History of U.S.

Table Tennis
Vol. VIII: 1975-1977

Many an average player just doesnt get it.

The gulf between amateur and professional, the conceptual
difference between them, is too new, too great.

BY TIM BOGGAN
USATT HISTORIAN

U.S. Finally Does It!

Men & Women Teams Advance to
1st Category at Birmingham

Danny keeps U.S. hopes alive for First Division advance. Ricky signaling his
imminent victory over Italys Constantini in ninth climactic match.

TIM BOGGAN
Tim Boggan is a former
International Table Tennis Federation
Vice-President, and a former threeterm 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) through VIII (2008) of his
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 was until
recently the USATTs Secretary, and continues as its longtime Historian.
He has received the ITTF Order of Merit Award, and the USTTA
Barna Award. In 1985 he was inducted into the USTTA Hall of Fame, and
for more than a quarter of a century has been on that Halls Board of
Directors. In 2006 he received the Associations Mark Matthews Lifetime
Achievement Award.
He was a member of the 1971 U.S. Ping-Pong Diplomacy Team to
China, and since then has attended, as an official and/or journalist some 20
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

Cover Photos
Left: Danny Seemiller by Neal Fox
Right: Ricky Seemiller by Mal Anderson
Back Cover Photo
Bill Hodge by Mary McIlwain

History of U.S. Table Tennis

VOL. VIII: 19751977:

Many an average player just doesnt get it.

The gulf between amateur and professional, the conceptual
difference between them, is too new, too great.

by Tim Boggan, USATT Historian

Copyright 2008

This book is for Mal Anderson and Larry Hodges

Mal Anderson deserves recognition herenot only for continuing to share with me his
enormous collection of photos of players and officials, but for his indispensable help in
scanning 1,000 or more photos for possible use in this book.
Larry Hodges Im again thankful tohis computer expertise and assistance in layout work has
also been indispensable to the making of this, the eighth volume in my History series.
To Mal and Larry, then, I dedicate this bookin appreciation for their continued support in
helping me to preserve the History of our Association.
In addition, Id like to give special thanks again to Dave Sakai for his unfaltering
encouragement and for repeatedly facilitating the printing of these volumes in the way Ive
enjoyed doing them.
Finally, I want again to applaud Professor Scott Gordon, our USATT Film Archivist, for his
determined efforts to locate and preserve the all too few films from our historic past.

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

ISBN NUMBER: 0-9707657-7-0
COPYRIGHT 2008
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or reproduced
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photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright
owner.

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). During the years this volume deals with, 1975-77, Im of course greatly indebted to
the official publication of the USTTA, Table Tennis Topics.
Those to whom I particularly want to show my gratitude: Mal Anderson, Tommy
Andersson, Stewart Ansteth, Ray Arditi, Mike Baber, Mike Babuin, Ed Ball, Tom Baudry, Lou
Bochenski, Houshang Bozorgzadeh, Ross Brown, George Braithwaite, Bernie Bukiet, Mike
Bush, Errol Caetano, Jack Carr, Lim Ming Chui, Robert Compton, Zlatko and Irena Cordas,
Dave Cox, Carl and Fred Danner, Kasia Dawidowicz, Wendell Dillon, Charlie Disney, Dick
Evans, Shazzi Felstein, Ray Fields, Neal Fox, Danny Ganz, Cosmo Graham, Bob Green, Dan
Green, Fred Grobee, Howie Grossman, Don Gunn, Bobby Gusikoff, Harvey Gutman, Rufford
Harrison, Fred Herbst, Bill Hodge, Larry Hodges, Mike Hoffland, Jack Howard, Steve
Isaacson, Dean Johnson, Bob and Barbara Kaminsky, Gus and Jean Kennedy, Larry Kesler,
Norman Kilpatrick, Lem Kuusk, Mike Lardon, Don Larson, Joseph C.H. Lee, D-J Lee, Y.C.
Lee, Marv and Caron Leff, Paul Lewis, Ray Mack, Barry Margolius, Tony Martin, Janet
Martorano, John Masters, Jim McQueen, Jack Buddy Melamed, Dick Miles, Parvis
Mojaverian, Leah Thall Neuberger, Joe Newgarden, Bette Newman, Dean Norman, Sean
ONeill, Dusan Dule Osmanagic, Tyra Parkins, Sheri Pittman, Marv Plevinsky, Bruce
Plotnick, Marty Prager, Scott Preiss, Pam Ramsey, Phil Reid, Marty Reisman, Errol and Jairie
Resek, Stan Robens, Fuarnado Roberts, Raul Rodriguez, Leon Ruderman, Dave and Donna
Sakai, Nisse Sandberg, Sol Schiff, Perry Schwartzberg, Dr. Michael Scott, II, Dan Seemiller,
Adham Sharara, Ron Shirley, Jim Shoots, Tom Slater, Neil Smyth, Suzanne Soderberg, Joe
Sokoloff, Olga Soltesz, Thelma Tybie Thall Sommer, Rudi Stipkovic, Larry Thoman, Russ
Thompson, Zdenko Uzorinac, Jim Verta, Herb and Marilyn Vichnin, Ron Von Schimmelman,
Bill Walk, George and Kathy Walters, Don Weems, E. (Helen?) Weiner, Tom Wintrich, Charlie
Wuvanich, and Mort Zakarin.
Since Ive acquired former USTTA Historian Leah Neubergers records, Im able to
show, from their beginnings into the beginning 1990s, the results of World Championships;
annual Canadian National Exhibition Championships; U.S. Open and Closed Championships;
U.S. Open Team Championships; Eastern Open Championships; and numerous City and State
tournaments around the country.
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 those Binders (as well as
the many miscellaneous Folders Leah had acquired) and sending them to me.
References where possible, including photo acknowledgements, will appear in the text.

Introduction
In Volumes VI and VII Id indicated how in the first half of the 1970s the USTTA was
characterized by controversy. This, I said, showed a vitality that bespoke movement in the
Sport. In noting a mid-70s continuation of this trend, I immediately point to the Associations
1975 Election of Officials in which 14 people ran for the three Vice-President positions, and
three other candidates for the one position of Treasurer.

Mark Lippincott, president of the Michigan Ladder Company,

Detroiter Nationals sponsor.
Photo by Don Weems

Movement there was, but it was divisive. On the one hand, there was a push for prize
money tournaments that encouraged the appearance of top U.S. and visiting world-class
competitors, coupled with an opportunity for our countrys players to compete abroad. On the
other, a desire to devote what limited funds the Association had to membership growth and the
formation of leagues, clubs, and school programs for the average player. The highly
controversial newly-formed Players Association headed by Fuarnado Roberts, along with
Topics Editor Tim Boggan, and Television Chair Dick Miles supported the former point of
view; Public Relations man Fred Herbst, Jack-of-all-trades Jack Carr, and Fred Danner the
latter (though only the focused USTTA Junior Development Chair Danner, an amateurminded, driven doer, could be said to have accomplished much).
Throughout
the country more
small-tourney
organizers began
giving cash prizes,
and from Aug.
through Nov., 1975
there was a
succession of larger
prize-money
tournaments that had
been unthinkable
only a few years
Ricky Seemiller, a winner versus Italys Massimo Costanini,
back: $3,000 at
in climactic Mens Team match, at Birmingham Worlds.
Phoenix, $3,000 at
Photo by Neal Fox
Cedar Rapids,
$1,400 at Atlanta, $3,000 at Oklahoma City, $2,175 at Detroit, and $1,750 at Long Islands
Adelphi University, the venue for Mort Zakarins Pro Tour #1. Another 1975-76 advance was
not merely the entry of U.S. players in tournaments abroad, but, significantly, the Seemiller
brothers encouraging performance at thema preparation for the semi-professional/
4

professional players the U.S. Team would meet at the 1977/79 World Championships. Our
advance via Sarajevo and Calcutta came to a climax in Birmingham, England when, down 4-2
in the deciding tie against Italy, we rallied to regain something of our countrys lost glory and
qualified to take our place in Championship Division play with the worlds best.
Herbst, in his article, USTTAFor The Amateur Or Professional? (TTT, May-June,
1976, 13-14) presents a point of view favoring the amateur that made sense to manybut no
one, because of the difficulty involved, was willing or able to make much progress
implementing it. Fred says, That to imagine table tennis will become a major sport in this
country through the device of big money tournaments or the development of a few superstars
is surely a hallucination and a delusion.You cant build anything from the top down, you
must build from the bottom up. [It would seem, as, 30 years later, we were about to celebrate
the 75th anniversary of our Association, that the thought of table tennis becoming a major sport
in the U.S. is itself hallucinatory.]
Fred cites soccer as an example: They had television exposure, world-famous players,
media exposure, and a blank check. Within a year it was all drown the drain. Why? Because
there was no mass base to support it..Presently, wiser heads are reviving soccer. Now the
moneys going into youth leagues and professional competitions held in college stadia
instead of the big ball fields. [Truth there may be to thisbut concurrently the May 2nd, 1976
New York Daily News said that 25,000 spectators attended the Cosmos-Sting game at Yankee
Stadium and that the Cosmos just paid at least $500,000 for Girgio Chinaglia about to be
released from the Italian Soccer Federation. So professional soccer wasnt down the drain just
yet.]
What the USTTA needs to do, Herbst says, is follow the example of the United States
Tennis Associationemphasize grass roots development of an organization thats devoted to
the development of tennis as a means of healthful recreation and physical fitness and to the
maintenance of high standards of amateurism, fair play, and sportsmanship. Of course, as in
soccer, theres successful pro play too [howd that come about?], but the main thrust in tennis
is toward amateur play. Thus the professional-minded wing of the USTTA should form their
own organization and get their own sponsors, while the amateur base will guarantee the
eventual success of professional table tennis. [Maybebut where was even what base we had
when the pros played in the Houston U.S. Open? Is Table Tennis a spectator sport for the
masses of amateurs?]
Both Fuarnado Roberts and George Brathwaite , who I believe are right-minded but
who dont always get their facts straight, have Players Association articles in the Jan.-Feb.,
1976 issue of Topics. Robbie objects (as does Herbst) to Mort Zakarins proposal for an
exclusive 15-year contract to run a series of Pro Tour tournamentsthough he might have
gone along with it if Mort and the USTTA E.C. had agreed to give the Players Association at
least 5% of the profit, which they declined to do. Robbie argues abrasively that the top
players are being abused, taken advantage of, and must get some compensation. For example:
all expenses must be paid for U.S. Men and Womens Team members (the women particularly
have been neglected) at the upcoming June, 1976 Philadelphia U.S. Open.
Fred Danner, extremely capable regarding what he wants to accomplish, and so
ambitiously amateur-minded as to already be envisioning our Sport in the Olympic Games,
takes a hard line toward the professional-minded Players Association. In his Work-in-Progress
Memoirs he says none of them were at his Huntington Tournament [because of course, though
Fred drew 380 entries (75% of whom were first timers!) there was no prize money]; instead,
5

they were busy trying to blackmail USTTA

tournament sponsors & Mort Zakarins World
Table Tennis Tour. The fact that Morts Tour might
take several losing money years to become
profitable didnt seem to concern Fuarnado.
Fred doesnt like the Players, their pushiness.
Undaunted by their failure to get USTTA
Executive Committee backing to extort money
from World Table Tennis, the Players Association
decided to hold-up USTTA-run tournaments for
more prize money. At the 1976 Easter Regional
Tournament in Maryland, Fred says, the Players
forced a stopping of play until Tournament
Director Bob Kaminsky acceded to some of their
demands. The other average players in the heldup events were most unhappy with what was going
Fuarnado
on. Several simply defaulted and went home rather
Roberts
than put up with this crap! This left a bitter taste in
Drawing by
my mouth and I felt particularly bad seeing a young
E. Weiner
Danny Seemiller being led around by Fuarnado
Roberts like a puppy on a string. Why should I work so hard to get Dan Seemiller on TV so he
can destroy the game I love? It made no sense.... Not to Fred. But prize-money tournaments
wont destroy the game, quite the contrary, and eventually Play-for-Pay professionals will
become far more watched and appreciated the world over than Its-only-a-game-minded
amateurs.*
The Associations
Executive V-P, Rufford
Harrison, on hearing the
Players demands for this
and that, questions,
Where do you people
think the money is to
come from? The
invariably cash-strapped
USTTA? The U.S. Open
sponsors? Like Zakarin,
promoters Dick Miles/
Herb Vichnin want an
extended contractin
their case to run a series
of consecutive U.S.
Opens. Of course when
the prize money offered Players beginning to assemble before forming picket line at 76 U.S. Open.
for the first of these
Opens was a mere $1,500, the Players players acted unprecedentedly. As youll see, in a
highly criticized move, they boycotted and picketed the tournament. Roberts says President
6

Disney had wanted the USTTA to match his, Charlies, $5,000 offer to run a U. S. Closed
(actually Charlie proposed, unsuccessfully, that the E. C. match funds up to $500), and to
allow those with just six months residency to be able to play in it. This would include the
recently arrived Thai players ensconced for the moment at Disneys Minneapolis Club, led by
5-time Australian Champ Charlie Wuvanich, winner of almost $3,000 in the last six months of
1975 tournaments. Since the buck falls to the USTTA President, Disney is repeatedly
Robertss target, and, though we can read clearly enough what Robbie says, we dont always
know whether its true or not. Certainly the Players Association wouldnt want the strong,
new Thai players coming in for a quick grab at the U.S. Closed title and the cash that goes
with it.
Roberts also says his Players Association is all prepared to run the 76 Closed with a
two-year residency requirement, ample prize money, excellent venue conditions (which many
tournaments now do not have), and a boss partybut more than a few people might consider
that proposed Closed far more dream than reality. As Joseph C.H. Lee said after running three
tournaments with help from his Aberdeen, Maryland Club, Unless a person actually takes on
the responsibilities of conducting a tournament [and getting the required sponsors], he just
cannot fully realize the difficulties in trying to raise the needed funds for prizes and other
expenses. However, youll be able to read in this volume, not about a Players Association
Closed, but how Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, thanks largely to Neil Smyth and Bill Hodge,
made USTTA History by hosting in Dec., 1976 the first full-event U.S. Closed with $12,500 in
prize money.
Brathwaite, echoing Roberts, eschews the lip service given to the high standards of
amateurism, and urges the USTTA to get real, its membership to be aware that the top
players were being treated scantily and like second-class citizens. Although USTTA money is

George Brathwaite

The High Standards of Amateurism.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Cartoon by He Ying, World Table Tennis, 1994, 40

found to partially fund E.C. members to their Meetings, and found, too, to bring world-class
players to U.S. Opens, our Team members have to pay their own way to play for their
country. Brathwaite thinks that at E.C. Meetings a lot of deals, contracts, etc. are made that
are not in the best interests of the players or the Association, so he wants a Players
7

Association representative to be able to attend all E.C. meetings of the USTTA just so that we
can listen and have our say. Of course no ones stopping such a representative from attending
the Meetings now, and members, by reading not only what I believe are truthfully recorded
Minutes, but all the free-wheeling articles regularly published in Topics, ought to be able to
judge pretty accurately whats true and what isnt, and why their representatives act as they
do.
I think by this mid-70s time more progress has been made in pursuing the
professional point of view than the amateur point of view, for I believe the new interest in
intense world-class play forced a more passionate response, more movement, than the interest
in socially competitive play. The USTTA is primarily for the serious tournament playerit
always has been. It doesnt grow, as enthusiasts want it to, because in a sense its exclusive.
Playing even relatively well takes time, takes work. The turnover in Membership is constant;
enthusiasts comeand go, dont stay enthused.
Also constant, through the 1970s and into the millennium beyond, and this despite
USTTA members interest in tournament play and playing before an audience, is the criticism
that outside spectators at tournaments seldom know whats going on. Put it this way:
Since some tables have an umpire and others dont, am I, the uninitiate, to
assume that at some tables Im watching serious practice matches? Or the real thing?
And even where there is an umpire, what event, and what round in it, am I watching?
And the match is between whom? Im fortunate at a tournament to have a program
with player numbers, and even some photos, but I cant always identify all the players.
That is, most wear numbers, but some dont; and many numbers curl up, fold over, are
unreadable. Also, which ones are the best players, the ones apt to be in contention, or
to pull upsets? Draw sheets are posted, but not kept up to date. Loudspeaker
announcements cant be heard. Umpires cant be heard. In short, theres rarely ever
enough attention given to the presentation of matches to outsidersperhaps on the
theory that they wont come anyway.
But though over the years we have very few people interested in getting outside
spectators to our tournaments and willing to do the considerable work that entails, if we
insiders here in the U.S. dont get to watch and above all get to compete against the best in
our Sport, then even those who are serious players will really be playing a form of ping-pong
not table tennis as its played professionally. It took us a while to learn that good players
coming here to live necessarily produced other good playersindeed, induced, through
popular opinion and support, still stronger players to come from abroad. As a result, our
standard of play improved. A player who in one decade would have been ranked in the Top 30
may not in the next, even were he to have kept up his game, make the Top 100.
Despite Herbsts comment that professional leagues in the mid-70s are failing, its the
professional player in any sport that interested spectators want to pay their money to see.
Indeed, its a debatable question whether you can fool even the uninitiated with exhibition
players of limited ability. Professionals, much more often than not, try as hard as they can
and its this show of tension that any real sports enthusiast wants to see and feel. For many,
exhibitions may be fun to watchbut unless they are so superbly done as to create stress
(even comedic stresswill the jokes work?), the more of an aficionado you are, the sooner
they become boring.
8

The French at play: Vincent Purkart showing his defense to Jacques Secretin.
Photo by Mal Anderson

Herbst, in a Jan. 13, 1975 letter to then President Boggan, told me, as he and how
many others had told me before, and would tell me after (including future USTTA President
Mel Eisner), that the only chance for USTTA growth lies in a proliferation of clubs, leagues,
interscholastic and community-based recreation competition. So, o.k., though I had through
the years, and still have, my own prioritiesthose things I feel with passion I can doIve
never been against growth. Who would be? Somebody go ahead, bring it about, a consortium
of the interested do it, bring about this growth that hasnt been done in the first 40 years of the
Associations History, or, as I know, wont be done in the next 35.
More than ever before there is a divide being talked aboutwhether the USTTA is for
the Amateur or the Professional. Club owner Lou Bochenski asks (TTT, May-June, 1976, 18),
as did Harrison, Where is the tournament prize money for the top players to come from? And
answers, Certainly not from the entry fees. The lower rated players will not stand for this.
They will not willingly pay an additional two, three or more dollars to play in a tournament
just to provide prize money for the top players. Just to? In effect, then, its not worth it for
the lower rated players to pay more to see the better players compete at their tournament? So
its unlikely top players will come to their tournament? Perhaps the divide is between the
higher rated players and the lower rated players? Between those who are interested in Table
Tennis as a spectator sport and those who arent?
Lou says the top players owe a bit more to table tennis than just a lot of hard dedicated
practice. Just a? But thats their work thats presumably made them ready for more worktop
flight competition. Lou says the players must help
round up sponsors and promote table tennis in
every imaginable waymust do that work too.
Lou says that We would gladly help to provide the
Paddle Palace at little or no cost if the top players
can find a way to draw sponsors with cash,
spectators with cash in their pockets, and the
necessary TV. Which would certainly call attention
to and benefit the Paddle Palace, right?
Charlie Disney sees progress only if we
can establish a great many class places to play
In the business of Table Tennis, L-R: Charlie
through professionally-minded promoters who
Disney, Charlie Wuvanich, and Don Larson.
want to be in the business of table tennis. He
From TTT, Apr.-May, 1990
9

says that promoters who give large money tournaments a first-time try find they dont make
enough money (did they really expect to?) to compensate them for the hassles they go through
and so, after running one tournament, they arent willing to run another. However, George
Nissen and others in the 1970s and on into the 80s, continue to run their money
tournaments, though they have no financial motive.
Heres Tom Baudry commenting on his Mar. 27-28, 1976 Bicentennial Professional
Invitational Tournament in Baton Rouge:
I would have enjoyed nothing better than to have had money in all
twelve events, if we had $10,000 or $20,000; however, we had only $2,000. My
concept of a professional athlete is one who earns or is able to earn a living at his or
her chosen sport. I am a B player, not a pro. There is no way on earth that I can ever
expect to earn a living by playing table tennis. We cant all be pros; the pros are the
best, the players at the top, only they can make itif the money is there. I wanted the
winner to be able to put some money in the bank, not just cover his traveling expenses,
so, out of our meager $2,000 total, one-half went to the winner. At least this is a start
towards professionalism.
Herbst told me it was really disturbing and debilitating to
see the new prevalence of payment for what used to be volunteer
work. Everybody is dipping into the pie and soon the pan will be
licked clean. Why should I work for nothing when so-and-so is
getting paid (or making profitable deals on the side)? Answer to
Fred: Because the worker has an obsessive love for his/her
avocationwork which he thinks he does well and, in addition to
vanity payments, gets great personal satisfaction from. Examples
past, present, and futureare easy to find (follow Bill Hornyak or
Power Poon in
the coming
years).
Fred
says, All this
money spent
Fred Herbst
its very
demoralizing. When there is no money left
to pay, the part-timers will quit and the
national operations [without an Executive
Director and staff] will be a shambles.
Crisis time. So, Tim, after your several
years of dedicated leadership, your
administration may be remembered not for
some worthy accomplishments, but for
With monacled money, our Sport will grow?
financial irresponsibility.
To which Boggan [with an historic
and not very favorable overview of USTTA Executive Directors to come that Fred didnt
have] answers: That may be. Herbst quotes me correctly as saying woefully that my dream is
10

dying:that is, as Fred says, my dream of table tennis becoming a major sport with
commensurate monetary rewards to the professional heroes. (Thats because I wasnt happy
with a good many USTTA Executive Committee members who I felt hadnt the heart to
push the Sport outward and forwarda feeling later confirmed when too many of them
seemed afraid to involve themselves in hosting a World Championships in the U.S.) But, o.k.,
controversy accepted and be damned, there already had been a great deal of 1970s positive
movement.
Its true that USTTA officials and players took some risky shotsand that some
missed the mark. Tournaments didnt turn out as we hoped they would. We couldnt close that
bid to hold the World Championships. Conflicts arose between concerned players and
concerned match officialswhose fault was that? But the Association kept scoring with an
accumulation of pointsa magazine, true, that we spent much money on, but that aroused
great interest among the Membership; more and larger tournaments; much more prize money
(and not just for the top players); a popular, if criticized rating system; outstanding junior
development work (players now going to Japan, and soon to Sweden and China, for
trainingmy own boys, still young, establishing the groundwork, the tournament experience,
for professional play abroad); more emphasis on coaching (increasingly important in every
country); an outward movement into world table tennis, and though that movement cost
money, it in turn brought that world to us. These were accomplishments donenot Jack-inthe-beanstalk wished for.
Of course there were messes too, as we shall seeparticularly with regard to the
short-lived but troublesome Players Association. Herbst speaks of an absolutely inconceivable
spectacle:
our own official publication helping to dig the grave of USTTA by
giving over the entire front page and more [actually the top half of the front page,
but, when folded for mailing, the cover] to a pitch
for this splinter group, complete with the address
where to send the $2 [membership fee]! And who is
wielding the spade? Our own Tim Boggan, formerly
president and now a well-paid employee under
contract to edit a publication which belongs not to
him personally as he seems to think, but to the
membership. It is time that the membership, through
its elected Executive Committee, reasserted control
over its own property.
To many, the Players Association was more a rival
to, than a part of, the USTTA, and Editor Boggan, who
was not only a USTTA Vice President but also a Vice
President in this Players Association, certainly, as Fred says,
championed them, gave the group much attention in the
official USTTA publication. This was seen by some as
unacceptable, even a conflict of interest. The condemnation
it drew no doubt encouraged Ron Shirley and his Table
Tennis Club of America (TTCA) to issue its amateur11

Boggan and Roberts

minded quarterly periodical, Table Tennis (major emphasis will be to present instructional and
informational material). After a couple of years, though, Ron dropped it, wanting to
concentrate on being primarily a Yasaka distributor. Boggan, however, saw these Players
protests as an important historical happening in U.S. Table Tennisa part of a whole. And he
gave them what he considered an appropriate voice.
Readers will judge for themselves whether this turbulent era, with its contrasting
amateur/professional views, was good or bad for U.S. table tennis. I believe, though, that with
its play-for-pay move toward professionalism, Table Tennis reflects not only the thought of
those in other sports associations, but the far-off, upfront resolution of such thought, that not
even the Olympic Games should be strictly for amateurs.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Topics, with its usual eye toward controversy, printed the following excerpts (Nov.Dec., 1977, 5):

12

Chapter One
1975: Beginning-of-the-Year Tournaments.
Might as well start off this new Volume with a bizarre story
covered by, first, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Feb. 12, 15, 17,
1975), then picked up more than three weeks later by the N. Y.
Times (Mar. 6). National Table Tennis League President Windsor
Olson, after a Feb. 3, 1975 match in Hubbard, OR, ordered the
Taiwan Team to forfeit the [World Professional] championship [to
the Seattle Sockeyes]. Why? Because, according to Taiwanese
Team Captain Chiang Pai Ching, his players were accused of
Something fishy going on
applying toothpaste to the ball to gain some kind of advantage
in the National TT League.
one they hardly needed since they say Olson himself had asked
Chiang to please have his players dump some matches, maybe even allow the Americans to win, to
make the contest more exciting to the spectators. The charge is ridiculous, said Chiang, whose
Team won the match 5-1, thus boosting their three-year record against the American players to 18
and 1. It is evident that we can easily defeat the United States without employing tricks.Besides,
it is unheard of to use toothpaste on a ball. Furthermore, if white toothpaste was used, it would
immediately be noticed on the red or blue paddles.
Olson said that the Taiwanese are very nationalistic and used this foreign substance
for fear of losing face in a defeat. He said, After the matches, when we put up the table,
we found [that], underneath, it was smeared with toothpaste. Olson said, I took pictures,
and tasted it myself.
Perhaps Olson, who didnt level his criticism against the Taiwanese until theyd left for
home, was just trying to generate some publicity. Certainly thats what his early-April National
Table Tennis League Newsletter was trying to do:
The National Table Tennis League just finished a West Coast tour, including
Anchorage and Juneau, Alaska, with very excellent paid attendance gates, the largest
gate being over $8,000.00.
The National
Table Tennis League is
getting world publicity,
not only through UPI,
AP but also Reuthers
[sic] News Service and
extended coverage in
the Far East.
The National
Table Tennis League
now has professional
teams playing in
Africa, South America,
Seattle Sockeyes, L-R: Joe Lee, Tom Ruttinger, Paul Raphel;
Canada, United States
and Portland Kings: Keun Chung, Han Vo Qui, and Ed Ng.
and the Far East.
Photo by Lou Bochenski
13

No stoppin them now, huh? But who would want to? Meanwhile, Lou Bochenski says
that a match held at the Paddle Palace between the Seattle Sockeyes and the Portland Kings
was a flop. Too near to home perhaps. Tom Ruttinger and Joe Lee will soon have to vacate
their Seattle Ping Pong Parlor. Their lease is up, and theyve not yet found another place.
Maybe they and their other Sockeye, Rob Roberts, will opt to tour the Far Eastas World
Champions they should be much in demand.
As for the Paddle Palace, Lou Bochenski (TTT,
May-June, 1975, 11), while pleased with having their
players league and tournament ratings up to date, and
encouraged by their increased mailing list, points out
that Club improvements are needed. Especially since
Lou and crew have just signed a new 5-year lease
(which includes an apartment in the building that allows
Lous wife Dotty to move back and forth with ease as
she is needed). Since the acoustics are bad, a better PA
system would help. Also, in addition to the excellent
Sitco Robot they have, theyd like a videotape machine
for use in coaching. Showers are needed, but location,
plumbing, electricity, etc. are major problems. Since
Earl Adams has offered to work at lowering the lights,
that should reduce the Clubs $125 a month electric bill.
Still, a lighted sign for out front might be worth the
expense.
Dotty Bochenski
Leagues are the backbone of the Paddle Palace.
From Dec. 6-7, 1980 Pacific
Northwest Open Program
What works for Lou are not the Team or Handicap leagues
that have been popular, say, at Magoos, but the round
robin ability groupings that move players up or down. Handicap leagues encourage pushing; the
ability groupings encourage all-out attack The latter seems to be increasing the in-depth strength of
the club. Lou works hard at trying to get publicity, and repeatedly gives dozens of exhibitions in
school assemblies, shopping centers, half time of ball games, etc. After handling about 80 or 90
school assemblies this year, Lou says we have a list of several hundred students who marked
down their name, phone number and age on sheets saying that they are interested in table tennis at
the Paddle Palace. Hopefully we can get them to play
this summer.
Elsie Spinning
Meanwhile, Lou continues to put on monthly
Photo by
Mal Anderson
tournamentstouting John Gold, who takes part in
school exhibitions, as his newest young find; John
will accompany other Club players to the Houston
Nationals. Results of the Jan. Funpak Open: Open
Singles: Han Vo Qui in 5 over Dave Davallou, then
over Danny Mattson, deuce in the 4th, after Danny
had upset Ron Carver, 18 in the 5th. Womens went
to Marie Mason, ranked U.S. #1 in Girls U-13, over
Selena Kyes. Marie will win the Oregon Closed over
Robin Hammond, but will have no chance against
Elsie Spinning in the Feb. Sportcraft Open. Open
14

Doubles: Dunbar Carpenter/Paul Chang over Bob Ho/Davallou, deuce in the 3rd, then over
Mike Bochenski/Ed Ng. Seniors: Bob Ho over Jim Tisler. College: Charlie McLarty over
Mattson (home on vacation from far away Drury College in Springfield, MO). High School:
Bochenski over Mike Sheffer, -19, 21, 15, then over Jay Crystal. Handicap: Dean Doyle over
M. Bochenski.
As: Jan.: Mattson over Vancouvers Alan Bajkov, 19 in the 3rd, then over Carpenter.
Mattson thus becomes a member of the exclusive Master rating class. Bs: Eric Weisenborn
over Crystal. B Doubles: Vazquez/Bruce Douglass over Dick Dubonne/Olson, 18 in the 3rd.
Cs: Doyle over Dubonne, -11, 21, 20, then over Mason, 18, 24. Ds: Scott Levitin over Peter
Kreisler whod knocked out Doyle, 19 in the 3rd. Es: Mike LaMear over David Orr. Fs: Bill
Popp over Mike Menashe. Unrated: Ron Wetz over LaMear, 24-22 in the 3rd, then over John
Fredrickson.
The Mar. Oregon Closed Open winner was
Carverwho, Greg Brendon tells us, is in his mid20s, married, and a full-time fish-hatchery
employee for the stateover Carl Cole, after Carl
in a gutsy 15, -16, 17, 21, 20 performance had
rallied by Judy Bochenski. Jeff Kurtz had two good
5-game wins in this three-tournament stretchover
Han and Dunbar Carpenter. Open Doubles: the
brother/sister duo of Mike/Judy Bochenski over
Carver/Kurtz. Seniors: Ho over Earl Adams.
College: Ed Ng over McLarty. Under 15s: Doyle
over David James, deuce in the 3rd. Handicap: Mike
Jeff
Mahoney over Brian Wright. As: Carpenter over
Kurtz
Adams. Bs Bill Mason over Ken Adair, deuce in the
3rd, then over Crystal who beat Art Schuff, 19 in the
rd
3 . Cs: Adair over Kevin Young. Ds: Wetz over Warren Palin. Es: Gene McManus over Eric
Lugert. Fs: McManus over Terry Miller. Gs: Mike Mahoney over Steve Hall. Warm Ups:
Muhammed Popoola over Lugert, 19 in the 3rd, then over Marie Mason. All Comers: Doyle
over Douglass, 19 in the 3rd.
San Francisco held its Winter Open Mar. 8-9 with the following results. Open: Dean
Galardi, 20, 21, -14, 12 over Al Everett who went 5 with Dave Chan. Womens: Jai Howard
over Pam Ramsey. Open Doubles: Everett/Henry Fung over Galardi/Rob Lange, deuce in the
5th. Mixed: Shonie Aki/Lyn Kienitz over Lange/Ramsey. As: Joe Sanchez over Lange. Bs:
King Tom over Masaaki Tajima in 5. Cs: Frank Chang over S. Chan in 5. B-C Doubles: Tito
LeFranc/Kohler over Tom/Tajima. Ds: Phat over Witaker. D Doubles: Dee-Dehdashti over
Ross/Ed Hogshead, 18 in the 5th. Seniors: Azmy Ibrahim over Harry Nelson. Juniors: Galardi
over Fung.
At the Hollywood Clubs Jan. 11-12 New Years Open, Paul Raphel won the Mens
in succession over Eric Thom in 5, over Galardi in 4 (after Dean was down 2-1 to Everett),
and over Ray Guillen, 20, 18, 20. Womens went to Angelita Rosal over Pat Crowley. Julius
Paal took the Seniors from Danny Banach, 18 in the 5th. Senior Doubles: Carmen Ricevuto/
Frank Suran over Banach/Jerry LaLande. U-17s: Galardi over LeFranc. U-15s: Robert
Livingston over Jim Lane. U-13s: Lane over Reagan Tom, 32-30 [sic] in the 3rd, then over
Mike Chapman. Junior Doubles: LeFranc/Tom over Craig Manoogian/Mas Hashimoto.
15

As: Mike Carr over Sanchez, -10, -20, 17, 20, 17. A Doubles: Carr/Keith Ogata over
Yeung/Dieter Huber. Bs: Manoogian over Kent Lofthouse. B Doubles: Scott McClure/
LeFranc over LaLande/Richard Banagas. Cs: LeFranc over Jim Boatman. C Doubles:
Templeton/DeFrance over Ron and Rick Watkins, 18 in the 5th. Ds: Ricky Guillen over Greg
Plakos. D Doubles: Livingston/Huber over Sneddon/Kittle.
Changes are going on at a couple of the California clubs.
Gene Wilson tells us that on Jan. 23 the Burbank Club was
opened for play for the 600th time. And its open only on Thursday
nights! Thanks go to George Kelemen who plans, schedules, and
runs tournaments with engineering accuracy. Since the usual Olive
Rec. Center gym is being remodeled, the Club meets at the
McCambridge Center. Gene says that the Club has gotten to be too
popularwith the result that its been necessary to restrict
members to players who live or work in Burbank.
Fran Lipsker announces that now theres a Southern
California Club in Long Beach. After knocking down cementblock walls, hand-cutting and refinishing the floor, painting the
3700 square feet of walls, carving out a super-comfy lounge area
George Kelemen
and setting up a permanent food and equipment areapresto!a
new Club was born. Its open weekday evenings, and Saturday afternoons. It features a Club
ladder, Coaching (Tuesday nights), Handicap tournaments (Wednesday nights), Team matches
(every six weeks), and USTTA and CTTA approved Tournaments throughout the year.
Sounds greatbut very soon Fran and her husband Steve DeFrance will have to close up shop
after losing several thousands on this venture. On Feb. 1-2, the Club held its first Open and
drew 75 players. Here are the results:
Mens: Guillen over Galardi. Womens: Cheryl Albright over Diane Stephens. Open
Doubles: Everett/Pat Cox over Galardi/Lange, 25-23 in the deciding 3rd. As: P. Nakatsura
over S. Yeung. A Doubles: Carr/Ogata over Banagas/Harold Kopper. Bs: Yeung over Ogata.
B Doubles: Lofthouse/Ogata over Boatman/Yeung. Cs: J. Stewart, 24-22 in the 4th, over
Hashimoto who survived Boatman, 23-21 in the 3rd. C Doubles: Boatman/Stephens over
Richard Valentine/Scott McClure. Seniors: Suran over Ricevuto. U-17s: Galardi over Ron
Lee. U-15s: Lee over Lane. U-13s: Lane over Tom. Junior Doubles: Hashimoto/Paul
Groenig over Galardi/Lee Lawson.
Galardi and Lange, with the help of Lou Dubin, have formed a Quicksport exhibition
partnership. At the Feb. 15-16 Arizona Open, played in Phoenixs luxurious Salvation Army
Gym, they gave a short demonstration of how theyre preparing to entertain at the Sportsman
and Recreation Show in April at the L.A. Convention Center. Pam Ramsey describes how
they played with 1 ball, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5 in a continuous rally, and then decreased
the amount of balls back to 1. They also demonstrated Langes fast powerful slams and the
consistency of Galardis 20-foot lobs.
The 16-year-old Galardi, showing what Phoenix Club President Forrest Barr called
remarkable concentration while audibly celebrating with a Thats it! after every winning
point, bested former Arizona State Champion Al Everett in a thrilling 5-game final. Pam
Ramsey, 4 months into playing again after a 6-year absence, almost pulled off a rally after
going down 2-0 in her Womans final with Liz Gresham, but lost in 5. Pam, however, did win
the Mixed with Everett, former Phoenix local now living in California. Open Doubles, with
16

L-R: Dean Galardi, Pam Ramsey, John Harrington

Ramsey photo by Mal Anderson; Harrington photo
from Arizona Sports Digest, June, 1977

Galardi successfully attacking his opponents serves, went to the Quicksport duo over Everett/
Cox.
Other results in this 97-entry tournament: As: Al Martz over Richard Badger. A
Doubles: Final: Ed Stein/Mui over John Harrington/Bill Guerin. Semis: Stein/Mui over Lange/
Davis, 23-21 in the 3rd; Harrington/Guerin over Kopper/Livingston, 19 in the 3rd. Bs: Martz
over W. Livingston. B Doubles: Turek/Weich over Mui/Stein in 5-games, three of which went
deuce. Cs: Neil Christensen over Mohammed Habib. Ds: B. Rider over G. Fitch, 17, -18, 22,
22. Consolations: Richard Alden over Barr. Esquires: Stein over Badger, 23-21 in the 4th.
Seniors: Stein over Sy Kenig whod outlasted Jim DeMet, 19 in the 5th. U-17s: Galardi over
Woodmere, N.Y.s Jeff Zakarin. U-15s: Chuck Zakarin over Peter Braun.
Ray Johnson reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 8B) on the Jan. 18-19 Irving, TX Open,
held at the Senter Park Rec Center. Wear your rubber off your racket was the weekends
theme with 20 MATCHES guaranteed for every player. Seventy-two singles entries competed
on 12 tableswhich meant, initially, 12 round robin groups
of 6, and hence in each group 6 LEVELS of finish. Thus, the
12 #1 finishers, the 12 #2 finishers, the 12 #3 finishers, and
so on, fell into 6 separate events, Championship through
Class E. Each event divided its 12 players into two round
robins, thus producing 6 classes of finalists. The Doubles
followed a similar format.
Results: Singles: Championship: Richard James over
Joe Cummings in 5. (James would later at Lubbock be the
runner-up to Irl Copely.) As: Don Weems over Jack Buddy
Melamed. Bs: Richard Puls over Dave McMillan. Cs: Larry
Puls over Jeff Wise in 5. Ds: Lou Braddock over Joe Brazil.
Es: Robert Hindman over Bill Matter. Doubles:
Championship: Paul LeBlanc/Cummings over Perry
Schwartzberg/Weems. As: Grady Gordon/D.G. Van Vooren
over Chuck Griffin/James Cross. Bs: Meredith Elston/Larry
Irl Copely
Puls over Tim Parker/R.C. Watkins. Cs: Dan Rodriguez/
Photo by Hank Frankel
17

Catarino Adame over McMillan/Steve Arnold, 19 in the 3rd.

Vic
Ds: Brazil/Hindman over Jerry McElveen/Matter. Es: Mike
Engelmann
Roddy/Doug Whitwood over Terry Ziegler/Larry Melamed.
Special Sportsmanship Awards went to Anna Lynn and Larry
Schuessler.
The Topics Mar.-Apr, 1975 Club of the Month (9B)
goes toSloan, Iowa (pop. 800thats the whole town; the
Club has about 30 members). United Congregational Church
of Christ Pastor Vic Engelmann tells us that he and his wife
Irene had played recreational ping-pong for 20 years when
theyd arrived in Sloan in 1972. Since their 9-year-old son
had won some YMCA trophies and so showed promise, they
all went off to a Sweeris training camp in Grand Rapids.
When they came back, Vic got some financial backing and
the approval of the Town Council to use the towns Community Hall as a Club venue. Then he
and a core-group of players, encouraged and emboldened, decided in the fall of 73 to hold the
Iowa Open. But then, just as everything was falling into place, something unexpected
happened. Heres Vic to explain:
I ended up in the hospital with a slow heartbeat that caused me regular
fainting spells. Lying in the hospital with heartbeats down to about 20 per minute, I
never gave up the idea of carrying out the plans for the tournament. I praise God to
this day for the miracle that he wrought in me through medical science when a
pacemaker was installed and I was soon back on my feet again.
In the two playing seasons since, the Sloan Club has invited Jeff
Smart for a coaching clinic and been able to maintain a league with six
three-man teams. By 1975, with Vics dogged persistence in getting
publicity, their Sloan Iowa Open drew 130 entries. The affable U.S. Team
Captain/Coach Houshang Bozorgzadeh agreed to partner Vic in the As
and Vics son Mark in the Bs. He came early, gave two school
exhibitions, and was a houseguest of the Engelmanns. It wasnt until
Saturday that he got a chance to practice with Mark. They found another
doubles pair, and started in. Surprisingly, the boy had a strange way of
holding his paddle and so Houshang suggested he hold it differently
which he obligingly did during their hour or so of practice. Later, out on
court for their match, Houshang didnt want to put any pressure on the
Houshang
kid, so told him if he wanted to hold his racket the old way that would
Bozorgzadeh
be alright. When Mark looked at him quizzically, didnt know what he
was talking about, Houshang realized the look-alike hed been practicing with hadnt been the
real Mark that was standing beside him now.
It was great that players came from as far as Moline, IL, 350 miles to the east;
Minneapolis, MN, 290 miles to the north; and Lincoln, NE, 150 miles to the southwest. But
this Open offered 18 events, and Vic had too few tables. Alas, he said, on finishing around 2
a.m. Sunday morning, we concluded that perhaps having big city ideas in a small town club is
O.K. but maybe in another year we will have to make it a two-day affair instead of one.
18

Brandon Olson

Chester Halpern

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo courtesy of Don Larson

Steve Strauss

Results: Mens: Bozorgzadeh over Pete Tellegen whod eliminated Don Larson, deuce
in the 4 . Womens/Girls U-17: Diana Myers over Sheila ODougherty. Mens As: Gellner
over Mark Kennedy, 19 in the 5th. Womens As: E. Risch over V. Heller. A Consolation: M.
Walsh over D. Jones. A Doubles: Greg Redmond/Gellner over Bozorgzadeh/Engelmann. Bs: J.
Hinde over Walsh. B Doubles: Bozorgzadeh/Engelmann over Hall/Kennedy. Novice: Terry Medina
over Mark Engelmann, deuce in the 3rd. Seniors: L. Harris over D. Cunningham. Boys U-17s:
Redmond over Todd Petersen. U-17 Doubles: Redmond/John Stillions over Kennedy/Myers. Boys
U-15s/U-13s: Petersen over Stillions. U-15 Doubles: Myers/Petersen over Stillions/Tom Luxford.
Boys U-11s: Tom Soderberg over G. Hicks. Junior Novice: Luxford over Billy Gulick.
Winners at the Jan. 25-26 Minneapolis Winter Carnival Open: Teams: Larson/
Chapman over Steve Strauss/Al Schmitt. Mens: Manitobas Charles Chow over Mike
Thomas. Womens: Sheila ODougherty over
Takako Trenholme. Open Doubles: Chow/
Ranier over Sinykin/Chuck Turchick. Mixed
Doubles: Larson/Trenholme over Strauss/
ODougherty. As: Chow over Ed Smook. Bs:
Gus Kennedy over ODougherty. Cs: Fred
Yarusso over Dave Glaister. Esquires: Al
Faulkner over Chester Halpern. Seniors: Don
Bratt over Halpern. U-17s: John Soderberg
over Greg Mosio. U-15s: Mosio over Herb
Heichert. U-13s: Brandon Olson over Tom
Soderberg. Novice Juniors: Gary Kerkow over
Tony Poulos
Photo by Mal
Steve Herrick. Father-Son Doubles: Don/Joel
Anderson
DeRider over Gus/Roger Kennedy.
The Feb. 1-2 Wisconsin Closed saw Paul
Wong win the Mens over Tony Poulos.
th

19

Womens went to veteran Mona Buell over Jill Larmore. Mens Doubles winners: Wong/Geoff
Graham over Poulos/Ted Stomma. Mixed: Wong/P. Chan over Stomma/Buell. As: Graham
over Laszlo Keves. A Doubles: Keves/Graham over Pfalz/Mayer. Bs: Running over Burlew.
Seniors: Russ Sorenson over John Pfalz. Parents: Schweinert over Nelson. U-17s: Ben Kunin
over Graham. Boys U-15s: Stein over Pelligrina. Girls U-15: Roxanne Mayer over Lucy
Chan. Boys U-13s: Lovett over Weggen. Girls U-13: Cheryl Dadian over Mary Thornton. (In
3 years, Cheryl will be the U.S. Open Girls U-15 Champ.) Junior Doubles: Kunin/Michael over
Graham/Ellis.
Garrett Donner reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 13B) that the Mar. 1 Second Annual
Coldwater, MI Open showed appreciable improvement over the First. This years tournament
drew 91 entries (as opposed to 55 last year), and was played on 12 (not 9) tables. Local
sponsorship was up over 150%contributors were McDonalds, K Mart, Western Auto, the
area banks, the Little King Motel, the Coldwater Recreation Department, and of course
Donner Realty. That allowed cash and trophies given out to increase from $400 to $570.
Garrett thanks his wife Joyce and all those who helped them, particularly with the job of
unloading and reloading the tables.
Results: Open: Insook Na over (in a 3way tiebreaker) runner-up Mike Veillette ($60)
in 5 games, and over 3rd and 4th-Place finishers
Bozorgzadeh (18 in the 4th) and Paul Pashuku
(both $20). Veillette, 19, 20, -16, 17, downed
Bozorgzadeh, but 21, -15, -20, -19, lost to
Jim Shoots
Pashuku, who was beaten by Houshang. Jim
(aka The
Davey had been 13, -14, 22, -19 eliminated by
Shooter)
Insook, but came out 1st ($20) in a round robin
Photo by
played among the losing quarterfinalists.
Larry Cooper
Rochesters 20-year-old Jim Shoots (calledas
if for already being a very good pool player?
The Shooter) put up a good 20, -20, -20, -16
fight against Veillette. (Last month in a
Rochester 1-star Jim upset U.S. #15 Jim Dixon,
deuce in the 5th.) Insook won the Womens over
Barb Taschner (a meager $10), and so upped her weekend winnings to $175.
Mens As: Mike Baber ($30) over Dan Robbins ($10). Womens As: Donner over
Genevieve Hayes. A Doubles: Larry Wood/Jeff Smart over Baber/Tom McEvoy, deuce in the
3rd, then over Graig Burton/Gary Whiddon. Bs: Shiou-san Kuo over Whiddon. Cs: Larry
Wong over John Stillions. C Doubles: Steve Wasik/Burton over Whiddon/Mike Matz. Ds:
Gary Calkins over Mike Moriarty, 19 in the 3rd. Novice: Bob Lichtenheld over Harold Garman,
deuce in the 3rd, then over Rick Conaway. Handicap: Pete Kelly over Torsten Pawlowski, 5351. Seniors: Kelly over Bong Ho. Under 17s: Baber over Lloyd. Under 15s: Stillions over
Wasik
The Grand Rapids Woodland Club is now being managed by a group of eight local
players, including Dell Sweeris who, earlier, hoping he could make a living from table tennis,
had first opened this Club. They had back-to-back Jan.-Feb. tournaments. Results: Open: Jan.:
Veillette over Baber. Feb.: Jeff Smart over Bob Hazekamp. Jan.: Womens: Faan Yeen Liu
over Amy Hopping. Feb.: Taschner over Donner. Open Doubles: Jan.: Veillette/Smart over
20

Tom Hall/Shenk. Feb.: Baber/Dave Krizman over Smart/Wood. Over 40: Jan.: Bill Rapp over C.
F. Liu. Feb.: Ho over Larry Ryel. U-17s: Jan.: Baber over Faan Hoan Liu. Feb.: Lloyd over Baber.
U-15s: Jan.: Faan Hoan over Faan Yeen Liu. Feb. U-13s: Pawlowski over John Austin.
As: Jan.: Paul Lamse over Hall. Feb.: McEvoy over Hazekamp. Bs: Jan.: Gary Peters over
McEvoy. Feb.: Cody Jones over McEvoy. B Doubles: Jan.: F. H. Liu/McEvoy over Shenk/
Hopping. Feb.: Lloyd/Brock Huler over McEvoy/Sakoski. Cs: Jan.: G. Donner over Bruce
McGee. Feb.: Huler over G. Donner. Ds: Jan.: Ralph Ackerman over Calkins. Feb.: John Missad
over Dan Hayes. Handicap: Jan.: A. Hopping over Debbie Payotelis. Feb.: Harry Mikelsons over
Pawlowski. Novice: Jan.: Ackerman over Frank Raniville. Feb.: Rich Kintigh over Raniville.
Frank Sexton covers (TTT, Mar.Apr., 1975, 12B) the Feb. 15-16 Michigan
Closed at Detroits Cobo Hall. With Dell
Sweeriss retirement, there was much
interest in who would be the new State
Mens Champion. It turned out to be Mike
Veillettethough it wasnt easy for him. In
the quarters, Sexton himself took him into
the 5th; then in the semis Mike had to get
by 17-time Michigan Mens Singles
Champion Chuck Burns, which he did in
4. That brought him to Bill Lesner whod
eliminated Pete Kelly and Danny Robbins.
Frank was enthusiastic over a point Bill
played against Danny, whose defensive
prowess had once taken him to the semis
of the U.S. Open. Lesner smashed and
looped five balls into Robbinss backhand
Mike Veillette, Michigan State Champion
then blasted one deep into his forehand. By
Photo by Stewart Ansteth
now, more than 20 feet back from the
table, Robbins lined one of his patented
hard low chops that Lesner was
forced to push. Robbins raced in
to retrieve the ballonly to have
Danny Robbins
Lesner smash in a forehand.
Mike and Bill played a taut
5-game final in which Sexton said,
Veillette displayed an amazing
ability to come from behind on the
strength of some very fine services
and a consistently deadly
forehand. In the end-game 5th,
down 17-19, Lesner missed a
hard backhandand that was the
match.
Results: Mens Doubles:
Kelly/Ed Brennan over Kuo-Ho in 5, then over Whiddon/Burton. Womens: Maureen Farmer
21

over Michele McKinstry. Womens Doubles: Cathy Payotelis/

Ruth Johnson. Mixed Doubles: McEvoy/Farmer. Esquires:
Chuck Burns over Bill Rapp. Seniors: Kelly over Ho. Senior
Doubles: 1. Burns/Kelly. As: Wood over McEvoy. A Doubles:
Wood/Ryel over Bob Tunnell/Bob Quinn in 5. Bs: Tunnell
(from down 2-0) over George Buben, 19 in the 5th. B Doubles:
McEvoy/Andy Hopping over Whiddon/Tunnell (from down 20). Cs: D. J. Sheth over Ron Tate. Boys U-17: Baber over Kurt
Lloyd. Girls U-17: C. Payotelis over McKinstry in 5. U-15
Boys: Pawlowski over Steve Veillette. U-15 Girls: C. Payotelis
over Hopping in 5. U-13 Boys: Steve Claflin over Pawlowski
whod escaped Alan Kuhel,
19 in the 4th, 18 in the 5th. U13 Girls: Hopping over
McKinstry.
Winners at the Feb. 22-23
Indiana Closed held in
Cathy Payotelis
Greenfield: Mens: Richard
Photo by Mal Anderson
Hicks over Mark Wampler in
5, then over runner-up Homer Brown whod stopped both
Harry Deschamps, 24, 20, -17, 18, and Wampler (after being
down 2-0). Womens: Sally Webster over Cindy Marcum.
Websters toughest match? Her 19 in the 3rd win over Delcie
Jones who also lost a 21, 19, -23 killer to Kim Farrow.
Mixed Doubles: Dick/Norma Hicks over Ruben Dreszer/
Webster. As: Dreszer over Terry Miller (from down 2-0 and
at deuce in the 3rd). Bs: Al Grambo over Ricky Hicks, Jr.
whod eliminated Jack Pangburn. Cs: Syed Ali over Kris
Kim Farrow
Pangburn. Seniors: Deschamps over Bob Miller. U-17s/UPhoto by Mal Anderson
15s: Hicks over Tim Yates. U-13s: R.R.: 1. Tony Marcum.
2. Jeff Pangborn. 3. Webster. 4. Mark Pfeffer. Jr. Doubles: Ali/Rick Slocum over Hicks/Kris
Pangburn.
Thanks to efforts by both the Columbus Love Club and the State University Club at
Starkville, the Mississippi Open was held Mar.1st in East Columbus. Results: Bruce Smith
over Homer Brown. Open Doubles: Brown/Larry Bartley over Smith/Ricky Bello. As: Charles
Klestadt over Robert Chamoun. Bs: Chamoun over B. St. Clair. Seniors: John Jordan over
Stegall, 21, 22, and W. V. Plue, -18, 22, 12. Juniors: Melinda Varner over Brent Ayers.
That same weekend, North Little Rock held its Arkansas Open, drawing over fifty
players from Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Results: Mens: Penholder Peter Tangs attack
won out over Val Eichmanns defensethough along the way in R.R. play, Peter lost a match
to Bob Flowers, Sr. in 5, and Val lost one to Hugh Lax in 5. Mens Doubles: Lax/Flowers over
Tang/Cheung. Womens: Leslie Harris over Nancy Hill, 18, 19. Mixed: Lax/Harris over Nevil/
Hill. As: Lax over Tang. A Doubles: Tang/Cheung over Duke Stogner and Texan Mike Finnell
who brought with him the tournament trophies. Bs: Tang over Dennis Fritchie, then over
Flowers. Cs: Mark Stoolz over J. Cortez. Ds: J. Brazil over J. Coppedge. U-17s: Stoolz
over Jamey Hall, 19 in the 5th.
22

Monty Merchants Mobile, AL

Club hosted, as it did back in Oct.,
a 7-team, 4-city (including
Pensacola, FL) Southern Club
League (entry fee $15; prize
money to the winner $105). First
Place went to Mobile A
(Merchant, Lance Steed, and
Bernie Dittman). Strange: though
New Orleans A (Reggie Barrus,
Wally Putnam, and Glenn Piper)
beat Mobile A, they lost handily
to both runner-up Baton Rouge
A (Bruce Smith, Jim Kemp, and
Ricky Bello) and New Orleans B
(Alan Long, Jay Hakes, and Carrie
Joseph) when Carrie won all 3 of
L-R, back: Bruce Smith, Ricky Bello, and Ron Hoff; front: Mike
Goodwin, Melinda Varner, and Jim Kemp at the Louisiana Open. her matches! Monty was very
pleased to see the New Orleans
teams, for their absence at his earlier tournament puzzled and bothered him (especially since
theyd helped him with his registration papers).
Tom Baudry thanks Ann Klestadt for running a smooth Mar. 9th
Louisiana Open at the Municipal Auditorium in Baker. Results: Mens: New
Orleans John Quick over Houstons Dave Harville whod upset #2 seed
Bruce Smith in Bruces 1st match. Mens Doubles: Quick/Baudry over
Merchant/Long in 5. Womens: Joseph over Melinda Varner. As: Harville
over Jay Hakes in 5. Bs: Robert Chamoun over Long whod knocked out
Baudry, 16 in the 5th. Seniors: Barrus over Ed Barrios. U-17s: Keith Friley
over C. Naus. U-15s: Naus over J. McDonald.
Winners in the Jan. 18 Orlando Winter Open: Championship Singles:
Greg Gingold over Bernie Bukiet, 19 in the 4th. Championship Doubles:
Keith Friley
Richard McAfee/John Wimbish over Blake Chamberlain/Marv Leff, -17, 21,
Photo by
Jack Odom
19, then over
Marv and Caron Leff
Gingold/Wayne Daunt. Ladies
Photo by Chuck Michell
(not Womens) Singles: Bev
Hess over Nancy Newgarden.
Mixed: Pat Patterson/Hess over
McAfee/Caron Leff. In winning
her first Table Tennis trophy
ever, Caron credits not only
her partner Richard (whos
taken to putting on exhibitions
at grade schools in the Miami
area with Carons husband
Marv), but also Newgy resident
coach Marty Prager. Marty, she
23

says, in her Corner column, will just walk up and

stop people who are playingstrangers as well as
intimatesto show them what theyre doing wrong.
Although hes very critical, nobody mindsmuch.)
As: Daunt over Bev Hess. A Doubles:
Chamberlain/Bard Brenner over Daunt/Ross Brown.
Bs: Brown over Chamberlain. U-17s: John Elliott
over Hess. U-15s: Ron Rigo over Joey Newgarden.
Patrons at Newgys, says columnist Caron
(TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 14B), have been given a few
laughs thanks to a recent arrival there, the 27-year-old
Russian, Vladimir Kamenco (Kah-me-YEN-ko), who
maintains he made a living in the Soviet Union playing
t.t. At Newgys, however, hes but one of Bernie
Bukiets lined-up customers:

Bard
Brenner

...Ahhh! Duh ROOOOshki is here! says Bernie. The scores [in any of their
games] go wildly back and forth from English to Polish to Russian.
Kamenco, who thinks Bernie stinks but cant take any quarters from him, has
an amazing backhandmaybe the best Ive ever seen in this country. Bernie, though, is
too steady for him (I hit one here, I hit one there, andBINGO!).
Just a recent Sunday ago, Newgys held its first annual benefit for the Variety
Childrens Hospital. Top celebrities dropped over to the clublike Miamis mayor
Steve Clark [and some well-known pro football stars].Channel 4s Weaver the
Weatherman [played pro-am doubles with Marv].
Vladimir and Bernie tried to put on the only Singles exhibition of the day
at least Vladimir tried. The Russian, swearing to himself between points, kept trying to
lob ballswhich Bernie would either hit off the table or grimly put away. [Bernie really
is a wonder. Right now hes got something wrong with his heeland though he can
play table tennis, he cant walk on one foot.].
California-based Leon Ruderman tells the story that when the
well-known Israeli Coach Yosef Yeshua had heard that Bernie was
living confinedly in the back room of a table tennis club, he pleaded
with him to come to Israel. Our Association will find you a decent
place to live, he said. Youll coach our kids. Youll live out your
last years as a respected Jewish hero. But Bernie refused. I have to
play here, he said. My friends are all here. And, he might have
added, They all know my past, know me as a winner.
What could Yeshua, or anyone else, say to that?
In writing up Raleighs Mar. 22-23 Crabtree Valley Mall Open,
Leon Ruderman
I begin with both George Brathwaites and Insook Nas much talked
about accomplishments. In his Open semis, The Chief upset
Danny Seemiller (20-1 at the Calcutta Worlds) who hadnt been beaten by any U.S. player for
nearly a year. As for Insook, she took top honors inare you ready?Womens (over Olga
Soltesz), Class A, AND the Open Championship itself. How can a woman beat our men?
24

Insoon Na
Photo by
Stewart Ansteth

The Chief (L) on his way to upsetting Danny Seemiller

Photo by Mal Anderson

said one long-time player torn between amusement and disgust.

But beat them she did and clearly deserved her $370 in prize
money.
Insook, in varying her spin beautifully, chopped her way
to a two-game lead over Brathwaite who, trying to come on
strongly, proved unable to hit through her. At the beginning of
the 3rd game though, it occurred to the now rather desperate but ever thinking Chief that he
ought to go for the Expedite Rule. Na, seeing Georges intention, began pick-hitting much
moreand missing. Thirty seconds before the Rule would have gone in at the end of the 3rd,
Insook quickly missed two shots and lost that game at 18. Then, after being outplayed in the
4th, she, in turn, changed her strategyand stopped pick-hitting. As a result, the Expedite Rule
finally came inbut not until Insook was 20-15 match point up! At which point, adding insult
to injury, she smacked one, like a karate punch,
into Georges guts.
Almost upstaging Insook was New Yorks enfant
terrible, Rutledge Bermingham Barry III (no
offense to the South, but here Bermingham is spelt
with an e). In the As, young Squeegee, still
eligible for the U-13s, finished me in 5, then
dropped a 19-in-the-5th final to Insook! Rutledge
also beat Seemiller (Ricky or Danny? someone
asked) to win the Juniorswith Ricky losing
another U-17 match to runner-up Mike Johnson.
Mens Doubles went to Brathwaite and Errol
Resek (whod been blanked in the Mens by Joe
Rokop) over Danny Seemiller and Boggan. Mixed
to Resek/Soltesz over Brathwaite/Shelby Jordan.
Rutledge Bermingham Barry
Bs: T. Rice over Pete May, 17, 19, -21, -15, 20,
Photo by Mal Anderson
25

then over B. Shur. Cs: Hou-min Chang over Joe Griffis. Consolations: Ron The Babe Luth
over Steve Hitchner. Seniors: Bill Sharpe over Boggan.
Two reasons why the professional-minded players came
to Raleigh from as far as 12 hours and too many speeding
tickets drive away. One, they came to play under pleasant but
non-professional conditions because they were paid hundreds
of dollars to give seven hours of Saturday afternoon and
evening exhibitions in the center of the big Crabtree Shopping
Mall. And, two, they came because the Tournament
Committeeread local Triangle Club President Jim McQueen,
Jim McQueen and Pete May
Tournament Chair Hou-min Chang, and Tournament Referee
Tommy Tarrant, as well as helpers Steve and Anita Hitchner and Tom and Jean Postonhad
cared enough about them to find a way to raise the $900 in prize money.
I, for one, enjoyed myselfdid much of the exhibition announcing and some of the
playing. Danny and Ricky Seemiller in their red, white, and blue daredevil Evel Knievel-like
stars and stripes uniforms were sensational-America in every exhibitionbetter even than in
the tournament. Mike Babuin, who 30 years later would be running an annual 4-star prize
money tournament in nearby Cary that would attract some of the U.S. and Canadas leading
players, recalls, in a Sept. 27, 2005 letter to me, his Crabtree Mall debut:
The most memorable loss of my life came at the age of
16 when I played in my first large tournament in 1975one
conducted by Jim McQueen at the
Crabtree Valley Mall in what is now
considered North Raleigh. In the first
round [of the Juniors] I got paired
with this guy I never heard of before
from up north named Ricky.Since I
Mike Babuin had a really good block/smash game I
30 years later
was feeling pretty confident going into
the match. That level of confidence soon evaporated as I saw
2/3rds of every shot I returned get returned back or smashed
past me around 95 mph. I lost 0-2 but did manage to get to 12
points each time. The quality of the shots from my opponent
was simply amazing, and while I clearly lost, I was almost
honored to have lost in that manner because it opened my eyes
Ricky Seemiller
to a level that I had never before seen. The athlete I played
Photo by Don Gunn
was Ricky Seemillerthen the #1 Junior in the USA.
I, too, was surprisedto run into an old Ohio table tennis friend of 20 years ago, Hal
Gifford. Hal had seen the full-page story and pics in the Raleigh Times, and these had
awakened his Rip Van Winkle memories of the old hardbat sport (The Game seems so much
faster now). Encouragingly, Hal discovered hes not too old to start all over againand was
game to try a new sponge racket hustled him by an ever-smiling Melba Martin. Also, I note
that Greensboros Dick Tucker, after a 3-week bout of the flu and a 5-day fast on distilled
water, was back playing.
26

The Mar. 8-9 Delaware Junior Teams had the advantage of receiving from Rufford
Harrison a tremendous amount of advice to the juniors who ran the tournament. The first
showdown in the Team event saw Berwick leading Maryland, 3-2 when a hot Tom Van Zandt
upset Marylands Alan Evanson, 24 in the 3rd. Then, after Joe Scheno had also stopped Alan
with superior reflexes and all-around steady play, Dave Dickson III and Van Zandt added
two more on the plus side to give Berwick a 6-3 win and momentum to move on to meet the
also undefeated Delaware team. This tie, however, went 6-3 to Delaware, led by Joe Tanzer
with help from his able teammates Carl Willis and Bert Poole, Jr. Maryland had a last chance
to create a 3-way tie, but Baltimores Tanzer, Willis, and Kevin Giles were too 6-3 strong for
them.
The Doubles went to Scheno/Van Zandt, looping, blocking, and outwitting their
opponents. Runner-ups Giles/Phil Traynor reached the finals by outlasting Evanson/Dave
Driggers, 23-21 in the 3rd.
In the Singles, top-seed Tanzer, whod beaten Scheno and Evanson in the Teams, was
upset in the 8ths by Van Zandt. Scheno, seeded #2, was in trouble against Traynor, but rallied
from 11-16 down in the 3rd. The uncontested semis saw Evanson defeat Van Zandt, and
Scheno stop Dickson whod upset Driggers in 3 in the quarters. The looked-forward to final
just wasnt close. Scheno was an easy winner.
Results of the Feb. 15-16 New Carrolton Maryland Open: Mens: Robert Earle, 18 in
the 4th, over George Brathwaite whod been down 2-0 to Gary Wittner in the quarters before
rallying to win, 19 in the 5th. (With George leading 20-19, Wittner got an edge ball which
appeared impossible to return, but Brathwaite somehow managed to get his bat on itthe ball
hit the net and dropped in giving George the point and the match!). Other quarters matches
of note: Bruce Plotnick over Dave Philip, 23-21 in the 5th, and Mike Bush over Roger
Sverdlik, 24-22 in the 4th. Womens: Barbara Kaminsky over Louise Chotras Nieves. Mens
Doubles: Earle/Philip over Brathwaite/Steve Berger. Womens Doubles: Kaminsky/Yvonne
Kronlage over Nieves/Bernadine Hinds. Mixed Doubles: Earle/Hines over Jerry Fleischhacker/
Nieves. Esquires: Jim Verta over Dick Stakes. Seniors: long-pips attacker Bill Sharpe over
Verta.
Mens As: Carl Kronlage over Mike Ng. Womens As:
Young over Jackie Heyman. A Doubles: Caplin and Silverstein
(once Mal Anderson mistakenly called Ken Silverstein
Silvertone and got the reply, I am not a radio) over Ng and
Manny Moskowitz, then over Kronlage/Evanson, both 19 in the
3rd. Bs: Walter Soffer over David Rhone. Cs: Harold Rosen over
John Tebbe. Ds: Eldon Linn over Tom Golab. Mens
Consolation: Evanson over Baskett. Womens Consolation: Kay
Young over McKay. Boys U-17: Evanson over Driggers. Girls U17: Heyman over Jennifer Butler. Boys U-15: Curt Kronlage over
Phil Shaw. Girls U-15: Heyman over Virginia Backaitis. Under
11s: Brian Masters over Wayne Greenberg. Under 9s: Greenberg
over Mark Masters.
Carl Kronlage
Philadelphia put on back-to-back Jan.-Feb tourneys:
Photo by Mal Anderson
Mens: Jan.: Philip over Rich Farrell in 5, then over Roger
Sverdlik. Feb.: Bill Sharpe in three successive struggles: in 5 over
Sverdlik, 19-in-the-4th over Brathwaite, and 16, 24, 21, 19 over Hamid Hayatghaib whod
27

advanced by Sam Balamoun in 5. Mens Doubles: Jan.: Philip/Wittner in 5 over Hamid/Ali

Oveissi whod knocked out Balamoun/Herb Vichnin, 18 in the 5th. Feb.: Sverdlik/Horace
Roberts or Balamoun/Stan Smolanowicz? Semis of note: Sverdlik/Roberts over Wittner/Dan
Green, 19, -21, 19. Seniors: Jan.: Sharpe over George Rocker. Feb.: Karl Szakacs over
Sharpe. U-17s: Jan.: Robert Nochenson over Bruce Plotnick, 19 in the 3rd, then over Mike
Stern. Feb.: Rutledge Barry over Plotnick, 19, -19, 19. U-17 As: Jan.: Nochenson over
Marcus. Feb.: David Margolin over Morris. U-15s: Jan.: Stern over Plotnick. Feb.: Stern over
Jeff Steif, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over Barry. U-13s: Jan.: Dickson over Chuck Zakarin. Feb.:
Brian Eisner over Paul Gvildys, -19, 19, 20.
As: Jan.: Dan Green, whod rallied in the semis (from down 2-0) to beat Ali Oveissi,
over two-time Iranian National Doubles Champ Parviz Mojaverian. Feb.: Mike Bush over
Berger whod gotten by Fleischhacker, -18, 20, 22, 13. A Doubles: Jan.: Hamid/Oveissi over
Green/Wittner. Feb.: Green/Vichnin over Rocker/Szakacs, then over Eliot Katz/Wittner. Bs:
Jan.: Barry Robbins over Jeff Zakarin. Feb.: Fleischhacker over Green, -17, 19, 21, then over
Zakarin. Cs: Jan.: Rocker over John Locke. Feb.: Tom Vainius over Hank McCoullum. Ds:
Jan.: W. Huang over Marv Plevinsky. Es: Jan.: Schwar over Wong whod outlasted Locke,
deuce in the 3rd. Feb.: Wong over Don Garlanger. Fs: Jan.: Seymour Shenkman over Weitzen. Feb.:
Gil Prickett over Tony Gegelys. Gs: Jan.:Cole over Niedzielski. Feb.: Harry Hawk over Don
Feltenberger. Ns: Jan.: Dickson III over Cole. Feb.: Sisti over Tom Steen. Handicap: Jan.: Dickson
III over Fleischhacker. Feb.: Robbie Robinson over Plotnick. Handicap Doubles: Jan.: Sid Jacobs/
Sol Schiff over Marcus/Sampson. Feb.: Steif/John Sisti over Marcus/Sampson.

L-R: Mike Stern, John Sisti, and Dr. Bill Walk

The 7th Annual Pennsylvania Team

Championships, sponsored by the Berwick
YMCA TTC, were held Feb. 22-23 at the
Central Columbia Senior High School Gym in
Bloomsburg. Philadelphia #1 (Smolanowicz,
Stan
14-0 and MVP; Balamoun, 14-0; and Robbins,
Smolanowicz
12-3) was the never threatened winner. Runner-up:
Photo by
Mal Anderson
Pittsburgh #1 (Mike Connelly; Scott Feldman; and Larry
Goldfarb). 3rd: Pitt #2 (Russ Wyatt; 14-year-old Steve Lowery;
and Pennsylvania TTA President Dr. Bill Walk). 4th: Philly #2
(Szakacs; Rocker; Debbie Wong; and Tom Shisler). 5th 6th: Berwick #1
28

(Scheno; Ellis Alley; Dennis Kishbaugh; and Fred Kistler) and Pitt #3 (Randy Seemiller; Martin
Obeldobel; and Scott Rodgers).
Bill Cross, reporting on the Feb. 8th Open at Westfield, N.J., tells us that, A player
survey showed that the players occasionally enjoy a tournament with no doubles events
because it allows for more singles play and for a decent finishing time. This format is a
Westfield specialty. Sothe Singles results: Open: Horace Roberts over Bill Sharpe whod
survived a deuce in the 5th quarters match with U. S. Intercollegiate Champ Dave Philip, then
stopped George Brathwaite, 3-zip. Earlier, George, the top seed, had twice been down match
point to Rutledge Barry who both times missed a finishing forehand kill. The #3 seed, Robert
Earle, was upset by Gary Wittner. Womens: Muriel (the variant generally preferred by
recorders to Murielle) Stern over Judy Boucard. Esquires: Manny Moskowitz over Sid
Jacobs. Seniors: Sharpe over Gene Wonderlin who took out Stan Winter in 3.
As: Bruce Plotnick over Eliot Katz. (Manny Moskowitz had a great 1st round straightgame win over young Barry.) Bs: Steve Berger over Robert Nochenson. Cs: Sid Jacobs over
M. Lempert. U-17s: Mike Stern over Plotnick (from down 2-0 and at 24-all in the 3rd). U15s: Stern over Plotnick, 18 in the 3rd. U-13s: Brian Eisner over Paul Gvildys. Where, you
might wonder, was Rutledge? Squeegees got a reputation for superior intelligence, says
Cross. But, uh, he took the wrong bus and was a few hours late.
.
Winners at the Nassau-Suffolk Open, held Jan. 18-19 in Hempstead, Long Island:
Mens: Philip over Resek. Matches of note: Roger Sverdlik over Brathwaite, deuce in the 5th;
and Wittner over Oveissi in 5. Womens: Louise Nieves over Judith Boucard. Mens Doubles:
Resek/Jeff Zakarin over Fleischhacker/Sverdlik whod eliminated Brathwaite/Oveissi, 22, -13,
19, 24. Womens Doubles: Nieves/Terry Green over Boucard/Bernardine Hinds. Mixed
Doubles: Philip/Green over Fleischhacker/Nieves.
As: Wittner over Eliot Katz, 20, 24, -18, 17, then over Barry in 5. Bs: Peter Krebs
over Dan Green. B Doubles: Final: Mike Lardon/Dan Green, 19 in the 3rd in the semis over
Stu Caplin/Robert Levin (send Robert the Eastern Regional Directors list of upcoming
tournaments, please), and in the final over Jeff Steif/Ron Babe Luth. Cs: Steve Greenwald
over Jacobs whod advanced over Lost Battalion Open winner Bruce Abrams. Mens
Consolation: Jeff Zakarin over Greenwald. Womens Consolation: Joan VanDavelaar over
Yvonne Selwood. Esquires/Seniors: Marcy Monasterial over Jacobs.
Senior Doubles: Zakarin/Boggan over Irv Wolf/Al Gill. U-17s: J.
Al Gill
Zakarin over Jeff Steif. U-15s: Steif over Brian Eisner. U-13s: Eisner
over Eric Boggan. Junior Doubles: Lardon/Zakarin over Steif/David
Margolin. Simon Jacobson said his Junior Doubles entry was clearly in
before the deadline, but he and his partner were rejected; then, to
compound the injury, Simon watched a later pairs entry accepted.
Bob Green reports (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 21B) that, thanks
to the efforts of an enthusiastic junior player named Rick Cooper,
the first New York State Closed in ten years was sponsored by Binghamtons Tri-Cities Club
and held Feb. 22-23 at the local YMCA. For 28 years Bob, who ran the famous 1948
Columbus, Ohio Nationals with its great Miles/Reisman final, kept his vow not to get
involved in putting on any more tournaments, but he couldnt resist young Cooper.
The Mens was won by diminutive Robert Earle with great reflexes and coordination.
He does everything well, chops, loops, blocks, counters, and has many inventive shots. Earle
had an easy win in the final over Brathwaite, but both Robert and George had to work in the
29

semisRobert finishing off Buffalos Jim Dixon

in 5, and The Chief rallying from down 2-0 to
advance over Dave Philip. Earlier George had
eliminated local star Ray Mack whod come from
two games down to defeat Jeff Zakarin, the U-17
winner over Tom Vainius. Womens went to
Cortlands Irene Stepan over Potsdams Darlene
Galliadi, 19 in the 4th. Mens Doubles winners
were Brathwaite/Dixon over Philip/Earle, 17 in
the 5th. Sol Schiff took the Seniors in 5 from both
Pranas Gvildys and Don Coluzzi. Jacobs had a
Ray Mack
good deuce in the 3rd win over Bob Brickell. UPhoto by
15s was won by Chuck Zakarin over Paul
Mal Anderson
Gvildys. The Zakarin brothers also proved
dominant in the Junior Doubles, besting Cooper
and Scott Plakon.
As: Looper Frank McCann, Jr. over
blocker Vic Meredith. Bs: Ed Smith over Alex
Sze, then Dan Wasson. Cs: Smith again over
Chuck Zakarin. Ds: And (RINGER!) Smith again
over Paul Gvildys. Ed didnt have a rating, so he was allowed to enter the Bs, Cs, and Ds,
and when he was found to be not just hot but really much too good for these events, it was
deemed too late to do anything about it. Sure? Why allow him to play the C and D finals?
Except was he much too good? In the Ds, he barely beat G. Engel, 19 in the 3rd. B Doubles:
Dave Barrad/Wasson over Chuck Zakarin/Plakon.
Robert Fariss reports that the Mar. 8-9 Pioneer Valley Open was played at the new
National Guard Armory in
Northampton, MA. Mens winner:
Robert Earle in a dominating acrobatic
attack, culminating in a 19 in the 4th
final over Errol Resek. Surely stronger
than his 2203 rating, Earle paired with
Benfield Munroe to take the Doubles
from Dave Sakai/Ralph Robinson.
Womens went to Bernadine Hinds over
Kim Kirschberg.
As: Robinson, provided with
an unbelievably low rating by Neal
Fox, over Carl Danner. A Doubles:
McCann/Berard over Claude Peltz/
Harry Morris. Bs: Danner over Kulkarni
in 5. B Doubles: Paul Dise/Steve Marceno
over Apostolou/Ferri, deuce in the 5th.
Benfield Munroe (R) was not only Robert Earles
Cs: Frank McCann over Apostolou
doubles partner, he was his coach.
whod advanced over Mike Woody
Allen, -20, 21, 18. Ds: Apostolou over Hanscom. Es: Ferri over Kochan, 18 in the 5th. Over 50s:
30

Ben Hull over Irv Levine, 18 in the 3rd. Over 40s:

Frank Studley over Hull, deuce in the 3rd. U-17s:
Danner over Peltz. U-15s: Shaun Hebert over Steve
Marceno in 5. U-13s: Jimmy Marceno over Glenn
Rubeck.
Dave Sakai says, hed never done it before,
scribbling down stuff in between matches, but its
kind of fun. And, indeed, Daves enthusiasm for the
job, his playfulness, comes through as he fashions for
us a sense of the Jan. 4-5 Milford, N.H.
Grandmasters Opena tournament played amid the
luxurious surroundings offered by the Hampshire
Hills Racquet and Health Club (2,000 tennisplaying members here?). Of course, to give us
coverage, Dave, whod recently opened his U.S.
Table Tennis Center in Waterbury, had to first get to
the tournament. And along the way, he and his
Connecticut contingent, including the visiting Rick
Seemiller, came within an ace of losing their lives in
a freak accident. Eli Kouliss car in which they were
riding came to a fiery end.

Dave Sakai
Photo by Mal Anderson

Seemiller, with lightning-like backhand and forehand reflexes, was able to save
all the baggage while the car was still burning. The first thing he grabbed was our
rackets, thank goodness.
With 10 of us then in Henry Castellanos car [talk about a stretch: 10! and
everyone with a t.t. sports bag?] we managed to chug along to Waltham, where Ben
Hull graciously offered us all a place to stay in his office before we came on to the
tournament.
Dave, too, was graciousthis, he said, was a tournament specifically designed to
please the better players, one that offered a spirit of camaraderie. He thanked the
tournament workers, especially Mike Woody Allen, Lester Wong, and Al Millet who were all
just fantastic. They were led by multi-lingual (speaks 9 languages)Leo Hieblinger who, most
of the time, made himself understood. Ha, just kidding, Leo. Smile or scowl, you were great.
O.K., on withwhat Dave exclusively coversthe Mens matches. He begins with the
most notable of the 8ths. Chris Yuen, freshly arrived from Vegas and looking to win some
money here, over D.P.Dave Philipin 5. Jim Shootsmoving better with that weight
lossover Fuarnado Roberts in 4. Gary Wittner overno, check that, almost overChui
who pulled out the 5th. And Rick Seemillerplaying both wings very wellover Rory
Brassington, just back from a vacation in Trinidad, who a fella said, was 7 points off his
regular game. In quarters play: (Hows it goin Lim Ming Chui/Whats gonna happen when I
play you-i?) Bush the poet, er, doggerel rimester, over Shoots. Chui over Yuen in 5the
match was all hops and hits. Seemiller over Alex Shirokyblocking all his hopes. And
Dixon over Sakai in 5. In the semis, Seemiller sort of clobbered Bush, and Chui got by
Dixon in 4.
31

Before the final , many players retired to

the cocktail lounge above, where they more
and more enjoyed the view of the [ChuiSeemiller] match through a wall-high, smokecolored glass window directly overlooking the
court. And what did they see?

Lim Ming Chui

Photo by Mal Anderson

Chui, snapping his penholder wrist, off

to a Kung Fu start, taking the first 2 games
rather easily. But then Seemiller did an awful
lot of thrusts and blocks himself and won the
next 2the 4th at deuce. Then got off to a lead
in the 5th and held it.Maybe all the work Lim
put into the tournament had something to do
with the turnabout here, but Rick looked
absolutely great. Many onlookers were
speculating that at the next Worlds, in 77, in
England, thered be two Seemillers on the
Team.

32

Chapter Two
1975: USTTA Election Differences.
In Vol. VI, Id explained that sharing
Tims burdens as President and Topics Editor
had proved to be too much for his wife Sally,
and so out of consideration for her he resigned.
Hence Charlie Disney formerly assumed the
Presidency on Nov. 27, 1974. To take his place
as Executive V-P, Charlie appointed former
USTTA President Rufford Harrison. Then,
since Corresponding Secretary Fred Danner
also resigned, Charlie named Gus Kennedy to
replace him. That left Recording Secretary Lou
Bochenski and V-P Mal Anderson to stay on
with them in office into 1976. As for the
upcoming two-year 1975-1977 elections, the
Treasurer and three V-Ps had to be decided on.
(See TTT, Jan.-Feb, 1975, 21; 25, 27; 29-33;
Gus Kennedy
35-36, and Mar.-Apr., 1975, 5B.) Incumbent
Courtey of Don Larson
Treasurer Jack Carr was running against Joe
Sokoloff and Peter Stephens, while V-P
incumbents Bob Kaminsky, Dick Miles, and
Marv Shaffer were but three candidates in a field that included Tim Boggan, Bard Brenner,
Lim Ming Chui, Fred Danner, Neal Fox, Randy Hess, Vic Landau, Dal-Joon Lee, Peter Pradit,
Fuarnado Roberts, and Sol Schiff.
The Boggan administration had of course spawned not apathy but controversy, and
had motivated the above name players to act on their convictions. Alliances had formed.
Former E.C. member Fred Herbst, whod endorsed Carr when he and Boggan had contested
the 1972 Presidency, came out in favor of Carr for Treasurer, and Danner, Kaminsky, and
Schiff for V-P. Corresponding Secretary Kennedy wrote an article favoring Carr, Boggan, and
Miles. Carr wrote praising Schiff and enumerating Sols accomplishments over the years; while
Recording Secretary Bochenski pointed out that Tims virtues far outweighed his faults.
Ill go into the opposing arguments in just a moment, but its interesting to note that
regarding the results of this election (TTT, May-June, 1975, 10) the Membership as a whole
seemed as divided as those challenging one another for office. For Treasurer: Carr (567 votes),
Stephens, running on a slate with Boggan and Miles (334 votes), and Sokoloff (220 votes).
For V-P: Boggan (568 votes), Miles (498 votes), Schiff (404 votes), Lee (371 votes), Danner
(279 votes), and Shaffer (260 votes, 90 ahead of Kaminsky and Roberts, with the others
trailing behind). Elected were Carr and Schiff from one camp; Boggan and Miles from the
otherwith longtime antagonists Carr and Boggan getting virtually the same number of votes
from the Membership.
Herbst in his endorsement article says that Membership has decreased by 10% in the
past year and may drop further next year because of the inflated fees for memberships and
tournaments. Unpaid volunteers are disappearing; workers want to be paid. [These changes
33

are perforce detrimental to the Sport? Some things change; some dont. Historically, to some,
fees are always inflated] Herbst says critically, What did all that money we spent on the U.S.
Team Trials and the Calcutta Worlds do for us? [This is a perennial complaint regarding U.S.
Teams. Whos the us? Only a few players? Thats debatable.] Fred points out that forty
percent of the Associations Budget goes to Topicsand thats too much. Herbst is afraid that
the USTTA might disintegrate from bankruptcy, dissension, and failure to serve the clubs and
membersthus we need on our E.C. practical, experienced, and business-like adults.
Carr outlines all hes done for the USTTA, says hes the hardest worker on the E.C.,
and makes an indisputable case for being the best Treasurer the USTTA has had. He avidly
follows his duties as stated in the [Associations] Bylaws; stresses his knowledge of the
Handbook that helps him to make evaluations and decisions; and insists on making sure the
USTTA Budget is being complied with to the penny. As Danner says, Jacks worked with the
equipment manufacturers to get USTTA approved status, and this has brought in money. Jack
says hes made over $10,000 for the USTTA. He takes credit for money tournaments. Says he
got the rule changed which prohibited them. [What rule is that?] He takes credit for the
USTTA getting and paying coaches. Hes very critical of many of the Campaign statements,
and urges readers not to be misled by them.
Danner is adamantly against the TOP PLAYER
domination of the thinking and spending priorities by the
present E.C. Like Herbst, Freds afraid the USTTA will be
bankrupthe says projected expenses [are] proceeding at an
annual rate of $10,000 in excess of current income. He
criticizes the thousands of dollars spent to send our Team to
the Worlds, to bring foreign teams to the 74 Oklahoma City
U.S. Open, and to sponsor our players to Oklahoma City and
to Canada. If only we could find a way to get even some of
those estimated 35,000,000 basement players to become
USTTA members, what funds wed have. But were not
pursuing such an aim. [So far, History has shown
Administration after Administration that these players will not
join the USTTA, or stay as members.]
Dick Miles - ABC Wide World
Fred then levies an attack against Miles who should
of Sports Colorman
not be a member of the USTTA Executive Committee. He has
done nothing since being elected but seek deals whereby he gets paid.I feel his presence on
the E.C. and the tremendous influence Miles has had on Tim Boggan has caused much of the
difficulties we are now facing. Fred supports Carr and Kaminsky
What ought the E.C. to do? First, says Fred, wed better financially protect the
interests of our [more than 400] Life Members by building up adequate reserve assets to
cover the running costs of their memberships. Then, Tim Boggan notwithstanding, we have
to stop spending so much money on Topics. Also, with regard to Ratings and Membership
were duplicating computer costswe can save money there by using a common data bank.
Meanwhile, we need to press forward with the school programs both at the high school and
college levels (use 10-20% of our Budget for this). Need to form and foster league play. And
we should look into how to become eligible for available government funds or subsidies and
for foundation grants. Freds admirable efforts with his School Program and National Junior
Table Tennis Foundation Ill elaborate on shortly.
34

Fred says we must forget about running the 1979 Worldswe cant appropriate our
share of the required funds (Danner says $150,000 minimum; Miles says about $50,000),
cant pursue that goal without decimating all our useful programs. Any professional
approach to the Sport might prove to be too much in conflict with countries (perhaps Chinas)
Olympic aims. Freds many positions of leadership, both nationally and especially locally with
Long Island Club players, make him a champion of low level, Fox development-type
tournaments for the average, amateur player. Some of what he argues for has been urged again
and again before. For example, his closing plea that each of the 3100 adult members go out
and get a new member next year.
Schiff begins by saying that, Never before in the history
of the USTTA have so many players run for office, which is a
good indication that there is something radically wrong with this
present administration. [Why? Herbst, for example, found it
encouragingsaid it shows a strong volunteer interest.] Then
Sol says, The past two and one half years of administration by
the present E.C. have been the worst in the history of the
USTTA. [A palpably absurd distortion.] Sol argues that,
despite all the publicity generated by Ping-Pong Diplomacy,
the USTTA couldnt take advantage of the great surge in table
tennis popularity. [Why not?] Membership increased, then
declined. Money was made by the Association due to increased
advertising and a jump in the cost of USTTA membership
dues. But money has been foolishly spent by and on the E.C.,
[so] that we are having great difficulty in paying the full
expenses of a team to the World Championships in India.
Sol Schiff
[Surely it had to be a given that the USTTA would, whatever
the circumstances, have great difficulty in paying the full expenses of a team all the way to
Indiaand it would have been a lot more difficult without Charlie Disney and Gus Kennedys
help finding sponsors and the near $6,000 I raised through the generosity of the Membership.]
Sol laments the fact that so many USTTA committee chairs are now being paid. He
says the Topics Editor should not be on the E.C., nor, as Herbst had said, should anyone else
who receives money from the USTTA, for they can use their influence for personal gains.
[Can, perhaps, but would they? And what of E.C. members who dont receive any monthly
money from the Association? Are they immune from trying to use their influence? Would Sol
Schiff, Mr. Table Tennis, or Dick Miles, try to influence anyone to buy products he or his
friends in the business sell?] Slates of 9 men should run for office instead of the present
system of individuals. [Why?] Schiffs for Carr because he questions and argues the
expenditures of the E.C. Sol also endorses Kaminsky and Danner. He says, I have
purposefully avoided attacking certain individuals on the E.C. because I hope we can work
together to help the sport. Then he says, I would prefer your not voting for me if you intend
voting for Miles and Boggan and whoever they endorse.
Kennedy, writing for himself and presumably Disney, speaks of Boggans openness
and unlimited energy. Gus says Tim resigned because he recognized he wasnt able to do two
major jobs at one time, and that he wasnt a detail man for dealing with all factions in the
sport. [Thats why Boggan resigned?] Tims very valuable, however, as an always-on-thescene journalist/editor, and because hes well qualified to provide guidance, council, and a
35

players viewpoint to other E.C. members. Carr, by communicating with others many hours
per week, helps us to make some sense of the haphazard way we operate. Jacks a true
volunteer we cannot afford to lose. Miles has the best chance of making Table Tennis a
major sport. He thinks big and can deal with major sponsorshe helped us hold the 75
U.S. Open in the Houston Astro-Complex. He traveled at his own expense to Calcutta to
represent the U.S. at the I.T.T.F. Council meeting and buoy our hopes of hosting the 1979
World Championships.
Boggans very short Campaign Statement was, as usual, rhetorical, and kind of
imaginatively wacky. He began with Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit. Then recited verbatim the
Our Father prayer. And instead of his own photo, he substituted the surrealist painter
Magrittes white bird on the wing that he called Hope. Miless Campaign Statement was also
very different. Since he and Boggan were campaigning in tandem, Miless Statement could be,
and was, as long as Boggans was short. He provided in very small print three Exhibits.
The first, Exhibit A, is a letter from me as the then USTTA President (a letter written
necessarily with great input by Miles), and signed as well by all members of the E.C. It sets
down the mutual agreement between the E.C. and Miles that shows clearly hes authorized to
seek out sponsors for a U.S. Worlds, and to make money in the process. It does not give Dick
exclusive rights of USTTA representation, but very carefully in pertinent paragraph after
pertinent paragraph protects his first contact rightsand, as the Exhibit shows, hes made
quite a few contacts.
Exhibit B is a copy of Dicks model presentation letter (which in this case he sent to
the Hilton Corp.). He explains specifically what Hilton could expect were it to sponsor a
Worlds. The focus would be on: 1. Hospitality; 2. the Arena facility; 3. the USTTA as the
overall working body and coordinator. Dick concludes his very particularized presentation by
saying that we now have a booking in Miami Beach (May 11, 1979) for the World
Championships. [A booking? What does that mean? Anything?]
Dick puts forward a contract as Exhibit C. This is shown in a June 19, 1974 letter to me as
USTTA President from Jimmie D. Fore, Vice President of the Houston Astrodome-Astrohall
Stadium Corporation. It was written after the E.C. on May 27, 1974 had awarded the 75 U.S.
Open to Houston.* The Houston group agrees to provide $15,000 in travel money for the
world-class Teams. Hospitality to the extent of 20 doubleoccupancy rooms and three meals a day for 40 persons (an
increase from their earlier offer, which later will be further
slightly extended). Operational Expenses: $6, 500 to Ron
Shirley as Tournament Director, and an additional $5,000 to
the Association, not asked for earlier, for expenses incurred.
All revenues will go to the Astro group, and if they make a
profit Miles will be entitled to some remuneration. They
are interested in holding a World Championship in Houston
(estimated Budget: $1,000,000), but, if they were to commit,
they couldnt do so until after their 75 U.S. Open. They
encourage Dick to ask the ITTF to please hold off making a
1979 decision at the Calcutta Worlds.
Boggan and Miles write their slatemate Peter
Peter
Stephens Campaign Statement for Treasurer with an eye to
Stephens
showing his prowess as a professional. Peter, 30, works for
36

the auditing firm of J.H. Cohn as a senior auditor (when he goes out on a job, the client is
billed $240 per day). [The USTTA had agreed to pay Peter $500 to audit our books, but this
agreement was later rescinded at the May 25, 1975 E.C. MeetingI dont know why.] Tim
and Dick also use Stephens allotted space to combat their critics. The conservatives
(particularly Anderson, Carr, Danner) want to return to our earlier isolationist policyand
keep the USTTA money in the bank.
[Danner says that, unlike Miles, they reasonably want to keep enough money for
needed reserves. However, I presume theyd also be willing to spend money in ways that at the
moment arent specifically clear. Ways that would help junior players, average players, club
players. As weve seen in Vol. VI, when $5,000 was allotted for coaching to the Clubs, said
Clubs didnt cooperate, were absolutely non-responsive. Now Coaching Chair Jeff Smart,
prompted by an idea by Jack Carr, offers another, more inclusive proposal (TTT, Mar.-Apr.,
1975, 6B): For each USTTA affiliated club with 5 junior USTTA members which forms and
plays at least a 4-team league with other USTTA affiliated clubs, the USTTA will give $100 a
year to the club if it has a USTTA certified coach give a clinic approved by the USTTA
Coaching Committee Chairman. Jeff requests $2,200 for this project. It remains to be seen
whether the E.C. will agree.]
Dick and Tim are not impressed by Carrs many hours of play with USTTA Bylaws/
Rules, or his often self-serving correspondence with copies to insiders. As for spending
money on Boggan and Foxs priorities, perhaps the USTTA is very much the richer for
spending the money. Certainly theyve something to show for it. In opting for Stephens, a
proven professional as Treasurer, they dont mince words attacking Carr:
though Mr. Carr continually vaunts his USTTA experience as a strength, it
is really, so far as we are concerned, a weakness. For as we, Tim Boggan and Dick
Miles know, what good is Mr. Carrs experience on the E.C. if its linked to so passive
and unimaginative a temperament that it continually tries not to progressively advance
the sport but to thwart it with petty, picky, complaining, sometimes half-hysteric,
nagging, often un-constructive criticism that casts a pall over the brightest of spirits.
As for the candidates who received fewer votes, heres what they had to say.
First, Joe Sokoloff, who contending for
Treasurer, used only a 1/3 of his allotted space. He
says the Association is practically bankrupt, but
U.S. Maccabiah
that since there arent any Treasurers Reports in
Games Team
Member Joe
Topics, members cant see how the E.C. is
Sokoloff
draining the Treasury. [Joe makes a good point;
though there have been piecemeal summaries in
the periodic Minutes published in Topics that show
generally how we stand financially, there have not
been any detailed Treasurers Reports. When Jack
Carr takes office hell remedy that.] Joe says
vaguely that hes raising money for Table Tennis,
and that an influential man he met donated $500 to
the U.S. Team. Sokoloff himself, representing the
U.S., did well in the 73 Maccabiah Games
37

winning a silver in the Mixed with Muriel Stern. Joe thinks Bard Brenners credentials in the
Hotel and Convention field would make him a valuable E.C. member.
Now the Statements from those seeking V-P office, beginning with systems analyst
Bard Brenner who says we need high-level executives on the E.C. Bard says hes the man
the Association needsthe necessary planner and organizer who understands fiscal
responsibility. This may be seen from his directorial work in helping to stage large
tournaments. He urges that volunteer workers be enlisted to get USTTA-sanctioned leagues
and school-promotion programs going. He wants to start a pro-am tournament circuit. He
hopes to establish promoter seminars that teach E. C. members how to go about getting ads
and sponsorships, to find contacts, as have Ron Shirley, Charlie Disney, Dick Miles, and Joe
Sokoloff.
Lim Ming Chui wants to work toward getting T.T. on TVboth championship
matches and instructional programs. Our E. C. members should receive very little in the way
of traveling expenses to meetings and no free room or board. Funds should go to the top
players and budding juniors who can represent us at important tournaments; in return, they
should give clinics and/or exhibitions. Mings for regional/national leagues, and for large cash
prizes at tournaments. Only the top players draw spectators, and we should promote them,
sponsor them, reward them. He concludes with a short self-resume.
Tournament Chair Neal Fox, wholl have lots to say elsewhere about tournaments and
ratings, feels he hasnt enough space allotted in Topics for his Campaign Statement and so will
send it to the USTTA clubs to post.
Randy Hess is for getting Table Tennis into the schools; but school officials need to be
wooed, convinced of the values our Sport offers. Hes also for letting professional promoters
make money from our Sport. And for financing our U.S. Teams to the Worlds.
Bob Kaminsky agreed that Carl Danner would write a Campaign Statement on his
behalf (but only one paragraph?). Carl says Bob is the most tireless and dedicated worker
hes met in T.T. An unselfish and invaluable contributora doer. Elect him.
Vic Landau says we have to get the students in our schools and universities playing.
T.T. Collegiate athletic programs for women should be fostered. If Table Tennis is to be a
great sport in the U.S., it must be popular with our youth. And there must be monetary
incentives. T.T. needs to generate large amounts of publicity, and
the best vehicle for this is our top players. Vic will try to make
our U.S. Teams world-class by finding private sponsors.
Dal-Joon Lee is clearly for the player: Im quite sure that
a group of players could survive without an E.C. He feels
everyone knows him from his play, his coaching clinics, and he
feels that members will realize its very important that such an
experienced, knowledgeable player be on the E.C. His case, he
says, rests on his reputation.
Peter Pradit says that, if hes elected, he will do everything
he can, with his utmost effort and sincerity, to advance [U.S.]
table tennis to an esteemed international leveleven if it means
the sacrifice of Peter Pradit the player.
Fuarnado Roberts, who got a special Wish You Well
insert in Topics from Boggan, attacks the USTTA E.C. for their
lack of interest in our players. Funding a U.S. Team to the
D-J Lee
38

Worlds should be of the highest priority, he argues. Again and again the players are under financial
constraintsits not good for morale, not good for the Image of Table Tennis in the U.S.
Marv Shaffer agrees that the many top players running for office this year are right to want
attention and help. However, the danger in electing them is that theyll only be interested in
furthering their own ends. Marv asks that members look through Topics and see the candidates
whove shown an interest in overall furthering Table Tennisthen vote for them.
In several months, President Charlie Disney will be working with those he wants to see
elected. In the meantime, lets check out his Program of Priorities (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 5B).
Try to establish a full time, paid executive director, jointly working with the
manufacturers and the USTTA.
Get the manufacturers more involved in promoting the game.
See that the USTTA doesnt get into financial problems.
Begin a membership drive. We need a Membership Chair to enact a program
that Doug Maday and I proposed to the E.C. a
Doug Maday,
year and a half ago. [Which raises the question,
Minnesota State
How many of those who play at Disneys Club
Champ, 1972-74.
are USTTA members?]
Photo Courtesy of
Increase the members, and increase the
Don Larson
clubs. Have more articles in Topics that are
promotional-minded for beginners. Also, the
Ratings, too, have to be more productive in
bringing in new memberships, otherwise we might
have to cut back on our rating program. [Rating
Chair Fox will love thathes already irritated at
Charlie for being lax in getting tournament results to
him.] More coaching articles are needed, a la the
tennis magazines; more information about strokes,
strategy, and equipment. And we need to increase
the club membership fee from $10 to $15 which Mr. Richard Feuerstein suggested about a
year ago.
Another point. Some manufacturers at the National Sporting Goods Show
thought Topics dull; others thought it catered
to those people who were in the game [in Tims
opinion the only audience for it]. Charlie says
he himself likes Topics and has liked it for the
last four years under Tims superb work. [Yes,
he does like it, for Editor Boggan and the
USTTA have signed a 3-year contract,
beginning Jan. 1, 1975, in which Boggan has
full editorial control.] But, says Charlie, we
need to make it interesting to the beginner or
the casual player, need to make it a more
promotional type of magazine, need, for
example, inserts that you can pull out to join
USATT President Charlie Disney
the USTTA.
Photo by Mal Anderson
39

By the beginning
of 1977, Ron Shirleys
TTO had published,
first, a Yasaka addominated Table Tennis
Update newsletter, then
with his Table Tennis
Club of America, and
still working with
Yasaka, would try to
establish a rival to
Topics with a quarterly
promotional magazine
called Table Tennis. Its
major emphasis was
to present instructional
and informational matter. Yasaka wanted to sell more equipment, so they hoped to attract not
only tournament players but recreation players as well. Table Tennis failed to sustain itself
thoughit didnt have nearly enough fresh, non-derivative, readable material or the breadth of
coverage of Topics.
Rec players dont have the seriousness, the intensity of Table Tennis players. So it has
been for decades, so it will be for decades. Of course that doesnt stop members with wellmeaning suggestions. Kentuckys Ted Friedman suggests that the USTTA ought to prepare
membership kits containing a Topics, a Table Tennis For You pamphlet, and a discount slip for
maybe first tournament entry fees, table tennis books, and equipment. Friedman thinks with
these kits he could convert lots of non-members. And if this were so, how long would they
remain members?
Charlie speaks of a need for fundraisers, and feels that a promoter has to earn $5,000$10,000 in order to justify taking on the immense responsibilities of a national tournament or
big money tournament. [Compare Ron Shirleys $6,500 for running the 75 Houston U.S.
Open.] Once a promoter starts to make a decent amount of money then table tennis will grow
very fast. If there isnt money there for the promoter, hell probably quit. Promoters and
sponsors of big money tournaments are very much needed, and players can help make these
tournaments more attractive to spectators by dressing neatly.
Fred Danner (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 6B) says bluntly that the only way Table Tennis
can become as important in the United States as it is in the rest of the world is for people to
get behind our National Programs. In trying to realize his vision of making TABLE TENNIS
a permanent part of our school physical education program, Fred is promoting a NATIONAL
SCHOOL MEDAL PROGRAM.
To start, he hopes to raise $4,000 in three ways. By having USTTA members sell
School Program decals (sold individually for a tax-exempt donation of $1 or more); by
getting sponsorship from the T.T. manufacturers; and by private donations. When enough
money is raised, 1,000 Olympic-size medals will be fashioned, and schools will be offered
FREE a boy/girl set of these medals if they run a supervised tournament. Initially, a school
must write for a FREE tournament packageand, if it does, heres whats sent out, and what
the follow-up should be:
40

[a School Table Tennis] Manual, instructions, draw

sheets, rules, forms, etc. to help run a successful event.[Also,]
information on sponsors products, how to join the USTTA,
how to form a school team, and other promotional literature.
The school now runs the tournament and reports the names,
addresses, and phone numbers of the boy and girl champions
and of the tournament chairman; the number of students in the
school; how many participated; and whether the tournament was
reported to the state athletic commission.
USTTA Junior Development State Chairmen [will
then follow up].Our prime objective is to prove to state athletic associations that
TABLE TENNIS should be a varsity sport in their school system.
Whether or not you think Freds plan will be successful, you have to admire him for
committing himself to action.
Indeed, as readers can see, there is no lack of movement in our Sport.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In Vol. VI (p.346), Id noted that Fred Danner said that I, Tim, had signed a contract
with the Houston group for the 1975 U.S. Open before presentations were made to the E.C.
by both the Houston group and the Oklahoma City group. I questioned this and the
circumstances that might have led to such a signing. However, recently Ive come across an
Aug. 15, 1974 letter from Rufford Harrison in which he says, It would have been much better
if the E.C. had had the opportunity of seeing that contract before you signed it on the day
before our meeting. I dont recall the circumstances, which I imagine were somewhat
complicated, that prompted me to do that signing, but that I did it seems certain. The Houston
bid, however, to be accepted, had to be contingent, as I explained correctly, on the E.C.s
approval and the approval of a final contract.

41

Chapter Three
1975: Spring Tournaments.
There was a big upset at the May 1718 San Francisco Spring Open. In the Open
semis, Jeff Mason defeated Ray
Guillen in 5quite a blow for the
South American Champion. The
who? Didnt you see him recently on
the Johnny Carson Show? As long as
Jeff
Ive known exhibitionist Bob Ashley,
Mason
hes been introducing his dummy
partners as if they just arrived from
some foreign country. Of course Bob does all the talking because
Meester Guillen, heez not so good with heezhow you say
it?Engleesh.
Mason himself then went down to Dave Chan in the
final, -21, -20, -18. Open Doubles: Guillen/Aki over Fung/Wang
in 5. Womens: Jai Howard over Lyn Kienitz. Mixed: Guillen/
Howard over Naik/Brautigan. As: Kohler over Masaaki Tajima.
Bs: Tom over Phat. B Doubles: Pang-Tito LeFranc over Amidi/
Art McCartney. Cs: Dong over Armand Romero. Ds: Sugiono
Art McCartney
over Bob Partridge. Seniors: Ibrahim over Nelson. Juniors:
Henry Fung over Dennis Lamenti.
Results of the Apr. 18-19 Northern California
Spring Open at Partridges Concord Club: Open Singles:
Guillen in successionover Andy Kohler in 5; over George
Makk, 24-22 in the 4th; and over Jack Howard in the final,
23-21 in the 4th. (Who said Jack was gonna give up t.t. for
tennis?) Guillen also won the Open Doubles with Shonie
Akiover Dennis Barish/Makk, 17 in the 5th. Womens
went to Lai-Sang Young over Jai Howard. Mixed to Jim
Naik/Lyn Kienitz
over Siu/Young.
As: Kohler over
Masaaki Tajima.
Bs: Kohler over
Tito LeFranc in 5.
Jack Howard (L)
Cs: Shahran
and Ray Guillen
Auidi over
Charles Smith from down 2-0 and at deuce in the 3rd.
Massoud
B-C Doubles: Tajima/LeFranc over Kohler/Mingo
Dehdashti
Dee, 19 in the 4th. Ds: Massoud Dehdashti over
Mike Holabird. Seniors: Azmy Ibrahim over Harry
Nelson. Juniors: Henry Fung over Enrico Li.
42

Pam Ramsey tells us (TTT, July-Aug.,

1975, 25) that during April Dean Galardi and
Rob Lange put on their Quicksport
exhibitions90-minute shows twice-a-day for
1 and weeksat the L.A. Convention
Center. Dean, 16, has been playing for only
three years, but, in addition to accumulating
roomfuls of Junior trophies, is now a contender
to win Mens events. Rob, whos in his early
twenties and, taking advantage of a practice
robot at home, is in the process of making a
comeback after 6 years. Pam says hes known
for retrieving impossible shots in unbelievable
ways. With popular table tennis supplier Jim
West serving as their official referee, they
played before an audience of several hundred
on weekdays, over a thousand on weekends.
Here, says Pam, is their entertainment routine:

Rob Lange
Photo by Kris Cleveland

The show began with a

demonstration on a MINI table with a
variety of trick shots including the very
hard task of
rallying with
4 balls at one
time.
[Following
that they
played a
championship
match
consisting]
of every
spectacular
shot
imaginable,
with the
Dean Galardi (L) and Rob Lange
crowd
Photo by Pam Ramsey
ooohing and
aaahing
every point. The spectators especially enjoyed Deans 10-20-foot lobs with Rob
jumping almost table level to return the shots. Equally exciting were points where drop
shots were used consecutively in a yo-yo type rally. Afterwards, the public was
encouraged to take on the champs and try for a $25.00 cash prize to anyone who could
beat [them].[Lastly,] the boys brought out the STIGA robot[and gave the amazed
public] a chance to hit against it, or at least try to.
43

There was another California Spring Open. (At the

Hollywood Club?) Results: Mens: Paul Raphel over,
successively, Ichiro Hashimoto, Galardi, and Ron Von
Schimmelman in the final, all in 4. Ron had excellent wins
over Howie
Grossman and
Joong Gil Park
whos soon to
be the proud
papa of twins.
Mens Doubles:
Park/
Hashimoto in 5
over Raphel
and Al Everett
Joong Gil Park
whos risen like
Ron Von
Photo by Mal Anderson
Schimmelman
the Phoenix to
another t.t. life outside Arizona. Womens: Angelita Rosal
over her sister Monica. Mixed Doubles: Grossman/Heather
Angelinetta over Nick Mintsiveris/Tran. Esquires: Julius
Paal over Carmen Ricevuto whod escaped Gene Wilson in 5. Seniors: Paal over Danny
Banach, 19 in the 4th. Under 17s: Galardi over Craig Manoogian whod eliminated Jimmy
Lane from down 1-0 and at deuce in the 2nd. Under 13s: Lane over Mike Chapman. Junior
Doubles: Hashimoto/Lee over Manoogian/R. Livingston.
As: Joe Sanchez over Ron Whitlock. A Doubles: Wilson/Ricevuto over Hirakawa/
Hashimoto. Bs: Hirakawa over Manoogian. B Doubles: Kent Lofthouse/Keith Ogata over
Hashimoto/Manoogian in 5. Cs: Manoogian over Stephens whod eliminated Templeton,
deuce in the 3rd. Novice: Tibor Racz over Fazal, 19 in the 4th.
Winners in the Apr. 12-13 Texas Open: Mens: Perry Schwartzberg had
his best tournament to datebeat Joe Cummings, 19 in the 5th, to make the
round robin semis, then downed runner-up Richard Ling; 3rd-place finisher
Gary Fagan; and 4th-place finisher Hanumanth Rao (who lost to Fagan from 21 up and 26-all in the 4th). Mens Doubles: Fagan/Richard James in 5 over
Cummings/John Tomlinson who, though losing two deuce games, knocked out
Ling/Skiles. Womens: Cindy Garza over Norma LeBlanc. Mixed: Doug
Hibbs/Garza over Ling/McNulty in 5.
Tibor Racz
As: Hibbs over Bob Mandel in 5. A Doubles: Hibbs/Mandel over
Tomlinson/Paul LeBlanc. Bs: David Harville over James Rautis. B Doubles:
Scott Ryan/Chuck Davis over Jeff Wise/Steve Arnold. Cs: Buddy Melamed over Wise whod
eliminated Arthur Buster Chase, 20, 19. Ds: Larry Melamed over Murray. Consolation:
Terry Ziegler over Morgan. Seniors: Buddy Melamed over Wise. Collegiate: Davis Ragnell
over Ryan.
Results of the Great Plains Open, held Apr. 5-6 at St. Charles, MO: Mens: Houshang
Bozorgzadeh over Gary Fagan. 3rd-place finisher Pat Windham had an exciting 21, 24, 21, 13
win over John Messerly. Mens Doubles: Bozorgzadeh/Homer Brown over Windham/Gerald
Evans (from down 2-0), then over Jim Schnorf/Siegel. Womens: Barbara Taschner over Jean
44

Varker. Mixed Doubles: Windham/Varker over Brown/Taschner.

As: Windham over Brian Mitchell. A Doubles: Windham/Varker
over Irvin/Don Jones, deuce in the 4th. Bs: Rich Staley over Jones.
We learn from the June 8 Kansas City Stars John Heisler that 16year-old Staley is a habitu of Larry Knoufts K.C. Club. He plays
from 4 oclock to 10 oclock almost every day. Says Rich, You
cant be an amateur in this sportI give classes and coach a lot of
people. Consolation: Irl Copely over Berg.
Esquires/Seniors: Art Fiebig over Sam Shannon. Boys U17: Staley over Robert Berg. U-17A: Greg Czarnecki, 20, -11, -15,
19, 22, over Jack Shipley, soon to be the St. Charles Closed U-17
winner who, earlier here, defeated Steve Swindle, the Closed UBrian Mitchell
17A/U-15 Champ. Boys U-15: Gerald Evans over Czarnecki. Boys
Photo by Samuel Hokin
U-13: Andy Mindlin over Greg Berg. Girls U-17/U-15: Leslie
Harris over St. Charless most promising Junior Girl, Debbie Bingaman, the winner in the U13 Girls over Janis Guetschow. U-17 Doubles: Staley/Czarnecki over Fred Burks/Berg. Under
17 Mixed Doubles: Scott Canaday/Harris over Shipley/Bingaman.
Don Larson
reports (TTT, May-June,
1975, 16) that the largest
junior table tennis
tournament ever held by
grades in the United
States took place over
two days at the Twin
Cities large new
Ridgedale Mall. A record
170 boys and girls
competed before 12,000
spectatorswith the
competition by gender
only within each grade
level. Thanks go to Don,
Action at the Ridgedale Mall
who chaired the event,
and to fellow Magooer
Steve Steblay, indefatigable Head Tournament Director. They worked hand in glove with the
Minneapolis Jaycees Sports and Recreation Committee and the Ridgedale Merchants Association
so that 50 or more gold, silver, and bronze Olympic-type medals and ribbons could be awarded.
That such a successful tournament could be run, and run again, requires volunteer
workers to believe that what theyre doing mattersand not just to themselves but to their
table tennis community. Don Larson, who gave up a career in chemical engineering to be
active in Minnesota table tennis for 26 years, explained to me in an Apr. 4, 2008 Synopsis of
Minnesota Table Tennis (1969-1980) the following most important concept, founded by
Charlie Disney, and insisted upon by Don, that all players would be rewardedget more
recognition, more enjoyment of the sportif they would help promote it. So heres what
Magoos/Disnerys Club players, having such a belief, did:
45

They
invited new
players to come
[to the Minnesota
Club]. There they
became presidents
and statisticians of
the many leagues,
wrote newsletters,
worked on ratings
and state rankings,
helped with
Disneys banquets
and awards, gave
coaching,
volunteered to do
Rich Sinykin at volunteer work.
exhibitions,
Photo courtesy of Don Larson
cleaned the club,
acted on the tournament committees, and ran tournamentsthe list goes on and on.
Rewards were given by recognition publicly, media publicity, and free coaching and use
of the club.
Thus it was a family club, a home away from home, that offered a network of social
support.
The Minnesota Open, held the weekend
before the U.S. Open, saw Houshang
Bozorgzadeh defeat Stu Sinykin to take the
Sheila ODougherty
Photo by Don Gunn
Mens. Other results: Open Doubles: Don
Larson/Pete Tellegen over Minnesota State
Mens and Junior Champion John Soderberg/
Kent Haas. Womens: Minnesota State Champ
Sheila ODougherty over aggressive penholder
Takako Trenholme. Brazilian Teams: Gordy
Thompson/Judy Heichert/Tom Soderberg over
Craig Satersmoen/Jim Culver/Tim Thiessen.
As: Dennis Driggs,
current Air Force
Doubles Champion
(with Bob Burke), over Chuck Turchick. Bs: John Stillions over
Gus Kennedy. Cs: Jim Danielson over John Reichert. Ds: Rich
Daly over Swen Baker. Es: Rick Gruber over Dave Dean. Novice
Women: Jodee Stillions over Sheri Soderberg. Novice Doubles:
Brad Bergerson/John Baker over David/Jacky Yam. Esquires: Al
Johnny
Faulkner over Chester Halpern. Seniors: Baker over John Hinde.
Stillions
Under 17: John Soderberg over Ralph Doa Salvos Alves. Under 15:
Stillions over Steve Herrick. Under 13: Stillions over Brandon Olson.
46

The Halex/
Sportcraft/Stigasponsored
Association of
College Unions
International
(ACU-I)
Intercollegiate
Championships
were held Apr. 26
at La Crosse,
Wisconsin.
Results: Mens:
Alex Tam
(University of
Texas at Austin)
over Greg
Gingold
(University of S.
Florida at Tampa)
whod advanced
General Sportcrafts Mike Springer (R)
Barbara Taschner
in 5 over Mike
Photo by Paul Currier
and Mens Champion Alex Tam.
Veillette (Oakland,
MI University). Womens: Barbara Taschner (College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois)
over Defending Champion Janice Martin (Western Michigan University), 3-0, then over Jean
Varker (Southwest Missouri State University at Springfield), -18, 18, -9, 21, 16. Mixed:
Veillette/Martin over Fred Finley (Oklahoma State University at Stillwater)/Varker, 16, -17, 19, 13, 18.
Topics hasnt received any Chicago
results for a few months, and, from an ad
reproduction Steve Isaacson playfully
submitted to the magazine (Mar.-Apr., 1975,
6B), I think I may know why. Chicagos Free
Weekly, the Reader (Jan. 31, 1975)
advertises the Grand Opening of the Triple
XXX Gaisha House on Western Ave. It
features PoolPing PongAir Hockey.
Want to play? The House offers a $3.00
Special. Plus with this ad you get one free
Steve and Sari Isaacson on their wedding day.
lesson. Come play: Let your favorite
completely nude Gaisha Girl instruct you in the fine arts of these games. Our girls will bend
over backwards for your pleasure! How about it, Davey, Pashukuwhat goes on there? Ad
was only good until Feb. 28. Are they still in business? Readersmany of themwant to
know.
Dick Barber tells us that Gary Calkins, an English immigrant now living in Grand
Rapids, won the Mens at the Mar. 29 Cereal City Open in Battle Creek, MI. Is it more
47

surprising that Garys a cousin of famous rock star

Elton John, or that in the final he defeated
supposedly retired Dell Sweeris in 5? For sure, with
Gary crashing through barriers to prevail from down
2-0 and at 24-all in the 4th, he and Dell put on a fun
final. In another great spectator match, Paul Lamse
rallied to beat Jeff Smart, -13, -17, 14, 19, 21.
Gary
Womens went to Joyce Donner over Amy Hopping.
Calkins
Gunther Pawlowski took the As over Larry Wood, 12, 19, 14. And Greg Mosio, after a marathon 19, 20,
32 [sic] struggle with Dale Scheltema, downed Greg
Jelinski, -14, 19, 12, to win the Juniors.
We learn from Ron DeMent that his Newark, Ohio Club has a new sponsor for its
Moundbuilders tournamentthe Sun T.V. Co. of Columbus and Newark. Hence, the players,
having done their groundbreaking work, move to build on it. Offering over $400 in money
prizes, the Apr. 5-6 Sun TV Open is born. Results: Open Singles: 1. D-J Lee. 2. Insook Na. 3.
Graham Gear (who lost to Insook after leading 12-7 in the 5th). 4. John Spencer. Open
Doubles: Lee/Na over DeMent/Greg Collins who upset Gear/Tom Hall. Womens (Insook
didnt play): Diane Turnbull over Sandy Hensley whod eliminated Mary Ann Burdick in 5.
Mixed: Jeff Williams/Insook over Randy Eller/Kathy DeMent. Esquires: penholder George
Sinclair over penholder Joe Blatt who was playing in New
York tournaments 45 years ago. Seniors: Art Holloway over
Ron DeMent.
As: Randy Seemiller over Collins in 5. A Doubles:
Eller/R. DeMent over Al Fish/Rod Mount. Bs: Seemiller over
Larry Hensley. Cs: Turnbull over Tom Boyle in 5, then over
Bob Powell. Consolation: Boyle over Blatt. Parent/Child
Doubles: Dick/Greg Collins over John/Jeff Williams in 5. Boys
U-17/U-15: Collins over Seemiller. Girls
U-17: Hensley over Denise Horn. Girls U15: Horn over Jodee Williams. Boys U13: Williams over Tim Seemiller. Girls U13: Horn over Kim Kondash.
George Sinclair
Results of the Apr. 19-20 Atlanta
Photo by Mal Anderson
Team Tournament: Championship: 1.
New York (5-1): Roger/Alan Sverdlik ($100). 2. Florida Rockets (5-1):
Pat Patterson/Bev Hess ($50). 3. Atlanta #1 (4-2): Chuck Michell/Lance
Rosemore ($30). New York lost a tieto Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
(Greg Gingold/Ross BrownRoss is Lightfoot?). But since they beat the
Rockets, they head to head won the tiebreaker. Class A: 1. Augusta (6-0):
Pete May/Herb Beckham ($50). 2. Evil Weeds (5-1): Mike Johnson/Bill
Brown ($30). (Bills been described as a mostly block/counter-driver
with a psuedo-Seemiller grip; he also has a truly wicked backhand
flipand can loop the eyes out of the ball.) 3. Memphis Junkmen (3-3):
Hugh Lax/Bob Flowers. Class B: 1. Memphis #2 (5-0): Denis Fritchie/
Jack Coppedge ($30). 2. Memphis #3 (4-1): Clay Dunn/Bobby Flowers,
Greg Gingold
48

Jr. 3. M and W (3-2): Bill Mobley/Ed Woo. Best

Individual Records: 1. Gingold, 17-0. 2. Alan
Photo by
Sverdlik, 16-2 (lost to Gingold and Michell). 3.
Virginia Marcus
Roger Sverdlik, 16-2 (lost to Gingold and
Rosemore). 4. Mike Johnson, 16-3 (lost to
Beckham, Don Gaither, and Rosemore).
Winners in the Orlando Spring Open:
Championship Singles: Bernie Bukiet over Jerry
Thrasher (from down 2-0). Championship
Doubles: Marv Leff/Greg Gingold over Steve
Rigo/Vladimir Kamenco. Ladies: Olga Soltesz over Bev Hess. Mixed Doubles: Rigo/Soltesz
over Pat Patterson/Hess. As: Soltesz over Blake Chamberlain
(after being down 2-0), 19 in the 5th. A Doubles: Steve Federico/
John Wimbish (wholl win the Mens Consolation at the Houston
U.S. Open from Allen Lee) over Soltesz/Hess. Bs: Averill over
Marshall whod eliminated Randy Hess, 19 in the 3rd. Randy, by
the way, apologizes for not holding the Florida Closed as hed
intended to do. Business problems and illness forced a
postponement until hopefully later this year. B Doubles: Simrin/
Chouinard over Maglio/Wilcock. Cs: Averill over Ron Rigo.
Seniors: Bob Walker over Sam Fletcher, -14, 16, -26, 22, 12.
Under 17: Gibbs over John Elliott. Under 15: Joe Newgarden,
Jr. over Ron
Rigo, 24-22 in
the 4th.
Steve Federico
Results of
Photo courtesy of Joe Sokoloff
the Apr. 25-27
Maryland and Washington D.C. Closed held at
the Robert Frost Elementary School in New
Carrollton, Md.: Mens: Lem Kuusk over
Gordon Gregg. Mens Doubles: Stu Caplin/
Ken Silverstein over Kuusk/Gregg. Womens:
Barbara
Joey Newgarden
Photo by Mal Anderson
Kaminsky
over Kay
Young. Mixed Doubles: Kaminsky/? over Herb Horton/
Young. Mens As: Alan Evanson over Silverstein.
Womens As: Young over Jackie Heyman. A Doubles:
Caplin/Silverstein over W. Soffer/Nate Sussman, deuce in
the 3rd. Bs: Caplin over F. Dosik. Cs: Curt Kronlage
over R. Kerr. Ds: Kerr over Ed Woody. Consolation:
Sussman over Silverstein. Seniors: Horton over Jim
Verta.
The Eastern Open, sponsored by the Masters
Engineer Corporation and under the direction of Marv
Ken Silverstein
Feldman, was held Apr. 11-13 at the Alleghany
Photo by Mal Anderson
Don Gaither

49

Community College in Pittsburgh, the so-called Renaissance City of America. Actually, maybe its
like any other tournament-town (though the gyms rubberized floor helped to prevent injuries).
Someone forces open the trunk of your car in the motel parking lothere read Zakarins carand
steals a new tire, your emergency tools, whatever. No, Im not paranoid, but Dave Shapiro and
Barry Margolius (TTT, July-Aug., 1975) will tell you paranoias in the air.

50

Holding his opponents on the average to

less than 13 points a game, hometown hero Danny
Seemiller swept to an easy $500 Mens win. Insook
Na, thought to have won every Mens tourney shes
been allowed to play in, also didnt lose a game in
taking the 18-entry Womens over runner-up Alice
Green whod been pressed into the 5th by Muriel
Stern. For this she won $250 and the sympathy of
the young ladies at the college who picketed the
tournament because of the unequal prize money. DJ Lee has been putting on a number of exhibitions
(12 this month alone), so he wasnt ready to
participate in the Singles. Rumor has it that D-J and
Danny (not to say Insook) were looking to play a
$3,000 match somewherewinner take all. So of
course they didnt want to spoil it for everyone
hereincluding fan Sam Davis, Offensive Captain
of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who came by to watch
the action.
Thankfully, there were some good matches
among the men. Sam Hammond just got by hardhitting Jim Dixon, deuce in the 5th. Sam Balamoun
stopped former Iranian International Parviz
Mojaverian, 16 in the 5th. Rich Farrell, D-Js
Danny Seemiller (L) and
sparring mate, not only
pro football star Sam Davis
won the As in 4 over
Photo by Mal Anderson
Bruce Plotnick and
Roger Sverdlik, but knocked out Errol Resek in the Mens in 5.
Errols just not been playing well since he and Jairie sort of split.
Here in beautiful Pittsburgh, Jairie reminiscences, thinks of the
rolling hills of home. Home being a small town cuddled by the
Alleghany River and mountains (I call them hills) just forty miles
northwest of this metropolis. Poor Errol. Not only was that some
1st-round match he had to play with Farrell, but somebody stole
$180 or so from his bag. Errol had the money wrapped up like a
sandwich and somebody watching just got too hungry.
Jairie Resek
Farrell lost in 5 to Michigan Champ Mike Veillette who
kept scoring with a fine loop down his opponents forehand line.
Mike in turn was beaten, 18 in the 5th, by 20-year-old Robert Earle from Barbados. Earle says
hes learned to open the point better since hes been in this country hoping to start a new
competitive life. Hed often had a difficult time, however, with Veillettes serves, even deep
into the match. In the early part of the 4th game he missed 4 in a rowthought they had
backspin when they had topspin!
A round earlier, Robert, bothered by a head cold, was in almost irrecoverable trouble
against Dave Sakai. Down 2-1 and 19-13 in the 4th, all Earle could think of was Lord, help
me. Then 8-point inspiration came: Chop deep, and when Sakai pushes back, come in and
51

loop. Dave, it turned out,

was right not to take the
$60-$20 odds offered
himunless of course that
would have made him try a
little harder at the end.
Quite obviously
Earle should have
attempted much the same
thing in the semis against
the Mens runner-up, the
ever intense George
Brathwaiteshould have
chopped heavy, then spun
heavy off The Chiefs push.
But, said Robert who
lost in 5, I dont know
why I didnt. I just didnt
feel myself.
Other Results:
Mens Doubles: Dan/Rick
Seemiller over D-J Lee/Ali

Robert Earle (L) and George Brathwaite battled it out in the Eastern
Open semis. This time, the Big Chief beat the Little Chief.
Earle photo by Mal Anderson; Brathwaite photo by Tom Slater

Oveissi. Womens
Doubles: Yvonne
Kronlage/Barbara
Kaminsky over
Shazzi Felstein/
Louise Chotras
Nieves. Mixed
Doubles: D-J Lee/
Insook Na over
Hammond/Shazzi
Felstein. Womens
As: Stern over
Vietnam native Xuan
Ferguson, whom
Jairie Resek says has
Xuan and Dennis Ferguson
Portuguese Joe Mimoso
lost 35 of the 45
Photo by Mal Anderson
pounds she gained while carrying now 6-month-old
Dennis. Xuans worried plenty about her brothers and sisters in Saigon. A Doubles: Mike
Baber/Barry Robbins over Mojaverian/Tim Boggan, 19 in the 3rd, then over Green/Gary
Wittner in 5. Bs: Dan Green in the final over Carl Danner, 24-22 in the 4th, and in the semis
over Ray Mack, 19 in the 3rd (but Ray balanced somewhat by eliminating Jim Shoots in the
As, 19 in the 5th). Cs: Portuguese Joe Mimoso (cheered on by his Moroccan wife Theresa)
over Hank McCoullum. B Doubles: Sol Schiff/Mimoso over Robbins/George Rocker in 5.
52

Esquires: Rocker over Manny Moskowitz.

Seniors: Bill Sharpe over Boggan whom Jairie says is
WILDhas a lions mane, paces like hes in a cage,
and growls on occasion. Boys U-17: Rick Seemiller
over Plotnick. Girls U-17/U-15: Debbie Wong over
Cathy Payotelis. Boys U-17A: Greg Collins over Kurt
Lloyd, 20, 21, -17, 21. Boys U-15: Plotnick over
Collins. Boys U-13: Tim Seemiller over Eric Boggan.
Boys U-11: Boggan over Mark Collins. Junior Doubles:
Baber/Jeff Zakarin over Rick/Randy Seemiller. Errol
Resek said that Randy (and Timmy too?and, hey,
what about Cindy?) will be better than Danny: Hes
got longer arms, a lot of talent, and two big brothers to
coach him. And Randys not the only one Danny and
Ricky will be coachingtheyve got a 12-day training
camp coming up in Aug. here in Pittsburgh.

Mike Bush
Photo by Steve Berger

Seemillers: L-R, Timmy,

Randy, and Cindy
Randy & Cindy photos by Mal
Anderson; Timmys by Dan Tuden

Like D-J, Dannys not

averse to going round giving
exhibitionsin or out of the
country. A week after the
Easterns he teamed up with Fuarnado Roberts, whod made their itinerary arrangements, for
an 11-day stay in the Dominican Republic. Seemiller begins his write-up (TTT, May-June,
1975, 20; 3) by describing what he saw in his two-hour road trip from Santo Domingo to
Santiago, the town where he and Robbie would be spending most of their time. All you could
see were mountains and beaches and almost never-ending fields of sugar cane. After the
harvest they burn the stalks and you can sit there, just taking in the sight as they light up the
whole hillside. I never saw such an amazing fire in my life. The way it spread so quickly it
appeared to be dangerous. But apparently it wasnt.
53

After checking in at the hillside Hotel

Matun that offered a very pretty view of the
city, they met Hans Hieronomius whod hired
them to come down and introduce more
modern techniques to the hundred or so boys
hed donated a Center to. Danny said the kids
play there all afternoon and all night, seven
days a week! I never saw so many young
people so willing to learnit was kind of hard
to believe. He and Robbie gave daily clinics
for 3-4 hours, during which time they praised
two young menone named Rolin, the current
National Champion; the other, 15-year-old Juan
Vila who, decades later, after an illustrious
professional playing career, would become the
President of the Dominican Association.
Juan Vila
From Latin American TT Union Program,
Come the weekend Danny and Robbie
Santigao, Mar. 18-30, 1978
were in Santiago giving as many as 10
exhibitions, several of them covered by TV.
Once we were on for 45 minutes: Fuarnado and I played for 25 minutes straight and then
there was about a 2-minute commercial; after that, we answered questions for another 20
minutes. Originally we were supposed to be on this program for only 10 minutes, but for some
unknown reason we just kept playing and playingand under those hot TV lights it wasnt
easy.
Monday we had a vacation dayto a near-deserted beach resort surrounded by
mountainsabsolutely beautiful. Ah, to just sit there and sip. Jairie Resek wrote in one of
her Its Whats Happening columns that while in the Dominican Republic Danny developed
a taste for Frambueza. No hard feat for Danny. As all his friends knowhes a coke-aholic
(10-15 bottles a day). Frambueza is a delicious soda that comes in all flavors and isnt
carbohydrated.
Back in Santiago on Tuesday, the day of the official match, Seemiller and Roberts
spent a quiet day at Hanss houseexcept when Julio, Hanss handyman, brought in a
tarantula. I never saw a spider so big! said Danny.
The 8:00 p.m. matchplayed to perhaps 600
spectatorsgot underway with Roberts facingErrol Resek
who of course had come to the States from his native
Dominican Republic back in the 60s. Errol beat Robbie, 19 in
the 3rd, in a typical exhibition match played for the crowd. Then
it was Seemiller over Vila, and Roberts over Rollin, and some
exhibition games between Danny and Robbieall followed by a
farewell dinner. Great fun!
Sam Steiner, wholl succeed Bill Walk as Pennsylvania
TTA President, tells us that the Apr. 19-20 Slippery Rock Open
proved to be a physical ordeal for the entrants and somewhat
of a nightmare for Tournament Director Gary Martin and his
helpers. What with all the round robin Team events (including a
Sam Steiner
54

final wild card berth granted to teams finishing 2nd in their initial round robin), both Saturday
and Sunday play didnt finish until two oclock in the morning. However, according to Sam,
winners received the biggest, nicest trophies Ive ever seen at a one-star tournament. They
were bought from a guy who sells them as a hobby and makes very little profit.
Results: Open Teams: Rick Seemiller/Joe Rokop ($80) over Neal Fox/Bill Davis, 3-1
(with Fox/Davis taking the doubles). Penholder Fox of necessity uses the wooden side of his
racket to return Rickys spin serves, but cant stop the point-winning follow-ups. Still, the
runner-ups do get some prize money when they win out over Hank McCoullum/Jim Shoots.
Jim and Bill put on an exciting 5th-match topspin battle, with Bill taking it in 3. Both players
are left-handed, back-from-the-table spinners on both sidesa pair of Stipancicsamazingly
quick for their size. Not long ago such an allusion to a world-class player would have been
lost on the USTTA readership. That referent is a sign of progress?
A Teams: Anti-spongers Gary Martin/Martin Obeldobel over Hank McCoullum/
Steiner, 3-0 (with Obeldobel defeating Martin 18 in the 3rd, and Martin defeating Steiner deuce
in the 3rdthis after Sam had rallied from 20-14 down to go up match point, only to see Gary
blast Sams serve back, ticking the net and scoring a point that will soon enable him to win
the match). Bs: Rick Scherer/Danny Wild Man Wasson over Harry Hawk/Dave Lowry, 30. Cs: Elaine Fantaske/Steiner over Ralph Ubry/Ken Plessinger. Mechanicsburg entrant Tom
Steen protested that both C finalist teams were unscrupulously too strong for the event, and
complained that actually play on Saturday evening didnt finish until 5:45 a.m. Sunday
morning!
Open Singles: Rick Seemiller ($60)
in the semis over Davis, -19, 19, 10 (after
Bill, spinning consistently to Rickys
blocks, had led 1-0 and 19-16 in the 2nd),
then in the final over Joe Rokop. A nice
win earlier by McCoullum over former
Czech junior badminton star Milda Milacek
now enrolled here at Slippery Rock
University. Actually, Milacek was fortunate
to have survived red-haired junior Scott
Feldman, 26-24 in the 3rd. Scott had Milda
match point and back desperately lobbing
one that, luckily for the Czech, ticked the
edge. A Singles: McCoullum in 5 over
Martin who in his semis after winning the
1st was at 30-all in the 2nd with Obeldobel.
B Singles: Pittsburgh junior Doug
Addington over Rick Claraval and his
Scott Feldman
tricky change-of-spin loops. C Singles:
Bruce Jenkins over Bruce Fair. Womens Singles (7 entries): Hard rubber blocker Elaine
Fantaske upset attacker LaRue Jones 19 in the 3rd. Mixed Doubles: Fox/Katie Simon over
Feldman/Fantaske.
Steiner laments the fact that Penn States Daily Collegian newspaper practically
ignored the Pennsylvania Closed, though it was held on a campus where table tennis is quite a
student union/dorm participant sport. At least General Sportcraft was generousprovided
55

new Stiga nets and barriers to complement our ten Detroiter tables. Neal Fox, however, for
whatever reason, did not provide ratings, and so for the Class A, B, and C events particularly,
each of which had 50 entries, Sam said that he and two others struggled for hours with the
draws. We felt like we were trying to open a combination safe by trial and error.
In the Open (under bad campus-venue lighting), Ricky Seemiller, sporting a new 2235
rating, successfully defended his State Closed titleblanking real life chemical engineer and
real life chopper/backhand pick-hitter Sam Balamoun whod ousted Joe Rokop in 4. Rick
rolls Sams serves with his anti then follows up with that slow, spinny loop, then kills when the
ball is chopped back, as it often is, high and short. Down 20-16 match point in the 3rd,
Balamoun suddenly proves stubborn, VERY stubborn, wins 5 in a row to go up 21-20. But
now Sams forced to lob from deep, knocks the barriers down, and lobs two more from
behind them, while, on an ego or showmanship kick, Rick refuses an easy point via a drop
shot, keeps hammering away and finally angles the ball out of Sams reach. Then goes on to
win, 24-22. Ricky, paired with Rokop, also won the Open Doubles from Karl Szakacs/
Balamoun.
Womens went to Pittsburghs bouncy blonde attacker LaRue Jones who successfully
defended her State Championship over Penn States penhold hitter Bev Bracken. Seniors
winner was Kintnersvilles Szakacs (whod been upset in the Open by new father Mike
Connelly) over Bloomburg lawyer Dave Dickson II. This was a great crowd-pleaser. Dickson
rolled or flat-hit 10-15 balls per point to Szakacs anti-chops, then went in for a kill.No trick
serves or super spinsDick Miles would have loved it. After Szakacs eked it out, 19 in the
3rd, both players received a long ovation. U-17s: Rick Seemiller over Steve Lowry whod
eliminated Danny Tuden (after being down 20-16 match point in the 3rd). U-15s: barely
eligible Scott Feldman over Lowry whod been up 2-0. U-13s: Tim Seemiller (his game
cloned from Danny, Ricky, and Randy) over Dave Dickson III. U-11s: Mike over Dan Walk.
Other results: As: Feldman over Randy Seemiller in 5. A Doubles: Joe Scheno/Fred
Kistler over Gary Martin/ Martin Obeldobel. (Over 20% of the field used anti-spin on one or
both sides of their racket.) Bs: Kistler over Doug Addington, 18 in the 5th. Cs: Keith Bair
over Damian Kotecki, 18 in the 5th. Consolations: Scott Rodgers over Steve Williams whod
outlasted Dickson III, 19 in the 3rd.
Philadelphia held its annual Memorial Day Open with the following results: Mens:
Brathwaite over Mike Bush whod eliminated Roger Sverdlik in 5. Mens Doubles: the regular
partnership of Sam Balamoun/Stan Smolanowicz over Brathwaite/Hamid Hayatghaib. (Sam
and Stan, good friends, also liked to give exhibitions together, sometimes put on half-time
shows at 76ers basketball games.) No Womens play (why not?). AAs: Bush over Aram
Avanissi. As: Jerry Fleischhacker and Eliot Katz didnt play the finalsplit the $45 prize
money. A Doubles: Fleischhacker/Katz over Zakarin/Zakarin, 20, 20, -21, 17. Bs: Dave
Shapiro over Rocker in 5. Cs: Evanson over Ron Lilly. Ds: Evanson over Jack Wiener. Es:
Scott Boggan over Lilly. Fs: Tony Gegelys over Stan Winter. Gs: Haring over Snyder whod
20, -20, 18 squeaked by Harry Hawk. Ns: Tom Steen over Jim Releford, 23-21 in the 3rd.
Handicap: Erich Haring over Steve Sampson. Handicap Doubles: T. Boggan/Eric Boggan over
Sharpe/S. Boggan. Seniors: Sharpe over Boggan. U-17: Plotnick over Rutledge Barry. U17A: Alan Evanson over Dave Margolin, -19, 22, 10. U-15: Barry over Plotnick. U-13: E.
Boggan over Dave Dickson, III.
George Hellerman, covering the Apr. 26-27 New Jersey Closed at Westfield, reports
that after five years of domination by Mitch Sealtiel, New Jersey has a new state champ1456

year-old Mike Stern. Following a semis round robin

with Jerry Fleischhacker and Eliot Katz whod
finished 1st in Westfields strong Thursday Nite
League, Mitch and Mike posted identical 2-1: 5-3
match and game records. Even though Stern lost to
Sealtiel in their round robin match, Mike ended up
with a points won-to-loss ratio of 1.1397 as
opposed to Sealtiels ratio of 1.1357. George said
hed never seen Mike play betterhe showed a
strong offense, quickness, and agility. In his final
round robin match, against Fleischhacker, a
somewhat controversial and colorful character
whod defeated Sealtiel, he could have secured the
title with a straight-set win, but had to go into the
3rd. There he had to hold Jerry to 7 points or less to
Mike Stern
win the Championshipwhich didnt seem
Photo by Raul Rodriguez
possible, until, surprise, Mike ran off 10 points in a
row and won 21-6!
Other winners: Mens Doubles:
Fleischhacker/Katz over 3-time state doubles champs Sealtiel/Manny Moskowitz. Womens:
Muriel Stern over Pat Bacili. Mixed: Jeff Steif/Edie Nitchie over Harvey/Bonnie Gutman. As:
Elmer Wengert over Hellerman who plays with anti-spin. A Doubles: Ed/Harvey Gutman over

L-R: Harvey, Alan, and Ed Gutman

Hellerman/Bob Saperstein. Bs: John Sisti over Herman.

Cs: Bob Renner over Gene Wonderlin. Ds: Neil
Ackerman over Smiley Yutko. Esquires (a hard rubber final): John Kilpatrick over
Moskowitz. Seniors: Wengert came back after two years of house-building (his own) to win
over Defending Champ Kilpatrick. Senior Doubles: Kilpatrick/Moskowitz over Dan Dickel/
Ron Herman. Parent/Junior Doubles: Harry/Mike Stern over John/David Kilpatrick. U-17s:
Stern over Steif, 19 in the 5th. U-15s: Steif over Stern, then over Robert Nochenson. U-13s:
Pat Bacili

57

Eisner over Danny Gastel. U-11s: Richie Spear, Jr. over David Outlaw. Junior Doubles: Steif/
Steve Weitzen over Eisner/Sisti. Thanks for a successful Closed go especially to Westfield
workers Jerry Boyle, Colin and Liz Mallows, Ron Herman, Dan Dickel, Bob Barns, and
Harry Stern.
The Apr. 5-6 New York City Open at the Manhattan Tennis Centre brought thoughts
of Jerome Charyns Blue Eyes (1975)a fast, funny tale of an unorthodox cop in New York
City who is a nut for ping pong. Pauline Somael, in her brief review (TTT, July-Aug., 1975,
18), says the book is studded with references to Miles, Reisman, 73rd St. and Manager Morris
[who took over Gusikoffs club], and the Manhattan Tennis Centre. The action includes an
hysterical account of a would-be hustle between the cop and a ringer from the
Village.High class table tennis it isnt, but extremely hilarious down and out ping pong it
isas seen by a player/writer. Read Blue Eyes.
Meanwhile, the real-life tournament at the Centre drew side-by-side letters in Topics
from two opposite-minded attendees. Marshall Weiner, whod had experience helping to run
tournaments on Long Island, criticized Bob Silverman and Co. on several counts. He objected
that they werent careful to separate two of his fellow club members whod indicated on their
entries they belonged to the same club. He didnt like the way the control desk clowns were
repeatedly calling him to play while he was on court already playing, didnt like in general the
way they were calling matches (So and so, you have 1 minute, 17.4 seconds till you are
defaulted), didnt like them yelling out, So and so defaults another one, ha, ha.
Marshall also wanted to know why he and
Stan Winter
others couldnt enjoy a game of Frisbeen, or he couldnt
Photo by
continue playing an innocent game of Gin Rummy with
Danny Ganz
a friend (their wager was a coke) without the threat of
being thrown in jail. And wasnt it rude of them after
the emotional Stan Winter missed a kill and screamed
OH STANLEY to yell over the mike, Oh, why dont
you shut up and play? Marshall said if anybody yelled
at him like that the guy would need to have been rolled
out of the building on 1000 ping-pong balls,
compliments of a right cross from a Sportcraft blade,
vintage 1973.
Tim Boggan, however, said he liked the tournament, liked especially Stanley Winter,
studded belt and allliked the stand-up comedians behind the desk[yelling] out from their
have-to-keep-it-alive Centre. Tim says, Be careful, Marshalldont hit anybody down there
[at the Centre].Trouble is, your gamestheyre too innocent. They could give the place a
bad name. And I wouldnt want that to happenespecially now that Bob at his next years
Bicentennial Open is going to give the winner of the Mens Singles a free trip to Vegas.
Results: Mens: Final: Dave Philip over Dave Sakai in 5. Semis: Philip over Errol
Resek, 25-23 in the 4th; Sakai over Chris Yuen, 20, -17, 18, 15. Quarters: Philip over Jim
Dixon, 17 in the 5th; Resek over Roger Sverdlik, and Yuen over George Brathwaite, both 2116 in the 4th; Sakai over Alex Shiroky, -21, 13, 23, 17. Mens Doubles: Brathwaite/Rutledge
Barry over Philip/Gary Wittner. Womens: Alice Green over Shazzi Felstein, -20, 7, 19, 14.
Seniors: Boggan over Marcy Monasterial, 17 in the 5th. Wheelchair: Jennifer Johnston over Ty
Kaus. Hard Rubber: Boggan 20, 14, over Sverdlik, then, deuce in the 5th over Mike Bush
whod 13, 19, 16 stopped Doug Cartland.
58

As: Jerry Fleischhacker over Cartland, 19 in the 4th. Bs: E.

