members permitted under affiliates
plan].
[After a letter was sent to Gazdag without a reply] and no follow up was
made by the President, and[considering contract negotiations have] been in abeyance
for a period of two yearsFred Herbst proposed that Jack Carr draft a letter and
contract for the Corresponding Secretary to send to Gazdag, including a copy of letter
previously sent. The President refused.
At this Meeting, President Steenhoven stated that U.S.T.T.A. dirty linen would not be
aired in Topics.
No chance then that the membership sees these Minutes, this feud, between the two
highest officers of the Association.
However, on June 13, Graham sends a letter to his E.C. in which he acknowledges
numerous errors of omission and commission, and says he has no excuses. I do the best I
candont expect to please everybody and most of the time I am not personally satisfied with
my performance. But I do have to establish priorities for my timeand often find I dont have
enough [time] to do the things I feel should be done.
Grahams just been re-elected and already sounds weary, says he will not run for reelection two years hence. But he does clearly see the need to take control:
[An E.C. meeting] is not designed as a forum to chastise each other with
critiques of performance.[We should] refrain from the personal abuse and irrational
behavior that has characterized previous meetings.
No executive committee members should be exposed to bad manners, bad tempers
or scurrilous, obscene or profane language.
I urge all of you to approach this [next] meeting with a positive attitude,
resolving to listen with both ears and mind, to presentations and points of view directly
opposite to our own. We must resolve to work together for a season of progressive
partnership.
No dirty linen in Topics. But Graham didnt say anything about Carr not coming at him
via the Pacific Northwest Table Tennis Times. Whatever the Times published drew a sharp rebuke
from USTTA Vice-President Fred Herbst. Heres part of Freds June 22nd letter to (I presume the
Editor) Jeff Kurtz:
456

I thought I had attended the same EC meeting in Detroit last week as my

friend and colleague Jack Carr, but according to his recollection of what took place, I
must have been in a space-warp at the time.
I recall a difficult [Mar. 20th] meeting being chaired by the president with
patience, fairness, and courtesy. He made no dictatorial decisions and put every
controversy to a vote. All suggestions were treated with respect, including Jacks. Only
when it became obvious that absolutely no other business would be transacted if we
continued to dwell on the issues raised by Jack on two subjectsthe previous minutes
and the unofficial ways and means questionnairedid he insist we move on.
As a former working newspaperman, I dont think its good journalistic
ethics to print an opinionated, slanted report containing personal sniping at the
president of our organization with no attempt to present the other side.
I could catalogue many more inaccuracies and misinterpretations committed by
Jack, but would that be constructive? Jack is a volunteer just like all of us including
Steenhoven, and does a tremendous amount of good for the association and the
sport.
In-fighting and factionalism are the downfall of many volunteer organizations, says
Fredbut, as weve seen, he himself can be something of a New York City street-fighter.
So did anything happen at this Mar. 20th Meeting?
Well, the one E.C. position remainingthat of Vice-President (Bob Rudulph had no
interest in another term)was being contested by Ralph Bender and Lou Bochenski. But then
Jack Carr nominated me, and John Read nominated Richard Hicks, to run too. Intercollegiate
Chair Stu Lassar wanted to serve on the E.C., but since he hadnt been a committee member
for a year, he wasnt eligible. Nor would Stuart he able to interest anyone in bringing about a
select 20-player prize-money tournament hed suggested. Joe Sokoloff wanted to run for
office, but, though, like Boggan and Hicks, he was nominated, he was turned down via a
closed vote of the E.C.
As it happened, Id win this electionwhich, though I didnt know it at the time, was
one of the two life-changing moments the new decade would quickly bring me.
Since the E.C. would resolve to hold a U.S. Closed wherein all entries would have to
be U.S. citizens (well see if and when this Closed happens after I pick up the 1970-71/71-72
season in Vol. VI), there was further talk as to whether a playerlike D-J, for instancehad
to be an American citizen if he were going to represent our country in any international match.
The E.C. decided that as long as the player in question was living permanently in the U.S.A, it
would be o.k. That left the way clear for Lee to play for us at the Nagoya Worlds, but, more
immediately, for him to take the trip with Brathwaite to Central America. However, there was
an unexpected development for the cash-strapped Association. Good news was that Nicaragua
would pay for one player, and the U.S. Government would pay for the other. Bad news was
that when the Government found out that neither D-J nor George was a citizen, they had to renege
on the $300 fare. And since it was too late to cancel, the USTTA had to take $300 from their
general fund to pay for that trip.
As was not uncommon news at a Meeting, committee heads had resignedMadeline
Buben, Equipment; Si Ratner, TVand there was no one to appoint in their stead. Table Tennis
Week and Exhibition also remained, for all anyone cared, acephalous. John White had replaced
457