Smith over R. Robinson. Cs: Soulman Fouja over J. Ng. Ds: Fouja
over A.A. Malek, 20, -13, 19. Es: Malek over F. Charles. Fs: K. F.
Wong over Z. Gode. Handicap: Barry over C. Zoeller, 52-50, then
over Larry Gold, 51-47. Handicap Doubles: Jim Beckford/Zoeller
over Tony Gegelys/Goldwasser, 51-48. Boys U-17/U-15: Barry over
Mike Stern. Boys U-13: Barry over Eric Boggan.
Several
weeks before the
Long Island
Closed, the
Rockville Centre
Recreation
Soulman Fouja
Center held a
Thursday night Memorial Tournament for
former Club member Vinnie Cavaleri
whod been killed in an auto accident on
L-R: Verne Cavaleri, presenting the first annual
New Years Eve. His son Verne presented
Vincent A. Cavaleri Trophy to winners Jack Rosales,
the Trophy to the three winners, Jack
Tom Franklin, and Robert Altimore.
Rosales, Tom Franklin, and Robert
Altamore. This years Closed winners at the Center over the May 17-18 weekend: Mens:
Errol Resek over Gary Wittner, 20, 14, 21, then over Winston Bobby Cousins whod
survived Jimmy LaFemina, 19, 18, -19, -19, 18. Mens Doubles: Tim Boggan/Wittner over
Dan Green/Roger Sverdlik, 24-22 in the 4th. Womens: Alice Green over Louise Nieves.
Womens Doubles: Terry Green/Nieves over Mary Davison/Asta Hiller. Mixed Doubles: Alice/
Hal Green over Resek/T. Green, 23-21 in the 5th. Individual: T. Boggan over Carl Danner.
As: Benfield Munroe over C.
Danner, then D. Green, both 18 in the 5th.
A Doubles: Sid Jacbs/Wittner over T./
Scott Boggan. Bs: A. Green over
LeFemina. B Doubles: Mike Lardon/
Jacobs over D. Green/Larry Gold. Cs:
LaFemina over Gold. 1st Novice: Abe
Spanover over Doug Green. 2nd Novice:
Joe Alperstein over Marshall Wiener,
deuce in the 3rd. Mens Consolation: Stan
Brad Lardon
Winter over Maurice Kendal, -23, 18, 19.
Photo
by Barry
Womens Consolation: Davison over
Margolius
Evelyn Zakarin. Esquires: Jacobs over
Spanover. Seniors: Boggan over Jacobs. Senior Doubles: Boggan/Mort
Zakarin over Jacobs/Kendal. Parent- Child Doubles: T./Eric Boggan over
Larry Gold
Photo by Mal Anderson Fred/Carl Danner. Boys U-17: C. Danner over Jeff Zakarin whod
eliminated M. Lardon, deuce in the 5th. Girls U-17: S. Marullo over Kim
Kirschburg who, like her male counterparts, Danner and Gold, had been playing in a N.Y. High
School League. U-15s: M. Lardon over Scott Boggan. U-13s: E. Boggan over Brad Lardon, then
over Chuck Zakarin. Junior Doubles: Gold/C. Danner over J. Zakarin/Dave Margolin.
59

The Islands high school stars would also have

been eligible to enter the springs 40-player/6 school High
School Tournament sponsored by the Brooklyn Center of
Long Island University where USTTA Editor Boggan
teaches. The Table Tennis Club there has 125 members.
Brooklyns Franklin D. Roosevelt A team, led by Bo-Li
Yuen, won this tournament over the Bishop Ford Team,
led by George Brossard.
Robert Muzzulin says that with only two good
arguments and a lot of good matches, the Apr. 20th
Connecticut 3-Man Team matches ended with everyone in
a happy mood. Winners (with top individual results in
brackets): 1. Dave Sakai (28-4). Dave Shapiro (21-11),
Joe Williams (19-11), Pete Elukovitch. 2. Rory
Brassington (34-0), Sylvester Scott, Frank Studley (20-9).
3. Frank Dwelly, Ben Hull, Bill Dean (17-11). 4. Ralph
Robinson (22-6), Mike Woody Allen, Bob Quinn. 5th.
Bill Dean
Paul Dise, Dan McNeil (15-10), Ron Kochan.
Photo by Ellis Herwig
Steve Piazzo, Jr. reports on some hard-fought
matches in the Massachusetts Closed. Results: Mens: 1. a very fit Rory Brassington, 3-0 (over
Hull, a master at placing the ball to his advantage, 19, -7, 8, -20, 19). 2. Dwelly, 1-2/5-6 (lost
to Hull in 5, but beat Robinson 3-zip). 3. Hull, 1-2/6-8 (lost to Robinson in 4). 4. Robinson
(whose two-wing loop attack in the quarters won a great crowd-pleaser from Chris Yuen, 18,
-22, 19this after Ralph didnt seem to be his violent self in 22, -24, 17 struggling with Bob
Quinn. Open Doubles: Yuen/Apostolou over Brassington/Sylvester Scott. Womens: Anita Wu
over Cervone. Mixed Doubles: Tournament Coordinator Allen/Cervone over Hung/Wu.
As/Bs: Lew Martinello over Hull. A Doubles: Martinello/Allen over Frank Studley/
Apostolou. B Doubles: Quinn/Barosky over Allen/Barry Margolius, 19 in the 3rd. Cs: Harry
Morris over G. Sparks. Ds: F. Kirby over Apostolou. Es: S.
Marceno over Charlie Hung. Seniors: Irv Levine over Studley,
19 in the 3rd. Under 17s: Morris over T. Wong whod upset
Martinello, -19, 23, 23. Under 15s: Marceno over C. Doyle, Jr.
Junior Doubles: Morris/McNeil over Kurt Douty/Ralph
Bockoven.
Singles winners at the Atlantic Provinces Closed, held
May 4 at the Provincial Centre in Torbay, Newfoundland:
Mens: Nova Scotias Neville Brabrook, Canadian National
Coaching Director, over NSs Darrell Northcott in 5. Mens
Doubles: Brabrook/Northcott over W. Gregory (Prince Edward
Island)/Rick Moore (New Brunswick), 16 in the 5th. Womens:
Glenda Macwilliam (PEI) over Wendy Toon (NB), 19 in the 5th.
Womens Doubles: Kellye and L. Crockett over Ingrid
Martenyi/Toon (NB). Mixed Doubles: Moore/Toon over
Brabrook/Macwilliam. U-17 Boys: Mike Quinlan (NB) over
Kellye Crockett and
Doug Pope (NS). U-17 Girls: Kellye Crockett over Martenyi.
Ingrid Martenyi
U-17 Boys Doubles: K. Goggin/Quinlan (NB) over D.
Photo by Tom Slater
60

Roebothan (Nfld)/M.
Kent (NS). U-17 Girls
Doubles: K and L
Crockett over Martenyi/
Toon. U-17 Mixed
Doubles: Quinlan/
Martenyi over D and K
Crockett. U-15 Boys:
Goggin over Kent. U-15
Girls: K. Crockett over
Martenyi.
Results of the
Mar. 22-23 Monroe
County Closed at
Joe Costanza and John Kazak
Bob Brickell...meditating?
Rochester, N.Y.: Open
Photo by Mal Anderson
Singles: Jim Shoots over
Ray Mack, 18, -18, 10, -21, 16. Open Doubles: Mack/John Foxton over Anderson/Tom
Brickell. Heyyy, Tournament Director Don Clawson and Genesee Valley stalwarts Chuck
Knowland, Joe Costanza, Bob Brickell, and Walt Stephens, you had 87 participants this
weekend, but couldnt put on a Womens event? Seniors: Don Coluzzi over John Kazak
whod eliminated Charlie Burroughs, 19 in the 3rd. Handicap: Rich Reynolds over Tom Wood,
51-49.
As: Bob Pollard over T. Brickell. A Doubles: Tony Natale/Costanza over Knowland/
Clawson. Bs: Dave Fisch over Don Young. B Doubles: Stephens/Seig over Wood/Ron Miller.
Cs: Wood over Knowland. C Doubles: Knowland/Rueby over Wood/ Miller. Ds: Miller over
Jim Cook. Under 17s: Scott Plakon over Bill Spry, 23, 28, then over Reynolds. Under 17
Doubles: Plakon/Tom Naum over Reynolds/Spry. Under 15s: Naum over Reynolds. Under
13s: Reynolds over G. J. Nier
Zlatko Cordas, the 73 Yugoslav Mens Closed finalist, who continues for the 2nd year
in a row as the Canadian National Coach, won everything he could win, as did his wife Irena,
at the Bill McGimpsey-run Syracuse Open, May 3-4. The CTTA really has Zlatko moving
around (he just got back from White Horse, in the Yukon). The Cordas-Caetano 19-in-the-4th
final was, with Cordas blocking well, keeping the ball short, a 4-game replay of their recent
$250 match in a Coca-Cola-sponsored tournament in Quebec. (Next year, 1st prize is gonna be
$500 and its hoped this will initiate a mini-circuit of such tournaments.) Irena Cordas, who
one-upped her husband a couple of years ago by winning the Yugoslav Womens Closed, and
whos now gainfully employed as a bank teller, won the $25 prize in the Womens, beating farfrom-home Nancy Newgarden among others.
Zlatko, despite some urgings to the contrary, perhaps even by Errol, is not going to
play in the Canadian Closedat least thats the story going round. I mean, how would it look
if the Canadian National Coach were also the National Champion? Or (worse) almost the
Champion? Of course his chief rival Caetano works too. Has advanced to servicing TVs in the
Toronto area. For $8.50 a month, Pay TV offers 23 government-approved channels, including
the ever-popular Baby Blue. Errol, in other words, comes to your house, makes it all
happenall you have to do is lie back on your couch and play around with this little thing
(amplifying box) in your lap.
61

Yes, at work or play, Errol is often on the move. After leaving that Quebec
tournament, Errol was streaking his silver Mustang home along those dark roads, when, oh,
oh, they caught him doing 98 in a 70 mph zone. Cost him $3 a mile. Better that, though, than
what befell Defending Open Champ Dave Sakai on his way to Syracuse with some other
players. He was in a bad car accident, really bad. Asleep in the back seat, Dave woke to find
himself in traction in a Binghamton hospital. Painfully he read about the accident in the paper
the next dayluggage all over the road, the other driver in critical condition, both cars totally
demolished. One doctor was telling Dave some bones in his neck were broken and he was
thinking about taking a replacement bone from Daves hiponly thing was, if the 8-hour
operation was successful, Dave wouldnt be able to turn his head. Whoa! Fortunately, the bank
president where Dave worked found a specialist who, deciding Daves bones were stable
enough to heal, nixed any operationand so for 6 months Dave was in a cast that went from
below his waist to over his head.
Cordas/Caetano earned their $15 less $5 entry fee
apiece by winning the 10-pair Team Championship. Man in this
games a victim, I heard someone saycaught in a sport that
has no rewards. Why play in the Team event? What for? Still
Dave Philip and Rory Brassington were out there battling in
various events. Philips match in the Teams with Montreals
Guy Germain would seem to bear out the fact that the Games
not without its seesaw absurdities. Up 10-2 in the deciding 3rd,
Philip, several minutes later, is down 20-14, then wins 22-20!
As for Brassington who, when the inspiration strikes
him, can lob a ball up to any ceiling you ever saw, and who
claims hes going to write a great bookthe story of his life
lost an exciting 19-in-the-3rd match to Ricky Seemiller who then
went 5 games with Caetano. Ricky was telling us the latest story
Guy Germain
about Stellan Bengtsson. Stellan, it seems, just got hit by a car
and had to go to the hospitalthe dog hospital. This Stellan is the Seemillers mutta mixed
breed and tough as they make em. About to join the Seemillers as their houseguest in Pittsburgh
was Miamis super looper, Jerry Thrasher, who gave Caetano some trouble in the Teams. Theyll
be running up and down on those Renaissance hills
and going through extensive stroke practice in
what used to be called The Chicken Coop in
Dannys back yard. (Maybe the idea in those
somewhat cramped quarters is to shorten
Thrashers wind-up hook of a forehand?)
Still another tough young Seemiller, 14year-old Randy, after losing the U-17s to Jeff
Zakarin (who had a win over Brassington in
some event here), came back to win the $50 As
from him. In the semis, Randy had beaten 13year-old Scott Boggan, deuce in the 3rd, but
Scott later revenged himself in the U-15s,
beating Randy deuce in the 3rd in the final. This
Jerry Thrasher
exchange suggests future close matches
between the Seemillers and the Boggans?
62

Chapter Four
1975: Administration and Related Preoccupations.
With the coming of the U.S. Open (which Ill cover in the next chapter), the E.C. held
its Summer Meeting in Houston over four different sessions (not all officers could attend every
session). There was a May 22nd opening discussion on whether the USTTA or the Houston
organizers should pick up expenses for the extra players brought to the tournament by South
Korea and Israel, and also expenses for security for the Israeli team. Although the E.C. felt
those expenses should be borne by the USTTA, Houston obligingly picked them up. There
were also extra players and officials from other foreign teams who requested free hospitality.
Since apparently their Associations werent going to
Israels
pay for these extras, what should the E.C. do about
Josef Shifman,
them? Tell the impending offenders that, unless they
69 Maccabiah
paid, their team didnt play? Or, reluctantly, pay for
Champion
them? A show of hands (apparently not a vote) found
Mal Anderson, Lou Bochenski, Charlie Disney, and
Marv Shaffer opposed to the USTTA paying, while
Dick Miles and Bob Kaminsky felt the Association
should cover the extra tab. The Minutes offered no
further details.
The invitation to Israel, echoed by USTTA
members Buddy Melamed and Felix Bogart who were
distressed at the exclusion of Israel from the Calcutta
Worlds, served to right in some small way the wrong
done that country. In earlier volumes, Id spoken of
ITTF politics regarding China and Taiwan, and now, in addition to Israel, I must mention
South Korea as well.
Since the ITTF had recognized the Peking-based Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) as
a new Continental body, its Jakarta-based rival, the Table Tennis Federation of Asia (TTFA),
had dissolved (all former members, except Cambodia, Indonesia, South Korea, and South
Vietnam had switched their allegiance). Now, though the ITTF Constitution prohibits
discrimination against any member Association or their individual members on racial,
political, religious or other grounds, such discrimination was in fact legalized in Calcutta. Our
ITTF Delegate, Rufford Harrison, explains (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 13A).
The U.S. had argued that, No Continental Federation may refuse membership to any
member Association whose address in the ITTF Handbook is situated in the given Continent.
This, however, was rejected, 44 to 13, by the ITTF member countries (many of whom had
been wooed by China)and in its stead this wording was accepted: where, for reasons
outside the control of the sport, an Association is not acceptable to its Continental Federation,
this shall not prevent recognition of the Continental Federation. Since South Korea, with its
world #2 Womens Team, is now not a member of, because not accepted by, the Continental
Federation (read China) that governs, it will necessarily, by ITTF law, not be eligible without
such affiliation to play much internationally.
Politics reared up to strike both Israel and South Africa when the Indian government,
though allowing individuals from those countries to enter India, refused to give their Teams
63

permission to take part in the tournamentthis despite the ITTF Constitution that declares
that all countries must be allowed to participate, and despite ITTF President Roy Evanss
attempts to diplomatically enforce the Federations anti-discrimination policy. Two USTTA
members, Ed Pollaine and Robert Lande, upset at Israels exclusion, felt the USTTA should
have boycotted the tournament.
Harrison pointed out that India has no diplomatic exchange with Israel, and of course
has to import huge quantities of oil at great expense of scarce hard currency from the Arab
world. Andmore pragmatism, said Ruffordcertainly no Arab country could support a
resolution suggesting that it frowned on the exclusion of Israel. Said one Arab delegate
privately, We are at WAR. With China, the USSR, Hungary, and Nigeria opposed, no formal
rebuke of India was possible, and that settled their earlier threat to secede from the ITTF if
censured.
Indias rationale for not accepting the black South African team, ironically able for the
first time since 1957 to obtain exit visas from its own government, was that India had to
enforce sanctions against representatives of an apartheid society (though at least some Team
members were of Indian origin). These exclusions, the difficulties they presented, were all
very regrettable, said ITTF President Roy Evans.
At the May
th
24 E.C. Meeting,
George Otto gave a
presentation on
Multiple
Management to
assist table tennis
manufacturers and
the USTTA in
working together to
promote table tennis.
President Disney,
whod worked with
Otto to develop plans
Charlie Disney (L) with George Ottos family
for a USTTA
Photo by Mal Anderson
Executive Director,
would set up a committee to see what progress could be made.
Mort Zakarin wants to run a series of professional invitational
tournaments. Some trouble spots: a possible conflict with the National Table
Tennis League; the exclusivity clause to be 75 miles rather than 100 miles from the
tournament site; the 10-year option after the first five years;
and the need for further definition of the tournaments and
what constitutes a tour. Perhaps Danny Seemillers Lets
Start A Pro Tour article (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 19) served
as a catalyst for definitive action, for the USTTA would
soon come to an agreement with World Table Tennis, Inc.,
which is what Zakarin and his partner Jules Rabin call their
company. In detailing his plans (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 11),
Mort tells us his first tournament will be held Nov. 15-16 at
64

Long Islands Adelphi University. Only

the top 68 players according to Neil
Foxs rating system who wish to enter
will be accepted, but they can be men,
women, or juniors. There will be $1,700
in prize money distributed among the
last 16 playerswith $750 as 1st prize.
The May 25th Meeting, the 3rd one
at the Houston tournament site, was to
clarify that Tim Boggan had a valid threeUse of Ping Pong (unhyphenated) forbidden.
year contract as Editor of Topics. He did.
Photo courtesy of Ralph Spratt
Boggan had received a lawyers letter
demanding the magazine stop using Gabriel Industries trademark PING PONG (note the
unhyphenated spelling). He wrote them back saying he would, and that was the end of it.
On May 26, the E.C. had their regular all-day Summer Meeting at the Astroworld
Hotel (for which they were reimbursed half their transportation expenses). Highlights follow
(TTT, July-Aug. 1975, 15-16).
The E.C. approved revisions to the referees and umpires Manual. There will be 3
classes of umpires: Qualified Umpire, Regional Umpire, and National Umpire. The type of
tests and passing grades for each class of umpire will be defined in the Standing Rules. Rules
Chair Mal Anderson (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 16) warns prospective umpires of restrictions.
You start by passing a Qualified Umpire exam.* Then, to take the Regional Exam, you have to
have been a Qualified Umpire for two years and be appropriately recommended. Finally, to
take the National Exam, you have to have been a Regional Umpire for two years and be
appropriately recommendedat which point, to graduate, as it were, you have to pass a
tough written and oral exam. The rather modest fees youll pay to take these exams will pay
for the badges sent to the successful applicants.
If the U.S. runs the 1979 Worlds, the best possible umpires will be neededand Mal
hopes their status will be recognized with free hospitality and uniforms. Qualify, he says
Its a good way to see the Worlds from the playing floor. Except in Calcutta, where the
umpires threatened to boycott [I presume the last half of] the tournament when the police
didnt allow them to watch the two [I presume Team] finals from the arena.
Mal continues to keep us up-to-date on ITTF/USTTA rulesindicates, for example,
that playing clothes no longer have to be dark[but] still must be one solid color, and that
track suits or parts thereof should not be worn during play. He has photos and explanations
in Topics
Illegal cupping and below
showing
the table serves.
correct and
Photos by Mal Anderson
incorrect
serves.
Regarding the
Expedite Rule,
whenever both
players want it,
its immediately
put in.
65

New appointees: Rufford Harrison, International Chair; Bill Hodge, Chair of the
Library and Film Committee; and John Read, Chair of the Selection Committee (Miles
opposed).
There are now, after some shifting, 7 Tournament Regions, including a North Central
(Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota). Clubs Chair Richard
Feuerstein says that as of Mar. 10, 1975 the USTTA had 193 Affiliates. Curious as to how
many states have only one affiliated club? Eight. Seven more states have only two. Given
memberships that are set to expire between Feb. 1 and May 19, 1975, the Association has
roughly 3,320 Adult members and 880 Junior members, or 4200 in all (about 420 of whom are
Life members).
Treasurer Jack Carr presents (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 19) a USTTA Treasury Statement
for the Fiscal Year 1 June 197431 May 1975. The fiscal year General Fund Profit was
$1,023.56. (Income: $57,532.84Expenses: $56,509.28.) Major items of Expense were:
Topics (Expense: $18,794.02Income: $6,525.65); Executive (Expense: $4,259.73); Ratings
(Expense: $7,642.50Income; $4,182.00); U.S. Team to India (Expense:
$5,850.76Income: $585.60). The major items of Income were: Membership (Income:
$24.205.80Expense: $5,724.40); Equipment: (Income: $7,447.80Expense: $916.78);
International (Income: $4,868.05Expense: $1,630.06). Jack says that at this point the
Association has $12,863.73 in Cash.
Treasurer Carr also presents (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 11) a USTTA Budget for June 1,
1975May 31, 1976. It projects a fiscal year General Fund Deficit of $565. (Expenses:
$52,316.Income: $51,350.) Major items of Expense: Topics (Expense: $16,800Income:
$6,600showing an intent to spend $2,000 less on the magazine); Executive: (Expense:
$5,000); Ratings: Expense: $3,500includes $500 a Topics issue ($3,000) plus other
expenses ($500); International: Expense: $2,000a big change. The major items of Income
were: Membership (Income: $25,000Expense: $8,200); Equipment: (Income:
$4,000Expense: $1500a huge dropwhy?); Nationals and USOTCs (Income: roughly
$3,000).
The E.C. decided to provide a Student Membershipthats for any person who is a
student at an accredited college or university. The college or university must have an affiliated
club, and the application must be made through the club and signed by the club
president.Any high school student may apply by having his school principal certify he is a
student. Membership fee will be the same as the junior membership fee; these members will
not receive the national publication.
Jack Carr proposed a Standing Rule: That players be allowed to be rated from club
results if they purchase a USTTA rating permit good for one year at the cost of $5.00 per
adult, $2.00 per student, $1.00 per junior. The rating permit will not allow the player to
participate in open or closed tournaments. The players purchasing such a permit will be
supplied with a dated receipt. Credit for the permit price will be given toward a USTTA
membership if the balance in the membership is paid within six months of the receipt date.
Membership is then to be good from the date of the payment of the balance. Passed 5-0.
Effective immediately. Jack lists paragraphs of changes he wants under proposed bylaw
changes.
Speaking of ratings, you need a magnifying glass to read the ones Rating Chair Neal
Fox sent in to the July-Aug., 1975 Topicsseems he was learning to Tweet. Thats the
name of the new University of Buffalo computer he hopes to use that will save him time and
66

money. Meanwhile, he apologizes to all tournament directors who have not received expected
rating lists on time or at all in recent months. There were seasonal heavy loads of
tournaments in March-May and disruptions in the computer services at the University of
Buffalo (where the ratings are done).
Jeff Smart presented a Coaching Report, and
explains (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 20) the Coaches Clinic
he wants. In addition to our desires to give USTTA
clubs coaching funds in return for forming inter-club
junior-team leagueswe need an official week-long
coaching clinic for coaches to attend where they will
learn how to coach professionally. I might add that
this summer Yugoslavia would hold an examination for
coaches, led by National Coach Dusan Dule
Osmanagic. Yugoslav papers made sport of Surbeks
gradewhich was Very Good, but not Excellent as
was the case with some other candidates.
Jeff is asking the E.C. for $2,000 plus $300 for
expenses. The $2,000 will be divided approximately in
half for (1) paying the entry fees of certified coaches to
a one week approved Coaches Clinic, and (2) paying
clubsthose that have set up at least a 4-team, 5-man
junior team leaguea maximum of $100 towards
having a coaching clinic given by one of our certified
coaches. Later, Jeff will conclude that most clubs
cant hold full-week clinics, either because they cant
get enough participants or a facility [for that time
period]. So hell propose that any certified coach
who can convince a tournament sponsor to let him
Caricature of Surbek
(her) hold [at least a 4-table] mini-clinic just prior to,
Courtesy of Zdenko Uzorinac
during, or after a sanctioned USTTA tournament can
receive $10 per hourup to a maximum of $50 per clinic. The clinic must be free to all
tournament participants as well as to all members of the club sponsoring the tournament.
U.S. Team Captain
Boggan and ITTF
Equipment Chair Rufford
Harrison also presented
Reports. President Disney
writes (TTT, May-June,
1975, 10) that Ruffords
involved in a new way of
testing equipment that
makes it possible for table
tennis players to obtain a
relatively simple device for
ITTF Equipment Chair Rufford Harrison and inventorJoe Ruzicka
measuring important ball,
table, and racket properties. With inventor Joe Ruzickas new Table Tennis Tester (patent
67

pending), one can measure ball bounce, ball balance, and ball seam qualitythe latter two
determined by using the new equipment and unique testing techniques. For example, the
ball seam quality is numerically determined by measuring the time the test equipment ballvacuum-holding-device will hold the ball at the ball seam. The new equipment can also
measure racket resiliency.
Both at home and abroad, theres much talk about the composition of rackets. In
answer to a query in Topics, Danny Seemiller responds (July-Aug., 1975, 13):
1. A 1-ply bat is faster than a multi-ply bat. D-J Lee, for instance, has been
using a 1-ply thick Cyprus blade because hes a spin attacker and so plays with a racket
thats almost three times as thick as mine. D-J uses this power-mass of a bat because
he wants [with his spin game] as much speed as possible.
2. I play with a 5-ply Stiga bat (and of course the layers of glue alone slow the
bat down). I use this multi-ply racket because I do a lot of quick blocking and
counteringand I need more control than a heavy 1-ply bat would give me.
3Just like in baseball, the heavier the bat the more power its capable of. But
of course the heavier the bat, the harder it is to handle. Pips-out Chinese hitters use a
light bat because it affords them more control. [Think particularly of Hsu Shao-fa and
Li Chen-shih whom Dick Miles lauds, first, in his Feb. 24, 1975 Sports Illustrated
article, Pips for the bats of China, then later in Topics (Mar.-Apr., 1975, 9A). Once
the Chinese stroking machines adjust to the spin or block of their opponents, their
wins, as in Calcutta, are impressive.] No wonder, too, a great hard-rubber player like
Reisman, who with a light Hock bat, had and still has marvelous table control.
4. You can hit hard with a
light bat (compare the terrific whip
strokes of famous U.S. players
Miles, Reisman, Gusikoff) or a
heavy bat. But spinners like Jonyer
or D-J dont kill as often as you
think. The idea, they well know, is
to win the pointand they just
keep spinning hard and see no need
to take the chance of spectacularly
smacking the ball in. The heavyMarty Reisman
weighted racket is best for their
powerful spin attacks.
Butterflys Kimi Tamasu offers a
chart in Topics (May-June, 1975, 7) that
shows the specific rubberpips or inverted, and the rubbers thicknessused by the top men
and women players at the recent Worlds. In Calcutta, writes Rufford Harrison (TTT, Mar.Apr., 1975, 17A), there was puzzlement over not the pips but the inverted rubber on the
Chinese racketson Lu Yuen-sheng and Ke Hsin-ais rackets, to take two examples. Though
Lu didnt do well against Stipancic, when he played Surbek, in their 1st game, this World #3
Yugoslav put four consecutive serve returns into the net. And Ke, without very good-looking
strokes, beat the two strong South Koreans: the attacker Lee Ailesa; and the defender Chung
68

Hyun-sook. How did Lu and Ke do this? With tricky rubber? Chinas Li Fu-jung very
cooperatively allowed Harrison to inspect his racket, and certainly it was very sticky, for
Rufford could press this bat down on a ball, then, lo, lift, and for a short time the ball would
adhere to the racket. Questions about it there were, but this racket was deemed quite legal.
Just as the Chinese had played Matches with Japan last year, so they did again this
yearand again the ties, in the spirit of Friendship, were very close. Chinese Coach Chuang
Chia-fu (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1975, 25A; 27A) had spoken of new improvements in the major
techniques of Service, Receive, Fast Attack, Loop, etc. For example: long and short serve
placements and variations in spin; more variety in ways of receiving; light and heavy drives for
fast attackers; and looping with or without spin, etc. Japans Mitsuru Kohno, now World #4,
had won a strong May, 1974 tournament in Peking that had featured the Swedes and the
Yugoslavs, in addition to the Chinese, Japanese, and North Koreans (Pak Yong Sun, destined
to be the 1975 World Champion, was undefeated in the Womensbeat Chinas Chang Li,
then Hu Yu-lan). Kohno had won the Mens due largely to his improved ability and higher
percentages in attacking topspin and downspin shots with the backhand and forehand, thus
gaining the initiative. Increased attack play is key to todays victories. Furukawa, for example,
though a defensive player, has thoroughly practiced sudden counterattacking with chopping.
Both spin and speed are essentialEuropeans particularly have shown progress in these two
areas.
In the 1975 China-Japan Matches, the players are supposedly preparing for the
Birmingham, England Worlds, though, except for Liang, Chinas best men are conspicuously
absent. China played: Liang Ko-liang, Lu Yuan-sheng, Ku Chen Chiang, Lu Chi Wei, and Liao
Fu Min, and Japan played (their best except for Tasaka and Maehara): Kohno, Takashima,
Furukawa, Hasegawa, Nakanada, Inoue, and Abe. Mens results: China 3Japan 3. In the
Womens, too, China held back players wed see on their winning Team in Birminghamthey
played Chu Hsian-yun, Ke Hsian Ai, Cheng Huai-ying, Li Shu-ying, and Sun Ming. Japan
played Edano, Yokota, Ono, Ohzeki (none of whom would be in the World Top 40 after the
77 Worlds). Womens results: China 4Japan 2 (three of Chinas wins were 4-3 friendly).
An article in the May 11, 1975 N.Y. Times by Dr. Howard M. Newburger, a New York
psychoanalyst (see TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 32), warns that an American athlete whos been
weaned on murder the opposition, who, after his private competitive struggle is looking to
exult, to cast triumphant arms reaching heavenward, may be unnerved on facing Chinas
Friendship First, Competition Second stance. No American-like show of individual
accomplishment will come from the Chinese. But dont think, if they want to win, each
individual wont be trying his/her best. A Chinese players feelings of personal worth have
nothing to do with his success as an individual; on the contrary, he feels an acute
responsibility for the success of the teamindeed, for the success of China. And since
psychologists say that such strong team cohesiveness enormously enhances individual
performance, American athletes must not think for a moment that their Chinese opponents
ever lack fight, must themselves be ever ready to get up for the competition.
Li Fu-jung, wholl Captain the Chinese men at Birmingham, was certainly being
friendly. He encouraged Topics and other t.t. publications to use his How To Handle The
Loop article as translated into English by N.C. Tong (Mar.-Apr., 1975, 25A). Li distinguishes
between the high arcing loop (strong topspin, slow speed) and the forward diving loop (travels
faster, has a low trajectory). He tells you how to attack these different loops, depending on
whether the ball comes to your forehand (where you smack it) or to your backhand (where
69

you aggressively jab-block it). Also, he indicates what to do against these loop
variations if youre a chopper. Meanwhile, the Mar.-Apr. Topics is
showing, with Carl Danners commentary, Chui Fan Lius sequence shots
of Bengtssons loop that successfully sets him up for the kill (28A).
LoopZoop. Bob Barns of the New Jersey Club (TTT, Mar.Apr., 1975, 27A) dotes on his creative addition to the t.t. lexicon. For
Bob, Zoop is the best way of describing the forehand drive with
heavy topspin. He explains:
This elegant and appealing term is simply a portmanteau
Bob B
arns
word derived from a loop with lots of zip, or a zippy loop,
hence, a zoop. As proposed here, zoop may be either a noun (plural
zoops) or a regular verb whose principal parts are zoop, present tense; zooped,
past; and zooped for the past participle. Adverbial forms such as zooply and
zoopish are to be discouraged as being slightly strained. Zooper, as in Hes a stupid
zooper, is acceptable, but the construction He zoops at the stupidest times should be
substituted, at least in formal writing. The past tense and the past participle should be
pronounced zoupt, not zoup-ed, except perhaps in Great Britain and the Crown
Colonies. The gerund is, of course, zooping.
If used, its uniqueness, says Bob, whos rather unique himself, would give it instant
sports recognitionand certainly our Sport needs that.
In an article by Nanash Ghosh that
originally appeared in The Calcutta Statesman,
former Hungarian World Champion Ferenc
Sido also had comments on the new Chinese
rubber. He said that even when the Chinese hit
the ball hard, no one could hear the shot
because of the unusual softness of the rubber
surface. This, said Sido, puzzled the
opponent, who is kept guessing about the
intensity of the shot and cannot play
confidently and makes mistakes. Just the thing
for me, said Chicagos Joe Baltrusthat is, if
its that amazing Tientsin rubber thats
Former U.S. Team Caption Bob Kaminsky and supposed to improve the choppers chances
former World Champion Ferenc Sido
against even the best hitters. Where can Joe
get it? If this is the rubber Harrison and Sido
are talking about, its manufactured and sold only in China. Which presents a problem for
European coaches, since if they dont know the exact thickness of the bat and its components,
theyre at a disadvantage. At a disadvantage, too, Sido admitted, because of Chinas
seriousness and dedication to the game.
Yeah, o.k., but Dr. Michael Scott, in an article called Duckfeathers (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
1975, 10), one-ups the tongue-in-cheek Barns by parodying two future competitors (no, they
dont want an umpire) coming out to table 134 at, say, the 66th U.S. Open, ready to continue
their deceptive strategies even as play is ostensibly to start:
70

1st Contestant: I believe now Ill use my number 8 racket with Teflon on
the forehand side and steel wool on the backhand.
2nd Contestant: Wait, dont serve! If you use that, Ill employ my shag-rug and
marshmallow paddle.
1st Contestant: Just a minute then, that tactic will necessitate my switching to
my number 12 racket composed of styrofoam and compressed duckfeathers.
2nd Contestant: Wait, I want to
[Would they ever decide to actually start the match?.And then what? Each
would have a bag of rackets under the table and enjoy the continuing gamesmanship?]
Buddy Melamed would
tell them, and us, Hey, any
racket you have is specialyou
need to personalize it. So take
one of those small gummed
address labels (that are used on
envelopes) and cut out your
name and address small enough
to fit on the bottom of the
handle of the bat. Wet the glue
and stick it on. Then take some
clear fingernail polish and go
over it. Marv Plevinsky agrees with Buddywhat kind of player would Marv be without his
special racket?
The E.C. approved, with Miles against and Kaminsky (about to finish out his term)
abstaining, a new, experimental format for the Mens Team Matches at the USOTCs. As
Rufford Harrison explains (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 16), there will now be Divisionsincluding
a First Division for the top-class players. Play in this Division will involve just a few ties per
day for each of 8 round robin teams. These teams will have two goals: for about half of
them, the goal will be the first prize. For the other half, it will be to avoid the lower two
places, since the bottom two teams will be dropped to a Second Division. [Given the (likely?)
changing composition of teams from one year to another, will such a relegation work?]
The idea is to have all of the teams, except the First Division ones, represent some
clear entity. Could be a club, a city, a county, a state. A team in the First Division may grab up
any isolated top player so long as the resulting team has commercial sponsorship to some
degree (as evidenced, say, by a uniformly dressed team). The strength of the possibly 5-man
team will be decided by the combined ratings of the three highest-rated players. No
comparable Divisions will be established for Women (not enough players) or for Juniors
(whose teams might be very much at variance from year to year).
As weve seen in previous volumes, George Buben has been quite put out by the E.C.,
and, faced with this new USOTC format, he is again. If hes to run the Nov. 21-23, 1975
USOTCs at Detroits Cobo Hall, he insists that he and his helpers are going to do it their way
so as to give everyone [sic] a good weekend of enjoyable table tennis. Their way is the old
round robin waywhich allows that for once in their life weaker entries might get the chance
to play a Top Player in a real match. Buben says, We will not tolerate any interference by the
EC, especially after a couple of fiascos they condoned. George feels that everyone who plays
71

in his tournaments should have to abide by the same set of rules and standards. That means
no First Division play for a select few, no special emphasis on top players. And perhaps no
prize moneywe cannot take it from our Entry Fees as we lost money in our last two
tournaments doing this. If we dont have prize money, we will award trophies just like in the
Good Ole Days. So, says George to the Topics readers, thats the way its gonna be. Please
let me hear from all of you. What do you think?
Bubens point of view, as might be expected, was
bluntly criticized by Boggan:
What do I think?You really want to know?
You dont seem to see any value in
CHANGEin trying to make the game a professional
sport in this country. You want to go back to the
Good Ole Days of the 60s. But in point of fact
youve never been anywhere else. Deep down, you still
are and always have been in that Cobo Hall basement
of yours.
Youre an amateur, Georgecommitted to a
U.S. Open Amateur Team Championship. Each player,
regardless of his ability, is as one to you.Its as if
Tim Boggan
you assume there will be no spectators watching the
Photo by Don Gunn
matches (because there never have been), and
therefore why not allow the most amateur of players on the 108th team to jokingly
compete against the most professional of players on the 1st team? Alls one. Wheres
the harm?
[I] urged Rufford Harrison to work out a new format for the
USOTCs[because] I want to see professional table tennis in this country. I want
good players to be able to make a living out of the Sport they love. And therefore I
dont want to see U.S. Open tournaments run by people committed to amateur play
people who dont want any controversies, problems, answers to questions raised.
No doubt you, George, and any 500 people 500-1000 points behind you in the
Ratings, would enjoy playing Danny
Seemiller or D-J Leejust as no doubt if you
Give us a break,
and those 500 people liked to play golf youd
pleads Danny Seemiller.
enjoy a round with Johnny Miller or Jack
Nicklaus. Its always nice for the amateurs to
get a thrill of a lifetime by playing with the
professionals. But of course in golf only a
select few, only the best, are allowed to play
with the pros, especially in a U.S. Open
Championship. True, in a Pro-Am before the
actual tournament starts, many pros do play
with amateursbut in every case the
amateurs are expected to pay, one way or
another, for the privilege. Otherwise, the
tournament has no class, no dignity.
72

It really is demeaning for Danny Seemiller and everything he stands for thats
possible in our Sport to go out there in that Cobo Hall basement and for a cheap teamtrophy play a very middle-aged man, who doesnt look like an athlete for the very good
reason that he isnt one, whos not dressed in playing shorts, and who, because he has
such poor strokes, could expect to score only a few points from Danny.
The only thing thats more ridiculous is for this opponent to think that Danny
or any other good playerwould be playing a real match against him. Its not even a
question of why Danny should play seriously against this person. Its a question of how
could he. And if the point is to let this pot-bellied enthusiast go back to his friends and
say something like, Hey, I got 16 from Seemiller the 2nd game, well, its just stupid.
And of course its not just one match like that in the old USOTC format that
professional players like Danny have been subjected to, but a whole days worth of
preliminary matches.**
[George,] you think a better player is out of line if he doesnt suffer with a
smile Mr. Average Player. A real top player, you imply, is first and foremost a good
sport, friendly, social. For, after all, deep down, thats very much how you conceive of
your enjoyable USOTC tournament weekendas a social gathering.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In grading Qualified Umpire exams, Mal was
astonished to see 4 pages worth of two sets of identically typed
answers, one from Virginia and one from Maryland. What the
hell is this? Someones xeroxing-off answers and selling them to
applicants? On Jan. 21, 1975, Mal writes Disciplinary Chair
Michael Scott:
Naturally I am going to flunk both these people. And
make sure they never are allowed to become USTTA umpires,
since I dont want cheats for umpires. The problem is finding
out who typed up the original. At present Im not going to send answers to the two
cheats, or tell anyone else about the situationI want to see how many other people
will send me this set of answers. If a lot of people do, and are presented with the
evidence, one of them may name the mastermind. If we catch him, I want you to
consider having him suspended. Ill also ask you to recommend to the E.C. that the
people who cheat be placed on a list of people who can never become umpires.
By Mar. 26, Mal hasnt gotten any more of these sets of answers, nor has he had any
inquiries from the two candidates in question. He decides its time to confront them via
Disciplinary Chair Scott. Mike dutifully writes them, tells them the accusations. Each is
shocked and hastens to explain. Turns out that, though theyre from different states, they work
together, play table tennis daily at work, both are officers in their local club and go to
tournaments together. They also researched and did the exam together, then had one of the
wives type up their answers.
Oh.
**Fred Danner has been sharing with me his unpublished Memoirs, in which he shows
again and again his longtime labor-of-love immersion as both a player and official in the Sport.
73

Very deservingly, hes been inducted into the USTTA Hall of Fame. However, I take issue with
the way he views this Buben vs. Boggan controversy, or, as he puts it, the philosophical
differences between those who promoted amateur table tennis events and those who couldnt
care less about the average player. I think Ive shown for decades, and in these History
volumes Im writing that I care about the average player. Fred also says that I wanted the
format for play in important events to completely separate the Danny Seemillers from the potbellied amateurs. After all, why should the elite players have to play endless preliminary rounds
against amateur players who dont deserve to play them. Though this has in fact become
routine thinking for our U.S. major events, that wasnt my argument. I was specifically talking
about the many weak matches such a player as Danny was forced to play at the USOTCs, not
the one or two hed normally play at single-elimination tournaments, and that I wasnt
objecting to. Fred then follows with the twist, Now we dont even want amateurs in our
tournaments. That would eliminate 90% of existing or potential players in our country. Does
Fred, or those readers whove followed the various stages of my career, seriously think thats
what I was advocating? Freds thoughts, like anyone elses, like my own, sometimes need
correctives.

74

Chapter Five
1975: Houston U.S. Open.
There was a player at
Houston this May 22-25 weekend
who said hed just established a new
worlds recordsaid hed hit the ball
1620 times without missing. But Im
sure much to his secret
disappointment the TV people filming
there didnt appear to be at all
interested in him. Of course this
fellows record wasnt made in the
Houston Astroarena or even in Texas,
but in what sounded like an almost
universal placeCentury City. And
though the racket this player used
was similar to a table tennis one, his
entry into that Olympic Odd Ball
tournament had required something
different. Hence, his paddle kept
whacking a ball on a string.*
There were other players at
Houston whom I think the Wide
World of Sports (or Wild World of
Sports) TV people might well have
missed. One of whom called
himself The Green Machine. He
was all dressed up in green: green
jumpsuit, green playing shirt, green
shorts, green armbandgreen hair.
Somebody said even his name was
Green. But somebody else said that
next week it would be Blue.
All of which leads me, in my
youve-got-to-start-somewhere
approach, to just what ABCs were
important to this long-lookedforward-to merger of U.S. Open
Table Tennis and nation-wide
television (with our pretty Pat
Ramsey playing Tournament
D-J Lee and ABCs Jim McKay at the 1975 U.S. Open
Hostess).
Photo by Mal Anderson
To begin with, not just the one
barriered-off court in the Main Arena where the Mens Singles final would be filmed had to be
75

painted, but, if you werent going to incongruously isolate just that one court, the whole
Astroarena playing floor as well. Cost: $1,000.
What then did such a floor look like? It would look better said the TV people if it were
painted blue. (And the white backgrounds? Did anyone ever think about painting those?) But
prestoafter the floor was obligingly painted by the Astro staff, it looked a little too light. Perhaps,
said the TV men, dark green would be better? But, well, never mind, it didnt matter.
And the ballsshouldnt they be yellow? At least for the one taped tie? Would the Swedes,
the Yugoslavs, the Hungarianseveryone who might possibly be involvedbe agreeable to that?
After all, if TV wanted it, the Sport would be best served, right?
So, o.k., what the hell, the foreign players, some of whom (most of whom?) were clearly
over here on a vacation, went along with it. At the last minute, however, the Tournament Referee
would not allow the yellow balls to go in without an ITTF meeting. So, mgod, faced with that
show of gravity, it was just as well the TV people had another change of heart. Let them use the
balls theyve got, said one of the TV men. They dont have to be yellow.
At the ITTF Jury meeting, questions arose. Could Horace Roberts (Trinidad), Peter
Stephens (Guyana), and Fuarnado Roberts (Jamaica) play together as a teamcall themselves
The Caribbean Internationals? Or, if that wasnt acceptable, The West Indies? Of course thered
already been an official call to Guyana, to the Association in Georgetownthat was part of the
troublebut Peter, fast-talking witness for the defense, testified under cross, very cross
examination that he personally knew of an official cable, a call or two, that, mysteriously or not,
would make everything right. Players sometimes remarked how Stephens resembled George
Jefferson of the TV program The Jeffersons, a fellow who could be a wee bit testy. And 5-time
Australian Champ Charlie Wuvanich and his Thai buddies, about to set up shop at Magooscould
they play as Australia/Thailand? Could Canadas National Coach Cordas play for Canada? If so,
why didnt they tell Houshang Bozorgzadeh the rules, or that there were no rules, ahead of time?
He would have gotten the Russian Gomozkov to come coach, and, yes, play, for Iran. As the
discussions, the arguments sputtered about the table like a long-delayed lit, unlit fuse, somebody
from the U.S. finally said, For Christs sake, let them all play! And, lo, it was so.
But what had they been arguing for? To play there in that beautiful Astroarena on that
opening Thursday to an empty house, when after last year everybody had hoped that the
Houston group would be able to put a myriad number of spectators in the stands. On Friday
there were plenty of people therehundredsbut, as they
werent spectators, the premier players were pretty much
isolated from the clusters entered in the tournament events a
walkway away. Separated the two groups had to be in the
hope that Table Tennis could be a spectator sport with some
class. For over among the masses it was obvious the playing
conditions just werent good.
Although there were plenty of tables to play and practice
onmaybe 100each of these tables had support bars
across the top and bottom that players moving in to return
short serves or drop shots were banging intowith the
result that they were not only moving the table and so
automatically losing the point but literally bruising
Sam Fletcher
themselves in the process. Wheelchair player Sam Fletcher
Photo by
Mal Anderson
from Florida had to heavily pad his legs with towels to keep
76

from really getting beat up. Months after the tournament, Francis Guidace still had a hard-toheal scar on his leg. And at least one player got so damn mad that he stopped the match and
forcibly ripped a bar from the table before continuing.
The lighting over the great majority of these tables was badbut fortunately some
agreeable and accommodating people on Ron Shirleys try-to-suffer-it-all staff allowed players,
particularly as they reached the later stages, to switch their matches to open tables where the
lighting was better. Both Neil Smyth and Buddy Melamed praised publicly the dedicated
workers who performed magnificently, sometimes under trying circumstances.

Some key players at the 1975 Houston U.S. Open.

L-R: Barbara Coffman; Sue Sargent; USTTA Executive VP Rufford Harrison;
Astro Domain VP Jimmy D. Fore; Steve Finney; Robert Henry; and USTTA President Charlie Disney.
Photo by Mal Anderson

Occasionally (rarely) there were ugly cracks and holes in the concrete floordespite
the fact that obliging Astrodomain workers heeded a request to put down some fresh cement.
Court #11, I rememberwhich, because of its strategic location, became an arena for lesser
finalswas on one side ridiculous. The floor wouldnt even pass for a New York City street,
said Carl Danner. Also, because it was very hot in Houston, if you happened to be in a court
underneath an air-conditioning blower, it was going to affect your match.
All the players received envelopes containing a Program, which was so hurriedly done
it wasnt even proofed. Identifying player numbers were in the packets, but nobody had
remembered to buy the 3,400 safety pins to go with them. So forget about identifying the
players. There was last-minute difficulty getting and transcribing the draws that were made up
much too late (USTTA Tournament Chair Neil Fox was having computer difficulties), so that
the results of matches werent posted, and it was difficult for me, the Editor of the magazine,
to get even incomplete results as play progressed.
Strange as it may seem, the matches in the Mens in the technicolor Main Arena were
often not as exciting and therefore not as enduringly watch-worthy as, shot after shot, those in
the black and white of the Hall were giving us. Although only 6 players (all in the worlds Top
12) figured to have any chance of winning the Mens, probably 20 could have won the As. So
there was more of a story line in the adjacent venue.
Forty-year-old Jack Howard (2209), U.S. Open finalist 3 years ago, was seeded #1 in
the As. But though he felt before play started that perhaps he should have been picked to play
on the U.S. Mens Team, he not only lost in the Mens Preliminary Round, but went down in
77

the 1st round of the As. Nope, not good, for his opponents were 250 rating points behind him.
Also, Hanumanth Rao (2207), the pre-Tam Texas Champion, lost unexpectedly in both the As
(where he was seeded #2) and the Mens.
And so it went. Mike Veillette, Jerry Thrasher, Ron Carver (who beat Alex Shiroky in
the Mens), Howie Grossman, Paul Pashuku, Jim Davey (in the Mens he lost a 25-23 killer to
last years A Champ Richard Ling), Bob Dawidowicz, Greg Gingold, Joe Rokop, Peter
Stephens, Gary Fagan, Mike Baber (in the Mens he beat the 16-year-old Korean, Yoon Gil
Joong), Tim Boggan, Bruce Plotnick, Hamid Haytghaib (of the Iranian Team), Rod Young and
Eddie Lo (of the Canadian Team), Joe Sokoloff, Al Everett (winner of the Bs), Perry
Schwartzberg (U.S. Under 15 Champ), and Roger Sverdlik (1974 U.S. Under 17 Champ who
this year in the Mens had Hungarys world-ranked Janos Borzsei down 2-0all these players
who can play more than a littlenone of them got past the 2nd round!
Bill Sharpe (74 A semifinalist) lost in the Mens Pre-lims
and in the 3rd round of the As. Also, though Bill was one of the
favorites to win the Seniors, he dropped a match there, 23-21 in the
5th to Vancouvers Art Ngai that would make even a cop cry. But if
Bill had to wipe away tears no one saw, he looked pleased to have
taken the Senior Doubles with George Rocker (over San Salvadorian
Gederico Aguilar/Laszlo Bellak). As it happened, no long shots won
the Over 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s: the Champs were, respectively, Aguilar
(over Dr. Michael Scott, Senior Consolation winner over Dr. Rich
Puls), Max Marinko (over Harry Deschamps), the irrepressible Bellak
lamenting his disgraceful $2 plastic
Art Ngai
plaque of a prize (over John McLennan,
From Canadian TTA News,
a former Canadian now living in the
Nov., 1974
Bahamas), and, defending his 74 title,
Oliver Nicholas (over runner-up C.H. McAllister and 3rd-place
finisher Paul Jackson who said hed attended 27 of the last 31
U.S. Opens and this one could take the booby prize for
operation.
There were four overseas sleepers in the A event
three Swedes and a Pole, all of whom made the quarters. Kent
Nilsson lost 24-22 in the 5th to Horace Roberts; Kenneth Frank
lost to Jerry Skublicki (who a few years ago had been on the
Polish National Team); and Erik Ahrsho, after 5-game struggling
John McLennan
by Rich Farrell, Parviz Mojaverian, and Dean Galardi, finally went
th
down, 19 in the 5 , to the 2030-rated winner, Peter Joe of Vancouver, whod earlier gone 5
with Ichiro Hosh Hashimoto.
A great many of these A matches (23 of 62) went 5 games. If the TV men had mobility
and wanted to pick and choose the right moments, these intense matches would have been
fascinating to any interested audience whod tuned ineven the secluded two-hour-and-20minute match between Joe Cummings and Ron Von Schimmelman. (Noting that neither had
wanted an umpire and the Expedite Rule, Ron Heilman said waspishly, They wanted to save
themselves the embarrassment of having to hit.) But because the TV crew concentrated on
only one court, it wasnt too surprising that by Finals time they hadnt got much to their
liking.
78

Still, as Neil Smyth put it, the conditions in the Arena, the TV coverage, and the
presence of many of the Top 20 world players all make for a giant step in the right direction
towards the continuing development and improved public image of the Sport we all love.
Moreover, insiders know somethings happening in our Sport when suddenly there are so
many 20002200 players who can scramble around and on any given day beat anyone else.
This clearly wasnt occurring when Howard got to the final of the Nationals in 1968 and even
in 1972.
In the Bs, who could ask for a tauter final than Al Everetts
16,-19, -20, 21, 27! squeaker over Carl Danner. The crowd loved
it, and one fellow even called it the greatest match of the
tournament. Carl could also take great satisfaction in winning with
father Fred the Parent/Child Doubles from Mark Wilder and his dad
Wallace, better known as Red. B Doubles went to Neal Fox/Bill
Davis over Henry Fung/Tito LeFranc. In the Cs, Richard Staley
was the winner over Andy Kohler whod escaped Jeff Steif, deuce
in the 5th. (Jeff was the Junior Consolation winner over Scott
Boggan, deuce in the 3rd.) In John Heislers Kansas City Star
Profile of Staley Id mentioned before, we can see that Richard
really wants to work at the Game. In addition to playing 15-20
hours a week at Larry Knoufts Club, he says, I do calisthenics for
about an hour every day, mostly stretching exercises to help my
footwork and keep me from tensing up. Encouraged by another
Open title here (the Under 17As over Mark Delmar 23-21 in the
Richard Staley
5th), he announced, Im starting a new program where Ill be
Photo by Gene Fox,
Kansas City Star, June 8, 1975

running about two

miles a day, five or six
days a week. Go,
Richard!
Much of the
Junior play, too, was
exciting. Israels not yet
16-year-old, gangly Dror
Dror Polak (R) on his way to winning the Polak, whod fall to our
U.S. Open Under 17s from Dennis Barish. George Brathwaite in the
Photo below by Mal Anderson
Mens, won the Under
17s from Dennis Barish.
Earlier, Dennis, as if
given psychic help by the
large S he was
wearing, scapular-like,
Superman-like, on his
playing shirt, eliminated
Schwartzberg, -19, 22,
20, 19. Even more
79

thrilling was Polaks quarters win over Dean Galardi, 19 in the 5th. Deano, as his coach Lou
Dubin, calls him, may, as part of his strategy, try to psych out his opponent. So, consciously or
unconsciously, he does a lot of talking and toweling and (Just one more!Yes!One
more!Thats it!) hand-fisted rooting out there. In fact, Polak, not used to this, early in the
match became irritated and told Galardi to Shut up! (Which is what Don Gunn not so
sleepily wanted to yell out to all those unsupervised kids making all kinds of noise at his motel
in the wee hours of the morning.)
In the 5th, with Dean up 18-17 and serving and waiting and/or toweling in between
points, Dror (who, like his Israeli teammates on visiting big, bad New York for the first time,
was apprehensive about going out into the streets after 6 p.m.) kept his poise, finessed a
placement, fearlessly swatted the ball, and came out a winner. This with a broken-handle
racket that I swear with one more point would have given way completely.
Israelis, young and old, thought they needed security in Texas. And since the U.S.
government wouldnt give it to them, the Astrodomains Managing Director Jimmy Fore
thought hed better. Cost for two men giving 24-hour protection for 6 days: $1800.
In the Under 15s, Schwartzberg beat Canadas Pierre Normandin whod ousted both
Scott Feldman, 24-22 in the 4th, and Class A winner Peter Joe in 5. Perry, paired with Plotnick,
also won the 15 Doubles from Johnny Cortez/Mark Stoolz. Rutledge Barry, who in the 17s
had beaten Normandin before losing (I choked) to Schwartzberg, -21, -22, -14, and who in
the 15s had been beaten by Joe, deuce in the 5th, took the U-13s. He downed in the semis
Oklahomas Stoolz (the 3rd-place plaque winner), and in the final the July-Aug. Topics Junior
of the Month, Mark Wilder.
Mark, isolated there in Jacksonville,
Alabama, playing only with his dad, Red, on their
basement table, is a table tennis natural. A natural
athlete, in fact. He leads his local baseball league in
hitting, and plays linebacker for his school football
team. When he started playing table tennis at six,
his dad built a plywood platform which elevated
him enough to learn to hit some pretty good
forehandsexcept when he happened to step off the
platform. Although Mark doesnt participate in
many tournaments, hes very competitivecant
stand to lose. Last year in Atlanta, said Red, he
lost a match to Steve Rigo of Orlando after having
him 20-18 in the deciding game. He cried half the
way home. No need for Mark to cry after this
tournament though: he and partner Todd Petersen
won the U-13 Doubles from Tim Seemiller and Dave
Mark Wilder (L) and Todd Petersen, 1975
Dickson III.
U.S. Open Under 13 Doubles Champions.
Other good matches in the 13s that drew
clusters of stand-up spectators were: Cortez over Flowers, 19 in the 5th; Petersen over Tim
Parker, 17 in the 5th; John Stillions over Eric Boggan, 18 in the 5th, and, in the semis (after
being down 2-0), Wilder over Stillions, 19 in the 5th. How about the parents? Anybody under
the pressure get caught embarrassing their kid? Stillions, last years Under 11 runner-up to
Boggan, has been helped a lot by his Iowa neighbor, the ever enthusiastic Bozorgzadeh. This
80

year John turned the tables on runner-up Eric who at least got through the match before
breaking his racket. Boggan, 11, showed courage, though, in flying from New York to
Houston by himself, to be met by a stranger, Jack Buddy Melamed. Unless the password Mr.
McGillicuddy (Erics imaginary persona) was given, no way, no matter what the stranger
said, was Eric to go with him.
There didnt seem to be any danger of any player
losing his temper in the Arenaunless it was Hungarys
Gabor Gergely who, swinging away about as wild as he looks,
injured his finger on the edge of a table (on the last point of a
match) and had to be taken to a hospital. The Hungarians,
among others, were unhappy about not being met at the
airportwhich, as one fellow put it, was a super no-no. The
more so because it was Istvan Jonyers guaranteed presence at
Houston that finally sold the TV people. How disappointed
they must have been when, as well see, he didnt get to the
finalthough since he lost a match to Wuvanich in the Teams
and dropped a game to Joe Cummings in the Mens, they
might have sensed he was a mite lackadaisical. Some thought
that too much of Houstons budgeted money for overseas
players was paid for Joyner (and the other Hungarians who
Drawing courtesy of
necessarily accompanied him)over $5,000. Especially when
Zdenko Uzorinac
Canada, who suddenly had him for their Open in Quebec the
week after our Houston tournament, didnt pay their fair share. But if TV wanted the World
Champion, how could the USTTA not have him?
Or, for that matter, the Swedish and Yugoslav stars. Right now, in fact, before I
continue with the events at Houston Ill be obliging and honor Topics European correspondent
Zdenko Uzorinacs request that he give us the Europe Top 12, European League, and Czech
Open results. He says itll help U.S. readers connect with some of the star players in Houston.
Swedens Kjell Johansson (10-1) took the Top 12, losing only to Hungarys Jonyer (though
Kjell was down 2-0 and 11-4 to Jonyers teammate, Welsh Open winner Gabor Gergely).
Yugoslavias Anton Tova Stipancic (8-3) came 2nd via a tiebreaker with Jonyer over whom
he wreaked sweet revenge for his loss at Calcutta. Yugoslavias Dragon, Dragutin Surbek
(7-4), lost two matches unnecessarilyhe was up 2-0 and 19-18 on Frances Jacques
Secretin, and up 2-0 and 14-8 on Russias Anatoly Strokatov. But he did beat Jonyer,
Stipancic, and Stellan Bengtsson.
In round robin play in the 8-team European League, Sweden, 6-1, finished 1st (losing
only to Yugoslavia, 3-4). Hungary, 6-1 finished 2nd (losing only to Sweden, 2-5). The
Yugoslavs, Czechs, French, and Russians (all with 3-4 records) finished in that order, were 3rd
through 6th. England, with Mens Closed Champ Denis Neale, and runner-up Nicky Jarvis,
and Womens Closed Champ Jill Hammersley, and runner-up Linda Howard came up short on
three 3-4 ties, and finished 7th. West Germany was 8th.
At Prague, in the Teams, the Czechs beat the Yugoslavs 3-2. Although Surbek downed
Milan Orlowski (6-5 behind Swedens Stellan Bengtssons 7-4 at the Top 12), Stipancic, up
double match point in the 3rd game of the deciding match against Orlowski, eventually lost 2523. In the Singles, Stipancic fell to this #1 Czech againin 5. And, after Johansson was upset
by Shenk, an unheralded local, Surbek, giving up only 43 points, was a no-contest winner over
81

Orlowski. However, the Czech team from the Prague Club Sparta won the European Club
Team title over the Zagreb VJESNIK Club, 5-3, when Orlowski (under-rated at World #15?)
downed both Surbek and Stipancic.
Foreign stars were of course welcome at Houstonbut, said one fellow, What does it
matter if we get bigger and bigger arenas like the Myriad and the AstroArena/AstroHall if we
also get hundreds and hundreds of satellite entries? If we have, in effect, a Closed with an
Open? To get spectator support we need an intimate theater with one premier eventnot 40
cheapening others, not something so ridiculous as Senior Class A Doubles [one of the events
for which I never did get results]. Even then, with the one professional event, and even if play
were limited to 2 and hours a session, how many spectators would come? And how many
players? Face it, Table Tennis isnt a spectator sport.
Dan Goodman, whod run the 1969 San Francisco Open, also asked what was the
sense of spending so much money bringing the world-class players here if but a couple
hundred spectators showed up? Of course he acknowledged that, as hed proved in San
Francisco, spectators can be brought in, but you had to work at it. Boy, he says, he sure hopes
we dont try to run the Worldsitd be a fiasco, for we still do not have the depth in our
ranks to adequately plan and execute an event of this caliber. (Would we ever?)
The famous Japanese World Champion
Ichiro Ogimura attended this Open. His gradual
incarnation from renowned player to renowned
coach to renowned official had subtly been
taking place. In several years he would become
the ITTFs Deputy President under Roy Evans.
Now, as an ITTF Council member, he was quite
interested in the possibility that Dick Miles,
whod secured the Astrodome venue for the
Open, could find the wherewithal to run a
Worlds there. Certainly hed been receptive to
what Dick had to say. And so did anotheron
quite another topic.
Vic Landau, U.S. Intercollegiate
Champion a few years back, on seeing Bengtsson
and Johansson and other great stars of the 70s
play in Houston, asked Dick, Isnt the Game
Ichiro Ogimura - then and now (1975).
much faster, much better now, say, with
Insert photo by Mal Anderson
Johanssons harder hitting, than it was before?
Listen, said Dick, Johansson of course is a fine player, but youve never seen great
attackers. Ogimura, Tanakathese players had great speed and power.
Landau, not surprisingly, politely pooh-poohed this as typical old boys talk. Nobody
back in the 50s he said, could hit harder than Johansson, The Hammer.
Yeah?
Ogi was at the Arenain street shoes and jacketwhen Dick asked him if, as a favor,
in Landaus presence, he would just go out to a table and hit a ball or two.
I havent played in several months, said Ogi taking off his jacket.
Thats o.k., said Dick and handed him a racket. Just topspin some balls, will you,
pleaseand then, when you feel ready, hit one really hard.
82

Ogi warmed up, then walloped one so hard that the youthful Landau looked at Dick
inwell, quite a new way.
Its debatable whether table tennis is a spectator sport, but a participant sport it sure
was for a number of U.S. players pleased to be competitive with our visitors. Horace Roberts
anti-spinned down South Koreas Choi Kum Il in the Teams (where Choi had beaten Jonyer).
Oklahomas Gary Fagan took a game from Miran Savnik, and in the following round
Bozorgzadeh went 17 in the 5th with this young Yugoslav (after stout-heartedly 27-25
persisting in the 4th). Savniks struggles prompted Danny Seemiller to say, Oh, if I were only
living in Yugoslavia. Of course he meant only to indulge himself with thoughts of teaming
with Surbek and Stipancic. Uzorinac reports that, as anticipated, both Yugo stars were in the
final of their countrys Closed. Up 2-1 and 17-12, Surbek smashed his racket into the edge of
the table instead of the ball, lost his concentration, and along with it, this fourth game. He was
then down 15-10 and 18-16 in the fifth but had the will and the energy to win!
In the Teams, Savnik lost to Ray Guillen two straight. And almost lost to Ricky
Seemiller after being down 1-0 and at 28-all in the 2nd before winning, 19 in the 3rd (Seemiller
had 1-2-3-4 match points). Ricky also threw a 19-in-the-3rd scare into Errol Caetano in the
U.S. Youth vs. Canada #1 tie.
The 1st-round
match in the Arena that
most Americans were
talking about was
between Sverdlik of the
U.S. Youth team and
the 31-year-old
Hungarian #3, Borzsei,
who in 1968 was
runner-up to Surbek in
the European
Roger Sverdlik
Championships. Hes
vs. Janos Borzsei
primarily a defensive
playeruses Sriver on the forehand and antispin on the backhand. Relatively speaking (compare
the pick and follow-up attack of the Japanese chopper Takashima), hes not a good hitter.
In the 1st game, Sverdlik was down 19-16 but kept pushing and rolling until he deuced
it. Then one of his pushes gave him a netwhich, said Roger, sort of messed Borzsei up
and allowed him to complete his rally to take a 1-0 lead. In the 2nd, Sverdlik successfully
continued his push-roll pattern. Borzseis spin wasnt tricky, so Roger always knew what to
expectalways knew to loop off the backhand and, since Borzsei had a long two-way stretch,
to loop down his middle.
In the 3rd, Roger, almost casually pushing and rolling against Borzseis heavy forehand
chop, and looping and dropping against the Hungarians backhand antispin, was up 16-15. But
perhaps Roger by now was playing too safe, too predictably, and the Hungarian (as if Coach
Berczik from behind his dark glasses had given him a wink?) hit in a couple of shots and won
the game. This turned the match around, for it was Borzsei, World #27, who, with his reserve
strength, now had the controland, on going into the 5th, Roger was down 3-0. Then, in a
surprising twist, was up 10-7 at the turn. Only to lose 9 points in a rowand of course the
match. I have films of the game, he said, but I dont know what happened.
83

Deja-vu in Rogers Team match with now World #10 Stellan Bengtsson. He lost the 1st
at 6. How so? Its as if, even while he was playing this former World Champion, he was
watching himself on film. Like in that famous Hemingway story where the youth comes back
psychically damaged from being in 5 World War I battle campaigns and wants to study maps of
where hed been in body but not in mind. In the 2nd, Rogers up 2-0down 13-2. Howd it
happen? Sam Hammond, watching, said that Sverdlik always seemed so amazed, so impressed
with Bengtssons game that he couldnt play his own. Good shot! Good shot! Roger,
shaking his head, kept saying. He was nervous of course, but, more than that, he was offbalance. In one game alone, Roger served four balls into the net because he was trying to keep
Stellan from spinning. He said he was hoping Bengtsson would push one ballso that he
could get set. But Roger never could get set.
At the end of this Sweden-USA Youth tie, Roger said that Bengtsson was the only
Swede to come over and offer to shake hands. Which suggests what? Stellans sensitivity. And
Rogers toohes grateful. But in this setting thats not the only suggestion. Far lesser players
in the U.S., especially those who know each other, go through such ritual motions. I know this
local player in my area who I think I can give 10 points to. Yet he always initiates a handshake
before we play and always says, Good luck, Timmy. I can feel why he does ithe wants the
match to matter, HE wants to matter. All very natural.
But in the case of the Swedes not shaking hands with their youthful U.S. opponents,
theres a suggestion of something more, and that is, the class difference between the
professionals and the relative amateursa difference thats being, as it were, stated, albeit
indirectly, and felt by the home team who made no effort to initiate handshakes themselves.
For the world-class players this was not really a professionally contested tie in a formal setting,
one to be taken seriously. Consequently such a sportsmanship ritual was ignored, felt to be
meaninglesslike the opening and closing ceremonies dear to officials that werent held,
apparently werent wanted here. Hey, these world-class players are on vacationpomp would
be pompous.
Still, says Don Gunn, friendly gestures are usually appreciated. It might well be
mutually beneficial to the foreign players and to us if at the Players Party the music was very
much subdued so that conversation was possible, especially a sociable attempt at
communicating with the clumps of foreign visitors around the room. The crowd should be
like homogenized milk, not like stew with its recognizable lumps.
On one side of the Mens draw, Bengtsson, as expected, had an easy time getting to
the quarters. So, nothing there to court the TV people. Could their focused camera, their
cameras (they had others in place?), swing round the Arena? Had they caught Bengtssons 19in-the-3rd sneaker over Gergely in the final of the Teams? (Sweden beat Hungary 5-1.) Would
they go on to film Stellans 19 in the 5th quarters win in the Mens over Stipancic? Maybe
even have taped our Danny Seemillers 4-gamer in the 8ths against this #2 Yugoslav? Seemiller
would be intensein the Teams hed won out over Lee Sang Kuk, the South Korean whod
beaten Savnik and Wuvanich and had extended Gergely to deuce in the 3rd. Then in the Mens
hed downed Cordas, 18 in the 5th. So there sure was drama there.
According to one knowledgeable observer, Danny didnt attack enough against
Stipancic. Hes basically a blocker, so theres no way he could outsteady this 75 World
runner-up. The Arena court didnt have a wood floor, and on a cement one the ball shoots off
the table, slides, so that it becomes much more difficult to get height enough to block the ball.
Moreover, besides being able to win points on his loop, Stipancic had such control with his
84

backhand that whether Seemiller gave him an anti-spin return or not, he couldnt be blocked
out of position so as to give Danny a chance to get in his point-winning loop.
Seemiller objected to the fact that none of the U.S. Team members was paid any
traveling expense to Houston. Also, he said, most of the Team members were not even given
hospitality. Worse, each of the Team members had to pay $35-$40 just to enter the
tournament. Danny complained, I went to the U.S. Open to represent the United States and
it cost me about $500 for the 4-day tournament.
Really!Cmon,
1975 World Champion
E.C., support
Istvan Jonyer
your own.
Coming
out to meet
Bengtsson in
the one semis
was World
Singles and
Ulf
Doubles Champ
Thorsell
Jonyer
who twice had
to exert himself
to get by
Swedens World
#35 Ulf Thorsell. The first time in the Mens in the
8ths after being
nd
down 2-0, and the 2 in the Team final where, after
the Swede
failed to return two squat-sliced serves, he won 19 in
the 3rd
(Hungarys only point). Though losing three straight
to Bengtsson,
whom Seemiller said was playing much better here than in Calcutta, Jonyer showed a
remarkable touch at the table. Occasionally youd see him hold his racket like a Y beginner and
move it straight to the side to get away with some really marvelous returns. Somebody said
that if Jonyer ever tried hed be unbelievable. But hes unbelievable now.
On the other side of the draw, moving out to their semis from routine matches, were
Surbek and Johansson. The Dragon, getting in enough straight-arm, whirling spurts of shots,
had defeated Kjell in the semis of the Teams (though Sweden had still 5-4 prevailed over
Yugoslavia whod finish 3rd ahead of South Korea). Now, though, in the Mens semis,
Johansson, World #5, exploited Surbeks rather weak backhand and hammered his way into
TV show time.
Would the Swedes please wear different colored playing shirts so as to be seen as
combatants. Hans Alser, the Swedish coach, at first objected, said naively without innocence
that hed have to call Sweden to get permission. But then, oh, o.k., he agreed. Another
directive: would the Swedes be sure to look like they were really fighting out there. Whatever
the reality was, the illusion should improve on it. People had to be deceived. Had the Swedes
the experience to understand that their timing had to be just right? There had to be great
points of coursebut they couldnt overdo it. Perhaps thered also been discussions earlier
with Surbek as to whether along the way he should do a drenched-shirt circus handspring? The
two Yugoslavs did win the Doublesover Bengtsson/Johansson in the semis, and Thorsel/
Savnik in the final.
85

Before play started, Miles exhorted the player-audience

to move down into seats as close as possible to the matches
seats that, though the Arena was almost always devoid of
outside spectators, people had not been allowed to sit in before.
Obviously the TV cameras had to project the illusion of many
enthusiastic spectators. For some reason many of the players did
not jump at the chance to do the TV men, not to say their Sport,
this service. They just remained where they were.
Then Bud Palmer did a pre-Show audience warm-up.
By golly, its just been super here at Houston for all of us at
ABC. So much so that his TV people really wanted to show off
this great sport of table tennis that he personally had become all
gung-ho about. All that was needed now was lots of enthusiasm
from the audience. Wouldnt they please, for starters, move in to
Doubles play at Houston.
occupy those front row seats near the match. Many though still
Anton Stipancic on the left.
remained where they were. But then amid appropriate whoops
Photo by Mal Anderson
and hollers others moved up close.
The first three games went very wellthere were lots of exciting exchanges.
Bengtssons topspin control off his service, his compact style, those short strokes powered in
mind and body, and Johanssons blocks, his backhand steadiness, and full-stroke forehands,
won them each cheering fan support.
As the players broke for a commercial with Kjell leading 2-1 in games, the TV man
said, More enthusiasmthats what we want! Cmon, if we dont clap, we dont get
anywhere.
Baby Face
Then, in that
4th game, as if by
magic, as if what
many people saw they
couldnt believe,
Bengtsson and
Johansson
demonstrated in an
undeniable display of
superb Barnum and
Bailey showmanship
their very extensive
exhibition repertoire
to a wildly
applauding crowd. So
that by mid-game
maybe 40% of the
Arena spectators,
sure of themselves
and their knowledge
of the Sport, had
Swedens Johansson (L) vs. Swedens Bengtsson
caught on to the fact
Photo by Don Gunn
86

that the players were not playing seriously but professionally. Now they were turning to their
neighbors and proudly saying things like, You know theyre putting on an exhibition, dont
you?
As the crowd increased its oohing and aaahing and clapping and laughing, one
aficionado, smiling, said, If one of them jumps on the table, Im leaving. Another fellow, a
reporter friend of mine, a bit of an old-fashioned moralist, who was trying to understand the
scene, asked several of us what, really, it all meant. That the Sport cant stand on its own
merits? This is the U.S. Open, man. Arent you cheating the public? So, o.k., 30,000,000
people out there have a false image in that they know ping-pong. But arent you just
replacing one false image with another?
Heavy, huh?
Meanwhile, the audience was really responding. Get im, Stellan! someone shouted.
Get im, Baby-Face! The allusion was to Baby-Face Nelson, the infamous gangster. When
Bengtsson arrived in Houston, some sports reporter, knowing the young Champions
reputation for doing away with his opponents, nicknamed him that. Later, Stellan told me he
didnt like the name, however complimentary the Texas reporter meant it to be.
In this case, however, Baby-Face didnt muscle out one of his own. Johansson got
through it all retaining his U.S. Open Championship.
When is it going to be on TV? One player after another wanted to knowthough
nobody could tell them. Said one observer, After this match I have even more respect for
them as professionals than I do for them as players.
After the finalists posed for the obligatory photos, Bengtsson, like Johansson, was
mobbed by fans and reportersas if it didnt make much difference whether hed won or lost.
He wasnt smiling but was courteously giving short, serious answers to any and all questions
asked. Sorry, I couldnt win, he said as he gave one teenage girl his autograph. I lost my
power as the game progressed.
Womens, Junior Miss, Girls
Of the 32 matches in the opening round of Womens
Singles, 11 of them were won by defaults. Which
meanswhat? That a third of the field had hoped to come,
had well-intentioned entered, but had last-minute
inescapable priorities?
Of the 21 matches
remaining, 18 were won three
straight. Which left the
spectators-who-werent-playing
to watch Carol Cook get by
Katie Simon in five, and two
U.S. Team members battle it out
with a couple of young
Canadians. Floridas Bev
Patterson, nee Hess, rallied to
beat British Columbias Nimi
Athwal, 18 in the 5th. And in the
most exciting 1st-round match,
87

Top:
Olga Soltesz
Left:
Bev Hess
Patterson
Photos by
Mal Anderson

Orlandos Olga Soltesz, whos gotten tougher over the years, brushed back tears of sweat and
came from two games down to outlast Montreals Christine Forgo, 29-27 in the 5th!
Also, in the Teams, Hess beat both Forgo and Birute Plucas to help give the U.S.#2
Team a 3-2 win over Canada #2. Birute balanced though, just eking out a 19-in-the-3rd win
over Angelita Rosal of the U.S. #1 Team. Rumors abound that Angies going through some
serious changes. Shes gonna quit the Sportor go to Sweden to train with Stellan? Or shes
going to give upas if for a prolonged Lentwhat? All physical exercise?
Training
for a spot on
the U.S. Team
is what our
two U.S.
Champions
with a possible
future in the
Sport ought to
be doing,
especially if
the USTTA
can figure out
Diana Myers
Kasia Dawidowicz
how to give
Photo by Mal Anderson
U.S. Open Under 15 Girls Champion
them more
international experience. Although Diana Myers lost two matches to Forgo, a particularly
nasty 17, 18, -20, -17, -19 one in the U-17s, she did successfully retain her Girls U-15 title,
beating in the final Debbie Wong, and in a taut -16, 18, 19, 20 semis, Kasia Dawidowicz, who
after losing two close first games had rallied to take the next three from Torontos Gloria
Nesukaitis. Kasia also prevented Gloria from successfully defending her U-13 Championship
by downing her in a 4-game final. However, Gloria posted a win over Kasia in the 21, 18, -19,
21 final of the Womens As. Girls U-17 went to Swedens Eva Stromvall over Mariann
Domonkos. Mariann wasnt shut outshe teamed with Birute Plucas to take the Girls U-17
Doubles from Forgo/Gloria Nesukaitis.
Of the 16 matches in the 2nd round of play, almost all were again 3-game routinethe
exception was Alice Greens 5-gamer over Thailands Lawan. That was good, said New Yorks
Ron Heilman, cause when Alice wins, she has the habit of kissing everyone in sight,
including, I presume, Ron who no doubt managed to be nearby. In the 8ths, Alice, whose
marriage is reportedly imminent, gave Irena
Cordas some worried moments. Alice had her
2-1 and was 19-20 threatening her in the 4th.
Swedens 16-year-old Eva Stromvall was
resolute in stopping South Koreas Sung Nak
So (from down 2-0 and at deuce in the 4th).
Swedish Coach Alser had been running back
and forth from a male player to a female one,
but perhaps after Eva had scored but 21 points
total her first two games, he stayed put until
Swedish Girls Under 17 Champion Eva Stromvall
she finished victoriously.
and her coach, Hans Alser.
88

The quarters were all 3-game matches. Chung Hyan

Sook, World #4, whod lost in the quarters at Calcutta to
North Koreas World Champion Pak Yung Sun, deuce in the
5th, eliminated Cordas. (So its over, a loss. So what? Shell
light up a cigarette, shrug.) Son Hye Soon, Chungs Korean
teammate, finished Violetta Nesukaitis. After going through
training in the Orient, Violetta just cant put it all together
again. She says, as if really frightened, that sometimes she
cant push a ball. Earlier, Nesukaitis had eliminated Barbara
Taschner, Womens Consolation winner over Evelyn
Zakarin. Canadian TTA Executive Director Jose Tomkins
also stopped Evelyn, then Pat Crowley to take the Over 40
Women.
Insook Na was of course Korean but is now very
much USA. For the last couple of months shes been
working as a waitress in Columbus, Ohio. Id rather be a
Jose Tomkins
Photo by Mal Anderson
waitress than a hostess, she said. Because if I go to a
tournament its much easier to get another girl to replace me
for a day. She served chop after chop to young Stromvall and the Swedish girl couldnt take a
game. (Insook had also done well in the Teamshad beaten World #37 Sung Nak So, and
forced Chung Hyan Sook into the 3rd.) Though Lee Ailesa had slipped from World #2 to World
#18, shed won the South Korean Closed over Chung. Here in Houston shed hurt herself and
had to withdraw, so that left only one additional Korean in the field, Kim Sook Ok (unranked
now but, after Birmingham in 77, World #18). Shed beaten Swedens Ann-Christin (Anki)
Hellman in the Teams (Korea had won the final from Sweden 3-0), but in the Womens the
19-year-old Swede had taken the 1st 24-22 and gone on to an easy straight-set victory.
In the one semis, Chung Hyun Sook, who has beautiful, fluid shakehands strokes, was
too strong for our Insook, as in the Teams had been World #10 Hellman. Apart from playing
in a few scattered Mens money tournaments from North Carolina to Michigan, Insook just
hadnt been practicing. What does it mean for me to be the #1 Womens player here? she
said. No women play in this country. True, for two weeks just before this Open, she did find
a practice partner of sortsthe mysteriously retired yet forever reappearing John Tannehill.
Actually, one of the reasons 23-year-old Insook came to Houston was to see her exteammates. For four years after high school Insook was on the South Korean Womens Team.
Shed worked in a bank when she wasnt playing table tennis and this bank had sponsored her,
supported her, paid for all her needs. She was getting along very well, playing very well, and
was looking forward to coming to Sarajevo for the 73 Worlds. But then, it seems, because
she was a chopper, she wasnt needed as a doubles player. Or, as it turned out, despite her
superior record, as a singles player either. So that in between alternate crying bouts and
moments of composure in which she tried hard to understand why the officials hadnt selected
her, she didnt feel much like playing any more table tennis.
Finally she went to Sarajevobut as a non-player, as titular Captain of the South
Korean Womens Team. Then, fairly soon afterwards, when her parents came to this country,
to New York, she came with them.
Determined to learn English and to make her own way (she was, after all, experienced
at meeting people, had traveled), she moved to Columbus and began working for D-J Lee. At
89

first she was scared,

she says, taking
orders over the
phone, afraid she
hadnt understood
clearly and that shed
pack and send the
wrong things. Then
she met a good
friend who began
helping her with her
English.
Meanwhile,
how would it be
seeing her Korean
friends againif
friends they were.
Would they be warm
or cold?Oh, she
said, whats past is
past. We can laugh
together, we can be
friendlybut not too
friendly.**
Swedens Ann-Christin Hellman; Umpire is Barbara Kaminsky.
In the other
Photo by Mike Hoffland
semis, in the best
Womens match of the tournament, Hellman kept it from being an all-Korean final by getting
the better of Son Hye Soon, 23-21 in the 5th. Hellmans forehand style is to build up her
topspinand the point after point tension this produces in her can be measured by the fact
that when shes not playing you can occasionally see her biting her nails. However, I must
quickly add that shes far from a bundle of nerves. In early April shed won the European Top
12 tournament at Vienna over runner-up Hendrikssen and others without suffering a single
defeat.
In the final, knowing she couldnt get through Chung Hyun Sooks strong defense,
Hellman played for the Expedite Rule. Still, the Korean won
comfortably in 4. In the Womens Doubles, however (Ive no results
for the Mixed), the young Swedes were too good for Cordas/
Nesukaitis in the semis or Kim Soon Ok/Sung Nak So in the final.
Hellman, I was told, is the only professional woman athlete in
Sweden. (Shes offering at her Ann-Christin Hellman School back-toback camps in Aug.). We have a soccer player, said the ironically
cheerful Swedish pressman Tommy Andersson, but she lives in Italy.
It took the Swedish Sports Federation 17 years before it recognized
the Swedish Table Tennis Association. Now, says Tommy, 10% of
Tommy Andersson
all table tennis players in Sweden are female.
From TTCAs Table Tennis,
Is our U.S. percentage any better?As good?
Jan.-Mar., 1977
90

Chung Hyan Sook on her trophy-winning way at the 75 U.S. Open against Ann-Christin Hellman.
Trophy photo by Mal Anderson

SELECTED NOTES.
Rutledge Barry
* 1975 U.S. and Canadian Boys Upracticing with his
13 Champion Rutledge Barry is shown here
Fly Bat.
wearing a green shirt while practicing his
Fly Back play.
** After the Nationals, the Koreans
would certainly be friendly enough as they
toured about. Bob/Barbara Kaminsky and
Yvonne Kronlage arranged for the Korean
Team to visit the State Department. Newly
elected Congresswoman Gladys Spellman
Newman, whod been an elementary school
teacher of Barbaras sister (Donna
Chaimson Newell, later Sakai) personally
took them on a guided tour of the Capital,
even ushered Bob into the Ladies Lounge (making sure of course no ladies were there) for a
rare look see. In turn, the Kaminskys and Yvonne were invited to a dinner at the South Korean
Embassy, where Barbara was presented with a gift.
In addition to visiting Washington, D.C., the Koreans played some Friendship Matches on
Long Island, then went on to Chicago for three days where Barbara Taschner and Claude Racklaw
of the Chicago Jaycees took them sightseeing, saw to it they played several exhibitions (including
one against a Chicago All-Star Team), accompanied them, along with John Read and the Korean
Ambassador, to a Korean Association dinner, and enabled them to do, what they most wanted to
do, go twice to the biggest mall around, the Woodfield Shopping Center.
91

Barbara Kaminsky receives gifts from the Koreans.

Photo by Ray Chen

Yvonne Kronlage (R) and Barbara Kaminsky enjoying themselves

as guests of the Korean Embassy
Photo by Ray Chen

92

Then they flew

West, and, before
leaving for home,
showed up for the Rose
Festival Open at
Portland, ORs Paddle
Palace. There, Lee
Sang Kuk would win
an 18, -18, 22, -19, 17
(exhibition?) final from
Mens Team Captain
Choi Sung Kuk. One of
Oregons very best high
school players, Jay
Crystal, recalls (Nov. 78, 1990 Pacific Rim
Open Program, 10-11)
being a cocky,
confident, up and
coming junior and
playing one of the
Koreans in the 1st round
of that tournament. Jay
remembers being beaten
21-3, 21-1.

Chapter Six
1975: Canadian Open. 1975: Jamaica Love Bird Invitational.
Quebec City: the cradle of French civilization in Americawhere 92% of the
population is French, or, rather, are French-speaking Canadians, and where, at LUniversite
Laval, the 1975 Canadian Open was successfully held. Surely someone will record this May
29-June 1weekend in French/Canadian table tennis history, for it marks such a difference from
what was considered the Canadian Open played for decades in that
Sheep and Swine Building. Oh, how the name stays in my
memory, evoking even now the Proust-like sight and sound and
smell of what for me was always peculiarly Toronto and that year-in,
year-out cheapening-to-the-Sport (but, what the hell, often fun)
Exhibition venue there.
Someone asked, what will the annual CNE Labor Day
tournament be called if not familiarly the Canadian Open? And, as if
from someone cradling a volume of Voltaire, came the answer: The
Farmers Open.
The men primarily responsible for trying to upgrade the
Canadian Open, for conducting this really international event with
some worldlinesssympathy and understanding, good humor, and
high seriousnesswere Jean Duquette, President, and Adham
Sharara, Technical Director, de la Federation de Tennis de Table du
Quebec. They did everything in their power to be of assistance to
anyone who needed it. Also helping to make the tournament a
success were others from this charming city where you could see a
Jean Duquette, President
of the Quebec Federation fellow strolling down some narrow Old-World street happily playing
93

a guitar. I think of CTTA Secretary Betty Tweedy,

Ralph Spratt, and Ron Chapmanindeed, I got good
vibes from all the Canadian officials.
In a show of ceremony that was absent at the
U.S. Open in Houston, the acting Swedish Captain,
Goran (George) Aronson, speaking casually,
appreciatively, in English, presented Canadian
Association Art Barron with a beautiful Swedish
tapestry, then delivered a short, semi-formal speech of
gratitude in French, and, perhaps as a way of saying
thanks, kissed both Ontarios Jose Tomkins and
Goran (George)
Quebecs Betty Tweedy.
Aronson
O.k., more of Mens play later. Now for the
Photo by Tommy
Womens.
Andersson
There were really only three countries in
contention for the Team Championshipand, though Alice Green played
Canadian TTA sensationally against Swedens Ann-Christin Hellman (was up 1-0 and at 15Secretary Betty all in the 2nd before losing), the U.S., however attractive our women may
Tweedy
have looked in their new Sportcraft uniforms, wasnt one of them. Nor was
one able to follow the play of World #17 Englands Jill Hammersley.
Somebody goofed and, absent from the English entry, she had to sit out the Teams.
In the one semis, Korea #1 didnt lose a game to Canada #1 whod blanked the U.S.
In the other semis (where the scores were never correctly reported to me), Eva Stromvall was
very much responsible for Swedens 3-2 victory over Korea #2.
As expected, the final went to Korea #1, 3-0. Hellman tried (push, push, push) with
great determination to get the Expedite Rule in, but got killed, 13 and 5. Stromvall, down 1-0
but at 19-all in the 2nd, promptly proceeded to push Kim Soon Oks serve into the net, then
followed by pushing Kims next serve off the table. After that, the doubles was anticlimactic.
There were two very
good matches in the Singles. The
Korean penhold attacker Kim
Soon Ok lost the first two games
to Hellman, then, getting by the
3rd and 4th games with the
slimmest of margins, won out in
the 5th. After which her final with
shakehands defender Chung
Hyan Sook, whod knocked out
Hammersley in 4, was
sensational. Again Kim was
down 2-0and from 19-all in
the 3rd didnt succumbwhich
gave her right there a standing
ovation. On into the 4th and
beyond they went. In the 5th,
Kim Soon Ok, 1975 Canadian Open Champion
though Chung, leading 15-12,
Photo by Mal Anderson
94

continued effortlessly, artfully to bring the ball on a line drive rise up from under the table,
skimming the net, Kim rallied. Hopping the ball more consistently, and pummeling in winners,
she evened the match when her opponent mis-served. At the end, Chung, the chopper, having
had match point and failing to win it, lost the game and match by trying to hit in a backhand.
Both Koreans seemed to be trying very hard, and as a result the spectators empathized
with each, felt the tensions each were under as the points mounted up and the lead changed
hands. At the end they were given the sustained applause they deserved. Kim also won the
Womens Doubles with Sung Nak Soover Hammersley/Irena Cordas. Although the
Canadian women werent in contention in either the Team matches or the Singles, on Saturday,
Violetta Nesukaitis could be seen on TV winning her 10th and last Closed Championship
(played the week before) over Cordas in 5.
Other female winners here in Quebec:
Womens As: Flora Nesukaitis, 17, 21, over
Gloria Hsu who 19, -20, 20 barely survived
Gloria Nesukaitis. Womens Bs: Susan
Tomkins over Kellye Crockett, -17, 18, 16.
Girls U-17: Christine Forgo in succession
over Crockett, 19 in the 3rd, over Birute
Plucas, 19, 19, and over Mariann Domonkos,
19, 18. Girls U-15: G. Nesukaitis over
Crockett, 19 in the 3rd, and over Forgo, 18 in
the 3rd. Girls U-13: G. Nesukaitis over Sonia
Duwel.
The Canadian and U.S. Juniors got a
break when the tournament organizers found
Canadian Open Girls Under 17 Champion
it impossible to alter the draws to allow the
Christine Forgo
Korean, Israeli, and Swedish teenagers to
Photo by Mal Anderson
play in the age-restricted events (which for
some reason none of them had entered). U.S. Open Boys U-13 Champ Rutledge Barry won
the 13s herethough Mark Stoolz took a game from him. Rutledge lost his wallet with about
$40 in it, only to have it returned to him at the tournament site by some stranger who, not
knowing who the wallet belonged to, had to persevere in his honesty to find someone who did.
Nice folks up there in Quebec, huh?
In the 15s, Barry downed U.S. Open U-15 Champ Perry Schwartzberg whod beaten
him in Houston the week before, but then he lost the final to Canadas Pierre Normandin.
Normandin was eliminated in the 17s by Brian Kid Zembik who was wearing a
Sugar Daddy shirt that sported an elongated face, like a sucker, of a smiling, beaver-toothed
Bobby Riggs. Do itSugar Babies was the sponsors advice. Zembik will grow up to be
charmingly notorious for taking all kinds of eccentric wagerslike living in a bathroom for a
month, or deliberately getting breast implants (see Michael Koniks The Man with the
$100,000 Breasts in the June, 1998 issue of Maxim). Hell also be a professional
backgammon and blackjack player, and apparently is even now something of a magician.
Ready? Always best to watch the Kids hands. In the Teams at Houston, hed gone 19 in the
3rd in a 2 out of 3 match with Seemillernot Timmy, not Randy, not Ricky, but Danny. The
Canadians wont coach me, hed said to the U.S.s Bong Mo Lee. Will you? (Maybe he
did?)
95

In the 17s, Zembik beat not only Normandin but Jeff Zakarin (Class B winner over
Ray Mack) and New Jersey Mens Champ Mike Stern before losing in the final to Ricky
Seemiller, 20, 14. Cmon, Kid! hed yell, hustling after the ball and then hurrying back to the
table. Come on, Kid!
The Mens As, though, Ricky couldnt win. Dave Philip, whos just finished writing a
book, Table Tennis, thatll soon be out, got the best of him in a 3-game final. I should have
rolled his serves, said Ricky unhappily. Actually, it looked as if Philip (despite having decided
to use a strange, untried racket hed gotten from Errol Resek just before the tournament
started) would win two straight. But up 17-13 in the 2nd, Dave failed to return five serves in a
row. How did that happen? Well, said Dave, Ricky brought his bat up from under the table
and came over the ball andI dont think he knew himself what he was doing.
Anyway, Philip didnt let it get to him. I suppose because hed had 16, 19, 7 trouble
before in his 9 a.m. semis match with Mike Bush. Neither one of us were awake, said Dave.
We played as if the ball werent there. But to prove that Mike is
awake as the day moves on and his imagination routinely begins its peculiar exercises, consider
what can jog through his mind.
Question: If Player A returns a very high ball with an extraordinary amount of backspin
on it and realizes that Player B, knowing that the ball will bounce back to Player As side of the
table, will come round to As side to smack the ball down hard, can A move, with or without as
much show of innocence as he can muster, to block B from hitting the ball?
Answer: Speaking for myself, I never had a thought like that in my sporting life. But I
asked an International Umpire, and he said, Id call it a letbecause there was obviously an
obstruction to play beyond Bs control. Obviously obvious, Id say, would be the danger to
he who got in the way of the descending racket.
But back to Mikes match with Daveto where Mikes up 1-0 and at 19-all in the 2nd,
and, according to Dave, Mikes legs were shaking like a war veterans. Philip served him a
nothing ball and Bush popped it up so that Dave could hit it in. Up 20-19, Philip served
another nothing ball and Bush popped it up so that Dave could hit it in. What end-game
scenario Bush was fashioning as this was going on, I dont want to imagine. I will say, though,
before winning the Seniors, I had my own thoughts as Bob Green was in the process of
upsetting my arch rival Bill Sharpe in the semis, 19 in the 3rd.
Moving on to the Mens Teams, played Corbillon Cup style, heres how U.S. players
fared. Philip and Alex Shiroky lost to the #2 Korean pair of Kim In Soo and 16-year-old Kil
Jong Yoon, 3-0. They almost won the doubles match thoughdown 20-19 in the 3rd, Alex hit
in a terrific clutch shot, but it didnt get through. George Brathwaite and Errol Resek won one
tiedowned Canada #2, 3-1with Alex Ploisois defeating Errol, 19 in the 3rd.
In the quarters, the U.S. team of Danny and Ricky Seemiller lost to Yugoslavia, 3-1.
But Danny absolutely murdered ex-European Junior Champion Miran Savnik; and against
Surbek, whom he could angle out of position on these slow Canadian tables and so get his
own loops in, Danny put up a very good fightin the 2nd game he twice had the ad but
couldnt win it. Against Surbek/Stipancic in the doubles, the Seemillers were up 15-8 in the 1st,
and thought for a moment, with Savnik playing singles, they might even win the tie! That was
before the Yugos scored 7 straight to even it up at 15-all and went on to win.
Danny and Ricky, if we ever have a Closed, are going to be very hard to beat in
Doubles, particularly if Danny doesnt yell too much at Ricky. In the 8ths of that event here,
they ousted in 5 the U.S. Open Doubles finalists Savnik and Ulf Thorsell. And in the quarters
96

they lost, but put up stiff deuce-in-the 4th resistance, to Hungarys Joyner and his Sido-coached
partner Ferenc Timar. Later with Mariann Domonkos, Timar will reach the Mixed final before
falling to Englands Nicky Jarvis/Jill Hammersley.
In the Sweden-vs.-Canada-#1 quarters of the Teams, Canadian Coach Cordas had
Bengtsson 20-18 match point in the 3rd. Bengtsson served and, seemingly without taking any
backswing at all, snapped in a backhand, the crack of which, so quiet everything had become,
seemed to sound throughout the length of the large 16-table playing floor and the almost
intimate seats in the balcony above. That Bengtsson could have picked up and developed this
very short stroke shows how some Europeans have learned to complement their spin
repertoire with the old snap-hit Chinese game. Down 20-19, Bengtsson again served and again
snapped in a point-winning 3rd ball. After which of course, as Cordas, shaking his head, already
knew, there was no way Stellan could lose the match. To add insult to injury, the Swedes then
defeated Cordas/Errol Caetano, 24-22 in the 3rd!
The only remaining Team tie of interest was the final
between Sweden and Yugoslavia. Tova Stipancic beat
Bengtsson, 2-0; Kjell The Hammer Johansson pounded
Dragutin The Dragon Surbek, 2-0. As you know, the Doubles is
played next, but not to keep you guessing as to the outcome of
that, Im gonna do a little jump ahead to tell you that, in his
singles match with Bengtsson, Surbek never got to loop. The
Swede would push very, very short or give the Yugo a nothing
ball. Stipancic, meanwhile, preparing himself for doubles, had
retired to a corner of the gym where he could smoke one of his
40-a-day, steadying, though in this gym forbidden, cigarettes.
Anton Tova Stipancic
Photo
by Tommy Andersson
There was $1,000 first prize for the Team winners, so,
after getting off to that down 2-0 singles start, I dont have to tell
you how important the doubles match waseven more to the Yugoslavs than to the Stigasponsored Swedes. Surbek, with partner Stipancic staying way the hell out of his way, was
looping so many of those squat shots he seemed every once in a while to be playing in a chair
or at least to be ready without looking to sit down in one.
Behind 1-0 in games, his
eyes seemingly aflame, spinning
his paddle up in the air if he
misses a shot, Surbek tries
(deuce, deuce) as hard as he can
for the grand and the grand
gesture. Deuce again and
Surbeks on the floor. Deuce and
deuce again. Until finally the
Dragutin Surbek
Yugoslavs stay alive, 27-25 in
From
the
English
TT News, May-June, 74
the 2nd. In the 3rd, the Yugos
come from 17-11 down to tie it up at 19-all. Surbek is sprawled on the floor. Then deuce.
Then Stipancic dogs two. Surbek, hands on hips, looks at his partner while theres a terrific
ovation for the Swedes.
I dont want to rub it inbut do you know what happened in the final of the Mens
Doubles? With the Swedes down 7-1 in the 5th and suddenly getting an irretrievable net and
97

then an edge? Stipancic hit the ball into the floor in

anger, thats what. And at least half the people
watching thought the Yugoslavs, 10-5 up at the
turn, were going to blow it.Up 15-10.Then
17-16, 19-18, just holding on. Whereupon
Stipancic misses a hanger. Now what, do you
think? Surprise, the Yugos win. And what did they
get for it? A trophy apiece.
In the Mens Singles, 15 of the first 16
matches went a dull three games. The one
exception? Israels Menachem Stein beat Philip in
5. Then, in the most contested match in the 16ths
Stein dropped a 19-in-the-4th match to Johansson.
In the 8ths, Jarvis, World #34, with the reputation
as the fittest player in England, constantly puts
pressure on Stipancic who cant block Nickys
loops well. Down 2-1 and 18-16 in the 4th, the
Israels 1972, 1974 National Champion
Yugoslav has high balls to smack in but doesnt hit
Menachem Stein
any of them hard. Finally Jarvis counters one and it
goes in. Down 19-17, Tova pushes Nickys serve into the net, then hits one off. Jarvis, who
once coached in Quebec Province, celebrates by buying the new record of his favorite FrenchCanadian group, Harmonium.
World Champion Jonyerhows he doing? Not too good, but
I dont think hes broken up about it. In the Teams, he lost 15 and 11
to Bengtsson. Although Stellan hasnt the spin power of some of the
other strong players, he does have a remarkable short game, a touch,
a finesse ability, and a consistency that never lets the Hungarian loop
hard and instead turns him into something of a blocker. In the
Singles, Jonyer beat Caetano, then lost to Korean National Champ
Choi Sung Kuk, 3-zip. One has the feeling the World Champion has
been on an extended vacation. Caron Leff tells us (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
1975, 10) that after the Houston Nationals Laszlo Bellak brought
the Hungarians, including Jonyer, to Miami for a few days. Here, says
Caron, is what they did there:
The Team stayed at the Marco Polo Hotel on the
beach and played at Newgys every night. They were also
kept busy during the day. Laszlo, for instance, took them
Laszlo Bellak
sightseeing to Key Biscayne where they had lunch at The
Rusty Pelican.
The Hungarians put on an exhibition at First Federal, thanks to Bob Walker
and this was covered by the local media. Afterwards, they all went out and drank
draught beer.
Lenny and Sue Bass (Sue is Laszlos niece) had the Team to dinnerand it
sure felt good to Sue to speak her native tongue again.

98

In Quebec Jonyer looked as though he were bored if he didnt use his repertoire of
shots. The Hungarian cant seem to kill the ball, can only spinbut, as Danny Seemiller told
me, his hooks, hoops, loops that come from somewhere underneath the table are hard to
block, for unexplainably they seem to have something like chop on them. To many a spectator
watching Jonyer the most memorable thing about him is this little trick of his on losing a game.
He picks up the ball from the floor and sends it sailing back over to his opponents side of the
table with terrific underspin so that it bounces, stops, backspins, cuddles up against the net.
and dies there.
On the other side of the draw, World #32 Timar, a member of Joyners Budapest
Sparticus Club that was brought here by former World Champion Ferenc Sido, was having his
hands full with Cordas. Nicknamed The Comet in Yugoslavia because in the orbit of every
tournament he went to he used to emotionally take off, shoot his mouth off and throw up his
hands in frustration, Zlatko was able to win the big 19-in-the-3rd game, but he still couldnt
take the match. Nor would there be any consolation for him in seeing Bengtsson and
Johansson react jokingly to his continued exclamations, the slapping of his forehead, the
closing of his thumb and forefinger almost together to express, as hed cry out, Oh! Such a
small miss!

Dragutin Surbek too much for Danny

Against Surbek, Seemiller played superbly. He was particularly good at handling the
Yugoslavs serves. He returned the ball hard enough with his anti-spin to make Surbek wary of
following up his own spin coming off Dannys racket. And, oh, how on these slow tables
Danny blocked back Surbeks great stretch-out-and-lift-up loops to set up his own winning
shots that spun away so quickly the Yugoslav couldnt even stumble after them. Surbek, one of
the worlds great playersand Seemiller was 7-5 up with serve in the 5th against him. But
when the Yugo begins returning all kinds of spins from under the table and finishing winners
down on one knee, Dannys fans begin to yell, Take the initiative! Take the initiative! But
how? Down 12-7, and losing still another point (thats 8 in a row), Danny throws his racket
high in the air. It seems to help. He pulls to 18-16 before, disappointingly, its all over.
In his next match with Swedens Thorsell, Surbek is still bringing up shots from under
the table that come up like from over a hill. But the Swede, taking advantage of the fact that
Surbek is tired from his match with Seemiller, is playing damn well himself and seems to find a
pocket thats giving the Yugoslav trouble. Insurmountable troublefor Thorsell wins 24-22
99

in the 4th. Surbek ends up in a hospital where, being treated for his back, hes given an
intravenous injection with an infected needle.
Meanwhile, Johansson, holding the table with his backhand, hooking his hammer shots
in, and killing often with both feet off the floor, knocks out Timar and teammate Thorsell to
reach the final with Bengtsson whos done away with Choi.
The Swedes are playing a very bad 1st gamereminding people of the final shown on
TV between perennial winner Caetano and runner-up Polisois for the Canadian Closed
Championship that some aficionados seriously suggested should not be shown. Bengtsson and
Johansson are themselves making faces at their play. Jill Hammersley is writing postcards.
Brian Zembik, who at first was trying to take camera shots, has fallen asleep. Johansson
suddenly serves off. Bengtsson suddenly serves into the netand appears to be irritated.
People think its funny. Maybe the air-conditioner is affecting playtheres a draft. Please
turn it off, says somebody.
Here are two of the worlds greatest stars mirroring the average player. Better for
beginning players if they were to see this on TVthey could better identify with them? But
then, and I thought this would happen, I suspected it all along, the quality of their play slowly
begins to improve, improve quite a bit, until by the time the score has reached 19-all there
have been some marvelous pointsso that even those amateurs watching at home are
beginning to see the difference between ping-pong and table tennis.
Then Johansson serves off again. This is followed by a fantastic point where Kjell,
finally getting a hanger, chooses to fake a smash and drop the ballexcept that he whiffs it.
He really does. And to show now hes irritatedafter all, hes lost the gamehe waves his
racket, whiffs the air again. To of course the laughter and applause of the crowd. So I knew
for sure now that nothing had been prearranged, except for the prize-money split. The 1975
Canadian Open Champion could be either one of them.
As a change of pace, there were also some soft, very soft exchanges, out of which as it
happened a controversy arose. Bengtsson just touched a ball that looked like it wasnt going
to clear the net, but then while he, like sighed, it teetered and fell over onto Johanssons side.
Point to Stellan. But Kjell stopped play, protested to the International Umpire, said Bengtsson
blew at the ball to make it go over. And looking over to Stellan, Kjell smiled, wiggled a finger
at him, and said, You did that deliberately. Which broke up the crowd. The International
Umpire was now on the spothe didnt know what to do. Did Bengtsson really try to blow
this point?
But the controversy is resolved. Apparently it doesnt make much difference. So what
Id better do now is cut to the chase, cover the final deciding points of this Championship.
Tactics are crucial at this stage. Johansson tries to fast-serve Bengtsson. But Stellan wont let
him get away with thatand neither will the Umpire. Johansson starts to serve again. Slips.
Waits. Hes going to make Bengtsson nervous, eh?
Zembik is back watching, but without his camera. The OKeefe beer sponsors with
their large red coats are pleased that the crowd is responding. Too bad you couldnt sell beer
in the gym itself. Itd give the whole thing more of a sporting atmosphere.
Wait a minute! Heres a point! Johansson comes running in, smashes one. Misses. Yells
out, Stupid! Maybe hes being too hard on himself?
Bengtsson has the advantage. And he means to make the most of it. He goes for his
towel. But he doesnt win the next point. Deuce!
Now its Johanssons turn to towel off. He not only wipes his face, he rubs his hands,
100

his arms, and up and down the length of his legs. Its like hes been to the showers, taken a
bath, gone into the tankyou name it. The crowd snickers. Shhh! The Umpire is very serious.
The perfect straight man.
And now both Bengtsson and Johansson go all output on an absolutely super triplechange-up of alternating kills and lobs and drops that have the crowd standing and roaring.
Finally Stellan wins the point. And now Kjell serves, cleverlyoff.
Johansson is the U.S. Open Champion. But Bengtsson is the Canadian Open
Champion. Only, who will know it? Who will see these matches on TV?
Everybodys feeling wasa lot of people. I mean, if you wanted to build up big
international tournaments all over the U.S. and Canada, you had to put on a good showlike
this one. Had to educate the viewers, make them more sophisticated. Else how will they know
what the real sport is all about?

At the 1975 Love Bird Tournament, Insook Na (L) carves out a

21-16 in the fourth victory over Englands Jill Hammersley.

Jamaica Love Bird Invitational

Insook Na, who hadnt played since the U.S. Open two weeks ago, won the Womens
Singles here in Kingston, Jamaica, defeating Swedens Ann-Christin Hellman, World #10, in
the semis, and Englands Jill Hammersley, World #17, in the final.
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I dont want to do only table tennis, Insook said in an interview here. Theres so
much tension in the Game. You have to think deeply to play it, and it brings more and more
frustration. Sometimes I dont want to play it at all.
Apparently, though, this was not one of those times that she didnt want to play. In the
Teams at Houston, Hellman had routed Na, 10 and 13. Here, Insook started slowly. She
herself admits she does not move as quickly as she used to. In fact, in the beginning, she
sometimes gave an awkward little hop while chopping her returnas if wishing the ball
onthen was half a step late for the Swedish womans topspin attack.
Gradually, however, she began keeping her chops lowand, sure enough, it was as she had
thought. She didnt know, on coming to Kingston, if she could beat Hellman, but she did know
she could do better than shed done in Houston. Score of 1st game: 22-20 for Na. From there
on in, she never had any trouble, as Hellman seemed powerless to get through Insooks
defense.
Against Hammersley, Insook was down 17-14 in the 1st, but then, try as she might, the
English Champions backhand flick would not go in, and Insook took 7 points in a row. In the
2nd, Hammersley came out swinging and Insook couldnt immediately get oriented. Then,
slowly, again, Jill had great difficulty trying to get through Nas defense. With a flurry of failed
hits, from 9-6 up, she went to 13-9 down. But then, odd, she won the 7 in a row right back.
Only to see Insook take 5 straight to lead 18-16. Now Hammersley wont hit a forehand
and, again, shes missing her backhand pick. It seems obvious, if shes going to win, shell
have to swallow her world-class pride and begin pushing exclusively.
With Insook up 20-19, the Expedite Rule comes in. But the umpire doesnt understand
the Rule, despite reading a lengthy explanation of it which nobody else can follow either.
Insook wins this game and looks to be in good shape. As the 3rd game gets underway, the
umpire is not counting the returns correctly. The server must score the point before the
receiver returns the ball safely 13 timesbut one ought not to count a return good until its
proven so, right?
A new umpire is asked for. No, Alser
wont do it. So Orville Les Haslam comes
inhes not only Jamaicas #1 player, hes
their Coach. He immediately starts making
mistakesin counting, in calling the score. A
top player does not necessarily a top umpire
make. Finally, Hammersley in disgust throws
her racket into the air. A strange kind of
prayerbut it seems to do her good. She
gets a net that helps her win the game.
Perhaps she should have played for the
Expedite Rule from the beginning?
But, no, as Insook builds up a big lead,
someone shouts, Dont invite her next
year! Why not? And whos the her? Na,
the victor? Or Hammersley, the vanquished?
Insook, $275 in prize money richer, says
she doesnt want to play a U.S. circuit. Like
Insook and Shekhar Bhushan
her boyfriend Shekhar, she plays for fun.
Photo by Mal Anderson
102

When Korean women whove been very good players

marry, says Insook, tradition has it that they quit table
tennispreserve their name, how good they were.
But, though she wants to get back to Shekharyes, it
turns out shell marry himInsook says she intends to
play forever. I know Im not going to be #1, she
says. But I dont have to be to play table tennis.
I noted that Haslam is now the Jamaican Coach.
He writes an article (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 9)
stressing his intention To Revolutionize Jamaican
Table Tennis. Oh? How will he do that? By stressing
these aims: In WarResolution. In Defeat
Defiance. In other words, dont surrender; fight to
the death for your country. In victoryMagnaminity.
In PeaceGood will. In other words, be a gracious
winner, be well behaved, a worthy ambassador of your
country. Who could quarrel with such advice? It only
Les Haslam
remains for him to get the players to follow it.
Photo by Mal Anderson
In 1st-round play in Mens Singles, the Benson
and Hedges sponsors were not too happy about a last
minute change in the draw that put the Black Flash, Jamaican-born Desmond Douglas
(never mind he left the Island before hed be going to grade school and that he doesnt speak
like a Jamaican), against the Defending Champion, Danny Seemiller. If the idea was to get
thousands of spectators into hustling, hard-working JTTF President Roy Hylton and
Tournament Director Ken McLachlans Love Bird bower, it sure didnt seem like a good
idea to have either of these talked-about players get beat early.
As it happened, however, the sponsors neednt have worried. There were 4,000 wildly
cheering fans there every night, in a setting that was better than the ones in Houston or Quebec. For
here the public could eat, drink, smoke, yell, and be up close to the action, while the stage itself, like
a little theater in the square, like a boxing ring, was always everyones intense center of focus. If
ever you want to come to a country where table tennis is really appreciated, and where you can be
assured of being well treated by those involved, come to Jamaica.
Douglas, the #3 player in England, is, by
day, an apprentice motor mechanic in the greasy
pits of a bus garage in Birmingham (where the 77
World Championships will be played). By night
(Theres nobody to play with during the daytime
anyway), Des is the dedicated young player who
has wins over Johansson, Sarkhoyan, Stipancic, Li
Ching-kuang, and that same Korean Champion,
Choi Sung Kuk, whom Seemiller lost to in
Houston. But though Douglas has a fine loop down
left-handed Dannys forehand line, he could not
(once Danny started serving shorter and not
rushing so much) catch on to Seemillers game
until, after losing 21-14, 24-22, it was too late.
Englands Des Douglas
103

Dragutin Surbek, quite possibly Dannys next opponent, drew Swedens Ulf Thorsell
whod beaten him in Canada. But maybe because this was a 1st-round match and he hadnt had
to expend much energy yet The Dragon breathed fire, won two straight. How hard it must be
for Surbek to win the World Singles with all those Team matches hes obligated to play first.
Thorsell, who naturally Seemiller and the other Americans wanted to see win, didnt seem to
be making his normal stroke, closing his racket enough, and lost to Surbek in the 3rd.
Ambiguously described by one fellow as doing everything the other two Swedes, Bengtsson
and Johansson, dobut a little worse, Thorsell, seeking the experienced advice of Coach
Hans Alser, fortunately decided to cool it with a couple he met at a disco party President
Hylton hosted.
Fuarnado Roberts had a good 3-game match with Bengtsson, especially considering
that Robbie had a very bad cold that eventually would put him under a doctors care and into a
sick bed. A little rum before playing Stellan, Robbie thought, would help him sweat out some
of that cold and get him feeling just up enough to give the Swede something to think about.
He well remembered that a few years ago at New Yorks Felt Forum he was leading Bengtsson
19-16 in the deciding game. But he hadnt won there either. Here, Robbie, friendly-like, was
wearing a Swedish 1956 ASK button on his beret (ASK who? what?).* Up 20-19 in the 2nd,
he rolled his eyes to heaven and hit in the Swedes serve to at least win this one game. Robbie
didnt have much confidence in his footwork, said Coach Seemiller, and Bengtsson was too
smart to let him play over the table.
Robbie of course was one of the two most popular players in Jamaica; their current
Coach, Les Haslam, was the other. You might find Les exchanging thoughts with Alser, saying
something like, Idle Hour in the 10th. Bloody good horse, really. Going off at 14-2. Playing
in this tournament was something Haslam wasnt quite ready for. But, as for coaching, he
knows whether a fellows got it or not. Take Bengtsson, for instance. In the beginning his
mother never knew what he was doing every afternoon until she saw his name in the paper for
winning some tournament. Young kids, Stellan told me, dont want to work hard enough to
be a top-level player. I didnt finish high school. My friend Bo Persson did. It made all the
difference.
The most crowd-pleasing match
for the first-nights audience was
between Canadas last years finalist
Errol Caetano and Yugoslavias 1972
European Youth Champion Miran
Savnik. Errol, sometimes looking all
arms and legs out there as he pursues
making contact with the ball, is
something of an unpredictable player. He
can surprise you. Although Savnik had
beaten Caetano in the Teams at
Houston, he was not going to beat him
Canadas Errol Caetano on his way to defeating
here. Lots of Errols shots come off as
Yugoslavias Miran Savnik.
the result of the fabulous touch he has
Photo by Winston Sil
which allows for absolutely no margin of
rd
error. Down maybe 17-12 in the 3 , he suddenly got a streak goingwhich prompted the
fellow next to me to say, This guy Caetanos got balls.
104

Before I get to Caetanos

match with Johansson, I might
mention that Kjell beat me, two
straightthough, on running around
out there (like a gerbil someone
said), I had him 20-17 that 1st game.
Then, since I thought he was going to
let me win, I didnt swing out
anymore, concentrated on playing
safe. Bad mistake. You ______
up, said Alser.
I might also mention that
Id played golf that afternoon at the
Constant Spring course. My foursome
Hans Alser
was Johansson (he grimaces when he
Photo by Tommy Andersson
hits the golf ball too), Alser (who of
course wrangled an outrageous handicap), and Team Doctor George Aronson (pronounced, as
he said, like the lighter). Our scores werent badmostly because its a point of honor with the
caddies here to give you, unasked, your club for each shot, or advice on how to hit your 6-iron or
3-wood, or a line as to which way your putt will break. They also, after handing you your driver,
get 180-200 yards out there as forecaddies, and after you hit and are walking towards your ball,
theyve spotted it. And now, as another point of honor, they helpfully improve your lie in the rough,
or even boldly pick up the ball and put it in a trouser pocketthe one with the hole in it and slide it
down their inside pants leg so it drops (Here it is!) at a much more advantageous place.
Johansson meant to make the most of this vacation. Hed spent half the previous night
swimming and diving in or out of his Surf Instructor, Waikiki Beach shirt. Off from the
balcony of the patio into the deep womb end of the pool hed go, or like Tarzan through the
tree branches down into the shallow end. Caetano damn near killed himself trying to keep
uparched his back once just in time to keep from breaking it.
Against Johansson, Caetano had one opportunityat 19-all in the 2ndto make a
match of it. But Errol missed a big forehand and that was that. By mutual consent (though
why Caetano wanted to do thishe did it at Houston tooI dont know), they played
exhibition points that had the crowd in an uproar, and the unshaven Alser giving off ironic
gutteral, Sydney Greenstreet grunts of laughter. I dont like these Swedes, said the guy next
to me. Theyre arrogant. And is this guy Johansson a professional? Youve either got to be
the Harlem Globetrotters or the Boston Celtics. There are no two ways about it.
Bengtsson vs. Zlatko Cordas was no exhibition. With games tied at 1-1, Cordas, given
a chance to tie it up at 15-all, missed a hanger. It might have been the shot that would have
won the match for him. In the 5th, with Cordas half squatting, squinting, in readiness for his
opponents serve, the umpire whod been calling the score 2-all, 4-all very loudly, now
suddenly decided to say 5-each. The crowd tittered, then laughed. At 7-each, they laughed
hysterically. Both the players were disturbed by the sudden carnival atmosphereBengtsson
particularly. Up 12-8 and with the crowd laughing some more, Stellan gives an ironic,
suffering look to Alser that says, Yeah, I know. Ive got to put up with it. But its an easy
win for him in the 5th. Cordas says hes not playing enoughhis legs arent in good shape. But
hes thinking of his future, hes got a good coaching job.
105

And now the big matchSurbek vs. Seemiller. They look like athletes, said a fellow
nearby. But some of the women here. Last time it was 5 games, this time it was 3and,
no, Danny doesnt win. The Jaques table makes a big differenceSurbeks spin really takes.
At the beginning of the match Danny felt he could beat anybody. Said hed made that
breakthrough where hes no longer awed by these players. Once youre in with them, he
said, some days youve got them.
Seemiller had thought that if Surbek loops he can block secure, knowing with his angle
power that hes probably going to win the point. Though of course, as Danny would
repeatedly see, given the Jaques table, it wasnt enough to just block the ball back, hed have
to be aggressive. Seemiller knew that he wasnt to push the ball into Surbeks backhand
corner, for if the Yugoslav opened from there and was then in a position to roundhouse one,
the point was over.
What Danny really hadnt counted on was his failure to return serve. In Canada hed
missed only 3 serves in that 5-game match. Here he tried to roll Surbeks serves back and
missed 7 the first game! In the 2nd, having failed to return 3 more by mid-game, he was too
anxious, and refused or didnt think to temporize an occasional simple topspin. Still, he was at
18-all before losing. In the 3rd, he fought backfrom 5-1 down, he tied it up at 10-all, only to
lose his lead, get disgusted at missing a high ball and drop 10 points in a row. Then, still not
wanting to give up, he climbed to 20-16 before coming off the table cursing, Such a ____ing
poor display! he roared. Such a ____ing poor display! It was unbelievable. I couldnt have
played worse. I didnt think. It really makes me ____ing disgusted.
Dannys talking about opening a club in Pittsburgh. But if he really ambitiously wants
to be World Champion hes not only got to leave Pittsburgh, hes got to leave the country, red,
white, and blue Evel Knievel uniform and all.
Surbeks teammate Stipancic had lost to Nicky Jarvis in Quebec. But here, after each
had eliminated one of Jamaicas bestStipancic over Cornel France, Jarvis over Dennis
Duncanthe Yugoslav more than evened the score, beat the English looper three straight.
Jarvis had a chance in the 1st from 19-all. But Tova returned Nickys serves with two twisting
sidespin hops and Nicky couldnt read them. Later, in the final of the Mixed, Stipancic, paired
with Irena Cordas, again got the better of Jarvis, who was partnered by Hammersley.
In the one semis, Baby Face Bengtsson
(yes, that nickname was picked up down here too),
Stellan Bengtsson
with that little racket hanging round his neck like a
Photo by
St. Christopher medal, was ready to do battle with
Tommy Andersson
Surbek. In a sense, though, they seemed, with their
outside interests, soft warriors. Bengtsson had his
Rock Dreams picture book, his transistor radio, and
his Lord Peter Whimsey mystery; Surbek, who again
and again looked out of eyes that were like an awestruck little boys, had his big black and red toy bear
that he was bringing home to his six-year-old.
Surbek was something of a hypochondriac
who, for relief in his free time, though he wasnt the
only one, not by a long shot, kept coming to the
Swedish doctor. (George had been a brain surgeon
before socialized medicine had driven him out of that
106

and into another specialty, syphilitic diseases.) One night at the Sandhurst Hotel, Irena Cordas
was going to put a little green, finger-nail length of lizard into The Dragons room. That, she
said, would drive him up the wall.
Alright, with or without preparations to suit them, Surbek and Bengtsson went at it.
With games tied at 1-1, and the Yugoslav swinging in his bolo shots, Stellan was way down in
the 3rd. He pulled up close, to 18-16, but pushed Surbeks serve into the net, and that stopped
his rally. At the break, I heard a couple of guys behind me arguing about whether Surbek
would be able to go the route. He dont burn out, says one. He must burn out, mon, says
the other. Bengtsson, keeping his service return very, very short, takes the 4th, goes up 6-1 in
the 5th, and Surbek, though hes far from spent, cant recover Or can he?
With the Swede up 20-12 in the 5th, both players suddenly decide to play an exhibition
point. And now 4,000 spectators were going wild watching a remarkable show of lobs and
back-at-the-barrier counters by Surbek as he brings the score to 20-16. What goes on here?
Surely the Yugoslav would violate some code if he were to seriously try to win this game?
O.K., no, he doesnttakes some ridiculous shot, and the match is over. Why finish this way,
instead of fighting to the death, or maybe, maybe, the after life, as Haslam would have his
young Jamaicans do? Because, given this anything but life-and-death tournament and the lopsided score, the professionals play, as it were, a finishing exhibition coda.
In the other semis, after Johansson, up 1-0, had taken the 2nd game from Stipancic at
19 (along the way, 4 straight winning shots hed hit into the Yugoslavs middle), and had
gotten off to a lead in the 3rd, it looked to be all over. But then the Swede seemed to lose
interest. Of course Stipancic is hard to move. He always seems to have plenty of time to cover
the whole table. Is forever temporizing shots, doesnt try to overpower you. But in this ringlike venue, if you try to come after him, hope to overpower him, then you become weakhes
rope-a-doped you. Tricky, too, are his serves. Deceptively, he seems to give you the same one
so often. But if anyones prepared for it, he is. He must know every possible variation of
return and every variation of an opponents movement that will instinctively, instantaneously,
prepare him to anticipate his follow-up. Ive heard more than one knowledgeable observer call
him The Players Player. No matter where the ball comes, he plays it where he wants to play it.
From Zdenko Uzorinacs
Anton Stipancic

Stipancic, down 9-3 in the 5th to Johansson, whos often recognized as the greatest
player on the circuit from losing positions, faltered. This time it was the Yugoslav who came
from behind to win. Which was just as wellfor it wouldnt do to have three straight
Bengtsson-Johansson finals, would it?
107

In this last match of the tournament, Stipancic generally moves several steps back and
keeps spinning his backhand into Bengtssons blocks. In the 1st, Stellan runs the game out from
14-all. But his 19-16 lead in the 2nd isnt good enough; Tova scores 5 in a row, and turns the
match. In his spin play, his hand doesnt go down like Gergelyshe just grazes the ball and it
rockets off. He seems to make no attempt to gain any great advantage from his serves. But if
Bengtssons return of serve is a push, he wont be successful with it. Stipancic just has too
good a wrist, too much talent. They play into the 5th, but Stellan, behind, makes errors, and
never further challenges.
Stipancic, The Players Player, who has the reputation of never winning a
tournament, finally wins one. Next morning in the Kingston paper, The Gleaner, Bengtsson is
reported to have beaten Stipancic. In other places Ive played, few people would note the
difference. But in Jamaica theyre reading the sports pages, the table tennis news, and they
know the score.
SELECTED NOTES.
* ASK stands for Swedens well-known
Angby Sports Club. It was founded in 1956 by
Nisse Sandbergand, 50 years later, the Club
and Nisse are still going strong.

Angby Club Founder

Nisse Sandberg

108

Chapter Seven
1975: Summer Tournaments.
Back now to U.S. tournaments. Tyra Parkins reports (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 15) on
the Athletic Supply Co. Open, held July 26-27 at the Seattle University Gym, an exceptionally
fine playing venue thats the home court of the Washington TTA. Joe Lee won the 68-entry
Open over Canadas 39-year-old Eric Calveley in straight games, including the 2nd in which
Eric, leading 16-8, looked to win a point with an edge ball, but just as he said Sorry, Joe,
lunging, drove his return in for a winner, then went on to take the game. Partnered by Alan
Michael, runner-up to Dean Doyle in the U-17s, Lee also took the Open Doubles from Paul
Chang/Dave Davallou. Womens Champ was Adt Waltrud of West Germany over Parello
Smith whod -18, 21, 21 outlasted Parkins. For the fifth straight year, the Seniors went to Dr.
Michael Scott over Art Ngai, Coach of the British Columbia Team.

Athletic Supply Open Winners: standing, L-R: Ko Oto, Dick DuBonne, Jim Givens, Lee Olsen,
Roger Cook, Dave Davallou, Alan Bajkov, Adt Waltrud, Eric Calvely, Pat Smith; kneeling, L-R:
Tyra Parkins, Alan Michael, M.J. Scott, Joe Lee, Dr. Michael Scott, Dick Tucker, Jay Adams.
Photo courtesy of Tyra Parkins

Other results: Class I: Alan Bajkov, a pick-hit defender formerly from

Hungary, now playing out of British Columbia, over Dick Tucker of North
Carolina. Class I Doubles: Smith/Bajkov over Lee Olson/Dick DuBonne. Class II:
Jay Adams over Tore Fredrickson. In the semis, Michael Scott, III, now going to
Medical School, gave Jay a tough 18-in-the-3rd fight, and
Tucker, despite faithfully taking his proper combination of
assorted pills washed down with gulps of distilled water,
was stopped by Tore, 25-23 in the 3rd. Class II Doubles:
Scott, III/Roger Cook over Adams/Scott Levitin. Class III:
Waltrud over Brian Bircher.
We hear from Lou Bochenski (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975,
15) that at the Ricos Red Lion Open, played at the
Paddle Palace, Aug. 16-17, 13-year-old Bobby Rinde
109

Brian Bircher
From Dec. 6-7,
1980 Pacific
Northwest
Program

upset three of the Northwests best players to win, startlingly, not the U-15s (which he lost to
Doyle, 19 in the 3rd) but the Open! In succession he downed Oregon State Champ Ron Carver in 4,
then former South Korean National Junior Champion Keun Chung in 5 (Chung had won the
Harvard Summer Open two weeks earlier here), and finally Vo Qui Han in 4. He also paired with
Mike Bochenski to take the Open Doubles from Han and Dr. Bob Ho. Lou had gotten that video
tape machine hed wanted for his Palace (it cost almost $2,000) and had taped young Rinde in
action. (Hed also taped Coach Jeffs Smarts demonstration and discussion of his repertoire of
serves, and the ABC Wide World of Sports coverage of the Houston U.S. Open.)
Other Red Lion winners:
Bill Popp
Womens: Vancouvers Nimi Athwal
From 1990 Pacific
over her sister Simi. Seniors: Ho over
Rim Open Program
Jim Waugh. As: Vancouvers Juggy
Padda over Seattles Pat Collins. A
Doubles: Rinde/Mike Bochenski over
Liu/Jeff Woo. Bs: Bill Popp over Bill
Mason. Cs: Popp over Rich
Remington. C Doubles: Jack McLarty/
Popp over Bircher/Mike LaMear. Ds:
Rick Mellinger over Rick Livermore. Es: Oslund over Livermore. Fs: Mellinger over Owen
McCurry. Gs: Grant Hoskins over Bob Robinson. Unrated: Oslund over McCurry, 25-23 in
the 3rd. High School: Doyle over Woo.
Apparently neither Lou Bochenski nor any of the Paddle Palace players who attended the
Aug. 23-24 San Francisco Open video-taped Japanese-American Don Rash (formerly Donburi
Irashi from Sapporo) being injured there. And with good reasonfor, despite a rather long article
by Lou (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 16-17) describing how Dons match with Paul Raphel was going,
and then detailing how, in the midst of play, Don was struck in the temple by William Aratas flying
racket, it turns out that Rash was never even at the tournament. Meanwhile, Lou goes on:
Without as much as a moan Don sank to the floor to the horror of those
assembled. William was quick to apologize and beg Dons forgiveness, but due to the
fact that Don was unconscious it is doubtful that his apology was accepted.
Don was taken to a hospital where a basular skull fracture with resulting sub
dermal hemotoba [sic] was diagnosed. The doctors have assured us that Don will be
out of the hospital by the middle of September and that he will make a complete
recovery. Our hearts go out to Mr. Arata, who everyone agrees has not been the same
since this tragedy.
This may well be the strangest article that ever appeared in Topics, drawing both a
righteous response from Don Gunn, and a denial by Rash himself. Heres Gunn:
The whole thing appears to be a cheap hoax intended to discomfit Arata,
who is the Portlanders favorite target of insult and abuse. He is described to me as a
good-natured person who rises above the petty meannesses directed toward him, and
in so doing reveals the smallness of his oppressors souls.
Uh, maybe the hoax was intended to discomfit Bochenski?
110

Heres what did happen at that Aug. 23-24 San

Francisco Summer Open. Results:
Open: Paul Raphel over Dean Galardi. Open Doubles:
Bochenski/Bochenski over Raphel/Jonas Danso, 23-21 in
the 4th. Womens: Judy Bochenski over Jai Howard.
(Makes Lous article the more strange. Didnt he ask Judy
about the incident? Surely she couldnt confirm it.) As:
Wong over Masaaki Tajima whod survived an exhausting
31-29 in the 3rd match against Dick Evans. Bs: Chang
over Muhammed Aghili, 24-22 in the 5th (after being down
2-0). B Doubles: Doyle/Charlie McLarty over Don Nash/
Bochenski. Cs: Amidi over Doyle. Ds: Doyle over Liu.
Seniors: Jack Howard over Evans whod knocked out
Azmy Ibrahim in 5. Juniors: Galardi over Henry Fung.
The Huntington Beach Club held a mid-June
Invitational Team Tournament with the following Results.

Paul Raphel
Photo by
Mal Anderson

Championship
Division
Winners: 1.
Quicksport
Galardi (24-0),
Rob Lange (173), Richard
Badger (13-8).
2. Destruction,
Inc.Brad
Fountain (19-1),
Mike Carr (174), Keith Ogata
(10-3).
Winners at
Huntington Beach Tournament Committee: seated, L-R: Tim Stephens,
Santa Monica,
Kent Lofthouse; standing, L-R: Rick Watkins, Jerry LaLande,
Aug. 30-31:
Dolly Whitlock, Ron Watkins, and Tom Lovil
Open: Raphel
Photo by Russ Thompson
over Ray Guillen
whod 18 in the 5th barely prevailed over Angie Rosal. Open Doubles: Guillen and Dave
Froehlich (10 years ago a leading CA player) over Howie Grossman/Dennis Barish. (Jairie
Resek said she thought Ray was playing table tennis in the background of a Boys Club
promo featuring William Conrad of TVs Cannon.) Women: Angie Rosal over her sister
Monica. Mixed Doubles: Stan/Angie Rosal over Joe Sanchez/Pat Crowley.
Pam Ramsey, on hearing Bobby Gusikoffs Hollywood Club had been opened now for
some time, thought shed go have a look (TTT, May-June, 1976, 19):
From the Freeway you take SUNSET BLVD. to Beachwood. On the corner
of Beachwood and Fountain stands a large building with lettering that spells out
Hollywood Indoor Tennis Club. There is only one gate you can enter, a sign on
111

which reads
Members
Only. As you
drive through
the gate you
see parking
spaces
specifically
reserved for
Jimmy
Connors.
Johnny
Bobby Gusikoffs Club Opens
Carson, Barbra
Streisand, Bill
Cosby, Elke Sommers, and even Charlton Heston (just
to name a few). AM I in the right place? Am I
supposed to be in here? Didnt I see a small sign on the
gate saying Calif. Table Tennis Club?...But where is it? Sounds like a typical
Hollywood setting from some movie, doesnt it? Well its real.
Soon you see signs that lead to the Calif. Table Tennis Club. First, you walk
down a flight of stairs, then take a few more steps down a hallway with pictures of
Danny Seemiller, D.J. Lee, Erwin Klein, Charlie Wuvanich (and many others) hanging
on the wall; and finally you end up in a room with six tables neatly set up in a row.
Each table is set in its own court with an area of 20 feet by 40 feet, each is barred off
from the other with nice heavy barriers, and each has a row of lights directly overhead.
The playing area is excellent. With a location like this, there is no doubt that table
tennis will grow. Good luck, Bobby, on the success of your new club.
For his 1975 season-starting inaugural tournament (TTT, Nov.-Dec. 1975, 19), Bobby
got support from his old friend Jack Howard and the whole Rosal clan. Paul Raphel won the
Mensin the semis beating Glenn Cowan and in the final Jack whod
stopped Howie Grossman. Bobby says hell be running all kinds of
special events, hopes to get players in from the East and Midwest, and
will try to bring Stellan Bengtsson in for coaching. He really wants to
make the Club cook like it did in New York.*
Mary McIlwain gives us a thorough summary of the Pacific
Coast Open, held Sept. 13-14 at Alta Loma, CAs Chaffey College under
the direction of Harold Kopper. In the Mens final, though Paul Raphel
started strong in the 1st with some devastating forehands, his
mischievous grin was soon gone, for cool-looking Ray Guillen,
quiet and very deliberate, came back to take the next three games.
With his family offering encouragement, Ray showed excellent
concentration, superb blocking, and beautifully picked kill shots. This
was the third straight Pacific Coast final Paul had come up short on
hed lost to Erwin Klein in 1971 and to Joong Gil Park in 1973. Guillen
Mary McIlwain
also won the Doubles with Dennis Barish over Raphel/Joe Sanchez.
Photo by Betty Bryant
112

Don Gunn in his July-Aug. Gunn Shots

column had cited a rumor that one of our top players
(read Angelita Rosal) had become a Jesus freakhe
hoped this wasnt true. Such an explosive phrase was
sure to backfire, and in his July-Aug. column he tried
to make amends:

Don Gunn
From 2001
Meiklejohn
Tournament
Program

When I wrote that there were

rumors that Angelita Rosal had become a
Jesus Freak I was reporting, not passing
judgment. The religious beliefs of players are
seldom the concern of other players. What does concern us is that one of our most
liked and respected players might quit the game. At the Pacific Coast Championships
Angie told me that she has indeed undergone a spiritual conversion, and has accepted
Christ into her heart. She considered giving up table tennis, but decided that as a sports
champion she could better do the Lords work. Nothing freaky about that.
McIlwain writes of Angie being a spiritually enlightened triple winner here at Alta
Lomaand so she was. In the Womens Singles she easily defeated her sister Monica. In the
Mixed Doubles, she and brother Stan eked out a 19-in-the-5th win over Guillen/Heather
Angelinettaproved that the family that plays together and prays together not only stays
together but WINS together. In the As, it was handsome, young, fiercely competitive
Masanori Yoshimura, formerly from Hong Kong, vs. Angie, a poised young Womens worldcaliber champion. In this most fascinating and electrifying match of the tourney, Angies
vast world experience came through. She won 16, -13, 9, 14, recovering with flawless
strokes to the harps tune. The Spirit shone through Angelita, and the rooting of Yoshs
Paddle Palace pals could not get him going again. But you sure got going, got a little carried
away, didnt you, Mary?
Other Results: U-17s: Dean Galardi over Barish. (Thanks to the Upland Clubs
Coordinator Bill Ray and its President Jerry LaLande, Dean and Dennis had an interview on
CBS TV. Two reporters and a cameraman drove at least
85 miles for this live story.) U-17 Doubles: Barish/Robert
Livingston over Jim Lane/Karl Huber. U-15s: Dean Doyle
over Lane, deuce in the 3rd, then over Huber. U-15
Doubles: Doyle/Lee Larson over Huber/Mike Chapman.
U-13s: Reagan Tom over Chapman. U-13 Doubles: Tom/
Chapman over Larson/Terry Lawson. U-11s: Doug Kirby
over Julie Tom, Reagans sister. Esquire Doubles: Eugene
Wilson/Carmen Ricevuto over Russ Thompson/Chung
Tom. Esquires: Julius Paal over Wilson. Senior Doubles:
Thompson/Danny Banach over Wilson/Ricevuto. Seniors:
Paal over Banach.
Paal, whom Ive given you background on before,
is the Nov.-Dec., 1975 Topics Senior of the Month. Gene
Wilson writes that Julius was born in Hungary in 1916,
Julius Paal
Photo by Don Gunn

113

came to the States when he was 21, did graduate work at Princeton, and lived in Pennsylvania
for 30 years before moving to CA in 1969. He has a close-to-the-table, two- wing game, and
plays three times a week at the Park Club in L.A. Hes a freelance teacher, lecturer, writer,
and does radio monitering. Has two daughters, and, in addition to winning West Coast
Esquire/Senior (Singles rather than Doubles) events, is said to be a good chess player.
More Results: A Doubles: Rick Guillen/Tournament Referee Dieter Huber over Greg
Plakos/John Stewart, 27-25 in the 4th. Bs: Rick Guillen over Craig Manoogian in 5. B
Doubles: Plakos/Stewart over Rick Guillen/Jim Boatman. Cs: Mike Bochenski over Scott
McClure. C Doubles: Lane/Mas Hashimoto over Plakos/Stewart. Ds: Paul Groenig over Rich
Livingston (Editor of the California Table Tennis News), 19 in the 5th. D Doubles: Paddle
Palace players fought it out after a 20-hour drive: John Gold/Milentijevic over Don Nash/Bill
Popp.
Albuquerques July New Mexico Open Results: Open: Bohdan (Bob) Dawidowicz
over Helmuth Vorherr. Championship Doubles: Mac Horn/Hall over Butler/Christensen whod
eliminated Vorherr/Dennis Gresham. As: Kathy Dawidowicz over Horn in 5. A Doubles: Hall/
Horn over Evans/Steve Arnold. Bs: Evans over Les Enslin whod advanced over Arnold, 19
in the 3rd. In World War II Les had been a radio operator/gunner on a bomber, had been
captured and interned as a prisoner of war. B Doubles: Coons/Christensen over Jim DeMet/K.
Dawidowicz. Cs: C. Davis over Cordova. Consolations: Christensen over Sandoval.
Seniors: Vorherr over Horn, 18 in the 5th. U-17 Doubles: Dawidowicz/Erickson over Coons/
Robertson.
The South Dakota Open, played June 14 at the Ellsworth Air Force Base, produced
the following Results. Open: Jerzy Jerry Skublicki, a Jan. arrival from Poland who was
trying to get a work permit to stay in the U.S., over Bob Dawidowicz. Open Doubles:
Skublicki/Dawidowicz
over Larry Kesler**/
Paul Williams (whod
eliminated Larry in 5
in the Mens). Tom
Cook would have to
tell us (TTT, Sept.Oct., 1975, 19, 18)
just a short time after
this tournament the
sad news that
Skublicki, 36the
day after he had given
up hope of getting a
work permit from the
Immigration and
Naturalization Service
and decided to seek
political asylum in the
United Statesdied
in a traffic accident.
Todd Petersen and his mentor, Jerry Skublicki
114

Jerry knew he couldnt go back to Polandtheyd have put him in a concentration

camp. Hed hoped to bring his wife and two young sons over to the Wisner, NB area where
the LeRoy Petersen family had been sponsoring him, and where hed been able to earn money
by giving table tennis and tennis lessons. Cook said Jerry, besides being a table tennis
professional, was a skilled soccer player and skier. He was awarded the Mistrza Sportu by
Poland, an honor Petersen described as something like being an All-American, only much more
difficult to achieve.
Other South Dakota winners: Womens: Kasia Dawidowicz over D. Johnson. Mixed
Doubles: Skublicki/Dawidwicz over Kesler/Williams. As: Greg Redman over Jim Lynum
whod advanced over Dana Jeffries in 5. Bs: Lynum over Jeffries. B Doubles: Mark Kennedy/
Hall over Williams/Keith Kalny whod stopped Redman/Knight, 19 in the 3rd. Seniors: LeRoy
Petersen over Heerman. U-17 Boys: Todd Petersen over Redman, deuce in the 5th. Todd,
Topics Sept.-Oct., 1975 Junior of the Month is, at 13, the Nebraska State Mens Singles
and, with Jim Lynum, Doubles Champion. Todd said Jerry Skublicki helped my backhand and
showed me 15 new serves and improved my game about 15% in three months. U-15 Boys:
Petersen over Kalny. U-13 Boys: Kalny over L. Hadden. U-17/U-15/U-13 Girls: Dawidowicz
over Johnson.
Steve Grant, doing the write-up for the July 26-27 Aquatennial Open at Magoos,
stressed the play of the strong Thai players who were now living and coaching in Minneapolis.
The $100 1st-Prize in the Mens via a semis round robin went to former Thai National
Champion, now an Australian citizen and their 5-time National Champion, Chayanont
Charlie Wuvanich, who Id been corresponding with and trying to help come to the States.
Runner-up was the current and 3-time Thai Champion Chuchai Chan Piernpruska. Holding
a 20-18 lead in the first game of a two out of three, Chan smashed the winning counterdrive to
Wuvanichs gut, forcing Wuvanichs return off the end of but NO!Chans paddle was in
the way! Groans from the 70 or so spectators couldnt properly express Chans agony when he
lost that game at deuce. His spirit was gone.
In the other semis matches, Charlie penetrated Houshang Bozorgzadehs up-close-tothe-table hard rubber defense, but the Iowa-based Iranian star couldnt time his own forehands
right. Nor could Bozorgzadeh defeat Chan. The Thai pushed with Houshang, lofted his slow,
left-handed roll when the occasion called for it, continued pushing if the Iranians return was
short, and finally won the point by getting through a hard loop or smash. However,
Bozorgzadehs unusual chop/block game proved a total puzzlement to 20-year-old
Apichart Sears or Sis Taveepanichapan, former Thai Junior Champion, who was able
to beat Chan.
Steve gave kudos to 17-year-old Mike Thomas for taking a game from Chan. Holding
precariously, very precariously, to a 20-16 lead, Mike continued blocking back Chans loops
but saw his lead fall to one point. Then Mike looped, Chans block hit the side edge, and
Thomas got it back with a diving jab. Alas, though, Thomass return was too high. But
surpriseChans smash missed! Thomas deserved the game, and the crowd loved it.
Other Aquatennial results: Mens Doubles: Charlie/Chan over Houshang/Rich Sinykin.
Womens: Sheila ODougherty over Takako Trenholme, -20, 19, 15. (Grant says Takakos
been working hard in Wuvanichs clinics, as has Sheila, and has become such a challenger to
Sheila that she was able to beat her in their Class B match.) Mixed Doubles: Sinykin/
ODougherty over Don Larson/Trenholme. As: Al Schmitt over Thomas. Bs: Jim Lynum over
Ed Ells. Esquires: Jerry Gavenda over Al Faulkner. Seniors: Gavenda over Dick Moore.
115

Juniors: John Soderberg over Nick

Steblay. Junior Doubles: John
Soderberg/Tom Soderberg over Steblay/
Jeff Durand. Boys: Brandon Olson, the
nations premier 9-year-old (though his
footwork needs work), over 11-year-old
Tom Soderberg. Midgets: Swen Baker
over Soderberg.
Grant, one of Topics best
writers, under a striking headline (Sept.Oct., 1975, 20; 28), Soderberg Beats
Wuvanich Hands Down In Twin City
Open, begins his article on the Sept. 28
tournament at Magoos by saying John
left the world star stunned, red, and
woozy. Charlie was too slow and
didnt stay close enough to the table,
This is a little older Tom Soderberg, and
said GrantJohns superior technique
with a new doubles partner.
won out. Were observers surprised?
Photo courtesy of Suzanne Soderberg
No, nor should they have been, for this
was not the Twin City Open. This was the Speed Beer-Drinking Open at the post-tournament
party. Steve explains:
The
winner was
the first to
drain a full
mug of beer
and slap it
on the table. Only
Wuvanich and Soderberg
had proficiency at this art.
Wuvanich claimed 5,000
victories world-wide
without a loss. Soderberg
felt his two-swallow
John Soderberg
technique would win,
despite his inexperience and tender age. Charlie Disney bet ten push-ups against John,
and seconds later found himself on the floor of the crowded Italian restaurant. John
won the next two also. Each was extremely close, the winner detectable only by the
sounds of the mugs banging on the table. Wuvanich protested each decision, but found
no support from the official starter and judgeThai teammate Chan (Chuchai
Piernpruska).
Jerry Soderberg, well on his way to getting bombed before returning to those
great institutions, Stanford University and Judy Bochenski, the next morning
announced the fourth match between his little brother and Wuvanich as the finals.In
116

three seconds the beer had

cleared and the mugs met the
table simultaneously. Deuce,
yelled the fans.
Refills all around. As
always when he drinks,
Wuvanichs bright red face lit up
the dim room. You should have
seen Chan a few weeks ago,
said John Soderberg. He only
had one beer and the whole next
day his face was puffy and he
was so weak. Chan was
drinking water on this occasion.
Chan gave the go
Jerry Soderberg - no more beer for him.
signal. Wuvanich got off to a
Photo courtesy of Don Larson
good start, but pushed his chair
farther and farther from the table as he drank. Poor technique. They finished the beer at
the same time, but John got his mug on the table first.
So howd Charlie do at the court table? Did he at least win the Mens at this Open?
Well, who could beat him? Chan had never done it before. But this time he did, 2-1, and took
the $75 1st Prize. Nope, not a good weekend for Wuvanich. He felt bad about his poor form,
for he knew his coaching students (especially potential students) and spectators expected
more. But he did come 2nd ($25) over Sears, the third Thai, who this time lost to Chan, when
the Champ broke him with an amazing counter-smash for the win.
Other Open Results: Open
Doubles:
Chan/Sears over Chuck
Steve Steblay
Turchick/Stu Sinykin whod earlier
Photo courtesy of
Don Larson
(from down 2-0) nipped Mike
Thomas/Al Schmitt, deuce in the
5th. Womens: Sheila ODougherty
over Faan Yeen Liu. Mixed Doubles
winners: Chan/Liu. As: Tournament
Director Steve Steblay over Jerry
Soderberg. Bs: hard-rubber killer
Turchick over Jim Lynum. C winner:
Faan Yeen Liu. Senior winner: C. F.
Liu. Under 17s: Faan Hoan Liu
over John Soderberg. U-17
Doubles: John/Tom Soderberg over
the Lius. Under 15s: F. H. Liu over
Todd Petersen.
Winners in the July 26 Milwaukee Open: Mens: 1. Jim Lazarus (over Geoff Graham,
17, 8; over Tony Poulos, -19, 11, 9; over Brian Mitchell, 20, 20). 2. Mitchell (with an earlier
win over Faan Hoan Liu in 5). 3. Graham. 4. Poulos. Mens Doubles: Graham/Poulos over
117

Ted Stomma/Laszlo Keves. Womens: Barb

Ted Stomma
Taschner over Faan Yeen Liu. Mixed
Photo by Mal Anderson
Doubles: Mitchell/B. Taschner over Liu/
Liu. As: Keves over T. Running. Bs: S.
Hansen over D. Sinha. Cs: B. Holt over T.
Tucker. Seniors: Keves over Russ
Sorenson. Boys U-17s: F.H. Liu over
Kraus. Girls U-17: F.Y. Liu over R. Mayer.
Boys U-15: F.H. Liu over B. Allpow.
Nashville used to be a good place
to play, said Richard Kissel, but its gone to
hell via their so-called summer
Developmental Tournament. A lot of
development needed. No practice
tables.Two of the eight tables had
lighting so bad that decent play was impossibleand all the tables were marked, scratched, or
dented to an excessive amount.The gym was very warm.The barriers were a pale green
colorwere amazingly close to the color of a new ball after the first game or so. Kissel,
scheduled to play at 9:00 a.m., arrived at the tournament at 10:45 to find that he was defaulted
from the event. Later, the Seemillers arrived for an event that had started five hours earlier
and were they defaulted? No. Is that just? Is that right?
Duke Stogner, with the help of Brian McClesky, reported (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 18)
on two Arkansas June tournaments. The first of these, the Arkansas Closed, played at Little
Rocks University Mall, had lots of spectators, and was covered by all the local news
media. A weird story the media might have picked up on was when one of our states top
players made a thirty-five mile trip to the tournament, then turned right around and drove
back, just because he refused to pay a fifty-cent late-entry fee [this fee clearly indicated on the
entry blank]. (Hah, flash to 2007, and to all those who willingly paid a late fee of $75 to play
in the U.S. Open.)
McClesky, upbeat because he and Shirley, his bride-tobe, were planning a July 18th wedding, became the new Mens
Champion over Pakistans Peter Tang, a student at the
University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Tang and his fellow
student Hiroshi Moriyasu from Japan won the Doubles over
Jamey Hall and Stogner whod downed McClesky/Paul Hadfield
in 5. The Womens also went to a new Champion, Nancy Hill,
who dethroned three-time State titleholder Jan Bratton. Nancy
lost only one gamebut that to Dottie Stogner who reminded
husband Duke that hed promised her a new warm-up suit if she
could ever take a game from Nancy. Mixed went to Hadfield/
Hill over the Stogners. As: Moriyasu over G. Davis in 5. A
Nancy Hill
Photo by Mal Anderson
Doubles: Lyon/McClesky over L. Young/S. Peters. Bs: Hall
over J. Light, 19 in the 4th. Cs: Peters over Young. U-17s: Hall
over M. McMahan. U-17 Doubles: McMahan/Andy Bloxom over Hall/Young.
The Arkansas Fun Festival at Hot Springs, held with the help of Bert Botter, Jr.
President of the Sertoma Club, saw Hopkinsville, Kentuckys Homer Brown win the Mens
118

but not without a struggle. Homers struggle wasnt on court, thoughhe didnt come close
to losing a game. It had to do with the 15-hour trip he had to take to get to the tournament
and the $125 in car repairs it cost him. He had alternator and regulator trouble which left him
stranded on the highway for nearly two hours, after which the car had to be towed in. Then,
once Homer and his friends were able to continue their journey, they had to stop a couple of
times to keep the battery charged up.
Runner-up in the Mens was Paul Hadfield whod upset Larry Bartley in the quarters
and Ralph Kissel in the semis. Pauls described as a cigarette-smoking, scarecrow-lookin
comedian, a strange player with a cannonball backhand. McClesky himself was upset at
this Fun tournament with one, Bill Brunson, and publicly said so: You shock me with your
obscenity and unsportsman-like conduct. We realize you hate to lose but please control
yourself. I played Bill a match and won, but, rather than a friendly handshake, I was verbally
assaulted and hotly informed of the evils of anti-topspin players (I use anti on my backhand).
Brown/Bartley won the Mens Doubles over Hadfield/Davis. Womens again went to Nancy
Hillthis time over Claudia Brunson. Mixed winners were Hadfield/Hill over Brown/Thomas.
As: Bartley over Dave Zapatka. A Doubles: Zapatka/Sientz over Bartley/Chip Naus. Bs:
Hadfield over Stogner. Cs: Hall over Scott. U-17s: Hall over Bloxom. U-15s: Naus over
Bloxom.
Charlie Wuvanich won the Mens ($500) over Peter Pradit at Monty Merchants
$1,000 Burger King Open,*** held Aug. 30-31 at the University of South Alabama Gym in
Mobile. Monty was disappointed on two counts. First, he received only 52 entries. Then,
recalling hed split International matches with Charlie before, this time he had him 19-17 in the
1st, 19-14 in the 2nd, and lost 19, 20, 17. Monty finished 3rd over John Quick who survives in
the game with his talent, without any real practice or training. Wuvanich/Pradit of course won
the Mens Doubles over Quick/Wayne Daunt. Womens went to Carol Stephens over Teresa
Miller. Pradit/Miller tok the Mixed from Decatur, GAs Gene/Carol Stephens.
Other Results: As: Daunt in 5 over Bruce Smith whod had a tough match with
Stephens. Bs: Kwok Sai Wing,
originally from Hong Kong,
now living in Nashville, over
Power Poon in 4. Lefty
penholder Kwok, who favors a
quick attack and a variety of
serves, was unknown to Monty,
so he played in the Cs and won
that tooover R. Jones.
Tom Baudry
Consolations: Bruce Hvasta
over B.J. Varner.
Tom Baudry gives us
reports on two Louisiana
summer tournaments. The new
Shreveport Club, organized by
Chip Naus, held its first Open,
July 19-20. Chip, a high school
student, is only 15, but he
initiated this 12-event
119

tournament, and got the untiring help of Billie Watkins who ran the matches, assisted by her
husband R.C., Winnie Voss, Naida Rodriguez, Rick Lacy, Ching Lee, Roger and Mary Joe
Naus, and Joe T. and Mary Monsour. The Open Singles ($115) was won by ex-Indian
International Monty Merchant who had a squeaker match with runner-up Hanumanth Rao
($70). Perry Schwartzberg came third ($45) after playing a fantastic match with Rao under
the expedite rule but just couldnt hold on to his previously controlled offense. Bob ONeill
finished fourth ($35).
Other Results: Championship Doubles: David Babcock/T. Parker over Schwartzberg/
Don Weems in 5, then over Doug Hibbs/ONeill, 19 in the 5th. Womens: Nancy Hill over
Melinda Varner. Mixed Doubles: Dan and Naida Rodriguez over Hadfield/Hill. Seniors: (Tie)
R.C. Watkins and G. Woods. As: Babcock over Zapatka. A Doubles: Babcock/Parker over
Naus/Weems in 5. Bs: Terry Zeigler over B. Emerson. Cs: Hadfield over Naus, 23, -25, 20.
Baudry stresses the intimacy, the friendship found at both his Baton Rouge Club of
the Month and his Louisiana State Closed, held Aug. 3, with the venue help of Baker, LA
Mayor Pete Heine (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 23; 28). Toms proud of his self-sufficient Club
they own eight Detroiter tables, 140 hardwood barriers, and have a comfortable bank
balance after being totally supported by membership dues and tournament profits. Their 40member Club has a Board of Directors with Tom as its President, and Power Poon as its new
Vice-President. Planned activities on a 12-month basis are the keys to the Clubs success
always something to look forward to, to work for. Their own Tournaments, Leagues, an
Award Dinner, a Summer Party, the Club Round Robin (played on Tuesday nights over a 7week period), a Club Challenge Ladder, and trips to Inter-Club Matches and outside
tournaments. As Tom says, such a Club creates a feeling of belonging, a feeling of being a
vital part of something alive.
Louisiana Closed Results: Championship Singles: John Quick over Bruce Smith. Mens
Doubles: Smith/Bello over Quick/Whiteside, -11, 20, -22, 18, 19. Womens: Varner over
Carrie Joseph. (Note to Allen Long: Womens matches according to the entry blank were 2/3;
why are you insisting your friends match should be extended to 3/5?) Mixed Doubles:
Thompson/Joseph over Friley/Friley. As: Poon over Naus, 19 in the 5th, then over Jay Hakes.
Bs: Wally Putnam over Naus. Seniors: Woods over Reggie Barrus. U-17s: Keith Friley over
Naus, 19 in the 4th. U-13s: J.
McDonald over G. Murphy.
Nancy Newgarden
Aug. 16-17 Newgy Open
Photo by Mal Anderson
winners at Miami, FL: Mens:
Peter Pradit in successive wins
over Carl Danner (from down 21), over Greg Gingold, 19 in the
4th, and over Jerry Thrasher, 19, 22, -21, 5, 19. Mens Doubles:
Danner/Bernie Bukiet over
Gingold/Marv Leff in 5. Womens:
Nancy Newgarden over Teresa
Miller. Mixed Doubles: Bukiet/
Miller over Gingold/Newgarden.
As: Lenny Bass over Randy Hess. A Doubles: Bass/Steve Federico over Hess/Averill. Bs:
Mike Charney over Doug Wilcock, 19 in the 3rd, then over Bruce Hvasta. Cs: Wilcock over
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Frank Racine. Handicap: Vladimir Kamenko over Wayne Daunt. Consolations: Bard Brenner
over Hvasta. Seniors: Leff over Sam Hoffner. U-17s: Danner over Ronnie Rigo. U-15s:
Rigo over Jeff Cohen.
Randy Hess tells us that Steve Rigo won the 20-week Orlando Handicap League.
Each person paid a $.50 playing fee each Friday for the League. The winner for the night got
half of the money and the other half went towards a Club dinner at the Sweden House [had to
play at least 13 nights to be eligible for the dinner]. Steves win was the more remarkable
because with his weekly successes hed gone from a -6 to a -20 handicap. Second best
percentage was turned in by Steves son, Ronnie.
Ray Filz, reporting on the Atlanta Summer Open (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 24), was in a
real down moodticked off a few things bothering him. He recalled and sharply criticized
Frank Tichys fiasco of a tournament in Chicago, and complained that Jerry Thrasher wasnt at
Atlanta tournaments any more. He also lamented that such promising players as Bill Edwards
and Clay Whitelaw (a big strong left-handed looper who played a lot like Stipancic, only was
not nearly so ugly) were no longer competing. Both of them had developed their games in
such an unlikely place as Nashville, but had retired (Clay was now a tennis pro and ranked No.
3 in Nashville).
Ray wondered if Atlanta could ever be a source regionand thought, For what?
About the only thing is syphilis or gonorrhea (were No. 1 in both). How about a source
region for table tennis players, as was Sweeriss Grand Rapids or Disneys Minneapolis? No,
Ray decided, Atlanta was more conducive to outdoor sports. Also, said Ray, a source region
had to have a vast amount of foreigners who played the game in the homelandat Tichys
club, regulars must have included 20 Hungarians. Atlanta seemed a losers town to Raytheir
sports teams werent doing well; there was still the stain of that disastrous 1971 U.S. Open.
Meanwhile, other U.S. tournaments, too, were failureswho could forget the near chaos of
the Long Island USOTCs? The Game was fading fast.
It looked as if Ray would get only
about 30 players for this tournamenthe
got 50, which of course was still
discouraging. So discouraging. Read
onwas there ever in a Topics article
such a bummer tone taken as this one by
Filz? Who was the No. 1 seed attending
this Open? Homer Brown, sporting a
inch wide moustache, whom Ray
immediately damned with faint praise.
This top player had won a major at
Starkville, Mississippi, had won the A
Doubles at Oklahoma City where
Richard Hicks carried him all the way to
the gold. Homers a good egg in the
Homer Brown
long run, wrote Ray, but who likes long
Photo by Mal Anderson
runny eggs.
The Mens final between Brown and unseeded, unplaced Larry Bartleywhod upset
both forever face Ralph Kissel (looked the same as he did 10 years ago) and then Chuck
Michelwas one of the dullest finals Ive ever seen, said Ray. Homer himself apparently
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caught whatever disease was afflicting Rayno usual Oscar-like performance, nothing at all
dramatic from him in his straight-game win. But, never mind, come Aug. 30 hed be marrying
Judy and be up for that. Moreover, there certainly was drama in the Mens Doubleseven
depressed Ray would have to admit it. Larry Thoman/Lee
Edwards worked a little miracle in the semis, scored six
straight points in rallying from 20-16 down in the 5th to
beat Kissel and James Altenbach, then in the final they
outlasted Brown/Bartley, again 22-20 in the 5th. As went
to J. Tsui over H. Tchen. A Doubles:
Thoman/Bartley over Gene Stephens/
Ron Sanders. Bs: Tchen over Tsui, 19
in the 3rd, then over Wilson Bryan in
expedite. Cs: Bob Ervin over Tchen,
20, -9, 21, -23, 15. Consolation I: Carl
Golden over Frank Racine, 25-23 in
the 3rd. Consolation II: Bob Walker
over Audrey Cain. Seniors: affable
Who you callin a grouch?
Walker over semi-retired old grouch
Photo by Mal Anderson
Cyril Lederman. Juniors: Cecil Brooks
Ray Filz
over Andy Dillon.
Of course it was almost inevitable that someone would respond to this articleand
Filzs friend John White, whose hometown was the maligned Nashville, did (TTT, Nov.-Dec.,
1975, 18). Said he couldnt understand Rays tone because he seemed to be a normal,
reasonably intelligent happy individual. Why had he become so disillusioned? John concluded
that most of the undesirable conditions or problems about which Ray laments are simply
products of his pessimistic mind, rather than actual reality.
John offers correctives to Rays various points of view. He has good things to say
about Atlanta. It was the first Southern city to hold a USTTA sanctioned tournament. He
thinks the workers who staged the 1971 U.S. Open in Atlanta ought to be praised. If anyone
deserved criticism it was the USTTA E.C. who awarded the top annual tournament in this
country to obviously inexperienced personnel. He says he got Whitelaw and Edwards
interested in tournament table tennis by taking them to, of all places, Atlanta. But why blame
them for retiring? They have to make a living, and theyre not gonna do it in table tennisthey
were ambitious enough to make a move away from the Sport. Anyway, John concludes, from
now on if I cant say something good, Im going to keep my mouth shut. I presume he thinks
Ray ought to do the same.
No voice coming to us regarding the July 5 North Carolina Team Tournament in
Durham, N.C. Just the results: Championship: 1. The AliensParvey Siddigi (10-2), Danny
Hill (9-3). 2. Evil WeedsBill Brown (9-3), Mark Gilliam (7-5). Class A: 1. Fossil House
Bob Shur, Paul Kommell. 2. Salt & PepperMac Meredith (6-4), Mike Johnson (7-3). Class
B: 1. Ping & PongRichard Phillips, Melanie Spain (5-5). 2. Fruit LoopsDenny Stanley (93), Billy Collier. Class C: GreensboroClyde Vincent (6-4), William Wall. 2. Underdogs
Keith Sellers, Philip Dulin. Steve Hitchner, playing for the Golden Apples, had the best
individual record (11-1).
Results of the Triangle Fall Open, held in Raleigh, Sept. 6: Mens: Fred King over Bill
Brown in 5. Doubles: Brown/Mark Gilliam over Steve Hitchner/Tom Poston. As: Tom Tarrant
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over Denny Stanley whod advanced over Manfred Heynot in 5. Bs:

Hitchner over Larry Skirm whod outlasted JeffreyTsui, 23-21 in the
5th. Cs: Skirm over Hitchner whod knocked out Paul Kommel, 28, 20, 13. Ds: Norman Kilpatrick over Charles Hudgins. Seniors: Mort
Greenberg over Dick Tucker. Juniors: Denny Stanley over David
Albright.
Former USTTA President Norman Kilpatrick has returned to
play, and, as President of the Kanawa, West Virginia Club, fills us in
on the happenings there. The Kanawa Closed was held at the new
North Charleston Community Center Gym, a free venue thanks to the
City of Charleston and the Charleston Parks and Recreation
Commission. The 1975 Mens Champion, for the third year in a row,
was Coy Hughes who defeated Kilpatrick deuce in the 5th in the
semis, then Morris Harvey College student from Nigeria Soulman
Fouja deuce in the 5th in the final. The other semifinalist, Jim Fulks,
Coy Hughes
took the Seniors. Mens Doubles went to Kilpatrick/Fouja. U-17s to
David Albright. U-15s to Eric Kilpatrick (Normans son?). Here are
the final individual standings for the 1974-75 Kanawa Valley League: 1. Fouja (41-3). 2.
Kilpatrick (39-5). 3. Hughes (38-6). 4. Fulks (36-9). 5. Whitey Lykins (32-10).
Kilpatricks best playing years were in the 1950s. He takes the opportunity on coming
back to play again to make both some new and some old observations (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975,
22). The style of play, he says, has greatly speeded up, and improved. (Wait till 30 years
from now.) Then he speaks of the many physically handicapped players he seesonly hes
not talking about the disabled. Hes talking about all the illegal serves that seem to be almost
the norm at table after table. I would urge all sponsors of sanctioned events to see that the
USTTA serve rule is observed, or that the players with the curved fingers, cupped hands, etc,
are truly handicapped when they make their unusual motions during their serves.
He also chastises Rufford Harrison for taking a cheap shot at him when Rufford was
campaigning against Tim Boggans drive for the USTTA presidency, saying what he knew to
be falsethat under Kilpatricks presidency the USTTA almost went bankrupt. Another sore
point with him, as weve seen in an earlier volume, is the cancer of ITTF politics
particularly regarding China and Taiwan. For years the ITTF was headed by an English
Communist [Ivor Montagu] and he was the only reason that one of the worlds best table
tennis nations, Nationalist China, has never been allowed to play in the WORLDS. Kilpatrick
also thinks that the U.S. Men didnt get a fair World ranking after the 1963 Worlds****
Results of the Virginia-Washington, D.C. Closed, held May 31 in Arlington: Open:
Larry McMillan over Alan Evenson. Womens: Xuan Ferguson over Kay Young. As: Dr. Ray
Chen over Dick Stakes. Bs: Frank Gauldfeldt over Ed Barbara in 5. Cs: Frank Valliant over
Ron Snyder in 5. Ds: Angpun Chaphiv over Stan Johnson. Seniors: Herb Horton over Chen.
U-17s: Evenson over Dave Driggers. U-13s: Philip Shaw over Mike Podolak.
Dr. Chen, the Class A winner at this Closed, in an article Table Tennis and Heart
Attacks (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 8), says, Heart disease can be thought of as a murder
mysteryand he lists 17 suspect killers, including of course cigarette smoking and lack of
exercise. Writing more than 30 years ago, he notes that There is surprisingly little scientific
evidence to support the idea that mild to moderate exercise has any protective effect against
the development of heart disease. But severe exercise might have some beneficial effect.
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Ray quotes a Dr. Kenneth Coopers book on aerobic exercises. Cooper, he says, rates
running, bicycling, and swimming laps quite highly as effective exercise training. Table tennis is
rated low. Not what you want to hear, huh? Could anything be worse? Yeahdoes our sport
bring on heart attacks? Well, the tension and anxiety of tournaments might not be so good,
but unless the arteriosclerotic disease has developed youre probably o.k. Sowhat, Chen?
You want a competitive tournament player like me to get in condition like the Chinese and
Japanese playersor just play for fun? I dont like either of those alternativeswish me luck,
Ill take my chances.****
At the Sept. 20-21 New Carrollton Open, Danny Seemiller struggled to win the
Mensfirst over Bill Sharpe, -12, 6, -20, 19, 18, then over George Brathwaite, deuce in the
5th. Doubles went to D. Seemiller/Joe Rokop over Stan Smolanowicz/Sam Balamoun.
Womens: Barbara Kaminsky over Xuan Ferguson. Mixed Doubles: Seemiller/Yvonne
Kronlage over Brathwaite/Ferguson whod eliminated Boggan/Kaminsky, -20, 14, 20. As: Sid
Jacobs over Tom Vanius. A Doubles: Jacobs/Mike Lardon over Valliant/Ron Snyder.Bs: E.
Potts over Roger Cormier. Cs: Jim Mossberg over Phil Shaw, 19 in the 3rd, then over Eric
Boggan. Ds: Mossberg over J. Sabrowski. Consolations: Gordon Gregg over Carl Kronlage.
Other results: Esquires: Dick Stakes over C.Windle. Seniors: Sharpe over Boggan.
Boys U-17: Jeff Steif over Alan Evenson, -13, 20, 21, then over Mike Stern. Girls U-17: Dana
Gvildys over Jackie Heyman, 20, -18, 19. Boys U-15: Stern over Curt Kronlage whod
knocked out Scott Boggan, 19 in the 3rd. U-15 Doubles: Kronlage/Shaw over E. Boggan/
Stern. Parent-Child Doubles: Tim/Scott Boggan over Carl/Curt Kronlage.
The Philadelphia Independence Open drew criticism, but first the Results:
Mens: Danny Seemiller over Brathwaite. (Two good 5-game quarters matches: Tim Boggan
over Rokop; Brathwaite over Sharpe.) Mens Doubles: Danny/Ricky Seemiller over
Brathwaite/Boggan whod advanced over Roger Sverdlik/Mike Bush, 19 in the 4th. Philly
Mens Closed: Rich Farrell over Balamoun whod outlasted Bush, 19 in the 5th. Philly Mens
Doubles Closed: Smolanowicz/Hamid Hayatghib. Seniors: Sharpe over Boggan, 19 in the 3rd.
U-17s: Bruce Plotnick over Eric Boggan whod been -17, 19, 13 tested by Mancino. U17As: Mike Lardon over E. Boggan. U-15s: Lardon over E. Boggan, 19 in the 3rd. U-13s: E.
Boggan over Richards.
Other winners: AAs: Bush, 18 in the 5th, over Jerry Thrasher whod knocked out Jim
Shoots in 5. As: Benfield Munroe over Gary Wittner, 19 in the 5th. A Doubles: Wittner/Herb
Vichnin over Ron Luth/Jeff Steif. Philly A Closed: Marcus over Wong. Bs: Vichnin over Marv
Plevinsky. Philly B Closed: Berd over Sorey. Cs: Sid Jacobs over Doon Wong. Ds: Enoch
Green over Bob Quinn. Es: E. Boggan over Willis. Fs: Willis over Faison whod advanced
over Valentine, -24, 17, 19. Gs: Cleland over Dicker. Ns: Rubin over Faison whod just
gotten by Simon Jacobson, 20, -15, 19. Handicap: Fisch over Jacobs. Handicap Doubles: Jack
Wiener/Jacobson over Lardon/Steif.
After lamenting some of his past experiences at the Philly Club, Disgusted writes
(TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 26) of going to this Independence Open with three other players and
suffering more of the same:
These three players were scheduled in the early events again. Two of them
did finally playabout two or three hours after they were supposed to. The other
player waited until the middle of the afternoon to play his first match. My first singles
event was scheduled for about 10:30 a.m. I was finally called at 4: 30 p.m.!
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Unbelievable. I played my second and final singles match at 8:30 p.m.. And yet I had
not lost a match!
The A Doubles that Id entered was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. They did
not even start it on Saturday! At 9:30 the announcement was made that we would
continue at 9:00 a.m. Sunday.
Well, I was not expecting to come back on Sunday because I had plans. So I
forfeited in both singles and doubles. I hope I made someone very happy because I was
very unhappy.
Would you think four extra Philly Closed events made the wait-time unusual?
This letter brought a rebuttal from Gloria Amoury (TTT,
Nov.-Dec., 1975, 25) who, though she didnt attend the
Independence Open, had nothing but kind words to say for the
playing conditions at the Philly Club and for the considerate
people who ran their tournaments. Apparently the Club, showing
kindness, accommodated her by allowing her leeway time for an
8:30 event, the only one she had a chance of winning. She says she
likes it that people play with comparable ratings rather than the
more personal man-against-man, woman-against woman [better
not to have Womens eventsto be boringly locked into playing
the same opponents again and again]. Theres a warmth at this
Philly Club, and Mrs. Wongs marvelous Chinese noodle soup
An out-of-towner like Gloria feels welcome. She also likes it that
Gloria Amoury
the Philly players invest time and energy in holding tournaments
on a more regular basis than any place Ive heard of, which I
doubt their critics could manage. One sour note: Mrs. Wongs
soups will be savored only in memory: daughter Debbie is giving
up table tennis for tennis.
Philadelphia also held the Sept. Liberty Bell Open, and again 4 of the 23 events were
strictly Closed events. Results: Mens: Danny Seemiller over his brother Ricky in 4. Mens
Doubles: Seemillers over Dave Sakai/Alex Shiroky whod eliminated Boggan/Benfield
Munroe in 5. Philly Mens Closed: Bruce Plotnick over Hamid Hayatghaib, 18 in the 5th. Philly
Doubles Closed: Hayatghaib/Brodsky over Smolanowicz/Balamoun. Seniors: Boggan over Al
Gill. U-17s: Plotnick over Rutledge Barry. U-17 As: Tim Seemiller over Weitzen. U-15s:
Scott Boggan over Barry, -13,19, 21. U-13s: Eric Boggan over Eric Kilpatrick.
Other winners: AAs: Hayatghaib in 5 over Plotnick, then 8, 9, -22, -22, 16 over
Boggan whod survived Jim Shoots in 5. As: Plotnick over Munroe, 24-22 in the 3rd. Philly A
Closed: Hvasta over Sorey. Bs: Randy Seemiller over Jeff Steif in 5. Philly B Closed: Hvasta
over Kistler who got by Erich Haring, 19 in the 5th. Cs: Enoch Green over Scott Boggan, 19
in the 3rd, then over Ron Luth. Ds: Green over Luth. Es: Haring over Renner, 18, -21, 20,
then over Thompson. Fs: Haring over Hawk. Gs: Norman Holder over Barry Margolius. Ns:
Dicker over Whitener. Handicap: Dasher over Haring. Handicap Doubles: Dasher/E. Boggan
over Mike Lardon/S. Boggan.
Results of the Long Island Open, played June 21 at Long Beach: Class A: Mike Bush
over George Brathwaite, 24, -7, -9, 20, 16. (Semifinalist Greg Gingold upset Errol Resek.)
Class B: Mike Stern over Jeff Steif. Class C: Scott Boggan over Bob Quinn. Class D: M.
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Davis over S. Brill. Class E: Chris Schlotterhausen over Barry Margolius, then Neal Golub.
Class F: J. Faiser over D. Fisch.
As at Philadelphia, so at the Long Beach Nassau County Open, there were no
Womens events. Fred Danner says the USTTA has never tried to get women out to play.
But while its true that the Association never organized, say, a planned and follow-up Drive to
that end, individuals in various parts of the country have encouraged and supported Womens
play, and urged in Topics that women not be discriminated against. Fred writes in his work-inprogress Memoirs how he tried hard to get Table Tennis as a varsity sport in the Nassau and
Suffolk high schools. He was thwarted not
only because of a Suffolk Director of
Athletics who was unreasonably against it,
but because in Nassau, unlike Suffolk, girls
werent playing in the School Clubs.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a complementary twist of fate, in
that same issue of Topics (26), Bob Hopkins
offers his Club of the Monththe New York
Club formerly run by Gusikoff. Why this
Club? Hey, Bob has his own reservations: It
is on Manhattan, which is a plus until the
police steal your car. It is in the basement of a
seedy hotel, one flight up from the swimming
pool and steam room, so that the temperature
is always evenbetween 85 and 95 degrees.
But 5 of the top 15 players in North America
play thereand there is no other
place like it. Bob says, Ive never
really thought of Doug Cartland as a
humorous man. However, one night
there, we talked about Marty
Reismans book. I said that I
enjoyed THE MONEY PLAYER.
Doug said, yes, it was a pretty
good book. But, if he ever wrote
his autobiography, he would title
his THE MONEY PLAYER
AND WINNER.
We also have another
reaction to Martys book:

Top: Marty
From Dean Johnsons autobiography
The Game was Called Life
Bottom: Photo by Ray Fields
Inset: Ray Fields

126

Larry Hodges

**Kesler, after being stationed in the southwest, Turkey, and Germany before ending
up in Rapid City, S.D. is about to retire from the Army where hes been an Environmental
Health Technician. Hell return to Oklahoma City and become an auditor for the Department
of Agriculture. As the years go by, hell become more and more interested in officiating, and by
2007 will be the Tournament Referee for the U.S. Open. He had the unusual opportunity for
two weeks in the 1960s to be a substitute Harlem Globetrotters exhibition partner for 4-time
World Champion Richard Bergmann. Granted vacation leave from his Houston base he found
himself opening with Bergmann at a Texas A & M venue where the schools large ROTC
audience cheered him on.
Naturally Richard had given him careful directivesbut when Larry, nervous, smacked
his first drive long by about three feet, he was afraid to hit the next one as ordered, and
dropped the ball. This caught Bergmann by surprise, and when Richard awkwardly, clumsily
tried to get it, Larry laughed and so did the crowd, thinking the comedy was part of the act.
When Larry dropped again, Richard came rushing in, his racket caught the table edge, and, as
Larry could see, sheared off all the rubber on the backhand side of his blade. It was the one
time he didnt have a spare racket, so he continued play with just the wood on that side. After
the match, Bergmann showed Larry the severed handle in his palmhed broken his bat on
that table edge and had played out their match with just his two fingers holding the blade. For
his next performance with Larry, he brought seven rackets.
***Burger King
also sponsored the 1973
U.S. Open Class B
Champ Joe Mimoso to
the 75 U.S. Open. Joe,
pictured here to the far
right, is doing summer
exhibitions for Burger
King. For one at the
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
L-R: Robert Earle, Horace Roberts, Dave Philip,
YMCA, where he
and Burger King Player/Promoter Joe Mimoso
127

expects about 500 young people to show, especially since each of them gets a free burger and
coke, hes enlisted help from (l. to r.) Robert Earle, Horace Roberts, and Dave Philip. Says
Joe,Its a fantastic way to promote a rising new sport in America and to attract new
customers to Burger King.
****This question of whether the U.S. got a fair Mens World Ranking after the 1963
Worlds never occurred to me. But Ive checked into it. There were four round robins, the
winners and runner-ups of which would continue on in single elimination. China and West
Germany advanced to one semi; Sweden and Japan to the other. Japan had beaten us.
However, like four other teams, we were second in our group, and posted a 5-1 (25-12)
record. All top 10 teams didnt play the same number of matches, and when you compare their
matches won/lost and their games won/lost, I dont think youve any strong argument with the
U.S. finishing 9th. However, we finished 10th behind Communist Romania 4-3 (28-16), and I
believe one could quarrel with that.
*****In 1989, at the age of 59, I had, on just getting to a hospital in time, what the
professor/surgeon operating on me immediately under makeshift conditions and the watchful
eyes of a ring of students called a classic heart attack. Before I was anesthetized, I thought,
Flow, blood, flow! When I went under, I dreamed I was paddling a canoe. Then suddenly
the canoe veered right onto land and kept going straight through to water on the other side.
Weird, huh? But obviously the mind observes directives in its own way. Would-be killer
suspect: my father had died at 54 of a sudden heart attack while shaving, looking at himself in
the mirror.

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Chapter Eight
1975: E.C. Doings.
The E.C. held its Summer Meeting Aug. 2-3, 1975 at New Yorks Sheraton LaGuardia
Hotel (see Mal Andersons Minutes, TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 9; 12; 28). Every E.C. member
was present for all or most of the Meeting. From time to time others were present: Jean
Kennedy, Neal Fox, Fuarnado Roberts, Mort Zakarin, and Errol Resek.
Boggan asked that all votes this meeting be roll call votesshowing those voting for,
against, or abstaining.
Early voting centered on 15-20 Bylaw changes, none of which, whether they passed or
failed, drew a close vote or any elaboration in the Minutes. An example: Anderson: Nonmembers may play in a closed no-star, open one-star, and open two-star tournament by
purchasing a playing permit for $2 (Adult) or $1 (Junior)Miles against. No playing permits
allowed in three, four, or five-star tournaments. Miles wants Bylaw changes to be moved
and voted on through the mail.
Anderson Motion regarding round robin play: If the record of any of the players or
teams includes a win by default or withdrawal, the ratio of games or points will not include any
results from the defaulting or withdrawing player or team.If the defaulting or withdrawing
player or team is one of the tying players or teams, they will finish last among the tying players
or teams. Passed unanimously.
Mal also moved: The age as of 12:01 on July 1st shall determine eligibility in the
Under 17, 15, 13, and 11 events for the full seasons playBoggan, Miles against.
Lou Bochenskis Age Motion: Mens Under 21 and Womens Under 21 as of the first
day of the U.S. Open failed4-4 (Anderson, Harrison, Miles, Schiff against). There was no
U-21 event at the 1975 U.S. Open. Lou presumably wanted such an event, though theres no
Motion here to that effect.
Bochenski withdrew his suggestion we eliminate the block [or paddle point] rule.
Carrs Motion: No one who receives a salary of $2000 per fiscal year or more from
USTTA funds can be an E.C. member. Carr of course has Boggan very much in mind here,
and, as Boggan had detailed in a 3-page letter to the E.C., Jack, who strongly resists Tims
Topics contract, had been very obstructionist in refusing to pay Tim Topics expenses. Carrs
Motion and Miless counter Motion tabling Carrs Motion until after a USTTA
membership referendum on the question of should E.C. members be eligible for office
regardless of any monies received from the USTTA were both tabled, 5-3 (Disney,
Kennedy, Schiff against)-1 (Miles abstaining). Schiffs Motion: Nominees and candidates
for election to the E.C. shall be by slate was deferredCarr, Schiff against. Miless
Motion: That, before the E.C. decides on any change in nominating and election
procedure, the various proposals be presented in concise form, and in equal space, and
published in Topics, and a referendum vote be taken by the membership to decide which
of the systems they would prefer was defeated, 3 (Boggan, Miles, Schiff for the Motion)5-1 (Carr abstaining).
Carrs Motion: That the Membership Chairs Honorarium be increased from $300 per
month to $400 per month. Passed: 5-1 (Miles against; he suggested $20 a month)-1
(Harrison abstained). The Ratings budget was increased from $3000 to $3500 to compensate
for fees from Houston that wont be collected.
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Boggans Motion: That legal proxies to E.C. Meetingsfor the entire E.C. meeting
are entitled to expenses as though they were E.C. members. Passed 5-4 (Bochenski, Carr,
Miles, Schiff against).
There will be a new auditor independent of the USTTAfee not to exceed $500.
The USTTA has no Exhibition Chair, let alone anyone anymore paying for an
Exhibition Card (as Richard Bergmann once did), but, sure, let the Corresponding Secretary
write the Harlem Globetrotters, asking them at their games to announce anyone interested
write the USTTA, Orange, CT. Might just as well ask them, while theyre at it, to announce
the Seemillers seasonal Camps. (According to the accompanying photo, except for two of
those boys up front, this summers Camp looked pretty successful.)

Seemiller Camp

Hows the Manufacturers Committee

progressing? Slowly. No prospects at the moment of
coming up with a funded USTTA Executive Director.
Hows Miles doing with regard to getting the World Championships? He says, Trying
to the best of my ability.
Much discussion on Mort Zakarins proposed contract to
develop a tour of professional invitational tournaments. Miles Motion:
Table the vote on Zakarins contract until the E.C. can meet in closed
session. Passed 8-1 (Boggan against). Closed session was called.
Bochenski asked that Fox stay. Passed: 6-2 (Harrison, Miles against).
Boggan asked that Roberts stay. Passed: 6-2 (Anderson, Harrison
against). Harrison asked that Zakarin stay. Failed: 3 (Carr, Disney,
Harrison for the Motion)-5.
Semi-closed session: Disney allowed Miles two minutes to speak.
Miles: We are talking about a contract to give a promoter exclusive
rights, the term of which is not less than five years, and can extend as long
Mort Zakarin
as 15 years. Miles cant speak intelligently on this in two minutes, so he
yields his two minutes back to the chair. Boggan: Considering what Ive already said, and
what others have said on the subject, I, having made up my mind on how I want to vote, have
Abe Saperstein in the 1961 Omaha
Auditorium Arena Program

130

nothing further to say now. Miles: If the E.C. wishes to entertain the notion of granting
exclusive rights to promoters in any areas the USTTA controls, the correct and most profitable
and fairest procedure would be to solicit bids on such rights from interested parties and, at
some announced date, choose the bid that is in the best interests of the sport and most
profitable to the USTTA. Miles is opposed to exclusive rights for anyone, but believes that, if
given out, they should be given out only by the above stated procedure.
Boggans Motion: That the USTTA accept Zakarins contract with the modifications
discussed at considerable length that are agreeable to both parties. Miless counter Motion:
Amend the above motion so that Zakarins proposal is deferred until the November, 1975
E.C. meeting, and in the interim all interested parties investigate the possibility of soliciting
bids for similar contracts and that if no better bid is received by then, we accept Zakarins
contract as modified. Miless Motion failed: 2 (Kennedy, Miles)-5-2
(Bochenski, Disney abstaining). Danner, who sees Miles taking advantage of
his position on the Board to make deals for himself, would find it ironic
and hypocritical that here Dicks trying to stop Zakarin from making a deal.
Another Motion by Miles: Amend Boggans motion so that the
modifications to the contract as agreed to by the E.C., as to the intent of the
contract, shall be made in writing before the contract is signed. Passed 6-2
(Boggan, Carr against). Boggans Motion as modified passed: 8-1 (Miles
against).
Out of semi-closed session. Bochenskis Motion: that we have a
Dick Miles
three-man committee meet separately with Mort Zakarin to discuss these
changes. Passed 5-3 (Boggan, Carr, Miles against). This committee, Anderson, Boggan, and
Kennedy, with Fox observing, then left the main meeting to confer with Zakarin.
When Anderson, Boggan, Kennedy, and Fox returned, Boggan made the Motion: We
approve the Zakarin contract as modified on Aug. 3, 1975, with final wording to be
determined by our lawyer and his. Passed 7-1 (Miles against).
Mort and his partner Jules Rabin formed World Table Tennis,
Inc, and his contract with the USTTA appeared in Topics, Jan.-Feb.,
1976, 8; 34. [All E.C. contracts are expected to be shown in Topics.]
Harrisons Motion that Neal Fox be given authority for 1 year to
conduct a North American Inter-City Table Tennis League was passed
unanimously. The first such Team Championship
would be the Eastern Inter-City Regionals at New
Carrollton, MD. Jan. 31-Feb.1, 1976.
Financial accounting for the 1975 U.S.
Open was discussed. Total Sanction fee
Jules Rabin
$7601.63. Amount paid $2500. After deleting
bad checks, E.C. rooms, foreign hospitality,
etc., $3110 was still owed, of which $2300 is in
an account controlled by Miles. The Astrodomain
Corp. feels we owe them another $3000, for the Canadian TTAs share of
Jonyers plane fare. After hours of arguing, the following was proposed:
Harrison: we do not collect any more money from the Astrodomain Corp.
except for $345 for a Topics ad, but attempt to collect the outstanding debts from the Swedish
and Canadian TTAs [E.C. agreement that Canada owes $1800], and the bad checks, and that
131

we pay the Jamaican TTA $400 for air fares. Passed 4-2 (Anderson, Carr against)-3 (Disney,
Kennedy, Miles abstaining). Harrison moved: That the E.C. authorize $300 to provide
hospitality for Mr. Nomura, V.P. of the Japanese TTA during his visit to the U.S. Passed: 6-1
(Schiff against)-2 (Disney, Kennedy abstaining).
USTTA Coaching Chair Jeff Smart had planned on having a Coaching Seminar and
mini-clinics at an Astrodome facility just before the start of the U.S. Houston Open, but it
didnt seem he was getting much help, and I dont know if he was able to do anything like he
did last year. Regarding the return of Umpire fees due the players from this 5-star U.S. Open,
Director Ron Shirley says the Astrodomain Corporation hasnt even replied to his repeated
requests to release the money. Meanwhile, contact SportcraftStiga wants to sell its U.S.
Open barriers for $15 apiece; buy a number of them, and you might get them for less.
Carrs Motion: That the USTTA give $20 to each playing member of the U.S. Team to
the 1975 U.S. Open, this to be charged to the International Team Fund failed3 (Carr,
Miles, Schiff for the Motion)-5-1 (Disney abstaining). Boggans statement: In view of the fact
that this sum would come out of the I.T.F. fund, which is never sufficient to send players
abroad, I vote against this motion. This point of view was echoed by Anderson, Harrison.
Because of Fred Danners National Junior T.T. Foundation work, the USTTA is
planning to offer a $250 scholarship to both the Junior and Junior Miss Champion at the 1976
U.S. Open. Fred tells me in his Memoirs that, to further publicize his Junior Foundation, hed
turned Dell Sweeriss summary of an Ogimura Seminar into a 28-page booklet at a cost of
maybe $.25 and sold it for $1. Hes currently setting up a computer listing of all known school
table tennis clubs in the United States, and planning his National School Table Tennis Guide.*
Fred is a guy who follows through on his table tennis vision. Hed finally gotten the USTTA
recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organizationthis after two months of continuous
effort involving, as he said, approvals of 23 levels of bureaucrats in the IRS and U.S.
Treasury Department. Who else would have the patience, the determination to do that?
Selection Chair John Reads
Perry
sub-committee picked Perry
Schwartzberg
Schwartzberg to go to Japan Aug. 3
Photo by
Don Weems
to accept Butterflys Tamasus
coaching offer. Before he left, Ron
Shirleys friend Robert Henry,
accomplished in Oriental cooking,
introduced Schwartzberg to
Japanese food. No sooner did Perry
arrive in Tokyo than he got to see
the Japanese High School
Championships (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
1975, 4). There was Team and
Individual play60 boys teams, 60 girls teams, 1000 entrants in the High School Tournament,
all whittled down from thousands of regional applicants. Perry praised the tournament
conditions24 tables, separated in threes by very nice Butterfly and Nittaku barriers, great
lighting, and many aisles for players, coaches, camera men, etc. to walk by without disturbing
the players. A slightly sticky floor, but no problem because there were foot towels by each
table; no air-conditioning, but every few hours they stopped play and opened all the curtaincovered doors and windows. There were several identically dressed officials in every court.
132

Strange, but the coach and his team (about 8 players) were allowed to sit on the inside of the
playing area directly behind the players [they rhythmically clapped and cheered].Also
strange, the coaches were allowed to coach during a game. As expected, there was much
ritual bowing of players, coaches, court officials.
Among the players Perry mentions are Kawahigashi, Womens World # 10 in 1977, and
1980, 82, and 84 U.S. Open Womens Champion; Saito, Mens World #5 in 1983, and
Sakamoto, the Mens winner here, and World #41 in 1983 (if those 1975 players were the
same Saito and Sakamoto). Perry was struck by Inomatas unorthodox play. A penhold hitter
and blocker, he uses wood all the time. Most of the shakehands players were choppers. The
girls would hurry to chop or push with their backhands which were better for defense than
their forehands (30 years later the defenders would counter balls to their forehands). Perry,
very impressed with the Japanese footwork, concludes that the U.S. has a long way to go and
had better start getting table tennis into the schools. Or, I might add with Bengtsson, getting
students, the best table tennis prospects among them, out of the schools and over to Japan to
become world-class players.
1976 U.S. Open talk: Motion by Miles: We consider an offer from Miles and Vichnin:
If the 1976 U.S. Open meets performance standards to be determined by the E.C., that Miles
and Vichnin be allowed to run the 1977 and continuing U.S. Opens [forever?] in whatever
tournament region the E.C. designates. Passed 5-0-3 (Anderson, Carr, Harrison abstaining).
This vote means we consider such an offer. And, Dick, maybe some other bids?
Talk of a 1976 U.S. Closed continues. Portlands Tom Meade, for one, urges that a U.S.
Open and Closed be held separately. Tom says there should be a U.S. Champand that he should
be a citizen. For a Closed, Regional qualifying should take place, and entries in the various events
should be limited. Funds ought to be available for our Champions (Men, Women, Juniors) to travel
to different tournaments so people in all parts of the country can see them. Perhaps the USTTA
could help with prize money at these tournaments to attract the Champions.
Meades thoughts about Regional qualifying and a limited draw are echoed in
Recording Secretary Lou Bochenskis 2.9 Special Rules for the U.S. Closed Championships:
2.9.1. If there is no U.S. Closed in any tournament season, that seasons U.S.
Open may include the U.S. Mens Closed, U.S. Womens Closed, Boys U-17 Closed
and Girls U-17 Closed. To be eligible for these events, a player must be a U.S. citizen
or must have resided in the U.S. for at least two years immediately preceding the
tournament.
2.9.2. Regional Playoffs will determine those players eligible to play in the
events in Bylaw 2.9.1.The number of players from each region will be based on the %
of USTTA-ranked players from that region. However, each region will be allowed at
least 4 players in the Mens Singles, and at least 2 players in the other events.
2.9.3. If a region doesnt have a play-off, eligibility for the events in Bylaw
2.9.1 will be determined by the players current rating, as determined by the USTTA
Rating Committee.
2.9.4 The maximum draw for the Mens Singles will be 128; the maximum
draw for the Womens Singles, U-17 Boys Singles, and U-17 Girls Singles will be 64.
2.9.5. Any player ranked in the Top 10 of any of the categories in Bylaw 2.9.1
(previous seasons rankings) will automatically qualify to enter that event, without
participating in a regional play-off.
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Motion by Boggan: Provided funds are raised, Tim Boggan be appointed Captain of
the U.S. Team to the Scandinavian Openthis Team to consist of Dan Seemiller and one other
player. Boggan will attempt to raise funds for this Team and a Womens Team. Miless
counter Motion: Amend Boggans motion to fund Seemillers air fare, and any money raised
aside from that should be split three ways: for the other man, and for two women for a
Womens Team. Passed 4-2 (Bochenski, Harrison against). Motion as amended: Passed 5-0.
Harrison: Amend Motion to: USTTA will fund airfare for Dan Seemiller and one other young
man to the Scandinavian Open, and Boggan as Captain will attempt to raise funds for a
Womens Team. Passed 5-0. [The E.C. expects the players to remain in Europe at least 6
weeks, and the Selection Committee will consider the advice of the older top players not being
considered when choosing the other Team members. [In an Aug. 15 letter to Treasurer Carr,
Harrison suggests giving the two men a total of $3,000.] Anderson Motion: F. Roberts to be
the coach of the U.S. Team to the Scandinavian Open, at no cost to the USTTA. Passed 5-0.

Fuarnado Roberts

As you can see, Fuarnado Roberts was being taken seriously by the E.C. at this
Meeting. On July 14 (not Independence Day, July 4), hed become President of a newly
formed Players Associationwith Danny Seemiller, D-J Lee, George Brathwaite, Dave Sakai,
Tim Boggan, and others as fellow officers. On the weekend following this E.C. Meeting, they
held their own (an open) Meetingat Reismans N.Y.C. Club. Did I know what I was doing in
joining them, urging one and all to support them? I only knew for sure I wanted them as a
recognized felt force in the Sport. Disapproved of momentarily they might well be, but later
the five players I mentioned above would all be USTTA Hall of Famers.
As for Robbie, he was controversial, paradoxically revered and reviled. Was one of
those who loved the Sport, and, if he had to, would beg, borrow, or steal to keep playing it
seriously. Withal, he had character, substance, and his own individual brand of integrity. One of
his typically rhetorical articles (weve seen them beforehe always wants to communicate his
emotions, and tailors, sometimes not very well, his reasons to fit them)is his From Wuss To
Wussah (TTT, July-Aug., 1975, 4; 24). It magnifies the criticisms that Danny Seemiller and
others were saying by stating bluntly that the E.C. wont do what is necessary to build the
players and the Sport in this country. Men and Women (just looked upon as girls with pretty
legs and cute faces), and Juniors too, need E.C. supportand if they wont provide it, a
better Association [Players Association] can be formed. He says that at the Houston U.S.
Open, the 9th-seeded Seemiller, along with Brathwaite (who, if hed have beaten Stipancic,
would have played Danny), got the worst draw any U.S.A. representative of sports ever got
in the world [sic]. He asks, Was this outrage deliberate? He praises Seemiller as a proud,
subtle player [who] has got the potentialthe mind, the health, the drive, and the reason for
wanting to be the greatest. All he needs is a little assistance. Without an effort on Robbies
part, says Robbie, Wide World of Sports probably wouldnt have interviewed Danny.
134

Fuarnado also chastises the E.C. for dropping

Tannehill off the 1972 Chinese Tour of the U.S. (readers
of Vol. V can judge for themselves whether that was
justified). Robbie, wanting to ward off Seemiller following
in Tannehills disappearing footsteps, warns, We cant
have another player of such stature quit the Game on
account of the governing bodys illness. Fuarnado takes
shots at Mal Anderson and Mals fellow E.C. member
Rufford Harrison whom he claims made derogatory
remarks that the foreign teams [at the U.S. Open] found
appalling and which Tim Boggan became furious over
though he doesnt tell us what they were.
These comments from Roberts, as expected, draw
intense criticism in Topics. Heres Floridas Joe Purnell
(TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 26):

John Tannehill
Photo by Mal Anderson

I wish the level of writing in Topics was of a higher level and perhaps more
impersonal. I am interested in playing and promoting the sport, not in personality
clashes. The foul language used seeps through to the playing area of the clubs and is
detrimental to the appeal of Table Tennis for participants who want an atmosphere not
only free of tobacco smoke but of mental pollution as well.
And here, adjacent to Purnells Letter to the Editor is another
by L.A.s Greg Allen whos foully repulsed by Roberts continual
complaints:
Fuarnado Bitcher Roberts.Why is he so paranoid
about the USTTA and its executives?
Bitcher, you ran for a USTTA office and lost badly. Doesnt
that tell you anything? If you and a few other prima donnas cant get
along with the USTTA, why dont you get out altogetheryou
Fuarnado Roberts
wont be missed!
Photo by Don Gunn
More credit to the USTTA executives who are preventing
Bitcher and a few like him from draining the USTTA funds to benefit only a handful of
players. These funds were obtained from every USTTA member to benefit ALL
players, not just a few inconsiderate, selfish ones like Bitcher.
Roberts felt that the above article was libelous, and that both the writer and Editor Boggan
exhibited caddish behavior. This in turn brought another response critical of Fuarnado:
Why [says San Franciscos Ken Wong] does Fuarnado feel free to make
derogatory remarks about other individuals in his lengthy tirades but yet believes he
should be exempted from public criticism?...
I note Fuarnado offers us a multiple choice to explain why Tim Boggan
published the article. Among the choices were white mail, deliberate ostracism,
ridicule.Nowhere do I find unbiased editorship as a possible reason.
135

Instead of criticizing Mr. Boggan, Fuarnado should be grateful for receiving so

much free publicity for his so-called Players Association.
Come, Fuarnado, get the chip off your shoulder and get into the mainstream
again. Its not your color, its your attitude that turns a lot of people off.
Roberts also wrote:
Charley Disney, our president, told the Swedes he was too tired to talk with
them and the Swedes told him they had just traveled thousands of miles at the
Associations request, so Talk now. Well, he passed them up and down after that and
never spoke a word to themonly looked off. Plus there was a pool incident, totally
involving people from Minnesota, where our president was in the swimming pool
intentionally. Totally wrong (considering his suit cost over $400?).The Association
was asked to reimburse him for said suit.
Although Charlie did not reply to this paragraph in Topics, or to me personally, he did want
an explanation as to why I, as Editor, allowed it to be printed. I said I allowed it on the same
principle as, resisting sanitation, Id allowed Sol Schiff to say absurdly that my administration was
the worst in the history of the USTTA. Whether Roberts talked with the
Swedes about Charlies attitude toward them, I dont know. It would seem
he did. Charlie could contradict Roberts if he feels hes not been represented
fairly. As Editor, I allowed any serious voice to be heardand theres no
doubt that Roberts is serious, cares passionately about the Sport that hes
given so much of his life to. If what he says is untrue or out of line, Id
expect others to say so, and in fact they do. Editor Boggan obviously likes
gossip, drama, as most people do, but sometimes, it may well be, hes too
loose with it. He wants to air Dirty Laundry. But perhaps he wants too
much out in the openincluding Roberts own sometimes caddish
Tim Boggan
behavior. Editor Boggans central credo is: he doesnt want the magazine
to be dull. He always weighs this against what he can include, what he cant. Some would say
printing this Disney paragraph is an example of where he didnt use good judgment.**
SELECTED NOTES.
*When this Guide comes out in 1976, it will run 144 pages and have a printing of
2,300 copies. Fred will say later that sales of the book raised over $3,000 for the Junior
Foundation. Moreover, qualified teachers received the Guide free, and it became a formal
text in six U.S. universities.
**Only recently did I hear Mal Andersons take on the pool incident involving Charlie
Disney. The U.S. Open had just endedit was around 2 oclock this May 26 morning when
Charlie strolled to the pool
The pool was closed to swimming at that time, but this hadnt stopped TT
people from using it on previous nights. By the time Charlie got there, Alice Green,
Pam Ramsey, and Pat Crowley had already been thrown into the poolCharlie was
next. Then a house detective came along, investigating this use of the pool after closing
time. In he went too. When he complained to Charlie, he was told, Im the President
of the USTTA, and they threw me in.
136

Chapter Nine
1975: Charlie Wuvanich Winner at $3,000 Del Webb Townehouse Invitational.
1975: Max Marinko Dies. 1975: Insook Na/Dan Seemiller Top CNE. 1975: Zlatko Cordas/
Barb Taschner Best at $3,000 Nissen Open.
Stan Moyer gives us the write-up (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 19) for the
Del Webb Townehouse Hotel tournament, held Aug. 8-10 in Phoenix. Why
this 3-day $3,000 tournament had only 57 entries, not nearly as many as the
Arizona Open draws, I dont know. Stan says, Apparently in this part of the
country money is not a major attraction. Huh? Did the Bs, Cs, Ds, where
the bulk of the entries usually come from, offer any enticing prize money, any
prize money at all?
Understandably, the Phoenix sponsors were irritated that theyd received a number of
entries, especially from players out East, that were not accompanied with the requisite entry
fees (in this case, $60 to play in Mens Singles, Mens Doubles, and Class A). So they decided
very privately not to consider them. The would-be entries non-compliance just made extra
follow-up work, and almost certainly they wouldnt come anyway. So who needed them? A
not unreasonable point of view, but one which I didnt think gave off good vibes. First and last
year for this Townehouse tournament?
One of those entries was from Zlatko Cordas, who, as
anyone running a $3,000 tournament must know, is again this year
the Canadian National Coach and who before he left Belgrade for
Toronto in 1974 was a world-ranked player. To Zlatko it wasnt
that important when or even whether the Canadian Association
would pay for his entry or he wouldhed never had any
difficulty sending in an entry without a check before. The
tournament was still a month awayif there were any problem
surely it could easily be resolvedand so off he went on one of
his coaching trips to Saskatchewan or someplace.
But when, a few days before the Phoenix tournament was
to start, hed returned to Toronto and found hed not received any
confirmation, any note of direction, any offer to meet him at the
airport to make him feel welcome, he thought hed better call
Phoenix. No, the Tournament Chairman told him, almost as if he
were quite pleased about it, Cordas was not entered and would
not be entered in the tournament because he hadnt sent in his
Zlatko Cordas
check. What Zlatko wondered, would have happened had he not
called and just got on a plane for Arizona?
I got even worse treatment. I wanted to go to this Phoenix tournament for the fun of
playing of coursebut mostly because after giving so much of myself to the Game over the
years and putting myself $10,000 in debt, I kept hoping to see U.S. table tennis rise up out of
its desert ashes. I was convinced that were at least beginning to see, if not yet that fabled table
tennis bird on the wing, at least the outline of its resurrection taking shapeforming the
money circuit that will visualize the sport, that will let it take off in this country. Hence I felt it
was my duty to support such tournaments as this one in Phoenix to the exclusion of others,
137

including the USOTCs where, without prize money, there is just no point in any good player
attending.
So I wrote to the Tournament Chairman that the night flight to Phoenix would cost me
$250 and asked that, if I came, could he and his Committee waive the entry fees for me and
provide me with a room at the Del Webb Townehouse that I thought might well be sitting
there vacant if I didnt come? In return, Id do the best story for Topics I could on the
tournament, play as well as I could for the spectators, and, if the Committee wanted, would do
interviews on radio or TV.
I could understand any position the Tournament Committee might take in regard to my
offerany position but one. The one position I could not understand, any more than could
Cordas, was, sure enough, the one they took. And that was (in this advertised coolest
tournament of the summer)silence. Like I didnt exist. Like Cordas didnt exist. That
wasnt cool, that was frigid.
Youd think Charlie Wuvanich and the Seemiller brothers would be an attraction
anyplace, especially at a tournament where they were strangers to many locals. But I guess,
with 150 highly enthusiastic spectators watching their semifinal final round robin, there was
interest enough. The 4th player for the Open Singles bucks was Dean Galardibut he couldnt
win a game. His best chance was against Ricky. Deanos style is to attack service. But faced
with terrific sidespin off most of Rickys serves, he was often forced to gingerly push returns.
Looking tormented, Galardi had shouted to himself, It takes a game to get used to his
serves! Actually, make that three gamesbut if he could have won that last one from 22all.Turned out that Ricky couldnt challenge brother Danny or Charlie any more than Dean
could. Dannys close-to-the-net play was markedly superior, and Charlie mounted a
spectacular attack against himblocks, loops, serves.
The climactic match, however, was, especially for a time, well contested. With Danny
having won the 1st at 19, and up 19-14 in the 2nd, it looked like hed prevail. But at that point
the explosive Wuvanichs fierce hitting game regained its virility. An acrobatic defense
rescued him from Dannys usual block placements and, given the opportunity for a smash, his
hits had tremendous speed. After that, the best Danny
could do was a -15, -18 finish.
Other results: Championship Doubles:
Seemillers over Ray Guillen/Russ Thompson. 3rd:
Wuvanich/John Soderberg. Did Guillen play Singles?
If so, he didnt make the $50 quarters with
Soderberg, John Harrington, Roger Yee, and 1975
U.S. Open Class B Champ Al Everett. If not, why not?
As: Everett ($200) over Soderberg. A Doubles:
Everett/Al Martz ($100) over Harrington/Bill Guerin
in 5, then over John and Jerry Soderberg whod
eliminated Jim DeMet/Shebaro, deuce in the 4th. Bs:
Jerry Soderberg over Andy Yu whod struggled by
Warren Livingston in 5. Cs: Harold Kopper over Jerry
Soderberg. Ds: Jim Boatman over Neil Christensen.
Esquires: Gene Wilson over Thompson. Seniors: 47year-old defensive specialist Dr. Helmuth Vorherr over
Wilson.
Harold Kopper
138

139

140

During the Aug. 28-31, 1975 Toronto CNE Mal Anderson

reports (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 3; 14) that a number of us left the
tournament to go to Max Marinkos funeral. He died after a
courageous battle with cancer at the age of 58and this after
having won the Esquires at the Houston U.S. Open just months
before! Yeah, he was tough. Mal said, The church was
overflowing, people were standing in the aisles. Max was one of the
nicest people in the game, he will be missed.
Ive followed Maxs career, beginning in Vol. I (in 1936 he
became the Yugoslav Champion, and in 1937 he had a Swaythling
Cup win, 21-7 in the deciding 3rd, over that years World Champion
Richard Bergmann). Many of my readers know that Max, a penholder wielding an over-sized
bat, played internationally for his native Yugoslavia (and won a silver medal in the Teams at
the 39 Cairo Worldsthats when he and his teammates saw the Sphinx and the Pyramids).
Know, too, that he helped Czechoslovakia win two World Team titles (in 48 and 50), and
that finally he played for Canada (where from 1955-1963 he was their 8-time National
Champion).
Maxs great love for table tennis Ive noted in tournament after tournament, so I
thought Id show you another side of him, what he did for a living, so I reproduce the tribute
to him (TTT, Sept.-Oct, 1975, 6) from his colleague, Hugh MacDonald, at the Toronto
Harbord Collegiate Institute where Max taught Latin. I also reproduce the poem I wrote in
homage to Max (7), and though some readers thought poetry had no place in Topics, Im
pleased to say not only that I liked it, but that Maxs wife Jenny, herself a Canadian National
Champion, called me, crying, to tell me how much she liked it.
CNE: Junior Team Matches

Faan Hoan Liu, Faan Yeen Liu, Kurt Lloyd

Photos by Mal Anderson

The Thursday Junior Invitational Team event at the CNE was won by IllinoisMichiganFaan Hoan Liu, his sister Faan Yeen, and Kurt Lloyd. They beat, first, the
Pennsylvania team of Bruce Plotnick, Randy Seemiller, and, though they didnt have the
141

requisite girl for their three-person team, they soon were provided with Ottawas Lesley
Marsham. Faan Yeen, however, was too strongwon her singles and mixed match, and that
decided that semis tie. In the final, Illinois-Michigan stopped New YorkRutledge Barry,
Carl Danner, and Dana Gvildys.
Ray Seemiller enjoyed
his first ever stint as U.S. Team
Captain and brought home a 5-3
winner for our Junior Men. Of
course, Barry, Bruce Plotnick,
John Soderberg (though sick the
night before), and team-member
Danner as Coach helped. Of the
CanadiansEddy Lo, Pierre
Normandin, Marc Lesiege
only Lo could score. Ray said
hed never seen him play better.
Our Junior Women, as
Team Captain Rufford Harrison
put it, were hopelessly
outclassed. Canadians Birute
Eddy Lo and friend
Plucas, Christine Forgo, and
Photo by Mal Anderson
Gloria Nesukaitis were far
above Faan Yeen and Dana in
rating points, in having been well coached, and in having played against varied styles.
CNE: Womens Team Matches
Womens Team Captain Fred Danner reluctantly bypassed his #3, Barb Taschner, in
both singles and doubles, to rely on Insook Na and Alice Green Sonne (pronounced Sonyon
July 5th shed married Lennie, a resident doctor at N.Y.s King County Hospital), and they
came through, 3-1, against the Canadians. It was our first Womens Team victory since 1971.
The intensity of spin on Insooks chops and her strong forehand drives prevented
Violetta [Nesukaitis] from making effective returns, so the U.S. was off to a 6, 17 lead. But
former Yugoslav ace Irena Cordas, Canadian Coach Zlatkos wife, largely on the strength of
her serves, evened the match with an 18, 17 win over Alice.
That made the doubles key. In the 1st game, the Canadian pair, Cordas and Mariann
Domonkos, were able to topspin and kill several shots through both Alice and Insook, thus
forcing returns which were either high and short, or deep off the table. In the 2nd game,
Danner instructed Alice to play defensive shots, as softly as possible, into Mariann, while
Insook was to try to force Irena Cordas to move as far as possible to make each shot. Both
players were to hit at every good opportunity but not to force an attack shot without good
position. The idea was for our players to reduce the severity of the Canadian attack and
give themselves more time to play their returns. This strategy was successful: Alice caused
Mariann to over-stroke her forehand and miss several points, and Insook, moving Irena,
prevented strong loops or topspin shots to Alice. In the 3rd, Insooks heavy chop spins,
and especially Alices angle play to Irena and then soft-shot play to Mariann easily won the
day. Insook finished off Irena for the four-match U.S. win.
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Danny Seemiller (L) on his way to defeating Zlatko Cordas to win the Mens at the CNE in Toronto
Photo by Mal Anderson

CNE: Mens Team Matches

Captain Bill Sharpe had to select his U.S. Mens Team against the Canadians from a 5man squadDanny Seemiller, Lim Ming Chui, George Brathwaite, Ricky Seemiller, and Dave
Philip. He picked Danny, Ming, and Georgebut George had been mistakenly told the wrong
time for the Tie, and so Ricky was substituted in his place. Canada left out Alan Heap and
went with Cordas, Errol Caetano, and Alex Polisois.
First up: Chui against Cordas. Ming had not been playing much of late, he mis-hit ball
after ball, and otherwise could not out-exchange Cordas. Next: Ricky against Errol. In the
deciding 3rd, Caetano spun and hit well, but Seemillers blocks were quite controlled. Rickys
forehand serves continued to give Errol real problems, especially whenever Ricky served
from his extreme left to Errols left side. It was Caetanos inability to handle these serves that
allowed Seemiller to upset him. Tie 1-1.
Danny had an easy time with Polisoisspinning strong and placing his blocks well off
Alexs loops. Caetano, however, tied up Chui with a slow-down type of game so that Ming
had no opportunity to make those quick-placed blocks. Against Danny, Zlatko was topspinning and blocking Dannys spin very well. And he seemed to know just when to hit or spin
himself. But at deuce Seemillers better physical condition prevailed, and after that Danny had
no trouble. But then the Tie evened up again when Rick allowed Alex to play the loop against
loop kind of match he enjoys, and Rick could not gain control. 3-3.
Despite the fact that Cordas had been trying to teach Caetano to concentrate better,
Errol could not get into it against Danny. When Polisois made the mistake of speeding up his
play against Chui, Mings fast, angled blocks did him inand the U.S. came out a 5-3 winner.
CNE: Individual Results
Mal Anderson, covering the Individual matches for Topics, tells us that in the Mens
final Danny Seemiller downed Zlatko Cordas in 5with only the 3rd game being close. Zlatko
looped with his forehand and hit off both sides. Dan countered and blocked and hit once in a
whileboth men moved very quickly. In the pivotal 3rd game, Dan was down 19-17 with
Zlatko serving. The final point was a Seemiller block that hit the middle of the net and
somehow climbed overgame 21-19 to Dan. In the one semis, Seemiller beat Caetano 17,
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-20, 19, 19, with Errol running and looping, and

Danny blocking and occasionally stepping around to
Carl
loop kill one himself. In the other semis, Cordas
Danner
blanked ChuiMing said that Zlatkos control was
so good he was forced to hit while running.
Notable Mens matches: Barry over both
Ricky Seemiller, -12, 19, 20, -19, 13, and Frank
Watson, 16, -10, 14, -11, 14, before losing in 4 to
Chui. Sharpe over Canadas Alan Heap, 21-4 in the
5th. Eddy Lo over Mike Veillette, 17, -20, 17, -19, 15.
And Carl Danner over Jim Dixon, -17, -15, 15, 21,
19, a gutsy win that helped bring the 17-year-old into
more prominence, specifically as the Nov.-Dec., 1975
Topics Junior of the Month. In a strange bit of
whimsy, Editor Boggan suggested Carl himself
ghost this Junior article under Boggans by-linewhich he did, calling immediate attention
to himself as a sort of Topics sub-editor, real or imagined. As I noted earlier, Carl went 5 with
Pradit at the Miami Newgys tournament, and now two weeks later had upset Dixon, so we
can see hes playing well. In order to see what else hes doing well, read this excerpt:
Scholastically, Carl has distinguished himself. Hes a National Merit
Scholarship semifinalist, is in the top of 1% of students in the nation, and has been
scheduled to appear in this years Whos Who of American High School students. As a
senior at Long Islands Huntington High, Carl is studying college physics and math,
having last year gone through university-level chemistry with high honors. French is
another subject hed like to academically pursue but cant at the moment, having
worked through his schools program a year early.

Insook Na (R) CNE Womens winner over Irina Cordas.

Photo by Mal Anderson

The CNE Womens event was won by Na over Cordas in 4. Irena looped and hit,
often catching Insook leaning the wrong way, and so won the 1st. But then Insook moved
much better, chopped, and hit off both sides to 13, 17, 19 take the title. In the semis against
144

Na, Violetta couldnt get to double figures in any of the three games,
and one had to think that her illustrious career (10 Canadian Closed
Championships in the last 11 years) was about to end. Mariann
Domonkos, thought her successor, played only in the Canada vs. U.S.
Team Match because she was supporting her fellow Quebec players
who didnt come to the tournament. Mal said there were two reasons
for this: either they were protesting against the playing conditions, or
their Quebec doctor said they shouldnt play on a cement floor.
Alice Sonne, however, indicated that, though she planned to
continue going for her Masters in History at New Yorks Columbia
University, she also planned to continue her table tennis career. She won a
5-game quarters match from Rupa Bannerjee, controlling the ball
beautifully, attacking well, and not giving Rupa much chance to use her
excellent forehand kill. Then she put up fierce resistance in losing -19, -15,
24, -22 to Cordasmaking a fantastic comeback in the 3rd from 20-15
down. To end the 4th, Irena scored on some clutch forehands of her own.
Other Results: Mens Doubles: Cordas/Caetano over the
Seemillers, deuce in the 4th (Errol looks like Dell Sweeris in
Doubleslots of spins and counterdrives with excellent angles).
Womens Doubles: Na/Tischner over
Cordas/Flora Nesukaitis, 15, -20, 22, 10,
Not many more of
then over Banerjee/Gloria Hsu. Mixed
these big buck days for
Violetta.
Doubles: Caetano/Cordas over Dan
Seemiller/Sonne (Errol said he has to work
too hard when he plays Mixed Doubles with Violettashe chops.
That means he has to play defense, too, so he intends to play with
hitters from now onanother indication that Violetta might be
ready to call it quits). Mens As: Barry over Plotnick Womens As:
Flora Nesukaitis over Gaeta OGale. Esquires: George Rocker over
Lou Radzeli, then Bill Hornyak, both 17 in the 5th. Seniors: Derek
Wall over Ken Kerr. Boys U-17: Lo over Plotnick in 5, then over
Mike Stern. Girls U-17: Birute Plucas over Gloria Nesukaitis. Boys
U-15: Barry over Ray Reichert in 5, then over Liu. Girls U-15: Lisa
Airst over Gloria Nesukaitis in 5. Boys U-13: Jeff Williams over Joe
Eng (later Ng), destined to be a Canadian superstar. Girls U-13:
Becky McKnight over Ramona Raguckas.
Becky McKnight

$3,000 Nissen Open

Houshang Bozorgzadeh, who very soon would be in a
hospital undergoing surgery for a ruptured disc, didnt win the
Mens Singles at this first annual $2,000 Nissen Open, held
Sept. 6-7 at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But,
doctors orders be damned, he did what at the moment seemed
the next best thing: he paired with the eventual Singles winner,
Yugoslav International Zlatko Cordas, to down some formidable
opposition and take the Mens Doubles.
145

Houshang Bozorgzadeh

Of course even before the action started, Houshang had an even bigger success with
sponsor-partner George Nissen who was soon to bounce nattily in from one of the many
trampoline tournaments he and his gymnast daughter were into (this time it was the Eterna
in Switzerland). Houshang and George, working together, through personal contact with a
number of players and officials, showed themselves eager to make arrangements that would
ensure the success of this initial tournament. Bozorgzadeh, a proud, passionate player all his
life, and Nissen, an international competitor from way back, know how to give off good vibes,
know how to make players want to come to their Openwhereas some other sponsors do
not. Here, where Houshang was directing the tournament, you always heard and felt a voice
speaking not only to you but to each individual.
In the beginning, round robin matches were
Mike Baber
held to determine whether you would play in the
Championship, A, or B Singles. It was hoped, the
appealing Houshang announced, that everybody
will play honest and try as hard as he can.
Kalamazoos Mike Baber was unhappy, though,
because hed come 400 miles to play five 1400
players and then, advancing to the Championship
division, would catch Wuvanich in the 1st round.
The formats ridiculous, he said. I dont have any
chance for rating points. Its absolutely ridiculous. I
feel like dumping a match to get into the As. At
least Id have some kind of competition there. But
Mike didnt throw a preliminary match (and 32 rating points), played Wuvanich and lost 3-0,
and, since he wasnt eligible any more for the Juniors, went without any consolation home.
Now that he was getting older and better, was there no satisfying, not to say enjoyable, place
for him in the game? That U-21 event Bochenski had spoken ofwould that be incorporated
into tournaments?
Junior play there was. In the U-13s, U.S. U-11 Champ John Stillions beat Minneapolis
whiz kid, 9-year-old Brandon Olson. Actually, Brandon lives 10 miles or more from Magoos,
but hed been coming in faithfully twice a week for two hours at a stretch (which still left him
some time for another passion, ice hockey). His non-playing father and mother had always
accompanied and encouraged him and gradually he got a lot better. It also really helped him to
be in Wuvanichs three training clinics this summerseven times a week he played, three
hours a session, a month at a time. Whew! Someone told me that if you talked when you were
supposed to be practicing at Wuvanichs training camp you had to do 50 push-ups. Tough for
a 9-year-old to keep quiet?
Young Stillions, wholl be 12 in April, is in the 6th grade and generally plays about two
hours a daythough some days, he says, he plays all day and other days he doesnt play at all.
In fact, if the truth be known, he has quite a few other interests. He goes skating (mostly to
play the pinball machines), and is into coin collectingpennies, of course, because he also
likes to play poker. My friends dad is a real collector, he says. He collects 17th century U.S.
coins. Theyre probably worth at least a $1,000 apiece.
Stock car racing is funbut his mom thinks hell get too tired. I dont get that,
though. Hes just watching, isnt he? Or has he got goggles on? Is behind a steering wheel? A
frisbeenow thats something he can really handle. You didnt know? He was a recent finalist
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in a city-wide Frisbee contest. Yeah, he can catch it behind his back, through his
legs. My cousin is a champ, he says. You should see him. He can juggle four
frisbees. When Johnny wasnt playing a match here, he was still very near a
table. Bring me back something to eat, will you? I
want to watch.
The U-17 Junior winner, John Soderberg,
its hard to believe, was once a child. Now hes
going to a Catholic Military Academy where hes
studying the History of the Church. Morning after
morning he and his look-alikes march by with their
guns, then uniformly go to religion class. Its the
John Soderberg
best academic program available, he said, sounding
and his mother,
like a High School Ciceroor the equally ironic
Marlys
W.C. Fields, whose Just War was always with
babies. John was the kind of student (Im not
worrying. Im going to stay up and study all Sunday night) who could do no less than win the
$100 As here. One of his opponents was Steve Isaacson who hadnt touched a racket in years.
Barbara Taschner was the Womens winner of
the Stillions Trophy. Shes out of school now and
working as a secretary to not one manager but three at a
pharmaceutical company called Abbot Laboratories.
Pills? Oh, yes, she saidyou name them, we got
them. And, silly me, I wanted to know how shed been
winning tournaments? Oh, no, she said. Theyve very
good scrutiny where I work. Everyone asks me for pills,
but, really, I cant get them. So how had Barb gotten
good? By watching men, she said. A transition which,
if ever I needed one, now leads me to the Open Singles
and the most significant matches of the tournament.
In the quarters, Danny Seemiller, fresh from his
triumph the week before at the CNE Open in Toronto,
suddenly had his future here in this tournament in doubt.
He was having trouble not only with multi-time Thailand
Champ Chan but the brand new ball and table they were
using. The soft ball wasnt coming out, didnt bounce
Barbara Taschner
the table was still too grabby. Up 2-1 and up 19-17 in
Photo by Houshang Bozorgzadeh
the 4th, Danny had missed two of Chans crucial high-up
serves. Thered been lots of spin on them and Chan threatened to follow up well. That brought
the two of them into the 5th where they were tied at 14-all. But now Chan failed to return
serve. Danny won the next point with fast corner to corner placements, and then got a net.
After that Chan never earned a point. He seemed to want to win so badly, Danny said later.
You know he really needs the money. That extra pressure on himI thought I could see it in
his facegave me confidence.
Maybe Danny himself was finding it difficult to stay mentally up. In the last three
weeks hed trekked 6,000 table tennis miles.Little Rock, Salt Lake City, Phoenixand then
the 1700 non-stop miles home to get there in time for his clinic. With all that frantic driving no
147

wonder hed blown an engine. Hed have to be careful, huh? Take time out every once in a
while to relax. But when? There was Niagara Falls, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and
the start of the Pro Tour on Long Island, then he was immediately off to Yugoslavia and
Sweden.
No chance for Houshang in his quarters against Cordas. He had the responsibility of
running the tournament, and worse, much worse, hed injured his back by picking up of all
things a too heavy watermelon and so had been sleeping on a hardwood floor for the past
three weeks. It had been hard on his wife too.
A number of us watching the one-sided Houshang-Zlatko match talked of seeing the
ABC telecast of the Houston Nationals. Where were the U.S. players? A shot of Miles
playing, but not one of Danny or Insook. I myself objected to the ignorant, bullshit lines, Tell
me, Dick, do you think any really good player in this countrylike a recreational director,
saycould take even a point from these guys? Or Say, Dick, those fellows are really
perspiring out there. Such remarks were disgusting to me. And yet I thought it was the best
telecast ABC had ever done.
In another quarters match, Fuarnado Roberts stopped gathering names for his Players
Association roster long enough to get out there and scare Wuvanich. Down 2-1, Charlie was
having trouble hitting Robbies hard chops. But then, making an adjustment, he drops more,
and slow spins from the forehand, forcing Robbie, lest his return be weak, not only to hit that
ball but be prepared for a counter-kill. At the start of the 5th, Robbie maneuvers beautifully to
get one open table forehand shot after another but again and again just misses it, and so loses
the match.
In the last of the quarters, Ricky Seemiller beat Chui 3-0. It was obvious that with his
new job and the hassle of getting his family settled somewhere in the table tennis wilds of
Vermont he was out of practice.
Ricky did have an exciting match in the 8ths, though, against the Thai Sears who they
say runs 10 miles every day. Though Ricky was still feelin good from his win over Caetano in
the CNE U.S. vs.
Canada Team Tie, he
insisted hed been
getting stiff and scared
in close matches ever
since hed lost to Herb
Vichnin in Philadelphia
some months ago (a
trauma I wouldnt wish
on anyone). Here,
however, he managed to
win a key, come-frombehind 24-22 game
against Sears. Ricky had
been worried about the
young Thais serve and
follow until he finally
realized that he should
Ricky Seemiller. Umpire is Hank Widdick.
try to receive the ball
Photo by Houshang Bozorgzadeh
148

with his anti side and just roll it back. Therefter he was always in the point. Up 9-2 in the 5th,
he was 13-12 down, then 17-13 up. Such heady swingsas if Ricky didnt always use his
head. Once when he had Sears back at the barrier lobbing, Ricky, just as persistently, began
trying to kill the balluntil of course he missed. S-T-U-P-I-D! he yelled. Finally, after he
won, he said the match was very important to him because he wanted to make a good
impression on John Read, not to say his Selection Committee, so that hed be picked to go to
Europe in November with Danny.
In the round robin semis, Ricky opened against Charlie and lost the 1st. In the 2nd,
Danny kept yelling at Ricky to stop making errors. You werent ready for that serve. Make
him wait till youre ready! Still, Ricky was up 19-16 when, crazy, he unbelievably missed
three of Wuvanichs serves. You fool! You stupid fool! he yelled and looked at Danny. Was
Ricky even trying to win the point? Danny thought. But Ricky had the ad. Despite the fact
that Danny had been yelling at him to serve short, Ricky served longand lost the ad. Given
another chance he served longand lost the game. Danny was really furious. You totally
threw that game away, he said as Ricky came over for some quick advice. You gotta
____ing learn, man! Wheres your ____ing head? Ricky, looking properly chagrined, went
back to the table and again played end-game close. But then the compressed Wuvanich (he
does 400 sit-ups a day?) twice unwound in a spectacular smash of a finishand the match was
over.
Danny knew that
Zlatko would be here
in Cedar Rapids.
Man, was he mad in
Toronto, said Danny.
I beat him before all
those Canadians.
(And where, by the
way, was Caetano? At
Peter Gondas
wedding. You
remember, they used
to be doubles
partners.) The
Seemiller-Cordas
match went 5 games.
Zlatko had won the
big deuce 3rd game,
had let out a roar, and
Danny had thrown up
his racket. In the 4th,
Zlatko Cordas (L), in winning the Nissen Open
Seemiller followed the
over Danny Seemiller, avenges his CNE loss.
advice Roberts and
Photo by Houshang Bozorgzadeh
others had given him:
serve short spin to Cordass backhand and then, by playing him more to his center and
forehand, catch him in the middle. In the 5th, with Danny down 13-10, Robbie shouted,
Cmon, youre not in the game! And it was true. Danny was just not being aggressive
149

enough. At 14-10 there was a beautiful exchangewhich Danny lost. Aahhh! he said. And it
was all over. This time Zlatko had out-placed, out-counteredout-played Danny.
Danny has a good service and a good fast loop, Cordas was saying later. But when the
ball gets into play, Dannys forehand is too soft. Hes got to change his footworkmove in
more. Kill any sort of high ball while hes got the chance. What Danny really needs, says
Zlatko, is a first-class professional coach. Trouble is, who knows more than Danny about how
to get the most out of his peculiar grip, his unique strokes?
Well, if Danny cant beat Cordas, how can Ricky? He too of course has that forefinger
hooked round the corner of the bladeand a special marking on his racket that enables him to
feel without looking which side has the anti. He dutifully plays to Cordass center and
forehand. As a result in one of the three games he loses, hes down 10-1.But why talk about it?
Or Ricky versus Danny?
O.K., Charlie against Danny. In the 1st, Seemillers not aggressive enoughis flatfooted, is blocking too much. In the 2nd, Danny still looks lazy, but Wuvanich cant win it. In
the 3rd, at 10-all, Dannys pushing rather than stroking his forehand. God, he says, you cant
make all these errors and still win! Only in the last part of the game Danny doesnt make any
errorsgoes up 2-1. Play like this is the 5th, says Danny, but the only time he puts together
some points in the 4th is when hes 20-11 too far gone. In the 5th, Wuvanich, attacking, is up
14-9. Then Danny loses a paddle point and exasperated throws his racket high into the air.
Down 16-10 he says, Dammit! and wins 6 in a row. Down 18-17, Dannys got the serve
and scores on a beautiful 3rd ball follow. Ahead 19-18, Danny pushes Charlies return of serve
off the table. But then, up 20-19, he screams, Yeah! Everybody in his entourage is yelling,
Go for your towel! But Wuvanich hasnt once stalled for time so now neither does
Danny.Charlies adDannys ad. Then, as luck would have it, Danny misses a shotbut
the ball hits Charlies wrist. Umpire Gus Kennedy of Magoos hesitates, then calls Seemiller a
winner on the racket rule.
The winner of the Cordas-Wuvanich match gets $500; the loser $100 for 3rd. Charlie,
down 17-12 in the 1st, rallies to win it 23-21. Hes giving Zlatko those high-up loaded serves,
but its not just returning them that worries Zlatko, its what Wuvanich will wind up and do
next with his racket arm in total extension. But on into the 5th they go. Charlie is hurrying after
the ball as if hes got an unlimited amount of energy. Hes up 10-5 at the turn. But Wuvanichs
play is loose, and now with every point he wins Zlatko shakes his fist. At 16-all, Cordas goes
for his towel. At 17-all Wuvanich goes for his towelChan is conveniently holding it for him
at the barrier. Suddenly the match seems to hang on a single unbelievable return Cordas makes
of a Wuvanich kill. Later, Zlatko said that when he saw Charlie was going to all-out smash the
ball he knew his only chance was not just to stick out his bat and simply block the ball back
(because Charlie would put the next ball away), but to bring the racket straight down in a
chop/block that might miraculously carom the ball back.
After Wuvanich had lost, the consensus was that he hadnt played very smart when he
was ahead. Some said he seemed only to want to hit the ball hardand diagonally, never to
the middle. Others said he was smart enoughbut too proud. Too anxious to prove that he
was clearly the best player in all of North America.
What did Charlie himself say? Nothing specifically about the match. But he was
worried about his future in the Sport. Because if hes gonna play in more money tournaments
hes got to practice, right? And yet if he practices, instead of coaching or giving exhibitions,
hows he gonna make a living?
150

Chapter Ten
1975: Fall Tournaments.
Since the Paddle Palace had publicized its Benihana Open for
Nov. 8-9, it was pleased (see the Canadian TTA News, March, 1976,
12) that the Hungarian Memorial Open at Vancouvers 5-table Douglas Park
Club had not been scheduled for that same weekend. In a spirit of cooperation the
Portlanders announced their intention of busing a group up to play in this Vancouver
tournament. But then the British Columbia TTA did the unthinkablechanged this Hungarian
Open to Nov. 8-9. Very disappointingwhy they do this?
The unsigned BC write-up stressed the Mens near-midnight
final between Zoltan Zollie Pataky and Peter Joe whod 19, -21,
18 eliminated Phil Cheng in the semis. Strategy was important in
this match. Had Zoltan steadily side-spinned back-from-the-table
loops as he used to, Peter would likely have cut him apart with his
fast backhand blocks. Nor likely would it have done Zollie any
good to try to stay close and match hitting with Peter. Instead, he
played a slow, passive game but prevented Peter hitting freely by
pushing with great accuracyfast, deep and heavy to the
backhand corner. Peter couldnt get loose. He pinned his hopes in
the first game on making kills from that backhand slot but seldom
Zoltan Pataky
moved fast or far enough and so went down swinging.
Photo by Tom Slater
However, in the second game Peter began looping rather
than killingtoned down his play. The increase of spin and consistency drew a number of
errors from Zoltan (never the greatest blocker of the loop), allowing Peter a slight lead that
increased his confidence and enabled him to finish the game hitting freely. In the third game, he
was killing so well, was so loose, he didnt even bother to loop. That is, for a while. Then that
indefinable something happenedPeter cooled off, Zollie was able to revert back to his
heavy push-placements, and now Peter couldnt, in this game or the fourth, kill his way out of
that backhand strait-jacket.
Other Results: Mens Doubles: Pataky/George Stefanissin over Eric Calveley/Dub, -21,
15, 20, then over Eddy Lo/Peter Joe, 18, -20, -17, 15, 14. Womens: Nimi Athwal over Parello
Smith. As: Julius Gaspar over former Canadian TTA President Art Barran. A Doubles: H.
Arndt/B. Vrabel over Chao/
Liu. Bs: Vic Walsh over Nimi
Athwal (from down 2-0). Cs:
V. Lee over G. Schatzberg.
Mens Consolation: C. Poh
over Arndt whod outlasted
Danny Ho, 21, -14, 26.
Seniors: Frank Karika over
Hugh Ward in 5. Juniors:
Peter Joe over Roger Woo.
Benihana Open Winner Ron Carver, flanked by
Lou Bochenski reports
Monty Hanamura of Benihana (L), and Lou Bochenski.
that for his Nov. 8-9 Open at
Photo courtesy of Lou Bochenski
151

the Paddle Palace, Benihana Restaurant, in addition to providing framed certificates as

permanent awards, offered $90 in cash prizes for the Open event and dinners or lunches for
all other events. Results: Open: Ron Carver (whod lost to Peter Joe in the final of the Sept.
Pepsi Cola Open at the Palace) over Joe Lee. Open Doubles: Lee/Masanori Yoshimura over
Charlie McLarty/Dean Doyle. Womens: Marie Mason over Katherine Ho. AAs: McLarty
over Doyle. AA Doubles: Muhammed Popoola/Jerry Vanecek over McLarty/Doyle, -21, 19,
18. As: Jim Scott over Ron Vincent. Bs: Chris Depee over Vanacek. B Doubles: Ritchey/
Badger over Vincent/Popoola. Cs: Mike Oslund over Popoola who -23, 10, 20 struggled by
Bon Kin Wong. Ds: Doug Bakke over Oslund, 24-22 in the 3rd. Es: Jeff Frahler over Monty
Karra. Fs: Karra over Ho. Gs: Joe Merz over Laura Barlow. Seniors: Bob Ho over Jim
Tisler. High School: Mike Bochenski over Brian Bircher. U-15s: Dean Doyle over Mike
LaMear.
In Oct., the Palace had run the Oregon
Seeded #1 in
Novelty Open, and Carver had won there too
Novelty Open the Singles (over Jay Crystal) and the Doubles
Dogs Under 11
(with Jeff Kurtz). The monthly Portland
tournaments featured much the same events
and much the same finaliststhey could do
with some imaginative events. But as there was
no write-up for this Novelty Open one could
only guess what novelties Bochenski had in
mind.
However, we do learn from a local
newspaper article (see TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976,
17) quite a bit about 14-year-old Dean Doyle. His home away from home (every weekday
from 4 to 10:30 p.m. and weekends too) is the 4th floor of what used to be the old Elks Temple
in downtown Portlandyeah, of course in his enthusiasm he sprints up the stairs; a good
conditioner, eh? The Bochenskis act as surrogate parents, feeding Dean dinner and supplying
coaching. He trades work around the establishmenthandling ratings for all players in the
Club and for tournaments, running the elevator; and doing repair jobs for his meals. Not only
his parents but his teachers feel his priorities are o.k. Indeed, he takes much time off from
school for tournamentssometimes a week at a time.
Lou Bochenski, a past coach of baseball, football, basketball, and track, thinks of
Dean as a very smart player, one whos always into strategy. Indeed, after spreading the
virtues of table tennis to over 100 school assemblies, Doyle says hes considering teaching a
table tennis class at Parkrose High. Hed stress both the physical and mental aspects of play.
Lou praises Dean as having worked harder at his game than anyone Ive knownhe has
indispensable dedication. Having already accepted money in tournament play, Dean hopes
to make the sport his eventual profession. As for the immediate future, his goals are clear: he
wants to be the Oregon State Mens Champion, and the U.S. Open U-15 Champion.
Rick Watkins stresses the Open Singles and Doubles events in his write-up of the Nov.
8-9 Huntington Beach Openthe largest tournament on the West Coast since the 1971
Redondo Beach Western Classic. All eight seeds advanced to the quarters. Danny Seemiller,
who was in California for his Challenge of the Sexes match with Insook Bhushan the
Monday after this tournament, beat Ron Von Schimmelman, 3-0, after Ron (from two match
points down) had chopped his way through Mark Adelmans loops to win in 5. In the
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companion quarters, the Raphel-Galardi match wasnt decided until the 5th where it promised
a replay-finish of their match at the Golden State Open six weeks earlier. Galardis win there
had allowed him to reach the final and make a 19, -16, -19, -20 strong showing against Joong
Gil Park. Here at Huntington Beach, it appeared that Raphel won points when he hit out, but
he was too reluctant to take the offense. Galardi, however, relentlessly attackedand, from
13-12 up, his 3rd-ball follows allowed him to take all five of his serves and score a final 21-14
win.
On the other side of the draw, Parks consistent, patient loops won the day over
Bhushans steady chops and occasional pick hits. Gils semis opponent? Ray Guillen, winner
of two earlier CA tournaments over Raphel. Ray had been 26-24, 21-15, 10-3 leading Howard
Grossman when Howie injured his wrist and couldnt continue.
In the one semi, Galardi seemed very nervous in the first game against Seemiller as,
after hed led 6-2, everything fell apart and Seemiller won 21-9. Danny, leading 20-17 in the
second, looked to go 2-0 upand did, though not before the ever-improving Deano with his
two-wing loops had deuced it. In the 3rd, Danny suffered a letdown? In the course of play
Galardi ran off 8 points in a row for a 21-13 win. In the 4th, Danny was up 9-6 when Dean
began blocking, looping and retrieving some unbelievable shots that enabled him to tie the
match at two games apiece. An upset in the making? Not quiteupset not made.
In the other semi, won by Guillen, 3-1, over Park, the 3rd
game was the turning point: Park had just run off 8 straight
points and led 17-13 when Ray finally decided to take the
offense away from him. He took two steps back from the table
and began spinning backhand and forehand. Though Gil still led
20-18, he couldnt close, and Ray went on to an easy win in the
4th.
Against Seemiller in the final, Guillen matched Danny
rd
with 3 -ball attacks. But, though Ray was leading 19-16 in the
1st, Danny had the serve and was able to deuce itbut not to win
it. From there, though, it was all Seemiller as his determination
appeared to break Guillen who seemingly gave upscored only
35 points the last three games.
Ray Guillen
The Open Doubles was won by Raphel/Glenn Cowan
Photo by David R. Moore
over Galardi/Dennis Barish, 19 in the 4th. But it was the Raphel/
Cowan vs. Seemiller/Al Everett semis that provided the most exciting match of the
tournament. In an incredible first game, Cowan hit two amazing loops from down 20-17 to
deuce it. Then point after point brought the fans out of their seats until eventually Paul and
Glenn prevailed 32-30. Not surprisingly their match extended into the 5th. There Dannys loops
put his team up 19-15. But now Cowan hit two super angle shots and Raphel made a diving,
tumbling save of an edge which caught Everett by surprise. Then see-saw play at deuce
before a Cowan loop set up a Raphel kill and a 24-22 victory.
Other results: Womens: Insook (married to Shekhar for all of two weeks now) over
Angelita Rosal, 14, 15, 6. Mixed: Danny/Insook over Park and backgammon enthusiast Patty
Martinez whod lost the Womens in the Oct. San Diego Open to Angie. As: Chris Rosal over
Ron Whitlock, -17, 20, 12, then over Jim Lane. A Doubles: Mike Carr/Ogata over Ricky
Guillen/Russ Thompson, 21, 23, then over Stan Rosal/Whitlock. Bs: Chris Rosal over Keith
Ogata in 5. B Doubles: John Stewart/Greg Plakos over Kent Lofthouse/Ogata. Cs: Lane over
153

Mike Ban. C Doubles: Ban/Sequiros over LaLande/Lane. Ds:

Frank McCann over Steve DeFrance. D Doubles: Gilbreath/
Huber over Mark Corbett/Seaman. Esquires: Julius Paal over
Dick Badger. Seniors: Paal over Danny Banach, 17, -8, 20,
20. Senior Doubles: Banach/Thompson over Badger/Frank
Suran in 5. U-17s: Dennis Barish over Lane. U-15s: Lane
over Georgette Rideg. U-13s: Rideg over Reagan Tom.
Junior Doubles: Barish/Lee Lawson over Lane/Ian Davis in 5.
Thanks to Fred Danner, Table Tennis (featuring Danny
and Insook) was one of 15 sports selected by CBS for their
Challenge of the Sexes series (interviews by Vin Scully and
Suzy Chaffee). At Mission Viejo, before an audience of
about 4000 (I think they liked the table tennis better than
any of the other sports, said Danny, cause they cheered
like crazy), our superstars played a modified expedite
match. In all 15 sports, the man had to give the woman a
slight handicap, so Danny had to win the point by his 8th
shot. Many times, he said, I had to try all-out kills after
Insook returned my 7th shot. This made the match exciting
for the crowd and I think for television. For his 21-14, 2117 win, Danny earned $2500, Insook $1000. Of course all
their expenses were paid, including 1st class airfare, and they
got to be in the company of such famous sports figures as
Bjorn Borg, Ilie Nastase, Virginia Wade, Evonne Goolagong,
Doug Sanders, Hale Irwin, Bob Seagren, and Jerry West.
In writing up the Colorado Closed at Boulder, Kurt
Evans pays homage to Jerry Skublicki, bad-luck victim of
that fatal car accident, whod thrilled Coloradans with his
fascinating game and helped many players with coaching
tips. Under Paul Cracrafts debut direction, Polish
supremacy was still apparent with Bohdan (Bob)
Dawidowiczs win in the Mens over Dana Jeffries, and his
Danny and Insook
daughter Kasias 6, 2, 2 win in the Womens over Laura
Photo by Mal Anderson
Redman whod at least had a competitive 5-game semis
match with Vivian Bjorklund. Bob also took both the Mens Doubles with pick-hitter Jeff
Bedell (over Brad Ritter/Paul Williams) and the Mixed with Kasia (over Ron Byers/Jan
Polkinghorne).
Other Results: As: Kasia over Williams. A Doubles: Byers/Cracraft over Williams/
Ritter, deuce in the 5th. Bs: double-flank attacker Cracraft over Mike Lewis. B Doubles:
Keith Kalny/Evans over John Garnett/Rod Redman. Cs: Roger Kuseski over Bob Zarren. C
Doubles: Kalny/Zarren over Matt Dillon/Brock (from down 2-0 and 21-all in the 3rd). Ds:
Jarek Dawidowicz over Redman. D Doubles: Rothstein/C. Garnett over Roger/Rod Redman.
Es: Curt Heckert over Alan Abshire. E Doubles: Heckert/Gene Heater over Jim Cracraft/
Steve Dillon in 5. Seniors: Frank Heller over Dean Edmonds. Senior Doubles: Heller/F.B.
Lucas over Bill Walsh/Edmonds. Boys U-17: Cracraft over Evans. Girls U-17 Singles: Kasia
over Redman. U-17 Boys Doubles: Cracraft/Evans over Dillon/Rothstein. U-17 Mixed
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Doubles: Kalny/Kasia over Dillon/Redman. Boys U-15:

Kalny over Dillon. Girls U-15: Kasia over Julia Jordan. U-15
Doubles: Kalny/Kasia over Dillon/Redman. U-13s: Kalny
over J. Dawidowicz. U-13 Doubles: Kalny/Jordan over J.
Dawidowicz/R. Redman.
The Caprock Open was held Sept. 27 in Lubbock,
TX. Results: Championship: Gary Fagan over Marc
Whittington. (Best match: Steve Dodgen over Steve Arnold,
25-23 in the 5th.) Championship Doubles: Charles Butler/
Fagan over Edgar Stein/M Mui. Womens: Sue Sargent over
Michele Haddix. Mixed Doubles: Dodgen/Norma Evans over
Sargent/Meredith Elston. Texas Closed: Dodgen over J.C.
Tenay whod knocked out C. Nicholl in 5.
More Results: As: Stein over Tenay. A Doubles: Jerry
Steve Dodgen
Photo by Elias Rodriguez
Mell/Dodgen over Armold/Gary Garner. Bs: Mike Finnell in
5 over Johnny Cortez, then 18 in the 5th over V. St. Germain
whod eliminated James Rautis in 5. Cs: Nicholl 17 in the 5th over Les Enslin whod gone 5
with Rich Puls. Ds: Marshall Gordon over Mike Roddy. Championship Consolation: Butler
over Stein. Class Consolation: T. Huff over Paul Sumrall. Seniors: Tenay over Stein in 5.
Senior Doubles: Tenay/Arthur Buster Chase over Dave DeWald/Charles Griffin. U-15s:
Mark Stoolz over Roddy, 25, 19, 19, then over Cortez, 24-22 in the 5th. Junior Doubles:
Stoolz/Cortez over Coons/Irl Copley.
Steve Grant points out (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 18) that the Magoos 10,000 Lakes
Open was missing Wuvanich who was off visiting a Thai friend in Massachusetts (Surasak?).
That of course left Chuchai Chan and Sears to fight it out in a 2/3 final. Sears with a 21-14 1st
game and a 15-8 lead in the 2nd seemed the likely winner. However, The feeling came very
slow, said Chan afterwards, motioning with his hands toward his stomach. (Does that mean
he was gradually more and more hungry for the win?) But then came a rush of 7 points11
of 12 in all, and he led 19-16. Then, in a reverse swing, was down match point. Now deuce.
Sears tossed the ball high and did an unusual backhand serve. One always cringes when the
Thais try their special toss-up serve at crucial moments because they miss too many. This one
went on thoughbut Chan won the point. Chans adhe threw the ball into the lights and
served into the net. Still he managed to win the game. In the deciding 3rd, though Chuchai had
insisted Im not a chopper, he made some beautiful chops, and 21-14 earned the $100 1st
prize.
Other Winners: Open Doubles: Chan/Sears over Mike Hoffland/(Mike Thomas?).
Womens: Takako Trenholme over Sheila ODougherty, 19 in the 3rd. As: Al Schmitt over
Chuck Turchick. Bs: Scott Colesworthy over Nick Steblay in 5. Cs: Anders Olsson over Don
Bratt, 19 in the 3rd. Ds: Gary Kerkow over Roy Wong. Es: Kamel Saad over John Kline, 19
in the 3rd. Novice Doubles: Hanson/Ovellette over Kerkow/Brandon Olson. Juniors: John
Soderberg over Nick Steblay. U-15s: Tom Soderberg over Olson. U-13s: Olson over Swen
Baker. High School Closed: Adam Gottesman over Jim Danielson. Novice Juniors: Toni
Baker over Doug Rigert.
Results of the Oct. 18-19 Tennessee Closed, played under the direction of volunteer
Volunteer State Community College student Larry Thoman at Nashvilles Madison Community
Center: Open: Larry Bartley over, first, Bill Edwards, then Lee Edwards, both 18 in the 5th.
155

Championship Doubles: Lee Edwards/Sai Wing Kwok over

Clay Whitelaw/John White in 5, then over Bill Edwards/
Thoman. Women: Leslie Harris over Audrey Crain. As: Bob
Flowers over Ernest Chin. A Doubles: Bob Flowers/Dennis
Fritchie over Flip Carico/Lee Edwards. Bs: Fritchie over
Bill Reaney in 5, then over Mitch Stephens. Cs: Stephens in
5 over Alain Leung, then over Reaney who eliminated Leslie
Harris in 5. Ds: Leung over Everett Henry whod stopped
Ellis Newkirk in 5. Consolation: Raj Kumar over Jack
Coppedge. Seniors: Flowers over Hugh Lax. Students:
Kwok over Reaney. Juniors:
Harris over Donnie Flowers.
Wendell Dillon, in covering
the Oct. 25-26 $1400 Atlanta
Fall Open, offered an apology
to the players:

Leslie Harris
Photo by Don Gunn

My apologies to those players who followed

directions and parked next to the tournament hall. Saturday
morning as we were about to call the first matches, the
fairgrounds police chief came in and informed us that we would
have to move all cars outside the fence because he had to lock
our gate. His tact in passing on this pleasant information was
about as delicate as a tournament directors. He simply
announced that any car not moved immediately would be towed
away. This wouldnt have been too hard to accept but for the
fact that specific arrangements had been made to use that gate
and to park inside. When confronted with the problem, the
fairgrounds contractor replied casually, Oh, yes, we had a
function in another building and decided to lock that gate; sorry
bout thator words to that effect.
Anything else Wendell had to apologize for? There was $1400
in
prizes, and the unused to competition of the four semifinalists,
Photo by Don Gunn
Wuvanich, Chan, Danny and Ricky Seemiller. Insook? No, for
whatever reason she wasnt there. The Womens went to Bev Patterson over Teresa Miller.
There was no Womens Doubles, no Mixed Doubles.
In the one Mens semis, Danny had a relatively 10, 14, -17, 14 easy encounter with
Chan ($50) whod come off a demanding 19, -20, 13, 21 quarters match with Mike Bush. In
the other semis, Ricky ($50) put up a ferocious -19, -19, 27, -18 fight against Wuvanich. The
final between Danny and Charlie figured to be closetheyd split big matches previously. And
the first two games were closeCharlie won them both at 19. But Danny wasnt finishedhe
took the 3rd at 18, and was up 18-14 in the 4th. When
Donnie Flowers

At that point, he [Danny] missed the table with a forehand drive and the
umpire flipped the score to 18-15. But waitDanny, and most of the spectators,
156

claimed that Charlie had volleyed the ball; that would have made it 19-14. But no, the
umpire didnt see the ball hit (or miss) Charlies bat and the score stood 18-15. Danny
apparently lost his concentration and Charlie pulled out the game and match, 21-19,
winning $450. Danny had to settle for the runner-ups $250.
Other Results: Mens Doubles: Seemillers ($100) over
Wuvanich/Chan ($60). As: Monty Merchant over Steve Rigo.
(Best matches: Jim McQueen, in the upset of the tournament,
over Jerry Thrasher, -10, 20, 18; Wayne Daunt over Alan Sverdlik.)
Bs: Herb Beckham over Ron Babe Luth in 5. B Doubles: Doyle
Dye/Luth over Larry Bartley/Bruce Smith. Cs: Doug Wilcock over
Gene Stephens (from down 2-0), 18 in the 5th, then (from down 20) over Ronnie Rigo, 25-23 in the 5th. Ds: Ron Rigo (the most
improved player in the South) over Bill Brunson. Championship
Consolation: Beckham over McQueen. Special Consolation: Larry
Mills over John Conner. Seniors: Sam Hoffner over Beckham, 17,
-22, 20, -14, 16. Juniors: Wilcock over Cecil Brooks.
Ronnie Rigo
Photo by Don Gunn

Merchants Mobile T.T.

& Rec Center hosted the Oct. 19
Southern Club League Matches.
Seven teams participated, but not
one from New Orleanstheir
absence again disappointed
Monty. The climactic tie was
between the Baton Rouge
Honkers and the Mobile
Dynamites. A big swing match
Al Nochenson
From Newark, NJ
Sunday News,
Mar. 24, 1957

Monty Merchant

occurred when Lance Steed of the Dynamites upset Bruce

Smith of the Honkers. In the deciding 3rd, Lance led Bruce
19-11then lost 8 straight pointsbut still won. Monty then
beat Bruce to give his team 1st place.
Results of the Nov. 1-2 Triangle Open at Raleigh:
Championship Singles: Danny Hill over Gerard Auvergne, 18
in the 5th, then in the final over Al Nochenson. Mens Singles:
Auvergne over Steve Hitchner, deuce in the 4th, then over Jim
McQueen. Mens Doubles: Auvergne/Fred King over Mark
Gilliam/Bill Brown. Mixed Doubles: Gilliam/Melanie Spain
over Tom Poston/Linda Sauls. As: Auvergne over Joe Griffin
who downed Hitchner in 5. Bs: McQueen over Hill, 23-21 in
the 4th. Cs: Clyde Vincent over Roger Girton in 5.
Consolation: Tom Rice over Hitchner. Seniors: Nochenson
over Mac Meredith. Juniors: Denny Stanley over Billy James.
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Sam Steiner reports (TTT, Jan.-Feb. 1976, 25-26) that the Penn
State Fall Open, directed by Keith Bair, was a Neal Fox-instituted
Development tournamentmeaning that playing permits and rating
fees were half price. Entry fees were low, considering that 4-5 matches
were guaranteed in each round robin event. Also, the draws were done
with such great care that no one complainedthough there was some
criticism that the bright orange day-lite lighting in the new Penn State
Intramural Athletic Building was not good for table tennis. The idea behind this tournament
that catered to the 1300-1700-rated players was to promote the Sport among non-USTTA
members, and use a format that prevented the too-common specter of some basement
champion paying 3-4 dollars to get blitzed in the first round of a single elimination tournament
and being sent back to the basement, perhaps never to venture out again.
Results: Open: 1. Bloomsberg State College student Joe Schemo. 2-3. Sam Steiner. 23. Hank McCoullum. The two were tied for the moment depending on how a Rules official
would treat the default in their round robin. Womens: 1. Al Fine. 2. Barb McCoy. As: 1. Sam
Steiner, 5-0 (beat Dickson II, deuce in the 3rd). 2. Dave Dickson II, 3-2 (8-6). 3. Damian
Kotecki, 3-2 (6-6). Bs: 1. Stan (Wolfman) Wolf. 2. penholder Steve Li. 3. Bob VanZandt. 4.
Tom VanZandt. Reportedly, Bob and son Tom are State Father and Son Doubles Champions
in tennis. Cs: 1. Joe Tarantino (The Bald Seemiller). 2. feared letter-writer Tom Steen.
Ds: 1. Steve Tucker and his mallet forehand. 2. super-looper Dave Anderson. Handicap:
Tom Pratt over Steen.
Phil Vidil in his Slippery Rock Open write-up (TTT, Jan.-Feb. 1976, 26) notes that, on
the first day of play, events started at 10 a.m. Saturday and didnt finish until 6 a.m. Sunday
morning! Results: Open Teams: 1. Milda Milacek/Gary Garbage Martin. (They had a big 3-0
win over Davis/Neal Fox. Normally a chopper, Milacek used an uncanny slow, spinny loop
and some well-placed blocks to down Davis.) 2. Mike Connelly/Larry Goldfarb (whod lost
to Milacek/Martin 3-1) won a 3-2 tie from Davis/Fox when
Goldfarb beat Fox in the last match. A Teams: Connelly/Danny
Tuden over Bill Davis/Jim Meredith (Mike upset Bill, 19 in the
3rd). B Teams: Tim Seemiller/Doug Addington over Sam Steiner/
Keith Bair. 3. Peter Chesa/Bruce Fair. C Teams: Harry Hawk/
Gary Mullen over Joe Tarantino/Steve Li.
Open Singles: 1. Davis. 2. Fox. 3. Goldfarb. 4. Tuden.
Fox, exhausted, defaulted in the final to Davis who went home
with a trophy the size of a little Seemiller. (After being down 1911 to Goldfarb, Davis took nine straight points and eventually
won the match. Milacek was upset by Tuden, 23-21 in the 3rd.)
B-C Singles: Steiner over Tim Seemiller. 3rd: Nigerian Slippery
Rock student Chesa. Womens Singles: LaRue Jones over Irene
Van Dyke. 3. Katie Simon. Frannie Plaza was voted the Flake of
the Tournamentfor playing with her mouth taped shut for her
benefit and all those within 200 yards of her.
Herb Vichnin reports (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 25-26) on
the Philly Nov. 8-9 Veterans Day Openwait, check that, call it
the Bill Sharpe Open. Vic and his buddies renamed it after Bill
LaRue Jones
was in the money in all six events he entered. This tournament,
Photo by Mal Anderson
158

said Vic, was our best ever, and

Bill Sharpe
Sharpe was sharp. Players will tell
you that Bill has no talentno
strokes, and that he cant move
very well. But he keeps getting the
ball backagain and again and
again. Bill also has what it takes in
the clutch. He is most dangerous
when hes down late in the game.
Well follow Bill beginning
Friday night when he had to skip the
Philly Closed Singles because of
work (Bush beat the ex-Russian
National Champion David Brodsky
from down 2-0 in the final), but
managed to play in the Closed
Doubles with Rich Farrell. After
beating Bush/Vichnin in the semis, they lost a 4-game thriller to Smolanowicz/Balamoun. The
rest of Bills finals, after hed advanced in Saturday play, were on Sunday, and as he was still in
five events hed be kept mighty busy. First up, the A Doubles, in which Bill and Barry Robbins
lost a 5-game taxing final to Vichnin/Joe Rokop, -21, 13, -19, 20, -17. Next, the Mens
Singles, in which earlier hed beaten both Sam Balamoun and Dave Sakai, but would lose to
George Brathwaite in the semis.
Ah, his first winthe A Singles. In the semis he beat Randy Seemiller, 15, 2 (payback
to Randy for upsetting Bill in the Sept. Philly tournament from 20-15 match-point down), and
in the final Joe Rokop in straight games. Second win: Mens Doubles with Tim Bogganin
the deciding 3rd over Rick Seemiller/Joe Rokop, then in 5 over Bush/Bruce Plotnick, then in 5
over Brathwaite/Vichnin who both agreed that Bill and Tim had funny shots. Last event:
8:45 p.m. AA semis over Plotnick in 5; 9:15: AA finallost to Hamid Hayatghaib.
Other Results: Bs: Jeff Steif over Sid Jacobs (Jeff upset Ali Oveissi in the As). Cs:
Robert Nochenson over Enoch Green (Robert upset Sol Schiff in the Bs). Ds: Bob Kaminsky
over Glen Dong. Es/Fs: Sam Steiner over Jim Mossberg. Gs: Richard Shrout over Doug
Haynes. Ns: Tom Steen over Barry Margolius. Handicap: Eric Boggan over Scott Boggan.
Seniors: Boggan over Schiff, 18 in the 3rd. U-17s: Plotnick over Stern. U-17As: Tommy Lee
over Scott Boggan. U-15s: Stern over Scott Boggan.
For another endurance contest wed best look to the Princeton Blow-Pong
Tournament. Heres an excerpt from Michael Zielenzigers article in the Philadelphia Inquirer
(see TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 26; 28):
Princeton, N.J.First a runner raced across the grassy playing field with a
mock Olympic torch. Then a brass band played the National Anthem, plus a medley of
selected beer jingles. Then the teams, coaches and cheerleaderssome in dragwere
introduced.
And after the mock invocation, which included the spilling of holy brew over
the playing area, the fourth annual Boot Classic blow-pong tournament was on.
Blow-pong is Princetons uniquesome would argue perverseadaptation
159

of table tennis. Eleven players from each team sidle up to a ping-pong table on their
knees. A ping-pong ball is dropped in the center of the table, from which the net has
been removed, and the team that manages to puff and blow it off the others side wins
a point.
There is of course a catch. Each member of the team that lost the point must
down eight ounces of beer within 30 seconds, or be disqualified.
It is the amount of beer consumed that is startling. In Saturdays match
between the arch-rival Cap and Gown and Cottage clubs, each player quaffed an
average of a gallon and a
quarter of beer in about
an hour, enough to make
any mortal boot, or
vomit, it up later. Which
is why it is the Boot
Classic.

Bette and Hollywood Pals. Do you see Bette?

160

Bette Newman, a
dog trainer, does an
entertaining act with her
preened pooches. She
tells us she also has other
ways of having fun and

meeting interesting people. Bette is a member of the Lost Battalion Club Team that plays in
the Greater New York League. Most of her teammates, Al Jacknin (Captain), Abe Spanover,
Stan Winter, Bob Gabor, Bob Davidow, George Abdelsayed, and Joe Williams were around for
the Nov. 2nd Open, held, with the help of Recreation Directors Jacknin and Irv Rosenberg, at
the Lost Battalion Hall in Queens, N.Y. After top seed Sid Jacobs was upset by Jacknin, the
winner was Henry Deutsch over Abe Spanover.
Results of the Oct. 18-19 Binghamton Open: Open: Dave Sakai over Jeff Zakarin, 18
in the 5th. Open Doubles: Sakai/Jim LaFemina over Dave Berard/Saeed Bokharee in 5. As:
LaFemina over Joe Williams (from down 2-0 and deuce in the 3rd). A Doubles: Berard/Gene
Cryzewski over Mark Brown/Rick Cooper. Bs: Brown over Bruce Calman. Cs: Cooper over
Don Feltenberger in 5. Ds: Mickey Leung over Doug Hewitt. Es: Dave Freeman over Tom
Chan. Open Consolation: Vyto Petrauskas over Ross Vinocur. Seniors: Sol Schiff over Sid
Jacobs. U-17s: Paul Gvildys over Dana Gvildys. 3. Steve Cox. Junior Doubles: Greg
Garritano/Cooper over Gvildys/Gvildys.
Steve Piazzo, Jr. (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 29) clues us in on Mens play at the Bean Pot
Classic, held Oct. 4-5 in the Greater Boston Table Tennis Center. In early-round matches,
Horace Roberts, down 1-0 and 19-16 against unheralded Mike Emery, rallied for the win.
Then Horace found himself in the deciding 3rd against Ralph Robinson, a defensive whiz who
also possesses a strong topspin game. Ralph forced the match into Expedite, and though
down 15-11 at the time, he was able to win ten of the last twelve points. Roberts, driven
out of his defensive shell, had to attempt winning shots, and couldnt get them on.
Quarters: In a well-played match, Benfield Munroe outlasted the good-natured
Robinson in 5. George The Chief Brathwaite advanced over Montreals Guy Germain in
straight sets. Errol Resek didnt lose a game against former Nigerian International Lekan
Fenuyi, now living in Lowell, MA And Carl Danner, whod crushed Sakai, looked to do the
same to Lim Ming Chui, allowing him only 25 points the first two games. But then, what
happened? Carl lost the next three. Semis: Ming went on to rally again, beating Resek, 10, 20, -14, 21, 19, with clutch play. Brathwaite dropped the first game to Munroe, but thereafter
it was as though the superbly conditioned Chief could give him a 4-point start. Final:
Brathwaite, 3-0, over Chui. George overpowered all his opponents; he is a charismatic
individual who radiates a quiet confidence that can be
unsettling to his foes.
Other winners: Mens Doubles: Brathwaite/Resek
over Sakai/Roberts. Womens: Evelyn Zakarin, who plays
weekly at her 10-table Woodmere, Long Island Club, over
Anita Wu. As: Munroe over Jeff Zakarin. Bs: Bruce
Abrams over Al Millet whod 24, -22, 16 escaped Bob
Quinn. Ds: Kirby over Bruce Hvasta. Es: Charlie Hung
over Schwartz, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over Kirby. Fs: Stu
Kroll over Barry Margolius in 5. Gs: Deming over
Braston. Handicap: Gauthier over Tony Vasquez. U-17s:
Steve Marceno over Hung.
Piazzo has an accompanying article on the Oct. 2526 New England Closed, also held at the Greater Boston
Evelyn Zakarin
Center. Mens quarters play: Ben Hull over Lew
From Newsday, Sept., 1976;
Martinello in 5; Dave Sakai over Haig Raky; Ed Raky
Photo by Alan Rala
161

(Haigs brother) over Frank Dwelly; and Ralph Robinson and his backhand loops over an offform Lim Ming Chui. Semis: Sakai over Hull, 3-0; Robinson over Ed Raky. Final: Sakai (off
to an 11-0 lead) over Robinson in 4 (Ralph won the 3rd at 19).
Other Results: Womens: Eileen Kelly over Anita Wu, the Centers Champ. As:
Robinson (though outscored) over Dwelly in 5. Bs: Hull over Ed Raky. Cs: Sparky James
over Bruce Abrams. Ds: Stu Kroll. Es: Paul Schuld. Fs: Kroll over Margolius (down 20-12,
Barry won 8 straight, then lost the game at deuce). Seniors: Irv Levine. U-17s/U-15s:
Charlie Hung. Aspiring poet Bob Glass is praisedin the Cs he outscored Bob Quinn in a
real upset. So it might be said Bob didnt do himself justice in the following poem:

Bob Glass, bottom left - perhaps hes at a poetry reading?

162

Winners at the Nov. 1 Nova Scotia Closed at Wolfville: Mens: Neville Brabrook over
Darrell Northcott in 5. Mens Doubles: Brabrook/Northcott over Scott Milsom/Joe Fisher.
Womens: Janice Silver over Linda Knight, 18 in the 5th. Womens Doubles: Meral Once/
Lesley Brabrook over Silver/L. Rowledoe, 19 in the 3rd. Mixed Doubles: Neville/Brabrook
over Richard/Linda Knight. Bs: Mike Stevens over Ron Cooper. Boys U-17: Mark Kent over
Doug Pope. Girls U-17: Jennifer White over Judith Cooper. Boys U-15: Ian Kent over Jimmy
King. Junior Doubles: Pope/Stevens over Mark/Ian Kent, 18 in the 3rd.
Rufford Harrison reports (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 7) that after decades of traditional
play at the Niagara Falls Badminton Club, the Oct. Central Canadian Open was moved to Fort
Erie. Had this been of interest to at least some U.S. players? Yes, because a grant provided by
the Ontario government enabled the Canadians to provide just about all the funds needed to
transport, feed and house a U.S. Team theremuch as was done in Toronto at the CNE.
Mens Team Captain Charlie Disney was to meet four people at the airport (one of whom very
likely was Rufford) but he never appeared, and never explained why he didnt appear. Rufford,
who was preoccupied with the Womens matches, then asked Fuarnado Roberts to take over
the Mens Captaincy and report on the tie with Canada and on the tournament in general for
Topics. Robbie agreed, but no write-up ever came.
Two who did arrive in Fort Erie to meet Harrison were ITTF President H. Roy Evans,
making his first trip to North America, and ITTF General Secretary A.K Bill Vint. Rufford
said theyd attended a Montreal meeting of the General Assembly of National Sports
Federations as a representative of the Welsh national body, then went on to a meeting of the
General Assembly of International Federations, of which the ITTF is a member. Later, theyd
be in New York with Rufford, Dick Miles, Boggan, and Roy Hylton, President of both the
Jamaican TT Association and the Caribbean TT Federation. All of us having dinner and
conversation (Miles was grilled on the U.S. possibly hosting
the Worlds) at the Citys best Jamaican restaurant.
Though there could have been better coverage of this
Canadian tournament, Topics did receive the bare bones
Mens and Womens Results. In Mens Team play, the U.S.
beat Canada, 5-3: Rick Seemiller downed Alan Heap, 22, 16,
but lost to Errol Caetano, 18 in the 3rd; Mike Bush beat
Derek Wall, 19, 18, but fell deuce in the 3rd (after leading 1915) to Caetano; and Danny Seemiller swept all three of his
matchesover Heap, 2-0, over Wall, 2-1, and over Caetano,
18 in the 3rd.
Mens Singles: Final: Caetano (from down 2-0) over
Danny Seemiller, 18 in the 5th. Semis: Caetano over Ricky
Seemiller, 20, -13, 22, 12; Danny over Alex Polisois, 15, 18,
10 (Alex had knocked out Mike Bush in 4). Quarters:
Caetano over Roberts in 4 (after Robbie had just gotten by
Bill Davis, 19 in the 5th); Ricky over Guy Germain in 4;
Polisois over Art Saltpeter, 3-0; Danny over Alan Heap, 3-0
(after Alan had advanced over Peter Gonda, 18, -16, 19, 19).
Notes by Neal Fox: Mens: Davis upset Derek Wall
Alan Heap
in 4 in the 1st round. Buffalos Chuck Gorchek played well in
the As and Bs, losing to the winners, though Neal doesnt
163

tell us who they were. C winner: Bob Brickell. Handicap/Boys U-15 winner: Steve Claflin
from Port Huron, MI.
Womens Singles: Final: Insook Na over Mariann Domonks, 6, 6, 21. Semis: Insook
over Violetta Nesukaitis, 12, 11, 16; Domonkos over Irena Cordas, 15, 23, 19. Quarters:
Insook over Suzanna Kavallierou, 15, 12, 11; Domonkos over Gloria Hsu, 17 in the 5th;
Nesukaitis over Alice Green Sonne, 17, 19, 20; Cordas over Olga Soltesz, 9, 16, 21.
Womens Team play: Canada beat the U.S. 5-3: Insook won all 3; Olga lost to Violetta
Nesukaitis and Irena Cordas, both in 3; and Alice Green Sonne, in big swing matches, lost to
Violetta, -17, -19, to Irena, -19, 18, -16, and to Gloria Hsu, -15, 13, -20. Olga opened against
Violetta. Why always me? she said. I was the first one out in Calcutta. Rufford said,
Deep down inside, Olga had the right attitude, and the right roll-and-hit game to beat
chopper Nesukaitis. Alice, said Rufford, can hit hard, but she can roll only weakly after a
pushing rallyand Irena was waiting to smack that high, soft ball in for a winner. Violetta,
too, was ready to counter when Alice too often opened her attack to the wings. After losing
the 1st, Alice was down 20-19 in the 2nd when the Expedite Rule came in. Since Alice had the
serve, Rufford said, I decided to be unethical (whod have thought it?). He called out to
Alice, Remember, you dont have to hit the first ball. So of course Violetta returned the ball
slightly high, and of course Alice swung at it. Against Gloria, who
was hitting well, Alice in the 3rd was down 19-12, but by sheer
determination tied it up at 19-all, then dropped the next point
and once again evened the score, only to lose at 20.
Oh, for a replay, groaned Capt. Harrison.

Olga Soltesz
Photo by Don Gunn

Violetta Nesukaitis
From 1975 CNE Program

164

Chapter Eleven
1975: E.C. at Work.
Board members and
proxies present for all or at
least part of the Nov. 6-7
E.C. Meeting in Chicago
were: President Charlie
Disney (CD), Executive
Vice-President J. Rufford
Harrison (JRH), Recording
Secretary Lou Bochenski
(LB), Corresponding
Secretary Gus Kennedys
proxy: Jean Kennedy (JK),
Treasurer Jack Carrs
proxy: Neal Fox (NF), Vice
Presidents Malcolm R.
Anderson (MRA), Tim
Boggan (TB), Dick Miles
(DM), and Sol Schiff (SS).
Others present on occasion:
Richard Feuerstein, Robert
Henry, Steve Isaacson, D-J
Lee, George Otto, John
Read, Sue Sargent, Coach
Schleff, Andrew Tobin, and
Graham Steenhoven, who,
after the Chinese gave him a
16 mm. film of Ping-Pong
Diplomacy, said, From
April, 1971 to April, 1975 I
have given 118 talks using
that film, and will continue to do so.
Most of the first 55 items covered in Mal Andersons Minutes (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976,
17-18; 14) had to do with Bylaw changes, many by Anderson himself, who was Chair of the
Rules Committee. Perhaps it was the Meetings agenda he had seen that made Boggan a wee
bit downnote his poem Ive included here.
In the upcoming USTTA election, President Disney would not seek to retain his
Presidency, nor would Jack Carr seek the office. But Jack, in an Open Letter to the Incoming
President (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 21), offered suggestions on a dozen topicssome 65
sentences on what the USTTA President should, or should not do. His aim, he said, was to
make the next Presidents life easier.
Most important to Carr is the preservation of order, of sticking to the rules, according
to the requirements of the USTTA Handbook (the 1965 Summer E.C. Meeting had centered
165

Jack Carr
Photo by Don Gunn

on Jacks revisions of the USTTA Constitution and Bylaws). Most

of his suggestions in his Presidents article are reminders of the
obvious, not always held to. He thinks responsible E.C. officials and
committee chairs are important, funding U.S. Teams important,
establishment of major tournaments important, TV important, E.C.
Meeting agendas important. He thinks the present E.C. nominations
and campaign statements should be controlled [by whom?].
Executive Committee members should be chosen [by whom?] for
what they can contribute to the USTTA.* Beware, he warns, of
persons who want to make private deals or who are otherwise selfserving persons. Heres Carrs advice on Topics, which might have
put former President Boggan, now into his sixth season as Editor,
into another poetic mood:

Topics. You [the incoming USTTA President] should endeavor to upgrade

Topics [actually, it would seem, find a new Editor]. Get rid of junk articles and long
useless writings which say little or nothing put in just to fill up space. [Huh?} Caustic,
vitriolic and juvenile articles, pictures and poems have no place in our national (and
world) publication. Working officials should not attack other working officials,
particularly with untruths and half-truths. Avoid profanity. Have more compliments,
less criticism, mainly unwarranted. Topics deadlines should be made known. You
should make it known that the editors views are not necessarily those of the USTTA
or the Executive Committee. If a person or organization does something for table
tennis or the USTTA, he should be properly thanked. Tournament write-ups should say
something more than just a reflection of the results. Each issue should have a coaching
article and a rules write-up.
Jack ends his article by advising, Your biggest job [Mr. President] is to see that others
work and think. And, considering these directives, Carrs own appointed, self-appointed,
biggest job is? Personally, Ive felt as President or Editor I work responsibly well without
prodding, but Jacks lines certainly do make me and perhaps others thinkabout Jack.
Here now is a summary of that Nov. 6-7, 1975 Chicago E.C. Meeting.
Standing Rule. It was agreed that only USTTA members will be listed in the Ratings
published in Topics. Ratings Chair NF pointed out the difficulty in accurately removing nonmembers names from the list. JRH Proposal: That the results of organized club matches may
be used in determining the players ratings. Passed unanimously. Like the Treasurer, CD
wants to examine a monthly Report from NF who estimates $8,000 income and $5,782
expenses for next year. Bochenski thinks the USTTA spends too much money on Ratings. He
says the Northwest hasnt much use for Foxs ratings because their own are completely up to
date and are very accurate since they take into consideration league ratings and inter-city team
matches as well as tournaments.
Carl Lehroff , also from the Northwest, says the USTTA Rating System is inaccurate
(TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 22). Inaccuracies may occur due to human error in the process of
amassing, processing, and distributing the data involved; or because of deliberate or
unconscious falsification. Unfortunately, says Lehroff, we have no way of testing empirically
the accuracy of the system. We dont have the very important trial and error approach.
166

When something is invented, an airplane, say, it is first designed, then

built, and then tested. In the vast majority of cases the first trial is
unsuccessful (the plane crashes), and its back to the drawing board.A
fatal flaw in the rating system is that it cannot crash. [But didnt Fox
make modifications to Howards initial efforts? Hasnt he made
adjustments since he first started?]
Lehroff points out that inaccuracies will be added in from time to time
Sees inaccuracies
as a) unknown players move into the area, b) new players take up the
in the ratings.
Photo by Mal Anderson game or discover organized table tennis, c) players improve suddenly or
without playing in tournaments, d) players ability level declines relative
to others. The theory is that all the above inaccuracies will work out in competition But this
isnt the case: ratings are repeatedly distorted, both for wins and losses. Moreover, ratings are
given a specious air of importance and legitimacy, and those who administer the ratings are
given a great deal of power from which there is no appeal.
I think I need indicate that, as of this writing, more than 30 years later, the ITTF and
the USATT rating systemsthough repeatedly tested with criticism and changes, plane
problems if not crasheshave continually been in use as a practical way of judging players
strengths.
CD has abandoned the idea of a 6-12 team National League. He liked Danny
Seemillers idea of a Pro Tourthought maybe action could be started with Minneapolis/
Chicago, with Philadelphia/New York/Boston, promoting piggy-back tournaments. Good for
local players, good for local sponsors. If promoters could make money, players prize money
would increase. CDs proposal for the USTTA to match funds, up to $500, for prizes in a
U.S. Closed in Minneapolis was deleted. No one would move it. He hopes Mort Zakarins
Pro circuit will be successful. Disney had proved with his Minnesota Classic that he could
fund-raise for a tournament. Surely others could do that tooget hotels, restaurants, softdrink companies, airlines, etc. to help sponsor tournaments. Rich Kelly, Jr. suggests that we
sell one of the major networks a package of five tournamentsone of Mort Zakarins Pro
Tour tournaments (the one with the largest purse); the U.S. Open; Kellys proposed 2000 and
Over tournament ($100 entry feewith foreign world-class players entries accepted; prizes to
come out of the entry fees); the U.S. Team Tryouts; and the 1979 World Championships.
Anyone want to get to work on that?...Meanwhile, Las Vegass Caesars Palace wants to make
a bid to hold the U.S.
Closed in December,
1976.
Neil Smyth
CD moved that
we pay Jean Kennedy
$100 for her
excellent secretarial
work for the
Association. Passed 51 (JRH)-0.
An E.C. member
(unnamed) made a
Proposal that one
representative from
167

each state be allowed to attend each E.C. Meeting. This was dropped because, as it is, any
USTTA member from anywhere can attend these Meetings.
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): Before the draw is made, the players in the event
will be listed with their city, state or home club recorded next to their name. After the seeded
and placed players are recorded in the draw, those players in the largest group (same club
[perhaps]) will be drawn first, and separated as far as possible. For instance, if between 9 and
16 players are from the same club, they will be drawn into separate 8ths. The next largest
group will then be drawn in the same manner, etc. Passed unanimously.
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): For Ranking purposes: the World Championships
will be considered a 3-star tournament; U.S. World Team Trials a 2-star; and all other Team
Trials a 1-star. Passed unanimously.
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): The value of any prize in any open will not
exceed the maximum value set by the ITTF for prizes in an open tournament. Passed
unanimously. New players can buy a playing permit ($1 adult; $.50 junior for closed
tournaments; double that for 1 or 2-star tournaments). Permits are good for, first, one
tournament, then anotherbut no more. Further, permits are good only for closed no-star, and
open one or two-star tournaments, and then only for Senior, Junior, or Class events (providing
none of them offer prize money). As of July 1st, 1975, Esquires and Seniors to be eligible must
be over the age competition cut-off within the month of competition. (For example, if a player
turns 40 on Jan. 21st, he could play in the Seniors in a Jan. 3-4 tournament.) New Eligibility
Rule for Senior Womenyou can now play in the event if youre 30 (no longer have to wait
until youre 40).
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): The USTTA may enter into contracts with
individuals or corporations only at an E.C. meeting and only after the proposed contract has
been reviewed and commented on by a lawyer, preferably the USTTA Legal Advisor. [This
probably reverberates to Boggan having apparently been too private with the Houston U.S.
Open contract.] Passed 5-1 (LB) -0.
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): A draw should not be changed after being
posted or revealed, except as follows:
No alterations may be made in the draw of any event after play has started
in that event. A qualifying competition and the knockout competition may be regarded
as separate events.
No player or pair may be deleted from the draw without his or their
permission, except for scratching or disqualification by the Referee or Tournament
Chairman or Committee for reasons within their jurisdiction. No player or doubles
team may be moved from one place in a posted draw to another except with their
permission.
If, in circumstances such as the withdrawal of a large proportion of the
players, an event becomes so unbalanced that rearrangement is necessary, the event
should, if practicable, be completely re-drawn according to the original procedure.
Exceptionally, where the imbalance is due to the absence of several seeded players or
pairs from the same section of the draw and a complete re-draw is impractical, the
remaining seeded players or pairs may be renumbered in ranking order and re-drawn to
the extent possible among the seeded places, leaving the remainder of the draw
unchanged. Passed 5-0-1 (DM).
168

George Ottos PR man, Andrew Tobin, said his services would cost the Association
$1,000 per month plus expenses. Otto himself presented a proposal to the E.C. that
includes an analysis of how we presently are operating, analysis of our Constitution and
Bylaws, analysis of the structure and function of the E.C., etc. Otto would do this
preliminary program for four months for a fee of $500 per month and expenses, not to exceed
$200 per month. Fox objected that this proposal wasnt mentioned in the agenda, so he cant
vote on it, as it isnt mentioned in his proxy note. CD apologized for having overlooked the
proposal in making the agenda. Harrison moved we accept Ottos proposal. Passed 6-0-2
(DM, JK).
Otto,
according to
Disneys
From The
President
column (TTT,
Nov.-Dec.,
1975, 11),
wants to be
the Executive
Secretary of
the USTTA,
and is now the
Executive
Secretary of
the Table
Tennis
D-J Lee (L) and Sol Schiff at the National Sports Festival in Chicago.
Manufacturers
Photo by Mal Anderson
Association
(the six
charter members of which are Crown Recreation, Sportcraft, Indian Industries, Harvard Table
Tennis, Martin-Kilpatrick, and Detroit Wood Products). Charlie, who with other E.C.
members will visit the National Sporting Goods Association Show here in Chicago, calls Otto
a very fine professional, and says, we couldnt have a better man. Disney also wants
USTTA members to urge appropriate stores in their areas to sell higher-priced, quality USTTA
approved equipment. And he asks the manufacturers and media to institute some feedback
that is, mention For further information on Table Tennis tournaments, clubs, or rules
contact the United States Table Tennis Association, Box 815, Orange, Conn. 06477.
JRH proposal: That USTTA Certified Coaches receive 20% finders fees for all new
members they sign up....Passed by general consent. Coaching Chair Jeff Smart wants to
spend the rest of his budgeted Coaching funds to bring together THREE of our countrys top
player/coaches [all their expenses paid] to run a clinic designed to teach coaches the latest and
most advanced techniques. Hes picked Monty Merchant, D-J Lee, and Alex Tamwith
alternates Jeff Smart and Dan Seemiller. (Why not Wuvanich, whose coaching articles we see
in Topics?) The clinic is to be held at Merchants Mobile, Alabama club Mar. 30-Apr. 3thats
the week after the $2000 tournament in Baton Rouge. The three coaches will not be paid, but
are asked to contribute their services for the benefit of the coaching program in this country.
169

Charlie Wuvanich clinic at Disneys

Photos by Gary Elwell

The first ten certified

coaches who apply will
receive $100 to help
defray their expenses.
Other certified coaches
may attend the clinic
free. Uncertified coaches
may attend for a fee of
$50 that will go back
into the Coaching fund.
Bylaw Change
(proposed by NF): If
an affiliate has more that
two 1 or 2-star
tournaments during the
season, the sanction fees
will be as follows: 3rd
tournament$37.50;
4th$33.35; 5th through
12th$25. Passed 4-1
(MRA)-1 (LB). D-J Lee
complained that the
Ohio TTA kept
sanctioning
developmental
tournaments one week
before his tournaments.
NF said he would not

allow this for the next two tournaments.