Hugh Babb as Southern Regional Director; Marv Shaffer had replaced Sam Veillette as
Membership Chair; Ralph Bender had replaced Jack Carr as Library Chair; Earl Adams had
replaced Dell Sweeris as Coaching Chair; and, on hearing that H Blair would be giving up the
Editorship of Topics, I said Id be interested in being the Editor, and, though I knew nothing about
journalism, or putting together so much as a newsletter, I was subsequently appointed. It was
another life-changing moment for mefar more far-reaching than I could ever have
imagined. I promptly turned the format of the magazine into a tabloid, or, as LITTA
President Dave Cox said in an Editorial in my first issue, into the most radical overhaul
in format that the magazines had since it first appeared in the early thirties. But he
approved:
we firmly believe this change is the only logical one under the
prevailing circumstance. Foremost is the fact that the larger size will provide
almost double [make that, as I continued to expand the magazine, almost
quadruple] the space to accommodate the backlog of copy which has
plagued previous editors and forced the magazine to surrender any claim to
topicality. In its new form, Topics will be able to handle much more in the
way of regional news, contributed articles and special items.
A hardly less important factor is the crucial one of practical economics. Expressed
in the simplest way, the USTTA can no longer afford the luxury of a magazine printed on high
quality paper at the present membership level without a substantial increase in dues. There will be
many like ourselves who mourn its demise, but we can only look forward to the time when there are
enough members and advertisers to once again
support a glossy magazine. (TTT, July-Aug.,
1970, 6).
After Id put out my first issue, ex-Editor
Blair wrote me an encouraging July 12th letter, but
asked me strangely:
[Have] you given any
thought to how long youll be
staying on as editor? No-one, but
no-one, would want to hold down
the job indefinitely; its too
demanding [Blair did 24 issues]. I
do hope thatfor the good of the
sport and the associationyou will
want to stay on at least two years.
Even if you weary of it sooner, I
hope youll feel obligated to serve
two years, at least. (Hope this
doesnt sound like I wouldnt want
you to serve longer than two years;
Id like nothing better than to have
you stay on a long, long timeif it
is what you want.)
458

The
New
Editor

My first issue (of 9 this coming 1970-71 season) would be 12

pages, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th issues would be 16 pages, my 5th, 20
pages.Later, despite Fred Herbsts fear that Id burn out after a few
issues, Id work up to 48 pages.
The USTTA E.C. still seemed moribund, but now in this last, past
season there was movement in the Sport, and, after this rather dead decade,
hope for the next. The peregrinations of Lee particularly, of Sweeris only less
so, and also those of Tannehill and Brathwaite, as well as Derek Walls
lair
H. B
omnipresent Canadian presence, had raised at least some increased interest
round the country, and, indeed, in Canada, in watching both competitive and
exhibition play. Ditto for Geza Gazdags much talked about International Invitationals. Now, too, more
players from every section of the country were interested in entering tournaments and attending
coaching clinics. Also, promoters like Charlie Disney and Ron Shirley were inspired to bring the
Sport to the people.
Howards ITS involvement resulted in a cluster of players that predictably formed a
U.S. World Team echelon, for theyd developed an image of themselves as being their
countrys best, and this image was being reinforced at tournament after tournament. Even
though the 1971 Team (5 men, 4 women) and its Captain to Nagoya wouldnt be announced
until after the ITS Matches/USOTC Championships Nov. 6-8 in Detroit, they might just as
easily be selected at the moment?
At the July E.C. Meeting, Read (uncertain of his own commitment to Nagoya) will propose
that Howard be the U.S. Team Captain and the E.C. agreed. The Mens Team for the Toronto CNE
matches might very well be the Team we send to Japan: Lee (U.S. #1), Tannehill (#2), Resek (#34), Sweeris (#5), and Brathwaite (#8)? Ditto the Womens Team for Canada: Ogus (U.S. #1),
Green (#4), Sweeris (#5), Bochenski (#9)? (Martinez at the moment is abandoning tournament play
for serious sport with a boyfriend shell later marryso shes out.) Of course the Selection
Committee could hardly mandate that Glenn Cowan (#9) and Wendy Hicks (#3) travel crosscountry to Toronto. But everyone knew they had to be at the Nov. 7-8 Detroit ITS/USOTC
Matches, since they would count heavily in the eyes of the Selectors.
At the CNE, both Sweeris and Resek didnt help their causeDell would lose to
Fuarnado Roberts (#11), and Errol to Mitch Sealtiel (#13). But Brathwaite would hold steady
by beating Bukiet (#7). No swing with the Women: Connie would down Alice; Bochenski and
Soltesz (#11) would lose to Nesukaitis (though Olga would take Violetta to 5). At the Long
Island Open, George would have a good win over Errol; Connie another over Alice. In
California, Cowan would split matches with Howard (#3-4).
So, come Nov., what happened at Detroit? The Selection Committee was composed of
John Read as Chair, Tim Boggan, Dick Evans, Rufford Harrison, Dick Hicks, and Jack Howard.
Here were their choices for the Mens Team (name followed by ITS record/USOTC record): Lee
(didnt play ITS Matches/20-0. Cowan (7-1/18-3). Tannehill (7-2/20-1). Resek (7-2/14-5). Sweeris
(5-3/21-3). Brathwaite (2-3/18-4). The E.C. opted for Brathwaite over Sweeris (I dont know
now why George played so few of the important ITS matches), and made Dell 1st alternate and
Bukiet (6-2/6-3) 2nd alternate.
The Committees choices for the Womens Team were: Hicks (8-0/18-0). Ogus (7-1/162). Green (5-3/15-3). Sweeris (5-3/15-4). 1st Alternate was Soltesz (4-4/15-5); 2nd Alternate,
Bochenski (3-5/15-8).
So who of these players would we see in Japan, in China, in Vol. V?
459

Well find out of course. But meanwhile theres an initial

problem. The 1971 U.S. World Team was invisiblethere was no
one to promote or market it. Worse, no USTTA general funds were
being allocated for the
Team members, and no
one on the E.C. was
seriously interested in
fund-raising for them.
Thus, as itd been for
many a passing player,
momentous
opportunities, unseen,
would comeand go.

Photo by Mal Anderson

U.S. Team Captain Jack Howard

460

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U.S. Team at the 1963 Prague

Worlds Opening Ceremony