Standing Rule. Mailing labels for use in tournaments in contiguous states will be sold
to affiliated clubs at cost. Labels for all other uses will be sold for $.03 each. Passed 3 (LB,
CD, JRH)-2 (SS, JK)-2 (MRA, DM).
Bylaw Change (proposed by DM):
A Bylaw change can be proposed and voted on through the mail. The Proposer
of a change by a mail vote will state the reasons for his proposal; after not less than 30 days
the E.C. shall vote on the proposal by mail. The change will pass if at least 2/3 of the entire
E.C. members [agree to pass it].[If] they want this proposal discussed at the next E.C.
meeting[it] will be put on the agendaas a previously proposed Bylaw change. The
President shall appoint a special committee to establish the procedure for conducting a mail
vote, including the count thereof.Passed 5-0-2 (MRA, CD).
Bylaw Change (proposed by MRA): Provide a site, including chairs and desks or
tables, for the USTTA Rules Committee Chairman or his representative to give the USTTA
National Umpires exam.Passed 6-1 (DM)-0. Rules Committee has spent to date $668.88 on
170

badges for umpires. Currently there are 202 Qualified Umpires, 9 Regional
Us, 1 National U, 1 International U with three candidates for I.U. waiting
to hear if they passed. Miles asked if we would be able to provide 200
umpires for the 1979 Worlds; MRA answered probably not.
Bylaw Change (MRA). Change Affiliation fee from $10 to $15 a
year. Passed 5-0-1 (LB). Bylaw Change (MRA): Make that $35 (not
$45) for three years. Passed 4-0-2 (CD, TB). Bylaw Change: Eliminate
Affiliate memberships. Passed: 4-0-2 (SS, MRA).
JRH moved: That the Corresponding Secretary will write
[Peter] Stephens one more time, and if we dont receive the records
within one month the matter will be referred to the Disciplinary
Committee. Passed unanimously. [Peter was to audit the USTTA books
and so received certain financial records which, when it was decided he
Erich Haring
wasnt going to do the audit, he hasnt returned.]
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jack Carr, USTTA Equipment Committee Chair,
says that Rufford Harrison, the extremely capable and
intelligent ITTF Equipment Chair, is working diligently to correct deficiencies
in table regulations. One doesnt have to read between the lines, though, to get
the idea that Rufford had better work harder at problem solving, for according
to Jack, problem identifier extraordinaire, theres much to be done:
R

uffor
The ITTF Laws of Table Tennis do not define precisely the
d Ha
rriso
n
following: Tolerances for width, height, length, horizontal flatness, or
degree of warping allowed. There are no definitions for rigidity, durability,
sturdiness, appearance, coefficient of friction, hardness, roughness, reinforcement or
types of undercarriage, or resilience. The table may be made of any material and there
is no minimum thickness, and there is no tolerance for the thickness or width of the
white lines on the table top. The type table finish is not specified and there is no
requirement that the paint not adhere to the ball. The Laws do not specify that the
table accept any ITTF-approved net assembly. The gloss has been stated but the degree
of darkness has not been specified.

Were to understand that Jack is thinking here of the membership. So he asks them to
please make your own examination [when buying a table] and play on it to assure that it
meets with your personal needs and desires.
When Warren Rasmussen was no longer Library and Film Committee Chair, Boggan,
the E.C. member responsible for that Chair, after some initial reluctance suggested Bill Hodge
for the position. Largely because in reply to Tims reservations, Bill
Bill Hodge
sent him a long Aug. 22, 1975 letter, parts of which I reproduce here
(the more so because Im always trying to give backgrounds of
prominent USTTA members):
You call me a transient, a sojourner.[But] Ive lived in
[just] two cities in [the last]17 years, and have been steadily
employed almost all those 17 years. The apt. I am in right now has
been my home for three years now. Transient?...
171

You say the Film Chairman should be a person whos rooted somewhere,
who has a strong sense of the past, a historical perspective. Perhaps Im not rooted
strong enough. But I do have a strong sense of the past. In fact, for years now, I have
had my own Library. Approximately 80 pounds of papers, magazines, Topics,
correspondence, etc. I also have much of Dick Evanss old papers, including USTTA
newsletters going back to Nov., 1934, and Topics back to Nov., 1962.
[Tim worries that Bill wont be careful enough with the films. But, talk about
being careful, Bill says,] DOES THE USTTA HAVE 40 YEARS WORTH OF
FILMS NOW?...Ill bet the USTTA has been RAPED.From what Ive gathered,
everybody and anybody has USTTA films all over this country.[Bill says if hes Chair
hell damn well get them back. Actually, I dont think the USTTA ever had many films
or copies of films, but regarding those never returned, how might Bill get them back?
With help from Rasmussen? Is he available?]
[As for Bill being a dependable worker, he says]:
Most of my jobs in the past 15 years have been in the Transportation
industry. I have specialized in going to problem-plagued companies. Putting in new
methods and procedures, organizing and systemizing and solving their problems, then
moving on to a similar company.My last job in Ohio was with Columbus Retail
Merchants Delivery. I was a key executive. Retail is the largest Pool Distributor in
Ohio, delivering over 1 million pounds of freight per day for about 900 manufacturers.
Our terminal was about 800,000 cubic feet, and had 92 doors for loading freight, the
largest in Ohio. We could even unload 6 railroad cars inside at one time. Get an idea of
how big it was. TimI was in charge of all claims, processing approximately
$5,000,000 in claims per year. I approved all claims. AdditionallyI was the
Security Chief. I set up the entire security system, hired Pinkerton guards, worked
with the FBI and local police by putting undercover men on the dock, and in fact
helped prosecute three men we caught through this undercover operation. I was
the only contact between the company and Pinkerton. Also, I was in complete
charge of OS&D and Tracing, with nine employees in that Department. When I left
that company I forfeited a stock option of 500 shares of stock, valued at
approximately $35 per shareand I could have exercised my option at a buy of
$12, leaving me with a profit of $23 per share x 500 shares, or about $12,000. I
say I could, but I didnt. Crazy? Maybe so, but I did it for a principle.I could
have cashed in, then quit, but to me that would have been phony or deceitful.
Anyway, having a strong sense of what is Right, I simply quit. The rest of the story
is personal. The Company wronged me, so I left. But the point isI had a hell of a
lot of responsibility.
Here in Vegas I was Food and Beverage Manager at Caesars Palace on
graveyard for eight months, having responsibility over 300 food and beverage
employees, overall supervision over four bars, four restaurants and the main show
room. Responsibility? I have also worked for the Thunderbird, Desert Inn, and
Sands Hotels in Purchasing, Warehouse, and Receiving Departments, being in
charge of, and responsible for, millions of dollars worth of merchandise. I need go
no further when listing my work record qualifications. No past employer during
the past 20 years will say anything bad about my work. I am proud of it. While I
may act wild at TT, my work is another thing.
172

Bill Hodge
in action

I have spent one hell of a lot of my time

devoted to TT, without pay. Nothing. In two weeks I start
teaching here at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, two
evenings a week at $29 per hour. Additionally, our Club,
which I am President of, is also moving into the
University. And finally, one day a week I am teaching kids
at a new recreation center.
Wheres my letterhead and envelopes? What do I
do for postage? Who makes the film copies?... [CD
ordered TB to send the films to Hodge.]

Theres much talk about the composition of U.S. Teams.

Selection Committee Chair John Read presented his
report. For small events the latest Ratings will be used with emphasis on young dedicated
players. Same thing for U.S. and Canadian Opens, but if possible have a second youth
team. Passed by general consent. However, for U.S. Worlds Team there were various
Motions and Amendments. TB moved that we allow the Selection Committee to name one
player directly to the team without playing in the Trials by a 2/3 majority vote. Passed 3 (JRH,
TB, SS)-2 (MRA, LB)-0. Motion to reconsider: Passed 6-0. Motion: That 1 man and 1
woman with an outstanding record can be named to the Worlds team before the Trials if both
the Selection Committee and the E.C. vote to do this with a 2/3 majority. Passed 4-3 (MRA,
LB. CD)-0. The 1977 U.S. World Team will consist of 5 men, 4 women. Passed. Miles moved
that that the top junior finishing in the top 7 at the Trials be put on the U.S. Team. Motion
failed: 1 (DM)-4(LB, MRA, SS, TB). MRA moved that the top junior finishing in the top 10
at the Trials be put on the U.S. Team. Motion passed: 3-2 (DM, TB)-1 (JRH). Fox is again
irritated that this Selection Committee discussion wasnt on the agenda, doubly irritated
because he himself is on the Selection Committee and hadnt seen Reads report. So again he
couldnt vote on the Motions.
JRH moved: That we recommend to the ITTF a change in their rules on team
relegation at the Worlds. At present, a team that misses a Worlds can request to be placed in
the first or second category if it is strong enough, in which case the bottom team in that
category which was just promoted, is relegated to the lower group. Harrison proposed that in
such a case the higher category be increased in size, and at the end of team play three teams be
relegated instead of two. Passed by general consent.
In his From The President column, Disney says hes looking for a U.S. World Team
Captain and Coach with the burning desire of a Vince Lombardi. Somebody whos willing
to push our players hard enough before going to the Worlds in training camps and organize
themget them together, do fund raising for them, give them enough desire
and discipline to form a strong unit.
Christmas Coaching Camps will be held by D-J Lee; Wuvanich, Chan
and Sears; and the Seemiller brothers.
LB moved: That the USTTA will provide half fare for two juniors
[selected by the Coaching Committee] to go to Japan for the Tamasu clinic.
They will be expected to be in good condition when they go there, and to
report on their trip in Topics and to disseminate the information they gain to
Hikosuke Tamasu other players. Passed 6-0.
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Windsor Olsons National Table Tennis League is running a

World Professional Table Tennis Championship in Haiti thats not been
sanctioned by the ITTF (Haiti isnt an ITTF affiliate). So U.S. players
cant play in it. Agreed by general consent.
Miless proposed contract for running the next five U.S. Opens
was discussed. In his Presidents column, Disney said he thought this 5year contract would add a lot of professionalism to our Nationals and create a more
experienced team effort year after year.
Robert Henry spoke for Oklahoma Citythey want another U.S. Open, perhaps in
1977. They want to work with one person, not Miles. Their Chamber of Commerce doesnt
want to make a profit; any profit would go back to the USTTA. CD said that Bob Griffin,
the President of the Manufacturers Association, is totally opposed to Miless contract. NF
stated that George Buben, Tournament Chairman for many U.S. Opens, and Fuarnado
Roberts, President of the Players Association, are totally opposed to this contract. CD
doesnt want the USTTA liable for any debts; the USTTA should get more money and
shouldnt give up all TV rights. Miles said he wouldnt vote on the contract, and that, if he
got it, hed resign from the E.C. It was decided later that it would be impractical to include
with the upcoming E.C. election ballots pros and cons, and an actual membership poll, as to
whether Miles should get this contract.
DM requested that the room situation in Houston be minuted. MRA refused to
minute it, so Miles moved that JRH take the minutes. Passed 5-2 (MRA, CD)-0. Miles had
asked repeatedly since August for E.C. members who owed $1400 to the USTTA Treasury for
Houston room bills to pay up. By our consent, Dick said, Houston had deducted this money
from the USTTA sanction fee. Anderson, who resumed taking the minutes, said hed refused
to minute the room situation because of its total stupidity. Per the Bylaws, the E.C.
members do not pay hotel bills at the U.S. Open, the sponsor does. The fact that Miles traded
away our rooms without our knowledge does not obligate us to pay. If anyone owes this
money to the USTTA, it is Miles. CD directs Miles to assume responsibility for paying the
umpires fees owed the membership from the 1975 U.S. Open, which Miles guaranteed the
President when he said he would protect the interest of the USTTA.
One Houston Open participant, Paul Jackson, said that at the tournament it it was
almost impossible to determine who was playing who, when or where. Also, he thought that
when the umpire returns the score sheet, ball, and pencil to the control desk, he should be paid
immediately. And, as there were quite a few matches not umpired, who do those dollars,
forcefully collected, go to?
DM said: In his opinion, the most important item on the agenda, the election
procedures, was put off for discussion until the late hour of 10:45 p.m. Saturday. CD said
that was to keep the discussion of them from disrupting the orderly flow of this meeting.
DM asked the President to poll the E.C. concerning changing the election procedures. Poll
results: CD and JRH: considering changes now would be premature, we should wait for
George Ottos report. NF stated Carr would prefer to wait for Ottos report. SS thinks
elections should be by state. LB abstained. TB likes the preferential ballot. DM says the
membership itself should decide how to elect its officers. The possible election procedures
should be outlined in Topics ASAP with an accompanying check-off box for the membership
to let us know which system they prefer. Miles, for what its worth, recommends the
preferential ballot.
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DM said, That since 3/9 of the present E.C. were not elected to their present
positions by the membership, including the President, a Bylaw change be considered that
would establish that all vacancies on the E.C. would automatically be filled by the candidate
for that office who, in the previous election, received the next highest number of votes. DM
asked for a poll of the E.C. to see who would support this Bylaw change in a mail vote.
Results: CDno: the E.C. can fill vacancies with people who are more capable than the next
most popular candidate. JRHno. MRAno. DMyes. TByes. SSno. JKno. LB
no.
The Meeting ended after slightly more discussion but no further voting on anything,
and after more proposed Bylaw Changes by MRA (to be taken up later).
SELECTED NOTES.
*Carrs suggestions here that only certain selected candidates be allowed to run for
E.C. office echo Chair Fred Danners Nominating Committee Report on the 1975 Election.
That Report, unsigned, which I now cant find a copy of, drew, what I do have a copy of, a
furious critique from me, especially since I myself was maligned in it. Now, from a perspective
of over 30 years, I find it hard to believe that Fred himself, who ran for office in that Election,
wrote all that appeared there.
Later, for the 1976 Election, Carl Danner would send out a form in which he asked
Executive Vice-President Rufford Harrison, who was running for office, to check, as
Rufford said, which candidates I felt worthy of nomination. I dont know who received these
forms, dont know if I as an E.C. member got such a form, Ive no record of it, but I do have a
copy of Ruffords response and obviously his input matteredeven a response like, I cannot
in all honesty vote against anyone who is opposing me, but were it fitting I comment on a
fellow candidate, I would not vote for Brenner [whom hes running against.]. Rufford goes on
to give his opinion of candidates. He wants to know whos on this Nominating Committee,
wants to know why certain candidates are acceptable, others notwhy, for example, Schiff is
acceptable to the Committee but Miles isnt.
Obviously theres not enough transparency in all this.

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Chapter Twelve
1975: Wuvanich Wins $3,000 Detroiter Nationals (No Womens Event!). 1975:
Wuvanich Wins Zakarins $1,750 Pro Tour #1. 1975: $2,175 USOTCs: Champions:
Canadian Men and Juniors; U.S.
Women.
In the First Annual Detroiter
Nationals, held Nov. 1-2, 1975 at
the Oklahoma City
Myriad, Charlie
Wuvanich, having
arrived bat and
baggage in the U.S.
from Thailand and
Australia, Bangkokboxed and kangarookicked straightaway
into the Open Singles
to win the $500 1st
Prize. And who did he
take it away from?
Why Danny Seemiller
Ron Shirley - comparisons invited
of courseno longer
centered #1 in the U.S. table tennis ring.
This Nationalssponsored by the Michigan Ladder Company whose representatives,
President Mark Lippincott and Manufacturing Director George Perrett, were on hand to
survey the sceneinvited comparison with the 1974 U.S. Nationals in that it featured the
same venue and the same Director, Ron Shirley, who was not without his problems. Friday
night, just before the start of the weekend tournament, there was a near paralyzing last minute
refusal by the trucking company to deliver the tables to the Myriad. But Ron was able to enlist
his Table Tennis Oklahoma (TTO) buddies to get the tables there, four at a timeand even
managed to pick me up at the airport as well.
Rons highly experienced behind-the-desk crew of Billie Watkins, Barbara Coffman,
and Sue and Gene Sargent had an ingenious peg-board system for calling matches. The board
itself was sturdily backed and mounted with pegs made of aircraft rivets and dowels glued
together and painted red. It could hold over 200 inserted slips of alphabetized names, so that
anyone working at the desk could tell at a glance who was playing a match and who was not.
Detroiter gave away $3,000 in money prizes in Open Singles, Open Doubles, A, B, C
Class events, and Senior Singles. Which meant that more than half the participants (76 out of
137) won moneyfrom 32nd in Open Singles ($10) down through the Class events to 8th in
Senior Singles ($10). Since the sponsors had decided to give out $2300 of the $3000 for Open
Singles and Doubles, there was still some money left over for the majority of entries playing in
the popular A, B, C, even Senior divisions. Lets hope that mercifully one poor hand wasnt
responsible for all the checks made, signed, and handed out.Whats that? Womens prizes?
Sorry, said the sponsor, there wasnt any suitable prize money available for the top women
176

players. And since it was impossible to be so unfair as to have

money prizes for the men but not for the women, the only thing
left to do, as if hopefully nobody would notice, was simply not to
have the Womens Singles and Doubles.
Of course Takako Trenholme, for one, did notice, and
complained (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 16). How, she asks, can the
United States expect to build a top quality womens team if the
major tournaments offer no incentive for women to participate? She
urges (1) that Every USTTA sanctioned tournament must have a
Womens event and (2) that the prize money for the first and
second places in the Womens Open should not be less than one-third
of the corresponding prize money offered for the Mens Open. Is
that too muchor too littleto ask?
When a spokesperson for TTO responded that, hey, women
Women want to play
had the opportunity to enter any number of other events, including
for money too
the Open Singles, Takako felt that such a response suggested a
cavalier disregard of sex-based events. She wonders how many
players would care to do away with boys, girls, junior, junior miss, senior womens senior mens,
esquires because they can all play in one big Open Singles. TTOs response was absurd.
San Antonios Cindy Garza said with a wink that maybe the girls should have boycotted
(girlcotted?) the tournament. But Cindy did play in the one sport event the men couldnt play in
unless the women didthe Mixed Doubleswhere unfortunately for Cindy and her partner Doug
Hibbs there was no prize money, not even for being runner-ups in the event.
Leslie Harris, from Memphis, thought it was awful there werent any money prizes
for women, but was thankful shed earlier gotten her mans forehand by playing against men.
She wasnt too put out because she not only got to play in the Mixed with Mike Veillette but
in some other events as well, one of which, the Es, she won from Mike Roddy in five.
Pretty, provocative, 14-year-old Kasia Dawidowicz, another smiling but penniless
winner, said she likes to run and ride a motorcycle. Her dad, by the way, is quite a hustler. He
affably takes out a compact mirror and, keeping the picture of himself hidden in his hand, says
he hasnt got a racket but will play you with this thing, and with only a 15-point spot. No, they
wouldnt let him enter the $100 1st-Prize As.
Kasia said she was very interested in what people should and shouldnt do. So she likes to
read. A law book, perhaps (When parents get divorced, what happens to the children?). She also
said she was trying to straighten out her English and PolishI cant always get my sentences
together, she confessed. I get all mixed
up. But there sure wasnt anything
mixed up about her play here at the
Myriad. She got Danny Seemiller for a
partner in the Mixed and they never lost
a game. And in a mini battle of the sexes,
Kasia beat both her male rivals, Johnny
Cortez and Mark Stoolz to win the
Under 15s. However, Johnny and Mark
did come 1st in the 15 Doubles over
Kasia and Keith Kalny in five.
Johnny Cortez
Kasia Dawidowicz
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Mark Stoolz - frisbee expert

Photos by Don Tullons, from Oct. 14, 1975 Daily Oklahoman

Young Stoolz took the Under 13s from Toby Fleharty without any trouble. He expects
to have a problem or two though in a nation-wide Frisbee contest. After three years of
competition Marks gotten good enough (can, for example, pinpoint straight flights, curve
flights, skip flights into an outstretched hand in a circle to win his 15 and Under Regional
competition, and is now looking to flick Frisbees on TV for a $1,000 bond. Already its as if
hes a little professional. Maybe Ill be on the Howard Cosell Show, he said. But thats lowrated, so were trying for Merv Griffin or Dinah Shore.
Dean Galardi was carrying around all day Saturday and Sunday what he said was a
two-gallon jug of orange juice. Deano took down just-back-from-Japan Perry Schwartzberg in
the Under 17 final. Perry was telling people how the tables in Japan were so different from
ours. They were so slick, he said, the balls didnt grab, the tables didnt take any of the
spin. In the five weeks I was there, he said, I couldnt even learn how to hear the ball, their
tables were so thick. In the semis of the 17s, Galardi knocked out Michigans Kurt Lloyd
who was later to get a $100 revenge of sorts by winning the As in five from Deanos buddy
Rob Lange. On losing a game to penholder Lloyd in the Mens, Bernie Bukiet said, Where he
learn to play like this? He went to Japan?
Brock Huler, also from Michigan, teamed
with Kurt to win the Under 17 Doubles from
Schwartzberg/Dawidowicz, and then on his own
took the Ds over Jose Marin. More importantly,
he lost in the finals of the Cswon $25.
Colorados Dana Jeffries, the C Champ, dropped a
deuce-in-the-3rd match in the Bs to Baton Rouges
Bruce Smith who was already priming himself for
some of that $2,000 prize money theyll be
offering in their pro tournament in the spring.
Bruce in turn lost a five-game final in the Bs to Allan
Lee wholl be going back to Kansas City $75 richer.
Also $75 richer from the Seniors event
alone was indestructible three-time U.S. Champ
Bernie Bukiet. This summer for a few days Bernie
Bernie Bukiet
had been in good company at a Super Sports
Drawing by E.Weiner
178

Show at the Doral in Miami. Mantle, Mays, Havilicek, Goodrich, Wills, Carter, and Norton
were some of the stars he and exhibition partner Jerry Thrasher were posing with. Although I
remember Bernie wearing a colorful, collegiate Property of City Jail t-shirt with a picture of
some unshaven bum looking out resignedly from behind bars on it, I know he feels free and
happy in Miami and has a loyal friend in Joe Newgarden who for years has helped to keep
table tennis alive and well in Florida.
Bernies under doctors orders to keep himself in shape. It seems that for 20 years hes
had back trouble. So each morning here in Oklahoma City I would watch as he started his day
with a number of exercises. First he would carefully spread a bath towel on the carpet, then to
the accompaniment of TVBugs Bunny or The Roadrunner (Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep!)he
would lie down on his back, clasp his hands behind his head, and then (Without this I couldnt
play, I would be so scared), head down, would kick his feet up and so upend his barrel torso
to a sit-up position. Over and over again with a great rush of blood and much heavy breathing
and huffing and puffing Bernie would get himself up into that position. No waynot in
Poland, not in Germany, not in Chicago did I ever have to do this. But now, he said, it was
good for him. This gets me confident, he said.
Sam Shannon, who plays out of the Evansville, Indiana Club, was
another cripple of sorts who was also a winner. Troubled with arthritis,
both his knees bandaged, he yet won all his matches in the round robin
Esquire over runner-up Marshall Gordon and other tough-minded Texas/
Oklahoma competition. Ohhh, all those Over 40, Over 50 guys play as if
their life depended on it. Me too. Case in point: the Open Doubles,
where I partnered Bukiet whom Id been runner-up to in the Seniors. In
the past we hadnt been very successful playing togetherBernie had
been afraid I was too often going to swing away with my hit-or-miss
forehand. But this time he never said a word to meand we damn near
did the impossible. Against Wuvanich and Chan in the semis, we twice
Sam Shannon
won deuce games to stave off defeat and then in the 5th from 10-7 down,
putting together a string of smashed serves, all-out counters, and flat pick-hits, we went up
13-10alas, only to lose at 16. The Thais then went on to an easy final over Seemiller/Mike
Bush whod eliminated Hibbs/Bob ONeill in the semis.
A Doubles went to Gary Garner/John Hewes over Hibbs/Irl
Copely. B Doubles to Dick Coffman/Tang over Garner/Steve
Arnold. C Doubles to Garner/Jeff Wise over Paul Sumrall and James
Rautis, the Open Consolation winner over David Babcock. Senior
Doubles: Boggan/Hugh Lax over R.C. Watkins/Wise.
Mentioning my own play has allowed me to move on now to
the Open Singles, where in the 8ths (quarters got you at least $75)
I had a 24, 17, -10, 18 win over Mike Veillette. Mike gave me every
break in the 26-24 first game, correcting two calls of mine where on
both occasions Id strangely thought hed won the point when he
David Babcock
said he hadnt. On rallying for the win in that last game after being
down 9-2, I finished with my customary deep, deep quite ridiculous
but to me immensely satisfying roar heard round the arena.
Another 8ths that could have been as upsetting, but wasnt, was Larry Thomans match
against Mike Bush. Earlier in close play, Larry had surprised Joe Cummings (Crazy Joe
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Cummings Id called him before in print, and this weekend, not so

crazily, hed wanted to know whyIt just sounded right, Joe, I
said, matches your game). Had Bush lost that opening deuce game
to Thoman who allowed him only 12 in the second, Mikes black tshirt that read Bad Company would have given off much stronger
vibes.
Al Everett, whod played so profitably in the $3,000
tournament in Phoenix in August, put up strong resistance in his 8ths
match with Lim Ming Chui before losing in four. Ming had flown in at
the last moment from somewhat inaccessible Vermont and, surprised
that the Open and Mixed Doubles draws had been made, wondered
who hed been paired with. Imagine his further surprise when he
discovered the answer wasNo one.
It irritated me that all the 8ths matches were played at one time
and were indiscriminately assigned to tables where the lighting was
good or bad. Clearly, with his $2,300 prize money allotment, the
sponsor was showing the importance of the Open Singles and
Doubles. But to the women running the tournament every player
Joe Cummings
seemed an identical peg in the board. Same thing when it came time to
play the quartersall four matches were put on together.
Wuvanich vs.Bukiet. Bernie was worried about his French sneakersthey were no
good on this non-wooden floor. It was very important for his feet that he have basketball shoes
to play here. He was also complaining about his racket. One side had bad rubber. The
manufacturers, he said, sent bad stuff to this country. The Mark V the Swedish stars use and
the Mark V other people use are very different. Johansson uses harder and heavier rubber. If
youre not a good player, he said, you dont know this difference. Can you tell with your
glasses which side rubber is better? And he flipped over his racket and flipped it back again.
The rubber looked the same to me. But this side is very bad, said Bernie. And off he went to
the tableto get beat 9, 11, 16. Wuvanich has good rubber, he said to me later.
Chui vs. Bush. You cant warm up around here, Bush had complained on being
called for his match. But Mike, someone said, youve just warmed up for 45 minutes! It
wasnt enoughhe lost 10, 15, 7.
Chan vs. Boggan. Against Chan, who smiled, said a few pleasant words, smiled and
carefully warmed me up in the few minutes before our match, I played every point as hard as I
could (though not all-out aggressively as I should have)and averaged 11 points a game.
Seemiller vs. Galardi. Dean, full of Vitamin C, broke the patternhe took the first
game from Danny. But then lost the next three.
Time now for the semis, and I couldnt believe it. I absolutely couldnt believe it. They
were calling both matches at the same time and mixing them in with other play on the floor. B
Doubles was the match on one of the tables adjacent. Those running the tournament felt not
the top players but others deserved to be accommodated. Many players complain they dont
want to watch the top players, said one. They dont want their own matches held up. People
have to drive back home tonight. Weve got wide open spaces out here. Some people have
hundreds of miles to go.
No doubt. Still this seemed a begging of the question. I couldnt believe that those who
ran the tournament couldnt plan it so the late-round players would get the attention they
180

deserved. Im not a competitive person, said another voice behind the desk. Which,
translated to me, meant, I really cant get very excited about the matchesthe pegs are just
as interesting. To get all the matches playedthats my fun. Moreover, word was, The final
has to be on by three oclock. Radios covering it. The TV people are going to film it. Isnt
that attention enough?
One Open semis was Wuvanich vs. Chui; the other, Seemiller vs. Chan. Both were
scheduled to get under way on one of the nine tables in play down the line. For some reason,
though, the Seemiller-Chan match was slow to start. Perhaps Danny, too, had protestedI
mean, it really was infuriating: there was a guy in overalls and a drab Detroiter T-shirt playing
next to him.
Wuvanich and Chui didnt seem to be getting along too wellbut perhaps it was just a
kind of gamesmanship, for at Zakarins Pro tournament on Long Island a month later Chui
would be offering helpful (though waved-off) advice to Wuvanich in his final against Seemiller.
Charlie asked Ming to stop blowing on the ballthough I doubted he really thought Ming,
dripping saliva, was going to serve a wet ball. Then, down 20-19, Chui himself received a
serve that he said slid right off his racket.
When Im serving, Ming said, I feel very comfortable playing Wuvanich. So half the
time he doesnt feel very comfortable against Charlie? After Chui had taken the 3rd game to
keep his hopes alive, the 4th game went crazily off balance. Ming, apparently seeing the match
was hopeless, began swinging wildly, sending Wuvanich all over the place to retrieve balls that
kept bouncing and rolling away from him. After which, when it was Mings serve, Charlie once
deliberately wound up and smacked the ball 40 feet over Chuis head out of sight.
In the Nissen Open in
September Seemiller had to go
five to beat Chan. So it figured
he might have a problem with
him herethe more so
because Dannys shoulders
acting up and hes applying
Ben-Gay to it. In their first
game, the left-handed Chan,
who they say practices every
day against anti (he and
Wuvanich bothwith of
course Seemiller specifically in
mind) is 19-16 up. Hes not
making errors and, as I found
out against him earlier, he has
a very effective quick, low
push which you must move
fast to your forehand to
Chuchai Chan
topspin. If you dont, youll
Photo by Don Weems
suffer the consequences of
Chans fast-hopping forehand. And, believe me, it doesnt matter how many of those I blocked
backonce he started hitting them I wasnt going to win the point. Or, as Danny put it, I
have to kill, I cant block against Chan.
181

However, Chuchai couldnt hold his first-game lead and Danny, fist all a clench, yelled hed
won a big one. The second was 21-15 easier for Danny. But in the third, Seemiller, down 16-14,
served four of his next five serves off the table! I cant believe Im a professional player, he said at
the break. Which of course was the perfect cue for Shirley and his tournament crew to finally make
an arena court for a hell of a lot of very interested player-spectators. And now Danny, reminding
himself to loop Chans serves if they came long, coasted to a 21-13 win.
The fiery rivalry between the countrys two best players had been fanned by their
controversy at the Oct. Atlanta Open where Seemiller and Wuvanich had disputed a bat rule
call, Danny to the point of cursing, throwing his racket, and doing a little name-calling. Here,
however, hes put on a 1975 Detroiter Nationals playing shirt, and appears calmly ready to do
his best for the sponsor and TV. Charlie looks, as is his habit, deceptively unconcerned. That
is, until play starts, for, from the first point on, he begins yelling, Woosh!
Danny, down 10-5 and losing still another point on his serve, offers a directive to
himself: The serve is very important, he says aloud. Losing still another point, he says to
himself, Youre ridiculous. Youre absolutely ridiculous. Wuvanich quite agreeshes up
20-6. First game to Charlie, 21-10. Thats right, Danny won four in a row before
succumbinghe wasnt giving up a thing.

Wuvanich (top) vs. Seemiller. Umpire is Gene Sargent.

Photos by Don Weems

182

Towards the end of this first game, play was momentarily stopped while Chui (at first
alone, then ultimately with about 150 people around him, had to try to work out a little
problem that originated at ringside then moved on out to the parking lot. I never took an
insult in my life, he was shouting, and, continuing to disrupt play, he persisted in demanding
an apology from the accused offender, if not his frightened family members. But, enoughIm
not going to detail the several bizarre scenes involving an almost beside himself Ming both
before and after this match.
In the second game Danny fought magnificently. He held off two game points, then pulled it
out 23-21. In the third, though, he faltered again and was haplessly down 10-3. Haplessly but not
hopelessly. However, after narrowing the score to 17-14, Danny, his reflexes as taut as possible,
wound up lying atop the table, head over the net as over a chopping block. Did the TV cameras
catch that? Sensational. But not good enough for Seemillerhes 2-1 down.
In the 4th its 10-all when Charlie gets a big break. He lofts a return that Seemillers all
set to clobber but the ball catches Dannys back edge. Danny shakes his head, says, Sure
point aloud. Then another breakWuvanich gets a net, and Seemiller is down 14-10. But
then, turnabout, a 10-3 swing for Danny, and hes up game point, 20-17. Charlie looks at
Chuchai. But Chan waves him on, as if his best advice is, Never mind, play! And, fantastic,
Charlie serves once, twice, three times, and each time follows with a devastating, pointwinning forehand. Then of course (isnt it always the way?) he gets an almost deserving edge
and runs the game out.
After the match Danny is disconsolate. You dont go down like that, he keeps saying
over and over again. You dont go down blocking and pushing like that. That block of mines
always been my nemesis. It always comes back to haunt me. Up 20-17 I thought I couldnt
lose. But he served three times long and I just patted the ball back.
On and on Danny kept talking to himself. Aloud. As if, were enough others to hear
him, at least one would give him an alternate reality. What kind of professional am I? Ive lost
so much confidence in myself this match.
As for Wuvanich, hes got to be feelin pretty good. But of course he works at it. Joe
Soucheray of the Minneapolis Tribune tells us (TTT, Mar.-Apr.,1976, 9) a bit about Charlies
life, past and present:
Chayanont Wuvanich was born 27 years ago in Bangkok, Thailand after his
parents had emigrated from China. His father, U Chien-wang was a basketball player,
and his mother, Vipa, a long-distance runner. They were athletic hobbyists, however,
and quizzical at first when Charlie began spending four hours a day at table tennis
when he was seven.
We had tables in all the schools, Charlie says. The game was a way many of
us could prove ourselves to the world. I didnt want to be just a good player, I wanted
to be famous.
Charlie began representing Thailand as a senior player when he was 13. In 1967
and 1968 King Phumipol himself decorated Charlie as Thailands Sportsman of the
Year.
In 1969 he visited Australia. His parents were pleased for him. They had started
a string of cotton mills and fertilizer plants and were able to afford the extravagance of
sending their son abroad. Secretly they hoped that Charlie, who spoke no English,
would find the experience humbling and return to the family business.
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Thank you for the radio, Charlie

says. When I got to Australia I learned
English from the radio and from
conversations. I started hanging around the
Victoria Table Tennis Club in Melbourne,
like people hang around here at Disneys
[that includes Charlie of course who has a
nearby apartment but comes to the club
A Human Whip
Photo by Don Weems
everyday after running the 7 miles of road
work that builds his stamina].
A Yugoslavian there [in
Melbourne] named Mike Kredinak gave me
a room in his familys home. He wasnt a
good player, but he was a fan.
Wuvanich trained up to 12 hours a
day on weekends. He was installed as coach
of the Australian national team after two
years of earning his keep with clinics and
exhibitions.
Before the 1975 World
Championships in Calcutta, India, Charlie
[now the perennial Australian Champion]
returned home for a visit.
Dont keep on with this, his father
told him.
Ive just started, Charlie said.
But you can run the factories, the father said. You can be wealthy at home,
far more wealthy than youll ever be playing Ping-Pong.
[True, and since his primary investment is his athletic self, Charlie] runs daily,
skips rope, swings a leaded paddle, and stretches his body like a contortionist to
improve his flexibility. At 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds he is a human whip.
I like to show the way in matches, he says.I dont think about winning or
losing. I just like the battle and I like to control the excitement of the game. I figure
you need one big shot to win major competition and I have that with my forehand
smash. If thats working correctly I can beat anybody.
Zakarins Pro Tour #1
Well, Charlie will get another chance to beat Seemiller and anyone else at Mort
Zakarins $1,750 World Pro Tour #1, held Nov. 15-16 at Long Islands Adelphi University
Gym. Newsdays Greg Aiello tells us that the two-day tournament drew about 400 people
each day and that Zakarin said he expected to break even. Mort says hes got a saleable
product, and hopes to raise the prize money to $100,000 for the six-to-eight tournaments he
plans for next year. World Pro Tour #2 probably will be in late February in Detroit,
Philadelphia, or Boston, Zakarin said.
But then, almost as an afterthought, Mort writes in his own article (TTT, Nov-Dec.,
1975, 11) that, Because we [Mort and his partner Jules Rabin whod successfully handled the
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publicity for the 1972 Hofstra U.S. Open] did not have enough time for this first tournament
we did not accomplish all that we had hoped for.Were planning to have our next
tournament in May with successive tournaments following closely. We are taking it slowly so
that we have time to do it right. Does that sound encouraging? Danny Ganz certainly isnt
being optimistic when he says in his Topics column, Were wondering just how far the
[Zakarin] contract would stand up in court if the new Players group ousts the U.S.T.T.A. or
if they go in direct competition with World Table Tennis, Inc.
Later, I interviewed Mort (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976,
1; 10) and he told me, I just couldnt afford all the time I
was giving to not only playing the sport but trying to
organize it as well. As a commission
salesman who wanted to continue
making a good living, the only way I
could stay in table tennis was to turn it
into a business. But the Sports not
easy to sell. Just last week I blew a
day. Had a meeting in New York Citylunch with some people we thought
might help us. Picked up the tab. Of course if the circuit works, said
Mort, a number of people will make a decent living.Still at this moment
Mort Zakarin
in time, I hate to see young people give up their life options on the hope
that this pro tour will succeed. Thats scary. As for Mort, he says, Im shooting craps with
my own money. Im gonna try. But I cant tell them whats at the end of the rainbow. I told
Bush and Sverdlik, Dont look for me to make you a living.
Mort said he had back-to-back scheduled tournaments in Philadelphia and the N.Y.Long Island area (but didnt mention any specific venues or dates). He said his next
tournament would have $2,500 in prize money and a limited field of 28 players. I hope it
comes about, but Mort isnt really sounding too hopeful:
[He says the E.C. members are well meaning, but] the sad truth is they
dont have much talent or imagination. The same with many so-called local promoters
weve contacted round the country. They may have been in the game 30 years, may
have held weekly classes at a YMCA or Boys Club, but when you want help to really
try to promote professional table tennis in their area they give off very negative
vibrations. They say they dont really see any future in the sport. And they go back to
their self-enclosed little clubs. [Amateurs, says Mort, are bunglers. He and Jules
are for professionalism in table tennis.] Surprisingly enough, then, we want to get
involved with people who know nothing about table tennis.
I said, It sounds to me like you want something of a miracle. To which Mort
responded, My experiences in the last six months tell me that its gonna be a much harder pull
than I thoughtand that if Jules and I can make this thing happen it is gonna be something of
a miracle.
But, o.k., we at least have Pro Tour #1, and I loved itthe class idea behind it. A 32draw with only the top eight players automatically seeded in. The other 24 spots to be fought
for by 40 contenders through eight round robins of 5 players eachpositions in the draw
proper dependent on whether you finished 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in your round robin (finish 4th or
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5th and youre out). The only big swing match among the qualifiers was Rutledge Barrys win
over Mike Veillettewith the result that Rutledge would go on in the 1st Round 16ths to beat
the new Carl Danner, 2-0, and Mike would go on to lose to the old Errol Resek in 3.
There were other 2-1 matches in that round of 32 that drew ones attention. You
remember D-J of course. 6-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMP banner screaming above him, he
came out from his equipment table in the alcove, and against Gary Wittner it looked like he
wasnt sure why hed come to this tournament. Of course, as we could see, he still played
pretty well. Philips match with Ali Oveissi came a little too late for Dave to put it into his just
out Christmas book, but maybe someone was standing by with Alis super-camera, just in case
Ali himself would one day write his memoirs.
Down 20-17 in the 3rd against Sam
Balamoun and listening to his cry of near
victory, I, Tim, suddenly felt it was like
accepting defeat if I kept quiet, so I cried out
too. If you care enough, you win, I kept
telling myself, and, sure enough, I got the next
two points. Then I steered one of Sams high
lobs back overno, onto the net where it rode
almost to the end of the table before going over
onto Balamouns side. OHHHH, MY GOD!
lamented Sam. And then two points later, poor
guy, he had to endure my victory outburst.
An even more exciting match was
Reisman over Ralph Robinson, 30-28 in the 3rd.
Sam Balamoun
Marty had arrived default-time too late, but got
Photo by Barry Margolius
back into the draw through the varying good
graces of his round robin opponents and sponsor Zakarins, Look, Im determined not to have
any hassles here; what the professional players want, thats pretty much what I want to give
them. Marty obligingly did his break-the-cigarette trick for any amateur photographer who
wanted to climb over the barriers out into the court to snap it, then was ready for Robinson.
Or almost ready. Late in the 3rd game a ball from an adjacent table came bounding over,
interrupting play, and Ralph, without saying anything, wound up and swatted his own ball
awayso that Reisman, in the absence of an umpire, now claimed the point. Ah, how the
mighty have fallen. Marty said he was used to playing the ball through, wherever it was he
played, and was under the impression that they were not calling lets. Moreover, said Reisman,
refusing to yield, You didnt even call a let! Surebut dont actions speak louder than
words.
As play went on, Robinson had 4 or 5 ads, but couldnt close. Finally, at I believe 27all, Reisman, whos been quite unflappable throughout, stops play and turns to the table next
to him and asks Rory Brassington whos in a no-net high-wire match with Ricky Seemiller to
please cool it. Oh, ohnot the right thing to say to Rory, particularly not now when hes in
the 3rd game of his 8ths match, already more than of the way across the chasm of points and
in the approaching end-game needing to move steadily ahead. But shaken by this voice that
suddenly thundered it seemed into his consciousness, breaking his concentration, Brassington
roaried out, After 40 years this guy comes out of the woodwork and expects to be a
superstar! Marty goes on to win, but Rory, indignant, is down 20-18. At which point he lifts
186

an incredible lob at least 30 feet up into the rafters of the

gym, perhaps surprising a pigeon up there. Whether the
ball actually dropped or not, it was quite a comedown
for Rory, for he lost the point and of course the match.
Over he went then to kick an offending barrierwhich
broke everyone up.
Also in the 8ths, it was Wuvanich over Barry, DJ Lee over Boggan, Danny Seemiller over Roger
Sverdlik, and George The Chief Brathwaite over Mike
Bushall in straight games. Philip, skimming as it were
through his book of play at most of the right pages, just
20, 19 managed to get the better of Resek. And Dave
Sakai scored the biggest upset of his (King me!)
checkered career in 19, 20 downing Zlatko Cordas.
Sakai just kept blocking, and Cordas just kept missing.
After he won the last point Dave was so excited he
forgot himself, went running over to the barrier to be
hand-slapped by his friends before finally remembering
Roary
Brassington
to come back to a very patient Cordas still standing
there at the table.
For the tournament weekend, Wuvanich would be a house guest of mine (he bought
his own lettuce, orange juice, fruit, raisin and whole wheat bread, milk mixed with powdered
protein, steak.Mr. Boggan, would you like to share some dinner with me? The Friday
before the tournament, Charlie had sat in on a couple of my Long Island University classes in
Brooklyn. Mr. Wuvanich, Id said in introducing him to my students, How is it that youre
here, and what is it that you do?
What Charlie had better do now in his quarters match was quickly marshal his
strength, for SeemillerRicky, that istook the first game by looping and blocking as if he
were ready to play the European circuit. But then a turning point in the match occurred when
Charlie looped a ball that he and some other people, including Rickys brother Danny, thought
hit the edge. The umpire called it Wuvanichs point, but when Ricky said, Didnt that hit the
side? the umpire changed his call to Let. Charlie eventually agreed to play the point over,
and whatever magic Ricky had he lost, and Charlie went on to win the match comfortably. In
other quarters matches, Danny Seemiller stopped Philip, and Brathwaite finished off Sakai.
Chui, after beating Reisman easily in the 8ths, went hustling off, and began giving 2-1 odds on
himself over D-J Lee. Only, as it turned out, Ming couldnt get more than 12 points a game
from D-J whod obviously been practicing. Obviously, for D-J and Charlie won the Doubles
over Zlatko and The Chief whod ousted the Seemillers.
Time for the semis, and out come the four semifinalists, each batting a handful of table
tennis balls into the stands. In the one 2 out of 3 semis, as Lee is building up an
insurmountable 14-8 lead against Wuvanich in the first game, an unconcerned, unaware
photographer is walking back and forth, clicking her heels and trying to get up barrier-close to
flashbulb-blind the players. Lee takes lots of phantom swings, reminding me of those I
watched from the window Charlie in his jumpsuit was taking up and down the street outside
our house. But in the second game, D-J appears nervous and repeatedly serves into the net.
Why? Some say its the new Chinese anti hes trying to use on his backhand. In the third Lees
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no threat, and will have to content himself with Third Placeover Brathwaite who cant
contest his semis with Danny.
With the climactic 3 out of 5 final coming up (winner gets $750), one guy was going
around trying to get down $100 on Wuvanich, then at the last minute bet on Seemiller. First
time Ive ever seen the smart money so totally divided, said Reisman. The match gets
underway with Wuvanich taking 80% of the offense on his serves and more than 50% on
Seemillers serves. No wonder then Danny is down 9-4. But now he rallies, draws to 11-10.
Suddenly over the loudspeaker comes an Important message for Ricky Seemiller! A friend of
Dannys groans and, alluding to the possible bad news, says, Ohh, what could be worse for
Danny? But its Wuvanich who looks disturbed and even downright irritated. He misses two
serves in a row and the game breaks openDanny wins it at 17.
In the second, Seemiller is red-hot, wins 12 in a rowhas Charlie down 19-6.
Somebody says, Danny would beat Bengtsson playing like this. Amazingly, Wuvanich
doesnt try to slow up Seemillers pace. On the contrary, he hurries after the ball as if he cant
wait to get back to the table to lose another point. Is this a form of gamesmanship? He will at
least beat Danny in a non-stop physical fitness contest? Says the fellow next to me, Wuvanich
thinks hes the fastest player in the world. You cant tell him to slow down.
In the third, Danny,
down 17-11, has another
hot streak, rallies to 19-18
up. But Charlie, either as if
he doesnt feel any pressure
at all or, just the opposite,
strongly responds to it,
continues to pick up
Dannys long serve well
and, not too safe, and not
too soft, solidly takes three
points in a rowto change
Dannys universe.
In the fourth,
Wuvanich catches fire and
now its Seemillers turn to
get smacked around.
Danny looks like hes winning - or losing?
Charlie, up 16-6, is
Photo by Raul Rodriguez
unbelievably countering
some of Dannys strongest
loops. In the fifth, Seemiller cant do much of anything. If his short serve to Wuvanichs
forehand isnt short enough, its so hard for Danny to win because Charlie returns service so
well. And if Danny doesnt move over and topspin Charlies serve, he cant get the offense.
Wuvanich, people are saying, has the best heavy and sidespin chop serves of anybody in the
country.
Danny doesnt want to accept defeat, but has to. Beaten now four out of five times in
his matches with Charlie, he comes back to the barriers head down. I fall apart at the end
every time, he mutters. And you know what hes thinking. That after youve been #1, its
almost more than you can bear to be #2.
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$2,175 USOTCs
Mal Anderson reports (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 23) on the U.S. Open Team
Championships, held Nov. 28-30 at Detroits Cobo Hall Dbut, as well see later, hes not
alone in his comments. There were 69 Mens teams, 13 Womens, and 18 Juniors, and the
tournament was so well run, it was all over by 9 p.m. Sunday. Mal hopes Tournament
Director George Buben will host the tournament again next year. A number of top players
didnt show, but presumably that was because George and his Committee didnt guarantee
prize money in advance. Turns out, though, they gave away all their profits, didnt even pay
their workers. Mal suggests that these top players who want prize money could help the
sponsors, and themselves, by finding outside sponsors to donate prize money.
The $800 1st-Prize Mens
was won by undefeated Quebec
(Rod Young, Guy Germain, and
Adham Sharara); the $400 2ndPrize went to Pennsylvania
(Hamid Hayatghaib, Sam
Balamoun, Bill Sharpe, and Stan
Smolanowicz); and the $200 3rdPrize to Chicago. In the opening
swing match between Quebec
and Pennsylvania, Germain,
leading 20-17 in the 3rd, saw
Balamoun deuce it. But Guy
prevailed anyway, winning with
1975 USOTC winners, L-R: Adham Sharara,
a beautiful kill that caught Sam
Rod Young, Guy Germain
Photo by Mal Anderson
going the wrong way. Quebec
then went up 3-0 when
Shararas soft game baffled
Hamid, and Young had too
much power for Sharpe. But
Pennsylvania rallied. Hamid
spun through Germain.
Balamoun beat Young deuce in
the 3rd after learning not to let
Rod get set to loop. Sams clever
alternation of short and long
pushes kept Rod off balance, so
much so that he would often
miss the ball. When Sharpe
stopped Sharara 17 and 7, the tie Swing Match: Young (L) over Hamid Hayatghaib, deuce in the third
was tied at 3-all. Now, though,
Photo by Mal Anderson
against Hayatghaib, Young
rallied from 17-13 down in the 3rd to eke out a 22-20 win, and against Sharpe Germain was
just too fast. Pennsylvania had to be disappointed the tie didnt get to be 4-all. They thought
that their Egyptian, Balamoun, was better than Quebecs Egyptian, Sharara. Sam and Adham
played in the same league in Egypt a few years ago!
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The Mens MVP Award was given to

Apichart Sears who apparently played for
Magoos (or was that Club now being called
Disneys?), the #10 finisher in the As. (A strange
choice for the Award?) Of course had his Thai
friends Wuvanich and Chan played, the three
would have been a lock for the $800 prize.
Undefeated Chicago (Barbara and
Dorothea Taschner, Carol Cook, and Faan
Yeen Liu) won the $400 1st-Prize Womens;
the $200 2nd-Prize went to Quebec (Pauline
Johnson, Sonia Duwel, and Francine Theoret).
Francine won the Womens MVP Award.

Apichart Sears - strange choice for MVP Award

Quebec I (Pierre Normandin, Marc

LeSiege, and Christine Forgo) took the $100
(Hotel Expense Allowance) 1st-Prize Juniors;
Arlington, near Chicago (Faan Yeen Liu, Joe and
John Yoon), received the $75 runner-up Allowance.
The Defending Champion Pennsylvania I team,
missing a high set-up at match point in the 9th
George Buben and MVP Winner Francine Theoret
match, lost to Arlington 5-4, and also lost to
Photo by Mal Anderson
Pennsylvania II! Mal wants to know how these
Penn teams were selected. Bruce Plotnick won the
Junior MVP with a 23-1 record, and he probably lost
rating pointswhich doesnt say much for the quality
of the Junior play.
Mal was happy to see some old friends there:
Janice Martin is thinking of going to
Australia for two years to teach P.E. The
Hildebrandts showed up. Suzie is now Mrs.
William Barkowicz, her husband is a tennis
pro; they still live in Warren, Michigan. Other
newlyweds at the tournament included Jim
McQueen (his wifes name is Judy) and Jeff
and Yvonne Smart. Dell and Connie Sweeris
190

Suzie and Bill Barkowicz

Photo by Mal Anderson

brought their two kids, Michelle and Todd. Theyre semi-retired from TT but look the
same as ever. Connie stays slender by running after Todd! Perhaps theyll all play when
we have mother-daughter and father-son doubles?
I know from having grown up in Ohio and going for years to many Midwest
tournaments how unpopular New York players are in that section of the country. Nothing
much has changed since the 1940s of Michigans Graham Steenhoven and New York Citys
Dick Miles and Marty Reisman. Here from Topics (Jan.-Feb., 1976, 23) are comments
pertinent to these Championships.
Tournament Director George Buben:
The Tournament Committee agreed 100% that this was the best group of
players that we have had the opportunity of conducting a tournament for. There was
no hassling, no crying for preferential treatment, everyone cooperated and played their
matches on schedule (keeping the tournament on schedule), and last but not least none
of the swearing and other profanity that is starting to decay our Sport of Table
Tennis.
The only flaw in the whole tournament was the fact that three teams decided
to default without informing the Tournament Committee and caused a great deal of
inconvenience to the other teams within their groups. Several of the players suggested
corrective measures that could be takenfrom charging an extra $25 per Team Entry
Fee that would be forfeited because of Defaults to not allowing the team to play in the
next USOTCs. Frankly I do not know the answer but I do know that it is not very
sportsmanlike to have someone anxiously awaiting a Match that does not come about.
Would you like it if it happened to you and you drove several hundred miles to play?
I was sorry to see that the so-called Top Players
chose to play follow the leader and not enter, because they
really missed one of our better tournaments.
[George thanks all the volunteers: Louis Budi, who
did such a beautiful job of making the round robin sheets that
enabled the players to see when they played and on what
table; George and Barbara Payotelis; Barbara, Wendy, and
Tracey Hart; Rosie Ryel; Georges wife Madeline; Cass,
Betty and Janice Martin; and Tournament Referee Jim
Rushford.]
Betty Martin
Mark Delmar:
Congratulations to George and Madeline Buben. The
National Team Championships in Detroit was run more efficiently than I have seen in
the past 3 years.There was enough room to play a match without bumping into
barriers and other tables.The players were a little more efficiently dressed, since the
tournament referee did an excellent job of keeping to the rules.There was a very
good turnout with a total of almost 400 players.[Mark lists half a dozen mostly
Midwest players, then says] this tournament was not lacking the usual
competition.The only area of the tournament that needs work is drawing spectators
for the finals.
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Robert LeFebre:
The USOC in Detroit this year was such a welcome change from what I have
experienced in the past at other similar national events.
Many players said that what was really surprising was that there was no great
controversy which had always accompanied an event of this type. The consensus was
that this calm was the result of the absence of the so-called USTTA Power
Structurenamely the New York Eastern Region contingent.
If you have followed Table Tennis during the past 10 years, I think you know
what I mean. How many times have you noticed the big controversy, the shouting,
the exchange of insults, the criticizing, all centered around the representatives from the
Big Apple. Think about it. How many times have you seen this outfit come to a
tournament dressed in their off-beat attire, which makes them look like refugees from a
side show. They then proceed to grab the center of attention by making some
outrageous demands or want some special consideration.
You know darn well what I say is true. [Actually, I dont think all you said is
true. You dont like Fuarnado Robertss yellow jump suit? Outrageous.] Ive seen
several members of this crowd openly gambling and exchanging money at
tournaments. These guys looked like a bunch of race track bums and back-alley
crap shooters. What an example for the youngsters. Hey buddy, wanta hot tip on
the finals?
Even the juniors from that region are arrogant, self-centered punks. Maybe a
little success went to their heads, or perhaps it is part of their training program. Folks,
these are the guys who when they play a person of lesser ability try to belittle them.
Youve seen it; instead of playing their game, they play around, lob, or set up their
opponent on purpose. When they succeed in making their opponent look foolish for a
point they always look to their group of babbling supporters and laugh. Perhaps
theyre looking for a thumbs-down signal. Any player, no matter what his or her ability,
deserves the respect of their opponent playing a serious game.
What I have said is nothing new. It has been observed many times before by
many people. I wonder what the Big Apple boys have planned for us in the future.
Who knows, they might form a movement for secession.
[I dont know what decade of what B-movie world this LeFebre is inits
hard to believe with his parochial prejudices hes ever actually been in the proximity of
race track bums and back-alley crap shooters to know what they look like. But, aside
from the East Coast players being fiercely and demonstrably competitive and making
reasonable, if bothersome requests of those running tournaments, what he
describesespecially among the Juniors, serious-minded as I know them usually
(though not always) to besure isnt my New York tournament world of the
1960s/70s.]
Tim Boggan:
Im glad so many players liked the USOTCs. Why shouldnt they enjoy
themselves? This is the first one in 10 years I had to miss.
A number of the so-called top players (as Buben repeatedly likes to
characterize them) did not come to Detroit, played follow the leader, because George
kept insisting over the phone to me that there was no prize money.
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Naturally these better players were not exactly delighted to

see that $2,175 was suddenly found at the last minute from
(unexpected?) entry fees and the (unexpected?) generosity of the
Detroit tournament workers.
It may be argued that the better players should not have
believed Bubenthat I should have realized that George didnt
want to commit himself for fear of losing money. [Didnt want to
commit himself, too, because if the favored, but not locally
respected, top players had come, there might not have been as
generous a prize money commitment as there was?]
But of course thats precisely the point. The better players
want to go where theyre wanted, where they matter, where the
Shocked player sponsor wants to commit himself to them.
what, $2,175 in
George Buben is a man who has deservingly won the
prize money?
respect of a good many peoplea man who makes commitments
and who lives up to them. Could he not, if and when he runs the USOTCs again, make
it clear ahead of time just what the prize is for the better players?
George, you and your workers run such a fine tournament. Why dont you turn
professional?
Ron DeMent (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 15):
I have noticed that most articles that appear in Table Tennis Topics are either
written by, or slanted toward the top or professional player.I would like to put
forth some of the thoughts of an average playerthoughts [that] are not mine alone
but have also been expressed by quite a few of my friends.
First, I do not know George Buben personally and I have no occasion to be
influenced by anything he has said. Secondly, in all fairness to Tim Boggan let me say I
think he has been one of the best things to happen to the sport in recent history. In
spite of his iconoclastic nature no one can say that he hasnt tried his best to further
Table Tennis, and as far as Topics is concerned he has done a magnificent job of
making it into a consistently interesting and informative publication. May he long
continue in his efforts!
[Regarding the recent USOTCs:] First of all I was impressed with how the
teams were scheduled and the results posted. Anyone could go to the board and see
which teams were going to play, which tables they were on, and the time. Mainly I
noticed the following thingsa complete lack of bad sportsmanship displays which
were prevalent in past tournaments; no temper tantrums, especially by junior players;
no constant calling for umpires; and, last but not least, no hastily called executive
committee meetings to overrule a chairmans ruling!
It seems to be an accepted fact that the tournament was boycotted by the top
players. I feel that this is a shameful thing to happen to the USOTCs! [The more so,
DeMent complains, if thats why President Charlie Disney wasnt there.] Ample
prize money [was] offered and while it wasnt guaranteed [it wasnt, prior to the
tournament, offered], I fail to see why that should have been expected due to the late
date that Detroit was awarded the event..I cant help but wonder what would
happen if, say at a large tournament (such as the Easterns), the tournament was
193

boycotted by all the weaker to medium-type players? The very same players
incidentally who are in the vast majority and account for the success of any tournament
on any level from local to national!
[Depends on how you define success, doesnt it? In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s
players would come to the Nationals not so much to play but to see the countrys best
compete. Gradually, with our increased accessibility to be where the best players are,
with our ability to repeatedly view them in person or on film, the aura that once
surrounded them has diminished. Still, though pockets of players in this country are
divided as to whether table tennis really is a spectator sport, success often continues to
be measured by what top players you can attract to your tournament.]
Our Professional Players [to be accepted, recognized, favored] will just
have to [wait]until Table Tennis becomes a big, nationally popular sport
[easy for you to say, Mr. Average Player]. In the meantime a possibility might
be to let the pro-type players play each other in their own little tournaments [would
you, Ron DeMent, Mr. Average Player, watch them?] and if any of us clods get good
enough maybe theyll accept us into their group. Until then we could go on having a
helluva good time at our large national tournaments without catering to the Prima
Donnas!
I read with much interest a statement made by
Boggan in the last issue of Topics on a match played by Danny
Seemiller. He said, it really was infuriating: there was a guy in
overalls and a drab Detroiter T-shirt playing next to him. May
I say my heart simply bleeds for poor Dan Seemiller! What a
terrible ordeal he had to go through! I would like to suggest a
set routine for all Dannys (and other
Professional Players) matches from now
on, to be as follows: First, stop all play at
the tournament site before Dannys match
begins. Second, make all people with
overalls leave the grounds. Third, have two
young girls precede Danny into the arena,
Ron DeMent
strewing rose petals in their wake. Fourth,
ask all spectators (at least in the front 20 or
30 rows) to be attired in suits and ties. Needless to say, when other
players achieve the exalted position of Professional Player they
should be accorded the same treatment.
Alas, Mr. Average Player just doesnt get it. The gulf between
amateur and professional, the conceptual difference between them,
is too new, too great.
Please, God, Danny
prays, let them get it!
Photo by Houshang
Bozorgzadeh

194

Chapter Thirteen
1975: Overseas TournamentsChinas Huang Liang Causes a Sensation. 1975:
Seemiller Brothers and Mike Veillettes Pro/Con Experiences at Yugoslav Open. 1975: Danny
wins Englands Middlesex Open.
Prior to the start of the fall series of tournaments overseas, we learn
from Swedens Tommy Andersson (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1975, 5) the results
of the 1975 European Youth Championships. This Aug. 2-10 tournament,
for which the organizers claimed to have spent $90,000, was held at the
10,000-seat Dom Sportova in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, with 25 or so
countries playing on 16 tables. Out of 11 events, the Russians won five.
Boys Teams: Final: Russians over Czechs, 5-1. Notable ties: England beat West
Germany, 5-4, and Russia, 5-0 (!), but lost to the Czechs, 5-0. Yugoslavia beat
Czechoslovakia, 5-1, but lost to Russia 5-3 (against the Yugoslav Juhas, Bagrat Burnazyan
saved from 20-15 match point down (!). Hungary got blitzed by West Germany, and last
years Champion, Sweden, was beaten by Bulgaria, 5-3.
Girls Teams: Final: Yugos over Russians, 3-1, mostly because young penholder
Dubravka Fabri downed Tatyana Ferdman, World #5, who, like a number of her teammates,
favors the well-known Russian backhand drive. In the semis, Yugoslavia had been down 2-0
to Czechoslovakia, but had rallied to advance. Hungary came 3rd.
Cadet Boys Teams: Sweden (Andersson/Anders Thunstrom, wholl Captain the World
Champion Swedish Mens Team in 1991, then go on to take a Marketing position with the
ITTF) beat Hungary, 3-0.
Cadet Girls Teams: Russia (Valentina Popova/Lyndmilla Bakshoutoval) over Rumania,
3-0.
Boys Singles: Defending Champion Burnazyan (World #40) over a too nervous
(intimidated?) Miroslav Schenk (Czechoslovakia).
Girls Singles: the husky Ferdman, who is a bit clumsy and sulky, won out over
defensive star Marie-France Germiat after the Belgian had come back from 18-15 down in the
3rd to oust Yugoslavias great hope, Erzebet Palatinus. Fabri, meanwhile, had upset the Czech
Hana Reidlova, 9 and 10 (!)
Other winners: Boys Doubles: Swedens Nilsson/
Gronlund. Girls Doubles: Russias Ferdman/Meshkova.
Mixed Doubles: Hungarys Molnar/Gabriella Szabo.
Cadet Boys Singles: Italys Giovanni Bisi over
Hungarys Zsolt Kriston.
Cadet Girls Singles: Gordana Perkucin.
Dont expect Hungary to win the Nov. 14-16
Hungarian Open at Szeded. World #1, Istvan Jonyer,
was operated on for an injured leg and now needs to
rest for some months. Gabor Gergely, current World
Doubles Champion with Jonyer, is in the Army, and
cant play for 8 months. However, Tibor Klampar,
who was out of competition almost a year because of
Italys Giovanni Bisi
discipline problems, is back playing.
Photo by Tommy Andersson
195

West Germany is no longer depending on their former 9time Champion Conny Freundorfer (retired from the National
Team now for some time) to win them matcheswhich is just as
well, for poor Conny, as Topics (Mar.-Apr., 1976, 3) tells us in
covering this World scene, has been quite a victim: His sport
equipment shops burnt away (damage 200,000 [German] marks; 1
USA dollar equals about 2.5 GM), then his father died, then he
caught an unknown virus illness, then, during his stay in the
hospital, thieves came to his apartment and stole goods valued at
40,000 GM. Such a calamity!
Hungarian Open Results:
Conny Freundorfer - has
Mens Teams: Sweden over West Germany, 3-0.
nothing to smile about now.
Womens Teams: England over Yugoslavia, 3-2.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Mens Singles: Frances Jacques Secretin over Stellan
Bengtsson in 5. Semis: Secretin over Kjell Johansson; Bengtsson over the Czech Milan Orlowski.
Womens
Singles:
Englands Jill
Hammersley over
Swedens AnnChristin Hellman.
Semis:
Hammersley over
Frances Claude
Bergeret;
Hellman over
Hungarys
Szabo.
Mens
Doubles:
Orlowski/
Jaroslav Kunz
Stellan Bengtsson (L) vs.
(Czech.) in 5
Jacques Secretin
over Peter Engel
From The Table Tennis Report,
3, 1973
and Jochen Leiss
(W. Ger.),
runner-up in the 76 West German Closed to Wilfried Lieck.
Womens Doubles: Frances Bergeret/Thiriet over Englands Hammersley/Carole Knight.
Mixed Doubles: Secretin/Bergeret over West Germanys Peter Stellwag and Ursula
Hirschmuller wholl lose the German Closed to the veteran Agnes Simon.
Yugoslav Open
Danny Seemiller didnt play in the Hungarian Open, for he was
struggling in Mort Zakarins tournament on Long Island. But by the
following weekend, he, brother Ricky, and Mike Veillette had arrived in
Ljubljana for the Yugoslav Open. They began Team play against Italy II
196

(just as strong, said Danny, as Italy I) with Danny and Mike playing singles, and the
brothers doubles. Giontella downed Veillette, 2-0. Then, against Malescki, Danny, after
winning the first at 19, found himself 20-19 match-point down in the third before getting in
three loops to even the tie. Another nail-biter in the doublesbut again the U.S. came
through. At 19-all [in the third], Danny wrote, I served two short side-top serves and the
returns came up just enough so that Ricky could put them away. After that, the elder
Seemiller had an easy win over Giontella.
As a reward for beating the Italians, the U.S. moved on to play the Yugoslavs. Their
Coach, Dusan Dule Osmanagic, had described to our National Coaching Chair Jeff Smart his
Teams yearly Training/Playing regimen, which Jeff recorded as follows:
June 1July 1:
July 1-July 15:
July 15-July 30:
Aug. 1-Aug. 14:
Aug. 15-Sept. 1:
Sept. 1-Sept. 15:
Sept. 15-Oct. 30:
Nov. 1-Dec. 15:
Dec. 15-Dec. 24:
Dec. 25-Jan.1:
Jan. 1-Jan. 15:
Jan. 15-Jan. 30:
Feb.-Mar.:
Mar.-May:

Beach, sun, vacation. NO TABLE TENNIS!

Fitness camp.
Table practice in home clubs.
Fitness/practice camp combined; coaching.
More practice in home clubs.
Local, Regional, National Champs.Team established.
Small international tournaments.
Big European tournaments.
Physical Fitness camp in mountainsski down/climb up.
Holidays.
Practice camp.
More practice in home clubs.
Play biggest tournament of the year (Worlds/Europeans). Yugo Coach
Dule Osmanagic
Friendly matches, tours, unimportant tournaments.

Clearly this Team was following its serious-minded schedule. Indeed, at this Nov. 2022 home Open, the Yugoslavs would be finalists in the Teams. But before they could
continue with their advance they had to beat the U.S.
Danny opened against Anton Tova Stipancic, Europe #3, and was nothing-to-it
ahead at 15-8 before the roof caved in and it was 18-all. Still, as I had the serve I could have
won it if it werent for a bad call. At 18-all I blocked one real quick into Stipancics gut and
the ball hit his shirt and then his racket. The ball floated over like crazy and I lost the point. We
argued for about two minutes but to no avail. In the 2nd game I played Stipancic point for point
until 17-alland then he ran out the game.
Surbek, Danny said, had no chance against this special
serve Rickys got. Its a sidespin chop which nobody seems able to
handle. At 15-all Surbek put 4 straight of Rickys serves into the
net19-15 Ricky. The 5th serve Surbek popped up and ran for the
barriers. After Ricky had killed about 7 in a row and it looked like
he was about to win the point he finally missed oneand it was 1916. Ricky then proceeded to miss two of the Yugoslavs serves in a
row and Surbek went on to win 21-19. What a bummer! In the
second gameSurbek loop-killed everything. So we lost 3-0.
China I won the Mens Teams, beating Yugoslavia 3-2. The
Ricky Seemiller
most striking thing about the tournament, Danny said, was
Photo by Neal Fox
197

watching Huang Liang play. Hes this unbelievable Chinese chopper with that new Tientsin
rubber.[He] made everybody look ridiculous. I mean really ridiculoushe annihilated
Surbek and Johansson under 10 and had Bengtsson 15-1 one game [Surbek later said he did
better against him the second time].An unbelievably weird sponge he had. No one could read
the spin on his serves. No one could bring back the ball. Match after match was just a joke
because there was no way to play against this guy.
Zdenko Uzorinac (TTT, Mar.Apr., 1976, 2) said Huang had caused
such sensational confusion that
aficionados were saying theyd seen
nothing like it since the appearance of the
sponge racket. Huang disposed of the
best European aces by such lopsided
scores that it was positively
unbelievablelikely never before
matched in the history of our sport.
So, who is this Huang Liang?
Zdenko says, hes 21-years old, is a
teacher of physical culture in Honan
Huang Liang
From Uzorinacs Table Tennis Legends
Province in the north of China. He made
his international debut this year.He has
an orthodox style, and (it is not believable!) practices only three times a week. In the 75
All-China Championships he was #5.
Huang is a phenomenal defensive player with a sudden forehand kill. He has an
extraordinary backhand service (with full rotation), and when his opponents almost invariably make
mistakes, like setting up the ball, he immediately wins the pointif need be with a quick put-away.
He is very fast on his feet and his defense is rock-solid. Often he will strategically change the
different sides of his racket to induce the high ball that will allow him to use his strong smash.
Most people think that Huangs success is due as much to his table tennis knowledge
and fantastic defense as it is to cheating with his very special racket. Zoltan Berczik, former
European Champion and Coach of Hungarys World Champions, said, I was a chopper, a
defender, andHuang is a splendid chopper: he can cut the ball in 4 different wayswhich is
rare indeed. Of course everyone in Ljubljana wanted repeatedly to touch, to examine Huangs
red racket, and the Chinese had not the slightest objection to this.
Its a perfectly legal racket, of special Chinese make. On the forehand side the racket
has a smooth hard surface, but on the backhand side the racket is soft. The pip ridges are very
high, can easily be pushed aside, and are very soft so that the ball will simply enter between
them. Since Huang is very fast changing his racket sides, and since each side is decidedly
different, players are confused by the different rotation of the ball as it comes back to them.
[Since the two sides from an-across-the-table distance look the same, the opponent]never
knows which side has been struck, and so makes mistake after mistake.
The Chinese have not slept, said Milan Orlowski, Europes #2. Only 9 months after
Calcutta theyve produced a new service, a short block of their opponents driveand
miraculous Huang Liang!
However, the winner of the Mens Singles was not Huang, but another Chinese, Kuo
Yao-hua, who downed Huang 18 in the 4th in the semis, and who for the next six years will be
198

the worlds dominant player. Danny describes him as a

penholder looper with good serves who, after Bengtsson
had knocked out Surbek, 19 in the 5th, beat Stellan 3-0.
Howd the U.S. players do in the Singles? Ricky blanked
two Yugoslavs, then in the round of 32 fell to Orlowski, 3-0.
Against the lefty Tothorgosi, Mike, down 2-0 and 14-6,
rallied to 17-all before the Yugoslav brought back Mikes
hardest kill to win that point and followed by running out the
match.
Danny, after blitzing Yugos Kuotes and Tunisias Ben
Ali, met Zoran Zoki Kosanovic, #4 on the Yugoslav
National Team, who, on emigrating to Canada, would be a
Kuo Yao-hua
two-time U.S. Open finalist, splitting titles with Swedens
Photo by Allsport Photographic
Mikael Appelgren, losing in 1980, but winning in 1982. Up
rd
2-0 and 20-19 in the 3 , Danny was on the verge of a great win that would bring him into the
round of 16, but lost that game 22-20. Then got killed in the 4th. But rebounded in the 5th from
9-all when I got 7 straight points (two of them on edge balls) to win 21-14.
That brought Seemiller to West Germanys Jochen
Leiss, wholl later win our 1977 U.S. Open. Danny tells us
he almost took down this 74 German National Champion.
In the first I was down 19-14, but got 6 straight to go
ahead 20-19only to lose 3 in a row. Then, with games
tied 1-1, Danny couldnt win the 3rd from 18-all. In the 4th,
he says, I started strong, built up a 12-7 leadonly to
watch it slowly dwindle until again I was at 20-all. He finally
beat me 24-22.Yeah, said Danny, isnt that awfulI
lost the big ones at deuce. Well, what can I doIve just got
to keep at it.
Other Yugoslav Open Results (from Uzorinac):
Womens Team: China I over China II.
Womens Singles: in winning, teenager Branka
Batinic, member of the Yugoslav club Mladost-Zagreb,
defeated Chu Hsiang-yun (China) 3-0, then ex-European
Champion Ilona Vostova-Uhlikova (Czech.) 3-1, then Liu
Hsin-yen (China) 3-1, and in the final one more Chinese,
Chang Te-ying 3-1. Zagrebs Uzorinac thinks highly of
Branka: She is so universal, can counter attack on both
sides, loop, has an excellent service, and can defend away
from the table, even lob.She has everything. (Nor did she
lose this everything. More than 30 years later, at the World
Veterans Championship in Bremen, Branka will win the
Womens Over 40 Singles and Doubles, and will at the 2007
World Championships in Zagreb, be of extraordinary help to
me in seeing that I got the Media credentials I wanted.)
Mens Doubles: Surbek/Stipancic over Fu Min/Guo
Branka Batinic
Yuehua.
From Uzorinacs Zagrebacki Pingic
199

Womens
Doubles: Chu
Hsiang-yun/
Chang Te-ying
over Liu Hsinyen/Li Min, 18 in
the 5th. Mixed:
Secretin/Bergeret
over Orlowski/
Uhlikova.
Awful as it
At the point of a gun!
was
for
Danny to
Mike Veillette
Drawn by
Photo by Mal Anderson
Janet Martorano
lose to Leiss,
something that
could have been worse strangely befell him, and Ricky and Mike too (read Veillettes
Americans Go Too High, TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 5; 14; 17). Out of the Singles, out of the
Doubles, all three are watching the final days climactic matches. After the Mens semis,
however, theyve two hours to kill.
So, behind the playing hall, up, up, up into the hills the three of them climb to see what
they can see. How beautiful the view! Untilhello, here wasa soldier with a machine gun,
and in a moment some decidedly unfriendly men frisking them. Then theyre sent slipping and
sliding back down the steep incline, their hands held high for fear of being riddled with bullets
in their backs as they try toescape.
On reaching bottom, the three of them are boxed into a 5x5x5 van and taken to a
militia station, where theyre forced to wait and wait and wait. Mike and Mikes camera are
particularly suspectwhat of the army up in those hills had their eyes seen? Why, nothing,
of course.Of course not, said their captors, returning, finally, Mikes camera, sans film. Four
and hours after they were captured, they were released, got a bus back to the hall in time to
see the last game of the Mens Doubles and the finals of the Mixedwhich of course, says
Mike, was better than nothing, better than if we hadnt ever shown up at all.
Next stop on their mini-tour: the Scandinavian Open, held Nov. 27-30 at Kalmar,
Sweden. Results: Mens Teams: China over Sweden, 3-1. The U.S. beat Denmark, but lost to
CzechoslovakiaDanny dropping 18, 19 games
Czechoslovakias
to Europes #8 Jaroslav Kunz. Womens Teams:
Jaroslav Kunz
China over South Korea, 3-0. Mens Singles:
Danny noted that Bengtsson in his 3rd final in as
many weeks finally won onehere in his
homeland. In the one semis, Bengtsson beat
Surbek; in the other, Johansson beat Stipancic.
The Chinese dumpedit was as simple as
that, said Danny. He himself lost to Huang
Liangsaid, I swear, I never faced anything
like this in my life. I missed 4 out of every 5
serves. Huang then was beaten by Englands
Denis Neale, 3-0. This was ridiculous, said
Dannyfor nobody in all of Europe could
200

really take a game from him. Mens Doubles went to

Surbek/Stipancic over Huang Liang/Li Peng.
Womens Singles: Chinas Liu Hsin-yen over
Chinas Chang Te-ying. Semis: Liu over the Czech
Blanka Silhanova; Chang over Chinas Li Ming.
Womens Doubles: Chinas Chang/Chu Hsiangyun over Chinas Liu/Li.
Mixed: Li Peng/Li Ming over Canadas Errol
Caetano/Mariann Domonkos!
Another Chinese contingent went to the
Romanian Open. Results: Mens Teams: China (Liang
Ko-liang, Li Chen-shih) d. France (Secretin/Patrick
Birocheau), 3-0. Womens Teams: China d.
Czechoslovakia, 3-1.
Mens Singles: Final: Liang d. Kunz (all games
under 10). Semis: Liang d. Secretin, 3-0; Kunz d. Li
Chen-shih, 3-1. One notes that Kosanovic was leading
Orlowski 14-7 in the 5th, but lost, and that Orlowski then
Liang Ko-liang
was beaten by Secretin, 3-0. Mens Doubles: Liang/Li d.
Drawing by Rudi Stipkovic
Orlowski/Kunz, 3-0. Womens Singles: Chinas Sha Min
d. Chinas Sun Min, 3-1. Womens Doubles: Lean Pok
Sun (S. Korea)/Maria Alexandru* d. Jen Kue Li/Jen Chih Chia (China), 3-1.
In European League play at the Piers Coubertine
Hall in Paris before 5,000 spectators, Czechoslovakias
4-3 win over 3rd-Place Sweden gave them the lead
(Orlowski beat both Bengtsson and Johansson, and
Vostova-Uhlikova beat Hellman).Yugoslavia was in 2nd
Place, ahead of Sweden, because they were able to get
Milan Orlowski
by France, 4-3 (Secretin beat Stipancic but lost to
From The Table Tennis Report,
#5, 1975
Surbek).
Also in Paris, there was an Old Timers
tournament which 45 former internationalists attended.
At least some of them played: Quarters: Urchetti
(Switz.) d. Haguenauer (France), 2-1; Sido (Hung.) d.
Bye?; Amouretti (France) d. Dolinar (Yugo.), 2-0;
Leach (Eng.) d. Roland (Bel.), 2-0. Semis: Sido d.
Urchetti, 2-0; Amouretti d. Leach, 2-1. Final: Sido d.
Amouretti. At the end, Secretin and Purkhart, the twotime French National Champion who was celebrating
his 111 appearances for the National Team, put on an
entertaining exhibition.
Last years Dec. 8th New York Times reported
that Danny Seemiller lost to both Nicky Jarvis and
Denis Neale of England in Londons Pickwick
Invitational. This year, the tournament again had an 8man field, but a new sponsor, a new location, and a
201

new namethe G.M.C. Masters Invitational at Manchester. And Danny did better. Not only
did he beat Claus Pedersen, the Danish Champion, who was runner-up in this tournament last
year, but Jarvis, England #2, as well. The remaining player in his round robin he didnt beat
that was Europe #3 Stipancic. But in the 1st, Danny was leading 18-13 then finally, after
having 4 ads in a row, lost it, 27-25, then lost the 2nd at 18.
In the accompanying round robin, Englands Des Douglas was a winner over both
Surbek and Neale who also lost to the seemingly indefatigable Yugoslav. Surprise, said
Dannythe 4th man in this round robin was long ago U.S. World Team member Norby Van de
Walle, representing, as he had been for many years, Belgium. Why was he there? I suppose,
said Danny, because they wanted a good chopper for TV.
In the final, Surbek avenged his earlier defeat by downing
Douglas, The Black Flash, 2-1. In the criss-cross semis, Surbek had
beaten Stipancic, 2-0; while (ohhh) Douglas, England #1, had
eliminated Danny, 20 and 19. Yeah, said Danny, I blew it. It had
to be some consolation to Seemiller, however, that Mike Lawless of
the English TTA sent a letter to him and also to our International
Chair Rufford Harrison praising Danny for his improvement as a
player and for being such a credit to American table tennis.
Danny Wins Middlesex Open
Topics English correspondent, Cosmo Graham, reports
Mike Lawless
(TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 5) on the Middlesex Open, won by Danny
From 77 Birmingham
Seemiller, the first foreigner to win this tournament since its
Worlds Program
inception. Danny himself considered this Open comparable in
strength to our Easternsfor 29 of Englands top 30 attended. Graham called Seemillers win
magnificentthe more impressive in that he didnt drop a game in any of his matches.
Much of Dannys success could be attributed to his serves. But more about his Singles wins in
a moment.
Better yet, said Danny, Ricky and I won the Doubles. This event, Cosmo tells us,
was full of upsets. Mike Veillette had a good pairing, with Jimmy Walker (England #5), but
they went out at their first appearance to the Welsh team of [Graham] Davies and [Alan]
Griffiths. The Welshmen lost in the quarters, though, to Mark Mitchell and Peter Taylor, of
whom it was said, They have to be a good team. No one else can play with either of them.
It would seem that maybe no one else could play against Danny and Rickyfor in the
other quarters in this half, they took advantage of their spin serves to knock out the #1 seeds,
Des Douglas and Denis Neale. Then, winning a close match against Mitchell/Taylor, they
reached the final. To meet who? Not Dave Brown/Ian Horsham, nor even the #2 seeds Andy
Barden/Paul Day. Both of those teams were beaten by Dave Jemmett/Benny Robertson.
Neither Jemmett or Robertson have a backhand attack worth mentioning, so they chop on
that wing and make up for it with heavy forehand loops. Although Day had a recent win over
the Hungarian chopper Borszei, he couldnt read Robertsons chop and float, and of course
this proved costly. In the semis, Dave and Benny said they would have beaten John
Kitchener and Dave Tan had not Benny broken his shoe and had to borrow one which was a
trifle too tight.
In the final against the Seemillers, Kitchener and Tan were inspired. Graham said the
Englishmen won points by looping each ball harder than the previous one, andif they could
202

get into a rally chances are they would win the point. Towards the end-game third, it was dead
even, despite Danny constantly having a go at Rick. (Did that mean Danny was encouraging or
discouraging Ricky?) Tan, in particular, hit in some breathtaking topspin winners. But in the end,
the Americans had the edge with their serves, quick loops, and fast blocks.
Cosmo said that the Womens Singles was no longer a lock for Jill Hammersley
(England #1)especially as Carole Knight (England #2) had beaten her the previous two
times theyd played. Why, I wonder, were they meeting in the semis? Graham obviously
thinks highly of Knights game. Has world-class potential. (Shes not world-class now?)
Her forehand loop compares well with anyone, male or female, in England Its nigh
impossible to tell which direction its going. She also has an extremely solid backhand with
which she can also hit winners if so inclined. Small wonder then that shes capable of going
through Ms. Hammersleys world-class defense.

Middlesex Open Champion Jill Hammersley

Middlesex Open Runner-up Carole Knight

Photo by Tony Becca

From 1977 Birmingham Worlds Program

As the match progresses, Jill is trying to hit as much as possible to keep Carole from
the attack and break her rhythm.[But] it looks as if this new strategy wont help as Ms.
Knight leads 20-17 in the 3rd. But Jill keeps on hitting, blocking, choppingand gets to
deuce. Then is twice ad up until finally Carole cant get another clutch loop to go inso, as
Carole throws her bat high in the air,Jill clenches a well-deserved victory.
In his own short write-up on this Middlesex tournament (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 5),
Danny said he didnt want to knock the English officials, for they took good care of me. And
naturally its not until you win a few hundred pounds that everybody takes more notice of you
and starts to listen to you a little. However, Danny did think it was stupid of the English
drawmakers to position him with Ricky in the quarters. Although Id told them at 8 oclock
in the morning Ricky would get to the quarters with me, they didnt believe it, or didnt care.
They gave me some ridiculous line about, We didnt get a letter from your Association telling
us of the strength of this player. Such nonsense.
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Actually, Cosmo tells us, Nicky Jarvis was scheduled to play Ricky in the third round
but had to scratch because of illness. So first up for Ricky was colorful Middlesex penholder
Dave Tan who took the first game at 19; however in the deciding third, Tans weak awayfrom-the-table game lets him down against Rickys quick-angled blocks. Then when John
Kitchener (England #12) loses to David Reeves (England Junior #19!), Ricky eventually
advances to the quarters.
Cosmo says, Apparently Danny is much too psychologically dominant over his brother for
Ricky to like his chances or even enjoy the match. Or does little brother just want to support big
brother, while also figuratively chastising the draw-makers by depriving the tournament of a
quarters match? At any event, Ricky defaults, and Danny moves on to the semis.
In the same half, in the other quarters, Nigel Eckersley (England #14) beats Veillette,
16, -16, 12, in a scrappy match dominated by errors. But then Eckersley is stopped by
acrobatic Don Parker (England #7) who, in previous years, has wins over Neale, Jarvis, and
Danny. Parker in turn falls, deuce in the 3rd, to Jimmy Walker and his quick backhand hits.
In the other half, Desmond Douglas (England #1) moved easily to the semis, there to
meet Denis Neale (England #3) whod come out of an interesting draw. Volatile, left-handed
Benny Robertson had an excellent[deuce in the 3rd] win over Mark Mitchell [whod
moved up from England #15 to #9]. Robertson resembles a puppet playingis all jerky
movements and inflexible limbsbut he wins. Beat the fast-moving Mitchell with chop
variations. That was it for Benny thoughhe got squashed by Andy Barden (England #4)
who then dropped a 23-21 in the 3rd killer to Essex power player Dave Brown whose motto
is, The closer the score, the quicker I shall finish the point. Neale, however, finished him.
In the one semis, Walker
couldnt handle Seemillers
serves. But that wasnt the only
reason he lost 14 and 9. In the
second game, Danny put on a
display of forehand killing the
likes of which I have never seen
anywhere in England before.
In the other semis, Des
was a big favorite over Denis
whom hed beaten twice in earlier
tournaments. Graham said,
Douglass play reminds me of a
fencer, especially on the backhand
where he thrusts balls quickly
Middlesex Open Winner Danny Seemiller
from corner to corner and parries
Photo by Don Weems
hard kills. His forehand, though,
is more reminiscent of a bludgeon and a not particularly powerful or skillfully wielded one at
that. This Douglas-Neale match is all quick counter-driving. Its like a high speed chess
game, with both men close to the table, both unable to power through the other. Neale may
look ungainly but he is still quick around the table and the toughest person in England at
deuce. Cosmo wonders how Denis won the first game, but he did. The second, however,
finds Des back in form; hes running Neale off the table with his side-to-side backhandsand
leads 10-2. Only he doesnt win this game eitheris caught and beaten 22-20.
204

Denis and Danny play two

deuce games in the finaland
Danny, employing his strongest
weaponserve and loop kill
wins them both for the 100pound check. Cosmo agrees it
was an exciting and impressive
victory for a player who never
stopped going for his shots no
matter what situation he found
himself in. Everybody in the
States ought to be proud of you,
Danny!
SELECTED
NOTES.
*Romanian worldclass star Maria
Alexandru is shown here with
Michigans Stef Florescu who
recently received the highest
membership honor of the National
Association of the Physically
Handicappedthe 1975 NAPH
medallion. His meritorious service
continues as he attempts to get
the U.S. Post Office to issue a
commemorative picture-postage
stamp honoring the 20th
anniversary of the National
Maria Alexandru and Stef Florescu
Wheelchair Games and
specifically Mr. Benjamin Lipton, founder of the Games; hes also urged ABCs Wide World of
Sports to cover these 1976 National Games. Stef has just returned from a 30-day vacation in
Romania where he was welcomed at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, and got to visit with Ms.
Alexandru.

205

Chapter Fourteen
1975-76: Early Winter TournamentsPart I.
National Table Tennis League owner Windsor Olson isnt
making much headway in the Northwest (or anywhere else?), for
we hear about only two teams up there, the Seattle Sockeyes and
the Portland Kings. Has he tried to bring in Canadians? The British
Columbia players continue to be active. Results of their B.C. Open,
held Dec. 6 at the Strathcona Community Center in Vancouver:
Mens: Peter Joe over Eddy Lo, 23-21
in the 4th. Womens: Nimi Athwal over Parello Smith. Mens
Doubles: Lo/Joe over Juggy Padda/H. Woo. As: Woo over Art
Barran. A Doubles: Eng/Smith over Chandra Madhosingh/Woo, 18
in the 4th. Bs: N. Athwal over W. Jang. Mens Consolation: Frank
Nimi Athwal
Karika over Chang Poh, def. Seniors: Hugh Ward over H. Woo.
From CTTA News, July, 1974
Juniors: Joe over Woo.
Perhaps Olson has tried to contact the Alberta players? Here are the Results of the
Dec. 13-14 Calgary Open: Mens: Les Ruszinski over Frank Hodl, 24-22 in the 4th. Mens
Doubles: Sam Bhandari/Steve Beres over K.W. Chang/F. Wan. Womens: Lei Chu Kong over
Judy Mack. Has Olson ever thought about recruiting Northwest women players? Mixed
Doubles: Kam Kong/Lei Chu Kong over Bhandari/Renate Hirth. Bs: Ben Mah over Ming
Tsang. U-17s: Mah over Mack. U-15s: Jim Lewis over fellow Whitehorse enthusiast P.
Thibedeau. (Yep, the Yukon has playersmore players since Zlatko Cordas and Rod Young
went up there as visiting coaches.) U-13s: Arthur Schoenberger over Chris Chui.
At both the Jan. 17-18 Edmonton Open and the Feb. 7-8 Alberta Open, Keith Wong
was the Singles winnerfirst, over his Alberta Open winning Doubles partner Kam Kong,
then over 13-year-old sensation Ben Mah who tournament after tournament was picking up
armfuls of Junior trophies. Mens Doubles: at Edmonton, Arthur Schoenberger/Barry Falk
over Ben Mah/Peter Palfenier. Womens: at Edmonton, Judy Mack over Yun Myung Su; at
Alberta, Mack again, avenging her Dec. Calgary loss to Lei Chu Kong. Mixed Doubles: at
Edmonton, Falk/Monica Martin over Richard Mah/Judy Mack, the Mixed winners in the Feb.
Open. At Alberta the Seniors went to Frank Hodl over Tony Yee.
Back in the States, University of Oregon student Bruce Douglass, a serious player
who lists Hwangs Martial Arts Academy as his address, and favors professionalism in table
tennis, let Olson off easy. That is, Bruce didnt hit him, but restrained himself to sardonically
describing the ridiculous fiasco of a Seattle Sockeyes (5)-Portland Kings (1) League match
he and his friends witnessed (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 17):
This auspicious event opened with a poor cassette recording of the
national anthem that most people stood to in quiet humiliation. The games (not
matchespros play one game to 31 pointsmatches are for amateurs) were played on
a hideously blue table lighted by strong search lights on either side, so that no one,
spectator or player, could see the ball. There was a microphone taped underneath the
table so that the game sounded more like the drum solo to IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA.
Windsor Olson, Seattle manager and chief referee (complete with an old basketball
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referees outfit), presided over this less than epic clash. The tables red-white-and blue
net and supports were distracting. But it was not distraction enough to overlook the
new professional rules (apparently made up as the game progressed). Carl Cole found
that if he drove Tom Ruttinger into the barriers it constituted a let. When he protested,
Mr. Olson[was ready] to disqualify him. Hell, I wouldnt have been surprised to see
Olson trying to fine Carl Cole fifty dollars. Olson couldnt see a Seattle let service if
someone[threatened to stuff] the ball down his throat (as I was tempted to try). The
funny part of all this was they wanted us to pay to see this bullshit. I wouldnt walk
across the street to see this crap if I were paid.
Better viewing for young and old youd find at the Sizzler Family Steak House Open,
held Dec. 13-14 at the Paddle Palace. And check out the perks. Mike Oslund tells us (TTT,
Jan.-Feb., 1976, 18) that winners in all classes received, in addition to their plaques, Steak-aBob dinners. And at the Palaces Jan. 10-11 Joe Corvino Winter Open, there were more
extras. This Open was so named, says Lou Bochenski, because artist Corvino, who has
painted portraits for two presidents, several movie stars, and other prominent people,
volunteered to make pastel portraits of the winners in each of the 15 singles and doubles
events.

Mike Bochenski

Mike Oslund

Grant Hoskins

Corvino Results: Open Singles: Carver, last months Sizzler Champ, over McLarty in 5
(after Charlie had escaped Mike Bochenski, 19 in the 3rd), then over Crystal. Open Doubles:
Nash/Vo Qui Han over Keun Chung/Wright, 23-21, then over Mike Bochenski/Marie Mason.
AAs: Doyle over Crystal. AA Doubles: Doyle/McLarty over Brian Bircher/ Mike LaMear. As:
Jim Buchanan over LaMear who survived Tisler, deuce in the 3rd. Bs: Muhammed Popoola
over Eddie Chin. B Doubles: Bircher/LaMear over Young/Mason. Cs: Oslund over Popoola,
23-21 in the 3rd. Ds: Aaron Ho over John Fredrickson. Es: Ted Miller over A. Ho. Fs:
Hoskins over Randy Miller, 19 in the 3rd, then over Rod Miller, 27, -19, 19. Gs: Mike Perry
over Ben Gage. Seniors: Bob Ho over Art Barron. Juniors: M. Bochenski over Bircher.
No turkey dinners as prizes for the Nov. 29-30 San Francisco Holiday Open. Mens
Singles saw Angelita Rosal (Mens Singles?believe me, theres proof positive Angies still a
woman)nearly upset the eventual winner Paul Raphel in a deuce-in-the-5th quarters.
Runner-up Jack Howard advanced with a 5-game win over Howie Grossman whod downed
Ron Von Schimmelman in 5. Womens went to Angie over her sister Monica. Julius Paal took
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the Esquires from Bob Green; and Howard the Seniors from Danny Banach. As: Craig
Manoogian over Ron Whitlock. A Doubles: Stewart/Greg Plakos over Gene Wilson/Russ
Thompson. Bs: Jeff Stewart over Ron Watkins. Cs: Jim Boatman over Rick Watkins. C
Doubles: Plakos/Boatman over Watkins/Watkins. Ds: Georgette Rideg over Doug Kirby.
Novice: Tom over Garcia. Juniors: Rideg over Tom.
Dick Evans sent me a Jan. 17, 1976 letter briefly describing the San Francisco scene:
Lots of brilliant and creative people herebut a lot of sickies also,
unfortunately. Seems like every other person I pass on Telegraph Ave. is talking to
someone who aint there. A therapeutic community for ambulatory schizophrenics! But
the artists and crafts people are the best Ive seen anywhere.
T.T. is good. There are six or eight players in San
Francisco who can beat me as much as I beat them, and two
players who nearly always beat me (David Chan and Henry
Fung). Well over 50% of the S.F. Club members are
Orientals. I play with Shonie Aki every Monday night. He is a
fine human being. The Club has a low key, personal
atmosphere that is very pleasing to me. No one seems to be
on any big ego trip, no superstars, no gambling. If you want
to play someone you place your bat under their table and the
winner stays up. Must soundidyllic
compared with the NY Clubunless, of
Dick Evans
course, you like the tension (maybe
hustling is a better word) that goes on
there.

Angelita Rosal
Photo by Mal Anderson

The Henry Fung Dick mentions was runner-up to Howard in the

Open Singles final at the San Francisco Winter Open. Other
results: As: Phat over San. Bs: Mike Dempsey over Shun Chan.
These two and another, Gary Kerr, played in wheelchairs, and
Don Gunn said that one of them tried to play after his chair lost a
wheel. Cs: San over Kumar. Ds: Givens over Bushell. Seniors:
Jack Howard over Azmy Ibrahim. Juniors: Li over DeFazio.
Dont be surprised Angelita Rosal is in Hollywoodplaying in
the Nov. 22-23 Western States Open. Two weeks earlier, Mary
McIlwain interviewed her (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 6B), and found
that Angie had experienced a religious conversion. Her typhoid
sickness after the Calcutta Worlds brought her to God. I go to
church every night except for one night when I go to Table
Tennis. No longer, she says, is the Sport my God and my
boyfriend. Jesus Christ has come into her heart. However, the
Lord continues to let her play. Every day I work for the Lord,
she says. Every time I play a match its a prayer. She has a
prayer list that includes: Burt Reynolds, Elvis Presley, Scott
Boggan and family, Gerald Ford, Billy Graham, and Jim with red
hair and girlfriend Paula.
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Mary and Angelita seem kindred souls. Mary understands that Angie is getting Divine
Guidance thats available to everyone but that she didnt have before. Mary says, My faith is
very important to me. I still love to go to tournaments, and I neglect my husband a little bit,
and when I do I feel badly about it. But in the morning my day starts with thanking the Lord.
Angie says, As long as I keep everything in the right perspective, and keep God my No. 1 and
my first love, then I have everything I need and He gives me everything I need. The minute he
slips out of being my No. 1 love, I start making all kinds of mistakes, things start going wrong
and I start feeling bad, but as long as I am walking with the Spirit and walking with God
everything is okay.
Western State Open Results: Mens: Ray Guillen over Dean Galardi whod eliminated
Paul Raphel in 5. Mens Doubles: Nick Mintsiveris/Bill Ukapatyasakul (a.k.a. Bill U) over
Guillen/Galardi, def. Mixed Doubles: Stan/Angelita Rosal over Guillen/Heather Angelinetta.
Esquires/Seniors: Julius Paal over Russ Thompson. Senior As: Henry Swain over Don
Higgins. Senior Doubles: Thompson/Gene Wilson over Dieter Huber/Jerry LaLande. U-17s:
Jimmy Lane over Karl Huber whod eked out a 27, 20 win over Georgette Rideg. U-15s:
Lane over Mike Terrell. U-13s: Rideg over Tony Gonzales, 19 in the 4th, after Tony had
eliminated Reagan Tom, 19 in the 4th. Junior Doubles: Huber/Terrell over Lane/Ian Davis.
Parent-Child Doubles: Hubers over Toms.
As: Rob Lange, deuce in the 3rd, over Jeff Stewart
whod gotten by Stan Rosal, 23-21 in the 3rd. A Doubles: Ron
Whitlock/Rosal over Mike Carr/Keith Ogata (from down 2-0),
18 in the 5th. Bs: Stewart over Ricky Guillen. B Doubles:
Ogata/Lane over Stewart/Plakos, 19 in the 3rd, then over
Guillen/Rideg, 17 in the 5th. Cs: Jim Boatman, 19 in the 5th,
over Rick Watkins whod stopped Mike Ban, -20, 20, 18. C
Doubles: Hyam/Tom over DeFrance/LaLande, 19 in the 5th.
Ds: Wilbur Durr over Mark Corbett. D Doubles: Huber/
Gilbreath over Ruben Guillen/Bill Tamayo. Novice: Tamayo
over Ruben Guillen, 19 in the 4th. Novice Doubles: Gonzales/
Tom over Tom Mullins/Esler.
Keith Ogata
Mary McIlwain reports on Topics Club of the Month,
Photo by Pam Ramsey
the Upland, CA Club and its Third Annual Closed (Mar.-Apr.,
1976, 24). We learn that through the efforts of Lee Laitz, assisted by Mary and Don Higgins,
temporary places to play in Upland were found until rather quickly a permanent site, the
Magnolia Recreation Center, became the Clubs two-days-a-week
home. Bill Ray, whod remembered Mary playing in Toronto
maybe 15 years earlier, took over as Club Manager and because
of his enthusiasm the Club, with tournaments and league play, has
prospered.
Results of the Upland Closed, held Dec. 14 in the Upland
High School Gym: Mens Singles: Sam Ahn over #1-seed and
fellow penholder David Chiu in 5. Mens Doubles: Chiu/Gene
Wilson over Ahn/Harold Kopper. No Womens event for
McIlwain to defend. Draw Doubles: Bob Reising/McIlwain over
Tom Johnson/Elmer Widmer. Intermediate: C. Tom over Reising.
Sam Ahn
Novice: Steve Korf over Johnson. Beginners: Larry Armstrong
Photo by Gary Voth
209

over Tom Anderson. Seniors: Gene

Wilson over runner-up Bob Green
and Higgins. Juniors (15-17)/Boys
(12-13): Reagan Tom over Doug
Reagan Tom
Photo by Don Gunn
Kirby.
Winners in the Jan. 17-18 Los
Angeles Open: Mens: Dennis Barish
over Dean Galardi whod knocked
out Paul Raphel in 5. (At the earlier
Long Beach Open, won by Guillen
over Galardi, 24-22 in the 4th, Bill U
had a 5-game win over Barish.)
Mens Doubles: Galardi/Ray Guillen over Barish/Al Everett. Womens: Pat Crowley over
Heather Angelinetta. Esquires: Julius Paal over Gene Wilson. Seniors: Final: Paal over Danny
Banach, 18 in the 5th. Semis: Paal over Don Ayers in 5; Banach over Carmen Ricevuto who
says the only rubber he can adjust to is Cutman, which hes run out of and cant get the name
of a dealer in the U.S. or abroad who sells it. Help! Meanwhile, Don Gunn warns of a
structural deficiency in the Stiga bat with Mark V rubber and a picture of Alser on the flared
handle. It will easily break at the neck, where the blade meets the handleso dont slap your
hip with it, might be an expensive mistake. Senior As: Henry Swain over Watkins. U-17s:
Galardi over Barish, def. U-15s: Lane over Mike Terrell, def. U-13s: Lee Lawson over Tony
Gonzales.
As: Ricky
Guillen over
Joelson. A
Doubles: Russ
Thompson/Gary
Whiddon over
Joelson/Hall. Bs:
Lane over Hall. B
Doubles: Lane/
Keith Ogata over
Jerry LaLande/
Richard Badger.
Cs: Mike
Dempsey over
Mike Dempsey
Tony Koyama
Bob Green. C
Doubles: Mark Corbett/Greg Plakos over LaLande/Watkins. Ds: Tony Koyama over Ian
Davis. D Doubles: Guy Seaman/Corbett over Jewell/Ruben Guillen. Novice: Koyama over
Esler. Novice Doubles: Gonzales/Davis over Field/Ma.
At San Antonio, the Dec. 6 Alamo Open was run on 10 Detroiter tables by J.C. Tenay
with help from Gene and Sue Sargent. Enjoying the home-made ice tea were at least some of
these winners. Mens: 1. Alex Tam, 3-0. 2. Perry Schwartzberg, 2-1. 3. Hanumanth Rao, 1-2.
4. Gary Fagan, 0-3. Mens Doubles: Tam/M.Skiles over Fagan/Charles Butler, 25-23. Mixed
Doubles: Doug Hibbs/Cindy Garza over Don Weems/Sue Sargent. Seniors: Tenay over
Gordon. Senior Doubles: Tenay/Arthur Buster Chase over Gordon/R. Cunyus.
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As: Scott Ryan over John Tomlinson, 19 in

Scott Ryan
the 4th. A Doubles: Paul LeBlanc/Ron Heilman over
Photo by
John Hewes/Gary Garner, 18 in the 5th. Bs: David
Mal Anderson
Babcock over Heilman. Babcock, Perry
Schwartzberg says, quit school a couple of weeks
ago and is working for Jose Marin at a warehouse.
He moved out of the place he was living next door
to the chess club, and seems to be acting more
normal than ever before. B Doubles: Grady
Gordon/Mike Roddy over Steve Arnold/Doug
Copley in 5. Cs: Jeff Wise over Roddy. Ds: C.
Murray over R. Murray. Mens Consolation: Tenay over Buddy Melamed. Juniors:
Schwartzberg over Roddy. Junior Doubles: Schwartzberg/Larry Melamed over Roddy/Irl
Copley.
Schwartzberg did well here in San Antonio, but in less than two weeks hes writing to
Ron Shirley fearful that over the Christmas vacation he might have to have an operation on his
knee. The doctor says I might have torn cartilage and have to get the fluid out. In the same
breath he says hes only been able to play once since the San Antonio tournament. Problem
isnt his knee. Its how to get to the Club. He hasnt got a drivers license yet, both his parents
work all day, and since Bob ONeills quit, he hasnt got a ride. Hes ahead of his timea
young environmentalist. On starting a second sheet of notebook paper writing to Ron, he
makes a mistake, and writes: I started the sentence wrong but didnt want to use a new sheet
of paper because I really do feel that with the way inflation is and the current price for a large
package of white notebook paper, about $.99 for 300 sheets, I shouldnt waste this sheet of
paper and have them cut down trees just because I dont know how to write a sentence! How
wasteful!...
The Dec. 6 Skublicki-Hall Memorial Open was held in Wisner, Nebraska in honor of
Jerry Skublicki and Randy Hall, killed in the same car crash Oct. 2 while en route to LeRoy
Petersens home in Wisner. Liane Guentner tells us (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 21) that during the
100 days he lived at Wisner, Skublicki had worked closely with Todd [Petersen], and, as
Todds dad LeRoy said, his coaching couldnt have been more successful. Fourteen-year-old
Todd won every event he was entered in
without losing one game, and so took home
the Mens Singles trophy dedicated to
Skublicki.
Mark Kennedy, 17, of Lincoln,
Nebraska, whod been a friend and doubles
partner to Hall, wasnt competing in the Cs,
but he wished he were, for the C trophy was
engraved in memory of Randy. Mark and his
girlfriend Brenda Brinton both wore red
jerseys with Randy the Jet stenciled in white
on the backs.I wanted everyone to
remember him, Kennedy said.
Results: Mens: 1. Todd Petersen. 2.
Mark Kennedy
Diana Myers. 3. Jim Lynum. Womens: 1.
Photo by Mal Anderson
211

Myers. 2. Kathy Giese. Open Doubles: 1. T. Petersen/Lynum. 2. Myers/Kennedy. As: 1. Lionel

Harris. 2. Scott Petersen. 3. Dr. John OHara (he drives 30 miles each way from Clarkson to
play at the Wisner Club once a week). Bs: 1. LeRoy Petersen. 2. Mark Engelman. 3. Victor
Engelman. Cs: 1. Walene Heermann. 2. Myron Nelson. U-17 Boys: T. Petersen. 2. John
Stillions. U-17 Girls: 1. Judi Stillions. 2. Debbie Johnson. U-13s: 1. Gary Hicks. 2. Denise
Heermann. U-17 Doubles: 1. T. Petersen/John Stillions. 2. Kennedy/Brinton.
Spurred on by the renown of
Canadian National Junior Champion, Brian
Kid Zembik, and Charles Chow, who a year
ago won the Singles and Doubles at Magoos
Winter Carnival Open and has had wins over
Peter Joe, Eddy Lo, Alex Polisois, and Rod
Young, Manitoba has become one of the top
competing provinces in Canada. In the CTTA
Table Tennis News (Mar., 1976, 11), Dave
Lofchick fills us in on the Unicity Open
which, with help from Don Kokan, he
Brian Kid Zembik
From CTTA News, Mar., 1976
successfully directed. Open Singles: Zembik
over Chow, 17, 18, 19despite Charlies use
of a secret rubber from Hong Kong (which maybe he wasnt yet used to?). Come on, Kid,
Zembik yells, and for three games he loops in winners. Earlier, however, Brian had to go 5 to
get by Boris Rainer and his consistent counter-and-kill game. Open Doubles: Zembik and
Mens semifinalist Ed Smook over Chow/Rainer.
Other winners: Womens: Patsy Alphonso over Pat Galovics. Mixed Doubles winners:
Leon Cox/Alphonso. As: Stephen Lee over Lofchick. Bs: Kerry Eidse. Cs: Dan Bakaluk
over Cecil Morris. Intermediate Doubles winners: D. Clark/Jon Laufman. Novice: Laufman
over Neil Dookie. Open Consolation: Stephen Lee over Mark Harrison. Seniors: Cox over
Manitoba TTA President/Coach Art Werier (affectionately known as Uncle Art to Zembik
and Chow). Juniors: Zembik over Manitoba new arrival John Partyka, 19 in the 3rd. Boys:
Terry Trueman over Brian Hollos. Junior Doubles: Zembik and Marshall Rice, MTTA Publicity
Chair, over George Drazic and Harry Hirsh.
At Manitobas Red River Open that
followed, Chow, whod earlier played in the
English Open and is now #3 in Canada,
straight-game avenged his Unicity loss to
Zembik. Alphonso again won the
Womensthis time from Rosel Hoppe.
Mixed Doubles went to Ranier/Hoppe over
Zembik/Kay Kowalker. As: Lofchick over
Rice. Bs: Lofchick over Gary Patushok.
Cs: Peter Lee over Patushok. Novice: Sam
Yu over Peter Lee. Open Consolation:
Stephen Lee over Rice.
Magoos, with its Charlie Disney/
Alan Doc Goldstein State Championship
Charlie Disney and Alan Doc Goldstein
rivalry, has come and gone.* After a terrible
Photos courtesy of Don Larson
212

riot at the nightclub they were sharing space with, they had to leave, and the present Club (to
avoid the riot remembrances?) is called Disneys. Heres how Steve Grant (TTT, Jan.-Feb.,
1976 24) opens his write-up of their Jan. 24-25 Winter Carnival tournament: A flood of local
publicity drew 150 people for the finals, many of them paid spectators. Unfortunately, Thai
champions Charlie Wuvanich and Chuchai Chan stayed home nursing their wounds, as the
usual $100 in prizes was not offered them this time. In celebrating t.t. as part of Icentennial
76, Wuvanich was featured first on a filmed local sportscast, then again in a full-page story
in the Sunday sports section the morning of the tournament.

Clockwise from left: Ed Ells, Stu Sinykin, Chuck

Turchick, and Ray Mosio.
Sinykin and Mosio photos courtesy of Don Larson

Results: (final rounds played on a single table

centered in a barriered arena, with spectators on all
four sides): Mens: Final: Apichart Sears over Stu
Sinykin. Semis: a looping Sears over a looping Pete Tellegen in 5; Sinykin in 5 over Chuck
Turchick whod eliminated State Champion John Soderberg in 5. After Disneys manager Don
Larson had described Turchick as a hitter who cant loop because of his pips-out style,
Turchick immediately looped the next ball past Sinykin, and the crowd went wild. Turchick
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himself apparently went wild some time later, for in an Apr. 2nd letter to Disciplinary Chair Dr.
Scott, Disney said Chuck was no longer welcome at Charlies Club. Open Doubles: Sears/
Steve Steblay over Tellegen/Ray Mosio, 18 in the 4th. Womens: Sheila ODougherty over
Takako Trenholme, 3-1. Mixed Doubles: Steve Strauss/ODougherty over Sears/Sheri
Soderberg.
As: Stu Sinykin over Steblay. Bs: Ed Ells, a psychologist at Minneapoliss V.A.
Hospital, over Todd Petersen. Cs: John Meader over Mark Kennedy. Ds: Bob Williams over
Gary Adams. Es: Adams over Bob Faulkner. Womens Novice: Judy Winiecki over Desiree
Baker, 19 in the 3rd. Novice Doubles: Kennedy/LeRoy Petersen over Hanson/Collette.
Esquires: Al Faulkner over Chester Halpern. U-17s: John Soderberg over Petersen. Junior
Novice: Jim Rudberg over Mike Cusick. Junior Doubles: Petersen/Kennedy over Soderberg/
Soderberg. Parent-Child Doubles: Petersens over Kennedys.
Jim Davey did triple duty at the Jan. 9-10
Illinois Closed. The tournament was run at the
Chicago Club co-owned by Jim; the Topics
write-up (Jan.-Feb., 1976, 22) was written by
Jim; and for the third straight year the Mens
Singles was won by Jim Results: Mens: Davey
over Bobby Pallit whod beaten him in two
recent Friday night Chicago Club tournaments,
then in the final over (shes not a man either)
Faan Yeen Liu, after Liu had eliminated
Leonard McNeece, 19, -19, 15 in the semis.
1976 Illinois Closed
At the July, 1974 Columbus, Ohio Summer
Champion Jim Davey
Tournament, Insook Na wasnt allowed to play
Photo by Mal Anderson
in the Mens Singles because there was a
Womens Singles (had Mens Singles been
called Open Singles Na could have played in
it). Question: has that rule been rescinded? Answer: no, just ignoredboth for Angie Rosal in
that recent San Francisco tournament and for Faan Yeen here. Womens: Barbara Taschner,
National Intercollegiate Champion, in 3 over Liu. Their winning USOTC teammate Carol
Cook finished 3rd. Mens Doubles: Paul
Pashuku/Liu, 19 in the 3rd, over Davey/
McNeece whod been 24-22, 30-28 pressed
by Brazda/Mike Menzer. As: McNeece over
runner-up John Hart and Menzer. Bs: Joe
Bujalski over runner-up Taschner and Primo
Madrigal. Cs: P. Jordan over I. Weiner. Ds:
Jordan over T. Butts.
Winners at the Jan. 17 Woodland
Michigan Open: Open Singles: Mike Baber
over Rick Vanderlind. Open Doubles: Dave
Shenk/Steve Betts over Sweeris/C.J.
Williams, deuce in the 3rd. As: Tom McEvoy
over Vanderlind. Bs: Betts over Leon
Shahnasarian. B Doubles: Baber/Dave
Tom McEvoy
Joe Bujalski
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Williams over Vanderlind/Betts. Cs: Betts over John Missad. Ds: Omer Miller over Bob
Lichtenheld. D Doubles: Miller/Betts over Pawlowski/Pawlowski. Es: Tom Stout over Lennie
Ores. Novice: Ores over Ed Vandervries. Beginners: Richard Grossman over Eric Zirnis.
Handicap: Grossman over Betts. Seniors: Shahnasarian over Bill Hornyak (wholl soon be
running his own tournaments in Michigan City, IN). U-17s: Torsten Pawlowski over Steve
Wasik. U-15s: Ores over Pawlowski. U-13s: Ores over Jim Doney, 18, 22.
Results of the Dec. 27 Lake Erie Open at Cleveland: Open Singles: 1. James Earl.
2. Sam Steiner. 3. Glenn Marhefka. 4. Dave Strang. Womens: S.M. Liso over Sue McDowell.
Mens Doubles: Earl/Gus Kurz over Marhefka/Mike Kinney. As: Ron Schull over Kinney. A
Doubles: Bob Slapnik/Roper over M. Allen/Bob Allen, 19 in the 3rd. Bs: Strang over Bob
Allen. Cs: M. Allen over Slapnik. Consolations: Walt Bubley over Alain Yeung. Esquires:
Lou Radzeli over Bob Allen. Seniors: Radzeli over Jim Richling. Young Adults: Steiner over
Strang, deuce in the 5th. U-17s: Ben Joelson over Blake Cottrell. U-15s: Cottrell over Allan
Eva. U-13s: Tom Arcaro over Mark Gillinov, 10, 11, -19, -29, 19.
Canadas trying to bring table tennis to some of its Regional areashence a Dec. 22nd
match between Ontario (5) and Quebec (3) in airport-accessible Rouyn-Noranda. Thats in
Quebec, near the Ontario border, up, up the map in a straight line from Toronto. An ad in the
CTTA Mar., 1976 News said that Alex Tam wanted a coaching or Phys. Ed. position in
Canada. Would he want to go to Rouyn-Noranda? Results: Alan Heap (O) over Rod Young, 17, 20, 10. Errol Caetano (O) over Guy Germain, 12, -17, 18. Alex Polisois (Q) over Derek
Wall, 9, -17, 14. Caetano (O) over Young, 12, 12. Polisois (Q) over Heap, 17, -17, 12.
Germain (Q) over Wall, 14, 16. Caetano (O) over Polisois, 19, 19. Wall (O) over Young, 10, 19, 17.
No surprise in the Dec. 6th Ontario Closed that Caetano won the Mens over Alan
Heap, or that Irena Cordas won the Womens over Birute Plucas. But that the Mens Doubles
went to Victor Skujins/Modris Zulps over Heap/Derek Wall was unexpected, at least to me.
Womens Doubles: Cordas/Flora Nesukaitis over Gloria Hsu/Gloria Nesukaitis. Mixed
Doubles: Alain Thomas/Hsu over Heap/Cordas. Mens Bs: Randall Airst over Plucas. (You
couldnt have Birute play in the Womens Bs, right? So give her another event to play in.)
Womens Bs: Becky McKnight over Loretta Koperski. Cs: Ray Reichert over David
Williams. C Doubles: D. Williams/A. [Alan?] Williams over George Bonnigut/J. McKeating.
(Is it possible the winners are the Williams brothers wholl later play out of Frostberg, MD?)
Ds: Sing Yeung over Reichert. Seniors: Ken Kerr over Ron Bickerstaffe. Boys U-17: Ross
Sutherland over Airst, 19 in the 3rd. Girls U-17: Plucas over G. Nesukaitis. Boys U-15: D.
Williams over Reichert. Girls U-15: G. Nesukaitis over McKnight. U-13s: Joe Eng over Ivan
Krofky.
On Jan. 18th at the West Humber Collegiate Institute, it was Caetano again. The 22year-old service technician for Rogers Cable TV won his fourth Toronto Openthis time
over Rod Young. Errol and Rod also took the Doublesfrom Polisois/Germain. Womens:
Rupa Banerjee over Gloria Hsu. Womens Doubles: Banerjee/Hsu over Flora Nesukaitis/
Suzanna Kavallierou. Mixed Doubles: Heap/Kavallierou over Skujins/G. Nesukaitis. Mens
Bs: John Nesukaitis over Emil Varden, 19 in the 3rd. Womens Bs: Koperski over Lamia
Janusauskas. Cs: Claude Lamoureux over Chuck Gorcheck C Doubles: Labreche/Norman
Gauthier over Ming Shing Leung/King-Mo Sun. Ds: Sun over Zdravko Sondic. Seniors:
Zulps over Wolfgang Scholich. Boys U-17: Southerland over Desforges, Girls U-17/U-15: G.
Nesukaitis over Colleen Johnson. Boys U-15: Reichert over Labreche, 23-21, 28-26.
215

Meanwhile, monthly tournaments

were held at the Marymount High School in
Montreal. Nov. 23rd Winners: Mens: Peter
Gonda over Adham Sharara in 4. Womens:
Francine Theoret over Colleen Johnson, -19,
23, 17, 19. Mens Doubles: Sharara/Young
over Germain/Ron Chapman. Womens
Doubles: Sonia Duwel/Johnson over Theoret/
Joanna Flakierska. Mixed Doubles: Young/
Peter Gonda
Johnson over Germain/Theoret. Mens As:
Photo
by Mal Anderson
Randal Airst over Daniel Savaria, 17, -20, 18.
Womens As: Flakierska over Duwel, 18 in
the 3rd. Bs: Claude Lamoureux over Gerard
Melancon, -20, 17, 19. Ds: A. Oryschuk
over Johnson, 20, 20. Seniors: Siggi Kunz over Daniel Jacquemen.
Boys U-17: Lamoureux over Jean Desforges. Girls U-17: Flakierska
over Duwel. Boys U-15: Jean Labreche over Marc Lalonde. Boys U13: Mitch Rothfleisch over Alain Tremblay. (Thirty years later Mitch
will have a thriving Stiga/Table Tennis Pioneers distributorship.)
The Dec. 6th Montreal
tournament was held to
determine the Quebec Province
Junior Champions. Winners:
Boys U-17: Marc Lesiege over
Pierre Normandin. Boys U-15:
Labreche, deuce in the 3rd, over
R. Desjardins (any relation to
Montreals J.J. Desjardins, 1936
Siggi Kunz
CNE Open winner and 1947-48
National Closed Champ?). Boys U-13: Charles Masson
over Rene Lewandowski, deuce in the 3rd. Girls U-17:
Christine Forgo over Duwel. Girls U-15: Colleen Johnson
over Duwel. Girls U-13: Julia Johnson over Sylvie
Marc Lesiege
From Quebecs Pongiste, Mar., 1977

Colleen Johnson
Photo by Mal Anderson

Leveillee. U-11s: Daniel Aucon

over Stephane Leveillee.
Ill stretch on in Canadagive
you Results from the Jan. 24th
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Open (113
players). Mens As (in some places
in Canada, the Mens As are
equivalent to the U.S. Mens; the
Bs equivalent to the U.S. As):
home town favorite Neville
216

Brabrook, 17 in the 5th,

over Steve Peers who,
playing in his first As,
really did turn out to be
Nevilles peer. Ladies:
Defending Champion
Kelleye Crockett over
fellow Prince Edward
Islander Glenda
Macwilliam. (Glendas
sister, Janice, just
married, has moved
from Charlottetown,
and is pursuing her
career as a dietician and
is now Secretary of the
Nova Scotia TTA.)
Glenda Macwilliam and Neville Braybrook receiving medals from CTTA
Mens A Doubles:
Executive Secretary Jose Tompkins. Inset: Janice Macwilliam
Photo by Wemboldt, CTTA News, July, 1974
Peers/Ray Tsang over
Scott Milsom/Joe
Fisher. Ladies Doubles: Kelleye/Laura Crockett over Joan King/Linda Knight. Mixed
Doubles: Peers/Janice Silver over Milsom/King (from down 2-0), 19 in the 5th. Mens Bs: Ken
Goggin over Ron Cooper. Mens B Doubles: Doug Pope/Mike Stephens over Mark Kent/John
McPherson. Boys U-17s: Mark Kent over brother Ian. Girls U-17: Jennifer White over Cheryl
Matheson. U-15 Boys: Ian Kent over Jimmy King. Girls U-15: Judith Cooper over Louise
LeBlanc U-13 Boys: Ed Suen, whom some think is the best U-13 in Canada, over David
Crockett.
At Bostons Jan. 3-4 76 Open, Robert Earle won the Mens when Mike Bush
defaulted the final. Interesting late-round matches: Earle over Errol Resek (from down 2-0);
Ralph Robinson over Mike Lardon (also from down 2-0); and Dave Sakai over Carl Danner, 24, 16, 9, 18. (Jairie Resek, in her Jan-Feb., 1976 Topics column said that Dave, a bachelor
now, was gonna give up (perhaps already had) his 6-table USTT Center in Waterbury and
start an 18-table International House of Pong in Hartford.)
Other Boston Open Results: Open Doubles: Chui/Sakai over Tim Boggan/Fuarnado
Roberts, deuce in the 3rd, then over Resek/Bush by default. (As if taking his cue from Ali
OveissiAli couldnt shake a 101 fever, was taking penicillin every four hoursMike
succumbed to stomach cramps and nausea). Gossip maven Resek in her column said that as
they were driving through Rhode Island en route to Boston, a very friendly and helpful State
Trooper presented Errol with a speeding ticket. Huh? Friendly/ Helpful? Jairies being ironic?
Nope:
Errol was going 83. If you do over 70 in Rhode Island, you lose your
license automatically. Then the trooper told us to be careful, said there was another
radar trap nine miles ahead. Benfield Munroe took over the driving, and do youthink
Big Ben was intimidated? Hell no; the speedometer didnt go below 95 until we
stopped [stopped voluntarily?]
217

Women:
Anita Wu over
Evelyn Zakarin.
Mixed Doubles:
T. Boggan/
Zakarin over Wu/
Harry Morris. As:
Frank Dwelly
over Siegfried
Sporer, 19 in the
3rd, then over Jeff
Frank Dwelly - as a teenager, and as a senior.
Senior photo by Mal Anderson
Zakarin. Bs:
Morris, 19 in the
3rd, over Scott Boggan whod 19, 21 nipped his brother Eric. Cs: Lardon over Morris. Ds: Tom
Seay over Pete Schuld, -15, 13, 20, 20. Es: Paul Weaver over Dave Clevenson. Fs: Weaver over
Ralph Bockoven. Gs: L. Lam over L. Conlon, 12, -16, -16, 20, 19. Handicap: Weaver over
Bockoven. Seniors: Boggan over Mort Zakarin. U-17s: S. Boggan over E. Boggan.
Earlier, C winner Lardon had scored a big upset
over Lim Ming Chuia win that contributed to Mikes
being named Topics Mar.-Apr. Junior of the Month.
Dan Green in his write-up said that when he first spotted
him at the Huntington, Long Island Club three years ago
he was impressed by Mikes determined attitude and
maturity, especially for a 12 and -year-old, and he
began coaching and playing with him. Later, Mike was
coached some by Mort Zakarin, Sam Hammond, and
Dick Miles.
Mikes promise continues. A sophomore at
Junior of the Month
Huntingtons John Glenn High School, hes an Honor
Mike Lardon
Photo by Raul Rodriguez
Society member, has been active in baseball (Little
League All-Star Team) and football (quarterback,
Huntington Y 1972-74), has been a member of his Junior High School gymnastic team, and a
Junior High School officer. As for his table tennis: hes currently the Long Island U-15
Champion and the Huntington Township U-17 Champion. If there were such an honor, says
Dan, Mike would be in contention for Junior of the Year.
SELECTED NOTES.
Though weve seen in earlier volumes that Minnesota has had a long table tennis
history, going back into the 1930s, Don Larson tells me that in 1966-67 the Sport was dead in
Minneapolis. Then Goldstein had found Disney on the tennis courts and persuaded him to start
playing table tennis again. They began putting up modest prize money at tournaments to raise
the Image of the Sport and to promote the best playersthat would be Doc and Charlie. In
the beginning, Doc was first and Charlie was second in three straight tournaments. Then in
1968 D-J Lee sold Charlie new rubber, and for the next year and a half he beat Doc in nine
straight tournaments. Doc was upset enough that he went to a seminar on hypnosis in New
York.He also went to D-Js coaching clinic [and got new rubber?].
218

Chapter Fifteen
1975-76: Early Winter TournamentsPart II.
Mike Haun (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 27) reports on the Dec.13-14 $400 Yasaka
Open, held at D-J Lees Table Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio. Naturally
Yasaka balls were used, which presented problems to some of the players
because they werent used to them. But could they get used to them? Yasaka
offered a 20% discount on all equipment. As weve seen, Angie Rosal and Faan
Yeen Liu played in a Mens Singles event when there was a Womens Sungles
offered. But Haun said Insook Bhushan had been winning the Open Singles as well as the
Womens Singles, so D-J, going by the book, instituted a Mens Singleswhich Insook
couldnt enter because D-J also offered a Womens Singles.
So now the men had a fighting chance, especially since D-J himself wasnt playing in
the event. And, oh, neither apparently was Vern Lester. According to Hamilton, Ohios Larry
Marshall (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 19), Verns a local player who, after months of practice, has
perfected a weird super chop that when he hits [sic] a good one nobody can even push it
back! The loop is virtually useless against it. Marshall says that once, against Graham Gears
strong loop, Vern executed a super chop and the ball came back about 4 inches over the net,
hit about the middle of the table, then suddenly reversed course sending the ball straight back
into the net.Vern plans to display his new shot in large tournaments so he can see what the
very top players can do against it. Its my bet they wont believe their eyes. So, uh, whats he
waiting for? The purse isnt large enough for him here to take on D-J and Insook?
Results: Open Singles: D-J Lee in 4 over Insook
Na Bhushan who near miraculously survived Greg
Collins in the semis. Down 2-1 and 18-13 in the 4th to a
crowd gone quiet and getting quieter, Insook almost ran
it out, taking 6 straight points, then winning the game at
19. In the 5th, Greg was up 20-17 triple matchpointonly to lose 23-21. Womens: Bhushan over
Mary Ann Burdick. Mens: Collins over Kevin Legge.
Open Doubles: Lee/Legge over Mark Wampler/Collins
whod eliminated Bhushan/John Spencer, deuce in the
4th. Mixed Doubles: 1. Burdick/Legge. 2. Fish/Fish. 3.
Bob Powell/Ono. 4. Stuart/McGee. 5. Jerry and Cindy
Marcum (son
Tony played too
Greg Collins
and, says Haun,
Photo by Mal Anderson
they all loved
every minute of it).
Cindy Marcum
As: Legge over Jack Pangburn. A Doubles:
Photo by
Mal Anderson
Powell/Schull over Maley/Pangburn. Bs: Eiler over
Schull. B Doubles: Burdick/Strang over Pangburn/
Todd, -13, 22, 18, then over Eller/Ron DeMent. Cs:
Kris Pangburn over Kenny in 5. Unrated: Mees over
Bryan. Esquires: Jack Pangburn over Joe Blatt.
219

Seniors: Eugene Kunyo over DeMent.

Young Adults: Legge over K. Pangburn.
Boys U-17: Jeff Williams over Jeff Pangburn.
Girls U-17: Denise Horn over Jodee
Williams. Boys U-15: Williams over Panno.
Girls U-15: Horn over Kim Kondash. Boys
U-13: Williams over Miller.
About the same Jan. 24-25 time the
New Albany Club was holding the Southern
Indiana Closed, its most famous member,
legendary bat-maker Bernie Hock, suffered a
heart attack and was recovering in Floyd
County Memorial Hospital. Meanwhile, at
the tournament, life went on much as before.
Dick Hicks won the Mens from Homer
Brown, and Norma Hicks may have won the
Womens from Amy Rebel (scores are
Norma, Richard, and Ricky Hicks
conflicting). Mens Doubles went to Hicks/
Ricky Hicks over Brown/Kris Pangburn whod knocked out Al Grambo/Bob Miller. Mixed to
Brown/Sally Webster over Jerry/Cindy Marcum in 3, then over Hicks/Hicks in 3. Esquires:
San Shannon over Gene Bricker. Seniors: Shannon over Bob Miller.
As: Jim Yates over Kris Pangburn. Bs: Dave Russell in 5 over Tony Marcum whod
gotten by Bill Dannacher, deuce in the 4th. B Doubles: Grambo/Jerry Marcum over Tony
Marcum/Bill Johnson. Cs: Johnson over Richard Kissel, 19 in the 3rd, then over Fred Carman.
Novice: William Sutton over Greg Waldbieser, 23-21 in the 3rd. Consolations: Mike Wyatt
over Dannacher. Young Adults: Tim Yates over Jim Yates, 21, -21, -22, 21, 15. U-17s: Tim
Yates over Kris Pangburn whod stopped Tony Marcum, -21, 20, 11. U-15s: Tim Yates over
Tony Marcum. U-13s: Jeff Pangburn over Todd Amick whod eliminated Greg Houston, 2624 in the 3rd.
Rich Doza, with an assist from Paul
Guetschew and Bill Brunson, ran a Dec. 6-7
Holiday Open at his St. Louis Club. Results:
Cash Open: 1. Jim Schnorf. 2. Steve Siegel
whod prevailed over Dennis Fritchie, 18, 19, -20, 18, 19. Mens: 1. Schnorf, 3-0. 2.
Siegel, 2-1 (beat Allen Lee, -16, -17, 19, 20,
18; beat Daryl Heim, 18, 17, 19, -20, 26). 3.
Lee over Heim. Open
Doubles: Schnorf/
Siegel over Lee/Brian
Jim Schnorf
McClesky. Womens:
Photo by Mal Anderson
Leslie Harris over
Claudia Bingaman. Mixed Doubles: Heim/Harris over T. Lakes/C.
Brunson. Seniors: Art Fiebig over Hugh Lax. Juniors: Joe Tobias over
Harris. As: 1. Doza. 2. Fiebig. 3. Shannon (lost 19, -22, -19, -19). 4.
Hugh Lax
220

Lax. A Doubles: Doza/Fiebig over Lax/T.

Clendennin. Bs: 1. Tobias. 2. Fritchie. 3.
C. Dunn. 4. A. Barth. Cs: 1. Tobias over
runner-up Bill Brunson, deuce in the 5th.
3. Lakes. 4. R. Kissel. Consolations: Lax
over D. Roberts, 19 in the 5th.
1975 Georgia Closed titleholders
will have only a few months to savor
their win, for the new Augusta affiliate
will host the 1976 Georgia Closed in late
Allen Barth
March. Here are the Dec. 6, 1975
Photo by Mal Anderson
winners: Mens: Chuck Michell.
Womens: Carol Stephens. Mens Doubles: Singles runner-up Pete
May and Seniors winner Herb Beckham over Michell/Cyril
Lederman. Mixed Doubles: Herb/Tracy Beckham over May/Cathy
Beckham. As: Ray Filz over Gene Stephens. Bs: Jimmy Flynn
over Sam Cannella. Boys U-17 winner: Cecil Brooks. U-15s:
Tracy Beckham
Brooks over Girls U-17 winner Tracy Beckham. U-13s: Andy
Dillon.
Brrr!
Tournament
Director Wendell
Dillon, in his
write-up of the
Jan. 24th Atlanta
Winter Open
(TTT, May-June,
1976, 21),
thanked all the
players whod had
to endure the
winter-like playing
conditions. The
heat in the
building didnt
Steve Rigo and son Ronnie
work
most
of
the
Ask Wendell. Being a tournament director isnt easy.
time and the floor at times [due to improper
cleaning] was as slippery as ice. Despite derogatory reports about players in Topics, says
Wendell, there are good sports out there. Results: Championship Singles: Steve Rigo over
Alan Sverdlik, 8, 20, -16, 18. Championship Doubles: Steve/Ron Rigo over Larry Thoman/
Gene Stephens. As: Thoman over Bill Farrar, 26-24 in the 5th, then over Jim McQueen in 4.
Bs: Steve Hitchner, Ranking and Equipment Chair for the Raleigh Triangle Club, over
Stephens. Novice: Fred Grubbs over Joe Miller. Seniors: Lederman over Dillon. Juniors: Ron
Rigo over Mark Wilder.
Winners in the Dec. 7 Florida Closed at Orlando: Championship Singles: 1. Jerry
Thrasher. 2. Bernie Bukiet. 3. Greg Gingold. 4. Wayne Daunt. Two good matches in the
221

quarters: Gingold over

Marv Leff in 5; and Bukiet
over John Elliott, 21-3 in
the 5th. Bernies win over
John reminds me of a
Bernie story or two that
Mal Anderson told me.
Once in a match at the
Worlds, Bukiet was down
19-16 in the 5th when, for
the first time, he used what
he called his Twik-Twik
serve, and his opponent
missed all five! As they
shook hands, Bernie said
to him, You think I have
good serve? Later, in the
States, against an
upcoming opponent,
Bernie said, If you buy
me dinner I no use TwikTwik serve when we play.
Naturally the player
bought Bernie dinner. As it
happened, the match
between the two was
closethey split the first
four games. Then, before
starting the 5th game,
Bernie pulled out his
Action at North American Intercity League
wallet, gave his opponent
Drawing by Janet Martorano
$3 and said, Now I use
Twik-Twik serve! And of course he massacred the poor guy.
Championship Doubles: Peter Pradit/Daunt over Gingold/Joe Sokoloff, -19, -18, 19,
17, 23. Womens: Olga Soltesz over Bev Hess Patterson. Mixed Doubles: Steve Rigo/Soltesz
over Pat/Bev Patterson, 18 in the 5th. As: Leff over Patterson. Bs: Patterson over Ross
Brown. B Doubles: Randy Hess/Ron Rigo over Brown/ Blake Chamberlain. Cs: Ron Rigo
over Doug Wilcock. Seniors: Leff over Gerry Maglio.
The initiatory North American Inter-City League Team event for the Easts top Men
(Professionals well call them) as well as for Women and Amateurs, was held Jan. 31-Feb.1
under the direction of Bob Kaminsky at Parkdale Senior High School in Riverdale, Maryland.
The event almost didnt come about, and perhapsfor both the New Carrollton Club that
sponsored it and those members of the Players Association who at the last minute rather
reluctantly came to itit would have been better if it hadnt been held.
To be or not to be. The idea for teams to play in a North American League had been
put forward by our innovative National Tournament Director Neal Fox in the hope that
222

eventually inter-city matches could be promoted not just in pockets but, for the good of the
Sport, all over the country. It was expected that the traveling players would be well treated, as
at the Elizabethan court of Elsinore, that the many spectators would be pleased to see what
they were seeing, pay what they were paying, and that the local promoter would wish to
reward the players both monetarily and by guaranteeing to hold the event again and again.
Unfortunately, however, the financial burden of organizing such a league would
unimaginatively have to fall on the playersthey would have to find their own sponsors. In
this like half-real pilot event at Riverdale, MD (I think of some antiquated World War I movie
where on late night TV goggled aviators look through the fog and cant distinguish friend
from foe), the players would have to pay an entry fee of $75 per team, plus another $50
registration fee to the League, plus, say (uniform dress regulations strictly enforced), $35 for
new matching team shirts, plus the usual weekend food and lodging expenses. All on the
chance that one angel after another would come out of the clouds?...Oh North American
League, may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Few players individually have ever been able to come up with sponsors. How on earth
would one after another, collectively, be able to do it? And the promoterswhere were they
going to get the money to pay the players what they thought was due them? By holding, as
they did in Riverdale, the satellite Womens Division (where players were rated from 9721753) and the 20-team Amateur Division? What conjunction was thisalternating these
players back and forth on court with our countrys best? Sakais the limit, one wit said. Its
precisely this sort of spaced-out pun that might best express the rhetorical combat over limited
prize money and the rites of players that predictably would be carried on between the New
Carrollton establishment forces of Bob Kaminsky and the high-flying insurgencies of the much
more indefinable Fuarnado Roberts.
The winner in the Womens event was New Carrollton (Barbara Kaminsky, Yvonne
Kronlage) over New York (Louise Nieves, Donna Newell). In the Amateur event, Nova No. 1
(Alan Evanson, W. Sofler, Dick Stakes, Nate Sussman) over Duke Blue Devils (G. Auvergne,
S. Chung, S. Cook, D. Quan, A. Rodney). The winner in the North American League play for
Professionals would come from 6 made-up teams playing a complete round robin that, sad to
say, just didnt seem to hold the interest of spectator, official, or player.
In Round One, New York (Houshang Bozorgzadeh, George Brathwaite, Ali Oveissi,
Errol Resek) had an easy 5-1 victory over Buffalo (Andy Bechenbach, Jim Dixon, Ray Mack,
Vic Meredith, Jim Shoots). However, Dixon did down Resek whod been taking cortisone
shots for bursitis in his back and shoulders. :New England (Fuarnado Roberts, Dave Sakai,
Alex Shiroky) overcame Florida (Benfield Munroe, Jerry Thrasher, Gary Wittner) 5-1.
Thrasher steadily whip-lashed a steadily enduring Sakai until, arm-weary, Jerry barely
outlasted Dave, 19 in the 3rd. Pennsylvania (Mike Bush, Danny and Ricky Seemiller) eased by
Long Island (Rutledge Barry, Tim Boggan, Roger Sverdlik), 5-1, with Sverdlik getting the
better of Bush.
Mike, at this point in space and time, was not wearing his newly acquired comic-strip
Phantom shirtthe immortal masked man atop his African skull throne presumably an
inspiration to Mike to go on winning forever. One might see that same comic-strip,
psychological connection in Mikes drawing of Mike, er, rather, Thong, the Almighty, for the
cover of the May-June, 1975 Topics.
In Round Two, New England (seeded #3) wasnt happy to be playing Pennsylvania
(seeded #1) this early. Sakai (I want someone to buy me a shirt if I come to Maryland to
223

play) out-steadied Bush. And

Roberts, who didnt know how to
find the playing site (he said he
couldnt get directions at the
official tournament hotel), and
had been taken (taken by a
meandering taxi) to the Ice
Capades, chopped down Ricky,
18 in the 3rd. But that was 5-2 it.
Danny was on his way to winning
the MVP Award and getting the
surprise $100 check that went
Sid Jacobs giving a lesson
with it. Some thought the $100
should have gone to amateur Sid Jacobs for being the Most Valuable Entertainer. Down 1-0
and 19-7, but fearless against all odds, Sid came back to win the match. Long Island shot
down Buffalowith Dixon rising up over Sverdlik but falling to all-night poker player Barry,
who maybe uses his bangs to hide his squeezed-out flushes? The N.Y.-Florida match, won 5-3
by N.Y., brought forth a couple of upsets. Rutgers ball-handling whiz, Wittner, surprised
Resek, and Thrasher thrashed Brathwaite.
In Round Three, New England had a little trouble defeating Buffalo, 5-2for Dixon
hit through both Sakai and Shiroky. Florida wasnt quite shut out against Pennsylvania
because, though Bush tangled up Thrasher, he found a way to lose to Munroe. Jerry, who was
looping backhands and forehands better than Id ever seen him, lost 19 in the 3rd to Ricky.
Jerrys backhand loop is dynamite, said one observer, but he doesnt vary his game
enough. N.Y. beat Long Island, 5-2. Sverdlik and Boggan won out over Oveissi, but thats
not why later Alis $15,000 sports car was in a smash-up. (He and wife Doris hadnt so much
as a bruise.)
In Round Four, unbeaten N.Y. (seeded #2) played New England for 2nd Place. Down 41, and with Resek having lost the first game in the 6th match, N.Y. did what seemed almost
impossiblethey came back to win it, 5-4. Originally Fishcakethats Robert Earlewas
going to play for N.Y. But either Robert had the flu, or was off somewhereperhaps at a dart
tournament. At any event, when he didnt show, Manager Oveissi at the last minute flew in,
like right out of an Iowa hospital, the stitched-up Bozorgzadeh to take his place. A smart
move on Alis part. Playing against his physicians and familys orders, and with a brace on,
Houshang, hearing Ali rooting him on, brought the team to the finals with wins over Sakai and
Shiroky. (Alex, down 20-19 in the 1st, wound up, a la his pre-point shadow play, and served
off.) Shiroky has quit the Game three times, once for a whole year. Now, even after his win
over Brathwaite, he kept lamenting that he just cant work and play wellsomethings got to
give. George, down 16-14 in the 3rd, had a big win over Fuarnado in this tie after Errol had
lost to Robbie. Third Placewhat was it worth? Fuarnado said he spent $161.11 for the
weekend, won $20somethings got to give.
In Round Five, a listless New England defeated a listless Long Island, 5-2. Fuarnado,
who was in the running for MVP (here the players themselves, and not the Tournament
Committee, made the selection), eeked out a win over Sverdlik, deuce-in-the-3rd. Buffalo
finally won oneover a worse than listless Florida in a whats-the-difference match. After
Mack beat Thrasher that was enoughplay ended with three defaults. In the last tie,
224

Pennsylvania prevailed over N.Y., 5-3. Somebody should have made a film of Oveissi in this
one because it was even better than when, years ago, he rode with Yul Brynner. Ali beat both
Bush and Ricky.
I think the best way to try and sum up this anticipated landmark tournament is to say
(1) that the players couldnt get from the over-the-years-very-responsible Tournament
Committee an umpire for their final matches (In Iran, said Houshang, looking me in the eye,
our players used to go out into the mountains, away from all the officials, and scream at our
President). And (2) that Sakai at the end was commiserating with a vanquished Brathwaite
(beaten by Bush, 25-23 in the 3rd after rallying from 18-12 down). Said David, nodding,
nodding wisely, You played with heart, George. You played with heart. As if that was what
mattered mostmore even than winning. As if some President or would-be President, some
table tennis Presence, out there in those strange unseen, unknown mountains and valleys, those
strange ups and downs of space, could finally, so far away, somehow understand and care.
Just before Christmas, the Philadelphia Club held a small-entry Under 2,000
tournament with the following Results: R.R. A Group: 1.Randy Seemiller, 3-2 (7-5). 2. Sparky
James, 3-2 (7-6; 208/157). 3. Jimmy LaFemina, 3-2 (7-6; 209/159). (Bummer for LaFemina
for, going into his match with James, he was 3-1, James 2-2. But when Jimmy lost, 17, -22, 24, instead of winning he came 3rd.) 4. Alice Green Sonne, 3-3 (7-7). 5. Enoch Green, 3-3 (67). 6. Herb Horton, 3-3 (4-7). R.R. B Group: 1. Mike Lardon, 3-1 (7-5). 2. Barry Robbins, 31 (7-5)Mike won on a ratio of points won/lost. R.R. C Group: 1. Harry Morris. 2. Scott
Boggan. D Group: 1. Sid Jacobs, 4-1 (9-3). 2. Gary Hranek, 4-1 (8-3). E Group: 1. Mike
Lieberman. 2. Bruce Hvasta. Doubles: Lardon/Boggan over Robbins/Herb Vichnin.
Winners at Phillys 20-event, Jan. 18-19 Quaker
City Open: Mens: Robert Earle over Hamid Hayatghaib.
Best match: Mike Bush (from down 2-0), 19 in the 5th,
over Dave Sakai. Womens: Louise Nieves over Dana
Gvildys, 19 in the 3rd, then over Helen Weiner. Mens
Doubles: Final: not reported. Semis: Parviz Mojaverian/
George Brathwaite over Bush/Roger Sverdlik, 18 in the
5th; Earle/Oveissi over Sakai/Shiroky, 16 in the 5th.
Seniors: Tim
Parviz Mojaverian
Boggan over
Photo by
George Rocker.
Mal Anderson
U-17s: Mike
Stern over Scott
Boggan. U-17As:
Final: not
reported. Semis:
S. Boggan over
Helen Weiner
Whitener; Eric
Photo by Mal Anderson
Boggan over Phil
Shaw. U-15s:
Stern over Scott Boggan. U-13s: Eric Boggan over
Dave Dickson III. Handicap: Eric Boggan over Dan
Green. Handicap Doubles: Jacobs/Lardon over Green/T.
Boggan.
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AAs: Hayatghaib in 5 over Bruce Plotnick whod knocked out Mojaverian, 19 in the
5th. As: Mojaverian over Joe Rokop. A Doubles: Vichnin/Rokop over S. Boggan/Jeff Steif.
Bs: Barry Robbins over Hank McCoullum, 19 in the 4th. Cs: McCoullum over Rocker. Ds:
S. Boggan over Dickson III, 19, -21, 20. Es: E. Boggan over Gene Wonderlin, 18, -21, 20,
then over Ang, def. Fs: Weitzen over Prickett. Gs: Shaw over Winslow, deuce in the 3rd. Ns:
Winslow over Ang.
Alan Ziegler reports (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 27) on the New Jersey Open, held Dec. 1314 at the Westfield Club that, with its hardwood floor, was once a bowling alley. I might add
that, as a result of this tournament, a lot of curves, a lot of knockdowns were thrown by both
players and officials that Ill discuss in a moment. Winners: Open Singles: Errol Resek over
Mike Bush, 19, 15, -17, -16, 17. Mike seemed [was] initially upset about a few service faults
called against him in the first game, but to the surprise and delight of the crowd he came back
strongly. Earlier, Mike had survived Dave Sakai, 23-21 in the 4th. In a war of attrition, the
greater variety of strokes and sheer physical stamina of Bush prevailed over the concentrated
effort, intensity, and remarkable footwork of Sakai. Best quarters match: Dave Shapiro over
Mike Stern, 25-23 in the 4th, after Mike had smashed through Daves block defense in the
semis of the As.
Open Doubles: Bush/Rutledge Barry
over Steve Berger/Roger Sverdlik, 19 in the 5th.
Roger demonstrated unique control over both his
strokes and his attitude towards his faltering
partner. Faltering? Never mind, on another day
youll see a different sort of play from Steve
Womens: Edie Nitchie over Evelyn Zakarin.
Esquires: Marcy Monasterial over Sid Jacobs.
Seniors: Tim Boggan, 19 in the 3rd, over Elmer
Wengert whod eliminated Monasterial, 19 in the
3rd. As: Stern over Eliot Katz. A Doubles:
Shapiro/Mike Lardon over John Kilpatrick/
Wengert. Bs: Doon Wong over George Hellerman
whod escaped Harvey Gutman, 20, -19, 19. Cs:
Lardon over Bruce Hvasta, after Bruce had -19,
20, 16 rallied by T. Lee. Ds: Lee over S. Weitzen
whod stopped J. Steinberg, 19 in the 3rd. Es: Lee
over A. Forde. Fs: L. Schumann over P. Yutko.
U-17s: Stern over Robert Nochenson, 18 in the
3rd, then over Jeff Steif. U-15s: Stern over Paul
Gvildys. U-13s: Eric Boggan over R. Robins.
Now here at Westfield to what will
Steve Berger - practicing his touch
Photo by Raul Rodriguez
increasingly become a bone of contention in the
decades to come: the doggedly pursued question
of rule interpretation and enforcement that, when rigidly applied, is arguably either helpful or
obstructionist to playing the Game. For sure, though, too strict enforcement causes
considerable friction between players and officials, and even fans. Mike Bush fires off his first
salvo with The Rights of Umpires and is answered by USTTA Rules Chairman Mal
Andersons The Rights of Players (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 27).
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Mike begins by saying how unfortunate it was that for his Mens final against Resek he
drew serve maniac Bob Barns as the umpire. Since Mike was warned before the match
started that Bob was going to call faults, he said he was careful to serve legallyexcept that
when someone like Barns, who makes it his lifes work to find a fault, well, what can you
do? Switch from serving backhand to forehandand give Bob a warning, a practice test
serve. Fault! But at least that one didnt count. Barns said he couldnt see the ball from where
he was sitting because Bushs back was blocking his view. Fault!that was Mikes call on
Bob. Mike said he should have gotten a second umpire to watch from the other side of the
table or move to where he could see the ball. Barns didnt do eitheruntil the tournament
referee commanded him to movewhich he did. By this time Mike said hed lost
concentration, was down 2-0 in games, and asked for another umpire. When this was refused,
he said hed default. Then he was given another umpire, rallied to win the next two games, but
lost in the fifth.
Anderson responds with a counter-attack, says all of Mikes serves are illegal because
he cups the ball, says at his club years ago hed warned Mike, a cocky youngster, that he had
this bad habit, and that sooner or later a good umpire was going to call him on it. And Barns,
says Mal, is one of the fairest and best umpires Ive ever seen. Mal says hes training
more umpires just like Bob, for if we get the 79 Worlds well need them. [Come the 76
U.S. Open when well see world-class players object to Bobs umpiring, its questionable
whether wed really want a group of Barns clones.] Mal also says, forget about a second
umpire or asking the umpire to movetheres no such rule; the player has to serve so
the ball is visible at all times to the umpire. Its as simple as that, Mikethe fault is
yours.
With the next issue of Topics (Mar.-Apr., 1976, 13), Manny Moskowitz, who was
acting as referee when Barns was umpiring Bushs match with Resek, says he did not
command Bob to change table sideshe did it of his own volition, which I, Moskowitz,
should not have allowed. [Why not? Why not honor the players requestthe rules dont
forbid it.] Manny says that when Mike requested a change of umpires because he couldnt
concentrate, he turned him down because that wasnt a good reason. Then when Bush
threatened to default himself, Manny says that, since play was to be continuous, he should
have given him one minute to reconsider, and if he didnt, should have requested the
Tournament Referee to default him. But Barns himself called for Anderson to replace him, and
play proceeded with Mal calling a service point against Bush [only one!]. Manny
compliments Barns and Anderson for their efficiency and promises to follow them in enforcing
the rules.
Bush resumes his arguments by first coming at the Editor of Topics who he says misedited his Jan.-Feb. article, changed it when he said he wasnt going to change it, so that his
views were not heard and he was made to look like a cry-baby. (Mike doesnt want Errol,
for whom he has a lot of respect, to get the impression hes making an excuse for losing to
him.) He also didnt think Tim should have shown the article to Mal so he could write a sideby-side rebuttal. Mike begins arguing by criticizing Mal for lying, for saying that every one of
his serves is illegal when in point of fact during the three games that Mal umpired he called
only one fault on Mike. Then Bush gets a little nastysays that recently Mal was kicked off
the Board of Directors of not his club but the Philadelphia Club, says that he, Mike, wasnt a
cocky youngster, but a smart one, cause he knew Mal was neither player nor coach,
though he boasted both.
227

Next Bush goes after Barnssays many people told him stories about Barnss
umpiring. At one tournament, John Kilpatrick, for example, whod never been faulted on a
serve in 40 years of play, was suddenly faulted by Bob at 19-a1l in the 3rd. At that tournament,
Mike said, Bob was stopped from umpiringhe was driving people away from the
tournament. Mike questions why the world-class Chinese can block the umpires view of their
serves without a fault being called, but he cant. He snipes: Are you sure youre ready for the
Worlds, Mal?
Barns, in an adjacent article, responds that after Mal took over as umpire, Mike did
not try any of the forehand serves which hid the ball (these were the cause of the sideswitching hassle). Bob says he shouldnt have switched sides because the rules imply that an
umpires seating position be selected to maximize, for the spectators, the audibility of the score
calls. Rufford Harrison would like to jump in here and ask, Why doesnt someone simply
quote Rule 7.6? Which states: It is the responsibility of the player to serve so that the umpire
can see the correctness of his service Bush called Barns an assand, oh, oh, failure to
show respect for tournament officials was grounds for a default. But, said Bob, I didnt
request that Mr. Bush be disqualified at this point, mainly for the sake of the spectators (it was
a very interesting match).
After play was over, said Barns, Bush pursued him and not only gave him an obscene
command (to which Bob replied in kind), but threatened him with bodily harmin front
of a witness. This prompted a debate within Barns as to whether he should send a letter to the
Disciplinary Committee. He finally decided against it because:
a. Im too lazy to write letters.
b. Mr. Bush has had his big game only a short time and I think hell learn to
handle it in a year or so.
c. Umpires in general are so lax that encountering one who tries to do a proper
job might well be a shock to a player.
d. At Mr. Bushs age, resentment toward any opposing authority is a common
reaction.
e. I didnt believe that Mr. Bush actually wanted to cheat.
Bob says if you have a competitive game youve got to have rules, enforced rules.
Better you have a service rule which severely limits the advantage of serving. Winning points
on serves is not satisfying to the player, and greatly reduces spectator interest.Ideally, I
think that a service should simply get the ball in play without giving server or receiver an
advantage. The present table tennis rule (when enforced) is fairly effective in accomplishing
this. [The present serve rule is fairly effective in getting players to just put the ball in play, and
not give them any advantage? Thats just not true, Bob. Theres a big difference in the
parochial Westfield play youre used to seeing and world-class play. Ask Danny Seemiller what
its like to play Huang Liang. Ask the ITTF for the next quarter of a century the problems
International players have with legal serves. Wuvanichs first big coaching article in Topics
(Nov.-Dec., 1975, 9) stresses that players who dont have good serves are at a big
disadvantage. Serves are the TRICK part of table tennis and must be mastered. Exercise
your wrist and forearm with a dumbbell to make them flexible; be able to make fast motions
with your paddle. Disguise the serves, change the spin but learn how to use the same follow
through, and vary the placementsthis is just some of his advice.]
228

Thong the Almighty

Drawing by the Mighty
Mike Bush

Errol Resek defeating Mike Bush.

Umpire is Bob Barns...for a while.
Photo by Mal Anderson

Mike Bush: ready to know...and

question the Rules. Bob looks on.
Photo by Raul Rodriguez

A smart, if cocky youngster. A good umpire.

An observing referee who values efficiency.
Photo by Mal Anderson

229

Barns says a player or umpire has absolutely no way of knowing what bothers an
opponent. But this isnt truethe opponent has a voice, he can protest. And an umpire isnt
blindBob says Bushs illegal serves bothered Boggan in Westfield, and he couldnt
understand why a player who is as highly competitive as Tim didnt ask for a different
umpire. Maybe the umpire was using discretionary power that Barns says he has no right to
usewaiting to see if I protested. Maybe I felt I should be able to adjust to the serves?
Actually, says Barns, Boggans serves are usually illegal but not in such a way that he derives
much advantage from them. Barns quotes Rule 4.417: The umpire who does not penalize a
player who fails to make a good service is favoring him and depriving his opponent of a point.
Could anything be clearer (or more just)? [Thats not a clear or just assessment to me, for I
think it very likely that a player who serves illegally only by strict standards is not going to win
the point because of his serve, and often more harm is done the players and the spectators by
the unwanted intrusion of the umpire into the match.] Barns closes by thanking Mal for his
remarks to Bush, and says his personal experience in enforcing the rules has told him That
compliments for doing so greatly outnumber critical remarks. In fact, Im often told that I
should have called more faults.
Like Barns, Anderson takes his turn at Bush. He admits he should have qualified his remark
that every one of Bushs serves is illegal; points out to Mike that he is at present on the Philly
Clubs Board of Directors as the Secretary; says he never boasted he was a player or a coachI
know better, though he thinks it fair to acknowledge hes a basic technical coach. As for that
player who hadnt been faulted in 40 years, it only proves how bad our umpires have been. He
warns all those who have a chance to make the U.S. Team to the Birmingham Worlds that the
English umpires are very, very strict, so, Mike and others, shape up now.
If, in trying out for the U.S. World Team, a Junior reaches the final 12-man round robin
and his record in that competition allows him to finish in the Top 10, hell automatically be on
the Team. No winners at the Jan. 25th Lithuanian Athletic Club-sponsored Junior Tournament
in Brooklyn, N.Y. will be in the running for such an opportunity, but Ill honor them here.
Results: Boys U-17: T. Lee over Paul Gvildys. Boys U-15: Gvildys over B. Pollack. Girls U17: Flora Ng over Dana Gvildys. Girls U-15: Gvildys over Susan Marullo. Girls U-13: R.
Vebeliunas over J. Pollack. Junior As (-1300): Ng over Gina Vebeliunas, 10, 11. Junior Bs (1150): Ng (vastly underrated) over M. Darcell, 1, 7.
Fred Danner (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 29; 6) shows how, with planning and effort, you
can getwow! some pencil work for Bob Pendel, Director of Special Events for the
Huntington Recreation and Parks Dept., and his two secretaries380 mostly local, mostly
rec-minded entries for a mid-winter Huntington, Long Island Tournament at the Memorial
Junior High School:
How did we get all those people (250 brand new ones) out to the
tournament? Well, its simple. You just charge about $1.50 per event to enter and
then you tell 4,000,000 people in Nassau & Suffolk counties about it. How do you
reach all those people? You get 7 minutes with Larry Sherman of the Long Island Press
on his Channel 21 sports show; you talk for 10 minutes with Alan Anderson on his
channel 6 cable TV news program; you notify all libraries, YMCAs, boys & girls scout
troops, school athletic directors, coaches & youth groups in the counties. You have
WINS & WGSM Huntington put out spot radio announcements. You make
announcements at all LITTA table tennis clubs. You get Kathy Kanu to put a
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tremendous picture of last years winner Joan Van Davelaar in the Sunday Newsday
with about 800,000 circulation; sports editors like Joe Krupinski of Newsday & Jim
Barbanell of the Long Islander really help get the word around; you get the Huntington
Town Supervisor Mr. Ken Butterfield to have his picture taken & published with our
two new Vietnamese local players; you get the tournament listed in the paper under
Hobbies & Crafts; & just for kicks you send out 800 computer addressed entries to
every known Huntington player and to all those who played in a LI tournament during
the past two years. [Strange, though, this tournament was never listed in the
Tournament Schedule in Topics.]
Amazing the amount of publicity effort put into this tournamentand equally amazing the
amount of publicity effort that isnt put into tournaments where there are players of stature.
So how to handle this monster tournament that, as Fred says, in attendance was surpassed
only by the U.S. Open and U.S. Open Team Championships? With this unanticipated crowd, Fred,
Chris Schlotterhausen, and their helpers suddenly need not 13 but 20 or more tables. Fortunately, a
last-minute cancellation meant they didnt have to set up tables in the Highs hallways but could use
the now vacant auditorium. Also needed: not just 4 operations people but a lot more. Fred says,
After about 3 hours of calling people I got about 12 reasonably good operations people (mostly
under 21 years old). This is marginal but hopefully adequate. It will work if they keep working at
the desk and if we can get food to them to prevent lost time.
Of course, with such a bevy of volunteers, the tournament was very successful. One notable
reason: Fred and Co. had learned from their horrific experience at the 1973 L.I. USOTCs of one
person clumsily trying to register in hundreds of players while having to sift through notebook
pages trying to find and check their unalphabetized entry information. Here, no entries were
accepted without full fees, and, as the crowd arrived, there were half a dozen or more workers, all
prepared with individual-entry match-card code numbers to quickly service the line.
Fred explains how this Huntington Tournament was sanctioned
as a Special USTTA Closed Tournament:
We have corrected the USTTA sanctioning procedures
so that any public non-profit group such as the Town Recreation &
Parks Dept., YMCA, public school, etc. can run a promotional table
tennis event without paying sanction fees or requiring USTTA
memberships. These public groups were formerly frozen out of
running table tennis events by the restrictive USTTA sanction
Fred Danner
provisions. They could not and were not permitted to pay sanction
fees to outside organizations. This meant that they usually couldnt get full cooperation
from USTTA clubs or members when running tournaments. [How often were such
public groups interested in running table tennis tournaments? Or in asking for
experienced help? And why would USTTA club members get involved, work as
volunteers? In the hope that some entries might come to their club? Or, altruistically, to
make more people at least aware of the seriousness of the Game/Sport?] Table Tennis
was the loser as many people who later would have taken up our sport [taken up our
sport how?] were never aware of its existence. The promotional type tournament
brings the new young players outmany stay on in our clubs and later become
USTTA members. [Many? Id like to have been able to trace those 250 brand new
231

players that came to this special promotional tournamentwhich I think History

shows takes a special person like Danner, committed to a vision, to promoteand see
just how many of them ever became and for how long USTTA members. This
tournament no doubt brought out the new player but to keep him itll take his/her
continued enthusiasm and perseverance at a number of regularly held, accessible
USTTA tournaments. Fred, a major player in this tournament, organizing, playing, is
rightly proud of his successhard work pays offbut he exaggerates, by implication,
its importance when he stresses its the third largest tournament behind the U.S. Open
and the USOTCs. Still, to see again and again what Danner can do is to see why hes
exceptional, a Hall of Famer.]
Results: Nassau/Suffolk County Mens Open (136 entries): Dan Green over
Mike Lardon, 19, -10, 10. Womens Open: Evelyn Zakarin over Janet Newbold. Junior Open:
Mike Lardon over Dave Margolin. Girls Open: Susan Hofheimer over Barbara Anselmo.
Huntington Town Mens: Green* over former winner Fred Danner, 15, 14. Doubles: Green/
Jacobs over Carl Danner/Dave Kralstein. Womens: Defending Champ Terry Green over Helen
Gniazdowski. Novice: Kent Vandewater over Bob Blank. Seniors: Sid Jacobs over Fred
Danner, 18 in the 3rd. U-17: Mike Lardon over Alan Goldberg. U-17 Novice Girls: Deborah
Cichocki. U-13: Brad Lardon over Randy Vigmostad.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a Dec. 10, 2004 note to me, Scott Preiss, who over the years has been the U.S.s
premier exhibition player, reminisced about his first night at the Huntington Club on Long Island:
Walking down the hallway I could hear the sound of the balls clacking back
and forth. As my parents and I got closer the noise got
louder. When I peeked through the door I saw this guy
doing a 360,
spinning in the air
Scott Preiss
and smashing the
ball without looking.
That moment
changed my life. I
thought, What other
sport can be more
amazing for a human
to play. Its because
of little moments like
this that we can find
the spark to do
something we love.
That guy still
spinning in the air
for me after 32 years
is my childhood hero
Dan Green
Dan Green.
Photo courtesy of Fred Danner
232

Chapter Sixteen
1976: USTTA E.C. Election Choices. 1975-76: Players Association Meeting/Articles.
1976: Joseph C.H. Lee Suggests an Umpires Association. 1975-76: Coaching Movements.
USTTA Executive Committee positions open in the 1976 election: President (two
candidates, neither of whom is incumbent Charlie Disney): Bobby Gusikoff and Sol Schiff;
Executive Vice-President (two candidates): Bard Brenner and Rufford Harrison; Recording
Secretary (three candidates): Mal Anderson, Marv Shaffer, and John White who, alone of the
candidates, didnt give Topics a Campaign Statement; and Vice-President (six candidates for
two positions, the one opening up when Schiff gave up his Vice-Presidency to run for
President): Lou Bochenski, Dan Goodman, Randall Hess, D-J Lee, John Read, and Dr.
Michael Scott.
Gusikoffs Campaign
Statement was written by
Boggan. Tim thought Bobby
straightforward, truthful,
loyalsomeone he could
morally admire. Gusikoff
himself supported Bard
Brenner, Marv Shaffer, D-J
Lee, and Lou Bochenski.
Though Jack Carr laments the
Bernie Bukiet (L) and D-J Lee who can laugh, be playful
lack of qualification
and hopes to play his cards right in this election.
requirements for USTTA
office and says that Gusikoff must be running just for fun, as a joke, Tim favors Bobby and
D-J precisely because, unlike a number of other candidates, they hadnt served on the E.C.
before. They wouldnt be preoccupied with, bogged down with, bureaucratic rules and
procedures. Not only do they have vast professional knowledge about the Sport, are serious
about it, but they can laugh, be playful. And they both have a proud Champions toughness
and spirit.
Schiff wishes Vice-President Miles hadnt reconsidered
running for the Presidency, because if hed run and lost to Sol,
hed be off the E.C. Gusikoff, in Sols opinion so unqualified to be
USTTA President in comparison with himself, was President of
the New York City Metropolitan TTA at its death in the early
sixties. I was National Sales Manager of a multi-million dollar
shoe corporation for ten years and for the past 23 years have run
a successful business of my own.
Sol says, if elected, he will urge the E.C. not to allow
anyone who receives money from the USTTA to run for office,
will do away with yearly elections, will try to have the E.C.
Sol Schiff
expanded to include representatives from the Manufacturers
Association and the Players Association. Though he is fond of Boggan, Tim must be told
that he is the Editor and not the policy maker of this magazine. It has become too
personalized. Petty squabbles and differences within the E.C. must and will be cleared up so
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that all can work together for the betterment of the sport. If I can accomplish the above aims, I
will resign from the Presidency one day before my term expires with one last proposal. This
will automatically be approved by all on the E.C.the proposal will be that no one can serve
in an elected office who makes an income through a table tennis business. [Sol, who supports
Brenner, Anderson, and Lee, and wholl win this election by 570-302 votes, will go on to
serve an unprecedented 8 successive years as USTTA President.]
Drawing on his own experience, Brenner says he has dreamsof holding a 1979
World Championships, and a $100,000 U.S. Championships, of USTTA youths winning
collegiate scholarships, and players flocking to a National Table Tennis Convention. An
Executive Vice-President must engage in management functions.Top management tasks
require four types of individualsthe thought man, the action man, the people man, and the
front man. Bard wants to reorganize the USTTA with five regional vice-presidents and under
them state directors, and under them district coordinators, and under them city managers who,
interacting with club presidents, will run leagues and tournaments. The key to success is
training those who are to have responsible positions. We therefore need to hold seminars at
tournaments and at yearly National Conventions to teach those interested how to start a nonprofit or commercial club, how to understand and develop franchises, how to properly
stage eventsleagues, tournaments, exhibitions. Theres so much to learnyou cant take in
too much table tennis.
You cant take in too
Harrison, who will
much table tennis.
win this election (497 to 351
Cartoon by Enid Chase
votes) says he wants to
influence the voting. Gusikoff
has only been a club owner,
hasnt worked for the
USTTA in any capacity;
whereas Schiff, who admittedly isnt as lively as Gusikoff, has been on the E.C. and served
as Selection Chairman. The same with D-Jhes only been a club
owner; since he hasnt worked on a committee, Rufford doesnt
know how to gauge himas what, a bureaucrat?. The same with
Lou Bochenskihe only shows local
capability; moreover, his work as Recording
Secretary was bad, and he supports an
organization that is in open defiance of the
USTTA. So John Read, one of the most
analytical thinkers in the Association, is the
man for Harrison. As for Recording
Secretary, Marv Shaffer is a paid employee,
so that lets him out, and Mal Anderson in.
How to gauge D-J? The sign
President Disney also supports Harrison and
says it all.
Anderson.
Anderson wants you to vote for him for Recording Secretary because
(1) hes proved, and Shaffer hasnt, how good he is at taking Minutes
(Mal details how he received compliments from fellow E.C. members),
and (2) hell help resist the draining of USTTA funds to benefit only a
handful of players. Mals conservative nature will safeguard you, the
Mal Anderson
234

membership, from having your money used unwisely. Hell also protect you from minority
pressure groups (either players or officials) who want special privileges at your expense. Mal,
who recently came in first in a camera competition at the Riverside Camera Club in N.J.,
cites his Photographic and Rules work. He also cites Shaffers excellent Membership work.
In fact, its so excellent, he probably has little time to also serve on the E.C., and, after all, he
is a paid worker, and so has a conflict of interest. Anderson says his other opponent, John
White, hasnt already proven that he would be a good Recording Secretary and watchdog of
your interests, and I have.
Jack Carr, who, for what theyre worth, habitually makes his views known on anyone
and everything, but who is sometimes hedgingly indirect, urges a vote for Anderson as
Recording Secretary because he has proven himself completely in this position. Takes good
minutes, right? But then Jack says, one of the others may be better qualified for recording the
E.C. meeting minutes (presumably White, but why may he be better than Mal whom Jacks
just praised?), and the other (presumably Shaffer, the Membership Chair) is doing much more
than can be expected already (more than can be expectedby who?...why?). Mal himself
supports Schiff over Gusikoff whose knowledge of how the USTTA actually works is nil.
For Executive Director, vote for Harrison, since, as the ITTF confirms (hes their Equipment
Chair), hes a dedicated worker, whereas Brenner, though a nice person with good ideas, has
so far been deficient in producing results. For Vice-President, Bochenski and Lee have a
conflict of interest as club owners, so best to vote for Mike Scott or John Read.
Shaffer explains whats needed to take and present Minutes. He also emphasizes how
hes against self-serving members of the EChe doesnt like their preoccupation with
personal gain and resents the time they take that could best be spent with other matters.
Anderson will get 453 votes, Shaffer 342, and White 85.
Some V-P candidates use all of their allotted
Topics space; others dont. Bochenski details his
local capability, as Harrison put it, saying he
spends his time from about 8 am to 11 pm six
days a week promoting table tennis. Heres how:
This includes operating the Paddle
Palace, conducting hundreds of table tennis
exhibitions, including 115 half-hour school
assemblies during the last year. I have conducted
coaching clinics at schools for school teachers
Lou Bochenski
[elsewhere Lou says its key to give these teachers
a financial incentivehave the coaching clinic on a college credit basis or as an inservice credit toward their salary schedule], arranged for sponsorship of promising
players to tournaments, published a monthly news magazine, sent out regular press
releases, conducted an open tournament once a month, took a car pool to many
tournaments, coached large numbers of new players, conducted all types of leagues,
held regular stroke practice and listened to the countless problems of beginner and top
player alike.
Lou, being so much in the field, feels hes first-hand acquainted with most of the
problems facing the advancement of table tennis.
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Goodman stresses his organizational experience

as a club founder and officer, and as a chair of many
tournaments. Hes been successful not only in real
estate, but as an actor, and his connections have
enabled him to get good media publicity for the
tournaments hes run. He wants the USTTA to hire a
full-time Executive Director and has ideas how to pay
his salary; wants to establish a bond with the
manufacturers; wants a program of youth development
[has he read Fred Danner?]; wants money tournaments
(believes he could attract sponsors); wants regional VPs; wants a regular Presidents column in Topics; wants
to find ways to help our editors make Table Tennis a
more effective and dynamic organ for our Association;
and wants to bring a sense of humor to the E.C.
meetings that get too serious and reflect personality
conflicts. Dan is endorsed by Disney.
Lee, who came close to being elected in 1975, stresses his record as a champion player,
coach, exhibition performer, tournament director, league organizer, equipment provider, and
media communicator. He wants to get table tennis into the schools; wants to get the Sport on
TV and see table tennis articles in newspapers and magazines; wants other Americans to earn
a living in table tennis; wants a cooperative attitude between USTTA leaders, thus
eliminating negativism and opportunism.
Hess, an active official in the Florida region, says, Topics is an excellent paper but it
should be on the newsstand; should have a front page in color; and a reference to Ping Pong
Players or Buffs on the cover that might capture the interest of a portion of the 33 million
basement players. Do this, and Randy predicts by the second year, the magazine would be
paying for itself and bringing in 100 to 500 new members each year. Dont do this, and Topics
ought to be not 40% but 15 % of our Budget. We should not be subsidizing travel expenses
for International players to our U.S. Open. But if they come, our U.S. Teams must be given
the same hospitality the foreigners get. First, though, we should take advantage of the worldclass players we already have in this country. U.S. Teams that play at the Worlds and at the
Canada/U.S. Matches have to have all of their expenses paid. Financial help must be given top
players at the Nationals and to a lesser degree at 2 and 3-star tournamentsin return for
which the players could put on a short clinic. Hess feels that 50% of all efforts and funds
should go into the National Junior Development Program. We need to encourage the
manufacturers to cut down on their excessive prices. Need also to keep back, as Danner
suggests, $25,000 in reserve. Meanwhile, dont let the USTTA disintegrate and a new
Association form. Vote for Schiff, Brenner, White, and Carr for Treasurer [sic: not an office in
question].
Read says, We do not need EC members whose principal aim is personal gain or EC
members who have financial interests in table tennis. John laments the fact that in the past
three years far too little has been accomplished; we didnt take advantage of Ping-Pong
Diplomacy. We so desperately need objective, forward-looking practical E.C. members with
no personal prejudices such as Charlie Disney (I still wish hed reconsider and run for office).
He may have started the great leap forward by making a manufacturers association a reality.
Dan Goodman

236

Read lists his many qualifications: player; local organizer and administrator (in NY, CT.
IL); national organizer and administrator (as witness his many years as member/Chair of the
Ranking and Selection Committees); Captain, Team Manager, Coach of the 1969 U.S. World
Team; ITTF Classification Committee member; E.C. officer; and USTTA Tournament Chair.
He wants to increase international team competitions for our young players, send them
overseas for training; wants at least two more E.C. members so long as theyre club
representatives [and if theyre club owners so much the better?]; wants to work with
manufacturers to get a full-time Executive Director; urges a harmonious E.C. where we do
away with members selfishness, greed, and personal financial interests. He hopes members
will vote for Schiff, Harrison, Anderson, and Read.
Scotts Campaign Statement is written by Tyra Parkins. Tyra says Michael, Chair of the
USTTA Disciplinary Committee, is active in all facets of the game: as a tournament director
[for the Washington TTA], promoter, club president, coach [of the Seattle University Team],
and player [Pacific Northwest Senior Champion]. A successful businessman, Dr. Scott
believes top players should be more actively supported but not at the expense of the average
USTTA player.Since the average players are the backbone or foundation of the USTTA,
rest assured Dr. Scott will be ever vigilant to protect their rights. He realizes the average club
member and club are the principle building blocks of a strong USTTA. Elected Vice
Presidents were Lee (380 votes) and Bochenski (191 votes); the other candidates were 100 or
more votes behind.
In commenting on the election, Danny Ganz, the Long Island Topics columnist, a
friend of Schiffs, wrote:
Once again the elections proved a point. The best man doesnt always
have the best slate. [Schiff didnt run on a slate. He urged members to vote for
Brenner, Anderson, and Lee; Anderson and Lee were elected.] Schiff has some great
ideas, but having them and having the guts to push them through are two different
things. [Hell meet opposition, will he? From Miles who he said hed like to see off the
E.C. And from Boggan, who personalizes Topics? Theyre gonna oppose his great
ideas? Maybe, as he tries to push them through, three or four other E.C. members
will too?...Why?] Heres hoping that enjoyment comes back to table tennis, and we all
work at furthering its aims, and in harmony. [But will all E.C. members have the same
aims? Should they have?]
Players Association Meeting
The first formal Players Association Meeting took place Dec. 14, 1975
at the Westfield, N.J. Club, site of the USTTAs Dec. 13-14 New Jersey
Open. The unsigned Minutes, taken I presume by the Associations
Secretary Jairie Resek, gave us the following information. Other officers
present: [President] Fernando [sic: for Fuarnado] Roberts; [Vice
Presidents] George Brathwaite, David Sakai, Alex Shiroky [later dropped
as a V-P, but listed in lettering on June, 76 Players Association stationary
under Consultant and National Director]; and [Treasurer] [Peter]
Gordon Stephens. Other June V-Ps listed on stationary are: Danny
Seemiller, Lim Ming Chui, Dal-Joon Lee, and Tim Boggan. Additional
June-listed Consultants are: Legal: Doug Spruance; Equipment: Sol Schiff; Promotion: Dick
237

Miles; Ranking: Vic Landau; Historian; Miss Ping Neuberger; Youth, East Division: Miss
McRae Harrison [USTTA Executive V-P Ruffords daughter]; Honorary: Bernie Bukiet;
Youth, West Division: Monica Rosal; Womens Director: Pat Crowley; Regional Youth: Bob
Gusikoff. It seems reasonable to assume that all these lettered names were, at one time or
another, voluntarily given.
Obviously, with such prominent personsincluding the USTTA President himself, Sol
Schiff, who in his Campaign Statement had said he wanted a Players Association
representative on the E.C.the USTTA and the Players Association would be entwined.
Clearly the Players movement came from inside the USTTA and not outside it. So, as I look
back, I think I was right, as Editor, to give the movement prominence in Topics. It was an
historical happening.
At that Dec. Players Association Meeting, as reflected in the Minutes, Roberts opens
with: Basic desire of Players Association is equal rights for all the players and to work with
the USTTA.
Regarding USTTA Vice-Presidents Tim Boggan and Dick Miles serving both
Associations: Everyone present feels its a conflict of interest. Sakai: It wont be a conflict,
just Miles for Miles. Brathwaite: When you form a union, you dont invite the boss. Sakai:
Everyone likes Tim; however, you cant be an officer of both Associations. Once the Players
Association is fully underway (present officers are temporary until Association is formed and
members can vote), Boggan and Miles will have to choose which organization they want to
hold office with. [Benfield] Munroe: Were trying to decontrol the USTTA. No double role.
Were giving them a stick to break our back. [Some players express an us against them
point of view. In saying that A lot of wrongdoings will have to be decided, and that Tim has
loyalties, cant walk the fence, they seem not to want to follow Robertss stated directive
to work with the USTTA. But as the months go by this point of view, as suggested in their
letterhead stationary, doesnt prevail {Boggan remains a V-P for both Associations). Doesnt
prevail, that is, until the Players Associations boycott and picketing erupts at the June 10-13,
76 U.S. Open.
Another stated view at this Players Meeting was that much less money should be spent
on Ratings, and much more on providing expense and prize money for the top players, and
proper places for them to play. Players Disciplinary Chair is Dave Sakai. He says, If
conditions are poor at a tournament and arent corrected, we dont go again; we dont strike
at a tournament, it isnt fair to the other players. (History gives a smile and a wink at the
ironies present in those last two sentences.)
Also, the USTTA is to be told:
We want to go to the Pan American Games.
We want to sponsor the first U.S. Closed. [Fuarnado later talks vaguely of a SuperBicentennial Closed, or Open, in Connecticut in October, 1976. On hearing that Caesars
Palace wanted to run a 1976 U.S. Closed and was offering $12,500 in prize money to some
75 prospective winners in different classes, Boggan must have been brainwashed by Roberts,
or been irrationally loyal to him, to write the following lines in Topics: Perhaps Caesars
Palace would care to institute a prestigious yearly Masters Tournament or Tournament of
Champions and let the Players Association at least have one trial shot at the Closed
tournament they so personally have come to take an interest in? Thats some fence Tims
onmore like Humpty Dumpty on the wall. Though Boggan has egg on his face from time to
time, I hope he doesnt fall and splatter.]
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In a May-June, 76 Topics article, Robbie talks of an August Super-Clinic (actually two

clinics) the Players Association will hostspecifically for juniors and women (we will assist
towards expenses). These clinics are to prepare our players for the Closed and for the Team to
the Worlds. When the Team is picked we intend to send said Team on a tour throughout
Europe so that we will be better prepared at the World Championship this time around. I am
writing to many business firms, promoters, manufacturers, and distributors of table tennis for
their support. He does want it so much to just happen, huh? I like that desire to do, that soul
strengthall, alas, so often without a Fred Danners rational planning and follow through, so
that the dream quickly diesuntil a new one poetically rises up.
Umpires Association
Joseph C.H. Lee (TTT, May-June, 1976,
10) suggests the formation of a USTTA Umpires
Association. To qualify as an official umpire,
candidates would have to pass rigid tests
involving a probationary period. Of course,
personal integrity, sense of fairness, the ability
to hold your ground after you know you are
right, no matter how severe the attack, and the
grace to admit you are wrong, when in fact you
are, would be the ideal requisites. However,
since these character traits cant be revealed
satisfactorily through written tests, the candidate
Candidate
must be tested in the fieldthat is, he/she must
being tested
umpire matches in several major tournaments
in the field
under the watchful eyes of already qualified
umpires. Further, the candidate should first be
tested with lower event matches, then move to more important ones. Assessment observations
have to be accurate, for when the fledgling umpire becomes an official umpire, he is entitled to
be paid for his services. Lee emphasizes that the presence of a qualified umpire is important
because it adds much to the quality of a match, not to mention the official and professional air
it would create.
Coaching Directions
Indias Bomi Amalsadvala (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 8) writes about the First Asian
Coaches Assembly, held Nov., 1975 in Otsu City, Japan. Among those present were Chinas Li
Fu-jung and Japans Ogimura, Kimura, Itoh, and Kohno. Bomi tells us that the more we study
modern Table Tennis, the more we realize how increasingly difficult technology and advanced
stroke-play have made the Game. Its said that
a table tennis player is required to move his feet to cover a distance of as
much as 5 miles in a days schedule of international competition, and, while doing this,
is required to swing his arms about 5,400 times. And he has to do both these things
and to concentrate intensely for 4 to 5 days in a row from morning to sometimes past
midnight during important global championships, and for 10 to 11 days during a world
championships.
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For such maximum endurance, its

necessary that a player be superbly mentally
and physically fit. Hence, the Shiga Stadium
was daily packed by high school boys and
girls, collegians, players and coaches from
various companies all over Japan who
wanted to listen to lectures and see
demonstrations of the latest coaching tactics
and training methods. Technical training,
physical conditioning, and mental discipline
coupled with self-control were the subjects
of study. For instance, A player moving his
arms and feet in play has to control his
weight more than three times the weight
measured at standing positions. If therefore a
Bomi Amalsadvala receiving his diploma at the
player is just 2/3 pounds overweight, he will
Asian Coaching Assembly from Mayor Yamada
be carrying excess weight of over 6 to 10
of Otsu City, Japan.
poundswhich could make a difference in
a drawn-out match
Filming games, even practice sessions, is by now routine. Fifty percent of the entire
practice should be geared to serving well and to following up the service with an aggressive
game. Services, therefore, continue to form an important part of the tactics employed by top
players. Reading helps to give players and coaches an advantage. Subjects range from
athletes and nourishment, a sportsmans massage, and a professionals anatomy to
dynamics, physiology, and psychology. It seems that the more individual the game of a
player, with its built-in peculiarities, the greater his chance for success. Our Danny Seemiller
seems to be an example of this, especially now that hes getting keener competition abroad,
which is a must for significant improvement.
Here at home, USTTA Coaching Chair Jeff Smart is also
taking note of New Techniques in Coaching (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976,
4). Jeff begins by saying that he dislikes trying to describe strokes
and footwork in writing. This gives Rufford Harrison an opening in
the following issue of Topics to say he certainly cant always
understand clearly what Jeff and other coaches are trying to
describenamely, three dimensional motion in simple words. He
suggests that the Topics Editor, on receiving coaching articles, find
Jeff Smart
someone (other than himself, particularly if hes not much interested
in such articles, which he isnt) to try to envisage what the writer
means and help him, if need be, to explain it clearly). Joseph C.H.
Lee pleads for sequence picturesuse them, he says, to get coaching
points across.
Smart, giving a nod to Timothy Gallways The Inner Game of Tennis, says that the
most valuable aid in describing a stroke is the use of sound. He urges the student to close
his/her eyes while you counter-drive a few [but not with this student who now cant see the
ball, right?], and ask him to pay close attention to the sound he hears when you contact the
ball....Then simply ask him to try to reproduce the same sound and tone when he contacts the
240

ball. Ask him, too, to visualize how top U.S. players hes seen stroke the ball and perhaps
hell unconsciously, freely, do likewise. Finally, says Jeff, urge the player to let his grip go
loose and try to feel the ball, especially when drop-shotting a short chop serve.
Jeff, in continuing to write his own essays for Topics, often with both beginner and
novice player in mind, dwells on the tried and true: the chop and the push. The push, he
says, can be distinguished from the chop by the general height at which ball contact is
made.One generally wants to hit the ball below table level when chopping, but the push is
usually done totally above it. Also, the push stroke is done purely with the forearm while the
chop is a longer shot and uses some shoulder.
Jeff says that Footwork is the keyboth to
chopping and pushing correctly: right-handers step on the
right foot to reach shots to either side or deep to the
forehand, step on the left for balls coming deeper to the
backhand. With a good chopper, the weight shifts, knees
bend, shoulders and hips twist for a more sideways stance.
He/she will often have bent down so low that the bat will
tap the floor. Jeff elaborates on the difference between
what he calls the block chop and the spin chop: the former
stroke goes down the back of the ball, while for the latter
the bat slides along the bottom of the ball. He also
elaborates on the control push, the spin push, and the touch
push (like a drop shot, used in returning short serves).
In his role as Chair, Smart (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976,
19) has laid down new Coaching Requirements for all
coaches, including those whove been certified. To be an
Instructor, the candidate must write an essay (judged by
Jeff) on 1) the forehand and backhand drive strokes; 2) the
push and chop; 3) the forehand loop; and 4) the serve. Jeff
Footwork is the key: 1975 NTC
says, The Umpires test will no longer be required
Junior
MVP Winner Bruce Plotnick
though Rules Chair Mal Anderson says it is not safe to
Photo by Tom Slater
assume coaches with an understanding of modern table
tennis know the rules. To be an Associate Coach, the candidate must 1) pass the essay; 2) have
a USTTA rating of at least 1600; and 3) have attended a special seminar or clinic and earned
the approval of the head coach (U.S. Mens and Womens Team members automatically
qualify). Associate coaches can teach classes at the club, school, or university level.
Regional Coachessuch as the Souths Randy Hess (#1 credothe kids you teach
must have FUN), or the Great Plains Don Weemswill be responsible for 1) promoting
coaching programs in their region; 2) [establishing] clinics for affiliated clubs; and 3) setting
up clinics to teach and to certify Associate Coaches. Since in modern table tennis, there are
always new strokes and strategies, National Coaches are subject to their title being reviewed
every five years. To be a National Coach, capable of giving tactical advice to top players
such as U.S. Team members, the candidate must send in a number of letters of
recommendation from those who can attest to his/her expertise.
Smart is urging his coaches to accept Charlie Wuvanich as a National Coachand
Charlie with coaching articles in Topics is helping his cause. He and his friend Chuchai Chan
combine to give tips On Returning Service (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 5; 4). Take it to heart and
241

head that If you can receive [serve] effectively, your opponent will lose some of his mental
toughness and consequently wont be able to play his game. But of course you have to
practice. Shadow-play movements help, as does a cooperative practice partner.
Wuvanich and Chan stress the proper receive position, then the different returns
(including the occasional unexpected one), that depend not only on your techniques but on
your ability to read spinthey favor attacking service and killing the 4th ball. Their article
has helpful sections on returning serve with a backhand push; returning short serves with wrist
and forearm (footworks important here); returning long serves (loop or smash them);
returning heavy chop serves (keep your paddle open and finish with a high follow through);
returning topspin or flat serves (keep your paddle closed); returning sidespin serves (return the
ball to your opponents backhand corner when he serves backhand sidespin and to his
forehand corner if he serves forehand sidespin); and (perhaps the trickiest for the uninitiated to
handle) returning sidespin mixed with backspin (return this serve as though it were a chop
serve).
Coaching Books by Barna, Philip, Boggan
Don Gunn stingingly reviews Philip Reids 1974
Victor Barna. As a record of Barnas triumphs the book
does its job. As a biography of a human being it rates a total
zero. Oh, come nowcan it really be that bad? Sure, a
mistake or two crops ups during the job: Barna had a
platinum plate put in his wrist after an auto accident.
When this
proved
unsatisfactory,
a steel
plate was
removed.
Don can
Phil Reid - did he get this trophy
forget, er
for his Barna book?
forgive, that
kind of confusion. But what rankles him is that
Barna is portrayed as one who never lost his
temper, nor took advantage of his status as the
worlds foremost player, was always the perfect
gentleman, and so on ad nauseum. Gunn points
out that Barna in his How to Win at Table Tennis
said that he began as a bad-tempered,
ungracious loser, and fought to overcome this
fault, it being inefficient and harmful to his
progress. But doesnt that inclusion of a fought
failing contribute to the ad nauseum of Barnas
image as a winning role model?
U.S. Intercollegiate Champ David
Philips 1975 Table Tennis (edited by Joel
Cohen) for some reason wasnt reviewed in
242

Topics. It has illustrative photos (though only

of Dave) and quite a few diagrams showing
the path and spin of the ball. Theres good
first-person narrative coverage, but little or no
personal info or anecdotal materialthough
Dave does say, Rorys [Rory Brassingtons] a
good friend who pulled me through some
difficult playing periods in my career by
practicing with me two hours a day for a year,
and helping me to develop my loop shot to
where it is now [among the best around].
Philip notes his playing experience (for
Trinidad) at the 73 Sarajevo Worlds, and
occasionally he makes reference to U.S. players.
One mention of Dan Seemiller was puzzling:
the number-one U.S. player today, [he] used
to have a completely unorthodox grip. The
thumb was at one wing of the paddle, at the
back, and the index finger was all the way at the
other wing, forming a big V. It worked just fine
for this left-handed champion. Huh? Whats the
referent for the It? The grip that he used to
have? If it worked just fine, whyd he switch?
(Likely its Cohens editing thats at fault here.)
To sum up: Dave tells us, convincingly, how he himself employs the strokes and
strategies that can be found in the Topics articles of Smart and Wuvanich.
Former Intercollegiate Champion Tim Boggans 1976 Winning Table Tennis was given
cursory, standard reviews in the Library Journal and Book Review Digest. For example: His
first-person narrative is informal, often downright folksy, yet the information comes
across.If your library is looking for more than an instructional volume, this personalized
approach would be a good purchaseI agree. Besides being anecdotal, it has many photos of
U.S. and foreign players, and part of its contents continue to be incorporated into theseyou
might say personalizedHistory volumes.
Heres a guy, Marvin Stone, a stranger to me, starting, he says, his 53rd year, who I
wish would have written a review of my book for Topics (I didnt think to ask). I reproduce
the July 20, 1976 letter I received from him:
dear tim boggan
i have just finished reading the extraordinary preface to winning.
over the years Ive developed a terrible distaste for the writer-merchant who
has long since lost loves labor and whose mentality has consequently been reduced to
snail capacity in every other respect save money go-gettism.
if anyone chooses to see it, your curtain-raising prologue is a rosebud-opening
into a singing irish heart.
shades of Dylan Thomas, my own dear sean ocasey, jack conroy and other
internationalists.
warm regards
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Chapter Seventeen
1976: Jan./Feb./Mar. Tournaments.
Canadian Coach Chandra Madosingh, in reporting on British
Columbias Feb. 14-15 Festival of Sports Tournament, says players
came from Washington and Oregon for the matches at the Britannia
Ice Rink. The Mens went to Brittanias 16-year-old Peter Joe,
mixing smashes with drop shots,
over B.C. LeTTers Editor Eric
Calveley. Eric had pulled the upset of
the weekend when he stopped Eddy
Lo in straight games. The off-form
Chandra Madosingh
Lo had difficulty coping with the
Photo by Tom Slater
varying spins of Calveley, who uses an
away-from-the-table style of play and mixed his spins to cause
Lo to miss his drives on key points.
Other Results: Womens: Leslee Ward over Nimi
Athwal. Mens Doubles: Joe/Lo over Calveley/Phil Cheng, 20,
19. As: Fred Henry* over Greg Eng, 18 in the 3rd. A Doubles:
Joseph Lam/Winfred Lin over Harry Kulak/Ken Eng. Bs: Don
Marquardt over John Eaton, -11, 20, 18. Cs: Winnipegs
Peter Joe
Frank Lee over Eaton. Consolation: Gerry Hamer over Danny
Photo by Mal Anderson
Ho. Seniors: Art Ngai over Frank Karika. (Both Ho and Ngai
will be playing in a major U.S. tournament more than 30 years later.) Boys U-17s: Joe over
Lo, 22, 19. Girls U-17: Nimi over her sister Simi Athwal.
There was action aplenty this winter at the Paddle
Palace. Lou Bochenski (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 23) gives us
Mar. 13-14 highlightsMens events onlyfrom, first,
Saturdays Oregon Open, then the following days Oregon
Closed. Mens Open winner (41 entries) turned out to be Carl
Cole over Jay Crystal in the semis and Ed Ng in the final.
Carl, eligible now to play in the Over 40s at this years U.S.
Open or Closed, hadnt won a tournament since the Paddle
Palace opened over two years ago. Runner-up Ng, opting to
play penholder, had survived a -18, 19, 19, -13, 21 semis with
Carl
Alan Bajkov whod knocked out 7th-seed Bryan Wright and
Cole
1st-seed Ron Carver, both in 5.
Jim
One day Ed plays penhold, the
Tisler next he plays shakehands equally
well. Sometimes he switches in
the middle of the tournament or
even in the middle of a match. In
other competition of note, Gerry Hamer was beaten in the 5th by
the erratic 13-year-old Bobby Rinde; Charlie McLarty was
eliminated by crafty, hard rubber, old timer Jim Tisler; and Dean
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Doyle who, in the Palaces Feb. Open

sponsored by Chicos Pizza, had won his
first Mens Championship, fell to Crystal.
The new Mens Closed Champion
was 17-year-old Bryan Wright. He
defeated in succession: Vo Qui Han; then
14-time State Champion Carl Cole (1954
through
Dave
1967); then
Davallou
Dean Doyle
(after Dean
was up 2-0);
then Charlie
McLarty
Oregon Closed Champion Bryan Wright
whod been
runner-up to Doyle at that earlier Pizza Open. Charleys defensive
game couldnt withstand Bryans power. No mention was made
of Dave Davallou at this Open/Closed weekend, but at the
Washington Square Paddle Palace Invitational he pulled off three
consecutive upsets to capture first placehis victims being
Doyle, 11, -17, 18; McLarty, 20, 11; and Cole, -14, 21, 14. The
fifteen matches of this Washington Square tournament were played
one at a time over a period of two days, attracting a lively crowd of spectators and three
television stations.
Results of the Jan. 17-18 L.A. Open: Mens: Dennis Barish, 20, 16, 20, over Dean
Galardi, whod gotten by Paul Raphel, -14, 21, -16, 21, 16. In the semis, Barish had downed
Ray Guillen, winner at the upcoming Feb. Southern California Open over Raphel. Mens
Doubles: Galardi/Guillen over Barish/Al Everett. In that Feb. tournament at the Hollywood
Club, Al would -15, -8, 18, 24, -20 almost come back in a Mens quarters match against Bill U.
Womens: Pat Crowley over Heather Angelinetta. Esquires: Julius Paal over Gene Wilson, whod
been 19, 20, 19 challenged by Russ Thompson. Seniors: Paal over Danny Banach, 21, -18, 21, 17, 18. Senior As: Henry Swain over Bob Reising, 22, 22, then over Watkins. U-17s: Galardi over
Barish. U-15s: Jimmy Lane over Mike Terrell. U-13s: Lee Lawson over Tony Gonzales.
As: Ricky Guillen over Mike Joelson, deuce-in-the-3rd advancer over Gary Whidden
who in the Mens had forced Guillen into the 5th. A Doubles: Thompson/Whiddon over Tom
Hall/Joelson. Bs: Lane over Hall. B Doubles: Lane/Keith Ogata over Jerry LaLande and Long
Beach Club founder Richard Badger. Cs: Mike Dempsey over Bob Green. C Doubles: Mark
Corbett/Greg Plakos over LaLande/Watkins. Ds: Tony Koyama over D. Jewell, 19 in the 3rd,
then over Ian Davis, 18 in the 3rd. D Doubles: Corbett/Guy Seaman over Jewell/Ruben Guillen,
deuce in the 3rd. Novice: Koyama over Esler. Novice Doubles: Gonzales/Davis.
In Feb. a number of Californians went over to the First Presbyterian Church in downtown
Phoenix to play in the Arizona Open (118 entries from eight states). One resurrected player, 29year-old Tony Martin, who started playing competitively in Phoenix about 1960, reminisced about
going to the California Nationals in 1964 and 69. Such energy and enthusiasm hed had as a junior
practicing daily with his pimpled rubber paddle. And such memories:

245

ordering 36 back issues of Topics, memorizing the names of the nationally

ranked players, winning a trophy in my first Open tournament, and wondering if Id
ever be as good as a Stuffy Singer or Dennis Hickerson. My first Nationals in
Inglewood was like a dream. Imagine a somewhat shy kid from Phoenix staying at the
same hotel as Bernie Bukiet and actually talking with Him! I remember looking around
the gym and seeing such legends Id read of, moving about like real people. There was
Childs, Doss, Fields, and Sweeris! And there was Erwin Klein, with his graceful and
effortless style!
There followed college days...the draftplaying with bands, teaching and later
counseling. But now hes come back to the Sport hes always loved. He notes changes in
serves, spins, and the number of people trying to break the ball on kill shots. But the language,
peculiar mannerisms, and lack of women players still seem to be a part of the Sport. Hes
been playing for five months at the Phoenix and Arizona State University clubs, running the
gamut of emotions, but enjoying himself and doing well locally with Bill Kenig as his doubles
partner.
Its not Tony, though, whos reporting on the Arizona Open but Phoenix Club
President Forrest Barr, and he rightly centers his attention on matches involving 1st-seed Dean
Galardi. In the semis of the Junior final, against transplanted Chicagoan Harold Klinger, now,
though only 15, the Phoenix City Champion, Deano was no doubt taken aback to lose the
opening game. But all returned to normal when he won the 2nd and led in the deciding 3rd, 6-0.
Excepthow did it happen?he lost that game and the match!
Did this unexpected loss unnerve him? Against Al Everett in the Open Singles final,
with games tied at 1-1, Galardi led 15-6then was down 19-17! But he pulled out that game
after all, and, safely ahead 18-11 in the 4th, could anyone doubt hed righted himself? Righted
himself, yesbut was the match over, had he won? He appeared to be playing with
confidenceuntil, as Barr says, Dean over and over again mainly on Everetts serve, moving
quickly, unnecessarily and unsuccessfully,
[went] for the big winner. Butwho
Tybie Sommer (R)
knows why?suddenly the accuracy
and her daughter,
Marilyn
Feinstein
wasnt there, and Everett eventually won,
21-19, on a service ace. Going into the
5th, says Barr, Galardi was shaken and
disconsolateand not surprisingly lost
that game at 15.
Other Results: Open Doubles:
Everett/Ricky Guillen over Galardi/Russ
Thompson. Womens Singles: Faan Yeen
Liu over Pat Crowley whod eliminated
1948 World Mixed Doubles Champion
Tybie Sommer. Mixed Doubles: Final:
Dennis/Liz Gresham over John
Harrington/T. Sommer. Semis:
Harrington/Sommer, 16, -18, 20, 19, over
Lane/Crowley; Greshams over Jim DeMet/
Marilyn Sommer. Three decades later,
246

mother Tybie and daughter Marilyn would be winning Doubles medals

together. As: Lane over Gary Whiddon, 19 in the 4th. A Doubles: Craig
Burton/Whiddon over Mui/Ed Stein. Bs: Randy Nedrow over Bob Weich.
B Doubles: Burton/Whiddon over Greshams. Cs: Tony Koyama over
Kevin Erickson. Ds: D. Jewell over J. Wilhelmy. Esquires: Stein over Bob
Green. Seniors: Thompson over Helmuth Vorherr, 21-19 in the 5th (from
20-16 down). U-15s: Faan Hoan Liu over Lane. U-13s: Lee Lawson over
B. Moore.
Grady Gordon did the Topics write-up for the Annual Southwest Open,
held Mar. 13-14 at the Jefferson Moore High School Gym in Waco, Texas.
By land and air the 81 entries came. Tournament Director Billie Watkins
and husband R.C. (both are licensed pilots) flew in from Big Dthats
Dallasand Larry Kesler drove his motor home (a converted passenger
Randy Nedrow
bus) over from Oklahoma City. He parked it beside the gym door and,
with two boarders, camped in it during the two-day tournament.
The playing site was spaciousroom for 16 Detroiter A tables. The tartan floor
slightly affected the bounce of the ball, light was deficient in certain areas, and streams of air
from the blower ducts mildly affected the ball trajectory. But there was enough bleacher
space for good table viewing and the High School club that ran the concession did a fine job
of providing quality food.
Results: Championship Singles: Final R.R.: 1. Houstons 16-year-old Perry
Schwartzberg, 3-0 (over Fagan, 17 in the 5th, after being down 10-1; over Rao, 24-22 in the
4th; over Butler, n.s.). 2. Hanumanth Rao, 2-1 (over Butler and Fagan, 3-0). 3. Charles Butler,
1-2 (over Fagan, 17 in the 4th). 4. Gary Fagan, 0-3. Quarters: Rao over Richard James, 15,
17, -21, 19; Butler over Tommy Vaello, -13, 16, 18, -23, 17; Schwartzberg over Joe
Cummings, 21, -23, 17, 20; Fagan over Scott Ryan, 14, 15, 10. Mens Doubles: Cummings/
Vaello, -20, 12, 19, 24, over Schwartzberg/Don Weems whod downed John Tomlinson/Ryan,
-19, 15, 19, 18. Womens R.R. 1. Michelle Haddix, 2-1 (over Weems, 15, 19; over Lynn, -20,
15, 18.) 2. Anna Lynn, 2-1 (over Weems, 16, 10; over Sargent, 22, -16, 14). 3. Sue Sargent, 21 (over Haddix, 13, -10, 20; over Weems, 8, 20). 4. Kathy Weems, 0-3. Mixed Doubles: 1.
Doug Hibbs/Lynn. 2. Gary Garner/Haddix. 3. Steve Arnold/Sargent.
As: Weems over Leh-Jan Shen in 5. Don, replaced as Great Plains Regional
Tournament Director by Sue Sargent, is being publicly criticized in the Mar.-Apr. Topics by
National Tournament Chair/Ratings Chair Neal Fox for not getting in the results of his Jan.
Houston tournament (not received by Topics either). Fox says if he doesnt get these results
soon, Don will be charged a double sanction fee; if he doesnt turn them in at all, he wont be
allowed to hold any more sanctioned tournaments. A Doubles: Kesler/Tomlinson over Shen/
Swaminathan Bhaskar, -18, 12, 20, 16. Bs: Bhaskar over Shen who stopped Terry Ziegler,
deuce in the 5th. Cs: J. Kwok over Arnold in 5. Ds: K. Boyce over M. Lee. Esquires: Rich
Puls over Arthur Buster Chase, after Buster had downed Watkins in 5. Seniors: Gordon
over Puls, 13, -19, 18, -27, 12., then over Chase. Senior Doubles: Buddy Melamed/J.C. Tenay
over Gordon/Jeff Wise who won out over Watkins/Puls, 23-21 in the 4th. U-17s:
Schwartzberg over G. Melamed who escaped Mike Roddy, deuce in the 5th. U-15s: E. Rapp
over G. Melamed. Junior Doubles: Schwartzberg/Roddy over Melamed/Rapp, 19, -22, 19, 17.
R.C. Watkins speaks (TTT, May-June, 1976, 20) of an unusual tournament, the
Irving Round Robin, held Feb. 14-15 in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. There are six
247

ClassesChampionship through Eand every player plays 10 singles matches and 10

doubles matches, except for the six singles finalists who play an extra match to see whos the
Class winner and runner-up. Of the 72 entrants, 36 received trophies. [How all this works isnt
clear to me. But, though everyone is asked to be a good sport and not default matches, I
suspect, come Sunday afternoon, therell be some who dont want to set personal endurance
records. Anyway, there was only one Sportsmanship Trophy. That went to John Russell for
the outstanding work that hes done during the past yearbefore, during, and after the
tournament.]
Results: Championship Singles: Schwartzberg over Fagan, 17, -9, 24, 18. As: Paul
LeBlanc over Weems. Bs: Davis Ragnell over David Harville, 19 in the 4th. Cs: Roddy over
George Woods. Ds: Meredith Elston over Jose Marin. Es: Ray Johnson over Salvador Ruiz.
Championship Doubles: Richard James/Charles Butler over Schwartzberg/Weems. As: James
Rautis/C. David over David Babcock/Woods. Bs: Rich/Larry Puls over D. Rodriguez/Sid
Minyard. Cs: Paul Green/B. Cornett over D. Whitewood/Gene Sargent. Ds: Mark Stoolz/
Johnny Cortez over Ruiz/Marin. Es: C. Lee/C. Naus over G. Eisenhour/Doug Copley.
Denver KOA-TV (NBC) filmed 14-year-old Kasia Dawidowicz and 12-year-old Keith
Kalny, along with a fun guest appearance by Kasias dad, Bob, in a Jan. 14th exhibition at the
local European Club. This was aired two weeks later on Scope, a regular Sunday night
program in the area. On Feb. 21, the Club held its State Ranking Tournament (allowing entries
from Cheyenne, Wyoming and Albuquerque, New Mexico as well). Results: Championship
Singles: 1. Bob Dawidowicz. 2. Bob Leatherwood. 3. Jim Wherry. 4. Steve Walker.
Championship Doubles: 1. Bob and Kasia Dawidowicz. 2. Leatherwood/Kalny. As: 1. Randy
Woods. 2. Vic Smith. 3. Ron Byers. Bs: 1. Byers. 2. Larry Coons. 3. Tim Walsh. Cs: Lou
Melendez. 2. Rainer Rohling. 3. Jarek Dawidowicz. Over 40: 1. Smith. 2. Clint Brown. 3.
Cecil Woodworth, who 25 years earlier had been in the finals of the U.S. Open (Over 35)
Senior Doubles. Under 17: 1. Dawidowicz. 2. Kurt Evans. 3. Kalny. U-15: 1. Dawidowicz. 2.
Kalny. 3. Ray Ozols.
LeRoy Petersen (TTT, May-June, 1976, 1; 23) tells us that his Mar. 19-21 Wisner
Open drew 103 entries. It opened with a Danny Seemiller/Dave Sakai clinic and proceeded
smoothly through 19 events played on 11 tables. Helped by the presence of the three strong
Thai players, Wuvanich, Chan, and Sears, LeRoy said, We built up more interest in table
tennis in this area with this tournament than anyone thought possible [Wisners population:
1,320]. By the time the 4 p.m. Mens Singles final started, the tournament was clearly quite a
success:
We had a very good crowd on hand with $126 collected from spectators
plus a lot of free passes for newspapermen, people who worked for us, and the ones
who bought a $10 ticket for a color TV and 2 AM/FM radios. We sold an even 100 of
these tickets, which gave us a profit of $550, so our tournament made good money.
Also the wives sold a lot of food and drinks. On Saturday night we had over 100
people at our banquet.
In the Mens, Danny Seemiller (with confidence acquired from his play abroad?) rallied
to defeat Chuchai Chan, -17, -18, 12, 11, 10 in the semis, and then Charlie Wuvanich, 17, 18,
14, in the final. In a Dec. 8, 75 letter to Editor Boggan, Charlie asked that the photo of him
you see herewith the Magoos and Air Siam logobe used prominently in Topics.
248

Why? Because the three Thais tickets

back to Bangkok had been discounted
75% provided they returned within 10
months, but now they wanted to stay
for a while in the U.S. and hoped that,
if they could show they were trying to
promote Air Siam, the airline would
agree to extend the 10-month discount
period. In the Mens Doubles semis,
Seemiller and Sakai downed John
Soderberg and Apichart Sears (whod lost
to Wuvanich in 4 in the Mens semis).
But then against Charlie and Chan, Danny
and Dave won the final by default
Charlie Wuvanich
LeRoy didnt cover the matches, so I
dont know why the default.
Other Results: Mixed Doubles: Bob/Kasia Dawidowicz over
Seemiller/Debbie Johnson. As: Pete Tellegen over Steve Craly. Bs:
Mark Kennedy over Herman Mao. 3rd: Lionel Harris over Gus Kennedy,
19 in the 3rd. B Doubles: M. Kennedy/M. Walsh over H. Ma/A. King.
Cs: Sheila ODougherty over Keith Kalny, 18, 20. Ds: Brian Westphal,
19, -22, 16 over Joe Wittigen. Novice: Jeff Moeller over Westphal, 24,
20, then over Kalny, -29, 14, 15. Seniors: Harris over Don Taylor,
deuce in the 3rd, then over Tom Walsh. U-16s: Todd Petersen over M.
Kennedy. U-15s: Petersen over K. Dawidowicz. U-13s: Kalny over
Brandon Olson, -22, 9, 18, then over
Roland Rittmaster, -19, 23, 14. U-11s:
Olson over Daylin Risch. Girls U-17:
Diana Myers over Dawidowicz. U-17
Novice: S. Rittmaster over B. Hunt. U17 Novice Girls: D. Heermann over D.
Deitloff. U-17 Doubles: Petersen/
Pete Tellegen
Dawidowicz over M. Kennedy/Myers.
Photo courtesy of
U-15 Doubles: Petersen/K. White over
Don Larsen
Olson/J. Hoffman.
The 1976
Wisconsin Closed was
held Feb. 7-8 in
Waukesia. Results:
Mens: 1. Karl Will, 21 (5-2). 2. Geoff
Graham, 2-1 (4-2). 3.
Roy Hyden, 2-1 (4-3).
4. Ted Stomma, 0-3.
Womens: 1. Cheryl
Geoff Graham
Dadian. 2. Jill
Cheryl Dadian
Photo by Mal Anderson
249

Larmore. Mens Doubles: Will/Laszlo Keves, 4-1. 2. Graham/Martz, 4-1. 3. Hyden/Stomma,

4-1. Mixed Doubles: Dadian/Hyden over Will/Chan. As: Keves over John Pfalz. A Doubles:
Martz/Keves over Pfalz/Falkenstein. B Doubles: Burlew/Russ Sorensen over Castillo/Lo. Cs:
Meyer over Crawford, -19, 19, 15. Ds: Crawford over Lonergan. Novice: LeSage over
Lonergan, -19, 17, 21. Seniors: Keves over Pfalz. Parents: Dadian over Wisconsin Affliate
contact-man Bruce Pike. Boys U-17: Ben Kunin over Kolb. Boys U-15: Schweiner over Stein.
Boys U-13: Sackett over J. Paley. Girls U-17: Chan over B. Smith. Girls U-15: Dadian over
Beckman. Girls U-13: Dadian over Schweinert.
In Feb. two Ontario tournaments were held. At Torontos West End YMCA, Modris
Zulps, the 1967 Canadian Closed Champion, took the Mens from Randy Airst and the
Seniors from John Nesukaitis. Later, at the Scarborough Open, Airst would win the Mens
Bs (over Bill Soros) and, as he did in Toronto, the U-17s. Paul Klevinas was the
Scarborough Mens Singles (and with Alan Heap) Doubles winner. Cameron Scott finished
second to Paul in the Singles, and at Toronto with Airst came runner-up in the Doubles to
Zulps/Varden. In the Womens, Violetta Nesukaitis and Rupa Banerjee split matches. At
Scarborough, Suzanna Kavalleriou won the Womens Doubles with Banerjee, and with Heap
came second in the Mixed to Klevinas and Girls U-17 star Birute Plucas. Other repeat winners
were Mike Jovanov and best in Girls U-15 Gloria Nesukaitis.
Results of the Jan. 17th Michigan Open at Woodland: Mens: Mike Baber over Larry
Wood. Open Doubles: Faan Hoan Liu/Dave Shenk over Baber/Tom McEvoy. As: Wood over
Liu. Bs: Peters over McEvoy. B Doubles: McEvoy/Shenk over Bill Hornyak/Bruce McGee.
Cs: Erickson over Moriarty. Ds: Omer Miller over John Missad. D Doubles: Thabit/Gilbert
over Haan/Moriarty. Es: Steve Wasik over Farmer. Novice: Buist over Payotelis. Beginners:
Allen over Payotelis. Handicap: Allen over Georgacakes. Seniors: Hornyak over W. Wood
whod gotten by Larry Ryel, 18 in the 3rd. U-17s: F.H. Liu over Moriarty.
Winners at the Feb. 7 Ohio
Open in Cleveland (no D-J, no
Insook): Open Singles; 1. Lou
Radzeli. 2. Stan Wolf. 3. Glenn
Marhefka. 4. Dave Strang. Open
Doubles: Bobby Powell/Ron
Schull over Kurz/Mike Joelson.
As: Wolf over Schull, 24-22 in
the 5th. A Doubles: Richling/Walt
Bubley over Weingart/Vargo
Larry Ryal
whod eliminated Bianco/
Arcaro, 19 in the 3rd. Bs: Phil
Walt Bubley
Panno over cartonist Dean Norman, 19 in the 3rd, then over
Photo by Dave Strang
Samiac. Cs: Panno over Ho. Consolations: Powell over
Schull, 18 in the 5th (from down 2-0). Esquires: Radzeli over Bubley. Seniors: Radzeli over
Kurz. Young Adults: Strang over Papp. U-17: Panno over Weingart. U-15: Panno over
Trausch. U-13: Arcaro over Gillinov.
Dick Winters gives us a lengthy report (TTT, May-June, 1976, 1; 25-26) on the Feb.
20-22 3-star $1,600 Mid-West Openits no longer held in Columbus, is now being played in
Lyle Thiems Club in Dayton, Ohio. Thanks to Lyles resourcefulness and determination, a
new location for the Club was found, and conditions are first-rate: no center posts; has high
250

ceilings; an ample runback area for long range defenders; and excellent lighting. It also has a
large viewing section for spectators and nine individually barriered-off playing courts with an
additional two for practice.
Just as Lawrences and Reismans N.Y. Clubs had their tournament characters, so
too did one pop up here at Lyles. His name was Sheldon Narvy, from Cleveland, and, says
Winters, heres what made him different:
[His] impetuous on and off court antics[were] surpassed only by the
sideline management of an astonishing array of uncountable accoutrements and sundry
paraphernalia.
Unfortunately he was unable to keep at all times this huge inventory of things
intact, as he was continually in search for some particular bat inside of some misplaced
bag or suitcase.
Possessing an unlimited supply of rackets, all of the hard variety, and an equally
generous store of hats, coats, shirts, shorts, and shoes, and even coin and stamp
collections, he appeared more like a representative from the Goodwill industry rather
than an aspiring tournament entrant. [Preoccupied as he was, its hardly surprising he
didnt make the Results list.]
Results: In the Mens (this was the only event Dick covered), there were two very
exciting 8th matches. Last month Insook Bhushan had reached the final of the Dayton 2-star
Open before losing to Danny Seemiller, but here she was in great danger of being eliminated
early by Roger Sverdlik whod taken a leave of absence from college and was apparently
getting his head together with a 23-21, 21-13 lead. However, says Winters, Roger became
impatient, didnt judiciously loop, and, while he missed several kill shot attempts, Insook
became grooved and seldom missed a chop return. In the 4th and 5th games, either player
could have won either game, but Insook ($85), with her sneaky backhand pick shot always a
threat, took them both, 20 and 19. Tannehill also came through, winning the key 3rd and 5th
games at 19 from Jim Dixon.
In quarters play leading to a round robin semis, Ricky, whod lost 3-zip to Insook
here earlier in the season before he went abroad with brother Danny, scored an easy 9, -9, 11,
12 win over her this time. He seemed to spin each succeeding ball with even greater spin than
the last. Chuchai Chan took down Tannehill ($62.50), 9, 20, 19, but, had John capitalized on
his 20-18 lead in the 2nd, the match might have turned out differently. Winters obviously thinks
very highly of fellow Ohioan Tannehill. He says John would have won had it not been for his
prolonged periods of inactivity. Johns finesse and all around natural talent for the game helps
him to be a master technician. He shows more style and quality than any other player in the
countrybut how bring this talent to its full potential?
D-J Lee wasnt challenged by Sakai ($75), though Dave had advanced via a
straight-set upset win over Sears. Danny, displaying dynamic ability and sheer physical
stamina, also drew exceptional praise from Winters. Dannys anti-topspin backside was
used to great advantage as he repeatedly placed balls around the court with micrometer
accuracy. Seemillers quarters opponent, Fuarnado Roberts ($75), one of the elite
defenders of the sport, didnt win a game. But he turned in a creditable performance
with his crazy, mixed-up racket (which is pips-out thick sponge on one side and Austrian
anti on the other. [Jairie Resek says that Robbie will do a musical extravaganza for TV
251

with Curtis Knight (a.k.a. the well-known N.Y.

t.t. player Curtis McNear), an international rock
musician and singer, who worked with Jimi
Hendrix and has written a biography of him.]
The best of the semifinal matches would
be Danny vs. Chan? Given their past encounters,
it would seem so. But Danny was just too good.
At no time could Chan ($150) effectively return
Dannys serves or prevent him from hitting the
third ball in. Utilizing quick blocking at extreme
angles and smashing overpowering drives, Danny
virtually blew Chan out of the gym. Could
Ricky ($150) do better against Danny? Yes, but
only one game better. And how about Ricky vs.
Chan? Again Ricky could take only a game. Well,
Curtis McNear a.k.a. Curtis Knight
Photo by Bill Marlins
there was still D-J. But in the 1st Lee so
controlled Rickys serves that the younger
Seemilller couldnt compete. However, in the 2nd, just the reverse was truenow Ricky was
hitting the ball off his powerful service. [How come the difference?] Down 20-16 in the 3rd,
Ricky had D-J at the back barrier with a fusillade of smashing forehand kills. But Lee, just as
magnificently, made a series of long looping return shots, and Ricky finally netted the ball. In
the 4th, D-J reeled off 7 straight points, to take the game and the match.

D-J Lee (L) rallies from down 2-0 against Chuchai Chan.
Photo by Ken Lowden

Against Lee, Chans excellently placed serves to D-Js extreme backhand and his
angled topspin drives enabled him to capture the first game easily. In the 2nd, Chuchais
smooth execution and aplomb soon made him look like a winner. Chans backhand topspin
shots, unleashed to every point on the court, proved too much for Dal-Joon to handle. Chan
2Lee 0. [But thenthe last three games Chan, -13, -15, -14 averaged only 14 points a
game. How account for him suddenly being consistently outplayed?]
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Lee vs. Seemiller saw Don Lyons, local aging hero, as umpire. Danny won the toss
and elected to serve. Without hesitating a moment, D-J cracked in a tremendous forehand
kill.[Impressive, huh? But] Dannys angle blocking with his anti rubber and effective
counter- hitting sent D-J reeling to a 21-8 setback. In the 2nd, Lee, down 20-16, rallies to 19,
but cant deuce ita big swing.Seemiller, though forced into the 4th, is soon up 14-6, and,
angling weird anti returns and hitting all out winners, goes on to win convincingly. His prize:
$450, D-Js: $235.
Other Results: Open Doubles: Seemillers over Sakai/Roberts whod eliminated Chan/
Sears. Womens (Insook didnt enter): Sheila ODougherty over Mary Ann Burdick, -18, 18, 21, 17, 14. Mixed Doubles: Lee/Bhushan over D. Seemiller/Denise Horn. As: Mike Baber
($100) over Roger Sverdlik, 23-21 in the 4th, then over John Soderberg ($50), 28-26 in the 5th!
A Doubles: Randy Eller/Ron DeMent over Mark Delmar/Fox. Bs: Delmar ($100), 16 in the
5th, over John Spencer ($50), after John had knocked out Eller, 18 in the 5th. B Doubles: John
Spencer/Stan Wolf over Delmar/Fox. Consolations: Larry Wood over Todd Petersen.
Esquires: Harry Deschamps over Paul Brown. Seniors: Deschamps over Dick Winters. Boys
U-17: Soderberg over Randy Seemiller. U-17As: Jeff Williams over Steve Lowry. Boys U-15:
Williams over Mark Wilder whod gotten by Petersen. Boys U-13: Steve Claflin over Williams.
Girls U-17/U-15: Horn over Kim Kondash. U-11: Jeff Millen over Dave Claflin. U-17
Doubles: 1. Lowry/R. Seemiller, 2-1 (5-3). 2. Williams/Kurt Lloyd, 2-1 (4-3).
Winners in the Feb. 7-8 Rodeway Inn Invitational at St. Louis: Mens: 1.Homer
Brown, 3-0. 2. Ron Lilly, 2-1 (beat Heim in 5, Kissel, 19 in the 4th). 3. R. Kissel, 1-2. 4. D.
Heim, 0-3. Quarters: Brown over Leonard McNeece, 16, 22, -21, 26, 17; Lilly over Hugh
Lax, 18, 20, 20; Kissel over Sam Shannon, 15, -16, -15, 16, 16; Heim over Bob Flowers,18,
20, 17. Mens Doubles: Flowers/Larry Thoman over Brown/Heim. Womens: Leslie Harris
over St. Charles Closed Champ Debbie Bingaman. Mixed Doubles: McNeece/Grace Ide over
Clay Dunn/Harris, -19, 14, 24, 15.
Other Results: As: 1. McNeece, 3-0. 2. Mike Menzer, 2-1. 3. Flowers, 1-2. 4. Dennis
Orne, 0-3 (Dennis is the St. Charles Closed runner-up to Jim Wachter.) A Doubles: Akerman/
Irvin over Kissel/Ken Kasten. Bs: 1. Rich Doza, 2-1 (4-2). 2.
Denis Fritchie, 2-1 (4-3beat Doza). 3. Dunn, 1-2 (3-4beat
Lax). Lax, 1-2 (2-4beat Fritchie. Cs: Anynwm over
Akerman. Novice: Jordan over Butts. Seniors: Lax over
Shannon, 21, 19, 19, then over Kasten. U-17s: John Stillions
over Joe Tobias, 19 in the 3rd, then over Evans, -19, 17, 24. U15s: Stillions over Galli whod escaped Steehn, 19, -19, 24.
At the Feb. 28 Washington D.C. Area Closed, Alan
Evanson won the Mens from Lem Kuusk and Bob Kaminsky,
but lost the Boys U-17, 19 in the 3rd, to Curt Kronlage, also the
Boys U-15, U-13 winner. The Womens went, quite
predictably, to Barbara Kaminsky over Kay Young. As: Ken
Silverstein over Eldon Linn. Bs: Mark Geier over Jeff Maurer.
Cs: Tim Ang over John Weaver. Ds: Chris Francis over Boys
U-15 runner-up Phil Shaw. Novice: Warren Moon over Jackie
Heyman who took the Girls U-17 from Nida Backaitus.
Handicap: Ron Snyder over Ray Chen, 48. Consolations: Glen
Dong over Shaw. Seniors: Kaminsky over Chen.
Curt Kronlage
253

George Hellerman in covering (TTT, MayJune, 1976, 27) two Westfield winter Opens went
through a very lengthy role call of thanks to officials
and players who continue to make the tournaments
there a success. Mens winner at the Feb. 14 Open
was Dave Sakai who in the quarters 11, 19, -18, 19, 16 weakened against, but survived, Mike Stern,
then blanked George The Chief Brathwaite and
Fuarnado Roberts, after Robbie had to come from
behind to beat Mike Bush in 5. Womens went to
Dana Gvildys over E. Nitchie whod 18. -24, 19,
eked out her semis against Gloria Amoury. As: P.
Lam in 5 over Jimmy LaFemina, after Jimmy had
downed Doon Wong, deuce in the 3rd. Bs:
LaFemina,
20, 20, over
Dana Gvildys
Eric Boggan
Photo by Mal Anderson
whod
advanced over brother Scott. Cs: John Locke over
Bob Renner. (Johns picture with 10 Yemen Arab
Republic players rather mysteriously appeared in the
Mar.-Apr. Topics.) Esquires: John Kilpatrick over
Stan Wishniowski. Seniors: Tim Boggan over Elmer
Weingert. U-17s: Bruce Plotnick over Stern, 24-22 in
the 5th. U-15s: Stern over S. Boggan. U-13s: E.
Boggan over Richie Spear.
Doon Wong
In commenting on Westfields Mar. 13
Shamrock Open, Tournament Director Hellerman
says he believes in scheduling the Open final to
finish before the A and B late rounds. The
spectators enjoy watching the top players whore
generally done by 9-10 oclock, and of course
those in contention appreciate an audience. In the
Mens, Sakai won again, deuce in the 4th, from
Dave Shapiro whod knocked off Roger Sverdlik
in 5 and Brathwaite in 4. Shapiros blocking
ability is amazing, but Sakai varied his steady
topspin game, mixing his spin play for the win. The
quarters match, in which Bush demolished
Boggan 21-4 in the 3rd, produced an unpleasant
Dave Shapiro
Photo by Mal Anderson
altercation with the umpire. What exactly
happened Hellerman didnt say, but apparently it
was a players-vs.-official controversy that prompted George to write that he wished the
Players Association would work at revising certain rules they dont believe are correct. It sure
would make life a lot easier for tournament directors, umpires, and referees.
254

Other results: Women: Louise Nieves over Nitchie,

24-22 in the 3rd. As: Gary Wittner downed in succession
Steve Berger, Al Schwartz, and finally Hellerman who, after
advancing past Mike Lardon and then Bob Nochenson, 28-26
in the 3rd, defaulted to Gary, pleading utter and complete
fatigue. Bs: Lardon over Hellerman, 21, 19, then over
Doon Wong in 3. (In 8ths play, Bob Nochenson upset #2 seed
Tim Boggan, and Hellerman stopped Eliot Katz, deuce in the
3rd.) Cs: Don Garlanger, 19 in the 3rd, over L.M. Shum
whod sneakered by Renner, deuce in the 3rd. Esquires: Dan
Dickel over Mort Zakarin, 19, 20. Seniors: Bill Sharpe over
Boggan. U-17s: Lardon over Stern, then Plotnick. U-15s:
Stern over Scott Boggan. U-13s: Eric Boggan over Spear.
If table tennis is to climb to new heights, the
Canadians think theyve got to bring good players to various
parts of the provinces. So up we go for another match
Gary Wittner
Photo by Mal Anderson
between Quebec and Ontariothis one played Feb. 7 in
Rimouski (above Quebec City on the St. Lawrence River).
Wed seen that Ontario had won 5-3 in Rouyn-Noranda, but now it was Quebecs 5-3 turn
an historic win, for it marked the first time in 17 years that Quebec had beaten Ontario in an
Inter-Provincial match. Heres how they did it: Rod Young (Q) over Derek Wall; Alex Polisois
(Q) over Alan Heap; Guy Germain (Q) in a big upset over Errol Caetano, -16, 19, 21; Wall
over Polisois, -16, 18, 20; Caetano over Young; Germain (Q) over Heap, 18 in the 3rd to go up
4-2; Caetano over Polisois; Germain (Q) over Wall, -18, 19, 17.
Adham Sharara (CTTA News,
Mar., 1976, 9) said, The matches were
professionally staged with 250 paying
spectators. They were well covered by
television and the press, players received
presents in addition to $210 for the
winning team and $25 per individual win,
and all expenses were paid.
Now down to Montreal for the
Jan. 31-Feb. 1 Open at the Marymont High
School. Results (these of course will affect
the March Quebec Province Rankings Ill
show in parentheses): Mens As: Polisois
(#2) over Caetano, -20, 14, -13, 27, 20!
Alex Polisois
Mens Doubles: Caetano/Young (#4) over
Photo by Mal Anderson
Germain (#3)/Polisois), -12, 21, 7.
Womens As: Violetta Nesukaitis over Rupa Banerjee. Womens Doubles: Violetta and Gloria
Nesukaitis over Birute Plucas/Suzanna Kavallierou. Mixed Doubles: Frank Watson/V.
Nesukaitis over Caetano/Birute Plucas. Mens Bs: Paul Marsham over John Nesukaitis.
Womens Bs: Susan Tomkins over Francine Theoret (#3), deuce in the 3rd. Mens Cs: John
Reichert over Eric Rothfleisch (#21). C Doubles: Michel/Jean Labreche over Michel Goyette/
Tse. Seniors: John Nesukaitis over E. Rothfleisch. Girls U-17: Plucas over G. Nesukaitis.
255

Girls U-15: G. Nesukaitis over Colleen Johnson (#4). Girls U-13: Julia Johnson (#9) over
Sylvie Leveille. Girls U-11: Nathalie Simard over Valerie Kerbrat. Boys U-17: Pierre
Normandin (#6) over Marc LeSeige (#7). Boys U-15: Charles Masson over Jean Labreche.
Boys U-13: Masson over Mitch Rothfleisch, 19, 19. Boys U-11: Daniel Aucoin over Denis
Morel.
I dont know why Mariann Domonkos didnt play in these Quebec tournaments, but I
do know she learned quite a bit from participating (with Caetano and Polisois) in the Nov.
Hungarian, Yugoslavian, and Scandinavian Opens. In her European Tour article (from Le
Pongiste, April, 76, reprinted in TTT, July-Aug., 76), she says, Not many of us have an
extremely strong loop, therefore it may be a disadvantage to use it too often. For todays fast,
close-to-the-table game, it is too long a stroke, and if it is of average strength, it is relatively
easy to handlethat is, it will be attacked by a fast counterhit or kill from either wing. It
wont do you any good to open with a loop unless you have a good follow-up. You should
have at least one serve the return of which the odds are you can kill. Its easier to win a
point with a kill than with a loopand today you have to make your points, cant think
your opponent will make mistakes.
Mariann says Canada faces what we in the U.S. do. The level of competition in
Canada doesnt necessitate the perfection of necessary skills, and even though we may work
on them by ourselves, world calibre competition is the last missing link which prevents us from
attaining a very high standard.
The Feb. 28-29 Ocean State Classic in Providence brought a write-up by Assistant
Topics Editor Carl Danner, and an article Deluged in the Ocean State by the first-time
Tournament Director Bob Glass (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 32; 28). First, Carls contribution.
Mens: Danny Seemiller ($150) didnt lose a gamefinished by blitzing in succession
Fuarnado Roberts, George Brathwaite, and Roger Sverdlik. Robbie, who every time I see
him, says Carl, asks me to join his Players Association, made some marvelous returns and
pick-hits, but got kind of three-straight crushed. The Chief reached the semis by rallying to
beat Dave Philip, deuce in the 5th, after losing the first two games. Jairie Resek said Dave
hadnt been playing table tennis for months because hed stretched a muscle in his right hand
that had healed very slowly.
Roger, who won the AAs over Hamid Hayatghaib, then over Ray Mack by default,
was originally scheduled to play Dave Sakai in, says Carl, a first-round 2-out-of-3 Mens
match. First round? How was that possible? What kind of draw was that? Actually, one Dave
liked, for he had Lim Ming Chui coming up, and Ming, having taken a job in Vermont and in
danger of atrophying somewhere in those non-t.t.-playing wintry wastes, would likely be a
stiff. Still, playing the odds, Sakai with his steady game, argued for 3-out-of-5 play
throughout, and the Tournament Committee agreed. Only Dave couldnt beat Roger, and
neither could Chui in a three-straight deuce, deuce, and deuce match, and neither could
Bush, fresh from Bob Barnsville, in a 5-game quarters. Ill return to Carls write-up of this
what he thought enjoyable tournament, but, first, the other event Results:
Tournament Director Glass says he has a dilemma with the women. If I offer good
prize money for the women, will the best players come to my tournament?...How do I know I
wouldnt be wasting my money if I increased the prize money for women? Wasting his
money? Does it take a Womens Libber to answer that? Womens: Dana Gvildys ($25) over H.
Dunn. Open Doubles: Sakai/Roberts over Seemiller/Hayatghaib, 17 in the 3rd. As: Benfield
Munroe over Claude Peltz. Bs: Peltz over Bruce Abrams. Cs: Mike Emery over William Ma.
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Ds: Stu Caplin over 18-yearold University of Rhode

Island freshman Rick Ferri
whom Jairie Resek says is
an antique dealer, in mostly
clocks. Es: Marko over
Bruce Peeso. Fs: Sondeman
over Lam. Novice: Ralph
Bockoven over Lines, -10, 14, 20, 17, 17. Novice A:
Woerner over Luchini.
Matched Doubles: Ferri/
Markow over Peeso/
Horowitz. Esquires: Irv
Levine over Manny
Irv Levine
Moskowitz. Seniors: Tim
Drawing by Lanning from Providence Rhode
Island Sunday Journal, June 1, 1975
Boggan over Haig Raky, 19
th
in the 4 . U-17s: Jeff Steif
Charlie Hung
over 11-year-old sensation Charlie Hung (rated 1763). U-17As:
Photo by Barry Margolius
Bockoven over Salemme in 5. U-15s: Scott Boggan over Dana
Gvildys. U-13s: Hung over Mlavsky.
Back now to action in the Mens. The Bush-Sverdlik match, Carl says, started just as
the Mayor of Providence was getting some publicity over in the corner with Danny. His
photographer was shooting flashes like a strobe, much to Mikes anger. (My mind flashes back
to Minneapolis, where Paul Raphel nearly went berserk at a cameraman who had shined a TV
light in his eyes during a close match.) Match resumed, Sverdliks incredible consistency and
superior tactics prevailed over Bushs power and all-out physical effort.
That brought Sverdlik to the remaining semisto Errol Resek who back in an early
round had struggled into the 5th with Dave Shapiro before, regaining confidence, hed flattened
Dave 21-4. Next test for Errol: Hamid Hayatghaib whod told Carl and anyone else whod
listen how angry he was at the sheer amateur way that the collegiate regional [hed just
played in] was conducted. Reportedly Hamid was a former three-time Iranian National
University Champion, and he thought it terrible that such an important collegiate tournament
would have an incompetent man to run it. Heres the kind of thing Hamid (and Boggan
elsewhere in describing ACU-I tournaments) had complained about:
There were four people [at this Eastern regional] who could play, the rest,
you know, all 1500 players. So the man who was running it had a random draw, with
me playing Benfield Munroe in the first round and Eliot Katz in the second. Benfield,
you know how he is, gets upset and they change it, put Gary Wittner with me instead.
Gary was so upset over this he didnt come back the second day.
Here in Providence Gary had something else to be disturbed about. In the AAs, he lost
to Ed Raky, a local player of medium rating. Eds a sticky chopper with the smarts. After
missing one last loop at 19-20 in the third, Gary later mused: Im at school now, and I
know that this is going to happen more often, but I still dont like it.
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After advancing over Hamid, Resek reached the quarters where he met Carl Danner
whod ousted Alex Shiroky. Danner, like Sverdlik and Bush, had raised his game, but now,
after receiving Scholarships, had been accepted at Stanford, and so would be curtailing his
competitive play. After his match with Alex, Carl was feeling sickly, and so offered little
resistance against Errol. Thus Resek joined Sverdlik in the semis. There, though, Errol
seemed to play half a game and then rest half a game. He would, for no apparent reason, win
and then lose fearsome strings of points, mostly lose. Sverdlik won in fourand of course
became Dannys final straight-game victim.
Since this tournament drew an unexpected large entry, and Director Bob Glass was
overly accommodating (You want a practice table? O.K. Dont put any matches on three for
a while), Danny, though a winner, was not a happy one. Every time I come to a small
tournament it seems I end up playing at some hour of the morning. This has got to stop.
Naturally by the time Seemiller got the Mayors trophy, the Mayor had left. But did Danny
care, or did it matter that the trophy with his name on it would be on display in the Providence
city hall?
Bob says, Frankly, I did one helluva job with this tournamentand hes willing to
run another one. But in this, his first, he experienced such hassles that Im going to let him tell
you about them in his own words. Before hes finished, it occurs to him, and to Joe Lee too,
that maybe there ought to be a Tournament Directors Association. Anyway, I think youll
agree that sometimes, as weve seen before, some players are their own worst enemyand
maybe Tournament Directors are too:
The first thing Ill do next year [says Bob] is wire the control desk. The
second a player starts shuffling the draw sheets on the desk hell receive an electric
shock hes never likely to forget. Didnt the players see I had duplicate copies of every
draw sheet on the wall?
One thing that bothered me was the players total disregard for the entry
deadline which was 10 days before the start of the tournament. The early deadline,
which I never meant to strictly adhere to, was to allow me time to mail the entries to
Neal Fox, who was then to computerize all the draws. He would thus have all the latest
ratings, people from the same area would not have to play each other in the early
rounds, and the exact starting times of everyones matches would be known. In
addition, everyones matches would be spaced to give players ample rest between
matches.
But by the actual entry deadline, I had only 50 responses. 90 responses actually
came in Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday before the tournament and even at the
tournament! These late entries were mostly phone calls which I still feel ambivalent
about. Phone entries give players the luxury of having their names placed in the draw
with the possibility that theyll default all their matches without paying a cent. This
causes the draw sheet to resemble London after a WW II air raid.
What made me even angrier was that those same players with their last minute,
unpaid-for-ahead-of-time entries would complain about the draw. Hey, we play each
other all the time. Could you change us? [Change them? I dont think so.] Since this
was my first tournament I didnt feel like telling anybody to go to hell. Thus I was
rather obliging and made several changes on many of the draw sheets. If everyone had
mailed in their entries, it would have been unlikely that players from the same club
258

would have had to play one another. Some players actually came up to the control desk
and insisted they had called in their entries for certain events when they had done no
such thing. But the schlemiel that I am, I gave them all the benefit of the doubt. The
draw sheets were loaded with additions and changes. [Think young Chuck Zakarin
enjoyed posting draws? These would have kept him busy.]
This led to an incident with a player Ill call Player
X that Im trying hard to put out of my system. As a result
of all the additions and changes Player X played an
opponent that he was not originally scheduled to play who
beat him. After his defeat, Player X came to the desk in a
rage. Id like to make a complaint, he practically yelled. I
asked what it was. I had to play my opponent after a
change was made on the draw sheet. I informed him that
his complaint was too late because the match was already
played. And with that I turned my attention back to setting
up matches. But Player X would not leave me alone. I
know the rules, he said, and once a draw sheet is made
and posted, thats it.
Meanwhile there were 5 empty tables as this was
going on, because Player X was occupying all my
attention. Ignore him, I thought, and maybe hell go away.
But no such luck! I felt like telling him to go drown
himself. But my better judgment prevailed. I told him to
file a complaint with the USTTA. So this is your final
decision? he said. I replied affirmatively. He walked away.
Five minutes later he was back. O.K., Ill accept
your decision, he said, under one conditionthat you
record my loss as a default. I told him I wouldnt do that
for a match that had already been played. I reiterated that
he should have made the complaint before he played the
match. Would he have complained if he had defeated his
opponent? He kept repeating himself over and over again
until finally I was telling him to get the hell away from me.
Chuck Zakarin
But he wouldnt. This made me realize that murder is one
Photo by Mal Anderson
of the easiest crimes to commit.
Later on, after coming back from a rest away from
the control desk, I saw def. in red ink written under the name of Player Xs victorious
opponent on the draw sheet. Soon Player X came to me and said the def. had been
authorized by my partner. I was quite confused. I decided if Chuck Helie, my partner,
had given his O.K. to the default maybe I would accept it. Player X said, Make sure
you report this as a default. I replied that I would, knowing full well that when I sent
the results to Fox I would not report that match as a default. I merely wanted to get
Player X off my back, and if lying was the only way to do it, then I would lie.
I later saw Chuck and asked him if hed given his authorized signature to the
default in question. He didnt even know what I was talking about.I soon realized
that not only was Player X a pain in the ass he was a deceitful pain in the ass.
259

Still later on, someone said to me, Whos that guy that just ripped a draw
sheet off your wall? The wall draw sheets were the ones with the scores on them. I
looked up and saw player X ripping a draw sheet into tiny pieces. I realized that not
only was he a deceitful pain in the ass, he was also out of his mind. I ran up to him and
asked him for my draw sheet back. He handed me these shreds of paper and said, I
wanted to save this for evidence. I just nodded. I didnt want to argue with him any
longer. He said, Be sure to report the match as a default. Sure I will, was my
sarcastic reply. As it turned out, hed ripped the wrong draw sheet. So much, then, for
Player X.
Another player, whom Ill call Y, before he left said, Can I have a box of balls
for practice? I told him he could for $1.50. How about a dollar? he said. I again told
him $1.50. Good players can take all the towels they want from the Holiday Inn, but
when I have to give them balls, its coming out of my pocket. As it happened, he stole
the box of balls before he left. I used to have great respect for him.
I drove Z to and from the Syracuse Open last April. I had to keep lending
him money. Later I was congratulated by many for donating to the Player Z fund. 600
miles of Who do you think has the best body in table tennis? was really more than I
could stand. But if I didnt reply that his was, I knew Id have to quickly change my
mind in self-defense. In Syracuse I was greeted with, Bob, I need $10 very badly. You
know I always pay back my debts. All the way to Syracuse Id kept hearing how bad
starches and alcohol were for you. Z left the tournament with the $10 Id given him
and bought a couple of cases of beer. He offered some to everyone in sight, including
me. In Syracuse I arranged for him to sleep at someones house to save him (and me)
money. (He did, in all fairness, pay me backnine months later.) I was pretty damn
nice to him.
Before the Ocean State Classic I received about 15 phone calls from Player Z.
These calls were really pains. Bob, I dont think I can play in your tournament. I
switched rubber and Im playing like shit. I informed him of the AA event, which he
was eligible for, and I heard, Please deposit another dime. Your minute is upand
then nothing, were disconnected. I was getting carbon copy calls like this for a week.
He was indecisive about whether or not he would play after each callwhich was
always ended by an operators voice. The day before the tournament he called me four
times. Losing my patience, I told him to make up his goddamned mind or he wouldnt
be in the draw. He said to put him in the Open and the AA.
He was at the tournament all Saturday. Despite three practice tables that
were available to him, he told me that he needed to familiarize himself with the
conditions of the tournament. As a special favor to him, I let him practice for 10
minutes of valuable tournament time on a tournament table. The next day after his
continued absence, I had to default him (of course he hadnt paid for his entry).
Later, I saw him in the hall. Bob, Ive got a bad hangover. The best thing for a
couple of hangovers is a couple of beers so Ill be alright later. Right now Im
tired. I left him in disgust. He is forever barred from playing in any future
tournament I might hold. I might change my mind later but thats how I feel now. I
was never quite sure why Player Z had been barred from playing in another club in
this area. Now I wonder why every club hasnt barred him. Hes constantly talking
about his principles yet he never displays any.
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As you can see, in telling it like it is, Im very disillusioned by the behavior of
many of table tenniss top players. One such player began to get on my nerves when he
said, Announce my match. All those people have come to see me. What annoys me is
that the players want a Players Association yet they behave in an incredibly
unprofessional manner.
Tournament Director Glass said his expenses for this Ocean Classic amounted to
$1,500, so we barely broke even. Hed like to offer more prize money, but cant without
getting sponsorship, and he doesnt know how to do that. Bob has the ambition to make
Rhode Island a major table tennis area. He says he increased the membership of his club
from 20 to 50 members, and saved the B League from dissolving, built it up to about 35
active players. But, he says, none of the longtime A League players in his club care about the
development of other players and placing Rhode Island table tennis on the map.More B
Leaguers entered the Ocean State Classic than A Leaguers. The bulwarks of the RITTA were
the least enthusiastic supporters. Even trying to get some of them to attend the tournament
was like trying to get blood out of a stone.
So in closing this chapter I might sayechoing what Mort Zakarin trying to promote
his Pro Tour had saidthat such club habitus are unhelpful to the development of the Sport.
In this regard theres not much difference between them and the eccentric, even the
occasionally deranged, player Bob allowed himself to suffer painfully at his tournament.
Deluged Bob wasfloundering in the serio-comic waves that batter U.S. Table Tennis.

L-R: Fred Henry and Dick Evans

discuss rackets at control desk.

SELECTED NOTES.
*Id wondered if
the Fred Henry entered in
this 1976 British
Columbia tournament
could possibly be the
Fred Henry who, playing
out of Columbus, Ohio,
won the 1965 U.S. Open
U-15 Doubles with Tom
Williams. And then I got
this Sept. 6, 2004 e-mail
from Dick Evans:

Anne Shook and her husband, Al,

were very large supporters of the Columbus
[Ohio] T.T. Courts during our decade in that city
(before we sold the club to D. J. [Lee] and I left
for Berkeley). But our biggest financial supporter was Ted Henry, Freddie Henrys
father, who was the Director of Employee Relations at Nationwide Insurance.
Nationwide not only had multi teams in our leagues but Ted almost single-handedly
organized those leagues for us. He retired to the Carolinas and died several years ago.
His son, Fred, is a theoretical mathematician in Vancouver, B.C., the last contact I had
with him 20 years ago.
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Chapter Eighteen
1976: Spring TournamentsI ( Seemiller/
Bhushan win Easterns).
Lou Bochenski (TTT, May-June, 1976,
18) calls his Apr. 10-11 tournament at the Paddle
Palace, Farrells Ice Cream Open. And why
shouldnt he? This sponsor promises to the event
winners All the Ice Cream You Can Eat once a
month for a year at any Farrells Ice Cream
Restaurant in the worldquite an incentive, eh?
In addition, each of the following winners and
runner-ups will get a redwood plaque.
Results: Open Singles (top
players choose whether they want to
play in preliminary round robins or
not): Peter Joe over Ron Carver, 16, 19, 21. AAs: Dean Doyle over Bryan
Wright. AA Doubles: Bobby Rinde/Mike Bochenski over Don Nash/Jay Crystal.
As: Juggy Padda over Seattles Alan Michael. Bs: Jon Birck over Gene
McManus. B Doubles: Pat Collins/Nash over McManus/Richard Remington. Cs:
McManus over Rick Livermore. Ds: Bill Preston over Harold Fredrickson, deuce
in the 3rd, then over Marie Mason. Es: Aaron Ho over Liz Kurtz whod eliminated
Bennett Hillman, -17, 21, 21. Fs: Bob Helmick over Jan Collins, 18 in the 3rd,
Rick
then over Garry LeClair. Gs: Jim Pipes over Joe Shank. High School: Joe over
Livermore
Eddy Lo. U-15s: Mike Oslund over Johnny Chew, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over
Rinde.
Bob Partridge says that his Mar. 20-21 Concord Spring Open
will be remembered for its excellent facilities, top participation, cash
prizes, flawless organization, and, hear it again, CASH PRIZES. A
total of $200 was provided for five of the 117 entrantsthe first
three places in Open Singles and the first two places in the As. Bob
himself seemed to think the reason for this biggest tournament in
Northern California since the Pacific Coast Championships of 1971
was due to the cash offered and, after finishing in the black this year,
he promised more prize money next year.
Results: Open Singles: Dean Galardi ($100), -14, 18, 19, 20,
over Al Everett who two weeks earlier had lost to Joong Gil Park in
the semis of Parks L.A. Open. Jack Howard wasnt quoted on his
semis loss to Everett, but he is knownperhaps on relaxing after his
3rd-Place win over Henry Fungto enjoy telling a word-play joke or
two. The Calvin Coolidge one, for instance. Once, said Jack, a
Bob Partridge
Photo by Mal Anderson
reporter persisted in trying to get a quote from this President who
was notoriously close-mouthed. Friendly-like, the reporter said to
Silent Cal, Cmon, Ill bet I can get you to say three words. To which Coolidge
immediately replied, You lose.
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As: the loser in this event final was Renos Dinh Van Vu,
beaten in 5 by Rob Lange. But then Vu bounded back to win the Bs
over Dennis Lamenti. A-B Doubles: Shonie Aki/John Soderberg
over Bob Green/Masaaki Tajima. Cs: Erwin Hom over Givens. Ds:
Hom again, over Holman. C-D Doubles: Holabird/Stump over
Mansourian/Kumer, 24-22 in the 4th. Es: Radley over Cummings. E
Doubles: Cummings/Downing over Thomas/Irwin. Seniors:
Howard over George Makk. Juniors: Fung over Tito LeFranc who
nipped Hom, 23-21 in the 3rd.
At the Mar. 27-28 Huntington Beach Invitational there were
Masaaki Tajima
three round robin divisions. Gold winners: 1. Ray Guillen whod
been runner-up at Parks tournament. 2. Everett. 3. Dennis Barish.
4. Galardi. Silver winners: Roger Yee, runner-up at Parks in both the As (to Craig
Manoogian) and Bs (to Mike Dempsey). 2. Sam Ahn, C finalist at Parks to Mas Hashimoto.
3. Kent Lofthouse. 4. Jim Boatman. Bronze: Wally Majdoub. 2. Duk Kim Chong. 3. Kevin
Quan. 4. Dave McQuiston.
Bobby Gusikoff ran a Feb. 21-22 Valentine Open at his Club, but, along with never sending
the results to Topics, didnt complete the paperwork, or pay the $50 sanction fee. Pacific Regional
Tournament Director Richard Alden in a Sept. 12 letter to Disciplinary Chair Dr. Michael Scott said
that Bob finally, after being six weeks overdue, did complete the paperwork and pay the sanction
fee. When Alden indulgently allowed Gusikoff to run an April 24-25 Bicentennial Open,* he didnt
get the $50 sanction fee for that, and, worse, didnt get the $94.50 collected for rating and permit
fees and for memberships sold. His requests for payment brought no response. Jerry LaLande,
President of the California TTA District Affiliate, tried to collect the $144.50, but to no avail. Bob
also bounced a couple of checks to the USTTA. So Alden wants some action taken against
Gusikoff. And Mike Scott wants action taken against any tournament director who doesnt
acknowledge having taken in membership fees.
On Sept. 23, Gusikoff writes Dr. Scott:
I am sorry that you have been bothered by this incident. As I have explained to
both Alden and LaLande since the Club opened I have had nothing but financial
problems. The Club cost me $15,000 to open. For the first six months I sat there by
myself and lost quite a bit more money. Since the last few months have been much
better I have started to pay off several debts connected with the Club. I thought that
the USTTA would understand all this and be patient about the money owed. After all it
is also to the USTTAs benefit if the Club stays open.
I have put the money owed
the USTTA on my list of debts. I
will be getting to that in the month
of Oct. I will get it paid before Nov.
1st.
Albuquerques Tom Wintrich, who,
years away yet, will replace Boggan as
Topics Editor, writes his first article for the
magazine. The Game isnt easy, he says

Tom Wintrich
Photo by William H.
Beetle Bailey

263

not like his last high-flyin fun pastimeso a players attitude is

important if hes to progress. Those like himself wanting to
become proficient must be patient, calm, strive for consistency.
Dont get mad, he says. Tom also reports on Albuquerques Apr.
3-4 Manzano Openits 71 entries making it New Mexicos
largest and most successful tournament to date. Prizes offered
included $375 in cash, $57 in gift certificates, and numerous
trophies.
Results: Championship Singles: Bob Dawidowicz ($150)
over Dr. Helmuth Vorherr ($75). Bobs consistent defense and
occasional attack proved too strong for the smiling obstetrician
who displayed his customary cool composure and exceptionally
good strokes. 3rd Place: Randy Nedrow over Charles Butler in
5. Championship Doubles: Dawidowicz/Butler over Nedrow/
John Harrington. Womens: Kasia Dawidowicz over Henrietta
Moore. Mixed Doubles: Dawidowicz/Dawidowicz over Dave
Dewald/Thompson. New Mexico Singles: Ed Stein over Mike
Mui. Seniors: Vorherr over Stein, -16, 21, 21, then over Mac
Bohdan Bob Dawidowicz
Horn. Juniors: Nedrow over Dawidowicz, 24-22 in the 4th.
Photo by Don Gunn
As: Mark Davee over
Harrington, 21, 21. A Doubles:
Mui/Stein over Bob Leatherwood/James Wherry. Bs: Nedrow
over Stein. B Doubles: Davee/Byrd over Dennis/Liz Gresham.
Cs: Paul Williams over longtime local player and event
organizer Vic Smitty Smith, doubtlessly decked out, as Toni
Gresham would remember him, in natty new color-coordinated
playing attire and sweats (accented with brand new white tennis
shoes). Ds: Oyemaja over H.K. Chan. Consolations: Robert
Vic Smitty Smith
Compton, who in the coming years will provide many great
photos for Topics, over T. Fraley.
The little town of Sloan, Iowa (pop. 900) put on a 2-star tournament that saw
Apichart Sears win the Mens by downing John Soderberg, 18 in the 4th in the semis and Faan
Hoan Liu, 3-0, in the final. 3rd Place: Soderberg over Jim Lynum. Womens: Ethelanne Risch
over Vicki Koenig. Open Doubles: Sears/Soderberg over Faan Hoan/Faan Yeen Liu.
As: Mark Kennedy over Tom Walsh. Bs: Walsh over Engelmann. B Doubles: Todd
Petersen/Don Ehrisman over Lynum/Engelmann. Cs: Gordon Gealy over Dave Zelle, 19, -23,
21. Seniors: Lionel Harris over Dr. John ONeal. Senior Novice: Engelmann, deuce-in-the-3rd,
over Rex Harris wholl later be interested in T.T. history and a Minnesota Hall of Fame. Boys
U-17, U-15: Liu over Petersen. Girls U-17: Liu over Jackie Spaulding. U-17 Doubles:
Petersen/John Stillions over Soderberg/Durand, 23-21 in the 3rd. Boys U-13: Gary Hicks over
Scott Butler (Topics first reference to Scott who in 1978 will be the U.S. U-11 Champion).
Boys U-11: Butler over Daylin Risch.
Up at Disneys, Scott Grant (TTT, May-June, 1976, 23) lets us in on Charlie
Wuvanichs resolve: Monday, says Charlie, I stop smoking and start training 15 hours a
day. Its not clear to me whether Charlie made this resolve before or after his play Sunday in
Disneys Apr. 11-12 tournament. But after recent losses to Danny Seemiller and D-J Lee,
264

Wuvanich could no longer be considered U.S. #1, so he was a bit down and indulging himself,
if only to dramatize to his psyche what needed to be done. The night before he was to play in
that $100 Sunday event, he was smoking for the first time in seven months and polishing off a
six-pack. But next day he wonbeat everyone, including his two Thai rivals, Chan and
Sears. Since Air Siam had extended Wuvanichs travel sponsorship, hed be staying in the U.S.
for a while longer and would like to play for this country at the 77 Worlds, but might be
obliged to represent Australia.
[He wants to play for the U.S.] and give up a chance to play in the top bracket [where
Australia was positioned], said Grant incredulously. Thats like turning down a date with a
Penthouse foldout in order to take out your sister. (Steve has a point of course. But didnt he
know how close we came to getting into the top division at the last two Worlds? And didnt
he recognize the two Seemillers improvement since then? Wouldnt Charlie, if he played for
the U.S., have the exciting chance of advancing to the top divisionwhereas, if he played for
Australia, and for the most part they got clobbered, would that be exciting?
Chan hadnt risen to the occasion against Seemiller, or Lee either. Also, he was nursing
a sore leghis left calf was still somewhat tightafter hed slipped on a waxed basketballturned-t.t court at the Baton Rouge tournament, and it was thought hed aggravated an
existing knee injury. Here in the semis, while Wuvanich had crushed Sears, Chan had crushed
Soderberg. Which, since John was playing well enough to beat Pete Tellegen and Rich Sinykin,
set up a well-contested, if playfully played match by Sears, for 3rd Place.
That
Sears,
whod
never lost
a
tournament
match to
Soderberg,
was
putting on
a show for
John Soderberg
the 150
spectators
Sheri won trophy for
spaghetti dinner?
was
obvious when he repeatedly tried the super-short, super-backspin
serve that returns over the net by itself. Soderberg missed two of these, couldnt touch
another, but chop-killed the last two over his opponents head, winging them right toward the
picture-poster of Sears on the wall. More fun for the players and spectators when Soderberg
would hit and drop and Sears would lob and rush to and from the table. Sheri Soderberg
attributed Johns eventual 21-18-in-the-5th win to a spaghetti-dinner she made for her
brother, but John was saying something about his girl friend and the night before.
George Buben, reporting on the Annual Michigan Closed at Cobo Hall, says there
were 123 entries vying to be State Champions in 24 events, 8 of which also had Consolation
winners. Results: Open Singles: Mike Veillette, 18-in-the-4th, over Bill Lesner whod knocked
out defensive star Pete Kelly in 5, after Pete had eliminated Jeff Smart in 5. Kurt Lloyd upset
#2 seed Mike Baber, winner of the March Western Michigan Open at Woodland. Mens
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Consolation: Cody Jones over Ron Ryel. Open

Doubles: Lloyd/Baber over Larry Wood/Ryel in 5.
Womens: Maureen Farmer over Amy Hopping, 19
in the 4th. Mixed Doubles: Veillette/Michele
McKinstry over Jeff/Yvonne Smart, 23-21 in the 4th.
Esquires: Chuck Burns over Bill Rapp whod gotten
by Laurie Ault in 5. Seniors: Tom Waters over
Burns, 18 in the 5th. Senior Consolations: Ward
Wood over Buben, def. Boys U-17: Lloyd over Mike
Moriarty. Boys U-17 Consolations: Steve Veillette
over Mike Ahearn. Girls U-17: Hopping over Debra
Payotelis. Boys U-15: Steve Claflin over Mike Budi.
Girls U-15: Payotelis over Hopping. Boys U-13:
Claflin over Len Ores. U-17 Doubles: Moriarty/
Debbie Payotelis
Claflin over Lloyd/Huler.
Photo by Don Gunn
As (U-2026 Rating
Points): Lloyd, just come back from a couple of months coaching from
Dal-Joon Lee, over Mark Delmar, 19 in the 4th, then over Wood, 18 in
the 4th. A Consolation: Ron Ryel over Larry Ryel. A Doubles: Bob
Quinn/Bob Tunnell over Cody Jones/Tom McEvoy, 19, 26. Bs (U1901): McEvoy over Raj Sheth in 5. B Doubles: Jones/McEvoy over
Quinn/Tunnell, 19 in the 4th, then over Aaron Smith/Samaresh Chatterji.
Cs (U-1776): Gunter Pawlowski over Dan Hayes in 5, then over Smith
(after being down 2-0). C Consolations: Bob Poyser over Bob Beatty.
C Doubles: Pawlowski/Poyser over Ed Jerome/Jim Rushford in 5, then
Dan
over Eric Lichtenheld/Buben whod eliminated Smith/Chatterji in 5. Ds
Hayes
th
(U-1651): Smith over Paul Lipson, 23-21 in the 4 , then over Budi. D
Doubles: Gary Calkins/Lichtenheld over Budi/Smith whod escaped
Ahearn/S.Veillette (after being 2-0 down). Es (U-1501): Fred Noocha
over Joel Plotkin. Novice: Ores over Noocha.
Mike Haun and Mark Delmar (TTT, May-June, 1976, 25) not only clue us in on the
winners of the Mar. 20-21 D-J Lee Open, but speak of a Saturday night Sun-Do exhibition
that added weight to the tournament. We can get an idea of what that exhibition was like when
were told that, to everyones surprise, D-J Lee performed a little Sun-Do himself:
He lay down on the floor (face up) with a very large, flat 120-pound rock on
his stomach, spent several minutes in concentration, then had John Spencer (about 200
pounds) and Sheldon Narvy (210 pounds) simultaneously jump up and down on him.
Afterwards, D-J just got up as if nothing had happened.
Winners: Open Singles: 1. Insook Bhushan ($75), 3-0. 2. Alan Nissen ($50), 2-1 (over
Spencer in 5). 3. Mark Delmar ($25), 1-2 (over Greg Collins in the quarters, 18, -18, 21, 18).
4. John Spencer ($15). Open Doubles: Lee/Nissen over Eugene Kunyo/Mike Kinney.
Womens: Bhushan ($15) over Denise Horn ($10) whod eliminated Kathy Wampler in 5.
Esquires: Sam Shannon over Joe Blatt, 19 in the 4th. Seniors: John Maley ($20) over Kunyo
($10) whod outlasted Shannon in 5. Boys U-17: Jeff Williams over Se-Kwan Oh (D-Js
266

nephew), -9, -16, 19, 29, 17. Girls U-17: Genevieve Hayes over
Jodee Williams. Boys U-15: Williams over Steve Claflin. Boys U-13:
Claflin over Williams, 16 in the 5th.
As: Spencer ($30) over Kevin Legge in 5, then over Randy
Eller ($20). A Doubles: Ron Schull/Bob Powell over Kunyo/Ron
DeMent in 5. Bs: Kenny ($20) over Powell ($10). B Doubles:
Schull/Powell over DeMent/Rod Mount in 5. Cs: Kenny over D.
Samiec. Ds: Oh over #1 seed Harry Hawk and #2 seed Les Harrison.
Consolation: Schull over Harrison.
Results of the Mar. 13-14 Mid-South
Open in Memphis: Cash Open: 1. Don
(Speedy) Gaither, 3-0. 2. Larry Thoman, 1-2
(over Doza, -13, 14, 21, 12). 3. Bill Edwards, 1Ron and Caryl Schull
2 (over Thoman, 17 in the 5th). 4. Rich Doza, 12 (over Edwards, 19 in the
5th). Mens: Gaither over Thoman, 19 in the 4th, then
over Ralph Kissel in 5. Mens Doubles: Larry Bartley/
Kissel over Bob Flowers, Sr./Jr., 18 in the 5th. Womens:
Leslie Harris over Nancy Hill, 18 in the 4th. Mixed
Doubles: Clay Dunn/Harris over Helm/Debbie
Bingaman. Seniors: Flowers over Mike Harris who
outlasted Dick Coffman, deuce in the 4th. Under 17s:
Joe Tobias over Jim Short. As: Thoman over Peter
Tang, then over Kissel, both in 5. Bs: Dick Coffman
over Julian Wright in 5, then over Doza. B Doubles:
Flowers, Jr./Tobias over Dunn/Denis Fritchie whod
advanced over Chamoun/Pritchard. Cs: Jack Coppedge
over Wright. Ds: Pritchard over Sammy Peters in 5,
then over Joe Ferguson whod stopped Wright in 5.
Consolation: Wright over Lee Edwards, 18 in the 5th.
Wendell Dillons having some bad luck at his
Atlanta tournaments. At his Winter Open the heat
wouldnt turn on most of the time, and at his Atlanta
Larry Thoman
Team Tournament (TTT, May-June, 1976, 21) hes
Courtesy of Ross Brown
sorry to say that
Vandalism struck the tournament before we got started. After we had set up
on Friday night and gone home, vandals broke in and tore the place apart. They
knocked down the barriers, knocked the nets off the tables, sliced up one of our Hanno
nets, and broke a table. Fortunately by the time the players arrived Saturday morning
we were able to get it all set up again except for putting a few nets back on the tables
[so without nets they didnt have as many tables as theyd planned on?which wasnt
a problem?].
There was a problem for Wendell when two teams in the round robin didnt show and
had to be defaulted. How score the wins? Obviously 2-0 (21-0, 21-0) wouldnt be fair if later a
267

tie-breakers involved. So Wendell urges the USTTA Rules Committee to come up with some
definitive solution.
Results: Championship Division: 1. Mutt and Jeff (Ralph Kissel/Don Gaither) won the
$100 1st Prize with a 4-1 record. 2. Florida Rockets (Pat/Bev Patterson) took the $60 2nd Prize
with a 3-2 record. 3. Newgys (Jerry Thrasher/Nancy Newgarden) settled for the $30 3rd prize
with a 3-2 tie-breaker loss. The last ties were crucial. Mutt and Jeff downed Pork and Chop
(Pete May, Herb Beckham), for their 4th win, but because they had a loss to Newgys, all
depended on the tie between Newgys (3-1) and the Florida Rockets (2-2). Turned out that
Thrasher (15-0) won his two matches, Newgarden lost her two, and Thrasher/Newgarden lost
the deciding mixed doubles match to the Pattersons. Best upset wins were Jim McQueen over
Don Gaither, and Newgarden over Jimmy Flynn.
Other Results: Class A: Tarzan and Boy (Ross Brown and Doug Wilcock), 4-0 ($50)
over Giant Panda (Hong Tchen and Jeff Tsui), 3-1 ($30). Class B: Gainsville, FL (Don Story
and Ed Baker), 4-0 ($30) over Catbird and Raven (Flip Carico and Kermit Raxter), 3-1.
Tom Baudry (TTT, May-June, 1976, 1; 22) says he began
raising the $3,000 he wanted for his Mar. 27-28, 1976 Bicentennial
Professional Invitational Tournament as far back as July, 1975. He
sold raffle tickets and program ads far in advance because, in
addition to the $2,000 prize money, he wanted $1,000 for expenses.
This being a professional tournament, he said, I certainly wanted
the planning, publicity, organization, and execution to be nothing
less than professional. In assessing the venue, he says:
Tom Baudry

The Pro lounge was well accepted. This was a

comfortable area with free cold drinks and lounge chairs for
only the Pro players and officials. The playing facility was
spacious and beautiful and would have been perfect if not
for the damn slippery floor. That was of an oak gymnasium
type and looked great, but it evidently had ballroom wax on
the surface. I was extremely disappointed because of this
problem, as were many others, but all I could do was provide a bucket of water.
Tom considered the tournament (113 entries) a success, and he publicly thanked 21
people for their indispensable help.
In the Pro Singles (41 entries), there were two 8ths matches of note:
Monty Merchant over Perry Schwartzberg, 15 in the 5th, and #1 seed Charlie
Wuvanich, 13, -18, 7, -20, 16, over Gary Fagan. In the 2nd, Charlie seemed
to be having trouble with his 3rd-ball kill, and Gary [was] blocking loops
extremely well. In the 4th, Fagan rallied from 17-13 downwas looping
well, while Wuvanich was less aggressive, seemed upset or not feeling well.
In this 8ths round ($25), the other losers were: Charles Butler, H. El
Dakroury, David Babcock, John Quick, David Harville, and Billy Joe
Varner. Quarters losers ($50), all in straight games: Paul Raphel, Dave
Sakai, Fuarnado Roberts, and Monty Merchant.
In the one semis, D-J Lee staved off Wuvanichs 3rd-game last-gasp
rally at deuce. In the other, Chuchai was feeling pressured by Dannys
Billy Joe Varner
268

aggressive, accurate kills. He seemed to over-react and missed a lot of serves. After
managing only 24 points against Seemiller in the first two games, Chan, down 20-11 in the
3rd, suddenly slipped on the floor, twisted his knee, and was down in severe pain. Roberts
came quickly to his aid and carried him off the court. Danny went over to Chan, concerned for
his injurybut there was no way Chan could come back on court. Charlie and Chan each
earned $150.
Against Danny, in the 1st, D-J, down 20-18, failed to return serve. In the 2nd, Baudry
said he witnessed a tremendous hard-hitting and super-retrieving volley climaxed by one of
Dannys fantastic leap kills that finished that game for D-J. But back our 6-time Champion
came to win the 3rd and 4th. Then in the 5th, down 11-4 but still battling, he couldnt recover.
Seemillercall him King of the Bayou$1,000; Lee: $300.
Other Results: Championship
Doubles: Roberts/Sakai over Kwok/Chu, 17
in the 5th. Womens: Pam Ramseycall her
Queen of the Bayouover Leslie Harris.
Mixed Doubles: Sakai/Ramsey over
Flowers/Harris, 17 in the 5th. Pro
Consolations: Steve Dodgen over Larry
Thoman, 17 in the 5th. As: Dodgen over
Babcock. Bs: Bruce Smith over Denis
Fritchie. Cs: Steve Arnold over Paul Green.
Seniors: Bob Flowers over Hugh Lax. U17: Perry Schwartzberg over Mark Stoolz,
16 in the 5th. U-15: Stoolz over Don
Flowers. U-13: Julian Millan over Stoolz, 19
Danny Seemiller and Pam Ramsey in the 4th.
King and Queen of the Bayou
Winners at the Orlando Spring Open:
Championship Singles: Greg Gingold over Elman Conception whod outlasted Bernie Bukiet,
19 in the 5th. Championship Doubles: Steve/Ron Rigo over Gingold/Olga Soltesz after Greg/
Olga had squeaked by Pat/Bev Patterson, -17, 22, 20. Ladies:
Patterson over Soltesz. Mixed Doubles: Pattersons over S. Rigo/
Soltesz. As: Conception over John Elliott. Bs: B. Patterson over
Chris Ward, 17 in the 5th. B Doubles: Hess/R. Rigo over Don Story/
Baker. Cs: Doug Wilcock over Gerry Maglio. U-17: Wilcock over
Rigo, 19 in the 3rd. Seniors: Maglio over Ted Bourne.**
The anonymous (or perhaps not so anonymous) reporter (TTT,
May-June, 1976, 27) commenting on the Mar. 20-21 William Penn
Open played at the Philadelphia Club, said that the story of the
tournament goes to Herb Vichnin.

Herb Vichnin

[He] won all three doubles events, each with a different

partner. The Handicap Doubles he won with Erich Haring, and the A
Doubles with Dan Green of Long Island. He teamed up with Bill
Sharpe in the Mens Doubles, knocking off the #3 seeded team of
Mike Bush/Roger Sverdlik, the #2 seeded team of Hamid
Hayatghaib/Stan Smolanowicz, and the #1 seeded team of Fuarnado
269

Roberts/Tim Boggan in that order. No one has ever done that at one of our 30-some
Philly tournaments before. The only thing which comes close is when Danny Seemiller
and Joe Rokop won the Junior, A, and Mens Doubles in the team tournament about
three years ago.
Other Results: Mens: Roberts over Hayatghaib whod upset Bush. AAs: Parviz
Mojavarian over Bruce Plotnick who, playing out of his mind, had upset Bush, then got
cramps in both legs and was finished. As: Dave Shapiro over Jeff Zakarin. (Scott Boggan
upset Stan Smolanowicz in the Mens two straight! He went 19 in the third before losing to
Sharpe in the AA event right after he took Al Allen, -13, 15, 20. He then got killed by Mal
Anderson, 5, 13 and Herb Vichnin, 18, 3 in
the A and B events.) Bs: Eric Boggan (after
Steve Lowry
a trio of upsets over seeded players Hank
McCoullum, Al Allen, and Bob Nochenson)
joined Vichnin in the finals, but the match
wasnt played so that the Boggans could go
home. Cs: Steve Lowry over Bob Renner.
Ds: Lowry over George Rocker. Es: Steve
Weitzen over Erich Haring. Fs: Tony Gegelys
over Don Feltenberger. Gs: Ken Whitener
over Ben Dicher, then over Dudley Chapman.
Ns: Whitener over Chapman.
Ralph Ubry (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 12B), in reporting on the Mar. 27-28 Slippery
Rock Open, played as usual into the early morning hours, tells us that Milda Milacek
successfully defended his Open Championship. In the semis, he 18, 19, 19 defeated Mike
Connelly, a very intelligent and resourceful player, who either kills through him or hits into
the net or off the table. In the final, Milda stopped Larry Goldfarb, 14, 11, 20. Larry looped
and smashed against the crafty Slippery Rock veteranwho countered with blocks and
chops, and with a high spinny lob. In the third game Larry was at his best, at one point firing
seven or eight consecutive smashes past Milacek. Womens (7 entries) went to Slippery Rock
sophomore Ione Wenrich over Barb Loeliger who came out of retirement to advance to the
final. Ione, who finished second in the college regionals at
West Virginia University, now combines her excellent
blocking ability with some quick and timely hitting.
Other Results: Open Teams: 1. Milacek/Gary
Martin. 2. Connelly/Goldfarb. 3. McCoullum/Sam Steiner.
4. Randy Seemiller/Stan Wolf. A Teams: 1. Randy/Timmy
Seemiller. 2. Phil Panno/Wolf. B Teams: 1. Danny
Rzewnicki/Wolf. 2. Keith Bair/Caleb Berd. C Teams: 1.
Caleb Berd
Tim Coxson/Joe Trausch. 2. Peter Chesa/Joe Destefano.
As: Steiner over Martin. Bs: Rick Caravel over T.
Seemiller, 23-21 in the 4th. Cs: Chesa over Trausch, 2422 in the 4th. Ds: Trausch over Rzewnicki. 51-Point
Handicap: Destefano over Gary Mullen. 51-49.
Marc Landman tells us that the Apr. 10-11 Albany
Open was likely the first USTTA tournament ever held on
270

the beautiful State University of New York at Albany campus. Thanks go to Jonathan Roth,
President of the SUNYA Table Tennis Club and his volunteer helpers. The Open Singles was
won by Dave Philip, looping well in the semis against Ray Mack, then in the final against
Mike Lardon whod advanced over Jim Shoots, 18 in the 4th. Open Doubles went to Mack/
Shoots over Philip/Dave Berard. Mixed to Jim Perry/Karen Rugar over Mark Boardman/Lois
Gordon.
Other Results: As: Final: Jack Wiener over Warren Rasmussen. Semis: Wiener over
penholder Richard Chu; Rasmussen over Landman whod upset the #1 seed, Dean Chickering.
A Doubles (at players request, rating limit went from U-3450 to U-3600): Sid Jacobs and
Larry Gold over Berard and Gene Cryzewski who played gallantly and fairly. Bs: SUNYA
grad student Saeed Bohkaree over Perry, after Jim had knocked out Wiener. Cs: Final: Steve
Marceno over Rasmussen, deuce in the 5th. Earlier, Marceno had eliminated top-seed Artie
Brunelle, and Rasmussen had eliminated 2nd seed Bob Kovak and 3rd seed Rick Cooper. Ds:
Kent Abbott over Larry Cooper. (1st-round upset: Steve Carmack over #1 seed Mike Inger.)
Seniors: Jacobs over Perry who outplayed but didnt come close to outvocalizing Stan Winter.
U-17s: Lardon over Cooper and Marceno. U-15s: Schmidt over N. Shanker.
New England Team Championships Director Chuck Helie originally had planned to
have only one Over-2000-rated player on a team. But a Players Association rep complained
that such a limitation would reward mediocrity and not allow geographical regions the
opportunity to field their strongest teams. Unless this limitation was rescinded, he said, his
players would boycott the tournament. Helie felt the arguments had merit and agreed that an
area could field its strongest team.
Results of the Three Divisions: Division III Winner: Lincoln, MA (Margolius and
Dahlen lost only one match; Douty, a very promising young Junior, only two). Singled out
also for praise were John Towle of Connecticut, and Joe Sparveri and Brad Faxon of
Providence. Faxon whod go on to become a famous pro golfer, celebrated as one of the
Tours best putters, was described as coming into his own as a top junior player with a lot of
poise. Connecticuts Katie Vlahakis was called the belle of the tournament. Division II:
Boston (Morris, Hung. Schuld), 2-1, edged Providence III (Fisher, Glass, and Levine), 2-1, on
the basis of a winning percentage (.632 to .619). Standouts were 12-year-old Charlie Hung,
an 1800-rated bundle of energy, and John Fisher, playing in his first sanctioned tournament,
who was undefeated, and came very close to winning the MVP award.
Division I: 1. Connecticut (Sakai, Shapiro, Koulis), 3-0. 2. Boston (Robinson, Allen,
Studley), 2-1. 3. Providence (Helie, Robinson, James), 1-2. 4. Waltham (Dwelly, Hull, Millet),
0-3. Helie didnt like it that he almost had to default the perennial favorites, the Waltham
team, for being over two hours late for their tie with Connecticut. Chuck says theyve
gotten into the habit of expecting preferential treatment from obliging tournament
committees. Granted theyre to be respected as dominant forces in New England table tennis
throughout the years, its time now in the evolution of the Sport when time schedules have to
be enforced. Waltham was shut out by favored Connecticut. Against Boston, Frank Dwelly
defeated Frank Studley and Woody Allen for Walthams only two. Against Providence,
Dwelly, while losing to Ed Raky, produced a three-game masterpiece over steadily-improving
Sparky James. This was probably the most aesthetically pleasing match of the tournament.
Frank took away Sparkys forehand by running him back and forth throughout the match
and the old master [whod be playing tournaments for 30 more years] had the appreciative
crowd gasping.
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Providence couldnt stop Dave Sakai

from taking three, nor Dave Shapiro from
Dave Sakai,
MVP
Winner
backhanding his way by James and Helie. But
Raky figured to chop down Shapiro and did,
and both Ed and Chuck downed Eli Koulis in
3Chuck prevailing 19 in the 3rd. Providence
also gave Boston a bloody, though losing 5-4
battle. Bostons Ralph Robinson, the #2rated player in the tournament, didnt win
threeSparky sparkled against him. Rakys
hard bat also scored for Providence, and his
teammates James and Helie figured out
Studleys Phantom rubber chop (that rubber
does amazing things!). But Bostons Allen
contributed two key 3-game wins by hitting
through James and Helie. So with the tie 4-4, it was Raky vs. Studleyand Franks Phantom
played havoc with Eds game. Boston 5-Providence 4.
In the Boston-Providence tie that would decide the tournament, Sakai won 3 and
Robinson 2. When Shapiro squeaked by Studley, Boston led 4-2. That brought up Allen vs.
Koulis. This one was a contest as to which player could mount the offensive attack first,
Woody trying to hit his big forehand before Eli could hit his super loop. Eli ended up coming
from behind for a big 22 in the 3rd win. Unfortunately, this most important match was
marred by controversial illegal coaching from the sidelines.
Who won the MVP award? Sakai, who in not giving up more than 15 points a game,
led his team to the Championship.
Seemiller/Bhushan Win Easterns
Danny Seemiller, playing
more confidently now after 3
months of encouraging wins here
and abroad, won the Mens Singles
at the Apr. 2-4 Eastern Open in
Riverdale, Maryland. Runner-up
was 6-time U.S. Champion D-J Lee,
as competitive as ever. D-J played
the match of the tournament in the
semis against Charlie Wuvanich
who is reportedly still having a
difficult time shaking off the flu.
With Wuvanich up 2-1 in
games and leading 16-11 in the 4th,
it looked as though there was little
chance of D-J scoring a repeat win
over Charliebut then, as hed
done a week earlier in Baton
Rouge, Lee suddenly came alive,

D-J Lee
Photo by
Mal Anderson

272

ran the score to 20-16 his favor! Yep, took nine straightAll right! hed shout point after
pointas with clenched fists hed stared balefully, intimidatingly at Charlie. And Wuvanich, in
losing this game, would not hit hut be content merely to exchange.
In the 5th, Charlie is up 6-4 because D-Js missed two serves. At the turn, Lee is down
10-6, is saying Ahhh! and smiling, is down 12-6, 15-10 with Wuvanich serving. And then he
starts to rally. Charlie is too passive with his block. Down 15-13, D-J gets an edge. But
Wuvanich scores a kill. Down 17-14, D-J gets an edge. Then follows with a clean crosscourt
shot. Still he cant even it up as Wuvanich kills a forehand.Up 19-16, Charlie has the serve.
But D-J pulls to within one again. Up 19-18 Wuvanich serves and stamps his footbut loses
the point. And now D-J goes ahead 20-19. Charlie gets a net but stands a split second too long
as D-J, jumping in, returns itwins the game and match.
Charlie, who in international play had been repeatedly reprimanded for his displays of
temper, brings his racket down in frustration. It does or does not take out a little piece of the
table. Quickly he disappears with Chan and President Disney into a back room.
Chan has not done too well either. Hes been bothered by the knee injury he suffered
while taking a slippery fall the week before in Baton Rouge. He says the knee will have to be
x-rayed. George Brathwaite, whod straight-game ousted Errol Caetano in the 8ths, played
well against Chuchai on the slow tables heretook him down 21-19 in the 4th. Some were
saying that against George Chan should have stayed at the table and spun more. Other Mens
matches worth a mention: Wuvanich over Errol Resek, 17 in the 4th, and Ricky Seemiller over
Fuarnado Roberts, 23-21 in the 4th.
D-J returns to his equipment booth, looks for some honey. D-J, says a friend, you
can have all the honey you want. He relaxes by looking into his Sony Videocorderwatches
once again his match with Danny in the Mid-West Open in Dayton in February.
In addition to telling us that hed received the strongest entry ever for an Easterns
32 entries with a 2100 rating or betterDirector Bob Kaminsky will have more to say about
the tournament shortly. Meanwhile, Ill fill you in on the other events.
Results: Womens: Insook Bhushan, 20, 17, 18, over Alice Green Sonne whod reached the
finals with a 4-game win over Irena Cordas. (In the Mens quarters, Insook lost to Wuvanich, 18 in
the 4th, prompting Charlie to sardonically lift both his hands in victory. Which prompts me to recall
that when Pradit came to the U.S. from Thailand he wouldnt play a tournament match against a
woman.) Mens Doubles: Seemiller/Seemiller over Wuvanich/Chan. Womens Doubles: Bhushan/
Sonne over Cordas/Barbara Kaminsky in 5. Mixed Doubles: D. Seemiller/Bhushan over Caetano/
Cordas. Esquires: Hal Green over George Rocker. Senior Men: Tim Boggan over Bill Sharpe
whod taken out Green, 20, -19, 16, 19. Senior Women: Yvonne Kronlage over
Xuan Ferguson, 19 in the 3rd, then over Kaminsky. Senior Doubles: Boggan/Mort
Zakarin over Bill Sharpe/George Rocker.
As: Greg Collins in 5 over Dave Shapiro whod gotten by Mark
Wampler, -19, 14, 22, 14. Bs: Charlie Disney over Barry Robbins, 17 in the
5th. B Doubles: Scott Boggan/George Hellerman over Herb Vichnin/Neal Fox.
Cs: Steve Lowry over Bill Walk. Ds: Erich Haring over Jim Meredith whod
escaped Mort Greenberg (from down 2-0). Es: Clyde Vincent over John
Burchnall. (Joseph C. H. Lee complained that, though the Class E draw
posted on the wall showed the pairings of the 70+ entries, nothing was filled
out except the name of the winner.) Mens Consolation: Hamid Hayatghaib
over Yung Ko. Womens Consolation: Donna Newell over Gloria Amoury.
Yung Ko
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Parent/Child
Doubles: Tim/
Eric Boggan over
Fred/Carl Danner,
19, -21, 17. Boys
U-17: Bruce
Plotnick over
Perry
Schwartzberg in
5. Girls U-17:
Jackie Heyman
Jeff Williams
over Virginia
Photo by Mal Anderson
Backaitis. Junior
Doubles:
Plotnick/Schwartzberg over Seemiller/Lowry, 19,
Eric Boggan and David Dickson, III
21, 19. U-15: Mike Stern over Jeff Williams, 24, 12, 22, 17, then over Scott Boggan. U-13: Williams over David Dickson, III, 24, -12, 22, 17,
then over Eric Boggan, 18 in the 4th. Under 11: Richard Spear over Mark Adams, -21, 22, 13,
then over Algis Penkiunas whod downed Mike Walk, 19, 19.
Tournament Director Kaminsky reports that he took in a profit of $700, plus or minus
$200 [whatever that means]. His money from the food concessions was $650, from which he
deducted the $320 cost of paying for the food and the girls who dispensed it. He took in $650
from spectators.
Bob estimates that the # of hours his people put in preparing for this tournament was
800. At how much an hour? You guess. Bob himself gave up a lot to spend time running this
Easterns. He denied himself a $25 an hour consultants fee. Could have delivered a paper at a
scientific symposium too.
There was good publicity. Six to eight reporters covered the event. The Washington
Post sent a man for two days. Bob says he got as much publicity as when the Chinese
visitedespecially after the tournament. The pics the papers wanted were generally of local
people. Unexplainably, a picture of Fred Danner (swinging his forehand perhaps) and not
Danny Seemiller made the papers. Its clear that the sports writers dont think of table tennis
as a sport. So of course names like Seemiller mean nothing to them.
As a result of the tournament and the ensuing publicity so many new players came into
Bobs club that he says, Well have to start throwing them out again.
Apparently who hed most like to throw outand not just out of his clubare certain
players belonging to the Players Association. Never again will there be major tournaments in
the Washington D.C. area, he says. The players have lost a place where they can play. I dont
need their abuse. Dont need them to phone in 6 entries who dont show.
SELECTED NOTES.
*L.A. realtor Russ Thompson wrote, in a May 17th letter to Jerry LaLande (copy to
USTTA Disciplinary Chair Michael Scott), that at this Bicentennial Open hed been the victim
of an attack by Tom Hall, which was the more surprising because Russ hadnt had any
previous beefs with Tom. Russ describes what happened:

274

Tom Hall and I were engaged in a heated verbal exchange as a result of some
insulting remarks punctuated by extremely foul language directed at me during the match.
This together with what followed can be verified by Bob Gusikoff, Eugene Wilson, Al
Everett, and Mike Joelson, all of whom were present at the time the disturbance occurred.
Tom appeared to be working himself into a rage by calling me some dirty names
and punctuating his remarks by throwing tables and chairs around in the spectator area. I
was in the process of trying to locate my playing bag and warm-up jacket in order to leave
as Bobby Gusikoff was understandably distressed and unable to cope with the situation.
As I started to pick up my bag, Tom Hall leaped on me from the side. The force of
his impact was so great that I fell to the floor with him on top of me, striking my head quite
severely as my body hit the concrete floor. I was stunned momentarily and, from what I
could gather, Gene Wilson, seeing the plight I was in, came to my aid. I was really groggy
from the bang I got on the head and was really in no condition to defend myself from the
Pearl Harbor attack by Tom Hall. I owe Gene Wilson a debt of gratitude for his
intervention; otherwise, according to my doctor, I could have been very seriously injured. I
was wounded in the Italian Campaign in WW2 and suffered a fractured skull and
concussion which took a long time to mend. I was naturally very apprehensive about
theresults of this onslaught!...
Ed (a.k.a. Bill) Ball, a houseman for Gusikoff, said there were two younger
players in the fray and that the imposing Wilson kneed one of them in the head and had to be pulled
off him by Hollywood Indoor Tennis employee Ralph Trager. Good thing Trager, who starred in the
short-lived Hondo Lane TV series and had some boxing experience,.was there to intervene, for
Ed said, I didnt want to get hurt and Gusikoff was equally timid. After the commotion was over,
Ed said the tournament officials insisted the attackers write an apology to Thompson and Wilson
whod re-injured his back wrestling on the floor.
**Dean Norman, in an Aug. 9, 2005 e-mail to me, has a story that connects with Bourne. It
begins with a Doug Cartland/Harry Cook exhibition scheduled at McKinley High School in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa in 1949. Dean was McKinley Highs table tennis champ, so he got the chance to
challenge Cook who, as Ive indicated earlier, died young after a car crash as he was touring with
Cartland. If Dean won this match with Cook, hed get a $25 government bond. So he prepared.
Prepared to lose. But, he says, [I wrote] myself a little joke to use when I won my first point.
After losing 10 straight, he finally hit in a forehand winner.
When the cheering ended, I pointed to Harry and said, You
owe me $1.19. It got a good laugh. And when Dean got in
another of the 4 points hed score, and the eruption died down,
Harry shook his head and muttered, Thats $2.38. As the
exhibition continued, Ted explained the physics of why a
Harry Cook,
topspin drive turns downward and hits the table. Harry looked
1949
like a bored student and replied by shouting, Ah, shaddup and
play!
After the exhibition, Dean says, I asked for autographs,
and found out Doug Cartland was really Ted Bourne. He didnt
say why Doug couldnt be there, and the audience was never
told that Doug wasnt there.

275

Chapter Nineteen
1976: Spring TournamentsII.
Dr. Michael Scott gave us a thorough report (TTT, May-June,
1976, 17) on the EST Open, held Apr. 24 at the Washington TTAs home
site, the basketball court at Seattle Universitys Athletic Pavilion. (Sixteen
tables were spaced comfortably apart, and the floor and the lighting were
excellent.) Sponsoring this tournament was Mr. Jackson Tse, of the Seattle-based EST International
Sport, a Division of the ChinAmerican Corporation. His firm promotes tennis, badminton,
racketball, and USTTA-approved table tennis equipment. Mr. Tse awarded a total of $250 in cash,
individual trophies, and either a table tennis or racketball racket to all event finalists and to those
finishing in the top six places in the Open. Tournament Committee members deserving credit were
Roger Cook (seedings, control desk work), Mike Fraher (who abandoned his Little League
baseball duties for t.t. ones), Pete Kreisler (nope, wasnt at his Forestry job this Saturday), Gene
Treneer (volunteer clean-up man for a day), and Harold Russell (who handled the mike like a pro).
Oh, ohtwo high-ranking Canadian players, Gerry Hamer and Alan Bajkov, were
scheduled to play one another in the 2nd round. They protested, and were supported by B.C.s Eric
Calveley who got the officials to acquiesce, though not without some testiness. Thereafter, Joe
Lees diplomacy and sleight-of-hand with the draw allowed for a prevailing calm.
Results: Open Singles: Tom Ruttinger, who, after a tournament absence of over six
months, had paired with Rob Roberts to win the Alan Michael-directed Seattle March Team
Event, in the semis in 4 over Dean Doyle (with Lou Bochenski coaching Dean), and in the
final in 3 over Bryan Wright. Bryan had knocked out Calveley, 18 in the 5th in the semis, and
Lee in the quarters. Joe, whos switched from penhold to shakehands, is just recovering from
a fractured nose (he claims a bathtub accident). 3rd Place: Doyle over Calveley, 19, -21, 16,
19. Womens: Tyra Parkins over transplanted Texan Jan Collins.
Class I (U-1950): Carl Lehrhoff over Lowell Lo (from down 2-0). Class II (U-1750):
Ex-Vietnamese junior, lefty looper Quang Bui over Army officer Jack Wise who likes to attack
with his anti. Quangs making his first appearance in Topics, but hes about to be noticedat
the 77 U.S. Open hell win the first of his major titles, the U-17 Doubles, with Doyle. Class
III (U-1500): Fred Henry over Cook, 18, 19, 19. Novice: Andy Chow over Joe Romanosky
whod eliminated Wan, 19, -12, 19. Seniors: Dr. Bob Ho, over Dr. Michael Scott, 18, -20, 20
(Bob along the way sportingly allowing Michael extra recovery time from an injury).
Scott is impressed by the new Lehrhoff:
For years Carl has been known to possess the physical skills to be a topranking player, but his volcanic, self-produced mental pressure (manifested only when
competing in table tennis) prevented him from attaining this achievable goal.
A year ago the typical scene was Carl arriving at the club while simultaneously
removing a new $22 paddle from its display box. Precisely within 1/2 to 3/4ths of an
hour, to no undue surprise of his fellow players, this same racket would be hurtling
through the air towards the closest wall. If it failed to disintegrate upon contact Carl
would dramatically step on it as he stomped out of the room.Just a few steps behind
Carl would follow several local scavengers[each hoping to retrieve] the racket to
salvage the new rubber, if not the entire paddle.
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So what do you think happened in the fifth game with Lo when a flash bulb went off
directly in Carls face while he was making a crucial stroke? Spectators cringed expecting
the racket to go sailing just over their heads. But what did the new Carl do? He didnt
even change expression. Maybe hed read Wintrichs article on attitude?
Not only Scott but all of us are impressed with the Bui familys background. On
Mercer Islandthats east of Seattle across Lake Washingtonparishioners of Emmanuel
Episcopal Churchwere going to sponsor a Vietnamese family. So, as Sue Baum tells us
(Mercer Island Reporter, Oct. 9, 1975), they picked the Buis. Why? Because Vietnamese
Army Major Ngoc Lam Bui and his wife, nee Thi Thu Nguyen, had 9 children and, as the
family had decided to stick together, seemed less likely to find a sponsor than other arrivals.
And what a 5-bedroom furnished house the parishioners rented for themit had a ping-pong
table, plus a television, 2 stereos, and a closet full of toys. We are deeply moved, said Ngoc
Lam.
Now more about this Bui family:
A writer-journalist, Lam speaks excellent English and has authored five
political and military books. As an Army major, he was chief of the Historical
Compilation Branch of the General Joint Staff and former Chief of the Enemy
Deception Section, Special Operation Group.
He was President of the Table Tennis Federation of South Vietnam and
Secretary General of the Table Tennis Association of Army Republic, Vietnam.
Lam is most concerned about finding employment. No man in my family has
ever been unemployed, he said.
Lams wife does not speak English, but the older daughters do.
Lams daughters are: Vinh, 21; Lan, 18; Dung, 17; Trinh, 13; Hoa, 10; and
Tam 8.
The oldest son Ninh, 22, is a former security officer of the Vietnam Air Force
and is now attending Portland State University on a scholarship.
The second son, Khoa, 16, is a champion singles and doubles table tennis
player, as is his younger brother Quang, 12.
Well be following Quang for some timebeginning now
with the Sandy Camera Shop Rose Festival Open, held at the
Paddle Palace, June 5Charlie McLarty
6. Prizes for all events
From 1980 Pacific NW
were individuallyProgram
made 2 foot by 3 foot
posters from Sandys
Camera Shop and
redwood plaques.
Neither Ed Ng nor
Charlie McLarty had
ever won an Open
Singles before, but both
of them sure had the
chance to this weekend.
277

Quang Bui

Ng reached the Open Singles final, first, with a 5-game quarters win over #1 seed Ron Carver
in 5 (Ron had moved his family from Oakridge, OR to Portland, had changed jobs, in order to
have more time to practice and to have stiffer competition), then in the semis, with a threestraight win over Quang whod eliminated former fellow countryman Vo Qui Han. McLarty,
meanwhile, had chopped down favored Bryan Wright, 26-24 in the 4th in the quarters, then
Jay Crystal, 15, -16, -22, 19, 18 in the semis, after Jay had advanced over Doyle, 19 in the 4th.
The finala deuce-in-the-5th thrillerwas won by Ng.
Other results: Open Doubles: McLarty/Ho over Doyle/Wright, 19 in the 3rd. AAs:
Crystal over Dave Davallou, -15, 22, 19. As: Les Sayre over Quang then Khoa Bui. Bs:
Bobby Rinde over Khoa Bui. B Doubles: Don Nash/Rinde over Sovachana/Young, 20, -22,
15. Cs: Red Duncan over Mohammed Popoola. Ds: Keith Perry over Aaron Ho. Es: Perry
over Eric Lupert whod stopped Joe Romanosky, 19 in the 3rd. Fs: Brian Lee over Jim
Stidham. Gs: Tim Sayre over Tony Wright. First Timers: Bruce Auerbach over Romanosky, 15, 20, 13, then over Stidham. Juniors: Final not played. Semis: Quang Bui over Stidham,
Rinde over Khoa Bui.
Winners at the May 8-9 San Francisco Open: Open Singles: Henry Fung over Dave
Chan. As: Jim Chan over Shonie Aki. Bs: Dennis Lamenti over Percy Pang. B Doubles:
Stephens/Ron Watkins over Mike Templeton/Jim Boatman in 5. Cs: Erwin Hom over Rocky
Stump. C Doubles: Templeton/Lawson over DeFrance/?. Ds: Joe Holman over Don Utsumi.
D Doubles: Bud Jenkins/Steve Korf over Tony Gonzales/Mike Baltaxe, 19 in the 4th. Seniors:
Dan Banach over Russ Thompson whod outlasted Carmen Ricevuto, -22, 16, 22, -19, 16.
Senior As: Scott McClure over Henry Swain. Juniors: Hom over Tito LeFranc.
Ray Guillen won the California Open deuce in
the 4th over Everett, then over Dennis Barish whod 18in-the-5th struggled by Dean Galardi, after Dean himself
had gone 18 in the 5th with Angelita Rosal. Guillen/Bob
Ashley won the Open Doublesover Everett/Rob
Lange, 19 in the 4th. Angelita of course won the
Womens over her sister Monica. She also took the
Mixed with her brother Stan, 19
Y.C. Lee
in the 4th, over Everett/Georgette
Rideg, then in 5 over Guillen/
Heather Angelinetta whod been
down 2-0 to Koyama/Monica
Rosal. As: Craig Manoogian over
Rob Lange, -8, 21, 20, 18. A
Doubles: Plakos/Stewart over
Mike Carr/Keith Ogata. Bs:
Masaru Hashimoto over Kent
Lofthouse in 5. B Doubles: Ron
Watkins/Rick Watkins over
Ogata/Lofthouse. Cs: Y.C. Lee
(years later USATT Officials
Committee Chair) over Chong
Ray Guillen
Kim, 23-21 in the 5th. C Doubles:
Photo by Mal Anderson
Jerry LaLande/Ron Watkins over
278

Jimmy Lane

Kevin Quan/Ward. Ds: Joe Kirby over Mark Corbett. D

Doubles: Kim/Majdoub over Gonzales/Bart Lawson, 19,
-15, 19, 21. Es: Thinh Nguyen over Guy Seaman.
Womens Novice: Fran DeFrance over Jean Nelson.
U-17: Galardi over Barish, 20, 20, -18, 13. U-15: Jim
Lane over Lee Lawson. U-13: Rideg over Gonzales, 19 in
the 5th. U-11: Doug Kirby over Carl Lehman. Seniors:
Dan Banach over Don Ayers in 5, then over Sammy
Liang, a 19-in-the-4th winner over Frank Suran. Senior
As: Don Higgins over Scott McClure, 24-22 in the 5th.
Senior Doubles: Thompson/Banach over Paal/Fred
Herbst who advanced in 5 over Higgins/Dick Badger in 5.
Esquires: Russ Thompson

over Julius Paal.

Russ, I might add, had quite a day at the June Senior
Olympics Tournament at the Hollywood Club. He won the 30 &
up Singles (over Dieter Huber); the 40 & up Singles (over Leon
Ruderman); the 50 & up Singles (over Y.C. Lee); the 25 & up
Doubles with Dieter (over Rich Livingston/Harold Kopper); the
40 & up Doubles with Y.C. (over Jerry LaLande/Livingston); and
the 50& up Doubles with Henry Swain (over George Kelemen/
Don Chamberlain). A perfect six for six.
This years ACU-I (Association of College Unions
International) Intercollegiate Championships was sponsored, as in
the past, jointly by Stiga/Sportcraft/Halex, and held Apr. 24-25 at
the University of Denver, all expenses paid for all participants. Jeff
Smart tells us (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 15A) that, as usual, 15 men
and 15 women players qualified from country-wide Regional play
and the host school was given a mens and womens 16th spot.
Russ Thompson:
After all the contestants received a
a
perfect six for six.
shirt with their college name and their
Photo by Mal Anderson
own name on it, play began with the
Double Elimination Mixed Doubles (a man and a woman from the
same region were paired together): Winners: Alex Tam/Marie-Ann
Bookman (Southwest Region). Now that Alexs gotten his degree,
says Jeff, he seems to be playing even better than before. Runnerups were Bob Quinn/Anita Wu (New England Region)they
defeated Smart/Barb Shoffner (Midwest Region), -19, 19, 20.
Mens (two round robins of 8; criss-cross semis): Group A: 1.
Defending Champion Tam (7-0). 2. Paul Pashuku (6-1). Others in
the Group: Larry Thoman, Bob Quinn, Jeff Mason, Greg Burton,
Alex Tam - 1976 U.S.
Intercollegiate Champion
and the two Iranians, Behzad Zandipour and Razi Hasemi (same
style as Houshang Bozorgzadeh). Group B: 1. Hamid Hayatghaib
(7-0). 2. Smart (6-1). Others in the Group: Milda Milacek, Tran Van Phat, Jay Crystal, Rick
Jones, Hank Colker, and Pat Patterson. In the Group A criss-cross, Paul, after being down 2-0,
won 19 in the 5th from Hamid. Before the Group B criss-cross, Jeff was out on the track
279

loosening up after lunch. Hed mistaken the time for his match with
Tam, and, after Alex came to get him, the two went to the table,
where Alexs idea of a warm-up was to kill every other ball. Of
course neither Jeff nor Paul had the slightest chance against Alex.
Womens: Group A: 1. Jean Varker, former member of the
U.S. Junior Womens Team. 2. Arlyn Childs? (Jeffs not sure.)
Others in the Group: Pat Erickson, Marilyn Sommer (Tybie
Sommers daughter), Cora Leing, Barbara Shoffner, Val Rodgers,
and Priscilla Woodall. Group B: 1. Sheila ODougherty,
Minnesota State Champion. 2. Anita Wu? (Jeffs not sure.) Nonchallenging criss-cross matches moved Sheila and Jean into the
final, the most exciting match of the tournament. Sheila,
serving heavy chopped serves mixed with occasional top-sidespin,
and looping and killing her forehand, took a 2-game lead. But Jean
forced her into the 5th where many counter-driving rallies usually
were ended by daring kills. At the finish, Sheila rallied from 19-16
down to win 5 straight points and take the title.
Sheila ODougherty - 1976
Intercollegiate Champion
After the finals says Jeff, we were all given flashy
Sportcraft tee-shirts, had a group picture together, and then were
taken up to the schools own private ski lodge high above the tree line for a steak (grilled to
perfection) banquet. It was a great ending for a really superb tournament and gave everyone a
chance to see the splendor of the Rocky Mountains covered with snow. Sunday morning we
had a farewell breakfast and then were taken to the airport to catch our flights home. Thanks
again to the people from the ACU-I, the University of Denver, and the sponsors Stiga/
Sportcraft/Halex for a really great event!
Results of the Colorado Centennial Open played May 8-9 at Boulder: Mens: Bob
Dawidowicz over Jerry Plybon, 15, -20, 15. Mens Doubles: Bob/Kasia Dawidowicz over Plybon/
Sprague. As: George Weissberg over R. Kuseski whod been 19 in the 3rd pressed by J. Grenardo.
A Doubles: Keith Kalny/Jeff Bedell over Byers/Paul Cracraft. Bs: Kuseski over D. Tatoya, -21, 20,
18, then over Jay Evans (who to make playing floors better urges specifically the use of a dust mop
with dust mop oil). B Doubles: Kalny/Evans over Kuseski/Zarren. Cs: Kalny over Tom Wintrich. C
Doubles: Raimond Ozols/Kalny over Wing/Dressel whod earlier lost a double elimination deucein-the-3rd match to Redman/Redman. Seniors: K.
Earnshaw over G. Wing. U-17: K. Dawidowicz
over R. Misare. U-15: K. Dawidowicz over Kalny.
U-13: Kalny over J. Cracraft. U-17 Doubles:
Dawidowicz/Coons over Evans/Cracraft.
At the May 29-30 Southwestern Cities
Team Championship, hosted for the 16th time by
the Amarillo, TX Club, 13 teams vied for the title.
Each team fielded an A, B, C, and D player who
would contend in his/her respective division, and
the cumulative results would determine the winning
team. Results: 1st Place: Oklahoma City #2 (A:
Gary Fagan, Outstanding A Singles Player; B:
Charles Butler
Charles Butler, Outstanding B Singles Player; C:
280

Bruce Smith; D: Mark Stoolz. A Doubles: Butler/Smith; B Doubles: Fagan/Stoolz,

Outstanding B Doubles Pair). 2nd Place: Englewood, CO (A: Jerry Plybon; B: Bob
Leatherwood; C: Rick Jones; D: Jim Wherry. A Doubles: Plybon/Jones; B Doubles:
Leatherwood/Wherry). 3rd Place: Oklahoma City #1 (A: Larry Kesler; B: Jim Hammond; C.
Steve Hammond, Outstanding C Singles Player; D: Lou Coates. A Doubles: Kesler/Steve
Hammond, Outstanding A Doubles Pair; B Doubles: Coates/Jim Hammond). 4th Place:
Lubbock #1 (A: Scott Ryan; B: Mike Finnell; C: Chuck Davis; D: James Rautis, Outstanding
D Singles Player. A Doubles: Rautis/Finnell; B Doubles: Davis/Ryan). Sportsman Trophy
winner: Cliff Smith, whod come with 10 of the Bartlesville teenagers hed been coaching.
Results of the 76-entry Texas Open, held May 8-9 on 10 Detroiter tables at San
Antonios John Jay High School: Mens Championship Singles: 1. Alex Tam, 3-0. 2.
Hanumanth Rao, 1-2 (5-7). 3. Gary Fagan, 1-2 (4-6). 4. Perry Schwartzberg, 1-2 (4-6). Mens
Championship Doubles: Tommy Vaello/Joe Cummings over John Tomlinson/Scott Ryan.
Womens Singles: Cindy Garza over Liz Gresham. Womens Doubles: Garza/Norma LeBlanc
over Gresham/Haddix. Mixed Doubles: Tam/R. Ramirez over Dennis/Liz Gresham, 18, -20,
19, -15, 19. As: Y. Arakelian over Jack Buddy Melamed. A Doubles: Grady Gordon/James
Rautis over Ziegler/Jim Cross. Bs: Ron Heilman over Terry Zeigler in 5. B Doubles: Greshams
over Ernest Rapp/R.C. Watkins, deuce in the 4th. Cs: Julian Millan over Rapp (after being down 20). Ds: Gary Melamed over K. Stalker. Senior Doubles: Gordon/Watkins over J.C. Tenay/
Melamed. Junior Doubles: Schwartzberg/Larry Melamed over Salvador Ruiz/Millan.
On May 15 in Yukon (a territory warm to our Sportthe
Oklahoma City suburb), 38 juniors battled it out in the first State U-17,
U-15, U-13, U-11 Championships. Results: U-17: Johnny Cortez over
Doug Copley. Semis: Cortez over Jim Short, 19 in the 3rd; Copley over
Mark Stoolz, 18 in the 3rd. 3rd Place: Stoolz over Short. U-15: Cortez
over Greg Eisenhour. 3rd Place: Mark McDonald over Kirk Golbach
whod lost to Eisenhour, 18 in the 3rd. U-13: Stoolz over McDonald.
3rd Place: Paul Taylor over Kathy Thompson. U-11: Karin Thompson
over Marilyn Johnston. 3rd Place: Diana Van Wey over Amy Johansen.
Class A: McDonald over Joe Ogilvie, 14, 23. 3rd Place: Taylor over
Karin Thompson. Class B: Tony Sanchez over Huynh Bui. 3rd Place:
Paul Horton, 18 in the 3rd, over Kyle Sanchez who fell to Tony Sanchez,
Jim Short
26, 19. Class C: Russell Kim over Jim Horton. Semis: Kim over
From 1974 U.S. Open Program
rd
Marilyn Johnston, 24-22 in the 3 ; Horton over Kevin Cory, 19 in the
3rd. 3rd Place: Johnston over Cory. Class D: Van Wey over Gillian
Wilkinson. 3rd Place: Karen Stanley over Shelly Girod.
Duke Stogner in his write-up of the Arkansas Closed,
played at North Little Rock, May 29-June 19, suggests that we note
the dates of this tournament, for it must be the longest running one
in history. Ah, but Dukes being playful, things arent what they
seem. All but two of the events were played May 29. As for the
Mens and the Mixed finals, the University Mall in Little Rock,
sponsors of some of the finals of Dukes tourneys, couldnt book
them until Saturday, June 19th. The Mens Singles final between
mechanical draftsman Paul Hadfield and 1976 high school graduate
Jamey Hall went to teenager Hall, 15, 11, -19, -18, 17 (after
Jamey Hall
281

Jamey finished by winning eight straight points!). Mixed winners were Nancy
Hill/Hadfield over Duke/Dottie Stogner.
Other Results: Mens: Brian McClesky had two good 5-game winsover
Sammy Peters and Andy Bloxom (who also lost a 5-gamer to D. Rogers).
Stogner played a -20, -20, -18 match with Hall. Womens: Hill over Bratton.
Mens Doubles: Hadfield/McClesky over Stogner/Hall. As: Hall over Hill, -24,
16, 17, then over Hadfield. Bs: Peters over Jim Foster. Cs: C. Wood over
Rogers. U-17s: Hall over Bloxom. U-15 winner: I. Lehoczky, Jr. U-17 Doubles:
Hall/Young over Jordan/Enoch, 16, 20, 19.
Winners in the April 30-May 1 Kansas Open at Topeka: Mens: 1. Gary
Fagan, 3-0with gutsy wins over Bob Dawidowicz (from down 2-1 and 24-all
Sammy
in the 4th) and Charles Butler (12, -24, -19, 15, 20). 2. Dawidowicz, 2-1. 3.
Peters
Butler, 1-2. 4. Mark Stoolz, 0-3 (but with an upset quarters win over Todd
Petersen in 5). As: V. Arakalin over Kasia Dawidowicz, 19, -19, 17, then over Stoolz. Bs:
Stoolz over Cliff Smith. Cs: Kurt Evans over R. Woods. Ds: Keith Kalny over R. Perez. Girls
R.R.: 1. Dawidowicz. 2. Karin Thompson. U-17: Dawidowicz over Petersen. U-15: Petersen
over Dawidowicz. U-13: Peter Braun over Roland Rittmaster, 19, 19. Semis: P. Braun over
Kalny, -20, 18, 12; Rittmaster over Bernie Braun, 18, -16, 21.
Results of the Great Plains Open, held
Apr. 10-11 at St. Charles, MO: Mens: 1. Jim
Schnorf, 3-0 (after a shaky 20, -17, -17 start
against John Messerly in the quarters). 2.
Wayne Wasielewski, 2-1. 3. Leonard
McNeece, 1-2. Larry Chisolm (about to be the
Missouri Closed Champ over Rich Doza), 0-3.
Mens Doubles: Wasielewski/Leonard
McNeece over Schnorf/Bruce Ackerman (from
down 2-0), then Don Jones/Irvin in 5.
Womens: Leslie Harris over Grace Ide.

L-R: Bernie Braun, Peter Braun,

and Roland Rittmaster

Womens Doubles: Marty Williamson/Harris

over Debbie Bingamin/Janis Guetschow. Mixed
Doubles: McNeece/Ide over Heim/Harris. Mens
As: 1. Schnorf. 2. Joe Bujalski. 3. Steve Kraly.
Grace Ide
4. Ackerman. Womens As: Claudia Brunson. 2.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Williamson. 3. Karin Thompson. A Doubles:
Schnorf/Larry Thoman over McNeece/Bujalski. Bs: Kraly over Phil Jordan, 18 in the 5th, then over
Jones, 17 in the 5th. Cs: Ackerman over Jones, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over Mike Zwilling. Ds: Joe
Brown in 5 over Steve Swindle, top Junior in St. Charles, who advanced over Dick Butler, father/
coach of future famous sons Scott and Jimmy. Consolation: McNeece over David Barnes.
Esquires: Sam Shannon over Tom Glendenin (who the week previous had won the St.
Charles Closed Seniors over Richard Feuerstein). Seniors: Bujalski over Shannon. Boys U282

17: Joe Tobias (Mens runner-up to Bruce Smith, and Class A

winner at the Kaw Valley Open) over Greg Czarnecki (U-17
winner at the May American Legion Junior Open in St.
Charles). Girls U-17: Harris over Bingamin. U-17A: Brown
over Bruce Hunt whod slipped by Legion Open U-17A/U-15
winner Steve DeWitt, 24-22 in the 3rd. Boys U-15: Scott
Leamon over Roland Rittmaster, -13, 19, 22, then over Peter
Braun in 5. Girls U-15: Bingamin over Kathy Thompson. U13: Peter Braun over Rittmaster, -12, 22, 21, then over his
brother Bernie. U-17 Doubles: Tobias/Harris over Czarnecki/
Hunt. U-17 Mixed Doubles: Tobias/Harris over Swindle/
Guetschow.
Cody Jones and Billy Reed tell us (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
Cody Jones
1976, 29) that Detroits G.A.R. Club held a Training League
for the Nationals Apr. 13 through June 15. Round robin play
was on Tuesday and Wednesday nights from 7 to 11 p.m. A $5 playing fee was charged each
night. The player with the best record won all playing fees from that night except for $5
which was saved for the Masters Round Robin finale to be held at the end of the League, and
$2 for the use of [several World Championship Japanese tables]. Playing conditions featured
incandescent lighting, a 30 ft. ceiling, wooden floors.
Of the players who participated in at least 8 of the 16 League nights, the 4 with the
best won-loss records were eligible to play in the Masters tournament. These 4 were: Eddie
Brennan (43-7), Mark Delmar (37-9), Cody Jones (31-19), and Brock Huler (21-20). Others
who had winning won-lost records but did not meet the minimum attendance requirements
were: Steve Walquist, 6-0 (subtracting fees, Steve won $23); Danny Robbins, 9-1 ($56); Mike
Veillette, 29-5 ($106); Pete Kelly, 4-1; John Trevethan, 31-19 ($13); Bill Rapp, 12-8; Kurt
Lloyd, 7-6; and Jeff Smart, 10-9.
Results of the 4-man round robin Masters: 1. Delmar ($40 + earlier $26), 3-0d.
Brennan, -16, 17, 24, -20, 12; d. Jones, 20, 16, 16; d. Huler, 19, -13, -19, 9, 18. 2. Brennan
($30 + $90), 2-1d. Jones, 17, 15, 18; d. Huler, 8, 12, 8. 3.
Jones ($20), 1-2d. Huler, -19, -18, 16, 11, 19. 4. Huler
($10), 0-3.
Cody Jones is putting together a small guide to U.S.
Table Tennis clubs primarily for personal interest but, if he
gets enough of a response from clubs, might print it up for
others. He needs to know specifically WHERE the Clubs
located and directions to it; WHEN the Clubs open; WHO to
contact and some info about the members; WHAT the venues
like and what equipments in use; HOW competition occurs,
and in what way the club is financed. In short, he wants clubs
Harry
to tell him everything there is to know about them.
Deschamps
The Indiana State Champions as a result of their Apr. 24-25
Closed: Mens Richard Hicks over Harry Deschamps. Mens
Doubles: Hicks, Sr./Jr. over Jerry Glass/Deschamps. Womens:
Connie Evans over Norma Hicks (also contending: Central
Indiana Closed Champ Maureen Fleetwood and runner-up Cindy
283

Marcum). Mixed Doubles: Hicks/Hicks over Deschamps/Evans. As: Steve Betts over Jim Yates.
Bs: Kris Pangburn over Gary Gebert. Cs: Don Roberts over Bruce McGee. Consolation: Jerry
Marcum over son Tony. Seniors: Deschamps over Bob Miller. U-17: Ricky Hicks over Jeff, then
Kris Pangburn. U-15: Hicks over Marcum. U-13: Jeff Pangburn over Joe Ahmad.
Ron DeMent says his Newark, Ohio Club is rather small, but with help from his AFLCIO landlord he was able to get two more rooms in the building for practice tables and
playing area. This, coupled with the Columbus/Newark Sun TV Companys donation,
allowed them to put on their 2nd Annual Sun TV Open with $450 in prizes. The R.R. Open
Singles semis produced two surprises. Mike Baber, though losing to D-J Lee and Alan Nissen,
beat Insook Bhushan three straight, and so had a 1-2 record. Nissen, losing to D-J and Insook,
also was 1-2. That left D-J, 2-0, to play Insook, 1-1. So, with D-J looping and dropping, and
Insook often back against the wall retrieving, who won? Insook didfinishing strong by
winning the 4th and 5th 22-20. That gave Insook and D-J a 2-1 record (with Insook beating DJ), and Mike and Alan a 1-2 record (with Alan beating Mike). According to their tie-breaker
rules, the order of finish was: 1. D-J. 2. Insook. 3. Mike. 4. Alan.
The June 19-20 Columbus Sweepstakes,
played June 19-20 at D-Js Club, marked the
Topics appearance of He-ja Lee, the new Mrs. DJ. Unlike D-Js former wife, Linda, He-ja had
almost 10 years of serious play, during which
shed represented South Korea in the Asian
Championships. Beginning in this volume, well
follow her USTTA Hall of Fame career.
Sweepstakes Results: 1. Insook Bhushan,
2-1 (8-5beat Nissen in 3, Smolanowicz in 5). 23. Alan Nissen, 2-1 (6-6beat Smolanowicz in 5,
and Fagan in 4). 2-3. Gary Fagan, 2-1 (7-7)beat
Bhushan and Smolanowicz, both in 5. 4. Stan
Smolanowicz , 0-3, whod had 24-22 in the 4th
trouble getting by Stan Wolf in the quarters. Stan
has been described as now a Top Player in spite
Newlyweds D-J and He-ja Lee
Photo by Mal Anderson
of, or because of, horrible strokes and weird
rubber. Open Doubles: Nissen/Smolanowicz
over Eugene Kunyo/Mike Kenny. As: John Spencer over Mark Wampler, 20, -19, -20, 19, 18.
A Doubles: Spencer/Wolf over Ron Schull/Bob Powell. Bs: John Spencer over Shisler. B
Doubles: Jim DeMet/Horn over Spencer/Glen Marhefka. Cs: Pangburn over Se-Kwan Oh in
5. Ds: Don Prouty over Weaver. Unrated: Caravella over Marcum (from down 2-0).
Consolations: Oh over DeMet, 24-22 in the 4th. Esquires: Bill Hornyak over Joe Blatt.
Seniors: Kunyo over Hornyak. Young Adults: Kenny over Pangburn. U-17s: Oh over
Prouty, 19 in the 4th. U-15: Prouty over Marcum. U-13s: Len Ores over Jeff Miller.
Howie Eichner writes (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 12B) that he helped run the Table Tennis
event at the Regional Wheelchair Games. These were heldin several defined classes relating
to degree of disabilityMay 9 at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fisherville,
Virginia in preparation for the National Championships. About 60 players participated in an
ample 8-table gym. There were umpires and ball boysa match is typically played with 3 or 4
balls. USTTA rules are followedwith some exceptions:
284

For example, players are allowed to touch the table at times to maintain their
balance. A serve cannot pass outside the sidelines, but short serves are permitted.
Depending on their division, some players are allowed to get the ball in play in any way
that does not give them an unfair advantage. One player repeatedly served by first
bounding the ball on his side and then hitting it over the net on a fly. When near the end
of a close match he switched to the conventional service, the point had to be
disallowed.
Eichner makes the point that table tennis offers the help of healthy personality
development to a person, particularly a child, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his/her
life. Rewards for playing the game include being with others, moving around and not falling,
having fun and succeedingthese can foster confidence and self-esteem, help one to
overcome initial hesitancy and fears for safety. And of course, as in other areas, the need for
clubs, coaching, and program development is very strong. In years to come, the USTTA
(USATT) will gradually take note.
Winners in Philadelphias May 1-2 Ben Franklin
Open: Mens: Mike Bush over Fuarnado Roberts
whod been (21, -18, 19, 15) threatened by plucky
Plotnick. (In a quarters match, Hamid Hayatghaib
trounced Paul Raphel.) Mens Doubles: Bush/
Raphel over Roberts/Dave Sakai whod advanced
over Herb Vichnin/George Brathwaite, 21, 19, 20.
AAs: Bush over Hamid whod prevailed over
Plotnick, -21, 8, 15, -22, 19. As: Jim Shoots over
Hank McCoullum. A Doubles: Wiener/Shoots over
Vichnin/George Rocker. Bs: McCoullum over
Vichnin. Cs: Wiener over Andy Bechenbach in 5.
Hank McCoullum
George Rocker
Ds: Mal Anderson over Phil Shaw. Es: Smith over
Photo by John Oros
Photo
by Bruce Wong
Shrout. Fs: Goldman over Haynes. Gs: Goldman
over Chapman. Ns: Haynes over Bob Hazel.
Handicap*: Whitener over Shaw. U-17: Shaw over Whitener. U-15: Shaw over Spear, 22, 19.
Sam Steiner, in a labor of love, gives us (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 12B) quite a write-up
of the Pennsylvania Closed, held Apr. 24-25 in the new Intramural Building at Penn State
University. Ah, Penn State: since it was listed in Penthouse magazine as one of the top
partying and beer-consuming schools in the nationwe felt it only appropriate that the Mens
Singles winner receive a large beer mug filled with 76 silver dollars. Also, as we were
determined to uphold our reputation, all 115 entrants were invited to the PSU club-sponsored
kegger at Mallets Place Saturday night, with free semi-legal beverages for all.
For the serious-minded interested in the new playing venue, were happy to report that,
for once, the lighting was at least adequate, and that we were treated to a free shower, locker
room facilities, a food concession, and even (are you listening, Philadelphia?) real water
fountains. Moreover, Roy Wells supplied us with the best trophies, non-plastic, weve ever
had.
The Mens went to Ricky Seemiller after a great (-19, -20, 9, 16, 19) come-frombehind-match with Bruce Plotnick. A hint of what could happen comes at the end of the 2nd
game. Bruce leads 20-16, but Seemiller to cheers climbs to deuce, whereupon Plotnick says,
285

Fudge! But then the crowd roars

when Bruce lobs two from the
Bruce Plotnick
barriers and then counter-kills to get
the ad, and then the game. In the
5th, Plotnick, attacking fearlessly,
leads 18-14. But now Seemiller,
whos been fast looping to win
points, throws in three slow spinny
loops which Bruce over-anxiously
counters offand Ricky goes on to
win from 19-all. Its his 3rd straight
State Championship.
As for the Open Doubles,
Rickys usual partner, Joe Rokop, had hurt his foot in a slight accident with his big beautiful
BMW 900 motorcycle, and, as other suitable partners were all committed, who was left
butTimmy Seemiller. Ricky, getting for once to play the
badgering Seemiller partner, got along with Timmy well
enough to reach the finalsbut there they lost in 4 to
Plotnick/Hank McCoullum.
In the Womens, LaRue Jones was not present to
defend her title, for reportedly she no longer gets the enjoyment
from the game she once did. The winner was Slippery Rocks
Ione Wenrich,** who must be the only user of Butterfly
Driver left in the U.S., and maybe in the world. Runner-up:
Librarys Carol Montuoro. 3rd Place: Bethlehems Pam Simon,
a young blonde with good strokes and a competitive instinct.
Her parents Dan and Patti, as well see, will become
increasingly more active in the Sport.
As: Joe Scheno over Gary Garbage Martin, then
over Stan Wolf (whod gotten to the semis of the Mens by
upsetting Randy Seemiller and Hank McCoullum and was
ecstatic about receiving, as did the
other Mens semifinalist Larry
Goldfarb, a cash prize). Joe dealt
with Wolfs weird fluttering Phantom
returns by rolling no-spin balls all
Pam Simon
over the table, temporizing until he
Photo by Mal Anderson
got a ball he could flat-kill. Sam
reports that Stans quite a character:
Stan Wolf

He will stand there and flip a lighted cigarette through the air faster
than the eye can follow, ending up with the filter end (usually) in his mouth. Then hell tell
you how he will captain a team to next years USOTCs called the New Zoo Revue, said
team to consist of himself, Neal Fox, Harry Hawk, and Caleb Berd. But then when he pulls
a pocket inside out for his one-eared elephant imitation, well, youre not sure if you should
laugh or cry. But Stan has made lots of friends all over the Eastern U.S.
286

Sharing the vaudeville bill with Wolf was another character, Ed Potts. His table
tennis career resembles a sine wavefirst hes fiercely competitive and enthusiastic, then hes
jaded and depressed, ready to quit forever, or at least until next week. One has to give him
credit though: Ed sweet-talked some company into sponsoring him to tournaments.
Other Results: A Doubles: Bill Van Buskirk/Greg Robertshaw over Erich Haring/Mal
Anderson. Bs: Van Buskirk, an anti/hard rubber chopper, over gentlemanly Dave Dickson,
IIthe epitome of fairness and sportsmanshipthe most considerate and altruistic individual
Ive ever met. Cs (61 entrieslargest ever in a State Closed): John Richards over the
always jovial Art Tuden, Professor of Anthropology at Pitt, then over Greg Robertshaw.
Novice: Paul Truett, Jr. over Dave Ferrey, 19 in the 4th. Handicap: the somewhat nutty but
likable Dan Reznicki over the equally nutty Jeff Sabrowsky. Consolations: Mike Connelly
over Dickson. (Mike, who in the Mens had lost deuce and deuce to Don Feltenberger, has just
sold his Pittsburgh Club to Dan Seemiller.) Seniors: Van Buskirk over Dickson, II. U-17:
Bruce Plotnick, whos progressed from those days of unpleasant emotional outbursts to
become a mature, well-behaved, likable player, 18 in the 4th over Randy Seemiller. In the
semis, Randy had 19, 20 downed Larry Goldfarb, whose Johansson-like stature and game
are a serious threat in Mens events now. U-15: Steve Lowry over Tim Seemiller. U-13:
Dickson, III over Mike Walk.
In addition to establishing these
1976 State Champions, the Pennsylvania
Association held a meeting of its officers
which began with the irascible Mr.
[Seymour] Shenkman from Reading
refusing to attend if his name were not
officially recorded in the Minutes.
Seymour did not represent an affiliated
club, but his name was recorded. More
of an accomplishment was the naming of
the PA teams to the USOTCs.
Topics columnist Danny Ganz
Errol Resek
described the Long Island Closed, held
on a wet and miserable Apr. 23-25
weekend in Hempstead, as a dull, drab
affair. He did, however, like the way he
Winston (Bobby)
Cousins
playedsaid he had wins over Fred
Photo
by
Danner, Joe Vitale, Mort Zakarin and
Mal Anderson
Steve Berger. He also liked the party
after the tournament at McQuades Pub
in Rockville Centre (at $2 a head we
only sustained a $3.50 loss for each
person).
Results: Mens: Errol Resek
(from down 2-0) over Peter Holder, then
over Winston Bobby Cousins. Notable
matches: Carl Danner (from down 2-0)
over Roger Sverdlik; Holder, 18 in the
287

4th, over Jeff Zakarin; and Cousins in 4 (after winning the 1st at deuce) over Mike Lardon.
(Lardon will later win the Long Beach Sol Schiff Open over Jack Wiener after Jack had
outlasted Jeff Steif 27-25 in the 5th.) Mens Doubles: Tim/Scott Boggan over Holder/Cousins,
18 in the 5th. Womens winner: Mary Davison. Mixed Doubles: T. Boggan/Davison over Jeff/
Evelyn Zakarin.
As: S. Boggan over Steve Greenwald. A Doubles: Cousins-Wiener over Green/E.
Boggan, def. Bs: Jacobs over Alice Green Sonne, def. B Doubles: Danner/Stone over Caplin/
Levin. Cs: Jack Wiener over Artie Brunelle. Ds: Brunelle over Dave Cox, -16, 22, 12. Novice
I: A. Vitale over K. Harris. Novice II: M. Kunster over E. Wald. Mens Consolations: E.
Boggan over Stu Caplin who as a child was struck by polio. Esquires: Mitch Silbert over Sid
Jacobs. Seniors: Boggan over Jacobs whod survived Silbert in 5 but who ominously will
soon be in the hospital. Senior Doubles: Boggan/Mort Zakarin over Fred Danner/George
Stone. Parent/Child Doubles: Tim/Eric Boggan. U-17: Danner in 5 over Lardon whod
eliminated E. Boggan, 15 in the 5th. U-15: S.
Boggan over E. Boggan. U-13 winner: E.
Boggan.
Marshall Weiner, Director of the Apr. 24Eric Boggan
25 New York State Closed at Binghamton,
details his tournament troubles along with the
Results. He complains that the Long Island
Closed was held on MY date, and it
subsequently drew at least 40-50 people away
from my tournament. Last year, says Marshall,
I had 118 entries, this year 70with the result
that I came out $200 in the red. Marshall says
the LITTA knew last November that the N.Y. State Closed was to be played on this date, and
Chris [Schlotterhausen] willingly went ahead and changed his original date for the Closed in
March to my date in April. Any defense for Chris doing that?...Its clear that the Nov.-Dec.,
1975 issue of Topics listed the L.I. Closed as being played Mar. 27-28; however, the State
Championship tournament being played Apr. 24-25 wasnt listed until the Jan.-Feb, 1976 issue.
Why was that if it was clear in Nov. it was going to be held? Maybe from Chriss point of
view, when he made the change in Jan., it wasnt clear Marshall was
going to run his tournament? Or maybe Chris wanted the change
regardless.
Marshall says Chriss argument (told to him by Chris, or
someone else?) was that the LI Closed is a twenty-year tradition, and
that it was more important than a state championship; also, that in effect
there was no other reasonable time to hold it. Marshall says Eastern
Regional Tournament Director Herb Vichnin, perhaps through
stupidity, did nothing to stop Chris from holding this overlapping-area
tournament (one four hours drive away from the other). If Chris is not
disciplined for this move, says Marshall, it will provethat the LITTA
can outmuscle and out-armtwist the USTTA.
Chris reportedly wrote a letter to Herb requesting a change of
date not for the Long Island Closed but for the Nov.-Dec./Jan.-Feb.
Topics-listed June 5-6 Chris Schlotterhausen Open. However, says
Chris Schlotterhausen
288

Herb, on the change-of-date request form, Chris inadvertently (or, Marshall hints, maybe not
inadvertently) wrote he wanted the change not for this Open but for the Closed, so Herb says
he thought he was giving Chris a new date for the Closed. Meanwhile, Topics Editor Boggan
wasnt aware of the change, so the old Mar. 27-28 date for the Closed was kept in the Jan.Feb. Topics. By the time all got straightened out or remained crooked, both tournaments had
to be held simultaneously, couldnt be changed. I note, though, that for the Mar.-Apr. Topics
listing Herb did approve the June 5-6 Chris Schlotterhausen Open being changed to the May
29-30 Long Island Open (the name would subsequently be changed again to the Sol Schiff
Open.
Marshall speaks, too, of his Saturday tournament problems. (1) His help made up
about a dozen wrong match cards, so before the errors were caught, three matches were
played which were not supposed to be played. (2) The labeling of the NOVICE A and
NOVICE Draw Sheets was reversed, but the draws were correct. Only people didnt grasp
that, and kept complaining that the draws were wrong. (3) There were complaints about the
ratings and seedings, as if I, Marshall, werent being conscientious in establishing them. When
I posted the definitive draws Saturday morning, players thought Id simply made up rating
changes to deflect criticisms. What they didnt know was that Ratings Chair Neal Fox had
called me at 11 p.m. Friday with rating updates. Let me tell you, I do not care to make up
draws from midnight until 8 a.m. (4) Regarding the Junior player who kept insisting that he
and his opponent wanted to play a 3/5 final, not the mandated 2/3. Im sorry you were
defaulted.However, you do not come over to me in the middle of my (quarterfinal) match and
start an argument over the matter. Nor do you tell me that I, as Tournament Director, should not
play in the tournament. Thankfully, on Sunday, there werent any problems, and the tournament
could not have been better.
Results: Open Singles: George
Brathwaite over Dave Philip. Georges
steadiness, combined with the problems Philip
was having with the Nissen table, allowed
George to win the State title, 16 in the 4th.
Other strongly contested matches: Jim Dixon
over Dave Berard, 11, -23, 21, 15, and
Fuarnado Roberts over Jim Shoots. Jairie
Resek says that Robbie and Curtis Knight
(a.k.a. Curtis McNear) have had to delay their
N.Y. Soho disco opening. Theyre waiting
for a liquor license which is so hard to get in
New York State. Fuarnados named the
place The Pyramid after something called
Pyramid Energy. As for The Shooter, he
would tell me later how hed intended to ride
his bicycle from Rochester, N.Y. to the
Philadelphia U.S. Open. He would make 100
milesbut would stop the trip at Endicott,
George Brathwaite,
N.Y. where hed recuperate with the Cooper
1976 New York
family. Maybe hed made an easy-rider trial
State Champion
run to this Binghamton tournament?
289

Women: Helen Dunn over Diven Sun. Open Doubles:

Philip/Brathwaite over Roberts/Dixon, 16, -18, -24, 6, 19.
Seniors: Bob Brickell over Jack Rozales. U-17: Jim
Meredith over Matt Fisher. U-17A: Fisher over Rick
Cooper, def. U-15: Meredith over Paul Gvildys, -14, 21,
12. Junior Doubles: Meredith/Van Curren over Ingral/
Fisher.
AAs: Joe Tanzer over Bill Ma, 19 in the 4th. As: Jim
Tanzer over Andy Bechenbach. A Doubles: Chuck Gorchek/
Van Curren over Brickell/Brickell, 19 in the 5th. Bs: Jim
Tanzer over Vic Meredith whod slipped by Peter Wei, 24Chuck Gorchek
22 in the 3rd. Cs: Wei over Simon Jacobson in 5. Ds: Wei
over Glen Beaston. Es: Bill Spry over Larry Cooper. Fs: Spry over Claude Jumet, def. Gs:
Dale Clement over Ralph Schroeder, 17 in the 5th. Novice: Rene LaMorell over Schroeder in
5. Novice A: Seth Finklestein over Clement. Handicap:
Jacobson over Dunn.
On now to Syracuse. The players all like to come to
Bill McGimpseys Syracuse Open because they know hes
not just mechanically going about a task, but is perennially
hopeful and enthusiastic about his Y-held tournament.
Whacky and USTTA-irreverent as some of the players are,
he genuinely welcomes themhas a desire to please that,
like innocence itself, is its own reward.
Sad to say, though, Bill lost money on this May 8-9
tournament. The turnout was not what hed hoped for. Of
Bill McGimpsey
course it was Mothers Day weekend, there was an
unexpected Quebec tournament that kept the Canadians away, the entry fees were a little
higher than last years, last minute checks for the Nationals had to be sent out, and thered
recently been other N.Y. tournaments to go to.
We all knew the 2-Man Teams was going to be fun. Bill had originally allotted 3 hours
on his time schedule for this event, but 7 teams wanted to play a complete Corbillon-style
round robin, so, since I was running it, what the hell, why not? Gradually, however, to almost
everyones slow-creeping astonishment, the more than 70 matches in the event took about 18
hours to complete. Thus the Teams, with all its dramatic ties, finally ended around one oclock
Monday morningafter the Individual matches had been played. Actually, the only real upset
in the Teams was Scott Boggans 19-in-the-3rd win over 2246-rated Dave Sakai. Scott also
had Bush (2192) in talking-to-himself troubledown 17-11 in the 3rdbefore Mike pulled it
out.
Scott had told his professor-father that hed like to quit junior high and play table
tenniswhich of course, along with some other things, is what comes from playing at
Reismans all night. Could Scott say, Tim, Im starting to make a living? He won the As and
$50 cash from Eli Cools-it, er, Koulis, after Eli had advanced past Cody Jones in 5. Scott also
beat the USTTAs Junior designate to Japan, Mike Lardon, twice, then lost an all-out, barriersdown, deuce-in-the-3rd match to him in the U-17 final. Scotts younger brother, Eric, didnt do
too badly either. In the eighths of the Open II event, he defeated a getting sicker-by-theminute Carl Danner. Then was victorious in the U-15s over Jim Meredith, and in the U-13s
290

over Dickson, with whom he took the A Doubles from Dave Berardin/ Chuck Gorchek Nor
was the older Boggan to be denied: he won the Open Doubles with Sakai over Lardon/Jeff
Zakarin, the Mixed with Gloria Amoury over Sakai/McGimpsey, and the Seniors over Vic
Meredith.
Other winners before I move on to how the seeded players did: Womens Amoury over
Mary Carlson. Bs: Jim Meredith over Joe Maffei whod outlasted Dickson, III, 15 in the 5th.
Cs: Simon Jacobson over Glen Beaston. Ds: C. Beach over Manfred Diflo, 19, -24, 14, 19.
Strangely, in addition to the marathon Teams, there was an Open I and an Open II. In
Open I, Lardon had the eventual finalist, that other Mike, down 2-0 before The Bush finally
took root and blossomed forth with the rose and thorn of his game.
In the one semis, Bush finished steadily strong to aggressively win a 19-in-the-5th
match against Sakai. Earlier, David had lost his longtime, one-of-a-kind racket and was
offering a $25 no-questions-asked reward to anyone finding it and returning it. Surprise
half an hour later it suddenly, mysteriously materialized, as if out of a time warp, right where
David couldnt help but see it. Ironically, Sakai, very soon after, accidentally broke this racket
during play.
In the other semi, I played a good match against Raphel. With games tied at 1-all, and
Paul having trouble with some of my serves and me at 18-all in the 3rd and up 17-15 in the 4th,
I had a shotin fact, several shots, forehands, all of which I took, and not so silently missed.
Eventually Paul also got to the final in Open II. Though after hed started out, had
been on his journey a while, it seemed doubtful for a time whether hed even get to the
tournament. Hed been staying at Fuarnado Roberts New York City apartment while making
the Eastern tournament circuit and had planned on meeting Sakai in Waterbury, CT and then
riding to Syracuse with him. But on leaving Reismans club at some wrong hour, Paul couldnt
make the necessary connections and Dave had to leave without him.
Alone in Waterbury, Raphel decided he could not, or would not, come to grips with the
question of trying to reach the Y in Syracuse. But then, he said, he unconsciously reached into
his pocket and came out with the entry blank. On the front of which was a vague silhouetted
figure with long flowing hair, looping a shot. Hey, thats me! Paul shouted to himself.
Thats me on the front of the blank! It was an epiphany. In a flash he knew he could not
ignore a hint from the psychic world. Any entry blank that has a picture of me on it Ive got
to go to, right? So he made connections, wired, got himself together, and, sure enough,
arrived in Syracuse.
David Philip also arrived late. Expected to play around 5 in the afternoon, David got to
the Y at 20 minutes till 9, just when everybody was getting ready to go to the party. True, he
had not called, but since almost no Open Singles matches had been played, what the hell, the
draws could be redone. But some of the seeded players, satisfied with their draws, did not like
this cavalier attitude of mine, and McGimpseys concurrence. Sakai, for one, thought Philip
should have been more professional, more responsible. I work hard at the Game, he said. I
get off work at my bank, I run my two miles, no matter how tired I am. Afterwards I eat
dinner and go to the Club and practice until midnight. Then I get my six hours sleep and go to
work. I do this day after day. So I dont like a guy coming 4 hours late to a tournament I may
have inconvenienced myself to get to on time. I think he should pay some penalty.
Well, after much arguing, much scratching around with the draw sheets, the players
and McGimpsey finally agreed to put Philip into one OpenOpen II. After getting by Eric
Boggan in 4, he lost to Bush.
291

Horace Roberts
Photo by
Raul Rodriguez

Two of the best matches in Open II involved

Horace Roberts (Im fighting, Timmy, he kept
saying to me). Jeff Zakarin had Robbie in a sweat, 2
games down and at deuce in the 3rd, but the glistening
Roberts slipped away. In the semis, Horace played
long, exhibition-like (but competitive) rallies with
Sakai who would loop relentlessly until the point was
decided. Down 2-0 and down in the 3rd, Robbie (Im
trying, Timmy) again, slippery-like, escaped defeat.
But this time only temporarily.
Chop doesnt take much on these Jaques
tables, I hear somebody say. Robbie doesnt chop
anyway, says another fellowhe just anti-spin
floats the ball back. Beautifully conditioned as he is,
the 40-year-old Robbie finally tired in the 4th of
retrieving Sakais controlled, placed all-over-the-court
loops. David later said it was hard to loop on these
tables, the spin didnt take. Maybe, but, regardless, it
sure seemed he could swing for hours on end, at least
banking hours.
Syracuse Open Winner

Paul Raphel
A very big match in Open II
was the semis in which Raphel beat
Sakai. Paul lost the 1st at 19 and, since
he was going to lose the 3rd at 18, it
made a huge difference that he just
eked out the 2nd, 25-23. Since now the
same two playersBush and Raphel
were in both Open finals, only one
match for the $150 would be played.
Facing Mike in the final, Paul says to
himself, If you dont win this one, you
dont eat. And with McGimpsey
literally laying out the prize money
before the match, maybe all Raphel can
think of is that Safeway.He goes
long-armed back and chops, then
moves in fast to the table and whips out his kangaroo loop from down under. Soon its all
over12, 14, 12. Raphel has won the $150. Paul has the most international game of any of
the American players, says one observer. And as if Paul has heard him, he says, Im going to
train. I could beat that man Bush under 8 if I trained.
Its late, and only McGimpsey and Jay Coleman whos helping with the tables stay on
with the Team players until the end. Which came rather abruptly. For the Corbillon-style final,
pitting Sakai/Raphel against Bush/Shapiro had evolved into a 2-2 tie whenthat was it, theyd
had enough, the tie was a tie, and amid talk of needlessly lost rating points and whether the
292

winners would have gotten another $12.50, there came for Raphel another sudden psychic
flashhes missing his wallet!
Oh! Is the $150 prize money in it?
No, says Raphel, breaking into a little smile. But my USTTA card is.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a May 4, 1976 letter to Sol Schiff, Larry
Hodges takes offense at Tournament Director Herb
Vichnins unjust treatment of him at the Ben Franklin Open.
Herb had indicated in his entry blank that the most current
ratings would be used, and Larry was rated 1148.
However, after watching Larry defeat a 1500+ player in his
first match, Herb rerated him at 1400, and took him out of
the Under 1200, Under 1300 and Under 1400 events. Larry
thought this was very unfair, especially considering Herb
was to meet him in the 1st round of the Handicap event.
With the tenacity, the moral will to prove a point, that will
be characteristic of Larry on into the next millennium, he
persisted that his legitimate rating was 1148. He enlisted
Jim Mossberg, Bob Kaminsky, even his mother, who all
insisted 1148 was Larrys legitimate rating. But Vichnin
arbitrarily had him play at 1400, and of course Larry did
not do so well in the Handicap Singles (although he did
defeat Vichnin, even with the higher rating). Immediately
Larry Hodges
Photo
by
Houshang Bozorgzadeh
after the tournament he indignantly wrote to the highest
power he could think offor he wouldnt allow now, or in
decade after decade to come, an unjust accusation against him to go unanswered.
**Certainly Ione is the only ping-pong artist in the world to do this:

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Chapter Twenty
1976: European Championships. 1976: English Closed. 1976: Asian
Championships. 1976: Play in Japan/Mike Lardons Reflections. 1976:
World University Championships.
Both Zdenko Uzorinac and Dave Nicollette (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 5A)
give us write-ups of the Mens play at the 1976 European Championships, held Mar. 27-Apr. 4
at Pragues Julius Fucik Sports Hall. Hungary, runner-up in 74, did not send its best [Mens]
team, Dave said. Istvan Jonyer had not yet recovered sufficiently from a recent knee
operation; Gabor Gergely was still in basic training for the Hungarian Army; and Tibor
Klampar couldnt play because, though hed won 8 out of 9 tournaments in Hungary, and is
undefeated in interclub league play, hes still barred from representing Hungary in
international competition. So, though the Hungarians were the runner-ups in 74, and of
course had their 75 World Champions, they were never a factor here in Prague. Nor was the
home country, Czechoslovakiathey were blitzed 5-0 by Sweden.
After 14 years of Viking reign, said Uzorinac, himself a Yugoslav Croatian, it was
victory for the Slavs. Yugoslavia had reached the Mens Team final with a semis win over the
USSRthe match much closer than one might think from the 5-2 score. Look at the start of
the tie: Anatoly Strokatov over Milivoj Karakasevic (Y), 2-1; and Stanislav Gomozkov over
Anton Tova Stipancic (Y), 2-0. That put the Yugos in a hole, which looked even 3-0 deeper
when Sarkis Sarkhayan had two match points on Dragutin Surbek (Y), only to lose -15, 14, 22. In the 4th match, with games tied at 1-all, Strokatov was leading Stipancic 18-14 and 20-18
in the 3rdonly to lose 22-20. Thus Yugoslavia could easily have been down 4-0 at this point,
but at 2-2 the Russians (reportedly their team represented 2,500,000 Association players) had
lost their momentum. Meanwhile, Sweden (70,000 players) really wasnt testedthey beat
France 5-1, when only Jacques Secretin could manage a win over Kjell Johansson (current
Swedish National Champ over Stellan Bengtsson). Secretin, who began winning cadet
tournaments at 10, credits the great Polish player Alex Ehrlich, friend of Miles, Reisman, and
Cartland, for schooling him in a Swiss sport camp.
The Yugoslav-Sweden final began routinely with Yugo #1 Surbek (Y) downing Ulf
Thorsell, 2-1; and Bengtsson blanking Yugo #2 Karakasevic (Y), 2-0. Next up, the first of the
swing matches: Yugo #3 Stipancic (Y) over a momentarily stubborn Johansson, 18, -21, 14.
Then Surbek (Y) over a momentarily stubborn Bengtsson, 17, -19, 12. In a moment it would
be 4-1 for the Yugos
Yugoslavias
because Stipancic was a
Milivoj Karakasevic
lock over Thorsell. Buta
shocker for the Slavs, the
former European Youth
Champion stopped Tova
cold in the 3rd, coming from
15-11 down to take 10
straight points! So, not 4-1,
but 3-2. And with
Johansson up against
Karakasevic, not 4-2 but 3294

3? But, says Zdenko, Karas played in

ecstacy, saw nothing except the balland
was leading in the 3rd all the way to 19-15.
But at the last terrific moment, Johansson
played fantastically, did not miss a ball,
brought the score to 20-19 his favor! And
thenKjell misserved! Unbelievable! After
which Karakasevic, 76 Yugo Closed runnerup to Surbek, rose to the occasion and took
the game and the match, 22-20. The Yugos
needed only one moreand they got it when
Stipancic beat Bengtsson, -18, 11, 13.
The Russians won the Womens
Teams3-1, over England whom theyd lost
Swedens
to in the Preliminaries. It was clear they
Kjell Johansson
werent so dominant when in the semis their
longtime #1, Zoya Rudnova, dropped a key
4th match, 23-21, 21-19, to Czech star Alicia
Grofova. But Elmira Antonian stopped the home countrys Blanka Silhanova, 16, 19, just in
time. In their semis against Yugoslavia, England started shakily when Jill Hammsersley lost to
their 76 National Champion Erzebet Palatinus. But after Linda Howard rallied against
Dubravka Fabri the English women had an easy 3-1 win. In the final, Englands Hammersley
was far superior to the Russians, but Howard couldnt help in singles or doubles, and the
Russians won 3-2.
Nicollette said that, after the Teams,
Frances
many top players were left exhausted, so
Christian Martin
some experts think about partitioning these
From English TT
great championships into two parts.
News, Oct., 1976
Eventually this will happen, but not any time
soon. First-round surprises in the Mens:
Italys Stefano Bosi over Thorsell, 3-0. (The
Italians have improved, the Game is more
popular in Italy, so for the first time in 15
years, theyre holding an Italian Open.) Score
one for the Czech home team: Miroslav
Schenk over Swedens Ingemar Vikstrom
whose ill health may finish his career. In the
8ths, French chopper Christian Martin over
Russias Stanislav Gomozkov. Yugoslavias
Stipancic over Russias Sarkhayan in 5.
Englands Denis Neale over Surbek, 3-1! Germanys 74 National Champion Jochen Leiss
(runnerup this year to 5-time Champ Wilfried Lieck) over Swedens Bengtsson, 23-21 in the
5th!
Quarters: Secretin, whos won 10-straight French National Singles Championships,
over Stipancic; Czechoslovakias Milan Orlowski over Johansson; Martin over Neale, deuce in
the 4th; and Strokatov over Leiss (from down 2-1). Semis: Secretin over 1974 Champion
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Orlowski in 5; Strokatov over

Martin, 24-22 in the 3rd. Final:
Secretin over Strokatov, 16, -26,
14, -13, 12 (had the Frenchman
scored after having any one of 5
ads in the 2nd game, the match
would have been easier). It was a
great win, and afterwards he was
very moved on receiving, as he said,
an unbelievably warm welcome at the
Paris airport.
Uzorinac, in giving us a Profile of the
artistic Secretin, says:

Frances Secretin best technician in the world?

Photo by Milan Richter, from
English TT News, Feb., 1977

As a technician, he scarcely has an

equal. Maybe he is the best in the world! He can
direct the ball where he wants with the slightest
effort. What a sensibility, what feeling he has in his left
hand, especially in spectacularly returning lobs high over
lamps! Frequently he drives his opponents crazy,
relentlessly returning each cannonade of their
strong
smashes.
A universal player, he is probably just a little too soft.
He does not look like an athletehe hasnt a robust body, but he
does have extraordinary quick legs that allow him to fly all around the court. An
anecdote says: Jacques shaved his beard so he could be lighter and quicker!
Other winners: Womens Hammersley over Rudnova, 24, -24, 11, -10, 18 in the
quarters, and over Romanias Maria Alexandru, 19 in the 4th in the final. Other late round
matches of note: Germanys #2 Wiebke Hendriksen over Antonian, 17 in the 5th; and Swedens
#1 Ann-Christin Hellman over Romanias Liana Milhut, 19 in the 4th. Mens Doubles:
Bengtsson/Johansson over Orlowski/Jaroslav Kunz. Womens Doubles: Hammersley/Howard
over Grofova/Dana Dubinova (wholl have a very easy time with our Angelita Rosal at the 77
Worlds). Mixed Doubles: Stipancic/Palatinus over Orlowski/Ilona Uhlikova.
The European Leagues Division I ties ended in April, and the first four places went to:
1. Yugoslavia, 5-1. 2. Sweden, 4-2, 8-4 (31/11). 3. France, 4-2, 8-4 (27-15). 4.
Czechoslovakia, 4-2, 8-4 (25/17). A good finish for Yugoslaviathey beat the Czechs 4-3 in
their last tie, despite Kunzs valiant penultimate 23-21, 25-23 effort over Surbek. Had
Stipancic not rallied to down Orlowski, the Czechs and the Yugos would each have finished 51 with the Czechs having won the head-to-head tie. Surbek, Stipancic, and Jurcics VjesnikZagreb Club also won the European Club Cup over last years Czech Sparta-Prague winner.
And who won the Mens Europe Top 12 tourney? Surbek, 9-2 (28/10) over German
Open Champ Johansson, 9-2 (28-13)with Bengtsson and Orlowski close behind. The
Womens Top 12 winnermake that Top 10 when Englands Hammersley and Hungarys
Henriette Lotaller defaulted outwas Hellman, 7-2 over a tightly-bunched foursome of
Palatinus, 6-3 (14-8); Uhlikova, 6-3 (13-7); Alexandru, 6-3 (13-7), and Antonyan, 6-3 (13-8).
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English Closed
Cosmo Graham (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 4A; 8A; 23A) reports a few venue glitches at
the Apr. 8-10 English Closed., held not as usual in South London but in the somewhat hard-tofind Luton sports center 30 miles north of London. A nice place to play, said Cosmo,
though the changing rooms were in another building and the canteen did not serve any
meals. Further, though 12 tables were in play, only on the four centre courts was there any
spectator seating.
Graham mentions several early-round matches.
Englands
Andy Barden
Qualifier Maurice Newman beat the eventual
Photo by
Consolation winner, John Hilton, future European
Tony Ross
Champion. (Later, Maurice, a bearded lefty from
Leicester, would lose to Englands #4 Andy Barden,
after Barden had downed both Mickey Harper and 77
Worlds entry Dave Brown in 5.) Ian Horsham,
Englands #8, survived Surreys Dave Weisman in 5,
then mercifully eliminated Bill Sichel whose playing day
had begun at 2:30 in the afternoon and ended, after 22
games, at 9:30 at night. And Mark Mitchell knocked
out 7th seed Don Parker, future husband of Jill
Hammersley, and future coach of the English Mens
Team.
Moving on, in the top half of the draw, Des Douglas defeats ex-International Alan
Hydes; and Jimmy Walker stops talented Ian Kenyon in 4Ians the Kent junior who, says
Cosmo, demonstrated his renowned fighting spirit and lost the fourth at 1. Kents Ray
Tilling on his way to deuce in the 5th doesnt swing at a hanger when he has game-point, and
then ad-up in the 5th again refuses to swat in what should have been an easy killbut he still
wins the match. In the quarters its Douglas over Walker; Barden over Horsham; Denis Neale
over Tilling; and Nicky Jarvis over Paul Day.
In the one semis,
English Closed Triple
Douglas, angling the ball well,
Winner Des Douglas
takes advantage of Bardens
Photo by Frank Davies,
not too brilliant footwork. In
from English TT News,
Feb., 1977
the other, Neale keeps the ball
short, then tries to play down
Jarviss backhand then follows
with a quick switch to the
forehand; Jarvis tries to get his
heavy spins going, especially
wide to Neales forehand where
he wins many points. Theres a
controversy, not made clear by
Cosmo, that causes Denis to
don his track-suit and start to
walk off court. But hes
appealed to by Mike Lawless. When play resumes, Jarvis eventually wins, and the players do
not shake hands.
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Jarvis, says Cosmo, is very vulnerable to anyone who can control his spin, move him
around the court and exploit his weak backhandbut hes been improving steadily and it
looks as if he will become the backbone of future English teams. Douglas, like Neale and the
now retired Chester Barnes, has a close-to-the-table quick blocking style, but, perhaps
because he plays little internationally, Cosmo doesnt think he has the steadiness to become
an essential part of English teams. However, against Des, Nicky wants to loop hard and this
tactic just doesnt work.
Douglas wins the triple crown. In the Mens Doubles, the blockers, Des and Dennis,
beat the loopers, Nicky and Paulbut not necessarily because of skill. Down 13-12, Day
prepares to do his first forehand serve of the match when Neale says, Watch it, that serves
illegal. Day looks indignant, but Jarvis whispers something to him and Day serves a simple
backhand which Neale hits off the end of the table. Loud applause. Day and Neale, who dont
like one another, then exchange words. Get on with it, says the umpire. But Jarvis is
psychically finishedcant even touch a ball let alone get it on the table. Douglas/Neale win
8 of the last 9 points. Des also pairs with Linda Howard whom hed won a European Youth
Mixed with, to down Jarvis/Jill Hammersley. In the quarters, Hilton/Karen Rogers had a good
win over Neale/Carole Knight.
Ladies Doubles went, as expected, to Hammersley/Howard over the surprise team of
Angela Tierney/Karen Witt. In the final, Witt, who at the 79 Worlds would beat our He-ja
Lee but lose deuce in the 3rd to Insook Bhushan, was full of the confidence of ignorance,
played really well, used her illegal serve 80% of the time, while Tierney was, unfortunately,
totally paralyzed by the occasion.
Cosmo also pointed out some Ladies Singles
Englands
matches
that caught his eye. Anita Stevenson,
Melody Ludi
having gone off into a corner for about 10
From Allsport
Photographic
minutes to become psyched up, upset Lesley
Radford, England #5. (At the 79 Worlds,
Stevenson would beat our Alice Green, 3-0.)
Junior Melody Ludi would lose to Hammersley,
but her sponsor, Van Allen, had enough
confidence in her future to send her to a camp in
Frankfurt and to the Swedish Open where she
won a prize for most promising young player.
The only upset in the
quarters was Shelagh
Hessions over Susan
Lisle. The only
competitive semis match was Howard over Knight in 5. In the final,
it was obvious from Lindas facial expressions, her whole demeanor,
that she did not expect to beat Hammersleyand didnt.
Asian Championships
Thirty-one teams, including World Champion China,
participated in the Third Asian Championships, held Apr. 25-May 7
at the Morangbong Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. Indias
Bomi Amalsadvala (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 7A) describes the scene:
298

It was a very picturesque sight to watch the 450 participants being greeted warmly
by 5,000 cheering and clapping spectators seated around the well-decorated walls of the
huge stadium fluttering with multi-colored flags, giant slogan posters, and women escorts
holding bunches of flowers [and] dancing to the strains of the A.T.T.U. [Asian T.T. Union]
song played by an impressive band.
The loudest applause was reserved for their current World Womens champion
Pak Yung Sun. The entire stadium rose to give her a standing ovation. Equally significant
was the continuous cheering for the Syrian Arab Republic team when they entered the
stadium carrying a huge portrait of Comrade Kim Il Sung [the North Korean leader].
Back in February, the Chinese, along with the Swedes and Yugoslavs, played in the Welsh
Open at Cardiff and dominated the Europeans. Disappointingly, though, Mens Team winners Li
Chen-shih and Liang Ko-liang put on a 13, 8, 10 joke of a Mens final. After Li had beaten
Johansson, and Liang had beaten Bengtsson in straight games in their Singles semis, the Chinese
defeated the Swedes, in 5, in Doubles. In Womens play, Sweden won the Womens Teams from
Chinathanks towell, Ann-Christin Hellman who won her two singles and (with Birgitta
Olsson) the doubles. However, no Swede made any other event finalthe Chinese were totally
dominant. Singles winner Yen Kuei-li (who 3-0 had given up only 30 points to World #6
Hammersley) defeated Sun Min in straight games in the final. In Womens Doubles, Sha Min/Sun
Min downed Yen Kuei-li/Yu Chin-chia in straight games. And Liang/Yu took the Mixed from Li/
Yen in straight games.
As well see in a moment, playing in Pyongyang was different from playing in Cardiff. The
Mens Teams featured a final round robin among eight countrieswith the following results: 1.
China. 2. Japan. 3. North Korea. 4. Indonesia. 5. North Vietnam. 6. Malaysia. 7. India (minus their
National Champion, Niraj Bajaj, who had to complete his final B. Com examination). 8. Hong
Kong. In the Mens Teams, China, fielding Li, Liang, and their National Champion, Kuo Yao-hua
(later Guo Yuehua), finished with a 5-1 win over runner-up Japan (defensive star Norio Takashima
beat Kuo). North Korea lost 5-1 to Japan, but against China they were leading 3-0 (!) before losing
5-3. Chinas Womens Team blanked Japan who also lost to North Korea, 3-2. The North Koreans,
backed by loudly cheering spectators, then upset the Chinese 3-1. North Korea also won the
Womens Doubles.
Bomi is puzzled, but shouldnt be, as to why in Mens
Singles the four world-class players there met in the round of
16! He tells us that Japans Mitsuru Kohno played Liang Koliang, and Takashima played Li Chen-shih. But thats all he
tells us, other than that the winner was a Chinese, and that the
Mens and Mixed Doubles were won by the Japanese.
Something for everybody this tournament.
As for the women, Bomis again puzzled to see that in the
8ths four Chinese women played four Japanese women. Thus,
not even a single Japanese but four North Koreans advanced
to the quarters. In the semis, an unknown Chinese, Chang
Te-ying [World #3 after the Birmingham Worlds], counterattacked fearlessly and beat the current World Champion Pak
Yung Sun, 3-0, before losing in the final to Chinas Chang Li,
World Champion
runner-up in Calcutta to Pak.
Pak Yung Sun

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USTTA Coaching Chair Jeff Smart tells us (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 8;16) that a
Sequence-Photo book has come out, with a translation from Japanese into English by Takako
Trenholme, that explains what the over 500 sequence photos show. Both European and
Asian world-class stars are pictured, some using shakehands, others penholder. The books
especially good for penholders, Jeff says, because more and varied styles and grips are
shown in detail for penholders than for shakehands players. Although theres little or no
attention given to choppers or to backhand play against chop, theres plenty of variety
otherwise. Jeff says:
The description of the high toss serve is excellentespecially in pointing out
how this kind of serve can be used to vary the rhythm, not just the spin, and how the
body can be used to hide the racket. Up-close pictures of wrist action on serves and
virtually all strokes are very well done; emphasis on footwork, especially in and out
movement, as well as strategy on how to move your opponent, is very well
illustrated.I especially liked some specific points brought out in the use of the elbow
for various strokeswhat angle the elbow should be at various points in the stroke
and how it changes.
The books meant to be the next best thing to movies, says Jeff, and it has the
advantage over movies in being able to stop the action at critical points in the strokes.
However, if you wanted to play like these world-class stars, youd soon find out, as Steve
Berliner and Mike Lardon did, that more than a little work is required.
Play in Japan
Dave Nicolette reports that 1967 World
runner-up Kohno, using a penhold style racket with
1.7mm pimples-out TSP rubber, won his first
National Mens Singles title. In the semis, he
attacked Takashimas backhand and middle with
ruthless efficiency, allowing him only 42 points
total; and in the final he played spectacularly to
defeat the All Japan University Student Champion
Masahiro Maehara, allowing him only 45 points total.
Oregons Steve Berliner,
having spent a week in Japan,
Japans Mitsuru Kohno
(TTT, July-Aug., 1976) tells us
From 1974 Four Champions
something about how maybe 100
college teams in the Tokyo area play competitively in various round-robin
divisions of different strength. He comments on a mens and womens
spring Match he and some of the Tamasu Butterfly staff saw at the Tokyo
Olympic arena between Senshu (coached by 1969 World Singles
Steve Berliner
Champion Shigeo Itoh) and Keiko university students. The best-of-7 tie
consisted, for the men, of possibly six singles matches and one doubles match played fourth,
and for the women of possibly five singles matches and two doubles. Though only six players
will participate, about a dozen are in uniform on each team bench. They face each other well
behind each end of the table. Their involvement is very ritualistic:
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The viewer is immediately impressed by the very formal entrance of each team
into the arena, and the serious opening ceremony which precedes the first match. Each
team in turn sings its school song, the coaches shake hands, etc. When play begins,
the yelling gets furious as the bench encourages their player, and he responds (between
points) to their commands, yelling Hai! Hai! (Yes! Yes!).
A match through 2 out of 3 is nearly twice as long as a normal U.S. match
because each point is played as a game in itself, with verbal coaching, walking,
dancing, etc. both before and after the point. The greatest possible respect, however, is
shown during the actual play, and at no time within the playing area is there shown any
hostility or unsportsmanlike conduct. Players do not EVER strike the table, stamp their
feet, curse, or show disrespect for the opponent. At the end of a match [this one was
won by Senshu 4-1), opponents shake hands and bow in a completely sincere manner.
Sincere all this may be, but I cant help but feel the emotional response, or lack of it,
is much too programmedunnatural in my culture. Steve, however, is very impressedsays
we in the U.S. have a long way to go to measure up to what takes place even in a 4-6 p.m.
practice session he witnessed:
The players begin by pairing off and volleying as many as 2,500 times without
missing. When they miss, the count begins over. This routine is followed by regular
stroke practice. Then its time for: THATS RIGHT, hard physical exercise, including
running. Guess what? The local superstars dont skip this part of the regimen, they
lead. As a general rule, the better the team the more discipline they exhibit in every
way. Sorry folks, but this even includes short hair; and I mean crew-cut.
The Japanese dont believe that short hair makes a better player, but they know
the value of conformity. The children wear black uniforms and caps through high
school. In everything they do, they exhibit a desire for precision and high
accomplishment, and I think, above all, dignity..
Mike Lardons Reflections on Training in Japan
USTTA Coaching Chair Jeff Smart tells us (TTT,
Perry Schwartzberg
May-June, 1976, 4; 10; 20) that he and his Committee
had been asked by the E.C. to select two juniors to go to
Japan, to Senshu University, for five weeks of training
this summer. But Perry Schwartzberg whod gone there
last year and Wuvanich and Chan whod been there
previously had apparently helped to convince Jeff this
wouldnt be a good idea. Why? Because primarily (1)
the Japanese emphasis is on rigorous training, penholder
footwork practice, and playing games; moreover, their
coaching is so old-fashioned, so negligent of the
increasing importance of the backhand, they asked Perry
to coach backhand play!). And because (2) our juniors
simply arent physically fit enough for the demands the
Japanese make of their students. Also theres an initially unsettling cultural adjustment to be
made, the dormitories are said to be unsanitary, and of course theres the language problem.
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Instead of helping to pay expenses for these juniors (USTTA

provided half their round trip airfare, and everything else), Jeff
wants the Association to allocate $1,500 towards a clinic for, say, 10
of our top juniors, with Wuvanich or D.J. Lee as paid coach (though
of course coaching by these two is easily available at their regularly
offered clinics).
But since the E.C. wants the Japan connection, Jeff dutifully
sends out a questionnaire to the prospective Juniors parents asking
them to respond in detail about their childs physical condition and
his/her willingness to improve it. So, with the responses they
received, who did Jeff and his Regional coaches pick? In this order:
1. Kasia Dawidowicz, 2. Mike Lardon, 3. Dean Doyle. 4. Mike
Stern. The Japanese must have gender-nixed Kasia, though, for it
was Mike and Dean who went to Tokyo to be welcomed by Kimi
Tamasu of the sponsoring Butterfly Co.
Kimi Tamasu
On his return from Japan, Lardon (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 4)
shares his July 30-Sept. 3 training-diary entries with us. During a
sort of orientation, Mike and Dean were impressed by the College Championships. It seemed
like about 1,000 players were 2300. But then they watched the High School Championships,
and these players looked like a bunch of 2050 wild attackers. Yoush! theyd say on every
pointeven when they got nets or edge balls.
For the first two weeks, July 30-Aug. 13, Mike and Dean went not to Senshu
University but to Seiko College. Heres what a typical day there was like:
Kimi would
pick us up [at our
Butterfly dorm] around 7.
Wed eat a big breakfast
at Dennys (where they
served AmericanMike
didnt like Japanese
food], and then get to the
College about 8:30. First,
wed clean the tables,
then start stretching, then
do knee bends from 9 to
9:20. Afterwards hit
forehands for 20 minutes.
Then service and return
for an hour. Followed by
a 10-minute break. Then
Mike Lardon: Training and lunch - Japanese style.
circuit training: bunny
hops, ankle walks, 30
push-ups, 35 sit-ups, etc.; run 2 miles in the blazing sun. From 1-2:30 wed get a
breakand eat lunch, sometimes at a Shakeys pizza place or a MacDonalds; sleep a
little; read, write, whatever. At 2:30 wed be back cleaning the tables again. The
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playing rooms temperature was anywhere from 80 to 105 degrees. At 3:00 we were
stretching. At 3:20 doing service returns. Then there were 20-minute drills of anything
you wanted to do. At 4:30 we were smashing the ballthis was very tough and tiring.
We got a break from 4:50 till 5:15. From 5:20 to 6:20 we played matches. After that,
an hour of footworkthis was most difficult. More stretching. Then a Japanese
meeting. After eating dinner we got to the dorm around 8:30. Took a bath. Had a
drink. Went to bed about 10:30.
After a while, says Mike, Dean and I began to hate this hell of a routine. Not
enough relaxation. Those in charge of us thought we werent always 100% dedicated, and
that we showed too much emotion.
At Shenshu Mike played some matches, practiced serve returns against a 2450 player
who had a Chinese service coach, and soon became very friendly with him. Mikes JapaneseAmerican book was invaluableallowed him to communicate with this friend and others
who were all so crazy about table tennis, so crazy, that Mike sometimes wondered about them,
about himself. But he knew he had to be patient. Find peace with himself and the Sport.
Getting better is a process of many little practices, not one big practice. Mike hated the
training, but says, I must think positively. The training must be like a key to unlock my inner
and physical self. Enabling my true ability and potential to come out.
Aug. 17 was a hard day. This morning we ran about 10 kilometers.Many hills. I really
didnt think Id make it, but I did. My knee is in very bad shape though. Keep working, keep
suffering like this, and I should make the Worlds. The Czechs have arrived, and former European
Champ Orlowskis lost to about 10 different players, including the Japanese International Abebut
the two of them played a great 22-20-in-the-3rd match, the best Ive ever seen.
Aug. 18 was a relief, had a great time with Dean and some Japanese teenagers at a Fun
Park. It was very expensive though.
Aug. 21. My money situation is very bad. Im down to my last 1000 yenonly $3,
not much for 8 days or 24 meals plus infinite drinks and juices. He goes around collecting
empty coke and sprite bottles for a 10-yen refund. Day after day is hard: there are kilometers
to run and hills to climb, push-ups and sit-ups to do, the playing rooms over 100 degrees.
Ive had three showers already today, he says, its been so hot. Of course, since theres no
hot water, the showers are ice cold.
He continues to get coaching advice, continues to give himself advice. Heres an
example:
I have to hit my forehand in front of my body. If Im getting ready for an allout smash I have to take a step back and then a big forward step into the ball. My
shoulders have to make a 180 degree rotation. My head is fixed on the ball and my
eyes are always watching it. My chin is down and my chest concave. .I follow
throughout and big. The ball must be hit flat.
Someone gives him pointers on how to beat Danny Seemiller. Mikes not keeping it a
secret: Serve backhandbig motion. Serve short to his backhand and very fast to his
forehand. Loop into his middle-forehand side. Smash at angles.When Danny serves short,
Im to return a short chop to his backhand, then try to get in a loop. Wow, do you suppose
Dannys opponents at the Birmingham Worlds will have read this?
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And so it goes at Shenshuthe second half of Mikes stay there is presumably much
like the first (but he mostly details matches he played, and reiterates the importance of mind
and heart). Again there are moments of relief. He has a camera, takes pictures; has occasion to
have lunch at someones house, is served Japanese food and eats the whole thing.
The five weeks are up. He concludes:
Sept. 3. Im sure glad its over. Ive learned a lot about table tennis and very
much about Japanese culture. I feel like an enriched personand Id say I am. Japan
has really taught me a lot. It has matured me too. In general, the people Dean and I
encountered were friendly. We met many weirdos [those in training who played cards
for money?]but theyre in any country.
This trip I will always cherish, fear, love and hate. I have many mixed emotions.
But the general conclusion Ive come to is a very positive one.
World University Championships
Jeff Smart (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 13A) covers the 2nd World University Championships,
held in Hafia, Israel, May 1-8. As was the case last year when a U.S. Team went to Germany to
play, official notification of this tournament came latethough Mike Veillette, not even a student,
heard about it two months before high-rated student Hamid Hayatghaib never heard of it at all.
Thus the selection process was suspect, and, says Jeff, Chair John Read ought to submit a report
on, first, just who was notified (Paul Pashuku, on hearing about the tournament almost too late, had
to rush in a last-minute show-of-interest), and, second, how the Team was selected (presumably on
ratings?). Of course some players couldnt go even if they were selectedcouldnt afford to pay
their own plane fare. However, the USTTA did pick up the tab for uniforms, food, and
accommodations. So who comprised our U.S. Mens Team? Smart, Pashuku, Greg Gingold, and
Benfield Munroe. And our U.S. Womens Team? Alice Green and Sheila ODougherty.
Although we arrived in Hafia three days before the tournament, says Jeff, we couldnt
find a decent place to practice. Our first Mens Team match was against Great Britain, the
weakest of the four seeds, and if were to advance out of our round robin to be one of the final
four teams contending for the title, a win was critical. But the best we could do was England
5-U.S. 2. Both Paul (19, -20, 20) and Greg (19
in the 3rd) had gutsy wins over chopper John
Fuller, but Ben dropped two tough ones: (-19,
20, -15) to John Fletcher, and (18 in the 3rd, after
leading 14-11) to Don Parker, a Top 10 player in
England whod later win two matches against
Yugoslavia.
Finland, the other team in our round
robin, whom we had to beat to get into the 2nd
Division, had only two players, but even their #2,
we were shocked to find out, had played over
20 times in international competition. This tie
Greg sat out, and we barely won, 5-4. Paul saved
usbeat their #1 (22-20 in the 3rd) and their #2
Paul Pashuku
(also in three games).
Photo by Mal Anderson
304

Other round robin group results: undefeated

Germany over Brazil who made the 2nd Division with a
5-4 win over Luxembourg; undefeated Yugoslavia
over Belgium, 5-4 victor over Greece; undefeated
Austria over the Netherlands who 5-4 stopped Israel
and knocked the 13th finishing team, Thailand, out of
the tournament.
In our 2nd Division play, we opened against
Brazil, and closed with a 5-4 loss to them. Their #2,
Edwardo Barone, a lefty, pips-out penholder with a
strange return of serve, took all three. Their World
Team #1, Ricardo Inokuchi, the only non-penholder
among them, took only one, for Gingold, whom Jeff
had never seen play so well, killing loops, attacking
Greg Gingold
From July 1-2, 2006,
short serves, and super-looping anything that came
South Florida
along, beat him, 13, 17! And Paul did him in too,
Championship
Program
hanging on to win the 2nd at deuce. Brazils #3, a
stocky penholder with a powerful forehand loop and kill, and the built-up name, Ogassawara
Tadashi fell both to Paul, -21, 16, -17, and to Greg, -20, 25 (from 18-11 down), -22 (from 1711 up) in a teetering, turnaround match that gave us a chance to win. But Jeffs 9th-match
comeback try against him was -19 (from 20-15 down), -16 thwarted. Our last two ties, played
after a couple of days of sightseeing, were more or less uncontested: we lost to the
Netherlands 5-1 and beat Belgium 5-1 for 7th place.
The World University Team title went to Austria over runner-up Yugoslavia, 5-1 (Bela
Mesaros beat Suda). West Germany, whod lost to both Austria and Yugoslavia, 5-3, finished
3rd over Great Britain.
Alice and Sheila opened their Team play with an easy blitz of Greece. But then against
Brazil, though an attacking Alice 19, 20 survived MiekoYamada, Sheila seemed too nervous to
give Harumi Akamatsu a fight. (These two Brazilians were the Yamada and Akamatsu that
would play in the Birmingham Worlds? Their first names didnt match.) The doubles was key,
but we lost it, 22-20 in the 3rd. Then Alice with a 3rd-game win over Akamatsu brought us into
the 5th. But Yamada was too 19, 16 strong for Sheila. In our loss to Great Britain, Alice had an
encouraging win over Susan Lisle. Since Israel
provided no competition, we finished 5th
Yugoslavia won the title over, first, West
Germany, 3-1 (Wiebke Hendrikson beat Eva Jeler, 19,
20), then in the final, 3-1, over Great Britain (Lisle
beat Jeler, 2-0). West Germany came 3rd over Brazil, 30.
The Mens Singles Champion was Germanys
Leiss (who in the Teams against Austria had won all
three). Runner-up was Mesaros (winner over Leiss in
the Teams, but now unable to handle Leisss slow
high loops that set him up for kills). In the semis, it
was Leiss over Austrias Heinz Schluter, and Mesaros
Wiebke Hendrikson
over Germanys Klaus Schmittinger (defensive-minded
From English TT News, Oct., 1976
305

Bela, down 2-0, started looping and killing to mix the game up and
won in 5). U.S. results: Pashuku, not feeling well, lost to Inokuchi.
Gingold, up 2-0 on Belgiums Herteleer, whom hed zipped in the
Teams, let him slip away. Munroe lost in 5 to another Belgian. And
Smart was defeated by the Austrian Suda. Mens Doubles went to the
Germans over Austrias Weinman/Schluter, 3-2. Pashuku/Gingold
eliminated the Brazilians Inokuchi/Barone but then Paul was too sick to
continue play. Smart/Munroe went down in the 1st round.
The Womens winner was Erzebet Korpain the quarters in 4
over Alice Green, in the semis in 5 over Hendriksen, and in the final in
5 over Jeler whod 3-2 gotten by Lisle. Womens Doubles went to the
Yugoslavs over Lisle/Karen Rogers in 5. Alice/Sheila lost in 4 to an
Austrian pair. Mixed went to hat trick winner Leiss and Hendriksen over
Korpa/Lucic. Jeff/Sheila lost in the 1st round, but Zacharias/Sonne beat
Barone/Hatumi to reach the quarters. (If Jeff knows why Alice agreed
to play with this Israeli instead of a teammate, he doesnt say.)

Israels Zui Zacharias and partner Alice Green

306

Erzebet Korpa

Chapter Twenty-One
1976: Jamaicas Benson and Hedges Love Bird Invitational.

Id heard that in England the law wont allow cigarette companies to be involved in
any kind of sport. But here in Jamaica things are different. Their annual Love Bird
Invitational, held in Kingstons National Arena, June 1-4, just before the U.S. Open, is
sponsored not only by the JTTA and Air Jamaica but by the Machado Tobacco Co., best
known for their Benson and Hedges brand of cigarettes.
Play was scheduled to start at 5 p.m., but by the time the opening ceremoniesthe
parade of players, the welcome-to-Jamaica-and-thanks-to-the-sponsors speecheshad ended,
it was much closer to 6 p.m. This was o.k., though, because if a spectator coming from work
was gonna pay $2 for a nightly ticket he wanted to see all the t.t. action he could. Ordinarily
the matches wouldnt have begun until later, but the promoters feared that by the time of the
tournament the curfew established in Trench Town might be imposed in all parts of the city.
With 25% of the Labor Force unemployed, the problem was, as one journalist observed, No
short term plan can eradicate any type of violence unless the ECONOMIC CONDITIONS are
humanized where the wealth of the country is distributed for all to benefit.
Less than two weeks after the tournament, the Manley government would be calling a
state of emergency. Even while we were there, the movement of suspicious foreigners was to
be restricted. Were North Americans suspect? Jamaica hadnt been getting good press in the
U.S. and Canada. Not just because of the recent unprecedented show of violence here but
because of the close relations Jamaica had with Cuba and the stiff bauxite levy it had imposed
on U.S. and Canadian mining companies. Also, Jamaica was undergoing a severe balance of
payments crisis, and many in the government were very bitter towards the U.S. for giving
$100 million to the Pinochet regime in Chile but absolutely nothing to a democratic country
like Jamaica.
Take a touristy ride up into the Blue Mountains, get out of your car to admire the
scenery, and you might hear, Whitey, go home! But of course table tennis notables in the
enclave of the Sheraton-Kingston complex were to be greeted warmly not abused. It helped
that some of the officials making the Invitational a success knew some of us from previous
visits, but, no matter, everyone we saw daily was friendly and nice. That included, among
others, Jamaican TTA President Roy Hylton; Tournament Chair Ken McLachlan; Air Jamaicas
Maxine Walters and their Managing Director John Scott; the Machado Co.s Josh Young; and
Jamaican National Coach Les Haslam.
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Mens Matches: First up, Surbek over Jamaica

#3 Cornel France who, with his beautiful touch blocks
and sweeping backhands, might be the best of the
competing locals. Though losing his big-chance opening
game, 24-22, to Europes Top 12 winner, he did a good
job of warming-up not just Surbek but the crowd. Next,
18-year-old Hector Bennett, the Jamaican #4, 15-all in
the 1st with Canadas World #47 Errol Caetano, also
kept the audience initially hoping. Then it was the lanky
Jamaican #1 Evan Williamss turn to lose. He was up
against the Jamaican-by-birth Black Flasha.k.a. the
English National Champion, Desmond Douglas. But,
not to be outdone by France or Bennett, Williams, fit as
Jamaicas #1 Evan Williams
an Olympic athlete, showed lots of spring at the table,
and a good loop and point-wining follow.
Hey, heres our Danny Seemiller and the very experienced World #28 Toshiaki
Furukawa, recently arrived in Kingston after a 21-hour plane trip from Japan. In the 1st, it
looks like Danny, playing superbly, will run away with the match. Another States invitee,
Charlie Wuvanich, however, is not so sure. This Japanese guy can make terrific comebacks,
he says. And he ought to know4 times Charlie had played Furukawa in Australia, 4 times he
had lost to him in close matches. Down 13-6, Furukawa gambleshe servesand hits in a
winner. YOUSH! he says. Then goes back to his change-the-spin chopping. Surprising me, if
not Wuvanich, the Japanese draws to 14-15. But then Seemiller takes control. If Furukawa chops
Dannys serves, Danny follows with a devastating wrist-snap of a loop that often wins the point
outright. If Furukawa tries to backhand top-return the ball, it isnt fast enough or low enough to
prevent Danny from attacking. Though up 20-16, Seemiller has a scare before winning at 19.
Dannys strategy for the 2nd game is to quickly attackbut if Furukawa gets the ball
back Danny must not keep looping, looping, but must instead push a while, then when the
Japanese comes in to pick-hit a ball (Danny figures Furukawa is about 70% defense, 30%
offense), he blocks that pick then murderously loops one in. Down 13-11, Furukawa looks as
if hes going to serve the ball with the edge of his racket. Then when he comes to make
contact, its as if hes
using a warped
racket.
Up 15-13, the
Japanese is blinking
like a man with a
hopeless nervous
affliction. Up 19-18,
Seemiller feels the
heat in the Arena like
needles on his
morning sunburn.
Furukawa begins to
grunt audibly with
every unbelievable
Danny Seemiller winning over Japans Toshiaki Furukawa - hes bad, mon!
308

badminton return. Up 20-19, Danny jumps high with both feet and comes
down on one more hanger of a lob andmisses! But, again getting the ad,
keeping his cool, secure that the Japanese wont take a chance and roll his
sidespin serve, Danny places the ball perfectly, anticipates perfectly the
return, and, as the Jamaica News would put it, in Indian war dance style
powers through the deciding point. Hes bad, mon! said one of Dannys
many local admirers. Hes bad! Bad of course meaning Good.
Now its another Jamaicans turn to play and lose the match of a
lifetimeDennis Duncan, Jamaica #5, vs. Milivoj Karakasevic. The
Yugoslav was here in place of last years winner Anton Tova
Stipancic. Tova, according to his countryman, is getting fat in the
Army. Karakasevic, whod recently completed his own Military Service,
says the stint really isnt so awful. After an initial three months, the
professional t.t. player can manage to play at least some every day in the
town where by his own choice hes stationed. However, what with
Karakasevic caricature
playing into the evening and getting up early, Karakasevic said, Every
by Rudi Stipkovic
day in the Army I was tired.
Wuvanich thought he was scheduled to play a Jamaicanbut he was preoccupied with
thoughts of next weeks U.S. Open and the boycott position he might have to take there. Hed had
long conversations with his roommate Danny and me about the need for striking and walking the
picket line if necessary. The $1,500 total prize money being offered was ridiculousan awful step
backward. He was also very concerned about being able to play for the U.S. Team in Friendship
Matches (You want to win, dont you? Why wont you let me help you?). He also wanted to play
in the U.S. Closed. In England you must be a resident of the country for two years before you can
play in their National Championships. But in Canada, by government law, only six months. He
thought the eligibility rules very arbitrary. Had he not played in tournament after tournament in the
States for a whole year now?
Danny knew Charlie was to play Englands #8 Ian Horsham who was wearing not a St.
Christopher medal but a little table tennis racket round his neck with a pearl for a ball. Since
Ian had trained in China and Japan and was using this very hard inverted
Midas rubber, Seemiller thought Wuvanich would be well advised to
listen to what he could tell him about Horshams game. But Charlie just
looked at him, nodded blankly, and continued to feel his aching shoulder
muscleswhich, he confided to a similarly blank Seemiller, he was sure
were not bonded.
In the 1st game, Horsham with his flat backhand darting out fast
as a chameleons tongue, swallowed up the score from 13-12, got 7 in a
row to 20 and then out. In the 2nd, Charlie was up 17-12. But Horsham
evened it at 19-all, then hit in one of his scythe-swinging backhands and
time had almost caught up with Wuvanich. Almost, for at that point
Englands
Charlie, down 20-19, got luckyIan missed a put-away that would
Ian Horsham
have won him the match. And now Charlie, looking deceptively
uninterested in it all, prevailed at deuce. In the 3rd, Wuvanich up 6-2 and threatening to break
the Englishman, failed to return two of Ians serves. Then recovering the lost ground, he made
the turn at 10-5. But Ian, despite losing two crucial points to the bat rule, took several breaths
and with a rush tied it at 15-all. Only to discover hed taken his last gasp.
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Sharon Spence

Hector Bennett

Tina Walter

Roberto Byles

From 1976 Love Bird Program

Caribbean Junior Champion Roberto Byles, the Jamaican #2, whose younger brother is
the Islands U-13 Champ, had no chance against Zlatko Cordas. But his game had improved
with his Sept., 1975 goodwill tour of Cubagood competition for him there.
The last Mens match was World #18 Katsuyuki Abe vs. Bogganand I hit in enough
nothing-to-lose, no look forehands to make the 1st game 17-18 close, then folded.
Womens Matches: Irena Cordas, so easy-going off-court, never let up for a minute
and 21-3, 21-12 downed Sharon Spence, the 16-year-old Jamaican #1 whod played in the
Asian, African, Latin American Games in Peking. Violetta Nesukaitis, now engaged to be
married, her outstanding career nearly over, met our Insook Bhushan and was not at her best.
The new Phantom rubber on her backhand undoubtedly helps when shes playing a looper, but
of course Insook isnt a looper. She beat Violetta 14 and 18. Still, the Canadian wasnt exactly
flogged, as the local paper so colorfully put it. Indeed, I had the feeling that if Violetta had
pick-hit more, the match might have been much closer. As it was, fully 100% of her only halfdozen attempted forehands went in. European Champ Jill Hammersley had far too much game
for Tina Walter. The attractive Jamaican #2 just couldnt read the Englishwomans
sophisticated change of spin.
After all the evenings matches were completed, our Canadian journalist friend Laura,
and Mike Lawless, Director of the 77 Worlds, went off to try to cable back their stories.
Then, later in the evening, the three of us and Caetanos girl, Diane (who back home in
Toronto had to suffer the irregular nighttime hours Errols TV job demanded and who here
had to suffer daytime sunburn), walked, along with most of the players (except the asceticminded Japanese), to Tiffanys, a local discotheque. Not long after, Horsham, like a shadow,
joined ussaid hed been stopped a couple of times along the way and asked for money. After
drinks and dancing, we all went back to the hotel in little groups, except for Surbek who
braved it alone.
Next day, Dule Osmanagic, the Yugoslav Captain/Coach, was telling me that Surbek
was up for his countrys Man of the Year award. Statesmen, scientists, professionals of all
kinds were deemed eligibleand this year Surbek, as the most popular sportsman in
Yugoslavia, was seriously being considered. Dule said that after their Team had won the
European Championships, which had been watched on TV everywhere, from Dubrovnik to
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Ljubljana, neither he nor the players for some time after could go
anywhere, not even to the market and back, without being stopped
and congratulated along the way200 meters in two hours, he said
with a little laugh.
The first of the top-ranked players in the quarters who is made
to go for his guns, as the News yelled, was Surbek. Against Caetano
the Yugoslav showed a seemingly new ability to hit, not just loop
prompting the fellow next to me to say, With a forehand and
footwork like that, who needs a backhand? But Errols no awestruck novicehes taken games from Surbek before. In the 1st,
Caetanos long-arm counter of Surbeks loop at 18-all, his quick,
point-winning snap at 19-18, and his 20-19 finish allows him to eke it
out. Errols got to take chances, says Danny. But its not long
before Coach Cordas is yelling, Dont push, man! And the match is
even-up. Errol cant win the 3rd either. Hes up 13-8down 17-14. In
the 4th, hes down 10-5, ralliesonly to fall 21-19 short.
You
could see
right away
Errol Caetano
that
Seemiller wasnt going to beat
Douglas in straight games this year.
The Black Flash was much flashier.
And he wouldnt be putting ball after
ball to Dannys forehand. In the 1st,
Seemiller was down 10-416-9.
Hed been aced with two serve
returns by Des, also a lefthander,
whod surprised him by fast-flicking
his spin serves back down Dannys
forehand line. Ive never seen anyone
aggressively handle Dannys serves
Desmond Douglas - The Black Flash
so. And when Douglas didnt
backhand-flash in a return, he used a neutralizing backhand-hop that prevented Danny from
taking the initiative.
Seemiller was even less into the 2nd game. He was rushing, couldnt keep the ball in
play. Dannys a rhythm player, Horsham was saying, Des isnt letting Danny get
comfortable. In the 3rd, Danny tried hard not to force and to put a mixed fast-slow pace on
the ball. Still, he was making many more errors than usual and was down 19-16. At which
point he gathered up everything inside of him, then let it all come furiously out. Five in a row
he scored to keep himself alive. Youve Got To Have Balls To Play Table Tennisthat was a
popular t-shirt vendors were selling here and that Danny was wearing last night.
In the 4th, Seemillers strategy was to try to prevent Douglas from rolling the ball. To
do this hed have to keep his serves short, really short. But on these Jaques tablessome said
they were the fastest in the worldthat had been very hard for Danny to do. Also, since hed
been unable to get any more Fujii Ultra D rubber, hed had to start playing with a new hard,
311

fast Mark V sheet he hadnt been able to get used to yet. Des begins the 4th by flashing in two
perfectly placed returns of Dannys serveswins both points. Thereafter Danny still insists on
serving to Douglass backhand, and since he cant keep the ball short he can never follow with
his own attacking style. A much quicker Douglas avenges his last years loss to Seemiller.
Karakasevic likes to smoke cigarettes as much as the Chinese do. Hes also a
penholder with a Chinese-push backhand. Everything else is mine, he says. But the game is
so fast now compared even to just a couple of years ago that I have to change the fingers on
my grip. I cant move my fingers into my old grip to hit the forehand fast enough. In 71
people were talking about the new European starsBengtsson, Orlowski, and Karakasevic.
And now? World # 26 Karakasevic and his wind-up forehand (he uses Butterfly A004-soft
rubber) was still in the news, at least in Yugoslavia, for he reached the final of the Closed there
and his win over Johansson in the European Teams helped Yugoslavia dethrone the Swedes
whod held the Championship six straight years.
Karaksevics opponent this evening was Wuvanich and (Nobody will believe me,
Charlie says) his sore shoulder. (Later, back in New York before the U.S. Open, Ill watch it
being treated and bandaged at the LIKA Club in Chinatown by Fai Chen, a fella who if ever
you needed someone to help you get another someone out of trouble, he was the guy.) Hurtin
Charlie may be, but hes more than holding his own with Karakasevic. Is ahead 2-1 in games
and smiling appreciatively at the crowd that shouts, Come on, Charlie! But then, carried
away by the spirit of his supporters, Wuvanich starts trying to hit in servesand not
successfully enough to win the 4th game. In the 5th, when Karakasevic begins bringing back
with his pips Charlies initial hard-hit drive or even smash, the follow-up ball is much harder
for the Thai to hit in. Down 18-13, Wuvanich turns to Seemiller and me and in self-disgust lifts
up 8 fingers. Thats how many points hes given up in a row. After losing this match, his
shoulders really bad.
The last quarters match is between Abe and
Cordas. Zlatko of course has been busy coaching in
Canada, hasnt been playing much, but, up 20-19 in the
1st, he gets a breakAbe misses a hanger, and you can
hear Zlatkos little o of surprise. Though Abe repeatedly
comes at Cordas with this adjustment to his forehand hes
shadow-practiced after that first game, Zlatko retains his
beautiful backhand control and goes up 2-1. Wuvanich,
watching, says, Cordas has got a brainnot like me,
huh, Mr. Boggan?
In the 4th, Abe goes down 7-2 while Furukawa at
the Japanese bench nods and nodsno hes in no danger
of falling asleep, he means to be encouraging. Cordas
grimaces as if to try to hide a smile at the way the match is
going. But then its 8-all15-allwith Cordas failing to
return three of Abes serves along the way. However,
Zlatko Cordas
though Zlatko hasnt been hitting his forehand hard, his
backhand kill is great and his steady backhands a killer. At 17-all Abe bravely socks one in.
But then, down 18-17, Cordas gets a lucky shot in off the edge of his racket. His moustache
twitches, he smiles that grimace, and pooh-poohs the shot. But he takes the point and all the
ones thereafter. Then, limping away from the table, he says his calf muscles are like stones.
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Wuvanich, alluding to
the position hes had in the
draw, laments, I dont believe
it. Abe plays every day, trains
hard. Cordas comes here to
relaxand he wins. I would
have been in the finals.
In the 1st round of Mens
Doubles, it was perhaps a
surprise that Cordas/Caetano
downed Douglas/Horsham. But
the Canadians, unlike the
English, are an established
partnership, and Errol, who with
his extended reach is good at
any long ball, and Zlatko, who
with his short block is strong
over the table, are obviously a
very potent lefty-righty
combination. Byles and Bennett
Cordas (L) and Caetano - Mens Doubles Winners
were later singled out for a
special award for their 19, 20 show against Seemiller and Wuvanich. France and Williams did
creditably well with the Japanese. And Duncan and I had the balls to go out there opposite the
Yugoslavs.
Surbek often prepared for play by writing postcard after postcard. He carries round what
look like sturdy little match-books with important names and addresses. Hell send daily waves of
these cards back to Yugoslavia, so when he returns, as someone said with an admiring chuckle,
Hell have access to the best meat, the best shoes, the best baked goodsyou name it.
At the moment, however, the Kingston Post Office employees, like the Citys Custom
officers, and the Water Commission workers, were starting a sick-out. Actually, some pieces
of mail sent to the P.O. would never arrive at their intended destination. A number of
Jamaicans were sending out bank notes, sometimes as much as $500 per letter to friends and
relatives in the U.S. and Canada (the Jamaican $1.00 discounted to U.S. $.80)until of
course the postal sorters had learned to spot such letters and, knowing the senders could
hardly complain, began stealing them.
After the evenings last matches, and dinner, people at the Jonkanoo Lounge in the
Sheraton were bending over backwards trying to please. The lead limbo dancerwith a waist
approximately the size of Surbeks fist-clenched, muscled right arm, and a rear like a young
boyswas doing it backwards, 6 and inches up from the floor. There was a bottle to either
side of him (her?), a flaming stick extending across, while he, contorting underneath, made a
face in the flame that Horsham said looked like one of those devils in The Exorcist. Tongue
hanging out, mouth up close to one of the bottles as if licking it, he came under and up and,
finally, through the outstretched legs of a girl partner.
Next morning in the light of day I saw this limbo dancer looking as respectable as
anyone elseframe flat as an ironing board, clothed in open shirt and freshly creased slacks,
talking in a rather husky voice and wearing the highest heels Ive ever seen on man or woman.
313

Late that afternoon the Singles semis began. In

the Womens, Yukie Ohzeki, the 27-year-old 5-time
Japanese Champion, was a big favorite over Irena
Cordas. Not only is Ohzeki an excellent penhold
hitter but she also has one of the best backhand
pushes in the world. No one was too surprised then
that the something less than dedicated Irena did not
take a game.
Imagine, I heard a player say, the zeal of the
Japanese at a World Championship where, strictly
speaking, one is not even supposed to nod to a player
from another country. Well, said a Jamaican, aware
of the relaxed, not at all unfriendly attitude of the
Japans Yukie Ohzeki, Love Bird Winner
Japanese here, you come to Jamaica and its really
nice and friendly until an umpire says, Love-all.
Although Insook had beaten defensive star Hammersley for the Love Bird
Championship last year, someone bet Danny and me $10 she couldnt do it again this year. But
for Jill, who most of the evening was wearing a white, Honorary Member Jamaican Rum
Club t-shirt, last years problems didnt just remain, they intensified.
Insook had reversed the rubber on her racketnow had pips on her forehand and
inverted on her backhandand her quick forehand hits were much the better for it. Last year
she was floating the ball, now she had a heavy backhand chop. In 1975, in their expedite
match, Jill was having trouble pick-hitting her backhand and this seemed to throw her
concentration off. In 1976, in their expedite match, she changed her strategy somewhat and in
between temporizing pushes often tried to open the point with a little twisting backhand that
prepared for a much harder backhand flick, followed if necessary by a forehand put-away.
In the 1st, Bhushan was off to a 4-0 start, but a series of mid-game errors brought the score
to 15-all. Then Insook won two key pointsat which time the expedite rule came in. Now we saw
that Jill had a point-opening loop, and Insook could threaten a drop shot. First game to Bhushan,
21-17. In the 2nd, Insook got off to a lead and held it by successively scoring a forehand smash at
the 11th stroke and a desperate slap-backhand at the 12th. Down 10-7, Hammersley accidentally
steps on the balland her game breaks. Down 15-7 she cant start a rally. In the 3rd, Jill has some
brilliant moments, putting right and left combinations of loops and backhands together like a boxer
to go up 7-2. But Insook, imperturbable as ever, fights back. Its 10-all18-all. Down 19-18,
Insook stops, ties her shoelaces, then, up and swinging for the point, gets an edge. Then runs out
the match. In losing this game, Jill is not only unlucky, shes a little angry.
Womens Doubles went to Bhushan/Hammersley, surprisingly in 3, over Nesukaitis/
Cordas. Irena would loop-open the point and Violetta would follow with the kind of forehand
she ought to hit in Singles. But Insook and Jill, largely as a result of their sophisticated,
changing spin that even the very experienced Nesukaitis had trouble reading, eventually and
rather comfortably prevailed. So Insook won $100 in about 20 minutes.
In the Mixed Doubles, Danny and Insook are up 1-0 but down 19-20 in the 2nd to Errol
and Irena. Danny serves, Errol returns, and Insook unhesitatingly hits a winner. But the U.S.
loses this game, and the match is tied. Its not always easy for an attacker like Danny and a
chopper like Insook to play well together. Indeed, thats why Errol had teamed with Irena
rather than Violetta. Also, Irenas ball off Dannys spin often came back wobbly, so Insook,
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fearing to chance hitting it, pushed it back to Errol who often looped it in. In the 3rd, Danny
and Insook are down 16-12, then up 19-17. But Errol beautifully countered an Insook putaway to start a 4-point winning streak.
The final, though, between the Japanese and the English, was the only other good
Mixed match. I noticed, as Abe was changing socks, his feet were calloused, and I wondered if
the intensely serious-minded Ohzekis were too. I also wondered if either one of them were
aware of the English word abbey. The English won in 4, thanks to Douglass lightning-fast
reflexes and Hammersleys pips-out backhand flicks.
In the one Mens Doubles semis, Surbek/Karakasevic lose the first two games despite
the Guyanese-born Caetanos mid-game errors. Surbek, Im sure, wants to trade in
Karakasevic for his regular partner Stipancic. Up 19-18, Karakasevic stage-whispers to
Surbek that hes going to serve long. Cordas is at the ready and hits it in. Zlatko may not be
living in Zagreb at the moment but he can still understand Yugoslavian. How had Karakasevic
forgotten that? Canada wins 3-0.
In the other Mens Doubles, Seemiller/Wuvanich take the first two from Abe/
Furukawa. But then the Japanese move in closer to the table and start to contest the match.
They win the 3rd, and from 18-all in the 4th go into deuceand deuce again as the crowd
screams. Finally the U.S. has the ad. Back comes the Japanese returnit ticks the net on its
way over. But Wuvanich doesnt hesitate, all-out smashes the ball in. Char-lie! Char-lie!
not only the men but the women yell. Wuvanich comes off the court smiling, says quite
seriously, My shoulders getting better now, Mr.Boggan.
For his performance not only in this match but the others, Charlie will win the Most
Popular Player awardand will be suitably rewarded. As for Seemiller, he, too, is met by an
admirer. Says this little kid, Danny, I like the
way you play. Can I have your racket as a
souvenir?
During an evening or two at the Arena,
Danny had gotten to talking with two
Rastafarians whod become very friendly with
him. Given this connection, an article in the
local Daily Gleaner by the U.S. Columnist
Jack Anderson had caught my eye:
The Rastafarians, one of the
oldest of the terrorist groups, is an allblack cult originating in Jamaica in
1930. They believe that the past
Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie,
was the living Godand that the ways
of the white man are evil.The
Rastafarians advocate the liberal use of
marijuana and have been associated
increasingly with violent rebellion and
terrorism. In New York City alone,
they have an estimated 3,000
members.
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Charlie Wuvanich Most Popular Player

A companion article, however, by the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs, thought

Andersons take on the Rastafarians ridiculous. So much so that he asked a friend, Dr. Robert
Pritchard, a noted black American, to offer the following correction:
The Rastafarians, said Pritchard, are a peaceful people and, in fact, are the Jamaican
counterparts of the American Flower Children.
At the Arena, Dannyd made a purchase of something or other off them, or they off
himone of those woolen jockey caps, perhaps, in exchange for a pair of sneakers. Earlier
theyd asked him for his track suit. Dont worry about your coach, mon, theyd told him
meaning me. Hell never know, mon. And then, when they couldnt get his suit, theyd
caught up with me and asked for mine. Id given them some money for cab fare the other
night, but now, as they put it, they wanted something to remember me by. What that could be I
didnt know. My book, I was sure, wasnt the appropriate gift for thembesides, I was trying
to hustle the few copies Id brought along that I hadnt already committed. I exchanged names
and addresses with them and told them Id send them something to remember me bythough
privately I thought maybe I would and maybe I wouldnt.
In the one Singles semi, Cordas, down 2-0 to his longtime teammate Karakasevic, is
not disheartened. Far from it. Positioning the ball well, hes up 20-17 in the 3rd20-182019. Zlatko motions that his opponents racket is wetan aside that may or may not have
helped Karakasevicfor Cordas wins the next point and is still in the match. In the 4th, Zlatko
suddenly takes to spinning his forehand well, and from being up 15-13 practically runs the
game out. But in the 5th hes down 9-4, then catches up, then goes all loose and falls behind
17-1119-14. Go, Zlatko! comes an encouraging cry. And then another. And another. And
another.Down match point, Zlatko zaps in a clutch backhand. He roars, raises a closed fist
high to heaven. But despite this electric rally, the light in him goes out, he loses. I should have
won the 2nd game, he says, clicking his tongue and twisting his lamentable moustache.
Wuvanich looks over at me, smiles, and says, Players always think about the past.
In the other semi, with games tied at 1-all, Surbek and his all-powerful forehand is
beginning to put pressuretoo much pressure?on the Black Flash. Des is waiting too
long, isnt initiating moves to try to take points. Says one observer, If Douglas is going to win
like this, he has to block better than anyone ever. Surbek also has an excellent forehand push,
a graceful fencers lunge that sometimes catches Douglas off guard. Still, Des wins the 4th,
evens the match. Hes much improved from last year, has far more confidence, proves hes not
intimidated by the Yugoslavs big-name game. Moreover, Surbek is hampered somewhat
because this enlarged court is so open, so anything but boxing-ring small, that he cant lob
with his usual consistency. The ball gets lost out there in all that space and he himself loses his
table-dimension perspective. Would that next years sponsors force him, or Secretin, if they
can get him, to lob from out of the astonished faces of the fanslike big league baseball
players half falling into the stands to make impossible catches.
In the 5th, Surbek, near miraculously counter-looping in winners, is up 7-0! It must be all
over. Who could spot the bounding Yugoslav, #3 in the World, such a start and win? But then to
ever-increasing yells of excitement and applause from maybe 1,000 spectatorsjust the opposite of
what hed heard last yearDes outdoes himself with superb blocks and counter-loops until,
incredibly, hes narrowed the game to 9-10. And now they play even-up16-all18-all. Then
Surbek, taking advantage of his serve, is no-holds-barred aggressivecomes whirling into the ball
in that straight-line loop of his and fearlessly turns the match just 21-19 enough in his favor. The
Jamaicans, good sports, appreciative of the great play theyve just seen, applaud both winner and loser.
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Surbek should have spun the first ball slow and the
next one fast, says Osmanajic. But he couldnt resist trying to
excite the crowd.
Tina Walter comes up to Douglas, tries to comfort him.
Bad luck, Des, she says and gives him a kiss. And if the
Black Flash had won? The place would have been torn
down, somebody said.
Later that evening, after wed had dinner and left the
Jonkanoo Lounge and gone down to talk for a while by the
pool, we suddenly heard a helicopter flying by overhead.
Thats Florizel Glasspoles, said a Kingston girl. All other
Florizel Glasspole,
helicopters have searchlightsbut not the Governor Generals.
Jamaicas Governor General
He goes by unseen in the night to his house in the hills to which
no road leads.
Next morning after breakfast, most of the players hopped into a bus for another
shopping trip downtown. Have you seen this driver before? asked one player to another.
Later, Id watched this same questioner at the market thinking about buying a souvenir
machete.
Everybody ended up with something, figured they ought to (had to?)I bought a
caftan for my wife Sally. On the bus, starting back to the hotel, we saw a man striding floppily
naked down the side of the street. I supposed, because the man walked so ram-rod straight
and was so extremely well-endowed as to be licorice-stick, side-show freakish, he was a
regular tourist attraction. Some in our group whoopingly wanted to follow this noble savage
and, sure enough, the driver obligingly turned the bus around so that several players could
whip out their cameras, and hanging out the window could howl at this guy. But although he
looked at us, he gave no sign of recognition, just walked on unfalteringly, swingingly, rounding
corners, as if returning to the place where hed begun.
That evening we were back in the Arena for the final matches. The tournament had
once again been a success. Thousands of people had come to watch it, and thousands of
dollars had been given out in prize money and hospitality. The JTTA, Air Jamaica, and the
Machado Tobacco Co. had remained one in purpose when many in Jamaica were divided and
struggling.
The action begins with the Mens Doubles final. In the 1st, Seemiller/Wuvanich are
down 17-12 to Cordas/Caetano, but fight back to deuce. Then, up 22-21, Charlie blazes in
three perfect forehands, the last against a very low-returned ball for the win. Charlie!
Charlie! comes the criesat first from under the Kiss Me, I Wear Hi-Fashion sign, then
gradually ringing round the Arena. On into the 4th now, after the 2nd and 3rd games are split.
Caetano twice fails to return serve and nearly whiffs two would-be loops of his own. But
Danny isnt blocking very well and is slow of foot going wide to his forehand. Again its
deuce. Then ad to the Canadian teambut Seemiller gets a net. Cordas fails to return serve,
but the U.S. players cant take advantage. Up mounts the score until finally Danny and Charlie
win it 28-26.
Bhushans match in the Womens final against her roommate Ohzeki is a 5-game
thriller. Though Insook doesnt train seriously any moreand probably never will again
Danny remarks how her experience playing against men in the U.S. has allowed her to keep,
perhaps even improve, her game. If only she had a good attacking loop to open from push
317

situations, she might have a chance to win the World Championship. Had Insook been able to
win the 1st from (World #8) Ohzeki, which she lost at 19, she could perhaps have defeated this
deadly Japanese girl, as the next days paper put it. Possibly Insook should have been more
aggressive because, except for a stretch in the 4th game when she outscored Ohzeki 20-8, the
Japanese consistently got set to smack in her forehand point-winner.
As the Mens final was coming up, one of the Rastafarians Danny and I had spoken
with before seized this last chance to talk seriously with me. It seemed with our astrological
discovery that we shared the Libra sign, we had some kind of bond that could be established
if we worked at it. Read the Bible, mon, he kept repeating to me. Just a chapter a day. I
could see he was very serious. He spoke of the Son of Ephraim, the Family of Israel. He was
going to Ethiopia soon, he saidto the land of God on Earth. His words were of love and
brotherhood, yet he had earlier warned Danny and me that as long as we stayed at the
Sheraton nobody would bother us. But if you go outside, he said, they can crack your
head. Surbek was about to play Karakasevic, so the Rasta takes out his passport, shows it to
me, and tells me hell soon be coming to New York with his son. Well look you up, he says,
because I know youll take good care of us.
Someone
has suggested
that the final
between the two
Yugoslavs is
fixedwith
Surbek the
winner.
Nonsense, says
another fellow
following the
play. If they
were playing an
exhibition,
Surbek wouldnt
be putting so
much spin on the
ball. However,
they do go into
the 5th, and
Surbek has built
up a very
Yugoslavias Love Bird Winner Dragutin Surbek
comfortable 2013 match-point
lead. At which anti-climactic point, Karakasevic, after a short volley, blocks the ball off the end
of the table. Hit! says Surbek, as simultaneously Karakasevic points his finger. Osmanagic
doesnt have to explain it to me. Of course the ball hasnt hit, but, what the hell, they both
want the last point to look good, want the Jamaicans to remember them playing it.

318

Chapter Twenty-Two
1976: U.S. OpenTournament Director Herb
Vichnins Problems, Problems, Mess of Problems.
1976: U.S. Open Results.
The Entry Form for the June 10-13 1976
Philadelphia U.S. Open (TTT, Mar.-Apr.,1976, 11) has
a sliding-scale Entry Fee table that lists the fee
according to the number of events enteredfrom a
minimum of one ($15 Adult; $10 Junior) through two
($25 Adult, $15 Junior) through three ($33 Adult; $18
Junior) up to a maximum of six ($40 Adult; $27
Junior). The Rating fee was $.50 per person. Umpire
fees were $1 per singles match, $.50 per doubles
match. The losing player, unless excused, was to stay
on at the table and umpire the next match (and so get
his $1 umpire fee back?). If he (she) wanted to umpire
more, he was asked to fill out a form indicating
whether or not he was a qualified umpire; and he would receive $1 for each additional match
umpired. All-session Adult passes were $10; Junior passes $5. Party tickets were $4 (but since
only 80 tickets would be sold, the party would be canceled, the money refunded).
No mention was made of prize money on this Entry Formand,
as weve seen, the absence of that at other announced major
tournaments has repeatedly been a bone of contention, of
exasperation, to those circuit regulars who wanted to be considered
professional and had formed the controversial USTT Players
Association (PA). Tournament Director Herb Vichnin said later hed
inadvertently left off the prize money distribution.
The PA, headed by Fuarnado Roberts whod been emotionally
protesting in Topics that the best U.S. players werent getting their
due, had finally had enough. On June 5th, representing not just
myself but the PA, I, Tim, wrote the unsigned Uncommon Sense
Herb Vichnin
Photo by Mal Anderson
(TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 20A) that, a la Thomas Paine, opened with
Again
these are the times that try mens
souls. In this presentation I tried
with reason and rhetoric to
present as honestly as I could the
way the Players saw, or, make that
ideally wanted to see, their
position. Here is much of what I
wrote (the sentiments of which
would be echoed independently by
Danny Seemiller in his July-Aug.,
1976 Topics article):
Danny Seemiller (L) and Tim Boggan
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We, who think of ourselves as professional players, do not knowwe have no

precedent in the history of the USTTA for knowingwhen the most reasonable time for
presenting our just cause will comeif ever. We know only that the emotional moment to
dramatize our table tennis lifetime of discontent has come heavily upon usnow.
We are therefore refusing to play in Philadelphia in this years degrading U.S. Open.
What should be a most prestigious event is not. Nothingonly a mere $1,500 in prizesis
being offered for all Singles and Doubles events combined. This so saddens and angers us that
from now on we must insist to everyone, with all our power, that it is the player and not the
promoter who is the most important person in table tennis.
We will no longer be satisfied with amateur thinking, intolerable playing conditions,
inadequate prize money. We no longer intend to cheapen ourselves and our sport by
participating in events where players in overalls and even street shoes play on tables next to us,
amongst flimsy cardboard barriers, against blinding white backgrounds, in matches played with
inferior balls, tables, and lighting.
Because we love the sport, because it is all not just a game to us, we will refuse to play
in tournaments requiring exorbitant entry fees merely for trophies. We will not be sold into
slavery so. We have been degraded long enough.
The players feel that their years of training and self-sacrifice have given them an
expertise that has a valuewhether anybody comes to watch them play or not.
[When our players speak of compensation], rational, well-meaning people are sure to
ask, But where is this compensationjust compensation it may befor the player to come
from?
To which we must say, We dont know and cannot make it our business to know. We are
not promoters. We are not tournament organizers. We are players.
We argue that in this country there is scarcely a promoter really promoting the sport.
Too often if hes promoting anything at all its his business. We say that without the professional
player there is no sport.
Again and again we are forced to ask, What is the bread and butter incentive for a
man or, in time, his son or daughter to take this sport seriously? Who could ask a youth to give
up the springtime of his life for it?
We have tried to work with our own USTTAa month ago, the players, hoping that
some consideration would be given them, entered the U.S. Open. We still hope to work with the
USTTA. As of now, however, the E.C. does not wish to help us. They hold to an intransigent
position. They speak of blackmail, sabotage, suspension. As if the very thought of change were
to suspend them forever.
Of course our own position is not indefensible. In the beginning we have been slow to
organize, have made mistakes which have inconvenienced and even hurt a number of people.
But the biggest mistakethat of continuing subserviencewe have not made. Quite clearly, we
intend to act now.
Surely no feeling person interested in the progress of our sport should expect the best
players in our country to play in such an ill-conceived, poorly promoted tournament as this
years U.S. Open.
Really, do amateurs pay entry fees like these? Do professionals receive prizes like these?
Ideally, practically, there is a world of difference between the amateur and the
professional. And though some might find it paradoxical, there is no honor in being table tennis
representatives of an Association that makes sport of its countrys best players.
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Naturally, some of what I wrote, voiced in the past and continued to be voiced in the
futureespecially the compartmentalized dictum that the players can only be expected to be
players, not promoters or organizerswere sharply criticized by Bill Hodge, Lou Bochenski,
and others. Also, some felt that the PA should keep a low profile, but, as that had not been
happening, rather just the opposite, a context had been building, culminating, as Hodge put it,
in the PAs decision to use powerforceaggressionand make DEMANDS!
Im going now at length to Tournament Director Herb Vichnins near-50-page
summary of his too often unpleasant experience running this 76 U.S. Open, which I as Editor
back then did not publish, probably because it being so long I didnt know what to do with it,
and also because some of Herbs problems I felt were covered in part by other writers,
including Bill Hodge whose inordinately long article (I didnt want another of those) Id
published earlier and will take up in the next chapter. However, free from space constraints as
I am now, I feel Vichnins story is historically valuable, and should be told.
Originally, Herb in the planning stages for the tournament had followed my Presidential
request that he offer at least $5,000 in cash prizes. Hed also booked this Bi-Centennial event
in Philadelphias Civic Center Convention Hall Auditorium. Trouble began for him, he says,
when at the 75 Pittsburgh Easterns our International Chair Rufford Harrison and our former
International Chair Bob Kaminsky told him that in line with the Oklahoma City and Houston
U.S. Opens he too had to have a prestigious international Open. The Association wanted to go
forward, not backward.
Vichnin hadnt planned on inviting world-class players to his Open. Wheres the money
for these players to come from? he asked. Well, they said, if he couldnt get sponsors, hed
have to use a portion, or all, of the $5,000 proposed prize money. All? Herb agreed he would
transfer $2,000 toward that end. Pay the expenses of the Internationals and they would come;
whereas put up the limited prize money and they wouldnt. Get world-class professionals and
youd get spectators and TV to promote the sport. So the arguments ran. But what about the
U.S. players? The Players Association hadnt been formed yet, but Danny Seemiller wanted a
U.S. Mens Closed event at Vichnins Open where, he figured, hed win the official title of
U.S. Champion. Herb was receptive, would hold that event.
Dick Miles offered to fund-raisefor half the profits if he raised $10,000and
Vichnin accepted. Herb himself tried to find funds, but to his surprise kept being turned down.
Meanwhile, entry blanks went out promising $1,500 for1st-Place in the Mens Team event.
Then two changes occurred. When Miles found out the Civic Center Auditorium was going to
cost $17,000 (how had Vichnin planned on paying for that?), he urged a cheaper place, and
Herbie found the Northeast Racquet Club, a fine indoor tennis facility (that had the additional
advantage of saving $7,500). This new venue was available, not at the advertised date of the
tournament, June 24-27, but at an earlier date, June 10-13. That was o.k., though, for itd
connect with the June 1-4 Jamaica Love Bird International, a vacation tournament for some
world-class players, and it would also allow Herb to go to his nephews bar-mitzvah. Later,
Harrison was heard to say Vichnin had switched the dates just so he could attend a barmitzvaha comment Herbie didnt appreciate.
Miles had an agreement with Nittaku that his ball would be used in this Open, and
convinced Herbie that he should pay for this ball. Miles also had an agreement with Diversified
for their Professional tables (the same type a number of players had objected to last year in
Houstonbut hadnt he got them, both this year and last, for free?). He hoped the USTTA
E.C. would grant him and Vichnin the Opens to follow, but, says Herb, when they didnt, Dick
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stopped promoting. (Actually, hed done what so far? Herb said that with the accepted ball
and table offers Dick had exceeded his $10,000 requirement, and so was entitled to half the
tournament profits. Seemiller, for one, thought this maneuvering was really ballsy.)
Vichnin needed help. Bowie Martin said hed sponsor the Hungarians and the Yugoslav
Surbek (Karakasevic, not a contracted Butterfly player, would also comewhod pay for
him?). This would free up the $2,000 to bring the Swedes. But, oh, word came that
Johansson had done so badly in the Europeans that he wasnt allowed to play in international
competition for the next two months. And Bengtsson wasnt available. Nor could Jonyer and
Gergely comeso forget the Hungarians. How about the European Champ Secretin? Yes, said
Bowie, he and another Frenchman were Butterfly contract players, and hed sponsor them.
Only then Secretin couldnt come. But the English (including their #1 Douglas) who were
playing in Jamaica could, and, after Herb had been forced to call Ontario TTA Executive
Director Ken Kerr for their belated entry, so could Canada. Also, the Japanese would come IF
we raised the necessary $3,000 for them. Harrison said we had to do that, we couldnt insult
them. But, Rufford, what about prize money for the U.S. players? Ignoring them was insulting
our own, wasnt it? Eventually Herbie laid out not the $2,000 hed originally allotted for the
foreign teams but $4,100.
More problems. USTTA National Tournament Director
Neal Fox had insisted that he do the draws and timeschedules for the Open, but at the Apr. 2-4, 76 Easterns
Neals time-schedule mishaps were very worrisome to
Vichnin. And, worse, Herb became aware of the Players
Associations protests and demands there that Kaminsky
managed to swallow but that left him with a bitter taste.
Herb said that PAs Peter Stephens comment to him,
Youre next, uttered with a cynical smile, prompted him
to reply, Ive been working on this Open for over four
years and youre going to make demands with only two
months to go? Thats not very fair.
When Editor Boggan received the Entry Blank
information from Vichnin he put it in Topics in the usual
format, but Herb apparently hadnt meant for it all to go in,
Neal Fox
for there were mistakes and omissions in it (left out, for
Photo by Mal Anderson
example, was a $.50/event International Team Fund fee and
a $.10/event PA Team Fund fee for entrants, andvery difficult to think he could forget this
no mention of prize money). The worst mistake, said Herb, was putting the toll-free 800
numbers in for the hotels. It would have been much better to print postcards in the entry blank
for direct mailing, since the local hotels close their toll-free numbers when they book a block
of rooms. Thus, people were being turned away from the hotels due to rooms being sold out
yet they were the very people whom the sold-out rooms had been saved for. That must have
cost us some entries from people who couldnt get a room.
Herb was offering $1,500 for the Mens Teams. But now the winner was not to get
the whole $1,500 but $1,000; $500 would go to the runner-up. This was because ITTF V-P
Bill Vint had told Harrison that the USTTA could not award more than $500/person to a twoman team. (Later, at the Opens Jury Meeting, the $1,500 for 1st-Place was reinstated, which
is why runner-up Canada didnt get anything.) Herb also offered $1,500 spread over Mens,
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Womens, and Mens Doubles. But was this money spread so? Since a strong Korean
Womens Team had entered, Herb was also allowing a U.S. Womens Closed event (without
any entry fee). The PA was saying the Closed events were illegalpresumably because they
wanted to hold their own Closed later in the year and thought erroneously these events would
conflict with it. It was certain, though, that both the Mens and Womens Closeds were legal
since no such event had been held during the nearly completed July 1st-June 30th, 75-76
season. But with our #1 Seemiller seeded 8th in the Open, there sure wasnt much prize money,
if anything at all, for our U.S. players. The Players Association couldnt go for that. What did
PA President Roberts want in the way of prize money? 30% of all entry feesthat is,
according to Roberts estimate, $10,000 (subsequently lowered to $8,000, then to $6,000)
with a distribution approved by the PA, and 10% of those entry fees to go to the Players Fund.
Strong differences there were between the Vichnin-Roberts points of view, but both
Herb and the PA were hoping for the best. PA players entered the tournament, and, though
they didnt send in any entry fees, Vichnin accepted their entries. Meanwhile, the USTTA was
just getting round to naming their U.S. Open Teamswhich the PA with good reason didnt
like. First team: Danny Seemiller, Charlie Wuvanich (who wasnt eligible to play for the U.S.
at the Birmingham Worlds), and Alex Tam (who reportedly wasnt a USTTA member and had
no intention of attempting to qualify for the U.S. World Team). Second team: Ray Guillen, D-J
Lee, and Chuchai Chan (also ineligible to play for the U.S. in Birmingham). Third team (a
Youth team): Rick Seemiller, Dean Galardi, Mike Bush, and not Paul Raphel but Apichart
Sears (ineligible for Birmingham) as Alternate. At first, Wuvanich called Vichnin, said hed
play for the U.S., and Chan and Sears would form a Thai team. Later, the three Thais decided
to join the picketers.
As an official in both the
USTTA and the PA, Id talked with
Vichnin, put on the best face I could,
then attended a May 30th meeting of
the PA, which Schiff later told
Vichnin Id brought him to under
false pretenses (Ive forgotten what I
told Solbut did he think PA people
wouldnt be there? And, whether he
wanted to attend or not, as USTTA
President-elect he sure had to be
responsible enough to involve
himself in the turmoil that was going
on). Then, hoping somehow for a
meeting of the minds, some effective
Fuarnado Roberts (L) and Marvin Stern
compromise, I called Herb to ask
him to have a phone conversation
with Roberts friend Marvin Stern, whom I didnt really know but who I took the liberty of
calling my friend too to encourage Herb to talk to him. Stern, who turned out to be a
professional negotiatoragitator was a better wordwent to Philadelphia to talk with
Vichnin. His intention, Herb says, was to intimidate him with a proposed press release
announcing a player boycott of the tournament, or, more to the point, extending that intention
to threatening, even frightening him and Herbs wife Marilyn.
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Stern said that the PA knew we had 1,000 entries at about $38 each, for a $38,000
total. Consequently there should be $10,000 in prize money offered, plus 10% of the entry
fee revenue available for the PA. Vichnin responded that, including the PA members who
hadnt paid, they had at the moment 650 entries averaging about $26 each [this suggests that
the great majority of Adults played on the average in only two paid-for events?], for a total of
$16,300. Stern didnt believe him. Herb said, Want to check my books? Marv said, No.
When Herb offered him a part of the gate, he said he wanted 90%. Herb offered him 50% of
the gate, with a minimum of $1,000 guaranteed. (Later, Herb and his Philly Club helpers
would rescind this offer as giving in to blackmail.) If our demands arent met, Stern said,
well destroy your tournament. Some friend Boggan sent to talk to Vichnin, but at least
Herb knew where the guy was coming from, and how hard it might be to deal with him. Herb
said that in the Topics that came out before the Open that I, Tim, as Editor, put in at least
three articles by the players on their gripes and demands, but, aside from a note saying that
Foxs Ratings would be used, not one mention of the Open anywhere else in the entire Topics
[save of course for the full-page defective Entry Blank]. But Tim says that in both the Mar.Apr.and May-June issues, pro PA articles were pretty much balanced by articles anti to the PA,
and if no one sent him an Open article, he couldnt very well print what he didnt have, could
he?
Although Herb had originally planned on 1,000 players attending his Open, generating
$30,000 in entry fees, he objects to Roberts stating this as an accomplished fact. The truth is
he ended up with 54 foreign team players and 674 Americans. He chastises Roberts for
being careless of the facts when they dont serve his purpose. And, he says, Fuarnado
repeatedly makes errors: for example, when he says, Refusing the Trinidad team [entry to the
U.S. Open] was a colossal error. Though Rufford Harrison forced a Trinidad Team entry
delay, insisting that Capt. Horace Roberts get permission from the Trinidad Association, the
Trinidad Teams entry was ultimately accepted. Vichnins again disappointed in Fox whose
late, last-minute time-scheduling is again error-filled, forcing Herb to take two days off work
and find reliable friends to copy the draws by hand and then put in the time, table, and day for
each match. As a result, Californias Gene Wilson said that the method of scheduling the
matches at Philadelphia was far advanced over any hed seen before, a marvelous
improvement. Though Herb was irritated at Fox, he also defends him. When the picketers
accused Neal of making $14,000 per year for what they consider his inadequate Rating
System, Herb says they were wrong. Fox makes $8,000, has expenses of $4,000. He works
damn hard for his money, just in taking criticism and abuse from the whole USTTA.
Harrison tells Vichnin what Schiff, attending a May 31st meeting of the PA, has told
himthough Herb, in trying to get confirmation from Sol, says his phones off the hook.
Harrison says the PA people are militant. Be prepared for the worst. Theyve scared Schiff? Or
he doesnt want the hassle of being involved? According to Harrison, Sol said that someone at
the meeting had said, If this was any other country there would already have been bombs
thrown. Call the police! Herbies wife, Marilyn, gets in touch with the Philadelphia Civil
Affairs Unit of the Police Department, the equivalent of a S.W.A.T. unit. Then USTTA
President Charlie Disney callssays, Better have the police at the Open. Herbie complains
that the USTTA (Harrison in particular?) was sure doing a number on himworrying him so
about violence at the tournament.
Then Herbie gets an anonymous call from a PA member who didnt like what he heard
being planned. The PA, he warns, is plotting a total disruption of the tournament, with
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players ready to lie on the floor and the tables to stop play. Possibly therell even be fighting
and vandalism. Herbie calls the police, tells them this news. Later he talks at length with
Boggan, asks him if he knows anything about planned violence. Tims answer is, Well, Im
not involved in any plans for violence, but I cant speak for the others. Which, if he couldnt
keep the hand on them he earlier thought he could, sure wasnt reassuring.
When Vichnin told Boggan he didnt have the extra $3,000, Tim offered to save
$1,500 from his Topics budget, if Herb could come up with the other $1,500. Herb wondered
why Boggan didnt want to save the USTTA this money anyway. [Answer: only for a worthy
cause would Tim sacrifice pages in a Topics hed long worked very hard to make as readable
as he could.] Nope, no goodVichnin didnt have the $1,500, might not even be able to pay
his most dependable helpers. Herb said he could persuade E.C. members to pass a Bylaw that
U.S. Opens be required to have a minimum of $10,000 cash prizes, and that 3-star
tournaments be required to have a minimum of $4,000said, in fact, such a Bylaw would
pass at the moment. No good, said Bogganthere had to be money now. Herbs response to
Tim was, Youve known me almost five years, and Im telling you there is no money. Either
you believe me or you dont. Tim looked at me and said, Well, Im not 100% sure I believe
you.
Herb said the ride up to the Northeast Racquet Club the opening day of the
tournament was the worst 45 minutes Ive spent in a long time, not knowing what Id find
when I got there. But at 8:15 a.m. virtually nothing was happening. From a tournament
standpoint things were running smoothlyBob Kaminsky was helping by handling the
International event. Oh, then the loud-speaker system blew, which for five-hours caused
communication problems with the players. The trophies for the seven major events were fine,
but the others were very poor, since the limited money that remained had to cover 140
trophies. [Indeed, I, Tim, found that they were so astonishingly small that after the tournament
when Herb showed me the trophies my sons had won for their National U-15, U-13 titlesno,
the PA as a group wasnt insisting that the young players picketI right in front of him
disdainfully broke them. Then, though mindful that, cheap and demeaning as they were, they
were not mine to break, I decided on returning home to have them fixed, then changed my
mindId let them stay as they were as an example to my sons. They should remember that I
broke them and why I broke them.]
Vichnin continued to be beset by problems. By the time the Open was over, he said
hed lost 18 pounds. The manager of the Racquet Club said the players were eating, drinking,
and smoking on the courts, and rubbing cigarette butts into the surface and spilling soda over
everything. Stop this, or hed close down the tournament. Herb and his staff took action, but
the manager insisted on $1,000 cash payment against the possible damages, and for the
damage already done. So I had to give it to him. Later, the Racquet Club would want
$2,000 above the contracted price for damages, and Herb gave it to them out of table
sales to avoid a lawsuit. (Huh? How much money came in as a result of table sales?)
The picket line was growing, but the police were very much in evidence. Marvin Stern
was really out of linehe threatened people (told one Racquet Club employee he was going to
slash her tires), tried to block the entrance door, continued agitating with his union-type strike
tactics. Mike Bush was also bullying. In contrast, Ray Guillen, U.S. Closed Champ here, and
Dean Galardi, U-17 winner of the $100 prize Dr. Ted Cohen had generously contributed, were
exceptionally nice. Also, there was some gratification on seeing clips of the tournament on TV
channels 3 and 10. A big plus was the help Herb got from Barry Robbins, Jerry Kates (he did
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Picket Line at the 1976 U.S. Open.

the much admired Program book), Rob Robinson, Don Feld, Johnny Ou and his son Steve,
Sue Sargent, George Hellerman, Fred Kistler, and Marv Plevinsky.
It would have been mutually advantageous if the protesting players had given
exhibitions in Northeast Philadelphia before the tournament in return for free entry and a
piece of the gate. Also, radio, TV, and newspaper interviews could have been arranged. So
many now realized that their boycott didnt accomplish what they wanted it to. Many didnt
even understand why they supported itmaybe just to get the PA players off their back.
Challenging Lou Bochenskis later calculation that the Open had 780 entrants paying
on average $35 eachfor a take of around $27,000, Herb wanted to know where Lou got his
information. Herbs final accounting showed our entry was 728, with about 100 people
unpaid (including 30 no-shows and at least 40 boycotters).leaving 628, at around $29 average
for a total of $18,200.
Squelching rumors that he was in table tennis to make money, Herb says he makes a
good living as a GE engineer and that, far from making a fortune at his club as someone
suggested, he had given it over free to Erich Haring and Mal Anderson before taking on the
U.S. Open. Mal said that after the Open, the PA, either not knowing or not caring that the
Philadelphia Club did not run the Open, boycotted our tournaments. We
loved it! Heres why:

Mal Anderson

The tournaments attracted about 10% more entries, and

finished sooner. Reason: all the troublemakersthe people who arrived
late [Herb mentions that at the U.S. Open Bernie Bukiet arrived for his
9 a.m. match at 8 p.m. and wondered, 11 hours later, if they hadnt
started the second round yet, could he play?]; those who wouldnt play
when scheduled; those who always objected to the draws (which were
always made strictly according to USTTA rules); those who phoned the
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night before (like at 2 a.m.) demanding to be put in the draw, and then didnt show up;
those whose checks always bounced; even the kids who stopped up the toilets by
stuffing old shoes in themall were boycotting us! Eventually two PA members (B
and B) entered one of our tournaments, and played each other in the finals. The
Philadelphia Club immediately halved the prize moneythe message being PA STAY
AWAY!
In less than a year a PA officer reportedly absconded with their Treasury, so
they went out of existence, and the Arabs doubled the price of oil, so the Philadelphia
Club went out of existencewe couldnt heat the Club. All that is left now is some
memoriessome good, some bad.
Herb complained that the picketers said some pretty perverted things to my wife when
she left the building to go to a restaurant. There she bumped into Boggan. While telling him
it was his fault for inciting the players through his writings, she couldnt hold back the tears.
Boggan said he was sorry. If he had it to do over again, he wouldnt do it. [I, Tim, have to say
now, from a 30-year perspective, I think I would do it over again, urge the players to boycott,
even at the expense of Herb and Marilyn whom I admire for holding strong against their many
problems and pressures. I think History had to make this move. What was learned and who
learned it, I dont know. But I feel theres significance in this chaotic time in our Sport.]
Marilyn Vichnin (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 5) in her As I
See It article repeats much of the unhappy experience her
husband had indicated theyd gone through. But, unlike Herb,
she says shes never been good at turning the other cheek and
expresses her bitterness at whats befallen them. The strike at
the U.S. Open resulted in loss of dignity, bitter feelings left on
both sides, distrust on behalf of future tournament sponsors as
to the outcome of their event due to uncertain negotiating
practices shown at the tournament, and on my part the
disillusioning moment that comes when one finds ones friends
not that at all.
The main objective of the PA players, so slovenly and
unprofessional-looking, was, selfishly, the total disruption of
the tournament. Marilyn knows, she says, because she shared,
Marilyn Vichnin
step by step, her husbands distress. At first, at the Racquet
Photo by Mal Anderson
Club, the police didnt see much of a threat, but Marvin Stern,
among others, convinced them otherwise. Soon the players themselves realized the childish
act of parking their cars in the entrances and exits did not work, and they themselves
provided security. As Herb said, We heard a disgusted Tim Boggan telling another picketer,
Oh, god, dont be stupid. Dont you realize there are more police here than players? By
Saturday afternoon the picketing stopped.
Marilyn says these thoughts shes expressed are all her own. If I seem bitter, it is
because this is so. If I seem cynical as to the actions of others, this is true. If my hurt and anger
show through then I have accomplished what I set out to do.
Stan Wolf (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 22A; 25A) raises a number of points critical of the
tournament organizers. About the tournament balls, he says, Isnt it normal for balls to be
given free of charge to such a large tournament and also a sum of money donated? (Miles
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convinced Vichnin to pay for the balls. Why did he do that?) Stans also interested in just how
much prize money was given out. Seemiller said the Mens winner of the Open got $200, the
Womens winner $100; the Mens Doubles winners $50 each; the Mixed Doubles winners
nothing. Thats $400. Roberts also wanted to know how the remaining $1,100 was divided (if
divided it was). Did the winners of the Closed event get any prize money?
Wolf said he thought a player in the C-D round robin had a rating a few points higher
than the cut-off and eventually made it to the semis or final.Some of Stans friends drove
over 9 hours to see the tournament, but they couldnt see it sitting down because there wasnt
seating provided.Shouldnt some little pin or souvenir been given to the entries?...The only
advertising Stan said he saw for the tournament was a small poster on a pole two blocks from
the tournament. He said there wasnt any Sunday transportation from the hotel to the playing
site, little or no media coverage, and not even a sign at the Racquet Club announcing the U.S.
Open.
Matching Marilyn Vichnin with his own brand of cynicism, Joseph C.H. Lee in his
article Just Incredible (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 6A; 16A; 24A) speaks of a U.S. Open playing
site that with its beautifully landscaped grounds and well-appointed interior, its helpful,
directing signs and friendly, welcoming staff, was everything a tournament should be. And he
hadnt yet started to describe the playing conditions. Just incredible it all was. Yeah, you got it.
Hes writing a sarcastic, no, make that, with its uniquely sustained tone and masterfully implied
last line, a sardonic appreciation of this most magnificent U.S. Open held in this City of
Brotherly Loveits only fault beingthere was just one toilet in the Mens Room.
U.S. Open Results
Mens Teams: Yugoslavia over Canada #1, 3-0: Karakasevic over Cordas, 8, 14;
Surbek over Caetano, 13, 11; Surbek/Karakasevic over Cordas/Caetano, 19 in the 3rd. Semis
#1: Yugoslavia over U.S. #2 (Captained by Howie Grossman), 3-0: Surbek over Guillen, 9, 9;
Karakasevic over D-J Lee, 15, 18; Surbek/Karakasevic over Guillen/Lee, 10, 18. Semis #2:
Canada #1 over England, 3-2: (no individual scores) Cordas over Douglas; Horsham over
Caetano; Douglas/Horsham over Cordas/Caetano; Cordas over Horsham; Caetano over
Douglas. Quarters Match: Yugoslavia over U.S. #1 (Captained by Bill Sharpe), 3-0:
Karakasevic over Tannehill, 7, 14; Surbek over Thrasher 12, 11; Surbek/Karakasevic over
Tannehill/Thrasher, 18, 10.
Womens Teams. Final: Korea #1 over U.S. #1 (Captained by Heather Angelinetta), 31: Insook Bhushan over Yang Sook Hee, 15, 20; Kim Soon Ok over Angelita Rosal, 9, 18;
Ok/Son Hye Soon over Bhushan/Patty Martinez, 12, 12; Ok over Bhushan, -18, 13, 10.
Semis #1: Korea #1 over Canada #1: Yang over Violetta Nesukaitis, 13, 11; Ok over Mariann
Domonkos, 16, 15; Ok/Hee over Nesukaitis/Domonkos, 18, 12. Semis #2: U.S. #1 over
Korea #2: Bhushan over Choi Kyung Mee, 16, 15; Kim Kye Soon over Rosal, 14, 18;
Bhushan/Martinez over Choi/Lee Soon Joo, -14, 14, 17; Bhushan over Kim, 2, 9.
Captain Barbara Kaminsky said her U.S. #2 Team was ready to play but that no
scorecards, no assigned tables, no timetables were available. It was as if we were supposed to
run the tournament by ourselves. But the first tie did finally get underway: South Korea #1
over U.S. #2, 3-0: Yang Sook Hee over Olga Soltesz; Kim Soon Ok over Alice Green (Kims
anti/inverted flipping forced Alice to misread the spin and put the ball up); Ok/Yang over
Soltesz/Sonne, 9, 16. Second tie: Canada #1 over U.S. #2: Rupa Bannerjee over Soltesz, 19 in
the 3rd (Olga, up 17-13, played too safe, but later she would beat Rupa in the Singles);
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Nesukaitis over Sonne, 16 in the 3rd; Domonkos/Nesukaitis over Soltesz/Kasia Dawidowicz,

18 in the 3rd. Barbara felt her players should have had the opportunity to play more team ties.
Neal Fox, USTTA Tournament and Rating Chairman, came up with a new way to
display tournament results (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 2A). He says its easier to read. But most
readers wont agree, and soon therell be a reversion back to the traditional way of showing
results. Ill do only the Mens Open Singles through the quarters his new way:
-19
20 19
19
14

19 17 17 F
15 -20 22 S
18 -11 19 S
-14 23 9 Q
18 18 12 Q
10 -17 17 9 Q
10 -16 10 9 Q

A
A-B
A-C
B-D
A-E
C-F
B-G
D-H

2600
2459
2450
2480
2417
2404
2380
2350

Surbek, D
Cordas, Z
Douglas, D
Karakasevic, M
Caetano, E
Lee, D-J
Guillen, R
Horsham, I

Neal Fox

A, Surbek, is the winner. 2600 is Surbeks rating at the start of the tournament. A beats
runner-up B, Cordas, in F (Final), 17 in the 4th. Cordass rating is 2459 at the start of the
tournament. A, Surbek, beats C, Douglas, in S (semis), 24-22 in the 5th (obviously a great
match); B, Cordas, beats D, Karakasevic, in S (semis), 19 in the 4th. A, Surbek, beats E,
Caetano, in Q (quarters), 9 in the 4th; C, Douglas, beats F, Lee, in Q (quarters); B, Cordas
beats Guillen, G, in Q (quarters); D, Karakasevic beats H, Horsham, in Q (quarters). In two
other matches of note, Cordas survived Houshang Bozorgzadeh, -18, 17, -15, -26, 13, and
Horsham outlasted Jim Lazarus, 11, -18, -19, 14, 14.

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Surbek (R) surviving Douglas, 24-22 in the 5th in the semis. Photo by Neal Fox

Cordas (R) over Karakasevic, 19 in the 4th in the semis. Photo by Mal Anderson

Surbek defeats Cordas to win the 1976 U.S. Open Mens Singles. Photo by Mal Anderson
330

Mens Closed
Singles: Final: Ray
Guillen, 19 in the 4th,
over Dennis Barish
whod knocked out
John Tannehill in 5,
then rallied from down
2-0 and 22-all in the
4th to oust Jerry
Thrasher. Other 5game matches of note:
Dean Galardi over D-J
Lee, after D-J had
fought on from down
2-0 and 20-all in the
3rd; Bozorgzadeh over
Jack Howard whod
Ray Guillen defeating Dennis Barish to win the U.S. Mens Closed event.
eliminated Monty
The umpire is Seymour Shenkman.
Merchant; Guillen
Photo by Mal Anderson
over Jim Davey
and Greg Collins;
Bernie Bukiet, 58,
over Bruce
Plotnick; Perry
Schwartzberg over
Greg Gingold;
Alan Nissen over
Hamid Hayatghaib;
and Alex Tam who
after defeating Ali
Oveissi defaulted
to Thrasher. Alis
car troubles
continued: his
Mercedes was in
Dean Galardi (L) upsetting D-J Lee in the 1976 U.S. Open Mens Closed event.
the repair shop,
Photo by Mal Anderson
and, though the
Corvette hed been in an accident with was fixed (at a cost of $4,000), hed lost the keys to it,
and Doris, his wife, had to drive down from New York in a rented car to bring him an extra
set.
Mens Doubles: Final: Surbek/Karakasevic over Cordas/Caetano, -16, -8, 13, 15,
15, whod defeated Douglas/Horsham, 19 in the 4th. Jairie Resek noted in her Topics
column that Milivoj Karakasevic has a six-month-old son. But no t.t. for himhe gets a
tennis racket when age and size permit. Why? Money! As I write this, Aleksandars long
grown up, has won three U. S. Opens, and is among the 50 best table tennis players in the
world.
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1976 U.S. Open Womens

Champion Kim Soon Ok
South Korean U.S. Open Womens Final: Kim Soon Ok (R) over Son Hye Soon.

Photo by Mal Anderson

Photo by Mal Anderson

Womens Open Singles:

Final: Kim Soon Ok (World # 19
after Birmingham) over Son Hye
Soon, -15, 17, 18, -23, 18.
Other close matches:
Hammersley over Lee Soon Joo
in 5; Son over Yang Sook Hee,
deuce in the 4th.

1976 U.S. Open Womens Closed Champion

Insook Bhushan. Photo by Tom Slater

Womens Closed Singles: Final: Insook

Bhushan, 17, 16, 20 over Angelita Rosal.
Angie had been challenged in the quarters by
Barbara Kaminsky (whod been down 2-0 and
at deuce in the 3rd before losing in 5), and in the
semis by Alice Green Sonne, 26-24 in the 5th.
Womens Doubles: Ok/Son over
Errol Caetano and Irina Cordas,
U.S.
Open Mixed Doubles Winners.
Bhushan/Hammersley, 17, -15, 6, 10. Semis:
Ok/Son over Choi Kyung Mee/Lee Soo Joo, 20, 20, 15, 18; Bhushan/Hammersley over Kim Kye Soon/ Yang Sook Hee,19, 13, 8.
Mixed Doubles: Caetano/Irena Cordas over D-J Lee/Choi Kyung Mee in the semis,
and Des Douglas/Jill Hammersley in the final, both deuce in the 5th! Jairie Resek, whos still
332

married to Errol but living in separate quarters, thought Irena very charming and
entertaining, a good sport on and off the table with a marvelous sense of humor.
Mens As: Mike Veillette over Faan Hoan Liu, 17 in the 5th, then Stan Smolanowicz,
18 in the 4th. Mens A Doubles: Mike Baber/Kurt Lloyd over Mike Lardon/Jeff Zakarin.
Womens As: Takako Trenholme, in 5, over Birute Plucas, then in the final, 3-0, over Barbara
Kaminsky whod knocked out Bev Hess, 19 in the 5th. Womens A Doubles: Donna Newell/
Xuan Ferguson over Pat Crowley/Barb Taschner. Mens Bs: Jim Lane, 27-25 in the 4th over
Joe Mimoso, then in 5 over Hank Colker whod gone 18 in the 5th with Tom McEvoy. Tom
tells us that, after 5 years, the Woodland Club will be no more. By Sept., this Club, made
popular by Dell Sweeris, will revert to being called the Grand Rapids TTC and return to its
earlier Garfield Lodge site. Mens B Doubles: J.C. Tenay/Jack Buddy Melamed over Bob
Powell/Ron Schull whod eliminated George Payotelis/John Hart, deuce in the 3rd. C Singles:
Juan Vila over McEvoy. D Singles: Ron Rigo over Charlie Hung in 5. Mens Consolation:
Hung over George Hellerman. Womens Consolation: Nimi Athwal over Gaeta OGale.
Mens Over 40: Bozorgzadeh
Fred & Carl Danner
over Howard whod eliminated Bill
Carl photo by
Sharpe in 5. Womens Over 40: Leah
Robert Compton
Miss Ping Neuberger over Gloria
Amoury whod nipped Pat Crowley, 2321 in the 4th. Mens Over 40 As: Fred
Danner, coached by his son Carl, over
Jim Verta, deuce in the 3rd, then over
Nate Sussman, -12, 19,18, 21, then over
Melamed. Mens Over 40 Consolation:
Dave Dickson over Mort Zakarin.
Mens Over 40 Doubles: Sharpe/George
Rocker over Frank Dwelly/Ben Hull who downed Tenay/Melamed in 5. Mens Over 40 A
Doubles: Tenay/Melamed over Bruce McGee/Bill Hornyak. Mixed A Doubles: Cameron Scott/
Gloria Hsu over Pat/Bev Patterson. Parent/Child Doubles: Bob/Kasia Dawidowicz over last years
runner-up Red/Mark Wilder who stopped Al/Robert Nochenson. Mens Over 50: Dwelly 16 in the
5th over Harry Deschamps whod eliminated Hull in 5. Over 60s:
Verta over Gene Wilson whod eliminated Tony Vasquez, 19 in
the 3rd. Over 70s: Oliver Nicholas over Perc Secord.
Wilson, though hobbling about on crutches, was able
to play and do well in the 60s. The surgeon hed seen in
Philadelphia said he had a pulled muscle in his right leg. But
Gene, though in pain, played onhe wanted that National
title. He didnt quite get it, but he had the support of other
Over 60 entries who were most helpful picking up balls
because of Wilsons inability to do so unless he went after
them with the aid of crutches.
Boys U-17: Dean Galardi over Dennis Barish. Upset
Match: Kurt Lloyd over Bruce Plotnick, 24-22 in the 4th. Boys
Biruta
U-17 Doubles: Galardi/Barish over Schwartzberg/Plotnick.
Plucas
Girls U-17: Plucas over Faan Yeen Liu in 5, then over Gloria
Photo by
th
Nesukaitis, 24-22 in the 4 . Girls U-17 Doubles: Plucas/
Tom Slater
333

Nesukaitis over Athwal/Athwal. Boys U-17 As: Jeff Williams over Jiggy Padda, -14, 20, 21,
then over Phil Panno. Junior A Doubles: Ross Sutherland/Dave Williams over Petersen/Wilder.
Junior Mixed Doubles: Galardi/Dawidowicz, 18 in the 5th over Padda/Nimi Athwal who
eliminated Sutherland/Susan Tomkins in 5. Boys U-15: Eric Boggan in 5 over Faan Hoan Liu,
then over Jim Lane who escaped Mike Stern, -16, 21, 17, 19, and Todd Petersen, -17, 23, 21,
21. U-15 Doubles: Mike Stern/Scott Boggan over Williams/Dickson. Girls U-15: Kasia
Dawidowicz over Gloria Nesukaitis, after Gloria had gotten by Nimi Athwal in 5. Boys U-13:
Eric Boggan over Dave Dickson who -20, -14, 20, 21, 18 rallied mightily against Jeff
Williams. Girls U-13: Simi Athwal over Becky McKnight, 19 in the 5th, then over Anita Wu. U13 Doubles: Steve Claflin/Jeff Williams over Eric Boggan/Dickson (from down 2-0). Juniors
U-11: Brandon Olson over Bernie Braun who downed Brad Lardon in 5. Jr. Consolation
Singles: Brock Huler over Phil Pinnell.
Youll note that I dont accompany these results with my usual major-tournament
write-up. Jerry Button (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 5) rightly takes me to task for this. Says if I
didnt want to do it because I was part of the boycott, I should have been responsible enough
to delegate someone else to do it. I had a partial defense in that, though I wanted to do a
write-up, felt I should, I just hadnt the energy for it. I had no defense in not foreseeing Id be
tired putting out a 48-page issue. I should have arranged for another writer to do the
coverage.
But Jerry pressed my buttons in continuing on with his article this way:
This issue of Topics [May-June, 1976Section A (32 pages); Section B
(16 pages)] appears more as an advertisement for the USTTPA (and probably unpaid at
that) with a few notes about international tournaments and even fewer about any local
tournaments.
It may be asking too much for objective reporting, but I do not feel it is asking
too much to get better coverage of the U.S. Open than a few pictures and a page of
results.
Please reply in Topics!
I did reply. I opened by agreeing that I should be faulted for lack of U.S. Open
coverage, then offered rebuttals to Buttons lines above:
But to be perfectly fair I did have more than a few picturesat least 20.
And I did have in my long Jamaican International article a reasonable coverage of the
international stars, particularly the Yugoslavs, who featured prominently in our U.S.
Open. Surely you now know a little something more about the Surbek who played the
same 5-game down-to-the-wire match with Douglas in Kingston that he did in
Philadelphia? And you say I have only a few notes about international tournaments.
Well, look againI have pages!
You speak of my lack of coverage of local tournamentsas if somehow there
in Indianapolis you were leading the way with articles about tournaments that Ive
neglected to publish. But the truth is I often solicit, almost always carefully include all
articles about, and scores of, all but the very smallest local tournamentsand this last
issue you complain about was no exception, where every section of the country was
represented.
334

You speak of the USTTPA. Well, like it or not, terribly disorganized as it

obviously is, it yet remains, or at least has the potential to be, the most recognized felt
force, the most provocative, the most controversial, in U.S. table tenniswhere
seldom any force at all is seen, is felt. No wonder then people are repeatedly writing
for or against it.
The Players Association is whats happening.Whats happening in
Indianapolis, Jerry? Deschamps is still the Over 40 Champion? Hicks (is he 40 yet?)
won another local tournament? Or has the extensive Junior Program there produced
another Champion Hicks?
Yes, from me, Jerry, it is asking too much for
objective reportingI dont believe in it as doubtless you
know from reading my articles for 10 years. Of course I
have tried to be at least somewhat of an objective editor
and perhaps thats why you say youve been pleased with
my almost 40 issues.
Well hear more about this historic U.S. Open, but,
having noted Vichnins problems, I want to begin this next
chapter by giving you Bill Hodges.

The Champ, obliging a cameraman

Photo by Tommy Andersson

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Chapter Twenty-Three
1976: Bill Hodge Pursues Caesars Palace Bid For 76 U.S. Closed. 1976: More PostU.S. Open and PTTPA Comments.
Bill Hodge tells us (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 21A+) how, coming
from Las Vegas as an emissary of Caesars Palace Hotel executive Neil
Smyth,* he was caught up in the turmoil of the 1976 Philadelphia
Open, yet managed to secure the first U.S. Closed tournament in
USTTA History. It would be held Dec. 16-19, 1976 at Caesars with
Bill as Tournament Director and an unprecedented $12,500 in prize
money.
As weve seen, one of the tenets of the U.S. Players Association
(PA) is that the business of the players, their work, is to play well,
present themselves well in dress and demeanor, and that the business of
promoters, their work, is to promote. Promote the best professionallyminded (PA) playerspresuming of course that theres an audience for
them, that Table Tennis is a spectator sport. Caesars had done its
promotional part, and more, in offering this exceptionally large purse
with its down-the-line-event cash prizes. So why would Hodge have
problems? Aside of course from being tired, his plane late arriving in
Chicago and Philadelphia, and the cab (taking him 40 miles northeast
Bill Hodge
to his Holiday Hotel and the Racquet Club tournament site} getting
Photo by Mal Anderson
into a wreck and thereafter twice breaking down.
One difficulty was that the PA, trying to establish itself, wanted to run its own 76
Closed, which to hear PA President Fuarnado Roberts talk, was going to be quite something
though having heard Fuarnados grandiose aspirations before, some were skeptical. Another
difficulty was that the PA players were not conducting themselves well, in dress or demeanor,
at this U.S. Open Hodge had come toin fact, many people found their protests, their
picketing, disgraceful.
Hodges fear from the outset was that if Caesars got the Closed, could an
embarrassment with the PA like this happen again! It couldnt, it just couldnt. So Hodges two
primary aims were: to convince the PA to waive its ground-breaking Closed in favor of
Caesars, and to ensure that thered be no repetition of the disruption that Bill saw at this
Northeast Racquet Club.
It was also necessary of course to get the USTTAs sanction for the Caesars
tournament, but with a purse of $12,500 wasnt that a foregone conclusion? Maybe not. Right
away, Bill says, the Associations Tournament Chair, Neal Fox, was trying to get me to agree
to the USTTA having Rights to TV at the Closed, and they in turn would give Caesars a
50%-50% split of the revenue. But Bill cited the precedent of the recent Alan King
$150,000 Tennis Classic wherein the U.S. Tennis Players Association were given about 9% of
the TV money. Caesars would offer a generous 10% to the USTTA.
Position notedbut meanwhile Fox was preoccupied, because he didnt know what to do
with the draws, didnt know for sure who was playing in the Open, or in the Opens Closed event.
Back at the hotel Howie Grossman, whod thought then he was Caesars CoTournament Director with Hodge (but realized later he wasnt) tells Bill that Fuarnado Roberts
336

and his PA were going to give Caesars trouble, but that Grossman had
talked Roberts into having a PA tournament instead of a PA Closed.
Hodge said hed talked to Seemiller and Sakai and others in the PA and
they were all for a Caesars Closed. Roberts had been opposed to it?
Anyway, at the moment, there was no proposal from the PA to the
USTTA to hold what would be a rival tournament to Caesars.
Hodge, thinking that everyone wanted the Caesars Closed, went to see
Roberts. Fuarnado said that Grossman had been trying [sic] to talk him
out of having the PA Closed so Caesars could have it. But Roberts said
he already had a check for $14,000 from their Sponsor and maybe
they could even make it a $25,000 tournament. They explained to one
another how hard each had been working on a proposed Closed.
Roberts said he wanted some money for a Womens Over 40 Singles and
Doubles (which was granted), and that the PA wanted 10% of the Prize
Money for their Players Fund not only at Caesars but at every USTTA
tournament they supported. In return, the PA players would be fully
cooperative, would even come to the event early and give a clinic and
exhibitions. Hodge, speaking for Caesars, agreed to this 10% because,
he said, it was a good business deal. Caesars needed PA assurance that
Howie Grossman
their tournament would go smoothly (and Hodge would see to it that
hed get that assurance in writing).
But now troubles. When it became known that Caesars
was going to give 10% of the prize money to the PA, both
Charlie Disney and Dick Miles railed at Hodge for allowing
himself to be blackmailed. Disney said that giving this 10%
would set a precedent that would ruin promoters and
sponsors. USTTA E.C. member Miles even went so far as to
say the USTTA probably wouldnt give Caesars the tournament!
Bowie Martin said that Las Vegans were gamblers, and that
Caesars should gamble that players wouldnt or couldnt disrupt
a tournament thereso forget the 10% to the PA. Rufford
Harrison and Jack Carr also thought Hodge was being
blackmailed. Mort Zakarin, too, hoped Bill wouldnt give in.
Neal Fox alone seemed to understand that Bills decision was
an insurance policy.
Bowie Martin
Meanwhile, Rufford Harrison had cabled the ITTF that
the US was incapable of holding the 1979 Worlds. He said that was the official USTTA
position. Really? I was on the E.C. and certainly that wasnt my view All this drove Bill to the
bar where he talked to no one, drank down 6 VO & 7s in rapid order, and, retiring to his
room, went immediately to sleep. In the morning he got a call from Jack Carr who said that he
and other E.C. members, to be unnamed, thought Caesars should withdraw their proposal
for the Closed due to the blackmail and possible pickets. Jack said that the USTTA wasnt
suspending the picketers, but that the players who did not play in the Open would not be
eligible to try out for the U.S. Team to the Worlds (this included the Seemiller brothers).
Now Boggan [historically opposed to Harrison and Carr and their antagonism toward
troublesome top players] talked to Hodge. Tim asked me to take a hard line stand to the
337

USTTA, and say that if they did not sanction the tournament that Caesars would hold the
tournament without a sanction. Bill replied, Thats impossible, all the average players
wouldnt come, Caesars needed to fill at least 300 rooms. Boggan thought they would
come. Hodge said they wouldnt if the USTTA threatened to suspend anyone who played in
the tournament. Though Tim said this was a great opportunity for change, to supersede old
thinking with new, Bill was adamant: the Closed was a tournament for all the players, not just the
Top Players. And if the PA ran unsanctioned tournaments, what would happen? In a malapropism
that delighted both of us, Tim misspoke, said there would be widespread defecation. This play
on words was unintentional, and I observed that his statement was a bunch of shit.
Tim wanted more money for Mens Singles taken from other places. Bill said that as
the prize money was distributed now at least 88 people could win money and that the Under
1900 rating event with $1,000 would appeal to the average player. Tim didnt like this,
thought it rewarded mediocrity, not expertise, but Jack Howard thought it o.k.
Now Bill was asked to
go to a PA Meeting where
Marvin Stern, not Roberts,
became a spokesman for the PA.
Stern wanted the three Thai
players, Wuvanich, Chan, and
Sears to be eligible to play in
our Closed. [Theyd agreed to
picket the Open so that the PA
would urge they be able to play
in the Closed?] Impossible, said
Billthe USTTA rules wont
permit it. Then, said Stern, if the
USTTA wont change the rules,
our PA players wont play.
Thai players picketing
Whoa, said Seemiller and Sakai,
Stern didnt make PA policy, the PA E.C. would have to vote on this. Of course, all the PA
players were opposed to the recent USTTA ruling that those who didnt play in the Open
werent eligible to tryout for the U.S. World Team.that had to be changed.
They spared Bill the continuance of the PA meeting, for Sakai thought he or Seemiller,
not Roberts or Stern, should represent the PA at an upcoming USTTA E.C. meeting, and that
angered Robbie. The PA needed to talk this out. Boggan had never missed his sons important
matches, but he was missing them now.
At the E.C. meeting, Fox said the PA couldnt be trusted. Theyd gotten the 10%
theyd asked for and it was understood Hodge would be problem-free. Now they were making
threats, talking tough, wanting new demandsthey couldnt be trusted. Bill said, If they broke
a signed Caesars contract, theyd be ruined. Boggan, speaking for the PA, reiterated theyd be
cooperative, help the tournament. Schiff said hed hold Tim to that understanding. Boggan
would go back to the PA, say the USTTA would consider the two changesthat the Thais
wanted to play at Caesars; as did the Open picketers who also wanted to be eligible to try out
for the U.S. World Team.
As the Philadelphia Open came to an end, Bill felt really downdidnt think, though
hed talked to Schiff, that the E.C. would relent on either of the requested changes. But,
338

helped by a call to a sympathetic and understanding Neil Smyth, Bill began to feel better and
to see that if he could get the E.C. to sanction the tournament, the differences might work
themselves out. Then he went down to the hotel lobby, talked with Stern, Roberts, and
Sakaiand there came a breakthrough: the PA would attend the Caesars tournament even if
the Thais couldnt play, so long as their other requested change was honored. So now the ball
was in the USTTAs court.
At the Monday morning E.C. meeting, when Seemiller, Roberts, and Sakai arrived,
Harrison objected to their presence, but it was an open meeting and they were entitled to be
there. Eventually, discussion got to the crucial question of whether sanction was going to be
given to Caesars. Fox said hed looked at the proposal and approved. It also came out that
Hodge had agreed to give the USTTA 10% of the TV money. Sakai, speaking eloquently,
emphasized how the PA wanted to be professional. Theyd support any tournament that
wanted them enough to give their Players Fund 10% of the prize money. He then described
how important it was for one to be on a U.S. Teamit had always been his own dream. He
pleaded that the USTTA rescind the rule theyd passednamely, that if one hadnt played in
the U.S. Open he couldnt try out for the U.S. World Team.
Roberts read a prepared statement that in part said PA members had to stick together
and that if one member was suspended or fined for their U.S. Open actions, then the PA could
not support the Caesars tournament. Jack Carr said pointedly that Mike Bush had been given
a track suit as a U.S. Team member, but since he didnt play would the PA see that it was
returned? Yes, said Sakai,** and, furthermore, the PA would fine and reprimand any of its
members who got out of line. Seemiller then argued for the inclusion of the three Thais not in
the World Team Tryouts but in the Closed, though their entry would make it tougher for him.
The Closed, he said, should be a showcase of the best talent.
After the E.C. voted 8-0 for Caesars to hold the Closed, Hodge was feeling good. The
Players Association now had 30 days to sign an agreement in which, providing the two
changes they wanted were included, their support for the tournament would be as promised.
The two-day Team Trials would be held at Caesars immediately after the Closed, but with a
day of rest in between and Smyth, speaking for Caesars, generously extended hospitality for a
third day.
Why did Bill Hodge write this account? Because he
felt this weekend was important to the future of U.S. Table
Tennis, and because, he said, no person on earth knows the
story as I do. After enduring this Trial, Bill feels its important
for the USTTA and the Players Association to cooperate, and
of course he hopes that Caesars will host the Closed under
problem-free conditions. He appreciates Boggan writing a
terrific letter to Caesars Palace bragging me up in how I
handled the negotiations, and hopes others will think he did a
good job.
Problem-free conditions
Drawing by Roger Sam

Post-U.S. Open and PTTPA Comments

Lou Bochenski (TTT, July-Aug. 1976, 22A) thinks the PA players are their own worst
enemy. From all across the country I hear reports of tournament sponsors moving away from
money tournaments. I question thisbut future chapters, coming years, will tell the tale. Lou
339

says, During the last two and a half years I have invested all my
savings from the sale of my home and from withdrawing my
teacher retirement fund in an attempt to build table tennis here
in Portland. Lou, however, knows he cant make a good living
running his Club. Financially I could do much better by renting
out the Paddle Palace for dances and rock groups, but I want
to help make table tennis a major sport. So he thinks the PA
ought to be interested in saying, How can I help?
But in the
next breath, Lou
says, How many
tickets do you think
we could sell here in
Lou Bochenski - getting reports? Portland to see
Danny Seemiller
play in a tournament? Do you suppose anyone
would buy a single ticket to see Fuarnado Roberts
play? I doubt it. How can I help? The question
turns in on itself to the questioner whose attitude
is: There is a long way to go before there will be
large money prizes to enable the top players to be
able to travel long distances to tournaments and
have their expenses paid, not to mention being able
Would anyone pay to see Robbie dance?
to make a living on a tournament circuit. It seems
Photo by Mal Anderson
to me the PA, with all its faults, is wiggling,
wriggling, but Lou is sadly stuck.
PA member Rebecca Munn, in her Table Tennis Is A Promoters Paradise (TTT, JulyAug., 1976, 24A), says there are hundreds of promoters scattered across the country running
tournaments. That certainly is a questionable statementfor it depends on how you define
promoter. Very often those who run tournaments run them year after year at the same site,
for the same players, with the same results, and the same few spectators, the players family
and friends. What the hell are they promoting? At present, she says, table tennis is a
promoters game. I think not. Charlie Disney thinks not.
Rebecca asks, Why hasnt the USTTA demanded good playing conditions for its
tournaments? She says it makes me feel like the promoters are saying to the players, Up
yours! But if the USTTA said to a Club with its local players, Unless you meet higher
standards we wont sanction your tournament, what would that Club say? Up yours! So
how break this impasse? Not by resigning oneself to the status quo. First, you have to want,
really want, to make things better. Next, how do it? Then, try, at least try, to do it. And thats
where the PA iswith its leader Roberts, sometimes making ridiculous statements, turning
wishes into facts, showing more hope than reason. But the PA is trying for changeit
represents a movement. Munn outlines what she thinks ought to be required for every PA
approved tournament: not only large courts, excellent playing conditions and top-of-the-line
equipment (lighting, floor, tables, balls), but limited events (at least seven, she says), with a
minimum of $3,000 in prize money. Such tournamentsthe prize money paid for by entry
feeswould continue to grow in stature.
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In proving just how wrong Munn is, Joseph C.H. Lee (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 5; 28),
takes the example of an actual 2-star two-day tournament (one I presume he ran) with
approximately 110 players. Here he details the result of offering not $3,000 but just $1,000 in
cash:
Average entry fee per player was $14.50 (based on $5.00 for Open Singles
down to $1.50 for a junior doubles event). Total income from entry fees was $1,600.
[Lee must have run a lot more than seven eventshow much in entry fees would
Munn have collected? A great deal less than Lee. Who would have entered her
tournament? At a cost of? To play in what events?] Contributions from local merchants
amounted to $400, giving a total income of $2,000.
Expenses: Cash prizes, $1,000; trophies for non-cash events, $450 [Munn
wouldnt have given trophies, except to the Junior winners]; rental of high school gym,
$150 for two days (custodial services); stamps for mailing out 500 entry blanks, $30;
materials for barriers, papers, printing of entry blanks and programs, $60; wage for
school food service personnel required by school to be present, $125 for two days.
Total expenses: $1,815. Net profit: $185. Without merchants contributions, a net loss
of $215.
Quit daydreaming, Ms. Munn.
Part of the problem for the U.S. player whos built up over the years an expertise in the
sport and wants in return to make a living for the work he does and likes to do is the rhetoric
and restrictions attached to the Olympics. Heres Russell Trenholme, Takakos husband, whos
helped the Minneapolis-based Thai players with their visa problems, writing on Professionals
and Amateurs (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 19A). He explains why he disagrees with both the
Players Association and with Charlie Disney and the USTTA establishment on the right
direction for table tennis.
Russell says that you cant support professionals without spectatorsand as of now
there arent enough of these. The Sport needs a base of interested amateurs, a group it seems
fashionable to ridicule. The way to develop a large amateur base is by bringing table tennis
into the schools. This, Trenholme says, should have been done, as it was in other sports, in
the 1960s (and should have been done in the 1970s were there many more Fred Danners? In
my next volume Ill bring in Lyle Thiem to describe his current Dayton, Ohio School
Program). However, theres a problem. If the schools recognize table tennis as a sport, then
the awarding of prize money to their better teenage players [it may be the countrys better
teenage players] will deprive them of their amateur standing not only in table tennis but in
other sports. Better to stay away from table tennis, or treat it as a non-sportin which case
the school Athletic Department isnt interested in it
Would that Table Tennis were an Olympic sport, that it had such prestige, says Russell.
And since, as Rufford Harrison has pointed out, the USTTA is not strictly amateur at any
level of the sport, Table Tennis might be overlooked if the Presidents Commission on
Olympic Sports has clout enough to begin disbursing funds and facilities to various sports.
Russell says we need to promote table tennis as an amateur sportif necessary set up an
Amateur division in the USTTA. Seemiller and Sakai tell him this is going back to basement
t.t., but Russell says the Japanese have always been amateur, and they dont have a basement
image. [Its nave of Russell to think that the Japanese, or many another countrys players
341

training and playing competitively as

world-class players, their livelihood
based entirely on t.t., are, as they
maintain, amateurs. The players
couldnt be more professionally
serious.]
Wuvanich told Trenholme that its
not right for people to perfect their
skills without pay. Hes even against
the Olympics. Russell says, I find
this attitude very peculiar. Sport is for
enjoyment. An amateur is literally a
lover of the activity he pursues.
Thats why he pursues it part-time,
World Mens Singles Champion Amateurs: Hasegawa (L)
and a professional pursues it fulland Itoh, with their table tennis employer, Hikosuke Tamasu
time? Trenholme says, Money should
be seen as a means of doing what one likes. Precisely. How can Wuvanich do what he likes
without money? At the moment almost all those U.S. players who want to be regarded as
professionals cant support themselves, as the best Japanese do, by playing table tennis. Does
that mean theyre supposed to be satisfied with the USTTAs status-quo emphasis on
amateurs? Russell says, like it or not, theyve got to do other workencourage a body of
enthusiastic amateurs willing to pay to see them compete. Good luck.
Joseph C.H. Lee in another article (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 6) emphasizes that theres
no point in Trenholme suggesting the USTTA set up an amateur division when theyve already
got onethe USTTA itself. Its obvious that Roberts and his PA are for the top players only
and are using the guise of being for all players because in numbers there is power. Since Lee
doesnt believe the PA cares about the less accomplished players, he says, Look, admit it, you
want a professional organization, so go out and form one. Why are you making your move in
our National Amateur Association? Answer: For the same reasons the top English players did
in theirs. For the betterment of the Players, the Establishment, the Sport.
Obviously theres a deep divide between the PA players and their supporters and those,
the great majority, who are content to see Table Tennis as an amateur sport because, really,
theyve no personal interest in Table Tennis becoming a professional sport. Theyve no table
tennis heroes other than perhaps mini-hero local ones, and, Lee suspects (write him your
opinion) that most amateurs are happier with trophies than with cash. Why all this sudden
attention to some top players? Quite a few amateurs dont even want them as part of the
USTTA. Theyre seen as selfish, divisive. They thinkmake that, dreamtoo big. May even
want to take over the Association. They should go awayleave us to our undisturbed,
socially-oriented amateur life.
Turns out Tony Kornheiser, in the June 27, 1976 N.Y. Times, describes how the top
pool players in the country are quitting (or planning to anyway) their Billiard Association to
form the new Professional Pool Players Association led by top players Ray Martin, Steve
Mizerak, amd Pete Margo. Defiantly, theyve scheduled a world tournament the same week as
the Billiard Associations U.S. Open. Naturally Boggan has reprinted this article in Topics
(July-Aug., 1976, 19A), for he cant resist the parallels. The break, establishing rival
associations, came about because this years total Open prize money is down to $23,000 from
342

343

last years $43,000, and the first prize money is $4,500 from last years $10,000.
In his defense, the Billiard groups managing director says, Nobody comes to watch
billiards, and we cant afford to keep running a tournament that loses money. Theres no
television interest, so Where are we supposed to get the money they want? [$40,000]
The Billiard Congress of
America, says Margo, doesnt give
us anything tangible. Their attitude is,
Youre pool playersshut up and
play pool. You mean to tell me, says
Margo, that with all those milliondollar companies selling tables and
balls and sticks that we cant get
sponsorship money to put together a
big time tournament? Thirty years
later, as perhaps Takako Trenholme
notices in her old age, you could see
women pool players vying for cash
Promoters try out old idea: combine ping-pong with pool,
prizes on TVhowd it happen?
table tennis with billiards. It works for basement-minded
Should the P.P.P.A. have to fold its
amateurs, why not professionals?
tent, the B.C.A. would welcome the
[30 or more] rebels back into the fold, since without them their championship is almost
worthless. But Margo says hes never going back. How, he asks, can we be any worse off
without them, than we were with them?
Hang in there USTTA/USTTPAmove toward a mutually profitable future.
Of course there is the problem of Topics. Disneys Club Manager drops me a June 15th
note:
Dear Mr. Boggan,
Don Larson
I have heard many derogatory remarks
taking a swing
lately from people all over the country, as well as
locally, about Topics. It seems as though the
magazine paints a very negative look on most
things, especially on the Sport. I thought the
Topics was supposed to help promote the
Sport, not rip it apart. It seems as if you have lost
sight of what our goals really are in the Sport.
Please remove Disneys Table Tennis
Club from the tournament schedule in your
magazine.
Thanks much,
Don Larson
PS. I think that perhaps if all the time
wasted on the Players Association were
directed toward finding advertisers and new
concepts on how to improve our table tennis magazine, the players would be able to
make a lot more money as the Sport would be upgraded.
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Ah, yes, Editor Boggan wants everyone to have his/her voice heard. Heres the
anonymous Hawkeye writing With Reckless Abandon (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 10).
He starts out telling Joseph C.H. Lee that his, Hawkeyes, rating is under 1700 and
that hes one of those amateurs whod prefer a trophy to cash. Then he abandons himself to
recklessness:
But I dont want junk plastic worth $3.00 when the entry receipts for one
class is approximately $120. These are not wild arbitrary figures, but ones
approximated from a Philadelphia tournament. [Poor Philadelphiagets picked on as
much as the PA.] They even pry off the metal plates of their old cracked and chipped
trophies and just put on new ones. They dont even do it in the backroom, but right out
in the open. Youd think they would at least scrub or dust them off! All amateur
tournaments should give out trophies exclusively, but if they are giving out Philly
trophies, Id rather have $5 for dinner.
Then its Boggans turn to feel the stingthough he usually brings on the slap himself:
Topics is terrible, [once in a while it should come out on time] and should
copy the format of a magazine like Chess Life & Review.Then we wouldnt have
to suffer through Boggans kindergarten poetry, Bushs infantile behavior, Roberts
rantings, my ravings, etc. Maybe it could even contain something really high-class like
a Table of Contents. But then again, maybe the lack of a Table of Contents says
something.
Then the USTTAs turn: I think the PA should be strictly professional, with no
pretense of amateurism [wanting to include all players], and the USTTA strictly amateur (at
least its obvious they couldnt possibly be professional).I wonder what is going to happen if
Table Tennis becomes an Olympic event. Every young, good competitor has picked up $20
somewhere.
Hawkeyes opinion on Womens events:
Forget them.Let them [the women] compete with the men.Yes, I feel bad
when I get whipped by a one-armed crippled old lady with coke bottles for glasses, and
using her faded handbag for a paddle, but at least I have one
consolation: she will probably be the next State Womens
Champion, thoroughly trouncing her other opponents, a
twelve-year-old girl and a middle-aged pregnant spinster.
More complaints: you have to learn Braille to read the
current ratings in Topics; on-court hot shots who assert themselves
at my expense; scheduled matches delayed for hours; Debbie Wongs
father screaming at her; the sports unsuitability for television.
And finally Hawkeye wants to know if he could start a
Dear Abby column in Topics. Example: Legal serve user keeps
losing points to illegal server. Question: What to do? Answer: Best,
probably, you learn and diligently practice your own illegal serves.
345

Debbie Wong
Photo by Mal Anderson

Mike Bush working on a picket sign

that begins, D.J. Lee Turns Traitor...

Hawkeye closes by saying hes using a

synonym because of the great number of
feelings I may have hurt and I couldnt take the
backlash. A last word to the wise: to all
players over 21 and under 1900, he advises,
Youre never going to be Pros, but dont be
suckers.
Roberts is undeterred by Hawkeye or
others directly or indirectly critical of him. In
fact, er, no, that isnt the right word, his PA
claims are getting more outrageous, some might
say even hallucinatory. (Several officers of the
PA seem to be distancing themselves from him.
Brathwaite didnt come to the U.S. Open until
Sunday after the picketing had stopped, and D-J
Lee and Lim Ming Chui played in the
tournament.)
Here are excerpts from Fuarnados
U.S.T.T.P.A Speaks Out article on PA
accomplishments, or supposed accomplishments
(TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 4; 30):

We negotiated with the promoters of the 1976 Eastern Open for better prize
money and they complied just before the semifinals of said tournament. [Compliance,
yes, butwith a loss of goodwill.]
We went on strike and picketed the 1976 Bicentennial Open
We waived our U.S. Closed Championship to Caesars Palace with the
understanding that 10% of the prize money off the top would be given to the PA for
our waiver and support
We gave a free Clinic in Waterbury to 10 juniors.Our next Clinic will be held
before the Closed
We secured [sic] the 1979 World Championships to be held in Hartford,
Connecticut[this item to be discussed by me when we come to the Minutes.].
We so far have obtained $30,000 in prize money for the next U.S. Open in New
York City, April, 1977 after the World Championships. The Peoples Republic of China
was invited [to this 77 U.S. Open] when we played against their team in the
Dominican Republic. [At this Dominican tournament Danny Seemiller had a win over
the PRCs Li Peng. Robbie says Li Peng, ranked either #6 or #9 in the world, is
capable of winning the Worlds, and I know Danny is too. Before the Birmingham
Worlds Li Peng will be ranked World #13 and Danny World #29 (his best ranking).
After Birmingham Li Peng will not be in the Top 40 and Danny, unable to play in the
Championship Division to have a chance to gain important wins, will be #35.]Also at
least $17,000 will be put in escrow two weeks following the sanction of the
tournament by Mr. Neal Fox and the USTTAJuniors cant receive prize money, but
we are thinking of scholarships, tuition fees, trips to a foreign land, bicycles, stereos,
televisions and what-not as prizes for them.
346

Who knows what Robbies telling Sheri Soderberg and Roger Kennedy. But Jeff Soderberg (R) said that
next time he wins a Players Association Junior Tournament, hell ask Mr. Roberts for a vacation trip to
Germanys Black Forest - said hed always wanted to spend a couple of days at the Schlosshotel Buhlerhohe.
Jeffs photo courtesy of Don Larson

$20,000 is being allotted for the 1977 Team Championship, and a $60,000
league is now in the negotiation stage.
There is also a $9,000 grant now available for promotion of our players.
[Robbie says in all these fund-raising efforts hes been assisted by Ms. Peg Zajonc, our
PA Organizing Secretary and video person.]
I am negotiating with Mr. Stanley Robbins [sic: for Robens] of Phoenix,
Arizona to hold a Super Classic Championship following the 1977 U.S. Open, with
$50,000 in prize money.
A promotional program is in progress regarding tour and exhibition matches to
promote the U.S. Open and the Worlds.
[Were looking into] a suggestion that the Players Association hold a Super
Open in either Ohio, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, or New York for our second
anniversaryJuly14, 1977. Ohio is favored as it is a more central state.
[Regarding the World Championships, Roberts complains about how the
captains and managers of the last two World Championships blunderedwhich
you can bet Kaminsky (Sarajevo) and Boggan (Calcutta) didnt take kindly to. He
says all those officially representing the U.S. at Birmingham must be
knowledgeable, capable, and compatible with the players, and makes suggestions
for positions. He speaks of injustices in the upcoming U.S. Team Tryouts, which
Brathwaite will later describe in Topics, and says he does not intend to tryout for
the U.S. Team. Indeed, though hell enter the Caesars Closed, he apparently for
some reason doesnt come to it, and for a couple of issues of Topics well not hear
from him.]
In this next chapter I want to bring us up to date with USTTA positions taken at the
E.C. summer meetings.
347

SELECTED NOTES.
*From Reba Monnesss article on Cornelius E. Smyth
(TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1977, 10, later picked up and added to in 1980
by Gene Wilson) we learn something of the 49-year-old Neils
varied and interesting background. After attending Yale, he
graduated in 1946 from the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton
School of Finance. Then, on being commissioned as an Ensign in
the U.S. Naval Reserve, he was appointed Assistant Naval
Attache in the U.S. Embassy at Cairo, where, the more
diplomatically valuable for speaking Arabic, he received a Letter
of Commendation for his performance of duty there. Later, he
would be the Spanish-speaking Commanding Officer, Naval
Intelligent Division, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On leaving the military in 1954, Neil became an
Neil Smyth
internal auditor for Pan Am, then in 1959 returned to Puerto
Rico where, for 11 years, he was Chief Accountant, then
Corporate Controller, for the San Juan International Hotel. In 1970, he joined Caesars Palace
as Controller and so brought his wife Jeanne and their six children to Las Vegas.
By 1980 Smyth had become Caesars Senior Vice President for Operations. Wilson
tells us that Neil had been a pioneer in the adaptation of the latest accounting machines and
computers for use in hotels and casinos. Hed have written numerous articles relative to the
accounting side of the hospitality industry, and would have lectured on various hotel and
casino topics. Hed have held all the elective offices from Secretary to Chairman of the Board
of the International Association of Hospitality Accountants. And hed have co-authored the
Seventh Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels, and served on the
Financial Management Committee of the American Hotel and Motel Association.
In addition to all this, hes a Member of the Sons of the Revolution and the Society of
Colonial Wars AND he had a sports backgroundin football, soccer, tennis, and body
surfingbefore he even came to Caesars and began what would be a more than 30-year
competitive involvement in tournament table tennis.
**Because Mike Bush delayed returning the U.S. Team warm-up suit he got in June,
he was the subject of disciplinary discussion even after he was finally let off the hook. On Sept.
22, after receiving a Sept. 18 letter of explanation and apology from Bush, USTTA
Disciplinary Chair Dr. Michael Scott recommended that we let the matter drop. But, he said,
hed appreciate any comments pro or con regarding this decision.
Actually, though Bush did apologize, his Sept. 18 letter was not one of repentance.
And Scott did get comments about his decision.
Bush begins with a defense. It is claimed that I obtained a warm-up suit under false
pretenses. This is untrue. Mike says that when he initially obtained the warm-up suit the
evening before the U.S. Open was to begin he intended to play, but was unsure if the Players
Association was going to strike. Team Manager Howie Grossman, in charge of all clothing
equipment, in an Aug. 2 letter to Dr. Scott, said that, although the Seemiller brothers refused
to take any clothing, Bush did, and immediately put on the warm-up suit he was given. When
it turned out he wasnt playing and kept wearing the suit every day, Grossman asked for it
back. Howie quoted Bush as saying, I made the Team and am entitled to the equipment.
Howie then said in his letter to Scott, Bush promised to return the suit after the Open, but
348

changed his mind, and I was told that the Players Association
now owned the track suit.
Of course Bush wants the suit, wants to wear it,
rationalizes its his due. He writes to Scott:
My parents are of modest means and money is
tight. What little money is available is given to me for
entry fees and food expenses. To ration the money I have
stayed at other players homes free, begged rides free, and
allowed myself one meal a day. I have slept on hotel room
floors free and hitchhiked, all to play table tennis. These
players, who have been so charitable to me, were the
same ones walking the picket line. There was no way I
could cross it. [Indeedhe joined it.]
I can understand that the USTTA would be upset
about the fact that after picking me to play it didnt occur.
They couldnt be half as upset as I was, because table
tennis is my life. I was looking forward to this years U.S.
Open as one of the milestones in my career. I was playing
the best that Ive ever played in my life. To play for the
U.S. was an honor that I was very reluctant to give up.

Bush on the picket line

Bush had attended a final USTTA/P.A. Meeting where it was made clear that the
players were going to strike in the morning. Mike arrived at the playing site in his USTTA
warm-up suit. He said, I couldnt change because I didnt have a change of clothes. Why
not? What was he wearing before he immediately put on the suit Grossman gave him? Where
did those clothes go? Since, as the Seemillers knew, the strike would quite likely occur, Bush
knew that too but had made up his mind to grab the suit while he could.
Steve Isaacson, the Captain of Bushs Youth Team, in an Oct. 21 letter to Dr. Scott
said that when, after the Team matches, Bush approached him and asked if I would forgive
him if he gave back the uniform, I told him, the damage was done, and that in my opinion the
time for forgiveness had long since passed but that he should still return the uniform. Bush, in
his letter to Scott, said that when Mike offered to give back the suit, Isaacson said giving back
the suit wouldnt mean anything, since when it was needed it couldnt be used, so the damage
was done. Mike wrote that since Steve told me this in a friendly fashion I believed him and I
kept the suit. I see that I was wrong, I should have given back the suit the next day. I also see
that the only reason he told me this was in a hope that I would get suspended.
Isaacson in his letter to Scott said:
Bush, Tim Boggan, and I had a long philosophical discussion (Boggans
term) concerning the reasons Bush had for keeping the uniform. Briefly, Bush said that
he wore the suit because he thought it would lend credence to the picket line and to
the demands and grievances of the Players Association if one of the pickets was a U.S.
Team member. Furthermore, he would not return it because, frankly, I want the thing!
I worked hard to get it.What has the USTTA ever done for me?
349

Isaacson was incensed because

of the unbelievable selfishness that must be dominant in Mr. Bush to take a
United States uniform away from its rightful owner! I told Mr. Bush repeatedly that at
least one of the new members of the Youth Team***had no uniform. I told him that he
was personally diminishing the thrill of a lifetime for a young table tennis player and
presumably a friend of his. His reply[was an obscenity].
May I respectfully suggest that Mr. Bushs appeal for clemency be treated
identically!
Bush in his letter to Scott agreed that at a meeting between the P.A. and the E.C. it
was determined he had to return the suit. He said he returned it at the first opportunity he had
to see any E.C. member. He gave it to Tim Boggan about Aug. 10th with an explanation and
an apology. It was slightly damageda rip of 2 cm in length along the pocket seam. Bush
said he didnt cause the rip, it must have happened before he got it, which wasnt surprising,
he said, considering its utterly cheap quality.
Mike then tells Scott:
Im very surprised at the USTTA quibbling over a $14.95 warm-up suit. If
any complaint is to be made, it should be made by me. The last time I was picked to
play on the U.S. Team was Dec. of 1975. The deal was all expenses paid. I would have
to put up the initial money ($150) for air fare, hotel and food. Then I would give the
receipts to Rufford Harrison, which I did. I borrowed the money from my father on the
promise to repay him as soon as the money came. This was 9 months ago and every
time I ask Rufford about it, he gives me excuses. He told me he would check his
receiptsthis was 4 months ago, and I still havent heard anything.
Mal Anderson, in an Oct. 11 letter to Dr. Scott has this to say:
I heard Bush talking about his letter to you to a PTTC (Philly Club)
memberBush was laughing and saying the whole thing was ridiculous. He
obviously doesnt think he could possibly be disciplined for this. All the top players
hold the opinion that Tim Boggan will talk them out of any trouble they get into. Thus,
its my opinion that the only way to make Bush aware of how close he came to a
suspension this time is to convince Boggan as well. Perhaps you could write to the
entire E.C., mention your findings to date and asking us if we think Bush should be
suspended? You could add the real purpose of the letter is to impress Bush, and that
you arent recommending any action.
Scott in an Oct. 16th letter to Mal, his last word on this case, writes:
I had already written Bush on Oct. 15th (one day prior to receiving your
letter). In that letter I mentioned that there was considerable controversy about my
recommendations in his case. I mentioned that it would most likely be on the agenda of
the next E.C. meeting for review. I also stated, Im sure I dont have to stress the
importance of your strictly abiding by USTTA rules in the future.
350

***Topics never received any report of a U.S. Youth Team playing in the 1976 U.S.
Open, nor does the USTTA Historian of the time, Leah Neuberger, have any record of such
play. However, a U.S. Youth team of Rick Seemiller, Dean Galardi, Mike Bush, and Apichart
Sears had been selected by the USTTA E.C. for play, and the Open Programs Team Draw
indicates that there was to be round robin competition between this U.S. Youth team and
teams from Iran and England. Why there was no official record of such matches I dont know,
but Captain Steve Isaacson assures me they were heldthough, as the accompanying photo
shows, with Galardi, Barish, and Schwartzberg playing for the U.S. Steve says his youths beat
Iran, but lost to England (Des Douglas, Ian Horsham) who then, with a 2-0 record, advanced
to be beaten in the semis, 3-2, by Canada (Zlatko Cordas, Errol Caetano).

At the U.S. Open, U.S. Youth vs. Iran. Back, L-R: Hamid Hayatghaib, U.S. Captain Steve Isaacson,
Iran Captain Houshang Bozorgzadeh, Dean Galardi, Dennis Barish, Iranian player.
Front, L-R: Parviz Mojaverian, Perry Schwartzberg, Aram Avanissi
Photo courtesy of Steve Isaacson

351

Chapter Twenty-Four
1976: Minutes of the E.C. Summer Meetings. 1976:
Activities Related to the Meetings Including Sakai/Seemillers
Attempt to get 1979 World Championships in Hartford, CT.
In conjunction with the U.S. Open, the USTTA E.C. held a
series of brief meetings in Philadelphia from June 9-14. As a
replacement for Gus Kennedy, President Sol Schiff proposed Sue Sargent as Corresponding
Secretary, and she was elected 3-2 (FOR: Sol Schiff, Jack Carr, Mal Anderson: AGAINST:
Tim Boggan, D-J Lee). Since Sols previously held Vice President position was vacant and had
to be filled, he nominated Dr. Michael Scott, while Boggan nominated Danny Seemiller, and
Dick Miles nominated Lou Bochenski. Schiff, Harrison, Anderson, and Carr voted for Scott;
Boggan, Miles, Lee, and Sargent abstained. Scott appeared not to have the necessary majority
of votesbut then it was pointed out that the abstaining votes didnt count! Which was news
to Boggan, Miles, Lee, and so they wanted, and got, a revote. They hoped to persuade
Sargent to make a fourth vote for Bochenski. (Seemiller, surprised by his nomination, was
initially hesitant, though later willing, to run.).But Sue again abstained, and so Scott filled the
vacancy as Vice-President.
Many items were deferred. But, as Recording Secretary Mal Anderson noted, George
Otto presented his report and recommendations on reorganizing the USTTA in both an oral
and written presentation. These recommendations, presented June 14 in a Report binder, the
E.C. would supposedly study. Aside, however, from Jack Carrs July 5 relentless questioning
of, and objections to, this Report (he found it excellent and outstanding but a
disappointment!), and Ottos generally politic July 29 reply, theres no follow up at all. When
Jack authoritatively says, There is nothing in your Report which is new to me, and most of
which was discussed by the E.C. within the past 12 years, its no surprise that the E.C. isnt
going to hire Ottos management firm (at $21,000 for the first year).
Otto gave an overview of the Association (We feel that the major motivation for
membership in the USTTA is interest in tournament competition). He also made generalized
recommendations (of course, as in any year, past, present, or future, quite a few members
dont think their E.C is functioning well enough). His Report included, among other things,
opinions on E.C. and committee restructuring; appraisals of committees; suggestions regarding
Membership, Topics, and Ratings; relations between the USTTA and manufacturers; and the
need for a professional staff. This Report, I would think, would be of use to those taking E.C.
office in 1977. In response to Carrs criticism that Otto had merely read from his Report at the
Philadelphia meeting, George responded as follows:
As I had mentioned to several people, I had prepared to make
transparencies and use an overhead projector to provide additional expansion and
development of the presentation. However, as I had no idea at what time the
presentation might be made, nor where it would take place, I could not adequately
prepare any supporting materials. In fact, when the presentation was made in a
handball court, I knew that the Executive Committee was under pressure to return to
the affairs of the Open, and several people mentioned that they wanted to attend a
couple of matches, and I felt the most expedient and appropriate way to cover the
presentation was to go over it in as detailed and as succinct a manner as possible. I
352

frankly dont feel

that this was an
appropriate way
to air the results
of a pretty
extensive bit of
research [Carrs
challenges, said
Otto, amount to a
proposal that he
should have come
up with a total
blueprint for the
function of the
USTTA].
Obviously, the
E.C. wasnt interested in
hiring Ottos firm, and he
was wise not to have
spent additional weeks in
preparation.
Perhaps mindful
that the U.S. Tennis
Association just
Is it too late to adopt any of these? At Bruce Plotnicks 1972 Bar Mitzvah
established a new circuit
Party: Standing, L-R: Jeff Zakarin, Chuck Zakarin, Eric Boggan, Bruce
for players 21-years-andPlotnick; Sitting, L-R: Scott Boggan and Mike Stern.
Photo courtesy of Bruce Plotnick
underthose players
having been labeled the
forgotten group in
American tennis (and in table tennis too)Schiff had urged manufacturers to support an
Adopt a Youth Program. Give a $1,000 Scholarship to a Junior or Youth of their choice
whod promote their products. But if any manufacturer agreed to do this, it wasnt to my
knowledge publicized.
Schiff will ask National Table Tennis League President Windsor Olson not to use the
word World in advertising his matches in Haiti. According to Lou Bochenski, the one match
Olson staged there last year drew over $20,000 in paid admissions; plus a very fine
professional quality film was made of the match. ($20,000in Haiti?)
In an article called Lets All Work Together (that includes the USTTA and the
Players Association), Bochenski indicates that hes been working with Olson. Hes provided
his Paddle Palace free for Windsor to stage some National League Seattle Sockeye and
Portland King matches, and has spent countless hours assisting him with publicity and a
myriad of details. Lous help is evident in the Topics article (July-Aug., 1976, 24A) he writes
for Olson. Its a plea to recruit professional players, ideally four to a team (uniforms provided),
for Windsors National League (Now, for the first time, a large number of professional table
tennis players will be able to earn a little money competing in their favorite sport.)
353

Olsons plans and promises for expansion rival Fuarnado Robertss:

The first half [of the 1976-77 season, Oct.1-Jan. 31] there will be 6
teams playing a total of 240 dates (approximately). The second half [Feb. 2
through Apr. 15] there will be 7 teams playing, and the 7th team will be China.
Theyll be playing a total of 5 days a week in 14 cities on the West Coast and
probably going as far East as Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix.
There will be 3 players on each team and each player will be paid $600 per
month or $1800 per month per team. Plus $23 per day per team food allowance.
Plus $18 per day per team room allowance. Plus $18 per day per team travel
allowance based on 5 days per week.
At the end of the season the two top teams will be involved in play-offs to
determine which team gets a crack at the Seattle Sockeye World Professional
title.
[For further information, contact Lou Bochenski.]
Further information by Lou reveals that the sponsorship of colleges and
universities Olson had depended on did not work out. He will have only a limited
schedule, and is sorry hes let the players down (nearly 50 showed an interest). Bochenski
says, I feel that, even though Mr. Olson has been unorthodox in many of his approaches,
he has spent a great deal of money and time on table tennis and deserves nothing but
praise for his efforts.
The E.C. wants Dr. Scott, in a spirit of cooperation, to talk with Olson about the
nature of Olsons international teams in his League.
Regarding the U.S. bid to hold the 1979 World Championships, Miles said he had a
number of possible sponsors, and that Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles were all
interested; however, he needed more time. Anderson/Boggan moved that the USTTA ask
the ITTF, via Rufford Harrison who was attending their June Council Meeting in
Dubrovnik, to wait 6 months before deciding this matter. Passed 7-1. But when it
turned out Harrison was the lone dissenter, Boggan and Miles became upset, for Harrison
had made it clear he didnt think the U.S. could run a Worlds, so no way, listening to him,
would the ITTF be inclined to give us more time. [Actually, they did give us a three
month extension.]
Vic Landau presented his proposal to do the Ratings. The E.C decided that at the
annual summer E.C. meeting Fox and Landau will discuss their respective systems with
the entire E.C. As Bill Hodge, who was at the meeting, noted, there was a problem or
two. Fox has his own computer program and wont reveal it to anyonethough he does
keep the Topics audience apprised of the tournaments hes processed and those he hasnt
received, and he does show how your rating changes when you win or lose a match, and
what a Rating Handicap Chart looks like. Also, Fox listens: hell accept Ray Chens
suggestion that Neal list players by state (It is surely more satisfying, says Ray, to be
9th in your state rather than 450th in the country). Landau said he himself wouldnt do the
programming, hed coordinate with an expertperhaps the same fellow whod come with
him to the meeting and, after being on hold too long, left. Lim Ming Chui would also
propose his Rating System. Gene Sargent will study all Rating proposals and report back
to the E.C.
354

The Caesars Palace bid for the Closed and the World Team Trials was
unanimously approved.
Criteria for the Mens Team to the Birmingham Worlds would be as
follows:
The first member of the Team can be picked by a 2/3 majority vote of both
the Selection and Executive Committees.
The second and third members of the Team will be the top two finishing
players at the Trials. If a first member isnt picked, then itll be the top three
finishers.
The fourth member of the Team will be the junior who finishes highest in the Trials
provided he finishes in the Top10. If hes among the Top 3 on the Team, that allows for
another Junior among the Top 10 to make the Team.
The fifth member of the Team will be that youth (Under 22 as of July 1, 1976) who
places higher in the Trials than all other youths who havent been selected for the Team. If no
Junior is in the Top 10, then the two highest finishing U-22 youths will become the fourth and
fifth players on the Team. If no Junior or Youth finishes high enough then the next highest
finishing players will make the Team.
The above criteria for the Mens Team was passed unanimously. But Boggan, Miles,
D-J Lee, Roberts, Sakai, and Danny Seemiller had left the Meeting after the Caesars bid had
been approved. Did they know this radical departure from previous Selection methods would
be put forward to the five E.C. members that remained? (That would be Schiff, Carr,
Anderson, Harrison, and Sargent. These five didnt foresee or care if the old players would
howl Discrimination? Where was the 9th member, Scott? ) It would take only three of the nine
members to pass this unprecedented method of Selection.
355

Subsequently, the E.C. revised the above criteria. Now the first member of the Team would
not be pickedbut he and the second man on the Team would be the top two finishers in the
Trials. The third member will be a junior if hes among the Top 10. The fourth member will be an
Under 22 youth if hes among the Top 10. The fifth member is to be picked after the Trials by the
Selection Committee members present and approved by the E.C. members present. Passed 4-2
(Boggan, Lee)-2 (Harrison, Sargent). With regard to the Women, the top three finishers make the
Team. The fourth will be picked the same way the fifth man was. Passed 7-0-1 (Lee).
U.S. Selection Chair John Read would make it clear in Topics
that all players must play in the Dec., 1976 U.S. Closed in Las Vegas
to be eligible for the 1977 U.S. World Team. Also, they must have
acquired 11 [participation] points between 7-1-75 and 6-30-76 or 11
points since 7-1-76. Since the U.S. Closed counts 4 points, a player
must acquire another 7 points this season if he/she did not acquire 11
points between 7-1-75 and 6-30-76. This point requirement would be
passed at an upcoming E.C. Meeting 7-1with Boggan against it.
Heres the format for the World Team Trials (after being
modified at a later Aug. E.C. meeting): 24 players will be eligible to
U.S. Selection Chair
tryout for the Mens Team: the eight quarterfinalists in the 76 Caesars
John Read
Closed (if eligible), plus the next top 12 from the USTTA Rating List,
plus 4 players recommended by the Selection Committee and
approved by the E.C. There will be a preliminary, then a final round robin. 21 players will be
eligible to tryout for the Womens Team: the eight quarterfinalists in the Closed, plus the next
12 from the Rating List, plus 1 player recommended and approved by the Committees. As with
the men, two round robins will be played. Both Trial formats were approved 9-0. The Rating
List to be used? The one published in the Nov.-Dec., 1976 Topics. Passed: 7-2 (Schiff, Scott).
Aug. 1st E.C. Meeting on World Championships in Hartford
The Aug.1st E.C. Meeting
at Hartford, CT came about
because Dave Sakai and Danny
Seemiller, working with the
Greater Hartford Chamber of
Commerce, were putting on
exhibitions in the hope of getting
one of the many national
corporations based there to
make a $1,000,000 commitment
to hold the 1979 Worlds.
Attending were six E.C.
Danny Seemiller and Dave Sakai lobbing, er, lobbying for World members, Schiff, Harrison,
Minutes-taker Anderson,
Championships at Hartford.
Boggan, Sargent, and Miles; and
also Dan Seemiller; Dave Sakai, Vic Landau, Tom Dulack, Art Goldblatt (Attorney), Thomas
Brunnock (Attorney), and Gus Cavellari (Attorney).
Boggan/Anderson moved that we accept Tom Dulack as D-J Lees proxy, but only for
those items specifically mentioned in the proxy note. Passed 3-0-1 (Schiff abstained; two E.C.
356

members didnt vote, or werent recorded as voting). Carr wanted Schiff to assign Jacks
proxy to a USTTA member, but the many items he wanted it to cover made its legality
questionable and Schiff didnt assign it.
Time was running out on Miles whod been trying, without success, to get a sponsor
for the Worlds. Sakai/Seemiller wanted to follow through with the connections theyd made.
Miles and Schiff agreed to voluntarily abstain from voting at this meeting (Schiff said hed
received an offer to have his ball used for the Worlds, thats why he was abstainingI for
one, looking back, would have liked to have explored that explanation).
Boggan/Sargent moved that Miles be removed from the post of Chairman of the
World Championships Committee. Passed 4-0-1 with Harrison abstaining. Boggan moved that
Sakai be the new Chairman. No second.
Miles spoke at length regarding his [World Championship] first contact rightsin
any city he contacted first in accordance with his agreement with the USTTA.Miles
contacted Hartford and received a reply dated Jan. 21, 1974. Miles stated this letter establishes
the interest and potential of Hartford to hold the event, and that any talk of contracts 5 years
before the event would have been premature. His latest contact with Hartford was in the
spring of 1975.
After a recess, Miles did not immediately return to the Meeting. However, Harrison
presented a proposal in his name. Miles would relinquish all his rights to the 1979 World
Championships to the USTTA in return for the ball rights and 1/3 of the TV income after the
ITTF levy is deducted. Brunnock (Sakais attorney) rejected this proposal.
After Dick had returned, Boggan/Sargent moved, That Sakai be appointed Broker in
the greater Hartford area for the 1979 Worlds. Much discussion resulted in this motion being
withdrawn. [Miles left the meeting, no doubt feeling hurt by his good friend Boggan whod
not supported him. But Tim wanted immediate action; an opportunity was here, seize the day.]
Boggan/Harrison; That we pay Arthur Goldblatt $75/hour and a retainer of $500 for
acting as our attorney in this matter. Passed unanimously. (These fees had been mentioned in a
letter from Goldblatt to Schiff, and Schiff authorized Goldblatt to represent us on these
terms.)
Anderson/Boggan moved That the E.C. authorize a contract to be entered into with
David Sakai as Sponsorship Representative in accordance with a draft of agreement submitted
to this meeting by Attorney Goldblatt and amended at the meeting in accordance with the
document read to the E.C. by Attorney Goldblatt. Passed 3-0-1 [with Harrison abstaining].
After this meeting, Rufford wrote a stinging article (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 17) which
of course was answered in kind by my novelist/playwright friend Tom Dulack, a Professor of
English at the University of Connecticut whod written the Topics review of Marty Reismans
The Money Player.
Heres Harrison talking to his fellow USTTA members:
You do want your Association run by complete novices who arent even
members, dont you? I mean, isnt that the best way to avoid our personality conflicts?
Wouldnt it throw a new light on things? And wouldnt it really be fun, to go to all that
trouble of having a national election, and then to have genuine outsiders do the voting
at meetings?
I dont think so. Im quite sure that you dont think so. But Vice President Tim
Boggan seems to think so.
357

Rufford Harrison

We had a special EC meeting recently, to discuss Hartford as

a proposed site for the 1979 world championships. Thats meaty
business. We were talking about a million dollars, and a tournament
that could affect the future of table tennis for very one of you.
[At this meeting] Tim solicited D-Js proxy for Tom
Dulack. You dont know Tom Dulack? Possibly because he wasnt
even a member. Never had been. Had we quizzed him on the shape of
a TT ball, perhaps he could have answered. But with all respect to
him, he wasnt exactly knowledgeable about this sport.
I enjoyed meeting and chatting with Tom Dulack. Ill look
forward to another opportunity to meet himbut not as a proxy
unless he gets more active in this Association than he has been.Tim
bought him a membership on the spot, and your ECaccepted the
proxy.
Just thought you ought to know.

Heres Dulacks response:

Its hard to figure out exactly what Mr. Harrison is objecting to concerning my
casting D-J Lees proxy at the E.C. meeting in Hartford.The votes I cast were D-Js
not mine [and on only two specific issues].
I might add, however, for the benefit of the USTTA
membership, that as a very objective observer at that strange meeting
I am convinced that without Tim Boggans impassioned advocacy of
the measures ultimately adopted, there would have been no chance
whatever of securing the Worlds for the United States. My
impression was that the Messrs. Anderson, Harrison, and Schiff
positively did not want to sponsor the Worlds, were in fact afraid of
assuming any responsibility for it.
How Mr. Harrison can conclude that I am not very
knowledgeable about the sport is a mystery inasmuch as he never
tried to find out what I know about it. Had we quizzed him on the
shape of a TT ball, perhaps he could have answered. Yes, Mr.
Harrison, I could have answered: it is small, round, featureless, and
empty inside, like you and Mr. Schiff and Mr. Anderson. You may
Tom Dulack
have enjoyed meeting me, and you may look forward to another
opportunity to chat with me, but I assure you I do not reciprocate those sentiments.
Aug. 14-16 E.C. Summer Meeting in Wilmington, DE
All E.C. members except Miles were present. Harrison moved that Miless proxy, Bob
Kaminsky, be approved. Passed 5-1 (Schiff)-1 (Carr).
Disciplinary Chair Michael Scott moved That Steve DeFrance and Mike Blaustein be
suspended from Aug. 14, 1976 until 3 months after the suspended person repays the fees
owed the USTTA from USTTA sanctioned tournaments. Passed 6-0-1 (Scott). [De Frances
suspension was subsequently lifted. Blaustein still owed the USTTA $9.00, but Schiff would
later lift his suspension.]
358

Disney needs to submit a financial report on the 1974 USOTCs. The Tournament Chair
will consider any waiver request Disney may include with it. Passed 7-0-1 (Kaminsky for Miles).
Jack Carr moved That the USTTA request the ITTF to restrict their limitation on prize
money to only the World Championships and Open International Championships. Passed 7-0.
Schiff was to make mutual help inquiries of the Manufacturers Association. Topics
needs more adsbring one in and earn a 20% Finders Fee. That same Finders Fee applies to
anyone raising money for the Worlds. Carr moved That the ball approval fee be raised from
$350 to $450 for two years. Amend to $500, said Boggan. Amend to $700, said Boggan. The
$500 fee was passed 4-1 (Lee)-2 (Carr, Schiff).
Equipment Chair Harrison stated that tables must be used in tournament play in more
than one country before being considered for ITTF approval. To be considered for USTTA
approval, any wooden tables playing surface must be at least 19 mm thick. Passed 8-0. Is a
Standing Rule. Also, was it the USTTAs Equipment Chemist Harrison who resurrected
How To Make A Table Tennis Ball from the Jan. 14, 1936 N.Y. Post? And if it wasnt, I
wonder what40 years laterhe thought of this article:
It takes seven days to make a Table Tennis ball. And heres the process: A
machine presses flat pieces of celluloid into half spheres which are hermetically sealed
together with liquid celluloid, but only after a drip of chemical has been placed inside
so a gas will form. The ball is then put into a press and subjected to 300 degrees of
heat, which causes the gas inside to expand and form a perfect sphere.

As can be seen from his initial Report (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 4B) Bill Hodge began his
tenure as USTTA Film and Library Committee Chair with great enthusiasm. The first step,
says Bill, is that the E.C. push to get him all the USTTA-acquired films in existence and the
359

money to duplicate them and any other films the Association could get from interested
persons. These films would be a marvelous educational and promotional tool, welcomed by
schools and rec centers and TT clubs and TV stations. They could be rented out all over the
country, the USTTA would start getting funds from them, and the uninformed public would
start getting informed as to how exciting our sport can be. The second step is to see that
every USTTA Club in the country has at least a 1 minute 16 mm Sound Film that instructs and
delights with fantastic, unbelievable points by world class players.
Bill doesnt have a list of available books for rent (indeed, he wonders where books
previously advertised as being in the USTTA library are now), but he shows in Topics the list
of films available, the deposit and rental fees needed for each, and the fine for any lost film. He
also has a Film Order Form that a borrower is required to fill out. Film rental fees will
generally be $10.00 or less per reel plus postal and insurance costs.
Bill needs answers to questions. Can anyone can take films at sanctioned
tournaments? Who owns film or TV rights to tournaments? If the USTTA retains rights and
films the tournaments, the Film Library will be built. Bill wants the Film and Library Budget
increased to $4,000, and hopes to specialize in 8 mm films. Bill has many more questions.
For example, if he had the money to buy films of the 1975 Worlds, would he have the
authority to do so? Answer: hed have to have E.C. approval. He names nameswonders
where the films connected with these people are. Fred Herbst, for instance. Mal Anderson says
Fred duplicated 1974 Oklahoma City U.S. Open films and was told to send them to me. Bill
never got them. (Fred picks up on thisin the next Topics responds to Hodge, says hed
answered this very same question before in a letter to Bill. Fred was given about 200 rolls of
undeveloped filmby four different USTTA members. He had them developed but not
duplicated and sent them back to the respective individuals.)
Bill wants a new E.C. liaison, Boggans too busy. Bill says hes getting tired of being
ignored by the EC. If that continues, if I still get no assistance, I will know that I have done
my best, and I will resign.
After receiving Hodges Film and Library Committee Report, Harrison moved the
following modification of Standing Rule #38: The rental fee, deposit fee and film loss fee for
any USTTA film shall be determined by the Film and Library Committee. These films, to be
distributed as widely as possible, are to be rented only to USTTA affiliated clubs or reliable
USTTA members. Hes going to have a little trouble with that distribution? Passed 7-0-1
(Schiff abstaining).
Harrison also moved that the Tournament Committee Chair and the Film Committee
Chair frame a joint proposal regarding the right to film USTTA sanctioned events. Passed by
general consent.
Various Committee Reports were received without
comment. The Membership Chair said theres been no radical
change in the membership (but didnt specify what the
membership figures were).The Photography Committee Report
might have included Chair Mal Andersons announcement that, as
part of the ITTFs 50th anniversary celebration, there would be a
Photo Contest at the Birmingham Worlds. The U.S. can enter 12
photographs.
The National Junior T.T. Foundation had a meeting during the U.S. Open. Present
were: Fred Danner (the prime force behind the Foundation), Gus Kennedy, Warren Rasmussen,
360

Joe Newgarden, Harry Kitselman, Mitch Silbert, new trustee C.F. Liu,
and State Directors Paul Erickson, Larry Knouft (whos about to be
suspended indefinitely after a 7-2 vote, Boggan, Scott against), LeRoy
Petersen, and Randy Hess. Minutes taken by Kennedy, the Foundations
Recording Secretary, show the following highlights:
Cash on hand: $554.70. Danner/Newgarden moved that 10% of
the Foundations net funds be retained in an endowment fund. Passed
unanimously. 1,000 copies of Dell Sweeriss manual on Ogimuras
training and coaching comments are available free on request to schools
if they provide an officials name and address contact. Manual is $1 to
anyone else. Dell gets $.25 per copy of this printing. Danner discussed
Joe Newgarden
how it was arranged that the Foundation receive $350 from the CBS TV
Battle of the Sexes stars Seemiller/Bhushan.
Danner, who gave a t.t. seminar at Long Islands Adelphi College, also went to the
N.Y. Sporting Goods Show and, after speaking with 15 manufacturers, received $200 towards
the Foundations Medal Program. This Program provides the winning boy and girl in each
school with a quality medal signifying them as school champion. However, moneys needed
to get this Program underwayspecifically $2,500 for a Manual, then $500/yr. for the yearly
medals. The Foundations College Scholarship Program awards the winning boy or girl (U.S.
resident) of the U.S. Open Under 17 event with a $500 scholarship payable to the college
when the person attends. The Foundation sells 20 USTTA decals for $12 to anyone who in
turn will sell them at $1 each. Teachers or Phys. Ed. Directors can get a copy of a 144-page
USTTA Coaching Manual free if they request it on a school letterhead. The Foundations
setting up a computer listing for all known school Table Tennis clubs in the U.S. Fundraising is crucial to the success of the Foundation.
And speaking of Juniors, Fred Herbst wrote a June 17th letter to
Rufford Harrison in which he says, I strongly oppose any official
connection, recognition, or sponsorship by USTTA of Louis Dubin
because of his history as a convicted child molester and sex offender.
He then goes into some detail as to Dubins modus operandi and his
convictions. Although Fred doesnt go so far as to spurt spit in
Dubins face as reportedly one California player might have, he does
chastise the leaders of organized table tennis, including ourselves [I
didnt publish Freds letter in Topics] for having been unwittingly
acting as pimps for this degenerate. Rufford thinks Freds letter was
Louis Dubin
occasioned by Dubins willingness to sponsor Dean Galardi on a sixPhoto by Don Gunn
month coaching tour, and his interest in going with him. I once
questioned Dean as to whether being so close with Lou was best for him, and I remember how
poised he was in saying, Dont you think Im the best judge of that?
Carr moved a Bylaw change: that the summer E.C. meeting be held no earlier than when
the newly elected E.C. members take office, and no later than August 15. Passed. Carr moved that
at E.C. meetings held in conjunction with major tournaments, each E.C. member will receive half
of his travel expenses and all of his lodging expenses. Passed 6-3 (Boggan, Sargent, Lee).
Anderson moved that we adopt the following Standing Rule: Entry blanks for the U.S.
Open and Closed will contain an application for USTTA Qualified Umpire, including the
name and address of the Rules Committee Chairman. Passed 7-0-1.
361

Carr/Harrison moved to make the following Bylaw change clear: to play in the U.S.
Closed, you must be a citizen or have an I-151 Alien Registration Card (Green Card). Also,
after Jan. 1, 1983, this [Green Card] privilege will be extended only to permanent residents
for a period of six years or less from the issuance of their Green Card or other official
document indicating their permanent residency. Passed 7-1 (Scott).
Carr wants the International Team Squad revived, but doesnt say why. Bylaw Change
regarding eligibility for international teams: candidates must now have played in the most
recent U. S. Open or Closed. Passed 8-0.
A number of items were deferred to the Selection Committee.
Carrs USTTA Treasury Statement (June 1, 1975-May 31, 1976) and USTTA Budget
(June 1, 1976-May 31, 1977) were approved. (See TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 23.) Significant
Income items: Membership, $21,000; Tournaments $11,300. Significant Expense items: U.S.
Teams to 77 Worlds, $11,000; Executive Committee, $8,000; Topics $7,500; U.S. Teams to
76 and 77 U.S. Opens, $6,000; Ratings $3,500. Total Expense: $81,050. Total Income:
$67,150.
Money in banks: about $22,000. CD: $5,000.
Big Budget items: Expected Income: Membership: $23, 450; Advertising, $5,400.
Expected Expense: Topics, $15,700 [Doubled from last year? Note: last year the Advertising
income from Topics was subtracted from the Topics expense]; International, $7,000; Executive
Committee, $7,600; Ratings, $2,000.
Contingent Liabilities: International Team Fund: $5,000.
Total Expense Budgeted: $62,147.17. Total Income Budgeted: $61,988.76.
Anderson moved that the USTTA fund up to 5 men, 4 women, 2 captains, and 1
manager to the 1977 World Championships, from general funds if necessary. Passed 7-0.
Carr moved that The USTTA Tournament Chairman shall have the authority to
require the tournament sponsor to post the prize money with the sanctioning official. Passed
5-1 (Carr)-1 (Lee).
Carrs purported aim in writing To All Candidates for Treasurer (TTT, July-Aug.,
1976, 31A) is this: that those considering becoming a Treasurer candidateare entitled to
know the duties that are involved. He begins by stating, as hes so often done in the past, his
requirements for being an E.C. officer, complains glancingly that some E.C. members arent
doing what theyre supposed to, criticizes those who in Topics voice critical or caustic
remarks, then goes into listing Briefly, some of the duties of the Treasurer. After detailing
25 things the ideal Treasurer does (and unquestionably, as Treasurer, Jack does do a lot), he
ends the article this way:
So, how much time is required to perform properly the duties of Treasurer
and an Executive Committee member? Roughly between 30 and 40 hours a week,
sometimes more. And without any pay. And no thanks for a job well done. But plenty
of criticism by persons who dont know what theyre talking about. Enough of that.
Do you think Im bitter? You are absolutely correct.
Anderson moved that If the records of any of the defaulting players or teams includes a
win by default or withdrawal, the ratio of games or points will not include any results from the
defaulting or withdrawing player or team. If the defaulted or withdrawing player or team is one of
the tying players or teams, he or it will finish last among the tying players or teams. Passed 8-0.
362

Harrison moved that a proposed Standing Rule, which would require prize money for
Womens Singles, be referred to the Tournament Committee, who will report their
recommendations back to the E.C. by Nov. 1, 1976. Passed 4-2 (Boggan, Lee)-2 (Schiff, Scott).
There will be no more free ads [read: articles supporting the Players Association?] in
Topics without the prior consent of the E.C. Passed by general consent. Harrison urges
examination of our ad rate structure, and Schiff appointed a Committee of Boggan, Danner,
and Mort Zakarin to look into it.
E.C. members were each given Committees to oversee.
John Read was appointed Chair of the Selection Committee.
Passed 5-2 (Carr, Lee)-1 (Schiff). Members of the Selection
Committee are: Gene Sargent, Neal Fox, Bob Kaminsky, Leah
Miss Ping Neuberger, and Bob Gusikoff. No Selection Committee
member can have any position on a U.S. Team. This restriction, it
turns out, is incorrect. Read will want the position of Birmingham
Team Manager, but that doesnt mean he has to give up his Selection
Committee Chair. It means only that he cant take part in Committee
work when the Committee is considering that post. Gene Sargent will
become the temporary Chair.
Anderson moved that we approve Detroits bid to hold the
USOTCs Nov. 26-28. Passed 7-0-1 (Harrison).
Three bids have been received for the 1977 U.S. Open. The
Tournament Committee will study them, report back to the E.C.
There will be a training camp for juniors and youths in Las Vegas
Committeewoman Leah
after the U.S. Closed. [Itll be run by Danny Seemiller, but not in Vegas.]
Miss Ping Neuberger
The USTTA Corresponding Secretary will write John Read
asking him to check with an Illinois lawyer to see if the word amateur can be removed from
the USTTA charter.
Harrison urges Boggan to consider publishing 1 issue of Topics each year as an annual
reference guide. [Boggan wont do it, probably doesnt think such a guide would be readable.]
Anderson moved that we pay Harrison $200 to partially reimburse his expenses to the ITTF
Council Meeting in Dubrovnik. [Will he urge ITTF President Roy Evans to come to Hartford?]
Meeting adjournedbut there are many proposed Bylaw changes by Anderson, Carr,
and particularly Harrison that need be addressed in the future.
Doug Danforth, President of the Aetna TT Club in Hartford, sees the Players
Association as a great shot in the U.S. table tennis arma unity of vitality that can make
things happen. But these players must act in a positive direction
which they did not do at the Philadelphia U.S. Open. Meanwhile, says
Danforth, lets not put down our elected officialslets give them a
chance to promote the sport.
But another member, Barry Margolius, was saddened that we
didnt take on the World Championships. Lack of money, lack of
organization, and an overabundance of USTTA politics raised their
ugly heads. Barry was also confused. Why do we have a USTTA?
he asks. Isnt one of the major reasons so that we will be organized
enough to take advantage of an opportunity when it arises. Here was
our chance. Where were we?
Barry Margolius
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Dr. Michael Scott (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 18; 22) as usual plays
the peacemaker among opposed parties, praising all those involved in the
Aug. 14-16 E.C. Meeting at Wilmington. I was not only utterly
astonished but totally impressed with everyones working capacity, he
says. He urges USTTA members to read the Minutes carefully, comment
on them, and be wary of possible conflicts of interest among E.C. officials.
The verbal and physical mayhem hed been led to expect at this three-day,
sequestered meeting just didnt happenthough, true, there were some,
er, disagreements. For example:
The meeting itself was like being on an emotional roller
coaster.The ironic aspect was that you would be aligned in a common
Dr. Michael Scott, II
front with certain individuals, violently, from a verbal standpoint, opposing
another group of individuals on a particular issue. Just a few minutes later, on the very next
item of the agenda, you might then be aligned with the very group who on the very
previous issue were your adversaries but are now your allies.
The mood of discussion went from amiable tranquility to bitter discord,
accentuated on rare occasions by table pounding and a little profanity.[But] I believe
the restraint was admirable.
Michael does his whimsical best, though, to get the most out of a screama scream of
excruciating pain. It comes not because one E.C. member has stabbed another in a fit of rage,
but because Mal Andersons chair-leg accidentally came down hard on Jack Carrs toes.
Jacks pain was surely assuaged by Scotts Tribute to him (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 15).
For 40 years, says Michael, Jack has never lost his desire or enthusiasm to do his utmost for our
organization. Because the USTTAs resources are limited, Jack as our Treasurer devotes 25-30
hours of volunteer work to being, in effect, the guardian, the key protector, of
USTTA funds. The USTTA is the richer for his contributions. Scott says:
I believe the Carr-Boggan duels, table tenniss mini
Hatfield-McCoy [feuds], are not only interestingbut also in the
long run beneficial for progress in our sport. Certainly E.C.
meetings would be far less interesting without these
confrontations. Im sure someday Jack and Tim will bury their
verbal hatchets and enjoy a glass of beer together while
reminiscing about their past feuds.
Sometimes, says Michael, we hear that Carr is a nit-picker. But
if thats the only derogatory remark that can be mentioned against a
person, he must be quite an individual. And best to have a nit-picker be
the trustee of ones fundsin that case, the labels more a virtue than a
detraction. Michael closes his Tribute with these lines:
Jacks honesty, integrity, and capacity for hard work have
never been questioned and are above reproach. These basic traits
are obvious to anyone having had the privilege of meeting him.

Jack Carr
Photo by Mal Anderson

364

Chapter Twenty-Five
1976: Summer Tournaments.
Dr. Michael Scott, at ease in his Seattle University Athletic Pavilion home courts,
covers the Athletic Supply Co.-sponsored July 31-Aug.1 Pacific Northwest Open (TTT, Sept.Oct., 1976, 24; 12). Or, more accurately, he enjoys more playing the leprechaun, whimsically
fingering witticisms like golden coins. Ms. Rebecca Munn of the Players Association,
obviously a neophyte, should actually try running a tournament, says Michael. But first, if she
thinks its more paradise than nightmare, shed better secure a job in the Complaint
Department at Sears Roebuck and Co. to help her prepare psychologically for the ordeal
shell have to face. Think shed get a lot more troublesome, not to say weird, complaints than
Michael got here (The lights not bright enough, says one player.The lights too bright,
says another.) Of course, Ms. Munn wouldnt even get started with her tournament, $3,000
prize money based on entry fees, cause no way would 100 players pay as much as $30 a man/
woman/child to play in it. And even if they did, she wouldnt have enough money to break
even, for there are other expenses such as printing, postage, tournament balls, trophies, site
rental, USTTA sanctioning fees, etc.
Also, Ms. Munn would have to have stalwart helpers to make a go of her tournament.
Here Scott had those he could depend on. There was 245-pound Harold Russell to bounce, as
off a wall, all frivolous complaints. I understand, he says to an objector, you dont like the
wall color here. Naturally were going to change it for you. We have a crew thats volunteered
to paint the walls after we close tonight and if we work all night it should be finished in time
for tomorrow mornings matches. Do you prefer Black or Kelly-Green? Of course being
talked to like that was better than being thrown out of the place. Fortunately Michael had
Control Desk workersRoger Cook and Californians Lee Olson and George Horinoto
relieve one another just in time to allow for self-control. Dave Davallou at the Officials Desk
helped to assuage the put upon; and all Gene Treneer had to do to stave off discontent was to
call attention to the matches two local TV stations were showing. So, hey, all in all, nothing
too wrong with this tournament where almost everyone kept his cool.
Vancouvers Eric Calveley
with an easy win in the semis
over Bryan Wright and a default
in the final over Seattles expenholder Joe Lee took the
Open Singles. Joe, drenched in
perspiration, had downed Jay Crystal in the semis in 5, after Jay
had escaped Director Scott, 24-22 in the 3rd. Though Lee won
his back-from-the table track match with Crystal, it was the
relentless, on-the-move exchanges that did in Joe. Yep, he
suffered, as Dr. Scott said, quadriceps femoris muscle spasms
and had to retire in the first game of the final. Too bad for the
local spectators whove been following Joes transition to
shakehandsthey felt hed lost some of the deceptiveness of his
penhold serves, but now had more power with his very real
Jay Crystal
Phantom backhand. Too bad, too, for both players because Joe
365

had defeated a vengefulminded Eric in the final

of this tournament last
year, and had just
beaten him last month in
a B.C. Chinatown Open
in 5. So a pyrrhic
Championship for Eric
who apparently has
taken to making his own
racket rubber, stamped
Scott, III and Scott, II
with the initials E.C.,
ganging up on
Alan Michael
out of old erasers.
Photo by Ray Golub
As long as Joe
was going to get
spasms, said Director Scott, its indeed unfortunate they didnt occur just a few minutes
earlier when he and Alan Michael defeated Michael J. Scott, II/Scott, III for the Open Doubles
title, 22-20 in the 5th. Bad schedulingSingles should have preceded Doubles. Womens
went to Canadas Nimi Athwal over Washington State Champ Tyra Parkins who, considering
the results of local League play, may play better against
men than she does against women. Former South Vietnam
Junior star, Quang Bui, who attacks everything he can
reach with his left-handed loop drive, won the Class Is
from defensive-minded Jay Adams. Jay, now playing with
some hard, dead, light-blue rubber, had 19-in-the-3rd
squeaked by Scott, III in the semis.
Other results: Class II: Scott, III over Khoa Bui.
Class III: Terence Dixon over B. Andrews. I Doubles:
Bui/Bui over Paul Chang/Scott, III, 23-21 in the 4th. II
Doubles: Lou Bochenski/Joe Romanosky over Pat
Collins/Don Nash, 22-20 in the 4th. Juniors: Juggy Padda
Quang Bui
over Adams.
Lou Bochenski reports on the Firecracker Open,
held July 3rd at the Paddle Palace. Harvard was
promoting its popular one-ply Hinoki wood racket,
and Mr. Steak was awarding steak dinners and
redwood plaques to the winners. Open Singles
went to 15-year-old Dean Doyle who came from 21 down to beat Vo Qui Han in the final. Both
semis were pyrotechnic crowd-pleasers: Dean -22, -20, 15, 19, 16 rallied by Bryan Wright,
and Han stopped Stanfords Judy Bochenski in 5. Open Doubles also went to Doylehe
paired with Jay Crystal for a 17-in-the-4th win over Dr. Bob Ho/Charlie McLarty. In the
Juniors, however, Doyle was soundly upset by Mike Oslund who then lost the final to Wright.
As weve seen, Dean, along with Mike Lardon, would be going to Japan as a guest of the
Butterfly Company and the Tamasu family. He was also invited by the Korean team to spend
three additional weeks in Korea as their guest.
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Other winners; AAs: Crystal over Ed

Jim Scott
Ng. As: Jim Scott over Ho, 19 in the 3rd. Bs:
Gene McManus over Art Schuff. B Doubles:
Joe Romanosky/L.Bochenski in a 22,-21, 18
Roman candle special over McManus/Rick
Livermore. Cs: John Gold struck it over
Oslund. Ds: Len Lukey-Ott over Ken Lee.
Es: Romanosky
over Austin Lee.
Fs: Mark Jones
over Walter Nauta.
Gs: Kathleen
Shank over
Charlotte Breit.
First Timers: Lukey-Ott over Jim Stridham.
At the Sept. 10-11 Pepsi Open at the Paddle Palace, Wright
avenged his last months Red Lion loss to Ron Carver, winning
Joe
from 2-1 down and deuce in the 4th. Wright also took the Open
Romanosky
Doubles with Bobby Rinde from Doyle/Crystal. AAs: Crystal over
Ed Ng. AA Doubles: Don Nash/Rinde over Doyle/Bruce Douglass.
As: Ho over Rinde. August AA winners, Californias Shonie Aki and A Champ Masaaki
Tajima who perhaps by then was President of the San Francisco Club, didnt defend their titles.
Results of the Aug. 14-15
San Francisco Summer Open
(Double Elimination): Open
Singles: Henry Fung over
Nguyen. As: Chang over Aki
whod outlasted Tajima, 19, -16,
21. Bs: Chuck Chui over Bob
Glenn. Cs: P. Givens over Li on
a default after Li had earlier
beaten Givens, 19 in the 3rd. Ds:
Erwin Hom
Wu over Moore, -15, 19, 19.
Photo by
Seniors: J.C. Jeing over Les
Mal Anderson
Craig Manoogian
Photo by
Mark Adelman

Madden. Juniors: Erwin Hom over Wu whod

downed Nguyen, 24-22 in the 3rd.
Winners in the June 5-6 Pro-Am at Ray Guillens
Club: Open Singles: Guillen, 18-in-the-5th over Al
Everett whod knocked out Dean Galardi in 5. Open
Doubles: Guillen/Bob Ashley over Everett/Ricky
Guillen. AAs: Craig Manoogian over Mike Carr. AA
Doubles: Jeff Stewart/Manoogian over Russ Thompson/
Ricky Guillen. A Singles: Greg Plakos over Stewart. A
Doubles: Ricky Guillen/Carr over Stewart/Plakos. Bs:
Mike Terrell over Tito LeFranc. B Doubles: Wilbert
367

Durr/Terrell over Jim Boatman/LeFranc. Cs: Durr over

Mike Baltaxe. C Doubles: Durr/Ruben Guillen over Jerry
Mike Baltaxe
LaLande/Ron Watkins. Ds: Greg McElveen over Bud
Esler. D Doubles: Salim/Tony Gonzales over Ford/Esler.
Novice: McElveen over De Sanzo. Novice Doubles: Kirby/
Gonzales over Tom Mullins/Gonzales. Under 17: Terrell
over LeFranc. Under 15: Terrell over Tony Koyama.
Esquires: Julius Paal over Thompson. Seniors: Carmen
Ricevuto over Paal. Semis: Ricevuto over Thompson, 19
in the 5th; Paal over Gene Wilson.
This would be Wilsons last tournament for maybe
four months. Hed have a 16-day stay at St. Josephs
Medical Center in Burbank after a doctor at the U.S. Open
had misdiagnosed his condition as a pulled muscle. Gene
had a herniated disc and would have to undergo an interbody spinal fusion operation.
Winners at the July 24-25 Huntington Beach Open: Open Singles:
Guillen over Galardi, 14, 21, 20. Best Quarters matches: Guillen over Manoogian, deuce in
the 4th, and Galardi over Brian Zembik, 18 in the 5th. Womens: Angie Rosal over Irene Ogus
(from down 2-0). Open Doubles: Guillen/Dennis Barish over Carr/Keith Ogata in 5, then over
Galardi/Howie Grossman. Mixed Doubles: Galardi/Rosal over Guillen/Heather Angelinetta.
Esquires: Thompson over Sy Kenig. Seniors: Bill Hodge over Thompson in 5. Senior
Doubles: Thompson/Hodge over Dick Badger/Henry Swain. U-17: Jim Lane over Ian Davis.
U-15: Lane over Gonzales. U-13: Gonzales over Peter Braun, 18 in the 5th.
Lou Bochenski praises Fountain Valley, CAs Jim
Jimmy Lane
Lane,
14, in a Topics Junior of the Month article
Photo by
(Sept.-Oct., 1976, 26). Jim had come to the Paddle
Don Gunn
Palace for an Aug. Charlie Wuvanich clinic, and Lou is
impressed that he set an unbelievable record of
forehand to forehand driveskept hitting them against
an obliging Joe Romanowsky (he didnt always keep the
ball in play) for two hours and fifteen
minutesfinishing with [according to counter Kathleen
Shank] a total of 5,502 before he missed.
Lou says that Jim has such an intense fighting
spirit that after you know him for a while you might
learn how torn up inside he becomes when he loses a
match. Then you must admire him for his
sportsmanship in not letting it show and giving his
opponent credit. But Jims not losing too often. After Wuvanichs clinic was over, he won a
small tournament, beating former Canadian Junior Champion Brian Zembik in the semis and
Vancouvers Peter Joe in the final. Then, since he wanted more practicehe needs more
power in his strokes, and also better serveshe stayed another week at the Paddle Palace
where he beat Dean Doyle in a match.
Other Huntington Beach winners: AAs: Lane over Manoogian. AA Doubles: Angie
Rosal/Zembik over Carr/Ogata (from down 2-1 and 21-all in the 4th). As: Lane over Stewart.
368

A Doubles: Lane/Kent Lofthouse over Carr/Ogata, 19 in the 4th. Bs: Masaru Hashimoto over
Ogata. B Doubles: Marco Chao/Lee over Paul Groenig/Koenig in 5. Cs: Chao over Leon
Ruderman. C Doubles: Kirby/Butler over Ron Watkins/LaLande. Ds: Gonzales over Esler. D
Doubles: Randy Watkins/Esler over Jeff Mio/Dickinson, 19 in the 4th. Es: Tim Bruno over
Mio. E Doubles: Boucher/Randy Watkins over Mio/Ginoza.
Results of the Aug. 21-22 Santa Monica Open: Open Singles: Paul Raphel in the semis
in 5 over Galardi, and in the final (from 2-0 down) over Guillen whod advanced with a 5gamer over Zembik. Mens Doubles: Barish/Everett over Raphel/Carr, 24-22 in the 4th, then
over Guillen/Galardi, 18 in the 5th. AAs: Manoogian over Ricky Guillen. AA Doubles: Carr/
Plakos over Manoogian/Stewart. As: Stewart over Koyama, deuce in the 3rd, then over Ichiro
Hashimoto in 5. A Doubles: Stewart/Al Martz over Huber/Rosal in 5. Bs: Martz over Ogata who
nipped (Ichiro? Mas?) Hashimoto, -22, 19, 20. B Doubles: Lee/Chao over Hashimoto/Ogata. Cs:
Koyama over Gonzales. C Doubles: Tom/Arnold Hyam over Watkins/Lloyd, 19 in the 3rd, then
over Lee/Rapkin, 23-21 in the 4th. Esquires: Thompson over Fred Herbst. Seniors: Thompson
over Dieter Huber. Senior Doubles: Huber/Herbst over Thompson/Rudy Kovin. U-17: Lane over
Koyama. U-15: Lane over Gonzales. U-13: Gonzales over John Colby.
From San Diego we learn that Dave Ramsey, the Clubs
Treasurer for the past 12 years or so, has resigned because of differences
with the Club President. One member said, Dave has a great sense of
humor and always seems to be making someone smile. He also has a very
kind and helpful disposition.I doubt if well ever find anyone who could
do half the job that Dave did. His daughter Pam was kind of shocked
over his resignation, but said her dad would continue playing. Indeed.
Dave Ramsey
Daves team, Chula Vistas Rohr Industries, did very well at the summers
San Diego Industrial Tournament. Jairie Resek says that Pam has made a
milk commercial, plays now on a girls softball team, and would like to get out from
behind the rent-a-car counter at the airport and into a stewardess outfit.
Broomfield, Colorado (halfway between Denver and Boulder), thanks to Paul Williams and
with help from Pat and Bill Kalny, held its first tournament, the Bi-Centennial Open, Sept. 4-5.
Results: Championship Singles: Jerry Plybon over Bob Dawidowicz. 3rd Place: Martz over Todd
Petersen, -16, 20, 21. Championship Doubles: Plybon/Bob Jones over
Petersen/Jose Lopez. 3rd Place: Ron Byers/Paul Cracraft over Williams/Lucas.
As: Petersen over Martz. 3rd Place: Jones over Dana Jeffries, -21, 23, 24. Bs:
Davis over Cracraft. 3rd Place: Lan Ho over Jim DeMet. B Doubles: Lucas/
Lucas over Ken Earnshaw/Byers. 3rd Place: Walsh/
Walsh over Petersen/Keith Kalny. Cs: Len Ho over
Lucas, who just got by Brock, -14, 19, 22. 3rd Place:
Brock over Travis. Seniors: Heller in the final over
Lucas, and in the semis over Harry Lund, former
Minnesota and Colorado State Champion, who 30
years ago was a U.S. Open quarterfinalist (and his
wife, Shirley, too). Young Adults: Jones over
Shirley
Kalny, 19 in the 3rd. Young Adult Doubles:
and
Petersen/Kalny over Cracraft/Evans. U-17:
Harry
Petersen over Cracraft, 23, -22, 17, then over
Lund
Kalny whod split close matches with Cracraft.
369

370

On July 28, Jim Walker, President of the Phoenix Racquets, wrote a letter to Stan
Robens, probably the largest life insurance producer in Phoenix, thanking him for helping the
Racquets to lead all franchises in World Team Tennis. We certainly appreciate, says Walker,
the support you gave us with your 50 to 60 season ticket sales through your physician
clients. Walker thought Stans influence in the business community helped attract TV
sponsors. Two weeks later, with Walkers blessing, Stan promoted, during a break in World
Team Tennis play at Phoenix, a table tennis exhibition with Wuvanich and Chan that stole the
show before a roaring, enthusiastic audience.
At one time Stan was a pretty fair player,* and, after a 20-year absence, he got
hooked on the Sport again. Yep, he went off to Disneys for a week to practice, then
starred in an exhibition himself. With Bobby Riggs, no lessplayed him a $1,000-tocharity Challenge Match, and though he wasnt supposed to win, and didnt, he enjoyed
himself.
Tom Wintrich brings us the New Mexico Open, held Aug. 21 in the Albuquerque.
Clubs new home, a vacated high school gym on FREE loan from the city. Playing
conditions for the 52 entries (26 from out of town) were near perfecthigh ceiling, good
lighting, and ample room for eight tables on the main floor, with two more for practice
upstairs where a food vendor had set up shop. Four local businesses sponsored the
tournament, and the adjacent shopping center posted welcoming greetings on its two large
marquees. Prizes included cash awards and $75 in gift certificates. When the 15 events
dragged on, ohh, the free beer and pizza party at Shakeys was more than shaky, wasnt gonna
happen cause theyd be closed. But, hooray, the Club brought the party to the tournament,
purchasing no less than six cases of beer and 20 pizzas!
Back on June 28-July 2, on the Colorado State University campus at Fort Collins, Bob
and Kasia Dawidowicz, along with Dick Miles, played exhibitions and challenge matches for
fun at the Boy Scouts of America National Explorer Olympics. Now in Albuquerque they were
playing for real.
Results: Championship Singles: Bob Dawidowicz with three wins in a semifinal round
robinover Tom Hall; over his toughest opponent Helmuth Vorherr, 23-21 in the 4th; and over
runner-up Jerry Plybon. The (two? four?) finalists were awarded sterling silver belt buckles
handmade in the Indian jewelry tradition but with a table tennis motif. That way the winners
could proudly display the trophy on their person and not on a dusty shelf in the game room.
Championship Doubles: B. Dawidowicz/Plybon over Hall/Mac Horn. Womens: Kasia
Dawidowiz over Liz Gresham, 18, 20. Womens Doubles: Dawidowicz/Yates over Gresham/
Ward. Mixed Doubles: Dawidowicz/Dawidowicz over Dennis/Liz Gresham. New Mexico
Singles: Gresham over Mike Mui. Other winners; As: Treece over K. Dawidowicz. A Doubles:
Hall/Horn over Ed Stein/Mui in 5. Bs: Hall over James Rautis whod slipped by Mike Roddy,
-8, 22, 22. B Doubles: Wintrich/Ray Lloyd Johnson over Herman Owens/Sandoval. Cs: Kenig
over D. Gresham, 25-23, then over Cericola. Ds: Dodgen over Corcoran. Es: Mark
Robertson over Robert Compton. Seniors: Horn over Vorherr. U-17: K. Dawidowicz over
Kalny.
Southwest Closed winners at San Antonio, Sept. 4-5: Mens: 1. Hanumanth Rao. 2.
Swaminathan Bhaskar. 3. Bruce Smith. 4. John Hewes. Mens Doubles: David Babcock/Smith
over Doug Hibbs/Paul LeBlanc. Womens: Norma LeBlanc in a gutsy -14, -17, 21, 21, 8 rally
over Cindy Garza. Mixed Doubles: Hibbs/Garza over Scott Ryan/LeBlanc in 5. As: Bhaskar
over Hewes, 23-21 in the 4th. A Doubles: Roddy/Grady Gordon over Nicholl/Bob Miller.
371

Bs: Roddy over Jose Marin, 18 in the

5th. B Doubles: Roddy/R.C. Watkins
over Salvador Ruiz/Bhaskar. Cs: R.
Lacy over Randy Wommack. C
Doubles: Ruiz/Stalker over
Willingham/Ernest Rapp. Ds: Ruiz
over Marjory Willcox, 8th-finalist at
the U.S. Open more than 30 years
ago. Consolation: Bob Miller over
Steve Arnold, 11, 25, -14,-18, 20.
Esquires: R.C. Watkins over Willcox.
Seniors: Gordon over Watkins.
Senior Doubles: Gordon/Watkins
over J.C. Tenay/Arthur Chase.
Juniors: Ruiz over Roddy. Junior
Doubles: Rapp/Roddy over Ruiz/
Stalker.

Swaminathan Bhaskar
Photo by James B. Adair

Jim Taylor (right, in glasses) watches as Cliff Smith shows new serve rule to juniors.

Jim Taylor gives us a little history of the Bartlesville, OK TTA and its successful Junior
Program (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976, 10). The BTTA was formed in a relatively prosperous
community of 30,000 in 1968. Though on the average only 10-12 memberships were issued
yearly, a third of them to children, the Club somehow stayed in existence. Then, in 1964,
Taylor had the opportunity to teach table tennis at the YWCA to a group of 4th, 5th, and 6th
grade youngsters. Given the Ys connections with elementary schools and its credibility with
parents, Taylor and his friend Cliff Smith had an initial class enrollment of 36 students.
In the last two years, a total of 364 youngsters [198 boys, 166 girls] have
participated in the program in basic classes, intermediate level classes, school leagues, summer
leagues, open sessions, junior-high team matches, and state and national tournaments.
Emphasis is on the younger children, age 9-12, and of these, says Taylor, about 50% of the
372

broad cross section can play well enough to enjoy playing, and probably only 10 to 15%
will have the ability and desire to become tournament caliber players. In the 9, 10, & 11year-old age groups our girls are superior to the boys (the Oklahoma U-11 champion is a
Bartlesville Club girl). At age 12,the boys become better than the girls. Saturday morning
sessions stress the basics, after which the most promising players, perhaps as many as 40 or
50, are urged to stay and play in the afternoons, get on school teams that foster sprite de
corps, and play seriously at the BTTA Club.
Results of the Bartlesville Green County Open:
Championship Singles: Bruce Smith. 2. Russ Finley. 3. Larry
Kesler. 4. A. Lee. Championship Doubles: Finley/Stacy over
Kesler/Smith, 19 in the 4th. Womens: Kathy Thompson over
Sue Sargent. Mixed Doubles: Smith/Sargent over Jones/
Thompson, 19, 17,-18,-19, 19. Seniors: Mort Finkelstein over
Cliff Smith. U-17: Johnny Cortez over Mark Stoolz, 27-25 in
the 4th. U-15: Stoolz over Cortez. 3rd Place: Roland Rittmaster
over Kirk Golbach who went 19 in the 3rd with Cortez. U-13:
Rittmaster over Karin Thompson. U-11: Karin Thompson over
Lori Proctor. Bartlesville Jr.s: H. Bui over L. James. As: Al
Lee over Jones whod outlasted Al Stacy, 26-24 in the 3rd. A
Doubles: Finney/Lee over Smith/Joe Ogilvie. Bs: Roddy over
Lacy in 5. B Doubles: Golbach/Stacy over Roddy/Lacy. Cs:
Mort Finkelstein
Kelly Boyce over Steve Summer in 5. Ds: F. McCammon over
C. Lewis. Consolation: Don Bassett over Ogilvie.
I dont know where they played the Kaw Valley Open, but
theres the town of Kaw, at the top of Oklahoma, just underneath
Arkansas City, which is in Kansas, so, good luck to them, I hope
others than those in the know were able to find the tournament. At
least Topics got the Results: Mens: 1. Bruce Smith. 2. Joe Tobias. 3.
Rich Doza. 4. Y. Araklin. Quarters: Smith over Jim Bruce, 19 in the
4th; Tobias over Gary Fagan, 18 in the 5th; Doza over Al Lee, 19 in
the 5th; and Araklin over Steve Kraly, 18 in the 4th. Mens Doubles:
Kraly/Steve Finney over Bassett/McCammon. As: Tobias over Greg
Czarnecki. A Doubles: Tobias/Steve Swindle over Scott/Dennis
Tichelkamp. Bs: David Scott over Tobias, def. Cs: Sam Rittmaster
over Peter Braun whod barely snuck by Henry Dollinger, 23,-19,
23. Ds: Bernie Braun over S. Karnegay. Novice: K. Anible over C.
Bruce Smith
Brewer who escaped John Hoffman, deuce in the 3rd. Seniors: N.N.
Braun over P. Pinkerton. U-17: Tobias over Czarnecki in 5. U-17 A: Mike Smith over Bruce Hunt,
-21, 19, 19. Junior Doubles: Czarnecki/Swindle over Rittmaster/Hunt. U-15: R. Rittmaster over
Hoffman. U-13: R. Rittmaster over C. Brewer.
There were a number of Kansas City Juniors at this Kaw tournament, so, though Steve
Finneys going to take over the K.C. Club, lets let beleaguered Larry Knouft bask for a
moment in some good news. Larry says that over the Labor Day weekend his Juniors put on
their third annual ping-pong-a-thon, and after 37 hours of play had collected $652 to help
Jerry Lewiss Muscular Dystrophy cause. Clubs and Affiliates Chair Richard Feuerstein told
me the Kansas City kids help pay their way to tournaments by selling candy.
373

Tom Wintrich likes to write, and likes to think positive. So what if you lose a match
and arent too happy about it, especially if the games were close. But take heart, the Game
should be fun, right? So think about all the points you won. You need only to practice a little
more, learn a little more about how to improve your play, and have the guts to become
mentally strong. Then youre a winner, not a loser.
So following his own advice, Tom in Good Time at Disneys (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1976,
10) tells us that, hey, hes 30 years old, and if ever hes to get professional coaching hed better
up and do it. So he takes the solitary 1250-mile drive from Albuquerque to Minneapolis. There
at Disneys he meets the proud proprietor himself, takes a tour of the Club with a special stop
at the newly installed shower, and is introduced to his coaches Wuvanich and Chan. What
happens next Ill pick up in a moment.
USTTA Coaching Committee Chair Jeff Smart in an article Do Our Top Players
Really Want to Be Coaches? (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 1B) complains that players like
Seemiller, Sakai, Roberts have not sent him the paperwork he wants showing him their
qualifications and certifications. How can I recommend them as National Coaches without
some objective verification? Ive proof they can play, says Jeff, but can they coach? But, Jeff, I
say, whats the point of an obviously strong player assuring you he/she can write a paper
describing the strokes or that he has a USTTA rating of at least 1600? Why should, say,
Fuarnado Roberts bother with such nonsense? Is that silly pride?
And then you say you need to know who can best teach defense, best teach women,
run a Junior clinic, or a training camp? Have we really advanced to such specialization? Would
a coach trying to make a living want to be excluded because hes thought by someone to be
too strict with women or children? Ads have been run constantly in Topics by Seemiller,
Sweeris, D-J Lee, Alex Tam, Wuvanich/Chan and maybe a few other proven coaches, proven
by the continued success of their camps and clinics. Readers can quickly determine who would
be most helpful to themWuvanich, talking about the importance of a double wing attack,
alternating 500 forehand/backhands without a miss, or Steve Hitchner, describing in his Novice
Corner the difference between a drive and a smash. Are you really playing favorites if you
discriminate who needs to, who doesnt need to, collect letters of recommendation, so that YOU
can confirm them? And what does such a letter mean from a 1600 player, or even a 1900 player?
The coach was nice to me, and
how could I not learn something,
even to the extent of parroting
back what the coach has told me,
convinced me Ive learned.
Still, Jeff, bureaucraticminded as you are, what the hell
are you to do as Coaching Chair
but try, as you certainly have
been trying, to stress the
importance of coaches. And you
do practice what you preach
with such a highly technical
article as The Backhand Loop,
as practiced, say, by Floridas
Jerry Thrasher. But since theres
Jerry Thrasher
374

not much money for coaches, the great majority of those interested have to be content to coach
locally and casually, not professionally. To coach well requires organizational effort, know-how
study, and students who show progress. Its work. And the top players work is to continue to do
well what they most like to dowhich, generally speaking, is to play as professionally as they can,
and not, unless their living requires it, coach as professionally as they can.
What happened at the Aquatennial Open that first weekend Tom Wintrich was there,
Topics wont tell us. But Monday morning, July 26, the Charlie Wuvanich/Chuchai Chan Clinic
began with players hitting some with changing partners, followed by an orientation and getacquainted meeting of the 20 or so attending. The afternoon was free, but not the evening
where at a local park all the participants jogged and did calisthenics. These theyd do everyday
because Charlie flatly stated that to be a top player today, you must maintain a daily schedule
of hard physical exercises in order to develop the strength, stamina, and speed the sport
requires. But, said Tom, everyone was encouraged to do what he couldthere was no
forcing, no reprimands.
Each day was divided into 2 or 3 sessions, generally from 9-12, 2-5, 7-10. The Thais
were very good at showing us both the correct strokes and the incorrect strokes that comically
mirrored some of our own. [Wuvanich was on record as criticizing U.S. players for their lack
of use of the wrist on all shots.] In addition to the various stroke tips, footwork drills, and
game strategies, we also got to play competitive matches. It was a tiring week but an
enjoyable one because Charlie and Chan did their work well and there was a spirit of
camaraderie among the playersthey had fun.
Sean ONeill (Chuchais constant shadow) celebrated his 9th
year and Brandon Olsons father produced an amazing cake decorated
with a green table and a young table tennis player striking a ball. The
last evening of our stay we all celebrated at a downtown Chinese
restaurant and then went our separate ways. I almost wished I could
stay on, said Tom, but, knowing hed be seeing many of these
wonderful people in the years ahead, hed have pleasant thoughts, fond
memories on his long journey home.
Winners of the Columbus Summer Open, held July 17-18 at D-J
Lees Club: Open Singles: Expectant father John Tannehill in 5 over
runner-up Insook Bhushan whod struggled into the 5th with Greg
Collins, then had to go 5 to beat D-Js wife, He-ja Lee. He-ja finished 3rd
Brandon Olson
over Alan Nissen. Open Doubles: Bushan/Nissen over Stan Wolf/John
Spencer. Womens (Insook and He-ja didnt play): 1. Amy Hopping. 2. Demise Horn. 3.
Genevieve Hayes. 4. Debra Payotelis. Mixed Doubles: Eugene Kunyo/He-ja Lee over
Spencer/Horn. As: Spencer over Bob Powell whod eliminated Larry Hensley, 17 in the 5th. A
Doubles: Spencer/Oh over Ron DeMent/Randy Eller. Bs: Hensley over Ron Schull, then Glen
Marhefka, both in 5. B Doubles: Oh/Bill Hagwood over Joe Trausch/Craig Bowman. Cs:
Hagwood over Tom Kessel, 18, -19, 23, then over Bowman. Ds: Weaver over Bowman.
Unrated: Haun over Miller. Consolation: Eller over Marhefka.
Esquires: Joe Blatt over Alex Darbes (from down 2-1 and 22-all in the 4th). Blatt, you
may recall, was the winner of the Silver Cod (unusual fish trophy) at the 1933 Tournament of
that name in Provincetown, MA. Seniors: Kunyo over DeMent in 5, then over Festus Mead.
Young Adults: Powell over Yates whod ousted Oh, 19 in the 3rd. U-17: Oh over Jeff Williams.
U-15: Williams over Don Prouty.
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Results of the Aug.7-8 Razorback Open in North Little Rock, Arkansas: Pro Singles:
Apichart Sears over Perry Schwartzberg. In a June 24th letter to Ron Shirley, Perry (I started
my job at the Railhead Restaurant busing tables today. God, is it hard) shows how at 17 hes
incorporated speed into his strategy. He deliberately varies the time he takes to serve and the
time he takes in between points, hoping to affect his opponents rhythm. 3rd Place: Larry
Kesler over David Babcock. Pro Doubles: Schwartzberg/Terry Ziegler over Joe Tobias/
Babcock in 5. Mens Singles: Sears over Schwartzberg whod advanced by Tobias, -10, 14,
20, 17. Womens: Leslie Harris over Melinda Varner. Mixed Doubles: Tom Baudry/Varner
over Dan Heim/Debbie Bingamin. Seniors: Hugh Lax over Rich Puls. U-17: Schwartzberg
over Weinglass. U-15: Mark Stoolz over Kirk Golbach, 22, 20, then over Taylor. U-13: Kathy
Thompson over Marilyn Johnston. As: Tobias over Ziegler. A Doubles: Tobias/Clay Dunn over
Weinglass/Steve Kraly. Bs: Jose Marin over Puls. B Doubles: Czarnecki/Weinglass over
Dunn/Harris who got by Lax/Smith, 19 in the 3rd. Cs: Rodgers over Paul Hadfield. Ds:
Sammy Peters over Roland Schilhab. Pro Consolation: Tobias over Rich Doza.
Winners at the Louisiana Closed, played Aug. 22 in the Baker Municipal Auditorium
outside Baton Rouge: Championship Singles: John Quick over Hugh Baxley. Championship
Doubles: Quick/Glenn Piper over Baxley/Power Poon in 5. Womens: Varner over R.
Delbrocco. Mixed Doubles: Baudry/Varner over Hal Herrington/Delbrocco. As: Ron Hoff
over Poon in 5. A Doubles: Keith Friley/M. Kucsma over Ricky Bello/Jim Kemp, 23, 20, then
over Piper/M. Letour. Bs: Baudry over Herrington who knocked out Jairo Leon, 18, 21.
Seniors: George Woods over J. Naylor, 19, 19, -19, -19, 24. U-17: Kucsma over J.
Macdonald. U-13: Macdonald over Johnny Wahlborg.
Results of the July 17 Atlanta Summer Open: Championship Singles: Steve Rigo over
Jim McQueen. Championship Doubles: father/son team of Steve/Ron Rigo over Don Gaither/
Ralph Kissel. As: R. Rigo over Bill Farrar. Bs: Jimmy Flynn, deuce in the 5th, stopped young
Rigo from running away with the tournament. But Ron still won another event, the Juniors.
Director Wendell Dillon said that in order to get Novice players rated, he deliberately paired
them against rated players. Seniors went to the un-retired John White who had a perfect 6-0
round robin record; Jim Holcomb, 5-1, was runner-up.
George Chranewycz
reports (TTT, Sept.Oct., 1976, 31) an
unusual Challenge
Tournament between
the New Jersey Table
Tennis Club (their
Director Chranewycz)
and the Greater New
York Table Tennis
League (their Director
Mel Eisner). Play was
held Aug. 21 at the 8Ray Maldonado
George Chranewycz
table Westfield, N.J.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Photo by Mal Anderson
Club. About 100
members of the two clubs did battle with the following Results:
Open: Peter Holder (NY) over Jeff Steif (NJ), 19 in the 4th. 1900: Ray Maldonado (NY) over
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George Holz (NJ). 1750: Colin Abrams (NY)

over T. McPherson (NJ) in 5. 1600: David
Kilpatrick (NJ) over L Shaw (NY)-14, 20, 16.
1600 Consolation: Flora Ng (NY) over Bob
Ertel (NJ), 19 in the 3rd. 1450: Z. Gode (NY)
over E. Solomon (NY). 1450 Consolation: I.
Secemski (NJ) over L. Gow (NY), 1300: C.
Skeets (NY) over R. Grannum (NY), 23-21 in
the 5th. 1300 Consolation: L. Robinson (NY)
over L. Jacolev (NJ). Handicap (70 entries):
Danny Gastel (NJ) over H. Lee (NY). The New
York Team won 7 of the 10 events.
Bob Quinn tells us (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
Danny Gastel
1976, 31) that on Aug. 29th he and Barry
Photo
by Mal Anderson
Margolius ran their first USTTA-sanctioned
tournamentthe Massachusetts Closed. Play
was at the Waltham Club, congenially run by Frank Dwelly and Benny Hull for the past 30
yearsand now with the Aug. 1st folding of the Greater Boston Table Tennis Center, its
more than ever the place to play in the area. Results: Open: Harry Morris in 5 over Dwelly
whod rallied from down 2-0 in the semis to beat Charlie Hung, 43 years his junior. Other
important matches: Morris over heavy pre-tournament favorite Ralph Robinson; Bill Dean,
playing in his first tournament in almost two years, over #3 seed, Claude Peltz; Quinn over
Hull; 13-year-old Hung over Dean; and Dwelly over Phantom chopper Frank Studley. Open
Doubles: Hull/Sparky James over Dwelly/Studley. Womens: Anita Wu, about to return to her
native Hong Kong for a 5-month stay, over out-of-practice old rival Diane Cervone.
As: Morris over Studley whod won out over Dise, -18,
19, 19. Bs: Sylvester Scott over Dave Clevenson, a Lincoln
school teacher whos started a club for students, then over 15year-old Ralph Bockoven, after Ralph had survived that
strange combination player Bob Farriss, 27-25 in the 3rd. Cs:
Harry
Bockoven over Al Seiffert, 20, 19, then over Kent Abbott, 19, Morris
20, 19. U-17: Bockoven over Oliver Newell. U-15: Bockoven
over 11-year-old Kurt Douty. Seniors: Studley over Scott, 18
in the 3rd, then over Hull.
Studley and others success with the new pips-out
Phantom rubber prompted a representative of the Yasaka
Company to explain (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 8A) just what it
does and how to use it. Its called Phantom because of the
floating effect it produces, the more so with a hard blade.
Hence, ghost-like tremors, or, as a South Korean woman player said in Calcutta, It was like
playing in an earthquake! The Phantom 007 is very pure rubber without sponge. The pips are
not typical, not taperedtheyre as long as possible and as straight as possible [its difficult
and not so economical to manufacture because the straight pips can break when pulled from
the mold].
You have to remember that when you get backspin you have to push
forwardextend your arm forward, and in attacking hit straight through the ball. If your
377

opponent topspins to you, you dont topspin back, you block or chop. The Phantom player is
vulnerable to no spin balls. If an opponent gives you those, you cant use Phantom. If you hit
very hard, the ball goes straight off the end. If you try to drive the ball, it just slips down on
the racket. So what to do then? The recommendation is to have one side of your racket
Phantom, the other inverted with which its easy to hit nothing balls. If you dont want to use
inverted, you should still use a different surface, 008, or the harder 009 for those who attack
more.
Steve Hitchner, 26-year-old USTTA Associate Coach, Ranking and Equipment Chair
for the Triangle Club in Raleigh, N.C., earlier had a Novice Column in Topics on blades. Now
he discusses (TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 3B+) the various kinds of rubber on the market, mostly
sandwich rubber where the pips are either inverted facing the sponge, or out facing the ball.
Inverted rubber provides more spin than speed. Greater ball speed comes from a hard blade
and hard sponge under the rubber because the ball wont sink in and grab as it would with
softer rubber. As sponge thickness increases, both speed and spin are increased, and control is
correspondingly reduced. For control a thin, soft sponge is best.
After specifying common brands that are Very Soft (Dead), or Soft, or Medium
Hard, or Hard, Hitchner continues with details about Antispin, the soft defensive rubber
thats the deadest of all; then Pips-Out with the different sizes of pips and varying numbers of
pips (attackers prefer stiff, tall pips, defenders short, small ones); then Inverted Sponge (short
pips and their alignment in line with the racket stroke provide greater speed, tall pips and their
alignment perpendicular to the racket stroke more spin)
Another variable is the grip potential, or tackiness, of the sponge surface. In general,
the more the rubber costs, the more spin you get. Hard sponge combined with sticky rubber
378

make up a super rubber, but for it to be spin-effective, you have to hit the ball with force to
bury it in the hard sponge. This type of rubber isnt good for the flat hitter or soft spinner.
Hitchner groups common brands according to whether theyre Not Sticky At All, or
Moderately Sticky, or Sticky, or Very Sticky. He also gives you tips on how to care for
your rubber. Not to worry, though, if youre just beginning to play and are having control
problems (how could it be otherwise?), youll find the speed/spin rubber thats right for you.
All you need then to score big are good strokes.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Stan gave us his Table Tennis background in the Jan.-Feb.,
1976 issue of Topics:
I started playing at age eight in Alton, Illinois (1930) through
the YMCA. After a few years I went to St. Louis (just across the
Mississippi River from Alton) and took lessons from Bobby Blattner. I
won the Alton City Championship many times, the Madison County
title, the DeMolay State titleall in the 1930s. I played a lot of
tournaments in St. Louis where Blattner, Garrett Nash, George and
Don Hendry, Les Perlmutter, John McClesky played. I played every
day in Alton and on week-ends in St. Louis. World War II put an end
to my consistent play, although, having been stationed in various
places, I won a half dozen or so Air Force (Army) championships. I
ended up as a tail gunner on B-24 bombers in England. I flew 15 and
missions. In other words, I was shot down on my 16th mission and
was captured by the Germans. Only five of our ten-man crew survived
the bail-out. The plane blew up. I spent about six months in a POW
Camp in Germany (a nice place for a Jewish boy), and after liberation
went home and to the University of Oklahoma where I got a degree in
Stan Robens
Psychology. I won the Oklahoma State Championships in 1946, and
played in the 1948 Nationals at Columbus, Ohio that was won by
Dick Miles. After college I ended up in California and played some table tennis, but got
married and in 1957 decided to concentrate on making money in the life insurance
business.

379

Chapter Twenty-Six
1976: $3,400 CNE Matches: U.S. Men Win; U.S. Women Lose; Danny and Insook
Take Singles. 1976: At the $2,400 Nissen Open, Danny and Angie are Champs.
Reporting on the CNE Mens Team Matches (TTT, Sept.-Oct.,
1976, 3; 30), Captain Houshang Bozorgzadeh said he liked the Opening
Ceremony, but was quite disappointed that the host country was so
miserly as to offer no financial assistance to the U.S. players. Surely,
Houshang complained, a visiting international team merits fit treatment,
at least lodging and meals and free entry fees. Of course there was
$3,400 in prize money at this tournament. More bad vibes for Houshang
when shortly after the entry deadline hed requested that he be allowed to
play in the Seniors and Ray Guillen in the Youth event. But Ontario
President George Pardon* refused. I cant allow you to enter, he said.
There are ten people like Ray and you wanting to enter the draw for the same
reasons. But, said Houshang, were those ten just like the U.S. Team Captain
and the U.S. Closed Champion whose prestige and guest status hopefully
Ontario TTA
merited special consideration? No, nothey couldnt enter.
President
For some reason, Houshang didnt even talk about the Team
George Pardon
Matches, even to tell us who wonjust had good things to say about his
players (the Seemiller brothers,
Guillen, Dean Galardi) and the Team
Manager (Rufford Harrison). In results
obtained from Miss Ping, I note that
Errol Caetano beat Guillen and
Galardibut those were the only wins
for the Canadians. Unofficially the
extended tie ended 7-2 in favor of the
U.S. when Guillen downed Peter Joe
and Galardi did in Alex Polisois.
Winning CNE U.S. Mens Team - Dean Galardi, Danny
and Ricky Seemiller, and Ray Guillen
Photo by Mal Anderson

Roger Sverdlik
Photo by
Mal Anderson

Mens Events
As: Roger Sverdlik over Perry Schwartzberg. Bs: Steve
Berger over Randy Seemiller. Semis: Berger over Jeff Steif,
deuce in the 3rd; Seemiller over Ron Bickerstaff, 19 in the 3rd.
Cs: Vic Meredith over Steve Claflin. Semis: Meredith over
Andy Williams in 5; Claflin over Andy Beckenbach in 5.
Esquires: Harry Deschamps over George Rocker in 5.
Seniors: Derek Wall over Tim Boggan (from down 2-0), then
over Deschamps. Young Adults: Galardi over Mike Bush
whod eliminated Ricky Seemiller, 15, -20, 19, 23.
380

Mens Singles
There is always something more than a little absurd about this yearly Labor Dayweekend tournament at the Toronto Exhibition fairgrounds. Take the U.S.-Canadian Team
Matches, for instance. Its a prestigious event, is it? All is ceremoniously silent as we prepare
once again to hear the old cracked records of the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems. And
then suddenly a cow moosso close, as if, right there in the playing area, she wants to sing
too. And, well, why not? And then the MatchesMens, Womens, Junior Men, Junior Miss
on all four tables at once. Wheres the focus? Or, for the love of God and country, take
another example. Heres a player in a tense match, his body glistening with sweat, who, on
finishing a point, suddenly walks a few feet off to the side of the court, and casually wipes his
face with the American flag. Considering the forever class-lacking state of our sport, its all
quite predictable, you say?
Likely the Mens winner was no surprise either. But Danny Seemiller had to work hard for
his $500 first prize. He beat the Canadian #1, Caetano, in a precarious 5-game match in the semis,
and then Canadas National Coach, Zlatko Cordas, in 4 in the final. Cordas has a marvelous pipsout backhand and the necessary very fast hand speed to go with it, but against the aggressive
Seemiller he could win only one game. And this despite the fact that there were those cheering him
on. Come on, my son, rooted Caetano laconically in between sips of whatever it was he was
drinking. Then, even more under his breath: Thats what we used to say at the races.
The Seemiller-Caetano semis was a back and forth thriller all the way. In the 5th, Errol,
down 14-15 and needing to win this crucial point, serves off, then throws his racket 20 feet
into the air. If Caetano gets to loop (and in this match Danny has given him too much chance
to), Seemillers in great danger of losing the point. Its 17-allthen 19-18 Danny when Errol
takes a bad, flat-footed shot, and soon Seemiller has proved himself once again. He wins his 4th
straight Championship.
Cordas and Caetano take some measure of revenge in winning the Mens Doubles from
Danny and Ricky, 25-23 in the 4th. Perhaps if the Seemiller brothers, in between picking the
dead flies off the table, could have exchanged sotto voce more of an encouraging, not to say
coddling, word to one another, they might have been able to pull out the match. Behind me, a
mother asks her daughter if she likes the table tennis. Obviously the two have just wandered in
from the fairgrounds. The girl, wearing a Youre Not The Only One Who Needs Love tshirt, says no, she doesnt.
The other Mens semis between Cordas and D-J Lee was won by Zlatko three
straight. Back in the 8ths, Lee had begun having his troubleswith Dave Sakai. But though
Dave practiced (as one wit said) all his Sa-kai-atry on D-J, he couldnt hold his leads and lost a
17, -17, -22, -23 nasty.
About to play a great quarters match
against Guillen, D-J, whod just squeaked by
Ricky Seemiller, walked out to the table his
wife had just lost on and immediately had the
Ray
Guillen
net changed. Then, as play started, he seemed
very nervous, especially when Ray fastblocked his loop back down his forehand line.
After Lee had failed to return three straight
serves and Guillen, though up 17-12 hadnt
been playing well, Ray turned to the
381

spectators and said, Like these long points? First game to Guillen 21-15. The Californian is
being coached by Danny Seemiller; D-J by both his wife, He-ja, and Lim Ming Chui whod lost
to Chuchai Chan in 5.
When a penholder ages, he slows down, cant run
around any more, someone is saying. Certainly its true that DJs playing very badly; Guillen wins the 2nd at 14, doesnt even
look like hes trying. In between points his eyes and ears go
everywhere. How the hell can he keep his concentration that
way? I havent seen him loop one ball in. As hes ready to start
the 3rd game he continues his running commentary, says
ironically hell talk more with me when theyre in the 5th.
In the 3rd, the pattern of play changes. D-J is getting
some confidence and Guillen is down 11-8. Once D-J gets
forehand control hes a big favorite to win the point. Ray stops
An impish D-J
play, goes after a real or imaginary fly by circling his head, his
eyes. He looks dizzy. Lee surprises everybody by mocking
Guillen, playfully reaching out and snatching at air. What the.Hes really got a fly in his
hand! Dead-pan-like, hes squeezing it for all its worth. Then impishly he carries it over to
Guillens side of the table and drops it. Somebody says the scores 1-0 favor of Leehes oneupping Ray in fly-catching.
Guillen soon goes over to retrieve a ball thats just been looped by him and says to me,
If I lose this match Im going to that new downtown Tower and jumpthat is, if somebody
will give me the $2.50 to get up there.
In the 4th game, Guillen is back lobbing, and after losing one particular exciting point,
takes time out to move the barriers further out. But now D-J, given the opportunity to
revitalize his game, is relentless. In each of the last three games, its like he can give Ray 7.
Junior Mens Play
In the Junior Mens Team competition, the U.S. (Gary Collins,
Faan Hoan Liu, and Perry Schwartzbergwith D-J Lee as Captain)
defeated Canada (Pierre Normandin, Juggy Padda, and Andy Williams
with Alain Thomas as Captain), 6-1. Except for Normandin, who rallied
against Collins, no Canadian was able to take a game.
U-17s: Peter Joe over F.H. Liu (whod eliminated Mike
Stern, 23-21 in the 5th), then over Normandin in 5. U-15s: Eric
Boggan over Jeff Williams, after Jeff had stopped Brian Masters,
deuce in the 5th. U-13s: E. Boggan over Masters whod eliminated
Joe Ng in 5. Junior Doubles: E. Boggan/Stern over Rutledge Barry/
Scott Boggan.
Joe Ng

Junior Womens Play

Donna Newell covered the Junior Miss Team Matches. On opening with Kasia
Dawidowicz the U.S. got off to a very good start when Gloria Nesukaitis got off to a very bad
start: down 12-3, 19-6 she had no chance that 1st game. Gloria also lost the 2ndat 19, after
misserving at 15-16 and then at 17-all allowing Kasia to backhand in Glorias weak serve.
Next up: Faan Yeen Liu who stopped Christine Forgo, 2-zip. Donna played Denise Horn/Amy
382

Hopping in the Doubles against Nesukaitis/Nimi Athwal, and

they lost in straight games (dropping the 2nd at deuce after
fighting back from 20-17 triple match point down). With that
loss, the U.S. couldnt restart: Kasia lost to Forgo, and Faan
Yeen, behind 5-0 and 8-2 in the 3rd, was beaten by Nesukaitis.
U-17s: G. Nesukaitis over F.Y. Liu in 5. U-15s: G.
Nesukaitis over Simi Athwal whod just survived Amy Hopping,
24-22 in the 5th. U-13s: R. Raguckas over R. Athwal. Junior
Mixed Doubles: Boggan/Dawidowicz over Padda/Athwal.
Womens Events
There was no coverage of the Womens Team Matches
but the U.S. (Captained by Barbara Kaminsky) blanked the
Denise Horn
Photo by Mal Anderson
Canadians (Captained by Adham Sharara). Insook beat Rupa
Banerjee easily, but the other two matches were very close
Angie Rosal over Violetta Nesukaitis, 20, 21, and Insook/Alice Green over Nesukaitis/
Mariann Domonkos, 21, 19.
Womens Doubles: Insook Bhushan/He-ja Lee over Irena
Cordas/Violetta Nesukaitis. Mixed Doubles: Danny Seemiller/
Insook Bhushan over D-J/He-ja Lee in 4, .then over Caetano/
Cordas in 5. Loose-wristed Errol and Irena try, often
unsuccessfully, to loop Insooks chop, but they have to be
careful of the nothing balls she floats on her forehand. As: G.
Nesukaitis over Takako Trenholme, then Birute Plucas, both in
5. Bs: F.Y. Liu over Gaeta OGale. Seniors: Jenny Marinko
over Betty Tweedy (from down 2-1 and at 23-all in the 4th).
Womens Singles
Before coming to this tournament, Insook had been
practicing in Columbus with former U.S. #2 John Tannehill. John
and his wife, Arlene, whos enrolled at Ohio State taking, among
other things, a course in Art History, are now the proud parents
of a six-weeks-old baby daughter, Clare. Insook will win the
$300 1st Prize here, but as shell lose only one game, the current
Canadian Closed Champ Rupa Banerjee will get most of the
spectators attention.
The best Womens match of the tournament was the
quarters between Rupa and D-Js wife. He-ja now has her
Green Card and, with a game that ranks just below the World
Champion Korean National Team level, is sure to provide a
much needed impetus to Womens play in the U.S. In fact, as I
write this, our most promising Junior Miss player, Kasia
Dawidowicz, has taken a leave of absence from school and, with
her good-luck, stuffed bear for intimate company, is now living
in Columbus, training and playing with both Insook and He-ja
(who also practices with D-J and Alan Nissen).
383

Gloria Nesukaitis

Kasia Dawidowicz

In her 5-game match with Rupa, He-ja lost a key 2nd game after shed rallied to deuce.
Rupa surprised her with a fast serve down the forehand line and He-ja lost her momentum. On
into the 5th they went, keeping the player-spectators excited with their fast exchanges. Down
18-17, He-ja served a good topspin forehand and followed with a kill for the point. I was
impressed by her poise and the thinking that showed through in her pre-serve deliberations.
But at 19-all, He-ja erred in putting the ball up a little too high and Rupa smacked it in.
The guy next to me made the point that women in general didnt have to be so physically
strongnot if, like Rupa, they kept snapping in shots with all that wrist power. A cattle truck
moving loudly back and forth beyond the barriers was very disturbing to me if not to the
intensely concentrating players. Finally Rupa got in one last decisive forehandwhereupon
she immediately ran crosscourt to Coach Cordas, tried to cry in his arms, was hugged away by
her husband whod come down onto the court, then disentangled herself to shake hands first
with the umpire and lastly with the disappointed Lee.
In her semis, Rupa convincingly defeated Alice
Green who, after positively destroying Violetta Nesukaitis
(what has happened to her game?), just could not get
charged up again so quickly. Its like everybody needs a
vacation from hard work now and then. Which reminds me
that just as soon as husband Lennie completes his
residency, he and Alice, whos a History major, are planning
a six-month Grand Tour of Europe.
In the other semis, Insook beat Angelita Rosal,
3-0. Angie, whod prepared for this tournament by
playing five times a week, was wearing her NIAA
(National Indian Activities Association) button. The
Brunswick Sports Company has been sponsoring her,
and not just coincidentally do they have a manufacturing
Lennie and Alice Green Sonne
plant on Angies reservation, at Fort Totten, in Sioux
Photo by Mal Anderson
country. In the quarters, Rosal had a dramatic 18, -22,
15, 22 advance over the 1973 Champion, Mariann Domonkos, winning that 24th point on an
irretrievable net.
In her final against Bhushan, whod recently changed to inverted on both sides and was
hitting more, Banerjee, with persevering looks to Coach Cordas, forced play into the fourth.
Though Rupa
as runner-up
was Number
Two here, she
was Number
One in having
from her early
hardbat days
the fastest
snap-hit of
any woman
on the
Insook Bhushan (L), CNE Winner over Rupa Banerjee
continent.
Photo by Mal Anderson
384

$2,400 Nissen Open

Though you could do without that peculiar Cedar Rapids
molasses smell or maybe even that big corn-syrup company that colors
its smoke white to look like steam, the Sept. 18-19 Nissen Open, now
being established as a yearly event and with encouraging prize money
too, has to be a must on anybodys idea of a pro circuit.
George Nissens a busy manon Saturday morning hes here in
Iowa helping to set up tables for the tournament, two days later hes like
back-flipped over to Europe for the World Acrobatic Championships,
and is in some sweet-smelling place (like maybe Cologne?) for an
important follow-up Sporting Goods Show.
George is a sponsor who really wants to promote the Sport and
George Nissen
its top players. Busy as he is, he has the perfect Tournament Director in
the sometimes disorganized but always persistent, enthusiastic, and reliable Houshang
Bozorgzadeh. Its hard to imagine a more hospitable fellow in charge of a tournamentand,
believe me, to be met at the airport is a real joy for any participant.
Two top players were here last year, but, through no fault of Houshangs, were not
here this year. Defending Champion Zlatko Cordas was held up at the Canadian border for
some reason and not allowed to enter the U.S. And Charlie Wuvanich, who almost won last
year, did not come because of his long-time ailing shoulder. In an article (TTT, Nov.-Dec.,
1976, 5) Charlie thanks his supporters for helping him to get his Permanent Resident Card,
and praises his Mayo Clinic doctor for correctly diagnosing the stretched tendon that put his
shoulder out of joint. Rumor has it that hell go back to Thailand and perhaps in the shadow of
some intense factory smoke do something other than play table tennis.
But, if thats true, it wont be for long, for he himself says, in addition to helping Stan
Robens promote t.t. in Arizona, hes going to Portland, OR, visit his friends Chan and Sears,
help them out when they give clinics or exhibitions. Since Lou Bochenski is sponsoring them
for Green Cards, the two of them will be working at the Paddle Palace. You can see on that
same page in Topics where Charlie is giving thanks that he and Chan are presenting Coaching
Tips that doubtless theyll be talking about in a Christmas Camp at Portland. They dont
approve, for example, of drills where one hits 2,000 balls in a row. Such rote practice doesnt
prepare you for actual matches. Better you mix blocks and two-winged backhand and
forehand attacking play to all parts of the table, changing speed and spin, without letting your
partner know where the balls going. Thus, with this transitional double-wing practice, youll
greatly improve your reflexes, become a better, faster player, and develop greater table
range.
Nor did Houshang himself play at this 2nd annual Nissen Open. He really did have his
hands full in the beginning just trying to find the playing area and then shuttling from the
Jefferson School site to the Roosevelt Hotel to the airport to the Roosevelt Hotel, picking up
arrivals and seeing they were properly discharged.
Players qualified for the premier Open Singles event by playing 4 or 5 round robin
matches and winning their group. Oh, oh, when Jim Shoots of Rochester, N.Y. turned up here
(Just takin a vacation, he said), and unexpectedly lost a match and so qualified for the $100
As, there was a moment when he was suspect. But Houshang let him playand, surprise, he
wasnt a lock after all. In fact, he came 4th and went away apparently in such disgust he didnt
even bother to collect the $60 due him.
385

Lest someone else forget they won something here, Im going, before I get into the
Mens and Womens Singles, to give you the winners of various other events. As I keep telling
everyone who reads these pages, look carefully at the tournament Resultsyour name may be
there.
Mens Doubles: Danny/Rick Seemiller in 4 over Caetano/Ali Oveissi whod survived
Chan/Apichart Sears in 5. Womens Doubles: Barbara Taschner/Angelita Rosal over Sheila
ODougherty/Takako Trenholme, after Sheila/Takako had surprising 5-game trouble with
Debbie Bingamin/Janis Guetschow. Mixed Doubles: D. Seemiller/Taschner over Caetano/
Rosal. As: Kurt Lloyd over Mike Kenny. Bs: John Stillions over FaanYeen Liu. Cs: Don
Larson over Bill Hornyak. Mens Novice: Gary Kerkow over Tom Soderberg. Womens
Novice: Bingamin over Cheryl Dadian. Seniors: Boggan over Norm Schless. U-17s: F.H. Liu
over Joe Yoon. U-13s: Stillions over Brandon Olson.
Three of the four Mens Open quarters matches were routine. Danny beat Faan Hoan
Liu, the U-17 winner whose rating keeps getting higher and higher. Unlike his sister Faan
Yeen, Faan Hoans a penholder because, as the story goes, when he was a small-for-his-age
11-year-old he couldnt make contact with the ball as a shakehands player. So his dad
suggested, Try it the other way. Then one summer Faan Yeen went to Texas for a 10-day
crash coaching course from Chinese penholder Alex Tam. Alex worked on giving Faan Hoan
speed, and better utilized his energy by giving him a successful flat hit. When he came back
from Texas, his father, whod been spotting him 15 points, could only give him 10which,
though he keeps improving, is what Seemiller can give him now?
Id gotten to the quarters by beating Mike Baber in a rather close match, but the only
thing I want to comment on is Babers orange Yes, There Really Is A Kalamazoo shirt
which suggests to me whether hes playing well or not, that Yes, There Really Is A Mike
Baber. You havin an orgasm or something? he said in disgust as, after beating him 21-19
that last game, I gave out a prolonged, ridiculous yell.
But against Ricky Seemiller, though I made an occasional noise when I kept trying to
hit in his serves, at the end I was very, very quiet. Danny told me that my near 1.0 mm sponge
was just too thin to handle Rickys spin.
Jim Lazarus, whod won a St. Louis
tournament the week before, almost lost in the 8ths
to John Soderberg. He was down 2-0 before
catching on to Johns throw-up Chinese serve, then
started serving better himself. After the match John
was still excitedabout Foosball. Just recently, he
said, they had $125,000 tournament in
Minneapolis. And every weekend somewhere in
the country they had a $5,000 tourney. In
Minneapolis, the entry fee for a participant was
$75but each of some 1,500 bars had a
sponsored player. Of course John wasnt a regular
in any barwas he?
The remaining quarters match between
Caetano and Sears was a dandy. Sears had had a
little trouble with Oveissi in the 8ths, or at least Ali
thought he didthe Iranians anti-topspin, his oneJim Lazarus
386

ball hit. But Houshang, watching the match, was more interested in
telling us Alis woesnot now, against Sears, but in the past. Did I
ever tell you the story of how Ali got out of Iran? No, he had not.
Well, said Houshang, Ali must have gone 10 times to this man to
try to pass the exit test. Five English words he has to know. Finally,
one day he blurts out Metro Goldwyn Mayer. But the visa man says,
No, thats not enough. So what does Oveissi do? And now its as if
Houshang himself is in the movies. He hunches up, and, teeth bared,
growling like Bert Lahr, he quickly snarls, Grrr! Grrr! And thats the
way Ali got out of Iran.
People have been saying what a marvelous doubles player
Caetano is. Such ability, someone says. If he could only pair up
with another Caetano. He has a perfect topspin stroke, someone
else sayslike Borg or Nastase. Nobody was talking much about
Sears, except to say how athletic-looking he was and maybe
Ali Oveissi expatriate growler
wondering to self how hed lost to Canadas Steve Feldstein at the
CNE.
Up 2-1, but down 20-9 in the 4th, Sears ran off 10 straight points before losing this
game and thus convincing everyone in the gym that, hey, heres a guy that can really mess up
Caetanos hair. In the 5th, Sears still has his momentum. Up 12-9 he throws a serve high up and
grunts loudly as he comes into the ball. Errol cant handle it, and goes for his towel. Down 1713, Caetano gets a breaka net ball. Down 17-14, Errol gets another breakthe umpire,
whos not called a fault before, now calls one against Sears. The Thai looks puzzled, slows
down. Looks more puzzled when its quickly 17-all.
At 19-all, he takes a chance,
loops in Caetanos servea serve
Errol will say later just wasnt as short
as he thought it would be. Fantastic!
Errol must have thought so too. He
stops, wipes off his racket. Down 2019, Caetano tries to maneuver for a
forehand, but when he gets it, he steers
the ball, doesnt snap it, and the error
allows Sears to advance.
In his semis, Sears has a 20-14
lead in the 1st over Ricky. But at 20-15
Ricky has the serve and that makes all
the difference. Gradually it becomes
clear from Rickys body language that,
Apichart Sears
wow, he can win this gameand does.
Photo by Houshang Bozorgzadeh
Searss brother, Ive found out, is a
professional Thai-boxer. A good Kungfu man wouldnt last a round with himthats Chans opinion too. Sears must be kicking
himself for blowing this opening game, because, though he wins the 3rd, its a lethal loss.
In the other semis, Chan is up 7-1 over Dannywhats going on? Ah, Danny catches
him at 10-all. But thenwhats going on? Chan, smacking in Dannys serves, countering every
387

ball he can get to, or setting up his high-up serve and follow, is a world-class player. He allows
Danny only one more point. Its half a game of absolutely super table tennisand if a player is
to be judged on what hes capable of, then Chan, at the moment, is spacing out towards a
rating of 3,000.
Of course people began to talk. Chans trouble has always been mental, says one
guy. Hes always taken, or had to take, 2nd place to Wuvanich. Had he come here alone, he
would have won half a dozen tournaments by now. The night before, Chan had been telling us
at dinner how for years hed been into meditation. How itd taken him months to get even to
the first level. Yes, he has a mantraa word that he concentrates on. (But its not BEEF
hes allergic to that.) In fact, he says, every good European player he knows meditates. Chan
had won the first game against Seemillerhad a 7-1, then a 10-1 run against him. So what
happened? Howd he lose the next three 16, 8, 7?
So its Danny and Ricky in the finalsand who wants to watch that? Its like seeing a
guy shadow-practicing in front of a mirror. Poor Danny. Before he got to the tournament
somebody banged into his new Vega, and he had to go out and buy a new Grand Prix even to
get to Cedar Rapids. And at the Saturday night party he went to, there were a group of maybe
10 people at this big table drinking beer, half of whom probably were under age. When Danny
joins them and takes a couple of sips, or gulps, the waitress rushes over screaming at him and
demands to see his I.D. card. Then its the Sunday finals and almost all the spectators have
gradually left, and there are few to see the checks for $950 theyve been handed. As for the
two-day clinic immediately after the tournament Jeff Smart said the Seemiller brothers and
Houshang were going to put on for certified coaches, were there so few prospects, even with
some financial assistance, that gradually the idea was abandoned?
Both the womens semis matches were won three straight
Takako Trenholme over Defending Champ Barbara Taschner, and
Angelita Rosal over Intercollegiate Champ Sheila ODougherty. The
losers still seemed happy with life though. Barb likes her secretarial job
with a pharmaceutical company, and Sheilas going to school, majoring
in Business Management, and, like Takako lives in the Minneapolis
Disney world. Turns out shes also a nurses aide, enjoys working with
people who need help. And doesnt everyone? Need help, that is.
Before the final match, Angelita, who was wearing an easygoing smile and a Carter-Mondale button, was showing me her Chain
Reference Bible. Shes really turning into some student. The margins
were all annotated and passages were all marked off in different colors.
Angie couldnt be more serious about her religion. Every time I play a
match its a prayer, she says. In her Bible shes placed a Prayer List.
Since I want to see it, she opens to a place marker, a flyerRevlon
Shows You How To Create Your New Face of 76), and I readwell,
Barbara Taschner
heres a small sample of who Angie prays for: Burt Reynolds, President
Ford, Elvis Presley, Billy Graham, Scott Boggan and Family, Rory
Brassington, Our Government, Jim With Red Hair and Girlfriend Paula.
Shes really unaffectedly into religion. Jesus, she writes in the margin of a page, I
like what I am because it was Your idea. Help me to find adventure in my uniqueness and not
want to be what someone else is. Her Calvary Chapel church started with just 12 people in a
theater. Now theyve over 1,300. No Bingo, she said. All we do is read the Bible.
388

It wasnt as easy to win this tournament

as Angelita might have thought on coming here.
There she was in the final with her Jesus Loves
You With A Big Red Rose playing-shirt having
just a hellish time with Takako, an equally serious,
perhaps even more dedicated player who, when
she wasnt in a match, was practicing
indefatigably. Takakos left little Simiki and
Geoffrey with husband Russell. When he wasnt
coaching her, Chan wasso no wonder shes
improving.
With games 1-1 and 16-all in the 3rd,
Takako holds firm, stays strong on the exchange,
even as Angelita tries to build up her topspin.
Angelita
Down 18-16, Rosal hits in Trenholmes not only
Rosal
throw-up but throw-away serve. Despite having
the serve at the end, Angie seems slow to get to
her forehand and Takako runs out the game. But then Angelina rallies to win the 4th.
In the 5th, down 9-7, Angie draws even after a long exchange has her back from the
table half lobbing and Takako unwilling or unable to power a
forehand at her. Eventually Angie works her way up to the table,
shifts her hips nicely, and smacks in a point-winner. It turns the
match. For suddenly Angelina is sockin in shot after shot.
When its all over and Angie returns to her seat, the
woman next to her says, The Lord was with you.
To which Angie replies, Hes always with mewin or
lose.
SELECTED NOTES.
*Note this pertinent excerpt from George Pardons bio:
In 1976 Georges work (as Chairman of the
Canadian Junior Development Committee) resulted in the
organizing of the first Junior Championships where every
province was represented. Also during that year, when
Roy Powell resigned mid-term as OTTA President,
George was elected to complete the term of office which
Angie sockin the ball
was followed by his re-election to the presidency for another
Photo by Tom Slater
year after that.[Georges two most memorable
accomplishments] were the establishment of a Junior
Summer Training Camp held in Bracebridge, just north of Toronto, which has now become
an annual Camp; and the initiation of time-scheduling for matches played at the CNE
International Championships. Perhaps Georges interest, and talent, for tournament
organization stems from the fact that his father was involved in Germany as a table tennis
organizer. He says he had wanted to initiate time-scheduling years before, and spent one
entire summer working out the schedule for the CNE tournament.
389

Chapter Twenty-Seven
1976: Sept.-Oct. Tournaments.
Over $800 worth of thirty
new pairs of shoes were awarded
as prizes in the Oct. 9-10 Nike
Sport Shoe Open at the Paddle
Palace. Results: Open Singles:
Ron Carver, 24-22 in the 4th, over
Marie Mason
th
Dean Doyle, then, 22-20 in the 4 ,
over Jay Crystal whod knocked out Charlie McLarty in 5.
Womens: Marie Mason over Kathleen Shank, after Kathleen
had gotten by Robin Hammond, 19 in the 3rd. Open Doubles:
Dean Doyle: after four finals,
Doyle/Crystal over McLarty/Bob Ho, -18, 20, 19. AAs: Doyle
he deserves a rest
over Ed Ng. AA Doubles: Doyle/Ng over Don Nash/Bobby
Rinde. As: Rich Remington over Bill Mason. Bs: Jeff Haarsma, picking up 70 points to become
the top rating point gainer for the tournament, over Kevin Young. B Doubles: Young/Le Ai Ly
over Nash/Mike Oslund. Cs: John Fredrickson over Bob Homer, Sr. Es: Austin Lee over Shank.
Fs: Scott Lambert over Tim Sayre. Gs: Jim Lanson, Sr. over John Kritchner. First Timers: James
Jenkins over Lee U-17s: Doyle over Rinde.
The Alex Alvarado Memorial Open was held in San Diego Oct. 15, only several days
after the 73-year-old Alvarado, known as Pal, died at Mercy Hospital. Although hed run
Pals Place, a restaurant in Lemon Grove, and belonged to the Coronado Yacht Club and the
Stardust Country Club, for the last 15 years hed devoted his life to the San Diego Table
Tennis Club in Balboa Park. One Club member, Lyle De Jong, said it pleased Pal to teach
beginners, and to be considerate of others, whether it had to do with things large or small.
Hed be there offering change for the coke machine. Hed be there to keep the Club open
beyond closing time to permit people to stay longer to practice and then be a taxi service for
many players at the end of the evening. No wonder Pal, with his inexhaustible energy, and
with the help of his wife Lucy, also a player, built up the Club from almost nothing toa
membership of over 500. His famous ancestorsan 1832 Governor of the Californians; a
General who commanded Californians in battle; the first Mayor of San Diegoall would have
been proud of him, for, like them, he served
the people.
Memorial Results: Open Singles: Paul
Raphel, -16, 17, 21, 19 in the final over Ray
Guillen, and in 5 in the semis over Dean
Galardi whod -22, 22, 18, 22 struggled with
Angelita Rosal in the quarters. Open Doubles:
Guillen/Al Everett in 5, then over Galardi/
Dennis Barish. Womens: A. Rosal in 5 over
Irene Ogus, then over Patty Martinez. Mixed
Doubles: Raphel/Ogus over Guillen/
Angelinetta. As: Ricky Guillen over Ron
Ricky Guillen
Whitlock. A Doubles: Ricky Guillen/Stan
Photo by Mal Anderson
390

Rosal over Russ Thompson/Sammy Liang. Bs: Paul Groenig

over Tony Koyama. B Doubles: Ruben Guillen/Groenig over
Rick Watkins/Ron Watkins. Cs: Groenig in 5 over Mike Ban
whod eliminated Byron Davis, 23, 19. Ds: David Weaver over
Roger Nakano. C/D Doubles: Davis/Ban over Foster/David
Rubin. Novice: Jerry Harris over John Tentor. Upper
Consolations: Mike Carr over Harold Kopper. Lower
Consolations: Rubin over Jerry LaLande in 5. Esquires:
Thompson over Carmen Ricevuto. Seniors: Dan Banach over
Liang whod survived Thompson, 24-22 in the 4th. Senior
Doubles: Banach/Thompson over Ricevuto/Frank Suran. U17s: Koyama over Ruben Guillen. U-15s: Georgette Rideg
over John Colby. U-13s: Colby over Eddie Agamata.
We come now to a
Bobby
famous name from the past
Gusikoff
Georgette Rideg
Bobby Gusikoff. Hed left his 73rd
Photo by Don Gunn
St. New York Club in the
Riverside Plaza Hotel (just recently turned into a Phoenix
House), and had come West. Helped by a 12-week course at the
Southern California Film Institute in Hollywood (Fabian was a
fellow student), Bob made a 5-minute t.t. film with Glenn
Cowan and Wendy Hicks, using a movieola machine for editing.
Since he was never afraid to make the Grand Gesture, take up a
challenge, he opened his California Table Tennis Club with high
hopes. But from the Aug. 11, 2004 lengthy e-mail Ed Ball sent
me, it was clear Gusikoff had been having lots of trouble trying to get his Club to catch on.
When Ed first came to L.A. in 1976, he stayed at a cheap hotel on Hollywood Blvd.
very close to Bobs Club. Because he was interested in the local t.t. scene, he wanted to try
out all the clubs, so he went to Guillens Hollywood
Club and to the Western Ave. Club where Joong Gil
Park coached. He tried to contact Gusikoff, but for
awhile he couldnt do it. Later, he learned that, since
no one was playing at Bobbys during the week, there
was no one to answer the pay phone there.
Come the weekend the Club saw some action
for $2 you could generally stay at a table as long as
you wanted. To get people to play Friday night Bob
would have a tournamententry fee $1, winner gets
$25. Bobby of course made no money. Ball
remembers some who participated either in the
tournament or in public play: Howie Grossman and
Heather Angelinetta; Mas Hashimoto (he attended
more than anyone); Mike Baltaxe (he also came
frequently); Craig Manoogian; Lou Dubin, the
pedophile who so upset Ray Guillen; the wellmannered Jimmy Lane (his father always brought him
Mas Hashimoto
391

to the Club); Randy [or was it Tom?] Mullins; Paul

Raphel; bookkeeper Bruce Broderick; realtor Russ
Thompson; Kenneth Kim, the Korean businessman and a
black belt; the priest-like Julius Paal who kept winning
quarters from poetry-minded Steve DeFrance (Steve
favored the Seemiller grip and was often accompanied
by a sweet, attractive woman named Fran).
Others who occasionally came by: Jack Howard;
Roy (Ed forgets his last name, but he doesnt forget he
arrived in a Rolls Royce convertible with a Donna
Summers tape in the tape deck); Elliot Goulds friend
Bruce Broderick
(and Bobbys) Mal Krauss (Jairie Resek said hed
worked as a N.Y. street magician in the Manhattan theater district, then for a time had his own
cable TV show Sunday nights at 9:30 on Channel D); Erwin Klein and Gil Park (Bobby would
always let them play free; Jimmy Connors, too, of course, the one time he came down with his
girl from training upstairs at the Hollywood Indoor Tennis Club). And Glenn Cowan. whod
sometimes share houseman duties at the Club with Ed. One night as Glenns taking money
from a pretty young woman whos just finished playing, he asks her, Are you married? She
says something to him and he immediately turns to Ed and deadpans, Always ask. Girls love
it.
When Ball began working at Bobbys, It was a comingof-age moment for him. As the houseman of a Club that did
not offer a neutral environment, he occasionally had a run-in
with someone and so he began to study martial arts at Ed
Parkers studio near the Club. Later hed train at John and
Ricky Walkers Beverly Hills dojo. Ed said that when Mike
Blaustein chased him around the club with an exercise bar,
Gusikoff kicked him out. This was before or after Ed allowed
Ron Whitlock, a
police officer with
the LAPD, to
browbeat
Mike Blaustein
Blaustein because
[said Ed] Mike treated
me disrespectfully (he
won over $50 betting
me at ping-pong, but
refused to pay me $40
when I beat him in
backgammon).
Ed said that when
Mike Bush arrived at
the Club he was
broke. Presumably,
though, he was able to
Mike Bush
come up with some
Ron Whitlock
Photo by Stewart Ansteth
392

gambling money. When Doug Hobson began walking

up the steps out of the Club without paying what he
owed Bush, Mike kneed him. Though Doug and
Jeanie (his future wife) called the police, Mike was
able to talk his way out of trouble. What Bush thought
about Ball isnt on record. But Ball said Mike was a
character. And a good friend. When Raphel was
giving Ed a hard time because he wasnt a strong
player and because Bob had chosen him to run the
Club and not Paul, Bush tried to keep his spirits up.
How do that? Maybe by talking about Sakaieven
showing Ed Mikes drawing of Dave?
Bobby, not in the best financial condition
himself, was very generous with Bush. He loaned
him his car and allowed him to live at the club for
free.
Ball said that people smoking cigarettes and
pipes in the players lounge really bothered him. So
Bobby told him to put up No Smoking signs. Later
hes sitting with Gusikoff at the Club desk when a
famous U.S. player asks Bob, Do you mind if I
smoke? Bob says, Sure. Go ahead. Of course, back
then even Ed, to his current chagrin, was known to go
Dave Sakai
into the back room to smoke grass with the guys.
Drawing by Mike Bush
Since the poorly ventilated rooms only exhaust was
a hole that blew air into the players lounge, Bobby really couldnt take the Dont Do It signs
too seriously.
Some of the members, Ed points out, were shaky, were cheapI was beaten out of
the $2 many times. How surprised then could he have been whenOne night the breaker on
the lights was tripped, and when I got back to the desk the cash for the night was missing.
Money was always in short supply with Bobby, if not initially, then sooner or later. But
that didnt stop him from going for broke. He played a big money match with Guillen. He
said, Ray cant chop me down. I can hit through him. But Al Everett, who played at
Guillens Club and knew his game, told Ed prior to the match that he himself couldnt hit
through Rays chop, so he knew that Bob had no chance of winning. Ed said, Id bet on Bob
like Id bet on Paul Raphel when he played money matches against Seemiller and lost. Bob
must have dropped more than $500 on that fiasco.
Dennis Barish told Ball that he should get away from Gusikoff cause he wasnt going
to be successful. But Ed, knowing that Bob was having a hard time, was loyal to him. He
told Bobby he didnt have to pay him anything to run the Club. But Bob insisted on giving him
$10 a night and allowed him to move into the Club, saving him money and time. Gusikoff
appreciated Eds loyalty, and the fact that he kept the Club clean, and that hed loaned Bobby
$500 when he was out of money. With the coming of the Japanese and the award of the 77
U.S. Open to his Club, Bobbys business started to pick up.
On Oct. 30th, the day before Japans Holiday Inn Challenge Match with the U.S. at
Gusikoffs Club, the Japanese, whod come to California after playing against China, North
393

Korea, and other teams

in the Oct. 11-26 AAA
Championships in
Mexico, put on a clinic
for 16 aspiring
hopefuls. One attendee,
Fran DeFrance, rated
1060, wrote briefly of
her, as it turned out,
no-need-to-beKuo Yao-hua (L) over
embarrassed experience
Kohno at the
being coached. Since,
Oct. 11-26, 1976 AAA
Championships in Mexico in this same Nov.-Dec.,
1976 issue of Topics,
Steve Hitchner is going
through the basic
strokes hed have his
students do, Ill make a
comparison or two.
The visitors
couldnt have been
nicer, more patient.
They checked out
Frans forehand, told
Japan Team plays
her to keep my elbow
matches at Bobbys
down and to eliminate
loose body
movements. Hitchner
was also urging that
the elbow should be
kept close to the side of
the body. They improved what Fran considered her bare semblance of a backhand by telling her
to keep my body behind my backhand stroke, and to follow through with a looser wrist.
Hitchner said, the wrist must often be used more than on the forehand, and an exaggerated arm
motion and extended follow through also help. Expanding on the backhand they showed Fran
how to return chop or side-spin serves by taking them with topspin. Finally, they helped her to
see the difference between a stroke that uses the bodys power and one that does not. Hitchner,
talking about the low, fast loop, emphasizes a stroke that uses arm movement, waist twist, and
weight transfer for the desired effect. So, o.k., if youre not flyin off to Tokyo, sign up with Hitch.
Frans husband, Steve, thought he would get coaching from the Japanese on the 31st,
but as Ed Ball tells me in a Feb. 4, 2008 e-mail, the gig was billed as an exhibition and a
chance to play with the Japanese team. The matches between the two countries would follow.
Ed said that he thought the fee for actually being part of it all was $40, but Bobby let him play
free. In the beginning he was a bit delusional as he was able to get many of his opponents
serves back with his cedar zinger [Cypress] bat and 2.0 Mark V rubber. But then his
thought, I must be pretty good! changed to, Cmon, hes been giving me easy balls.
394

Japans Masahiro Maehara winning challenge match over U.S.s Paul Raphel

Gusikoff, writing up the eight-match, 16-game tie, praised

Danny Seemiller for losing only to Kohno while beating Abe and
Maehara. Though, as expected, it was Ohzeki over Rosal, Maehara
over Raphel, Kohno over Park and Raphel, and Abe over Park,
promoter Gusikoff felt the crowd of 400 watching, especially with
Seemillers great play, enjoyed what they saw. He thanked Gil Park for
arranging the matches; Jack Howard for Captaining the U.S. Team;
Jerry LaLande, Dick Badger, Howie Grossman and Heather Angelinetta
for umpiring; and Mike Blaustein, Russ Thompson, Kenneth Kim, and
Bill Shaw who put in endless hours to make this event possible.
USTTA International Chair Rufford Harrison, for one, was
Badger as
International Umpire? NOT pleased with this promotion. He was still smarting from an
unofficial U.S. Team having played in a tournament with China in the
Dominican Republic. Hed written a protest to the Dominicans whod accepted Seemiller and
others as a U.S. Team without going through the USTTA. Now this: another unofficial U.S.
Team, and another necessary letterto the Japanese. We have to control this sort of thing,
he writes to Jack Carr, or there will be nothing to stop any three 1600 players from calling
themselves USA and making the game look stupid [Cmon, Rufford, I can hear Boggan say,
give other Associations credit for common sense. Theyre just gonna accept any U.S. Team?
When did that ever happen? Such rhetoric. Knowledgeable people are making these match
arrangements with the Dominicans and the Japanese and obviously in each case the U.S. is
fielding strong enough players. They havent gone through You is what youre punitiveminded piqued about]. So now here comes a proposed USTTA Rule: Any player or sponsor
who purports to represent the USA without permission of the USTTA will automatically be
suspended for six months for the first offense.
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The Oct. 22-23 GDRA Open:

Charles Butler
whatever the initials stand for, its Fort Worth
Photo by Mal Anderson
giving you the Results: Mens: Perry
Schwartzberg, 18 in the 4th, over Charles
Butler who downed Gary Fagan in 5. In the
quarters, Louie Lancer had a 19-in-the-5th
win over Kevin Bell. Mens Doubles:
Schwartzberg/Buddy Melamed over Bruce
Smith/David Babcock, after Bruce and David
had prevailed -17, -21, 21, 24, 21 over
Butler/Fagan in what must have been one of
the most exciting rallies the Southwest ever
saw. Womens: Liz Gresham over Norma
LeBlanc, 16, 23, 20. Mixed Doubles: Fagin/
Karin Thompson over Smith/Sargent.
As: Smith over Bell, 20, 25, 18, then
over John Tomlinson whod ousted Steve
Dodgen in 5. A Doubles: Gary Graham/Dave
DeWald over Steve Arnold/Kenny Pitts. Bs:
Jose Marin over Graham in 5, then over
Arnold. Novice: Rick Hopper over Truman
Woo. Consolations: Paul LeBlanc over
James Rautis, -21, 19, -21, 14, 20. Esquires:
DeWald over Cliff Smith whod won out over Dave Smith, 19 in the 3rd. Seniors: Lancer over
Melamed, after Buddy had survived a 15, -24, -21, 19, 22 thriller over DeWald. Senior
Doubles: Lancer/Clark over J.C. Tenay/
Melamed. Juniors: Schwartzberg over Ernest
Rapp whod advanced in 5 over Salvador Ruiz.
Winners at the Topeka, Kansas YMCA
Open: Mens: Steve Kraly over Allen Lee. Mens
Doubles: Fraly/Steve Finney over Lee/Arlen
Zimmer. As: Lee over Kraly. Bs: Jim Bristol
over Joe Ogilvie. Cs: Don Haskard over Mike
Sweeney. Ds: Zimmer over Randy Kiser. Novice: Pitts
over Sweeney whod stopped Chris Brewer, 19 in the 3rd.
U-17s: Kirk Golbach over Ogilvie, -18, 21, 20, then
over Brett Blair, 19 in the 3rd. U-15s: Golbach over
Blair, 22, 18, after Brett had 26, 19 struggled by Bernie
Braun. U-13s: Peter Braun over brother Bernie. Girls
Singles: Kathy Thompson over Karin Thompson.
The Chicago WTTW Channel 11 Invitational
Kathy Thompson (L) and
Karin Thompson
howd that come about, who won? John Read tells all
(TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 28: 22). Turns out that George
Otto, in looking for background information on the USTTA for his Research Report, comes
across a past event held in a Chicago TV studio, professionally staged and promoted by Don
Knox, a dedicated TV producer. So, Why not try again?
396

And, terrific, the WTTW Channel 11 Invitational is reborn. Money prizes, traveling
expenses, first-class hotel accommodations at the Hyatt House bring Danny Seemiller,
Chuchai Chan, D-J Lee, John Tannehill for Mens matches, and Insook Bhushan and He-ja Lee
for Womens. Assisting in the action is John Read as Referee, while Charlie Disney and Dell
Sweeris are on hand to help well-known in-house commentator Marty Robinson with
descriptions of the players in their matches. With support coming from the two Chicago
clubs, about 300 spectators add color to the nearly three-hour TV presentation.
First Match: Danny Seemiller over John Tannehill, 16, 12. Not close, but, o.k., the fans
got to see John, wife Arlene, and baby Clare, and maybe the three of them got to see
something of Chicago on Johns $200 winnings, er losings.
Second Match: Chuchai Chan and his 8-foot-high serve
against the 6-time U.S. Champion, the masterful and wily D-J
Lee. Spinning forehands with his long sweeping strokes, Lee takes
the 1st game at 14. Umpire Read then warns Chan not to hide the
ball on his serve. Right. The Thai, unruffled, continues to serve by
throwing the ball high up, then when the balls returned, generally
short to the forehand, he goes for the killwins this game at 9.
At the start of the 3rd and deciding game, D-Js a mite testy.
Says to Read that Chan must hit the ball on the way down when
he serves. Is Chuchai up in the air about that? Nope. D-J also
admonishes Chans friend Sears for rooting so hard, tells him to
keep quiet. Chan, paying no attention to anything, smiles coolly at
D-J, waits for the master [to keep quiet himself], then he Chinesethrow-up serves again and again whacks in the forehand. Down
17-12, D-J, toweling as often as he wins points, finally, tenaciously
brings the score to 19-all. Chan has the serve, and up, upno, he
serves short, and D-J misses the return. Chan serves short again,
but this time Lee returns it well, Chan pushes, D-J loops and
misses. Chan smiles graciously, moves to the final against
Chuchai Chan and his high-toss
Seemiller.
Photo by Mal Anderson
The women
will play a scheduled 5-game hitter vs. chopper
finalperfect for TV. However, it only lasts 3
games. The pattern of play is this: He-ja pushes
some, Insook pushes some, then He-ja picks
one forehand smash which she hits to Insooks
forehand with remarkable consistency. This
apparently allows her to win the point outright
or to follow with a winner. Down 1-0 and 19-18
in the key 2nd game, Insook serves and smacks
in a marvelous backhand19-all. Now (with
D-J coaching He-ja in the background) the
women split points and its 20-all. Then He-ja
pushes and picks, pushes and picks, her gamedeciding forehands go in, and shes unstoppably
He-ja beats Insook for the first time.
on her way to a $300 win.
Photo by Mal Anderson
397

In the Mens final, Danny, with his lightning-like reflexes, serves that control the play,
his great half-volleys, and smashing forehands, is favored to beat Chan. But Chuchai wins the
1st at 19. However, with his quick blocks, superior serves, and fierce determination, Seemiller
finishes with a 14, 12, 16 sweep and takes the $500 1st Prize. The TV show will be sold to an
Educational Network and maybe to other stations. Table Tennis will be brought to the eye of
the beholder!
What next?...Stan Wolfs unsanctioned tournament at Youngstown State University.
Stan says he wanted to promote table tennischeaply. So entry fees for Juniors, Women, and
Class D events were $1; Class C $2; Class B $2.50; Class A $3. Trophies cost Stan $40. Other
expenses ran only half what a USTTA sanction would have cost. The Student Government
gave him $25 for advertising; and for
the all-day Saturday clinic Gary
Fagan put on, Stan raised $100. The
number of entries in each event
directly related to the price of
entering. The As drew 15 players;
the Juniors and Womens a combined
40. In addition to 30 USTTA
members entries, many a basement
player came out for his or her first
tournament. Stan says hes going to
have the tournament sanctioned next
year, and already has a fast-food
sponsor. Table Tennis at Youngstown
moves on, and so do we.
Though not away from
Stan. Hes gonna let us in on a
secret. Which is that he uses his
Phantom rubber offensively to set
myself up to win the pointand so
uses it only on one side of the
racket. To use Phantom defensively,
even if youre just switching to it
from another kind of rubber, is rather
easy, but to learn how to use it
offensively takes time and patience.
You have to know that Phantom
helps to offset your opponents spin.
It not only returns topspin with
chop, but returns sidespin with the
same amount of spin that is forced
on it. The harder one spins at
Phantom, the more chop it will
return. It doesnt generate chop but
returns topspin or sidespin as
underspin.
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Stan says he returns most serves with Phantomthough to roll or hit the serve is
difficult. He himself serves with Phantom maybe 50% of the time, and hides the racket under
the table to confuse his opponent as to which side hes going to use. He thinks a fast topspin
serve is effective with Phantom because its a dead ball that the opponent often puts into the
net. Stan feels that his Seemiller grip gives him an advantage in allowing him to quickly change
sides to, say, attack a troublesome nothing ball with inverted. He urges you to experiment with
Phantom, invent new techniques, and if you discover secrets, please pass those secrets on
to other players.
Absolutelywouldnt dream of keeping secrets secret. And in
the meantime, well check and see if Homer Browns passed on to anyone
his celebrated service shuffle. Here he is in his glory at the Sept. 18th
Mississippi Open. Results: Homer Brown over Ralph Kissel who escaped
Hugh Baxley, 19 in the 5th, then Clay Dunn, -14, 20, 18, 19. Close
Quarters: Lance Rosemore, from down 2-0, over Hugh Lax. Womens:
Nancy Hill over Leslie Harris. Mens Doubles: Brown/Larry Bartley over
Kissel/Lax. As: Denis Fritchie over Hill whod outlasted Julian Wright, 19
in the 5th. Bs: William Barth over Tom Baudry whod eliminated Joe
Ferguson. Seniors: Lax over Bartley, 19 in the 3rd. Boys & Girls: Harris
Joe Ferguson
over Malcolm Latour.
Atlanta held its Fall Open Oct.
23-24. Winners: Championship Singles:
Jerry Thrasher over Greg Gingold.
Womens: Jean Poston over Nancy
Newgarden. Championship Doubles:
Munroe/Larry Chisholm over Gingold/
Richard McAfee in 5. As: Ron Rigo in 5
over Gene Stephens whod eliminated Sol
Lewis in 5. Bs: Tom Cohen over Denis
Fritchie, from down 2-0 and 22-all in the
3rd. Fritchie had earlier struggled out a win
over Thomas Nunes, -17, 16, -20, 23, 19.
B Doubles: Clay Dunn/Fritchie over
William Barth/Lax in 5, then over Randy
Jean Poston
Leighton Johnson
Hess/Putnam. Cs: Nunes over George
Cooper who, helped by two 25-23 games,
had knocked out Dunn. Ds: Mitch Stephens over Neil Cole, 22, 19, then over Leighton
Johnson, 19 in the 3rd. Es: Al Barth over Harry Kiely. Novice: Kirby Gordon over Terry
Harrison. Consolations: Larry Thoman over Dave Driggers. Seniors: Marv Leff over Manny
Moscowitz.
Colin Mallows (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 25) reports on the Kilpatrick Open, held Sept.
18-19 in Westfield, N.J. Former Westfield Tournament Director George Hellerman has moved
to Puerto Rico, so who better than Mallows was left to sort out difficulties? Before the
tournament, Colin had been receiving the same phone call from various partiesnamely, Why
havent I got my entry blank in the mail? Dan Dickel said, Uh, maybe they werent sent
out? Colin thought that made sense, searched the Club officeand found a full box of
addressed, un-mailed envelopes.
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But, alright, entry blanks were sent out, and entries did come in. Even after the
deadlineincluding one from a player who had finished very high in our last two Opens, and
who I felt I really had to put into the draw. Then a further complication: The top seed didnt
show up, but another player with a rating between those of our 2nd and 3rd seeds didso it
seemed logical to let him play in the vacant top seed position. This did NOT sit well with
several players. So, from now on, says Colin, the announced deadline will be enforced
rigidlythis seems to be the only way to be sure that everyone is treated fairly. No
exceptions? Even for rather weak players?
Results: Open Singles: Lim Ming Chui over
Eric Boggan (from 18-all in the deciding 3rd), then
over Mike Bush, -8, 21, 19, 15, then over Dave
Sakai, 21, 20, -9, 20 (Mings strong hitting
repeatedly got through Daves up-at-the-table
defense). Womens: Louise Nieves over Flora Ng.
Open Doubles: Final: Steve Berger/Mike Stern over
Sam Balamoun/Stan Smolanowicz, 17, -11, 26, 18.
Semis: Berger/Stern over Rutledge Barry/Dave
Philip, -19, 21, 19; Balamoun/Smolanowicz over
Bush/Roger Sverdlik, 18, -11, 18. As: Berger over
Douglas Hsu, 18, 20, -20, 16. A Doubles: Robert
Nochenson/Eric Boggan over Jeff Steif/Ron Luth.
Bs: Doon Wong over Al Schwartz. Cs: Jim
Mossberg over E. Valentino. Ds: Bruce Hvasta
over S. Weitzen. Es: Flora Ng over Barry
Margolius, 18 in the 3rd. Fs: D. Kilpatrick over D.
Ferrey. Esquires: Manny Moskowitz over John
Kilpatrick, in whose honor the tournament was
named. Seniors: J.
Kilpatrick over
Marcy Monasterial.
1976 Kilpatrick Open Winner
U-17s: Stern over
Lim Ming Chui
Photo by Mal Anderson
Scott Boggan. U15s: Brian Eisner
over Danny Gastel. U-13s: J. Monopoli over R. Spear.
No tournaments were
reported in N.Y., but in his Bats
and Balls column Danny Ganz
says Dr. Monroe Berg honored
Long Island with a short visit.
Whos Dr. Berg? Ill let him tell you
(TTT, July-Aug., 1976, 13B):
My first club started with
Dr. Monroe Berg
two
tables
and ten players in Far
John Kilpatrick
Rockaway, N.Y. and in 2 and
years we had 12 tables and almost 100 members. The second started in Woodmere,
400

Long Island and had almost as impressive a record. Since then I retired, and like so
many others moved to sunny Florida, Fort Lauderdale. Here to my surprise there
wasnt one table tennis club. In the past 6 months, since I started one, we have gone
from 2 tables to 5 tables. Like at my previous clubs, we play every Sunday night from
6 to 9 p.m. ($.50 fee). However, I have a job getting the last die-hards out before 10
p.m.
Here in Sunrise Recreation Center our director thinks our success is due to my
enthusiasm and organization. I feel instead, especially from the talk I hear around the
Club, that it is due to the Berg System of Scoring.
So what might that be? To begin with, it can only be used in round robin play, and
the entire Club membership must be ranked each week. Ones ranking will determine which
gradated table he/she plays at. Positions shift each week, the more so because there is ample
opportunity to earn ranking points through the Berg System of Scoring. Points scored in any
one game are all important. Score 4 or under, lose the game 21-4, the winner gets the
maximum 9 points per game, the loser 0. But, ah, get beat 21-5 the transfer ratio is 8-1; get
beat 21-10 its 7-2; get beat 21-19 its 6-3; and at deuce (the one point again makes all the
difference), its 6-4. Later, Monroe (TTT, Nov.-Dec, 1976, 25) describes how he runs his Club
Closed via head-to-head team play. The trophies say, First Place, and the medallions say
Second Place. There are no losing teams, no losers.

401

Chapter Twenty-Eight
1976: Danny Seemiller Rallies to Win $3,400 Detroiter-Yasaka Invitational. 1976:
USOTC Winners: Men: Pittsburgh Team; Women: D-J Lee Team; Juniors: New York Team.
The Oct. 2-3 $3,400 Detroiter-Yasaka Invitational, under the over-all able direction of
Ron Shirley, was transferred at the last minute from Oklahoma City to Bartlesville. Although
Cliff Smith and Jim Taylor had been working successfully with kids at the YMCA here,
Bartlesville just didnt look like much of a table tennis town. Sooner or later there were
supposed to be spectators at the high school gym? Sooner state, yes; Sooner High School, yes;
but as for table tennis the Sooner the Detroiter-Yasaka people move the site the better. Even
the Holiday Inn tournament headquarters couldnt capture the hoped-for spirit of
enthusiasmtoo many angry players left a wake-up call that never rang a bell with the
management.
Despite the $400 increase in tournament prize money
and the donation of 16 new Detroiter A tables (Multi-ply ParBlend topfor absolute uniform ball bounce), the expected
large turnout of players didnt materialize. Supposedly, 8,000
entry blanks were sent outbut only the top-rated players
reflected the desired geographical balance of East, West, and
Central states. (But why would any average player from back
East be expected to come out here?)
Also, this year, as last, despite the criticism that ensued,
there is again no Womens event. In the same Topics issue in
which I report on this Bartlesville tournament (Nov.-Dec.,
1976), the 1975 Australian Womens Champion, Chris Little, is
trying to dispel the notion that theres necessarily a huge
difference between men and women in their attitude towards
both serious table tennis training and serious competitive play.
Little believes in the big notion that women can train to
Australias Chris Little
build up fitness, can sweat and feel aches and pains to the point
of exhaustion, just like men. Which means they can learn to play table tennis more like
males. Women need to have more initiative, need encouragement, to be aggressive. Adjacent
to Littles article is a squib from the Sept. 15, 1976 N.Y. Times which supports her argument:
The Army is lowering another sex barrier, says the Times. Starting Friday, 440 female
recruits will join 440 males in the same seven-week basic training, including obstacle courses,
live ammunition drills, and four-day field maneuvers that the Army traditionally had reserved
for men only.
So why didnt anyone care enough to see that Insook Bhushan, He-ja Lee, Angelita
Rosal whod run up those Swedish hills with Bengtsson, and the ever-fit Takako Trenholme
were here? Especially when Bartlesville had a bevy of such promising girl players who would
have loved to compare strokes and strategy with them, practice with them, even, though
outclassed, play against them. Such discrimination isnt good for the image of the Sport.
In an Aug. 27th letter on Table Tennis America, Ltd. stationary to Detroiter sponsor
Mark Lippincott, Shirley tells Mark if theres a surplus of money earned from the tournament,
hed like to use part of it to print enough copies of our new Table Tennis Club of America
402

(TTCA) newsletter (4 issues a year for $2.50) to go to all USTTA members. (TTCAs
original goal was 2,000 members by this tournament, 10,000 by July 1, 1977a goal so
ambitious as to be illusionary.) Ron then shows that hes allocated $2,700 to the premier Open
event, and $700 to the Class AA, A, and B eventssaid $700 being quite inconsistent with
Rons claim that the sponsors felt that prize money should be given out according to a
players ability rather than sex or age. Theres clearly an unstated reason why that $700 is put
into Class events rather than the Open. Can you guess what it is?
Before describing the Open matches, Ill give you the results of the other events:
Mens Doubles: Ray Guillen/Tim Boggan over George Brathwaite/Dave Philip whod
eliminated Errol Caetano/Ali Oveissi, 19 in the 5th. Womens Doubles: Nancy Hill/Leslie Harris
over Cindy Garza/Sue Sargent. Mixed
Doubles: Caetano/Barb Taschner over
Boggan/Hill, 18 in the 5th, then over
Chuchai Chan/Harris, 17 in the 5th.
Esquires: Sam Shannon over William
Walsh in 5. Sam had a trunkful of cold
Coors, which he, his encouraging wife
June, and I went to check on every so
often. Yes, the beer was still there
and then, no, it wasnt. Seniors:
Cindy Garza (L) and Sue Sargent
Grady Gordon over Boggan, 21, -15, Photo by Mal Anderson
11, 19, 19. Senior Doubles: Boggan/
Rich Puls over Gordon/R.C. Watkins.
This is likely the last tournament Watkins will play in before the Nov. 8th death of his
wife, Billie, who, with the help of Gene and Sue Sargent, ran this Open and ran it well. Id
criticized her handling of this tournament last year, but made a point of thanking her for the
fine job she did this year. She went out of her way to be friendly to me, and to the top players.
Shed even come prepared with bright red peel-off stickers that, when put on match cards,
would clearly show the most important matches to be played on the three barriered-off tables
set up in front of the spectator
bleachers.
Sue Sargent tells us (TTT,
Nov.-Dec., 1976, 23) how Billie
helped organize and almost singlehandedly ran the Irving, Texas Club.
Her expertise in running tournaments
allowed her to develop the pegboard
system which has proved invaluable in
tournament control. At both the
Oklahoma City and Houston U.S.
Opens, she put in many hours at the
control desk. Knowing that such a
worker, such a devoted fan and
organizer will be greatly missed, Sue
extends her deepest sympathy to
L-R: R.C. Watkins, Billie Watkins, and 1975 Irving Open
Billies husband, R.C.
Sportsmanship Trophy Winner Larry Schuessler
403

Lee Lawson
Photo by Don Gunn

Perry Schwartzberg

Randy Seemiller - $100 winner

Photo by Tom Slater

U-17s: Randy Seemiller over Perry Schwartzberg, -13, 21, -19, 19, 19. U-17 Doubles:
Schwartzberg/Mike Roddy over Mark Stoolz/Johnny Cortez. U-15s: Defending Champ
Stoolz over Lee Lawson, -15, 11, 10, -21, 20, after Lee had advanced over Bernie Braun, -21,
12, 19. Coach Lou Dubin accompanied Lawson, his 14-year-old protg, who reportedly plays
five hours a day, six days a week. Down 20-17 in the 5th, Lee deuced it up, then finally lost
when strategically he tried a strong sidespin serve deep into Stoolzs backhand cornerand
served off. Lees father unexpectedly flew in over the weekend to watch his son. U-15
Doubles: Cortez/Stoolz over Lawson/Kirk Goldbach, deuce in the 4th. U-13s: Keith Kalny
over Peter Braun, then over Bernie Braun, both in 5.
AAs: Six weeks ago, Schwartzberg had given up his short summer job as a busboy
and, with the help of the Rotary Boys Club, was on three TV shows and in four
newspapers. Now, despite having recently broken a blood vessel in his brain (sounds
serious, huh?he was playing basketball and bounced his head instead of the ball), he was
able to win the AAs. Down 2-1 against Gary Fagan ($50) in the semis, he blew a 20-15
lead but won in deuce. Then in the 5th, up 17-15, he served Chinese-high off the table,
followed that by serving into the net. But a crucial forehand saved him and he ran the
match out.
In the other semis, after having held 17, 19, 21 strong against John Soderbergs ($25)
throw-up serves, #1 seed Al Everett ($50) fell to Jim Lazarus ($100). When Al was up at the
table, Jim would hit it to his forehand, when he was back from the table, Jim would hit it down
his backhand line. Much to his disgust in the final, though, Jim couldnt pull out the 5th against
$150 winner Perry. (Id block the ball and itd go in the net; Id loop the ball and itd go off
the table.) Schwartzbergs about to leave the Southwest, as Fagan and Charles Butler did
before him, and go to Pittsburgh for serious training with the Seemillers. He had to get away
from Houston because there wasnt even a 2,000-rated player to practice with. Indias
Hanumanth Rao (like Thailands Surasak) had been called back by his parents whod found a
wife for him.
As: Randy Seemiller ($75) over Allan Lee, deuce in the deciding 3rd, then over Larry
Kesler ($25), deuce in the 4th, then over Joe Tobias ($50), 14, -14, 20, -19, 19. A Doubles:
404

James Rautis/Scott Ryan over Tobias/1970 Oklahoma Mens

Dennis
Champion Dennis Crawford, then over Gordon/Roddy whod
Crawford
been extended into the 5th by Dave Babcock/Bruce Smith. Bs:
Tobias ($50) over Steve Kraly ($25) whod advanced, deuce in
the 4th, over Taschner. Cs: Final: Taschner over Puls, in 5.
Semis: Taschner over Clay Dunn, 19 in the 5th; Puls over Paul
Williams, deuce in the 4th. C Doubles: Denis Fritchie/Dunn
over Hugh Lax/Cliff Smith. Ds: Sammy Peters over Leslie
Harris whod prevailed in 5 over Lyndon Boyer. Consolations:
Rautis over Clyde Vincent.
Now to the moneyed Openwhere the prizes extended only from the quarters on.
One of the most exciting 8ths matches was Lazarus against Hollywood character-actor Ray
Guillen. When hes not supervising things round his California t.t. club, Rays the manager of a
nearby International House of Pancakes. Advancing through his tournament rounds, he stacks
up games like IHOP flapjacksflavored with the syrup of his, to some, sticky sweet-talk. Up
2-1, but down 18-13 in the 4th, he complains, Im due for a big loss. But it doesnt happen
herein the 5th, his wind-up loops go in, and hes assured of at least $150.
Awaiting him in the draw is the winner of the Ricky Seemiller-Apichart Sears match.
Holding his own on the backhand exchange, Sears has split games and is at deuce in the 3rd. At
this point Seemiller fails to return the Thais high-toss serve, but then gets a lucky net, and
goes on to win this gameand the next.
Against Guillen, Ricky had best be prepared. Nobody in the country has the spin shot
that I do, Ray modestly confides. Know how I got it? By going to Houston and seeing
Surbek play. Ray does have a very good loop off topspinand, by way of explanation as to
how his all-out shots go in, he does tip his body over the table. Against Ricky earlier this year
at the Toronto CNE, the unpredictable Guillen was down 16-3 one game, up 20-18 before
losing at deuce, then going on to win the match. But here in Oklahoma for the first two games,
Ray is unhappily no place. He cant hit, he cant counter. In the 3rd, though, theres a will-othe-wisp hope for him. Up 18-17, Ricky whiffs a ball. But immediately goes up 19-18. Then
obligingly whiffs again. Down 20-19 match point, Ray
super-loops in a beauty. But its deuce again. Guillen
Gary
Fagan
goes back to lob and Seemiller, notorious for missing
high balls, smacks it in for the ad. After which, Ray
wildly tries to hit in Rickys serveand its all over.
Except Guillen does have something printable to
saythat when he looped hard, Ricky blocked it back
so quickly on these fast tables that the ball often got
behind him, and that made a big difference, made Rays
confidence waver like the 221-foot Frank Lloyd Wright
Price Tower here come tornado time. Anyway, Ray
didnt threaten to jump off it.
Another exciting 8ths match took place between
the intense Oklahoma expatriate Gary Fagan and the
cool, courtly George Brathwaite. Fagan, based in
Pittsburgh, arrived in Bartlesville with a broken-down
car that was barely making 20 m.p.h. Its impossible,
405

he said, to even consider going back to the

Southwest, and try to train with people who arent
serious about the Sport and who really havent
developed any skills. But he was back in
Oklahoma now, playing the professionaland in
trouble. His car had to be fixed and he was broke
and hoping to get coaching work.
In the 1st game with The Chief,
Brathwaites leading 20-18 but is perhaps not
careful enough and soon finds himself game-point
down. Now George gives Gary a good unexpected
short serve and Fagan pops it uponly it hits the
back edge coming down. Lucky break. In the 2nd,
George cant get more than 17, and the crowd,
sensing an upset, is buzzing. They both play the
same way, I hear someone say. Theyre both
spinners. In the 3rd, Brathwaites down 19-16,
then, as the whole gym is suddenly very quiet, he
takes the lead, 20-19. But now he half-hops the
ball into the net. Afterwards he fails to return
Garys serve. Then watches almost in disbelief as
he loses the last point.
The win brings Fagan a much-needed
George Brathwaite reading...Topics, naturally. $150 and the opportunity to play Errol Caetano,
Photo by Mal Anderson
the Canadian #1, for more bucks. Errol had just
beaten Amir Miradeghi, the latest Iranian import to
the States. The whole damn Iranian Team is here now, said one observer somewhere
between amusement and disgust. Miradeghi plays exactly like Houshang Bozorgzadehthe
same chop blocks, the same broken-wing forehand. There is a difference thoughAmir cannot
as yet tell the kind of story in English that Houshang can.
I want to tell you, Tim, about this time in 1967 when Hasegawa had
just won the World Championship and came to Iran on his way back to Japan
for a heros welcome. He and I played a command performance before the
Shah and his Queen. Throughout the match, though, I had this ball in my
crotch. (Huh? The mischievous Bozorgzadeh was about to play some
hidden trick, but was holding off?) Yes, yes, I win the match, he says
gleefully to someone whod interrupted him. But I had this boall. (Oh,
boil in his crotch). And my teammatesthey picked me up on their
shoulders and were bouncing me around with happiness. Oh, I tell you.
As I say, Miradeghi hadnt yet learned to tell a story of his in English.
Houshang
But he was taking English courses every day. And at least he could say at
Bozorgzadeh
dinner-time to a particularly blank-looking waitress in the Holiday Inn dining
room, I want rice food.
But back to Fagan and Caetano. In a match that earned player-spectator attention,
Errol beat Gary 20, 13, 19. Before, some time back, hed left for Pittsburgh with his friend
Charles Butler (the two gave each other moral support to make the move), Gary, 24 now, had
406

quit college to run the Oklahoma City Club full time. But what he always wanted to do was
play professionally. One of Garys criticisms of table tennis in this country is that people here
dont give enough emotional support to players who really want to devote themselves to the
Sport. Thats why he so appreciated the sympathy and help the Seemiller family gave him.
Danny, especially, was always ready to offer him sound advice. Hes a very special kind of
Champion, said Gary.
And speaking of Danny, on the other side of the draw hes just finished off
Schwartzberg, 3-0. I dont give a damn how badly he beats me, said Perry. Id like to play
Danny every tournament.
Seemillers next opponent is Looney Tune loveable Paul Raphel. Hed just beaten
former U.S. Junior Champ Roger Sverdlik in the 8ths. Roger had gotten off to a good start by
winning the 1st. But then something gave in his leg or thigh or crotch and he couldnt get it up
to loop anymore. Just stood there and blocked and popped up serve returns. Poor Rogerhe,
like New Yorker Dave Philip, had to play one of the top seeds in the round before prize money
was awarded, yet was not allowed to play in the AAs where $150 was at stake. This again put
the lie to the statement that the prize money was meant for the quality player. Lets hope that
sponsor Lippincott and his right-hand man George Perrett (who was making his own on-thescene assessment of the tournament) will realize that the 2nd-tier players are very important to
generate good matches and so provide interest to all concerned.
Against Danny, Paul, who has more inspired moments than anyone in American table
tennis, is down 2-1 but up 17-10 in the 4th. Cmon, Paul, you can do it! Fellow Californian
Dean Galardi is passionately rooting him on. One point! One point at a time! Take your time!
Concentrate! And Paul, though feeling the pressure, seems to be doing o.k.hes got Danny
20-17. Dont rush! Mix him up! 20-18. Dammit! says Galardi. Paul goes for his towel.
One more, Paul! 20-19. Cmon, Paul! YOU CAN DO IT! Edge for Danny. 20-all. Galardi
shuts up. Danny misses a loop, and Paul wins the next point too. Match all even.
Youre almost there! shouts Galardi as Paul takes a 3-1 lead in the 5th. But then hes
down 13-10. Raphels Phantom is bothering SeemillerDanny pushes, doesnt loop, ought to
be putting that ball wide to Raphels forehandand Paul suddenly wins 1-2-3-4-5 points in a
row, goes up 15-13then holds on, is up 19-18. (Later, Danny will comment on this point. He
says that during the exchange the balls hit Pauls shirt. But since he knew the umpire didnt
see it, and knew that Paul would have called it had he realized it, he didnt want to start a
hassle. Some head, huh? No wonder hes world-class.) 20-18Dannys double match-point
down. First prize is $1,100.
Danny serves and Paul takes a chanceloops the serve. But its not the smoothest
swing hes ever made and the ball hops long. 20-19. Then, with Danny grunting it out, 20-all.
Its a marvelous match for TV, for thousands of spectators. Too bad theyre missing it. Now,
at super sudden death, Raphel coils up and slingshots in a wicked loop to Seemillers
backhand. But miraculously Dannys racket is just at the right spotthe ball rebounds back to
Paul so fast that he doesnt have time to unwind his follow through. Its the point of the
matchand Danny goes on to win 22-20. A $950 block Danny was to call it later.
Strangely, when it was over, Paul was smiling. I know Paul, said Danny. He would have felt
bad had he beaten me. Said one player, obviously not pleased with the result, The animal
who practices 8 hours a day beat the crazy genius.
Trying to get now not to the vanquished Paul but to Danny is Dean Galardi (no
wonder he was rooting like a maniac for Paul)he has to beat Dave Philip to advance. Deano,
407

whos into table tennis full-time, wants to go to China

to train. There are risks involved? Well, he thinks hes
old enough to take responsibility for his decisions. If
Dean cant get himself Shanghied, Coach Lou Dubin
and the good offices of the local Rotary Club have
already raised $2,000 towards sending him to
European tournaments.
Galardis match with Philip, former U.S.
Intercollegiate Champ, is over very quickly. I think
Dave maybe wanted to get back to reading A Day in
the Life of Belmont Park. I mean, win, place, or
show, wouldnt he want a few thousand to play in
European tournaments too? (Might be more fun than
accounting, eh, D.P.?) David says to win at the races
you need patience; and that, if its any consolation to
his t.t. game, to be a winner you need to lose 55% of
David Philip
the time. Makes sense, no?
Photo by Neal Fox
Galardis next and last opponent is Chuchai
Chan. This match, too, ends quickly, for Dean cant handle the ex-Thai Champions high-up
serve and follow.
Only three matches in the Open remain for me to talk about. And, o.k., I admit that
before they started I got a wee bit irritated and yelled out that all the tables ought to be cleared
of practice matches while the mens semis were going on.
Dannys match with Chuchai is surprisingly routine. Says one wit, The problem with
Chans gameis Chans game. That is, against a strong, world-class player, he has no middle
game. Chan is an idealist. He holds religiously to his style of play. But just as there are
different kinds of religion with different practices, so too are there various kinds of good
players with different mind-sets. Chan is an all-out attacker whose timing has to be perfect or
too often he doesnt win the point. Against Danny he wasnt perfect.
The Ricky Seemiller-Caetano semis was a crowd-pleaser. Rickys up 16-10 in the 1st,
but cant win it. In the 2nd, up 20-19, Errol tries to quick-wrist backhand in Rickys serve, but
that doesnt work. And now Caetano misses a loop. Ad up, Ricky, trying to kill too hard,
misses a hanger. Thats too much exhibition play showing, says a spectator. Again Seemiller
has the adbut Errol loops in one of Rickys dreaded serves. At 23-all, Errol scores with
another loop, then gets a net to take a 2-0 lead.
In the 3rd, Seemillers up 20-15, then watches as Caetano gets 5 in a row, the last on a
fantastic backhand kill. But this time he manages to hang on to win. In the first three games,
Rickys earned 64 points, and has almost lost all three. In the 4th, Seemillers up 17-16, down
20-17. But then1819and 20 when Errol returns serve into the net. Then Rickys ad
thats four in a row for him. Unexpected turnarounds this match. Caetano comes back.
Seemingly as insouciant as ever, he wins another close gamesoccer-catches Rickys too long
return on his high-pumping knee, and advances to the final. Thats $250 for Ricky, and at least
$500 for Errol.
He comes off court, relaxes, and very soon is telling us a joke hes stolen from Derek
Wall or someone. Have you heard the one about the pilot, the boy-scout, Prime Minister
Trudeau, and President Ford? No, we have not. Well, he says, damned if theyre not all up
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in a plane together somewhere over the U.S. when some calamity of nature strikesa terrible
storm sweeping over the whole country. Something goes wrong with the plane, and theyve all
got to bail out. But theres a slight problemthey only have three parachutes.
The first to grab a chute is Prime Minister Trudeau. After all, he acknowledges, hes of
incomparable importance to his country, so naturally his life must be preserved. Adieu, he
says, and jumps. President Ford is quick to point out that this is an election year, and hes got
all the knowledge, all the brains, that will lead the U.S. to a better way of life. So naturally its
only fitting that he grab a parachute. He says, Hope to see one of you later and jumps.
Whereupon the pilot, aware of the terrible circumstance that he and the boy scout are
in, with just one parachute between them, says, Look, kid, youve got your whole life ahead
of you, you go ahead and
Whats the matter? says the boy-scout.
Whats the matter! says the pilot. Why, weve got only one parachute!
Naw, says the boy-scout. That guy with all the brains took my knapsack
Which friendly North American
fun finally brings us to a U.S.-Canada
show-downor, as the voice over the
loudspeaker puts it, Danny Seemiller,
#29 in the world, vs. Errol Caetano,
#39 in the world. Late afternoon is
probably not Seemillers best time of
day (he and Ricky usually practice
from midnight to three in the morning).
But who would think that Danny
would be two games down and down
9-4 in the 3rd? Hes been stiff-arming
the ball, blocking too much. Errol,
meanwhile, has just been flicking,
flickinguntil, maybe over-confident,
hes flicked into folly. For Danny, arms
out-stretched, fists clenched, yells
Finalists Errol Caetano (L) and Danny Seemiller:
echoing in the half-empty gym,
can you guess who won?
Photo by George Perrott
suddenly begins winning point after
point, and, coming home through the
3rd, 4th, and 5th games, outscores Errol 59 to 29 to win the $1,100 Championship.
USOTCs: Mens Play
This years U.S. Open
Team Championships (TTT,
Nov.-Dec., 1976, 1; 24) were
held Nov. 26-28 at Detroits
Cobo Hall, and Tournament
Director George Buben made it
very clear beforehand what the
money prizes for the Men would
be: 1st: $1,000; 2nd: $500; 3rd:

Winning USOTCs Mens Team: Joe Rokop, Ricky and

Danny Seemiller, and Larry Goldfarb
409

$250; 4th: $150. Armed with the backing of his Tournament Committeewife Madeline, Rudi
Muehlenbein, Geoge and Barbara Payotelis, Jim and Wanda Rushford, Bill and Betty
Compton, Chuck and Sally Zyla, Lou Budi, Cass and Betty Martin, Bob Beatty, Art Weir, Paul
Potter, Cody Jones, and Billy Reid, Buben gave stubborn notice, like it or not, that he was
gonna run the tournament his wayas an endurance contest. O.k., o.k.but the fatiguing
format will result in un-played ties.
Pittsburgh 1 (Danny and Rick Seemiller, Joe
Peter Pradit
Rokop, and Larry Goldfarb), surviving an early,
unexpected Saturday morning loss, won the Mens
Division. The winners, as if caught half asleep, were
given their lone defeat by the Easterners (Peter Pradit,
Errol Resek, Jerry Thrasher, and Ali Oveissiplayers
who, though not from the same club or even the same
state, were allowed to play together because of
extenuating circumstances). Danny couldnt get the
hang of Pradits nothing ball serves and couldnt stop
Peter from running and hitting; Ricky, though
bothering Resek with his serves, couldnt follow them
up well enough; and Rokop lost all three. Dont
worry, Errol said to Danny, losing to Pradit is going
to make you play better. And apparently Errol was
right, for Danny, who received the Most Valuable
Player Award, never lost a match thereafter.
Ontario I (Zlatko Cordasthe Yugoslavs were
strongly protesting his play for CanadaErrol
Caetano, Alan Heap in tinted glasses, and Paul
Klevinas) lost a 5-4 swing tie to D-J Lees team (Lee,
John Tannehill, and Alan Nissen). The 9th match,
caught by the local TV cameras, had pitted Englishman
Heap against the equally demonstrative Nissen. Heaps strategy should have been to loop and
dropmove the defensive-minded Nissen, who long ago had confessed to being very tired, in
and out, in and out. But maybe Heap was more tired than Nissen, for after he finished his long
loop stroke he couldnt move his hands or feet to effectively drop the ball. Hence Alan, the
defender, who, as someone said, is a good worker, deservingly won.
The Lee team, in turn, lost a 5-4 swing tieto Pittsburgh. Had D-J won the 2nd, deuce
game from Danny (a game involving controversy over Lees serves), Pittsburgh might not
have won.
Prior to the final ties, there was an announcement that attempted to clarify the
contenders positions. But the announcer himself didnt even know the name of the final team
D-J, Tannehill, and Nissen had to play. It was the Tri-State teamplayers whod also come
together through extenuating circumstances. This was the Fuarnado Roberts teambut
maybe Bubens announcer had never heard of him? Anyway, D-J, John, and Alan beat this
team (Robbie, George Brathwaite, Lim Ming Chui, and Dave Sakai), 5-1. That gave the Lee
team a finishing 10-1 record.
So, with the last, Pittsburgh-Ontario 1 tie moving along, how did the contending
teams stand? The Lee team, finished, had 1 loss (to Pittsburgh); Pittsburgh had 1 loss so far
410

(to the Easterners); and Ontario had 1 loss so far (to Lee). Of course should Pittsburgh win
this last tie, theyd finish in a 10-1 tie with Leewhich would mean Pittsburgh would be the
Champion via a head-to-head tie-breaker. Should Ontario 1 win this last tie, theyd finish in a
10-1 tie with Leewhich would mean Lee would be the Champion via a head-to-head tiebreaker. Thus Ontario 1, who couldnt be the Champion, wasnt exactly super-charged for this
last tieand didnt win it. Thus the money winners were: 1. Pittsburgh, 10-1 ($1,000); 2. D-J
Lee, 10-1 ($500); 3. Ontario 1, 9-2 ($250); and 4. Montreal International (Alex Polisois,
Eddie Ma, Guy Germain, Rod Young, and Marc LeSeige), 7-4 ($150).
To sum up: it had been a long weekend. One hears the echo: Will the team captains
please report for the 5 oclock matches? Let us know if youre still playing? So for nonChampionship contenders there was still another tie to playIF said contenders wanted to
play it. Thered been round robin play on Friday. What was the concrete point of insisting on
an 11-tie Saturday-Sunday schedule? The George Nissen-sponsored Iranian team, arm-weary
and foot-sore like some of the other teams, had some time ago defaulted its remaining ties.
Captain Houshang Bozorgzadeh, for one, thought the Saturday-Sunday format should have
been 1 round robin of 8, or two groups of 6, instead of the 1 round robin group of 12.
Nowhere in the world do players take such punishment as thisnot even at a World
Championship. Although someone behind the desk thought a number of players might be
deliberately getting behind schedule, everybody I talked to wanted only to hurry the matches
up. They couldnt get free for a moment to go out and eat something other than a Cobo Hall
hot dog.
I thought Director George Buben consciously tried as hard as he could to make the
tournament a success. Still, on occasion, you could feel an apparently ineradicable hostility,
conscious or unconscious, between the amateur-minded and the professional-minded, between
the Mid-westerners and the Easterners that went even beyond Steenhoven and Miles more
than 30 years ago.
Was it like that in all Sports, or
not? Across from Cobo Hall, in the Hotel
Ponchartrain, the Islanders had come into
the dining room. A number of table tennis
players had asked these Eastern hockey
players for their autographs. My friend
Derek Wall, 3-time Canadian Champion,
is struck by the disparity that exists in
Sport. Nobody asked me for my
autograph, he says.
Obviously I cant comment on tie
after tie, player after player (though I did
find it just a little Dr. Strangelove-bizarre
to see an aging, kindred soul, Chuck
Burns, still yelling, still tenaciously taking
those determined backhand swipes with
that black glove and white forearm now
all mummy-wrapped). However, I can
give you the winners of the various
divisions:
Derek Wall: he stoops to conquer
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Group B:
Michigan (Jeff Smart,
Bill Lesner, Mike
Baber, Kurt Lloyd,
Mike Veillette) over
Ohio 1 (John Spencer,
Barry Rost, Bob
Powell, Larry
Hensley).
Group C: Chicago
(Leonard McNeece,
Wayne Wasielewski,
Mike Menzer) over
Cornell (Hank Colker,
Joe Tanzer, Alex Sze).
Group D: Buffalo
B (Dan Wasson, Jim
Scibetta, Jack Chow,
Gary Harbeck) over
Northbrook (Bill
Chen, Joe Veng, Philip
Wong, Norm Schless).
Ohio teammates Bobby Powell and John Spencer (inset)
Group E: Detroit
Powell photo by Mal Anderson
East (Bob Moore,
John Oberliesen, Ed Jerome, John DeMambro) over Rochester 3 (Walt Stephens, Bob
Brickell, Ken Kosbab, Don Clawson).
Group F: Rochester 2 (Tom Brickell, Scott Hewitt, Scott Plakon, Bill Spry) over Penn
State 2 (Steve Tucker, Scott
Shogart, Joe Tarantino, Keith
Bair).
USOTCs: Womens Play
Shazzi Felstein reports
on the 15-team round robin
Womens play. A tie that
interested her was D-J Lee
(Ohios He-ja Lee and Insook
Bhushan, and Floridas Nancy
Newgarden) vs. Michigan (former
U.S. Open Champion Connie Sweeris,
Sue Hildebrandt Barkowicz, and
Janice Martinall ex-U.S. World
Team members). A real stunner was
Sweeriss 19, 14 upset win over Lee.
I couldnt believe how well Connie
was playing, said Shazzi. Shed had a

Top: Shazzi Felstein, surprised at Connies great play.

Connie photo by Mal Anderson

412

3-and--year lay-off and only 3 weeks practice. She pushed very well and mixed up the pace
so that Lee was unable to pick-hit her forehand with any consistency. Moreover, when He-ja
did hit one in, Connie counter-blocked it, and occasionally hit in a hard forehand of her own.
Her footwork was great too. She finished the match in full control to the delighted smiles of
her teammates. But, no, Michigan didnt defeat this #2-seeded team that, like Ontario, would
reach the finals undefeated.
Felstein also watched Sweeris play New Yorks Alice Green Sonne who later would
19-in-the-3rd just fall short of beating He-ja. Against Connie, Alice won the 1st
game easily. Just before the 2nd, Alice asked her father to time it. Officially? Or was he later to
signal her as to how much time she had left? Sure enough, with both players mostly pushing
and only occasionally pick-hitting, the Expedite Rule, with Alice leading 19-18, came inand
for the first time in Connies entire career! Shazzi speculates that when Connie was playing
regularly she had confidence in her hitting and so never had the Rule called on her. Connies
husband Dell sat on the next table, very calmly, legs dangling, counting the strokes. Alices
father Hal paced up and down, very nervously watching or not watching the match. Sweeris
won this game and they moved into the deciding 3rd.
Again the score was 19-18, but this time Connie was ahead. Then Sonne hit one off
only it hit Sweeriss racket. Instead of double match-point for Sweeris, it was 19-alland
Alice won the next two points. Oh my God! she criedvery relieved that the ordeal was
over. Wowif Connie comes out of retirementbut she has no intention of doing that.
The match for 3rd place ($125 as
opposed to $75 for 4th) was won by
Montreal (Mariann Domonkos, Christine
Forgo, Sonia Duwil, and Colleen Johnson)
over Disneys (Takako Trenholme, Sheila
ODougherty, and Barbara Taschner).
Domonkos, whod beaten He-ja Lee, won all
three, and Forgo provided the other two
over ODougherty and Taschner.
The final (1st place $500, 2nd place
$250) was played in the arena on two
tablesthe Lee team against the Ontario
team (Rupa Banerjee, Irena Cordas, Violetta
Nesukaitis, and Birute Plucas). Match #1:
Mariann Domonkos
the highly favored Banerjee, with ease, over
Newgarden who, by going for her shots and
moving well, at least looked like she had claim to being on court, could play some. Match #2:
Nesukaitis, who wasnt playing up to her former high level, kept pushing the ball to Lees
backhand, while Lee, with her devastating penholder forehand, waited for the right ball to step
around and kill. He-ja won 28 of the last 36 points to rout the once North American #1. Tie all
even.
Match #3 went to Bhushan over penholder Cordas. Irena looped and looped,
occasionally got in a kill, occasionally pushed short after a loop to bring Bhushan in. In the 1st,
down 20-17, Cordas served off; in the 2nd, she could do no better than 14. Match #4: the only
three-gamer. Banerjee, like Nesukaitis, pushed deep to Lees backhand. But since she, too,
had a point-winning forehand, both women looked to step around and kill. In the 1st, Lee,
413

down 20-17, as if taking a cue from Cordas, served off. In the 2nd, though, He-jas step-around
shots were better than Rupas. And as they progressed into the 3rd, the contest became a no
contest as He-ja built up a 12-3 lead, and went on to avenge her loss to Rupa at the CNE. Tie:
3-1 for the D-J team.
Match #5: Bhushan, pushing and picking, over Nesukaitis, 14, 11. How much longer
will Violetta play? Match #6: Cordas over Newgarden, 6, 15. Down 19-15, Nancy served off.
Shazzi says, I am always fascinated by the number of times Ive seen players serve off. Do
they get nervous? Are they trying for some super serve they themselves arent too familiar
with? Tie: 4-2 for D-J. Match #7: the last and a relatively easy one for Insook over Banerjee.
Rupa rolled her forehand, then hit it in if it came back high. Mostly it didnt. Insook was not
only the better pusher, but she could hit in pick-shots of her own from both sides.
Bhushan was deservedly voted Most Valuable Player. She didnt lose a game, really
looked head and shoulders above the rest. The womens complaint was just the opposite of
the mens. They wanted to play more matches. How to satisfy everyoneits a problem, huh,
George? One that might be looked at, studied?
USOTCs: Junior Play
The Junior Boys (had to be under 17 as of July 1,
1976) couldnt play in the Mens, but the Junior Girls could
play in either the Womens or the Juniors. Mike Lardon, in
giving us first-hand coverage of Junior Team play, tells us that
as early as Friday evening the #2-seed Westfield, N.J. team
(Mike Stern, Jeff Steif, and Robert Nochenson) survived a 5-4
scare from Pennsylvania (Randy and Tim Seemiller, and Dave
Dickson III). Stern, down 1-0 and 18-12, and unable to keep
a straight face, won a crucial comeback match against the
ever-improving Randy Seemiller, while Nochenson captured
the deciding 9th match by beating a soon-to-be good Dave
Dickson.
Also on Friday, Arlington Heights (Faan Hoan and
Faan
Yeen Liu,
and Joe
Mike Stern
Yoon)
downed
Quebec (Pierre Normandin, Claude
LaMourex, Jean LaBreche, Richard
Desjardins, and Francis Tremblay) when
Yoon defeated Normandin who had only
one other lossto Scott Boggan. Yoon,
however, in another Canadian tie, had
lost to Gloria Nesukaitis and then had
gotten into such an argument with
teammate Faan Hoan that hed been
removed, or removed himself, from the
Pierre Normandin
team.
Photo by Tom Slater
414

Consequently when on Saturday Arlington Heights

met the New York team representing Marty Reismans Club
(Scott and Eric Boggan, and Mike Lardon), Yoon didnt
playand when Eric and Mike beat Faan Hoan, the #2
U.S. Junior, the Heights, originally one of the top teams,
dropped to the Depths, out of contention.
In another important match, Ohio (Greg Collins,
Jeff Williams, Phil Panno, and Se-Kwan-Oh) gave
Pennsylvania their second 5-4 loss. Though Collins lost to
both Randy Seemiller and Steve Lowry, Williams came
through with a big win that forced Pennsylvania into a 9th
match. This was won by Panno over Tim Seemiller. Against
Quebec, however, Tim came through in the 9th to give
Pennsylvania the win, and so turned Normandins sweep to
naught. On meeting New York, Pennsylvania started
strongwith Lowry taking a close one from Lardon, and
Randy stopping Eric. But then New York rallied to win the
Phil Panno
next five matches. Pennsylvania thus came 4th with an 8-3
record and received a $50 Hotel Expense Allowance.
Ohio had to settle for 3rd and also a $50 Hotel Allowance when they lost crucial ties to
the two undefeated teams. New Jerseys Stern overpowered the ever-consistent Collins. And
against New York, though Greg won two, Scott Boggan dead-backhand-blocked him away in
straight games.
In their opening play Sunday, the New Yorkers defeated Quebec 5-2. Lardon, down
18-12 in the 3rd, pulled a clutch one out against one of Canadas improving juniors. And Scott
Boggan, leading the very impressive Pierre Normandin 19-11 in the 3rd, missed numerous
forehands, saw his lead dwindle to 20-19, but then, ever fierce, killed a final push crosscourt
for a victory that kept his perfect record intact. New Jersey also beat Quebec. Though
Normandin halted the unrelenting attack of the previously undefeated Stern, Steif and
Nochenson came through to quell
any threat.
In the N.Y.-Westfield, N.J.
final, against New Yorks great
balanced strength, it was thought
that their Sternoid powerhouse
would have to win three and Steif
(The Stiffer) and Nochenson
two between themwhich
certainly seemed possible.
Both Eric Boggan and
Steif, and Lardon and Stern traded
off games. Eric, gaining
momentum after having lost the 1st
game, started the 3rd off right by
countering strong and smacking in
Jeff Steif
snap-hit forehands, while Jeff
Photo by Mal Anderson
415

tried to play catch-up but couldnt. Stern began with a 6-1 lead, but Lardon, fighting him for
ball control, drew almost even. At 10-9 Stern, there was much counter-driving and finally
Stern moved the ball far to Lardons forehand, whereupon the Long Islander made a weak
return that enabled Stern to sharply angle the ball to the other side. Somehow, though, Lardon
got over there and slid in a chop that Stern looped off the table. After that points were traded
to 19-all. Then the New Yorker hit in two fine crisp loops down the line for the win.
This 2-0 beginning quickly
drew additional N.Y. support. Eric
beat a now somewhat unenthusiastic
Stern, and Scott registered victories
over Steif and Nochenson that
allowed him to maintain his unbeaten
record and receive the Most
Valuable Player award. This after an
absurdly gentile official had asked
Scott to turn his Youve Got To
Have Balls To Play Table Tennis
shirt inside out. (Caetano and
Seemiller had worn this shirt,
hawked in the stands, while playing
at the Love Bird tournament in
Jamaica before thousands of
spectators.)
The New York players
received a Hotel Expense Allowance
of $100, the Westfield players $50.
Winning USOTC Junior Team: L-R: MVP Scott Boggan,
The winners thanked Director Buben
Mike Lardon, and Eric Boggan
for remembering them in the prize
money distribution. And, said Lardon in closing, Its already being rumored that next year
theyll be looking for traveling expenses1st class of course.

416

Chapter Twenty-Nine
1976: Nov.-Dec. Tournaments.
Chuchai Chan has come to Portland. Hell coach of course, and beginning with the
Benihana Open, held Nov. 6-7, hell play in Paddle Palace tournaments. In the Open Singles,
Carl Cole beat him a deuce game and Eddy Lo forced him into another, but that was the Thais
only semblance of competition. Runner-up was Dean Doyle over Joe Lee, 19 in the 4th, then
over Peter Joe, 19, 20, -12, 20. Chan, on pairing with Doyle in Open Doubles, was not
invincible; Lo and Peter Joe beat them in straight games. Womens went to Marie Mason over
Sue Ehrlich. Sue had written earlier in Topics how her dad, Henry, had just finished a match
with Harry Nelson at the Livermore Club when he died of a heart attack, the paddle still
clenched tightly in his hand. Sue said she didnt want to see or touch a racket ever, until I
realized it was a nice way to leave our world, doing something you enjoy and being among
friends. My father was not only gifted, he was a giftto me.
Other Results: AA: Doyle over Ed Ng. As: Bob Ho over
Rick Livermore. A Doubles: Bruce Douglass/Bill Ritchey over Ho/
Rich Remington, 23-21 in the 3rd, then over Kevin Young/Le Ai Ly.
Bs: Young over Ritchey. Cs: Chris Lane over Terry Walker, 21,
20, then over Harry Chew who just got by Duane Crabtree, 20, 13, 20. C Doubles: Chew/Lane over Crabtree/Le Hoa Ly. Ds:
Ehrlich over Johnny Lo, -19, 19, 18. Es: Tom Modica over
Kathleen Shank, 19, 22, then over Steve Gerke, 13, 27. Fs: John
Kretchmer over Mark Jones. Gs: P.K. Gott over Charlotte Breit.
First Timers: Lane over Phuoc Hua. Juniors: Doyle over Bobby
Rinde.
Winners in the Nov.
Suguru Araki
13-14 San Francisco Fall
Open:* Open Singles: Ray
Guillen over Manh Van
Nguyen whod escaped
Dean Doyle
Steve Varela from down 2-1
and at deuce in the 4th. Open Doubles: Guillen/Shonie
Aki over Henry Fung/Nguyen, 23-21 in the 3rd. As:
LeRoy Kondo over Varela, 18 in the 5th. Bs: Lamenti
over Shahram Amidi in 5. B Doubles: Craig Ross/
Lamenti over Rocky Stump/Mike Holabird. Cs: Stump
over Dave Rich, 19 in the 4th. Ds: Suguru Araki over
Rich. D Doubles: Woo/Chan over Duplessis/Wong. Es:
Apecechea over H.H. Nguyen. Seniors: Azmy Ibrahim
over Harry Nelson. Juniors: Erwin Hom over T. Nguyen.
Results of the Dec. 4-5 Long Beach Open (two weeks before the U.S. Closed): Open
Singles: Ray Guillen. -22. 23. -19, 19, 9, over Mike Bush who had to go 5 with Ricky Guillen.
Open Doubles: Final: Dennis Barish/Dean Galardi over Al Everett/Bush in 5. Semis: Barish/
Galardi over Bill Ukapatayasakul/Jeff Stewart in 5; Everett/Bush over Guillen/Jack Howard in
5. Womens: Irene Ogus over Angie Rosal in 5. Jairie Resek says Irenes now a vegetarian
417

looks 10 years younger. She

also says Angies engaged to
firefighter/surfer Tom Sistrunk,
and that theyre planning to marry
in a few months, on Tax Day.
Mixed Doubles: Galardi/Rosal
over Barish/Ogus, deuce in the 5th.
Esquires: Carmen Ricevuto over
Bob Green. Seniors: Howard
over Dan Banach whod 19, 20
Jim Lane
downed Frank Suran. Senior
Photo by
Mal Anderson
Doubles: Russ Thompson/Sam
Liang over Dieter Huber/
Ricevuto. U-17s: Jim Lane over
Mike Terrel. U-15s: Lane over
Tony Gonzales whod outlasted Karl Huber, -19, 19, 18. U-13s: Gonzales over Julian Ong.
AAs: Lane over Stewart, 19 in the 4th. AA Doubles: Mike Carr/Keith Ogata over Dan
Banach/Russ Thompson in 5. As: Thompson over Roger Yee. A Doubles: Thompson/Al Martz
over Ogata/Tony Koyama in 5. Bs: Ogata over Y.C. Lee, 14, 19, -20, 23. B Doubles: Lee/
Kim over Dick Banaga/Jerry LaLande. Cs: Lee over Mike Baltaxe whod advanced by Lee
Lawson, -20, 18, 19. C Doubles: Lee/Kim over Huber/Rich Livingston. Ds: Oswald Chan
over Jeff DeSanzo. D Doubles: Ma/DeSanzo over Frank McCann/Galliadi. Es: Toshi
Hoshihara over Keith Trommler who was 12, 26, 20 tested by Robert Lopresto. E Doubles:
Kreli/Trommler over Lopresto/Hoshihara in 5. Consolations: Mark Corbett over David
Weaver, 19, 20.
In the late 30s/early 40s, Jim Limerick played on a Washington, D.C. Inter-city team
with Stan Fields, Tibor Hazi, Harry Cook, and Elias Schuman. Much later he was playing his
t.t. in Long Beach. In the last year hes moved to Bermuda and has formed a small club there.
The semi-tropical island is beautiful, he says, but everything in Bermuda costs a fortune, so he
hopes Topics readers can put him in touch with East Coast sellers of table tennis equipment.
No offense Long Beach, but shipping costs for a good table, nets, rackets, balls from
California to Bermuda might be a bit steep.
A big cast, but no write-up for the $1,350 Nov.13-14 Standard Leasing Open in
Memphis. Open Singles: Danny Seemiller ($500) over Ricky Seemiller ($250) who faced
back-to-back scaresfirst, by Jerry Thrasher ($50), 23-21 in the 4th, then by Perry
Schwartzberg ($100), 21,-20, 19, -10, 19. George Brathwaite ($100) had a good win over
Apichart Sears ($50). Schwartzberg defeated Peter Pradit ($50), -21, 20, 18, 15. Too much
breakfast these days for rail-thin Pradit? When Danny Ganz would next see him he couldnt
believe itthere was Peter wolfing down a large orange juice, two stacks of pancakes
smothered with scrambled eggs, ham steak, potatoes, four slices of toast, and two cups of
coffee. Danny says that Peter keeps his weight down by not putting sugar in the coffee.
Open Doubles: Seemiller/Homer Brown over Pradit/Thrasher. Womens: Nancy Hill over
Nancy Newgarden, 20, 18, 22. Mixed Doubles: Brathwaite/Sue Sargent over Brown/Leslie
Harris.
As: Final: Charles Butler ($100) over Bruce Smith ($50), deuce in the 4th. Semis:
Butler over Joe Tobias ($25), 20, -18, 21, 11; Smith over Brown ($25), 21, 21, -8, -16, 21. A
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Doubles: Butler/Smith over Larry Thoman/Tobias. Bs: Sai-Wing Kwok over Peter Tang. B
Doubles: Paul Hadfield/Tang over Clay Dunn/Denis Fritchie. Cs: Gary Gonnerman over Duke
Stogner. Ds: Bill Reaney over Scott Leamon. Novice: Mark Rutland over Bill Chandler in 5.
Consolations: Rich Doza over Harry Kasten. Seniors: Art Fiebig over Larry Bartley who in a
fight that badly bloodied self and opponent, advanced, -19, -19, 18, 26, 21, over Sam
Shannon. U-17s: Schwartzberg over Steve Swindle who, plenty of blood-letting in this one
too, reached the final by staggering to a -21, 20, 24, -22, 22 win over Salvador Ruiz. U-17
As: Leamon over Ruiz. U-15s: George Brown over Janis Guetschow.
Winners in the Nov. 20th Furniture City Open at
Grand Rapids: Open Singles: Mike Baber over
Mike Moriarty. 3rd Place: Tom McEvoy over Jeff
Smart. Open Doubles: Baber/Moriarty over
McEvoy/ Rick Vanderlind, -17, 10, 23. As: Cody
Jones over Vanderlind. Bs: Dan Oates over Larry
Ryel, -23, 19, 17. This guy Oates was a ringer?
Nah, just one of C.J. Williams friends hed brought
up from Maryland. Cs: Oates over Richard
Grossmann. C Doubles: McEvoy/Lee Bahlman
over Jones/Vern West. Ds: West over Nate Irwin.
Novice: Dana Bryan over Bahlman. Beginners:
Terry Nefcy over Steve Costello. Handicap: Irwin
over Oates. Seniors: Bill Hornyak over Ryel. U17s: Jim Doney over Scott Sommer.
The Fifth Annual Kentucky Closed, sponsored by
the Lexington TTC and the local County Division
Jim Doney
Photo by Mal Anderson
of Parks and Recreation, was held Nov. 20-21 in
the Castlewood Gym. Tournament Director Ben
Ross and LTTC Director Ted Friedman called the tournament, in which more than 100 players
participateda great success.
Results: Championship Singles: Jai Prased in 5 in the quarters over Joe Bowsher;
then, 24, 19, -17, -19, 18 in the semis over former Champion Bowen Caldwell (whod been
down 2-0 to Ruben Dreazer); then in 4 in the final over Ron Shodan. Womens: Karen
Richardson over Mary Troxell. Open Doubles: Prased/Shodan over Bowsher/B. Ross whod
won a -20, -10, 9, 22, 19 marathon match from Dreazer/Friedman. As: Ross over Caldwell,
18, 14, -20, 23. Bs: Adam Jones over Sky With whod advanced over Friedman, 19 in the 3rd.
B Doubles: Dan Reid/Gary Dodge over Tim Howard/Tim Fuller. Cs: Dodge over Rick Detzel.
Seniors: Friedman over Bill Littral. U-17 Boys: Augustine Choi over David Ross. U-17 Girls:
Molly Blayney over Greta Friedman. U-17 Doubles: Choi/Ross over Ludwig/Hempel. U-15
Boys: John Allen over Vince Canlas. U-15 Girls: Blayney over Wendy Brown. U-13 Boys:
Gary Winston over Cliff Maywisser. U-13 Girls: Blayney over Brown.
Virginia Backaitis (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977, 25) gives us some background on the
Virginia, Maryland, D.C. Closed, held, with the cooperation of the Northern Virginia TT Club,
Dec. 4-5 at the Washington Tennis Center. Backaitis said that when one elderly gent coming in
to play tennis saw the table tennis matches going on in part of the tennis complex he was quite
surprised. I used to play a pretty good game in my basement, he said. But I didnt use
paddles with backward padding like these weirdos do. Virginia thought it ironic to often
419

catch the tennis

players watching
the table tennis
matches rather
than utilizing that
adjacent court
(rents for $15 an
hour) for their
own play. Of
course it didnt
cost them
anything to
watch.
Results: Open
Singles: Aram
Avanessi over
Jackie Heyman
Alan Evanson.
Photo by Mal Anderson
Women: Barbara
Kaminsky over Donna Newell. As: Nate Sussman over Phil
Alan Evanson
Shaw. Bs: Shaw over Frank Gauldfeldt. Cs: Mark Davis over
Photo by Ray Chen
Dan Oates. Ds: David Blum over John Olsen, 21, -19, 17. Es:
Phil Horvitz over Blum. Novice: Blum over Larry Hodges. Open Consolations: Pat ONeill
over Mark Davis whod eliminated Chris Francis, 24, -17, 17. Seniors: Bob Kaminsky over
Sussman. Juniors U-17: Shaw over Curt Kronlage. Girls U-17: Jackie Heyman over Backaitis.
Juniors U-15: Kronlage over Shaw, 27-25 in the 3rd. Juniors U-13:
Brian Masters over Sean ONeill.
ONeill is only 9, and although his tournament rating was 636,
he ran rings around Dan Oates, rated 1550 +. Seans
improvement is due to Wuvanich and Chans table tennis camps
and the fact that Chan has been temporarily living with the
ONeills for coaching purposes. Sean told Topics Editor Boggan
that Chan was a mite demandingif, in doing a drill of
consecutive balls over the net, ONeill missed one, he had to do
10 pushups. One time, said Sean, I hit 2,600 consecutive
forehandsit took an hour and 45 minutesand my arm was
ready to fall off. Then Chan said I had to do 1,000 backhands.
Backaitis considers young ONeill the best prospect for a
National Champion we have. The U.S. Closed is in two weeks
watch for him in the U-11s.
Sean ONeill
Colin Mallows reports that, as a warm-up for the U.S. Closed,
the Westfield N.J. Club ran a Dec. 11-12 Winter Open. No criticism of Fox herehis
computerized draw system worked beautifully. Also Colin was pleased with himself for
adhering to his decision after last months tournament not to take any more entries past the
cut-off date. I had some temporary injury to my telephone ear and dialing finger for a few
days, but I hope all those 17 players who were disappointed will understand that accepting late
entries does make for a great deal of extra work.
420

The Open Singles

was won by George
Brathwaite over Errol
Resek, 20, 20, -23, 15.
The Chiefs loops
were just sufficiently
more consistent than
Errols flatter hits.
After losing the 1st at
deuce, Resek, up 20-19
in the 2nd, missed an
easy game-winner, and
soon thereafter fell
behind 2-0. In the 3rd,
up 24-23 he didnt
blow this onewon it
on a hard crosscourt hit
George Brathwaite
followed by a
beautifully placed ball
to the backhand side.
The 4th was initially
close until Brathwaite
pulled away from 8-all.
Colin offered his
congrats to The Chief
and hoped hed soon be
back for another
celebratory dinner at
Snuffys. In two other
good Open matches,
Resek defeated Bill
Errol Resek
Sharpe, 14, 21, 21, and
th
Lim Ming Chui stopped Peter Holder, 23-21 in the 4 . Chui/Dave Philip took the Open
Doubles from Resek/Ali Oveissi whod had to 18, -20, 19 battle by Eric Boggan/Dave
Shapiro. Womens went to Edith Nitchie over Gloria Amoury, after
Gloria had outlasted Dana Gvildys, 24-22 in the 3rd.
Other Results: As: Mike Stern over E. Boggan whod
knocked out Mike Lardon, 20, 19. A Doubles: Stern/Robert
Nochenson over Al Schwartz/Don Garlanger, 19 in the 3rd. Bs: Jeff
Steif over Elmer Wengert, after Elmer surprised Alice Green Sonne,
18 in the 3rd. Cs: P.C. Huang over Jim Mossberg. Ds: Phil Shaw
over Randolph Jones. Jones, from Wilmington, Delaware, was
playing in his first tournamenthed been practicing there in
Wilmington with someone other than Rufford Harrison? Jones over
David Kilpatrick. Fs: Jones over Bill Lawdham. Esquires: Marcy
Marcy Monasterial
Monasterial over Manny Moskowitz whod survived John Kilpatrick,
Photo by Janet Klion
421

19 in the 3rd. Seniors: Wengert over Mort Greenberg, after Mort

had -24, 23, 20 almost fallen (like Tim Boggan before him) to Jim
Releford. U-17s: Stern over Lardon in 5. U-15s: Brian Masters
over Brian Eisner whod sneaked out a -9, 19, 18 win over Shaw.
U-13s: Masters over Ai-Wen Wu.
Winners in the Genesse Valley Open played Dec. 4-5 at
Rochester, N.Y.: Mens: Jim Dixon over Jim Shoots. As: Chuck
Gorchek over Jim Meredith, 19 in the 3rd. Bs: T. Naum over S.
Dorvio. Cs: B. Spry over D. Savage, 19 in the 3rd. Ds: M. Gelb
over P. Koshier. Es: R. Murray over J. Winden. Seniors: G.
Burroughs over Bob Brickell. U-17s: Meredith over R. Reynolds,
15, 20, 19. U-15s: Reynolds over C. Satcher, deuce in the 4th. U15 Consolations: D. McFadden over D. Gibson, 19, 13, 23.
Following are early winter tournaments in Quebec. In
Montreal: Mens As (equivalent to our Open category): Errol
Caetano over Eddy Ma. Mens Doubles: Ma/Rod Young over
Jim Dixon
Caetano/Alan Heap. Womens As: Mariann Domonkos over
Christine Forgo. Womens Doubles: Domonkos/Birute Plucas over Becky McKnight/L. Airst.
Mixed Doubles: Polisois/Colleen Johnson over Marc Lesiege/Forgo, -14, 21, 19. Mens Bs:
R. Tsand over S. Mounders. Womens Bs: Joyce Hecht over Julia Johnson. Mens Cs: Mounders
over Stephane Charbonneau. C Doubles: Gerard Melancon/M. Labreche over P. Cadieux/G.Tellier,
-23, 17, 18. Mens Ds: C. Wilson over P. Robillard. Boys U-17: Pierre Normandin over Serge
Provencher, -19, 12, 19. Girls U-17: Gloria Nesukaitis over Kellye Crockett, 18, 23. Boys U-15:
Joe Ng over J.G. Lanouette. Girls U-15: Nesukaitis over Micheline Aucoin. Boys U-13: Ng over
Mitch Rothfleisch, 18 in the 3rd. Girls U-13: McKnight over J. Johnson. Boys U-11: Frederic
Leblanc over L. Corbeil. Girls U-11: Jennifer Rothfleisch over V. Kerbrat.
Quebec sent 175 players from its 14 regions to participate in the Provincial Junior
Championships. Winners: Boys U-17: Pierre Normandin over Marc Lalonde. Boys U-17
Doubles: Normandin/J. Labreche over Charbonneau/Charles Masson. Girls U-17: Christine
Forgo over Sonia Duwel. Girls U-17 Doubles: C. Johnson/Duwel over Forgo/J. Johnson.
Mixed Doubles: Normandin/C. Johnson over Labreche/Forgo. Boys U-15: Final: Masson over
Alain Tremblay. Semis: Masson over Lalonde, 16, -18, 19; Tremblay over Alain Bourbonnais,
20, -11, 16. Girls U-15: Duwel over C. Johnson. Boys U-15 Doubles: Rene Lewandowski/
Lalonde over Masson/Tremblay. Girls U-15 Doubles: C. Johnson/Duwel over J. Johnson/C.
Beaucage. Boys U-13: Rothfleisch over M. Gingras. Girls U-13: J. Johnson over Sylvie
Leveille. Boys U-11: Leblanc over Corbeil. Girls U-11: C. Grondin over Rothfleisch.
Winners at the Dec. 10 Quebec Championships: Mens As: Polisois over Lesiege, -19, 13,
22, -20, 9, then over Normandin. Mens Doubles: Polisois/Lesiege over Ma/Normandin, -14, 20,
21. Womens As: Domonkos over Forgo, 16, 20, 19. Womens Doubles: Domonkos/Duwel over
Forgo/C. Johnson. Mixed Doubles: Ma/Domonkos over Lesiege/Forgo. Mens Bs: Norman
Gauthier over Paul Normandin. Womens Bs: LaLonde over Beaucage. Cs: Labreche over
Charbonneau. C Doubles: Provencher/Masson over Corbeil/Lalonde. Ds: M. Michaud (from
Rimouski, Quebec) over D. Branchaud. Seniors: Eric Rothfleisch over F. Ternier, 18 in the 3rd.
During our U.S. Closed, the Canadians held their Top 12 tournament at Chateauguay.
Men: 1. Caetano, 8-1. 2. Polisois, 8-1. 3. Ma, 6-3. 4. Heap, 5-4. 5. Lo, 4-5. 6. Frank Watson,
4-5. 7. Young, 4-5. 8. Pierre Normandin, 3-6. 9. Peter Joe, 3-6. 10. Leseige, 0-10. (Charles
422

Chow and Guy Germain, though eligible, didnt compete.) Women: 1. Banerjee, 10-0. 2.
Domonkos, 9-1. 3. Cordas, 8-2. 4. V. Nesukaitis, 7-3. 5. Plucas, 5-5. 6. Forgo, 5-5. 7. C.
Johnson, 3-7. 8. Nimi Athwal, 3-7. 9. G. Nesukaitis, 2-8. 10. Kellye Crockett, 2-8. 11. Duwel,
1-9.
Bob Glass provides Topics coverage (Jan.-Feb., 1977, 27) for the New England
Championships, held Dec. 4-5 in Providence, Rhode Island. Bob and Chuck Helie are the
coordinators of Ocean State Table Tennis, an organization created solely for the purpose of
promoting quality table tennis tournaments in Rhode Island. Among the 91 entered in these
Championships, there were players from every New England state, and Bob also got
particularly good support from local Rhode Islanders. Dave Sakais entourage of player/
supporters from his modestly named United States Table Tennis Center in Waterbury,
Connecticut comprised a cheering section that would make Lees Fleas and Arnies Army
sound like librarians. Whenever one of our local players had the misfortune of playing one of
Daves slaves he found himself playing against 15 playersthough when Waterburys Katie
Vlahakis engaged in a battle of the sexes with Rhode Islander Phil Giangarra, his supporters
vocalized as vociferously as if it were an Army-Navy football game.
Did Bob say 91 entries? Check that. Player Zs name was in the draw, said Bob,
because he told me two weeks earlier he was entering. Fearful that I wouldnt get the
message, he also told others to tell me he was entering. When he arrived at the tournament site
Sunday morning he was already waffling. Should I play? he asked Paul Weaver**who, after
sending in a check with the largest entry fee for the tournament, himself pulled out. Seems his
glasses fell in the toilet and brokeand, yes, of course, he flushed them right on down.
Finally, Player Z (who was, as if you didnt know, Rory Brassington) told Bob, after a few
well-timed sniffles, he was too sick to play.
Before I get to Glasss take on the Championship
Singles, Ill give you the Results of the other events:
Womens: Katie Vlahakis over Judy Hung. Championship
Doubles: Lim Ming Chui/Woody Allen over Ralph
Robinson/Frank Dwelly. As: Final: Bob Quinn over Sparky
James in 5 (from down 11-3 in the 5th). Semis: Quinn over
Haig Raky, and James over Claude Peltz, both in 5. A
Doubles: Irv Levine/Herb Lupian over Wall/Dave
Clevenson, 18 in the 3rd. Bs: Rick Ferri over Chuck Helie,
17 in the 5th. Cs:
Ralph Bockoven
over Bell. Ds: Bob
Oakes (with his
dreaded Phantom
rubber) over Brad
Faxon, 24, -14, 16,
then over Bob
Glass. Bob refused
to allow Oakes,
winner of trophies
two weeks earlier
in the Pioneer
Ralph Bockoven
Bob Quinn
423

Valley Open, to play in the Es. Es: Stone over Giangarra. Novice: Gilcrest over Giardella in
5. Handicap: Ben Nisbet over Hipler.
Esquires: Benny Hull over Levine. Seniors: Frank (The Phantom) Studley over
Hull, 18 in the 3rd. U-17s: Bockoven over Charlie Hung, 18 in the 4th. Junior Doubles:
Bockoven/Kurt Douty over Monopoli/Hipler whod eliminated Hung/Faxon. U-15s: Hung
over Bockoven. U-13s: Hung over Monopoli.
Best early round matches
in the Championship Singles:
Pete Schuld
Frank (The Fox) Dwelly over
Sparky James. Frank, whos the
current U.S. Open Over 50
Champ, always seems to be
where the ball is, yet he never
seems to be moving very much.
In a classic Youth vs. Age match,
Frank went on to defeat 13-yearold Charlie Hung whod won the
Mens Consolation at this years
U.S. Open. Pete Schuld, a
phenomenal blocker trained by
Dave Sakai, upset Mike Emery,
3-0. Bob Quinn, New England
Intercollegiate Champ, narrowly defeated 1975 World Jubilee Cup quarterfinalist Irv Levine.
Ed Raky got by University of Rhode Island Champion Rick Ferri in 4. Mike (Woody)
Allen shocked everyone by going through Ralph Robinson (he of the admired backhand
loop). When Woodys penhold forehand is hot, it is positively awesome.
Awesome and sometimes devastating to an opponent. When Woody downed his
nemesis Quinn in a 5-game quarters match, Bob, whos famous for retaining his composure
after defeat, threw all his equipment down the stairs. Equally devastating was Chuis
pummeling of Studley. One began to think that Frank really had phantom rubberthat is, had
no rubber at all on his racket.
In the Sakai-Allen semis, Woody, up 20-19, made a shot, said, Nice game, Dave,
and joined Sakai on the other side of the table. Slight problem: Dave thought that Woody had
missed the shot. No umpire, but since the spectators, on being asked, were at odds, the players
finally decided to play the point over. Sakai won it, and then the game. Woody played the rest
of the match without trying. He called Dave a cheater. Dave called Woody a bodily aperture.
They parted the best of friends.
Since Chui had beaten Dwelly, 19, 19, 13, in the other semis, the stage was set for
another friendship match? In the 1st game, Ming came out fighting and just eked out a 21-19
win. But then Dave exploited Mings backhand with fierce exchanges to take a 2-1 lead,
and followed by virtually humiliating his higher-rated opponentbeating him 21-9. This left
Ming thinking spatially either how to get Jonyer and Surbek into Vergennes, Vermont, or
himself outta there, cause if he wants serious practice he has to go to Montreal to get it. Since
Ming is adept at working on making missiles or defending against them, hes sure, and so am I,
there are other job sites for himand places where he can start his own club, coach, and get
better practice to beat Sakai, now a five-time New England Champion.
424

SELECTED NOTES.
*I thought I might see Carl Danners name in this San Francisco listing, for only a few
days before the tournament I got a letter from him telling me about his beginning months at
Stanford, just an hours drive from San Francisco. If hes not playing table tennis, hes at least
reading Topics. He wisecracks that Scott Boggans rating is getting unreasonably close to my
own; Ill have to play him and remedy that. He says ironically, Now that Mike Lardon is a
2500 player, he and Seemiller should have some good matches (especially since [in Japan]
Mikes been told how to play Danny). He notes sardonically how heartening it is to see that
the Players Association has all this money flowing out of their ears. My future as a pro is now
secure. Ill quit school and join the circuit! Never mind that last year Stanford Business School
grads were offered on average $20,000 from four sources just as a starter.
Carl was doing well academically of course. How
could he not with all those gorgeous, intelligent girls
around him. His classes: Math 23 (sophomore
stuffpartial derivatives), Chem 31 (easy A), Man
and His Law (Really good. Were taught, 12 in the
class, by a man who used to be Dean of Undergraduate
Studies here, is now legal counsel for USF. Our papers
are corrected by a fellow who has his B.A. in English
from Stanford, was a Rhodes Scholar, and is now a
brilliant 3rd-year law student and managing editor of the
Stanford Law Reviewlast paper I got 33 out of 35).
Classical Politics (Fantastic. Basically the study of
Platos Republic and Aristotles Politics. The professor,
Antony Raubitschek, has received innumerable awards
over the years. Your LIU colleagues in Classics have
probably heard of him. He gives incredibly good lectures,
Carl Danner - already a proven scholar
simply outstanding). Carl says he could very easily
have all As this quarter. Also, hes applying to go to
England to study next year.
Carl urges my sons Scott and Eric to go to college. There
is no future in table tennis now that can even begin to compare to a
career at something. You can continue table tennis in college
without an incredible amount of difficulty. And being educated, for
real, is worth it.
**In a Letter to the Editor some years later, when Scott
Boggan was abroad, in league play in Germany, Paul Weaver
would reminisce that in 1976 Scott spent the summer in Boston.
He recalls:
I paid him $2.50/hour to push to me so I could
practice my loop. He was bored out of his mind so we
went down to the store for some juice. Scott was a sweetlooking, just-turned 15-year-old with nice long, blond hair,
and the guy in the store told me I had better look after my
sister. Scott got his hair cut the next day, and before he left
425

Scott Boggan

town my roommate and I gave him our complete collection of three dozen girlie
magazines. He termed them disgusting but looked through them anyway. He said
most of the girls he would rate below 2100 but he found a couple he thought were
2400, so it was worth his while. Awful choosy for a kid who was only 2000 himself.
When I played Scott for money, the spot I demanded was that he use pips out
on the forehand and Sriver on his backhand. The first game I caught him switching
four times to smash a forehand with the Sriver and I claimed each point on which he
cheated. I won the first game when he hit every forehand into the net and every
backhand off the end of the table, but after he adjusted he won every game so I quit
him.
But later in the mid-80s, Weaver said he was one of those Topics-reading USTTA
members interested in Scotts personal bullshit. Controversial Scott would be, but Paul
recalls him fondly. When Scott gets back in the country please tell him that due to inflation
Ill offer him $2.75 an hour to push so I can practice my loop. Ill supply the juice and the
magazines. This offer will surely silence the critics who assert that one cant earn a living
playing table tennis.
Weaver also has memories of Scotts brother. He remembers a 1975 Midwest
tournament where he was outclassed by Eric, so, he says, I decided to have some fun with
him.
Between points when he had his back turned I quick-served and claimed the
point. He lost his temper and screamed and yelled and went for the Referee. This 11year-old showed he could look out for himself, and he also showed he was incredibly
serious about winning his table tennis match.
Somewhere in the world there is now a 20-year-old named Eric still looking
out for himself and incredibly serious about table tennis. Hed got a higher rating than
the girls in Scotts magazines and I wish him, and his sister in Germany, the best of
luck.

426

Chapter Thirty
1976: E.C. Minutes/Other Inclusions.
The last E.C. Meeting of the Year (see Sue Sargents Minutes in TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1977,
12) was held at Caesars Palace, Dec. 20-22, after the Dec. 16-19 U.S. Closed and during the
Dec. 21-22 U.S. Team Trials that would determine whod represent us at the 1977
Birmingham Worlds. Officials present all or part of the time were: President Sol Schiff (SS),
Executive Vice-President Rufford Harrison (JRH), Treasurer Jack Carr (JACas of Nov. 1,
1976, the USTTA had $20,286.75 in the bank), Corresponding Secretary Sue Sargent (SGT),
Vice President Dick Miles (DM), Vice President Dr. Michael Scott (MS), Vice President Tim
Boggan (TB), and Vice President Dal-Joon Lee (DJL). Proxies present were: John Read
(JCR) for Recording Secretary Mal Anderson; Gene Sargent for Sue Sargent; and Bard
Brenner for Dr. Scott. Bard had prepared proposals on the reorganization of the Executive
Committee and the USTTA, but they were not taken up at this Dec. Meeting. Scott later told
Jack Carr that Bard wasnt his proxy.
Appointments: Stan Robens as Public Relations Chair. In
an Oct. 5th letter to Ron Shirley, Stan, a highly successful life
insurance and financial planner for doctors and dentists, says that
the pros in table tennis should play the game and let promoters
handle the business aspects. (Hell need money, though, if hes
to make any progress promoting the USTTA. One of the many
criticisms of the way the Association spent its money was that it
allocated 21% of its budget for Topics and only two-tenths of
one percent for Public Relations.)
Take a note, Stan Robens. Heres Eric Teltscher (TTT,
Jan.-Feb., 1977, 6) commenting on what he sawor rather what
he didnt seeat the upcoming Caesars Closed:
Stan Robens

First of all no one except the initiated in L.A. or Vegas

knew the matches were being held. Once inside the playing area,
no one except the initiated knew who was playingthere were no name cards, no
introductions, just the next match is 3 out of 5. Every other sport recognizes the
importance of proper player introductions, why doesnt table tennis? Surely any player
reaching the quarters deserves the courtesy of being properly introduced. And surely
the non-initiated paying spectators deserve to know who is playing.
On Saturday I asked someone at the outside desk who was going to play and I
was advised to pay $1.00 to go in and find out. [Some advice to get in view of what
hes just said above.] Would anyone go to a football game, a tennis match, any sporting
event without knowing who is playing? Is that good public relations?...

Portrait by Gittings

Take another note, Stan. Thirty years later, USTTA/USATT administrations having
come and gone, nothing will have changed. No one but an initiate will know theres a U.S.
Table Tennis Championship in Vegas.
Other Appointments: Ira Robert Feldman as Intercollegiate Chair; Fred Herbst as
Nominating Chair and Selection Committee member (however, Freds unexpected death*
427

necessitated a Nominating Chair replacement: Barry Margolius). John Read, the Selection
Chair who can vote only in case of ties, had been momentarily replaced by Gene Sargent while
John was pushing for himself as Manager of the U.S. World Team. ITTF Appointments:
Classification Cttee.: Read; Rules Cttee.: Anderson; Vice President and Equipment Cttee.
Chair: Harrison.
Topics was no longer listing a Tournament Chair, but, since Neal Fox, the USTTA
Ratings/Ranking Chair, had unofficially taken on that responsibility, it was no surprise that he
was making recommendations. He recommended acceptance of Vichnins bid [Herb was still
favoring a partnership with Miles?] for the 1977 U.S. Open provided Vichnin posts a bond.
But though JAC moved that we accept Foxs recommendation, and also recommendations for
the U.S. Closed (Caesars?) and USOTCs (Detroits Cobo Hall?), Neal didnt get a second.
DM moved that we give each E.C. member five minutes to speak on their feelings concerning
the U.S. Open, which certainly suggests he had an interest in the matter. But there wasnt a
second for him either.
JRH then moved that we
award the 1977 U.S. Open to
Bobby Gusikoffs California
Table Tennis ClubBobbyd
be using the Hollywood
Indoor Tennis Clubs
facilities. These courts were
frequented, said President
Chaz Haba in a letter to Neal
Fox, by such show-biz
personalities as Carl and
Rob Reiner, Chuck Heston, Billie Jean King, Bill Cosby, and Johnny Carson. Perhaps some
or all of these celebrities would come to watch the table tennis matches? The Minutes showed
no discussion at all of this important U.S. Open. The Motion to award the tournament to
Gusikoff was passed 7-1-0. I dont know why Minutes-taker Sue Sargent didnt indicate who
cast the No vote (at an earlier E.C. Meeting Id indicated I wanted in the Minutes how an E.C.
member specifically voted), but I suspect it was Carr, for in a Jan. 11, 1977 letter to Dr. Scott
he said, It was a real bad decision to give the U.S. Open to Gusikoff. I look for a lousy
tournament. He cited Bobbys past money problems, and Pacific Coast Tournament Director
Richard Aldens threat to resign if the E.C. awarded Bobby the tournament.
There had to be high-level talk of Gusikoffs failure to pay money he owed the USTTA
from the April tournament he ran. (Hed said in an Oct. 11th letter to Schiff that opening the
California Table Tennis Club and not having much business for the first six months was a great
financial drain on me, and he promised to pay up by Nov. 1st.) Im sure I voted for Bobby to
run the U.S. Open because I knew holding the tournament was a labor of love for him and I
liked the soul strength he showed in going for itthe glorious tournament that was in his
mind.
JRH also moved that Bobby would have one U.S. Open account into which would go
all the Entry Fees. Any withdrawal from that account had to have the additional signature of
President Schiff or Treasurer Carr. Since the E.C. was aware that Bobby had little concern for
money matters, they specified that the USTTA shall receive $5,000 from this account before
authorizing Gusikoff to withdraw from it.
428

The E.C. then took up a number of busy proposals (though Ill not mention those
deleted and deferred). JAC moved that disciplinary action be taken against any USTTA
member who pickets a tournament. No second. JAC moved that each E.C. candidate shall
sign a statement that he has read the USTTA Handbook. No second. (Jack had quite a few
more of his preoccupations that he wanted on the Agenda, and if they didnt come up this
time, hed bring them up again. One had, in its various manifestations, restrictions on who
might run for E.C. office. Another had to do with 15 listed Bylaws Boggan violated, thus
breaking his own Topics contract, and another 12 listed instances where he acted against the
best interests of the USTTA. Think Jack wants to work with Tim? I dont.)
JAC moved that Campaign statements in the National Publication be limited to 1,000
words. Passed 8-1. (Ill deal with the 1977 Election in the next volume.) JAC moved that
E.C. meetings be funded at a maximum of two of the three majorsU.S. Open, USOTCs,
U.S. Closed. Passed 6-0-1.
JRH moved a Bylaw change regarding proxiesdefeated 3-3-2. I know, having read
it elsewhere, Carrs against proxies, maybe Harrison is too, but we cant tell.
SGT moved that a Junior membership without the National Publication will cost
$2.00 per year. Passed: 5-1-1.
Much of the extended Meeting was concerned with the concurrent U.S. Team Trials
and upcoming World Championships.
The Point Participation Rule was giving the E.C.
problems. Early at the Meeting, TB moved that the E.C.
recommit to the Selection Committee the matter of point
requirements for U.S. Team eligibility due to the lack of proper
notice to the players. Passed 4-1-2.
However, this Point Participation Rule was later
brought back to the E.C. table.
TB moved That the deadline date for obtaining the
required [11] points for the 1977 Worlds be extended to
Jan.10, 1977. Failed: 2-4-2.
JAC moved That the deadline be extended to Feb. 20,
1977. No vote.
DM moved that the deadline be extended to Mar. 20,
1977. Failed: 4 (DM, MS, TB, DJL)4 (SGT, SS, JAC,
JCR)1 (JRH).
JRH moved that the deadline be extended to Mar. 19,
1977. Passed: 5 (DJL, MS, DM, TB, JRH)4 (SGT, SS,
Judy hopes that if she can will a
JCR, JAC).
wish strongly enough, her crystal
JRH moved: To reconsider the 11-point requirement.
ball will answer it.
Failed: 3 (DJL, SGT, JCR)3 (JRH, TB, SS). So, after some From 1990 Pacific Rim Open Program
controversial vacillation, the deadline was extended to Mar.
19, 1977.
In a Jan. 2, 1977 letter to Dr. Scott, Carr said, At the Meeting I was extremely
disappointed in John Read. He substantiated my votes against him as Selection Chairman
and U.S. Team Manager. Nine days later in another letter to Scotty, Jack said, I thought it
terrible that Read did not vote per his proxy letter or as his own committee directed, that
Harrison changed his vote when he knew it was wrong, that Lee changed his vote TWICE,
429

and that on Tuesday morning [just before the Trials were ready to start] Schiff changed his
vote. Jack now says hes changed his mind. Contrary to the way hed voted, I am against the
11, 15 or whatever point system might be suggested in the future, particularly with Read as
Selection Chairman and/or Fox as Tournament Chairman.
With the results of the Trials known, the following decisions were made. The five male
players on the U.S. World Team were (in order of finish): Danny Seemiller, Dean Galardi, Paul
Raphel, Ray Guillen, and Ricky Seemiller (the last three places determined by games won/
lost). Fifth-man Ricky was voted onto the Team, 6-1. The 6th man, 1st Alternate, was Mike
Bush (4-3), the 7th man, 2nd Alternate, Perry Schwartzberg (3-2-2). The four female players on
the U.S. World Team were (in order of finish): Insook Bhushan, Alice Green Sonne, Angelita
Rosal, and Judy Bochenski. The 5th woman, 1st Alternate, was Olga Soltesz (4-2-1).
Regarding U.S. World Team Officials and our Entourage:
JRH
moved (all of the
following): To
accept the
Selection
Committees
recommendation
John Read for
Manager of the
1977 U.S. World
Team. Passed 71 (Carr
dissenting).
John Read leading the U.S. Team at the Birmingham Worlds.
Heather
Angelinetta as
Womens Capt. (Unanimous.) Houshang Bozorgzadeh as Mens Captain (71). Gus Kennedy** and Yvonne Kronlage as Assistant Managers (7-1)
Yvonne to receive 20% of the value of the uniforms for our Worlds Team as
she obtained the sponsorship for these (unanimous). Leah Neuberger and
Neal Fox as our ITTF Delegates (unanimous). Pat Crowley (a.k.a. come
Jan. 15 Mrs. Tom Hodgins) as Trainer (7-1). D-J Lee as Mens Team Coach
(at no expense to USTTAunanimous). He-ja Lee as Assstant Coach (7-1).
USTTA Coaching Chair Jeff Smart had been thankful to Danny
Seemiller for his continued coaching clinics. Reinforcing Jeffs high opinion
of Danny, N.J.s Jeff Steif wrote in Topics of attending an 11-day clinic at
Dannys Club in Pittsburgh, where Danny was assisted by brother Ricky, Joe
Rokop, Roger Sverdlik, and Gary Fagan who gave Jeff some extra attention.
Drills, Dannys stroke lectures, competitive play, and circuit training were
mixed with nights of pizza, movies, miniature golf, and horseback
Pat Crowley
riding.All this while, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Seemiller, everyone was being
Hodgins
put up at the Seemiller home.
Smart continued to be appreciative of Seemiller because, in place of his annual
Christmas Camp, Danny agreed, for $300/week, much less than he would have made
ordinarily, to run a special Christmas Youth Clinic at his Pittsburgh Club. Fifteen or so top430

level juniors/youths were invitedand, to help them out, free housing had been arranged, and
some money had been allotted for transportation expenses. Smart himself was on hand,
accompanied by Stan Wolf, to observe how these elite players and young coaches were
evaluating each others strengths and weaknesses. As Jeff points out (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977,
14), major topics of discussion were: Forehand Drive vs. Topspin (one had to be able to use a
medium-speed forehand in a match); Backhand Drive vs. Topspin (the follow-through is
forward and over the table); Service and Attack (short serves are important but also spin
serves that bounce near the tables back edge); Forehand Loop (use a variety of short,
medium, and fast loops); and Training (avoid fast, jerky warm-up exercises).
Mike Lardon was one of those who attended, and (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1977, 8) had
special praise not only for Danny, everyones favorite player, but for #1 Junior, Perry
Schwartzberg, who, though everyones out to beat him, never stopped helping usespecially
me with my backhand. Also, thanks, thanks, thanksto the other coaches, Ricky Seemiller,
Mike Veillette, and Mike Baber; to C.F. Liu for chaperoning, as it were, his daughter Faan
Yeen and Kasia Dawidowicz; and to the Seemiller family for their usual gracious hospitality.
And speaking of praiseone soon discovers (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 16) quite an
absence of it in Orin Starns Review of Martin Sklorzs Table Tennis (translated from the
German by English Coach Jack Carrington). Often the book seems little more than a primer.
It has a cramped and oversimplified style. Probably the books finest offerings are its
pictures, but thats not saying much, since each shot is condensed into a few lines, often
devoid of sense, and altogether virtually devoid of important instruction.
There are no other table tennis books for me or anyone
else to review here as the year comes to a close, and if Bob
Tretheway has put out the first hyped issue of his bright,
timely, fresh, interesting, well-written, and professionally
edited Mid-America Table Tennis Newsletter, Ive not seen it.
But Topics features a couple of creative contributionsone
(Jan-Feb., 1977, 13) called Ping Pong Zing, by Jerry
Kvasnicka (contributed by David Dickson II); the other (Jan.Feb., 1977, 15) called Ping-Pong in New York, by Jerome
Charyn, a sort of warm-up for his Sizzling Chops and Devilish
Spins book that will appear a quarter of a century later (see my
Review in the USA Table
Tennis Magazine, May/
Jerome Charyn
June, 2002, 20; 22).
Photo by Daniel Mordzinski
Kvasnickas
Ping-Pong Zing essay offers a comparison with Zen, and
his writing is sort of a paean to both. Im not gonna
attempt to critique this assay into the far out, but if in
playing ping-pong you can get into a zone, actually a
form of meditation, you can understand how Kvasnicka
can get into a zone writing about it. Artistic, spiritual
expression is central to both his playing and writing. But
does he make sense or is he spaced out? Is he serious or
Johnny Stillions in a zen zone just having fun? I have to ask myself such questions, for I
no need to look.
dont believe him when I read, Very few professionals in
Photo by Don Gunn
431

this sport use any English except on the serve.In twenty-two years of regular play I have
never observed two identical volleys. He seems to say, Get carried away while playing; dont
think, go with the flow.
Charyn writes about a time in the late 60s when he goes to Reismans 96th St. Club.
But actually hes much more interested (as he will be in Sizzling Chops) in writing about
himself and writing for the love of writing than he is about sandpaper, pips-out rubber, or
sponge. He romanticizes Reisman (once the best player in the world) as people, recognizing
Martys great talent and his iconic stature, have been doing for over half a century. Charyn
delights, too, in glamorizing Reismans Club where a rapacious democracy prevailed
anybody might meet and play against anybody. Hes proudly part of a gangt.t. habitus,
addictsthat call this place of eccentric ambiance home. As for Marty, hes now in exile; he
was swindled by the onset of the sponge bat. Before that, Nobody could touch him.Not
Miles, not Leach, not Bergmann. Today, the myth persists; tomorrow it will too.
No mention is made of Reismans many run-ins, not for drop shots, but for stretches of
defiance against by-the-book umpires.*** As if aware of Martys past problems with officials, or
ones to come, Robert Groenig thinks there ought to be an Umpires Corner in Topics. The
column should, first, give a description of the disagreement including the names of the persons
involved and the tournament involved. Second, it should tell what the table umpires decision was.
Third, the resolution of that disagreement.[Then we should hear] the USTTA rules chairmans
position. So saying, Groenig posits six encounters he himself has witnessed and for each enlists
Rules Chair Mal Andersons comment on the umpires ruling (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 12).
(1) As Tom slapped in a winner, his racket slipped from his hand, bounced on the
table and then hit the net. Point awarded to Harry on the basis that the racket hit the net
before the ball hit the floor ending the point. Anderson: Correct.
(2) In a close game, Eds nose began to bleed and blood was splashing on the table.
Ed refused to quit playing. Gene wanted a forfeit, said Ed was unfit to continue, and the table
was getting soiled. Umpire gave Ed a five-minute break to stop his nosebleed; if it wouldnt
stop hed have to forfeit the match. Anderson: Right decision, made by the wrong person.
The Referee may allow a time out of up to 15 minutes for an injury. But this umpire only
gave Ed five minutes. Was that the right decision?
(3) Bob served the ballit hit the net and then flew off the end of the table and hit
Jims paddle. Jim wanted the point, cited the paddle-point rule.
Umpire called it a let. Anderson: Correct. Its a let because the rule
states that though the service wasnt good it was volleyed by the
receiver.
(4) Umpire faulted Ricks match for his unsportsmanlike
conduct. Tournament Committee overruled the umpire. Anderson:
Tournament Committee was correctits the referee, not the
umpire, who has the power to default.
(5) Dave, wearing a holster, with an extra gun, er, paddle in it,
wanted to adroitly change paddles in the middle of a point, or, if so
inclined, being ambidextrous, play with a racket in each hand. Umpire
said, Look, one paddle per point. Anderson: Correct. The rule speaks of
a racket hand and a free hand. The racket hand is the hand carrying the
racket, and the free hand is the hand not carrying the racket. Related
Tom McEvoy, two-handled
volunteer, demonstrates question: after a point is played, can the player change his racket?
432

(6) Since he says the floors slippery, could barefoot Adam (his real name?) play
barefoot? Umpire said he had to wear shoes; Tournament Director said he didnt. Anderson:
Decision falls to Referee, not the Tournament Director. Small tournament maybe o.k. But not
in any large tournament, where there are outside spectators and especially where theres TV,
since our sport must look as athletic and presentable as possible.
Umpire problems wont go away. Heres a fellow, Hak-keung Chan, wholl have some
unpleasant experiences umpiring at the upcoming U.S. Closed (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977, 6). Hes
used to more or less keeping score at his local club and getting a handshake and a thank you
from congenial club members. Being a qualified umpire, he felt he qualified for Closed work
and hoped to gain experience. This he did.
You made me lose!Stupid umpire cost me the matchAre you from the same
region as my opponent? These were some of the comments Chan got from skilled 2100
players whom hed warned about their illegal serves. Also, during his 27 umpired matches,
some players didnt like it when he called lets, or didnt like it when he didnt call lets.
Sometimes not only the players, but their friends and relatives came at him. Twice players
asked that he be removed, but, thanks to Sue Sargent and Rufford Harrison who would not
remove him, he was not insultednot too insulted. True, in one instance, he lost the score
several times in a 3/5 match, but he says an umpire has to concentrate on not making a mistake
as much as a player doesand sometimes that can be very difficult. At any event, he asks,
Why cant everyone play like gentlemen? Answer from one not always a gentleman: Because
in the throes of competition, many players intent on winning, which had better be their aim,
arent inclined to observe distracting niceties.
Eric Teltscher, whom I quoted earlier on the lack of the USTTAs Public Relations,
agrees with Chan that, in a number of peoples minds, the ungentlemanly players are
sometimes their own worst enemies. Here hes speaking of the upcoming Closed:
The constant interruptions during the match by the players take away from the
quality of the match itself and are amateurish and distracting to the spectators. The toweling
off after every point, the knee-bends between points, the shouting every time a point is made,
and all the other unnecessary antics just distract from the caliber of play. The paying customer
wants and will pay for action, provided the action is worth seeingbut no one pays to see
childish interruptions. [Hey, its a sporting eventdespite officials attempts to impose
gentility, plenty of people pay to see these very interruptions at a World Championship.]
Stan Wolf would say that the playing conditions at the Dec. U.S. Closed werent good.
The carpet nap clung to everything, including the ball and your throat, and the lighting was
on a par with that of a dungeon.The conditions made it extremely difficult to see let and
edge balls. But this is not an excuseI umpired a few matches and made quite a few mistakes.
I also noticed other umpires were having trouble. Teltscher says that in the Judy BochenskiHe-ja Lee match, the umpire forgot the score, which interrupted play for several minutes, and
that in the D-J Lee-Ricky Seemiller semi, the umpire had to ask the players for the score.
In the Mens final, especially, said Stan, let balls were missed, and the service rule
was poorly enforced. I must say, however, that, after seeing those international stars play in
the U.S. Open at Philadelphia, I thought Seemillers and Lees serves were very legalan
irony Im sure that draws a nod and a smile from umpire Bob Barns. Stan says the service rule
was poorly enforced in this Caesars Mens final (presumably the umpire just sat there, didnt
433

assert himself to warn or fault the offending

players when he should have). But then Stan adds,
in an apparent contradiction, It seems that in
every important match an umpire arrives who
wants attention drawn to him or her self and not
to the players.
In the not too distant future, umpires will
be enacting the infamous Boggan-Point-Penalty
Rule, the supposition being that Tim, Scott, and
Eric are too exclamatory on court, not to say off.
But thats for another volume. Heres a hint of
Scotts volatility in an excerpt from my Junior of
the Month article on him (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977,
16) after hed won the Junior MVP at the
USOTCs:
Scott Boggan - Junior of the Month
Hearing what I thought were
strange noises, Id just thumped heavily
down the stairs when my 15-year-old son suddenly came flying over the living room
sofa, scaring the astral body right out of me. He was dressed in the second-hand jodagi
hed bought from a friend, screaming a ki-ya, and assuming in his Imagination the
impossiblean asana in mid-flightwhat Swami Vishnudevananda calls the Shooting
Bow position.
Scott! I yelled. What the ____are you doing? Running from Eric againor
what?
Of course I knew what he was doingor thought I didbecause when I was
young I used to yell and jump in front of the living room mirror too. I also knew that
my younger son Eric, Scotts arch-rival in screaming and jumping, was safely over at a
friends house playing, I hoped, a pleasantly non-violent game of Stratego. Now, I
thought was the perfect time for that Junior of the Month interview the two of us had
repeatedly been putting off.
Interviewer: What was I meaning to ask you? Oh, yeah. Last summer, I only
saw you for about three days. What did you do last summer?
Scott:I practiced and visited friends.
Interviewer: Practiced with who? Where?
Scott: In the City, in Waterbury, Connecticut, in Boston.
Interviewer: Who helped you improve the most?
Scott: Fuarnado Robertshe was nice and let me stay with him lots of times
when I played all night at Reismans. And Bush. And Roger Sverdlik. And Sakai. And
Barry Margoliuswhen I was in Boston he forced me to practice with himand Bob
Quinn and Ralph Robinson. It was either that or go out into The Combat Zone.
Interviewer: Speaking of that Zone, what the hell are you doing with those
pajamas on?
Scott: Theyre not pajamas. And you know damn well what Im doing. Im
preparing for my five-week Judo class. And after that Ive got a five-week Yoga class.
Im also practicing, at times, being a vegetarian.
434

Interviewer:Youve also gone to the last three Seemiller clinics, havent you?
Scott: Yes. I engaged in some very serious playing and hard training thereI
especially enjoyed the drills. Rutledge Barry and I are very good at drills.
Interviewer: Im sure. And your Judo and Yogayou expect theyll help to
discipline you?
Scott: Oh, yes. Theyll give me flexibility. To play table tennisespecially at
Reismansyou have to have flexibility.
And so it wenta flexible conversation culminating finally in serious talk. My idea of
being a professional, Scott said, is playing every weekend, flying from coast to coast, and
competing in whatever good tournament I can.
Would that ever happen?
SELECTED NOTES.
*Heather Angelinetta (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 15)
reports on Freds deathtells us that his wife Helen said,
He died after a hard competitive game of tennis, of a heart
attack, without any suffering. Although he was only 59, he
had retiredthough of course doing volunteer work for the
USTTA, and also for BNai Brith, for whom he edited a
periodic newsletter. During the last year he and Helen lived
at Leisure World, a retirement community in Laguna Hills,
California. He leaves in addition to his wife, son Jeff, daughter
Sandi, son-in-law Myron, and a granddaughter Robin. Heather
spoke of how the t.t. community will miss him (Sam Lima wrote
a Cupertino Club eulogy), and that many friends attended the
graveside Services to bid him farewell.
**Gus Kennedys wife, Jean, in a Jan. 17, 1975 letter
had written me the bad news that the lack of new housing
starts
Fred Herbst
caused
Photo by Mal Anderson
Honeywells
engineering division, especially the design
section where Gus worked, to come
almost to a halt. Fortunately Gus was
able to secure an excellent position before
a lay-off became a reality. So, forget the
family trip to the Calcutta Worlds and
Gus as Team Managerits the
Depression of 75 around here. But well
begin a new two-year plan with a new
company and two more years of saving
vacation time and money and the hope of
being of service in 77. And, hooray, in
77 Gus, Jean, daughter Muffin, and
U.S. Team Manager John Read and Assistant Team
son Roger would all be in Birmingham.
Manager Gus Kennedy at work
435

Chuck Medick, famous blind umpire

***To my knowledge Marty never had any words with one of the most famous
umpires in the History of our Sportthe blind umpire Chuck Medick. His obituary appeared
in the Long Beach Independent Press Telegram, Jan. 1, 1977 and was reprinted in TTT, Jan.Feb., 1977, 12. Chuck, whom Ive talked about in previous volumes, was only 54 when,
survived by his wife Gail, he died of cancer. Blind since infancy, hed attended Ohio State and
Western Reserve Universities and was instrumental in advancing the techniques of instruction
to the blind at both schools. After he spent several years as an x-ray darkroom technician
developing film at hospitals in the Cleveland area, he came to Long Beach and worked a
suicide hot line at Memorial Hospital.
He joined the sports staff of the Independent Press-Telegram in 1960, and after his
interest in table tennis waned, he was very active in softball. He covered many games and
tournaments, wrote a column, Junior Baseball Corner, and was the public address
announcer for all softball games at local fields. Such work, sans sight, seemed as impossible
as umpiring t.t. matches, but, productively, he did both.

436

Chapter Thirty-One
1976: Danny Seemiller/He-ja Lee Win Caesars U.S. Closed.
Ill give you, first,
the Results of the
U.S. Closed, then
my write-ups (TTT,
Jan.-Feb., 1977,
1+) of the Mens
and Womens
Singles.
Mens Singles:
Danny Seemiller
($1,000) d. D-J
Lee ($700), 12, 12,
15. Semis:
Seemiller d. Peter
Danny Seemiller (R) defeats D-J Lee to win the 1976 U.S. Closed.
Pradit ($500), 18,
Umpire is Dieter Huber.
12, 14; Lee d.
Ricky Seemiller ($500), 17, 19, -10, -19, 16. Noteworthy Matches: Pradit d. Paul Raphel
($200), -12, 20, 19, -15, 19; R. Seemiller d. Dennis Barish ($200), 12 in the 5th; Dean Galardi
($300) d. Perry Schwartzberg ($200), 19 in the 5th; Dean Doyle ($200) d. Peter Stephens, 27,
21, -12, 21; Dave Sakai ($200) d. Mike Bush, -17, 19, 19, 21; Raphel d. Bohdan Dawidowicz,
19 in the 4th. Mens Doubles: Seemiller/Seemiller ($350) d. Lee/Pradit ($250), 19 in the 4th.
Outstanding Match: Al Everett/Jerry Thrasher d. Dawidowicz/Faan Hoan Liu in 5. (In the
future, said Tournament Director Bill Hodge, Caesars wasnt going to take on the hassle of
pairing Doubles
partners.)
Womens
Singles: He-ja Lee
($500) d. Insook
Bhushan ($300), 17, -17,
17, 13. Noteworthy
Matches: Alice Green
Sonne ($200) d. Kasia
Dawidowicz, -16, 20, 17, 21, 13; Judy
Bochenski ($200) d.
Faan Hoan Liu, 15 in the
5th; Lee d. Bochenski, 19,
17, -22, 20. Womens
Doubles: Bhushan/Lee
($200) d. Angelita Rosal/
Irene Ogus, -12, 18, 20,
16, in the semis, and
He-ja Lee (L) defeats Insook Bhushan to win the 1976 U.S. Closed.
437

Bochenski/Patty Martinez
($100), 19 in the 5th (from
down 2-0) in the final.
Mixed Doubles: D.
Seemiller/Bhushan ($250)
d. Lee/Lee ($150), 8, 17,
13.
Hodge pointed out
that the Seemiller brothers
won over $2,000 in prize
money, and D-J and He-ja
about $1,600. Bravo,
Caesars!
Mens As:
A Singles Champion Jerry Thrasher (L) over Al Everett
Thrasher ($350) d. Everett
($250), 20, 15, -18, 20.
Semis: Thrasher d. Dave Shapiro ($150), -19, -17, 18, 19, 19; Everett d. Stephens ($150), 16,
-17, 19, 22. Noteworthy Matches: Charles Butler ($50) d. Howie Grossman, 21, -20, 19, -13,
18; Shapiro d. Mike Baber (from down 2-0). Womens As: Dawidowicz ($150) d. Liu ($100),
23-21 in the 4th. Mens Consolation: Paul Groenig d. Jim
McQueen. Womens Consolation: Sue Ehrlich d. Evelyn
Zakarin (Tournament Director Bill Hodge said that Evelyns
trophy was bigger than last years Mens Singles trophy!).
1800-1899 Singles: K. Dawidowicz ($200) d. Randy Nedrow
($100), 18 in the 5th, after Randy had downed John
Harrington ($50) in 5. 1700-1799: Paul Groenig ($160) d.
Takako Trenholme ($80). Under 1700 Singles: Barry
Margolius ($120) d. Brandon Olson ($60), deuce in the 4th,
after Brandon had survived Brian Masters ($30) in 5
Over 70s: Dr. Charles (Dutch) McCallister d. the
Paul Groenig
1974-75-76 U. S. Open Over-70 Champion Oliver Nicholas

Over 70 Champion
Charles Dutch McCallister

Over 60 Champion
Bob Green

Photo by Don Gunn

Over 50 Champion
Chuck Burns
Photo by Mal Anderson

438

whod eliminated Paul Jackson. Gene

Wilson said that back in 1957 in a
tournament in Inglewood one of the
players went into a hypoglycemia
coma and the good doctor McAllister
knew what to do to save his life.
Over 60s: Bob Green ($60)* d.
Wilson ($30). Over 50s: Chuck Burns
($80) d. Dr. Michael Scott ($40).**
Mens Over 40s: George Brathwaite
($250) d. Russ Thompson (from down
2-0), then later Jack Howard ($50) in
the semis (19 in the 4th) and Danny
Banach ($150) in the final, after Danny
George Brathwaite,
If Reisman can wear a cap,
had beaten Marv Leff, Houshang
winner of the Over 40s
why cant Danny?
Bozorgzadeh, and Tim Boggan ($50).
from Danny Banach
Womens Over 40: Leah Miss Ping
Neuberger ($100) d. Yvonne Kronlage ($50) in 5. Over 40 As: Les Enslin ($75) d. Dick
Badger ($25) whod knocked out Wilson in 5. Over 40s Consolation: Ted Stomma d. John
Mathis. Over 40 Doubles: Brathwaite/Dick Miles ($100) d. Bozorgzadeh/Boggan ($50).
Boys U-17: Schwartzberg d. Mike Lardon (from down 2-0). Semis: Schwartzberg d.
Ricky Seemiller, -17, 20, 14, 19; Lardon d. Jimmy Lane, 18 in the 5th. Noteworthy Matches:
Seemiller (from down 2-0) d. Faan Hoan Liu; Lane d. Henry Fung deuce in the 5th; and Todd
Petersen d. Scott Boggan in 5. Boys U-15: Rutledge Barry, whod been playing some tennis at
Caesars, d. Petersen in 5, then Eric Boggan whod escaped Lane in 5. Boys U-13: E. Boggan
d. Olson. Noteworthy Matches: Anthony Gonzales d. Bernie Braun, -13, 19, 21, 20, 19; and
Sean ONeill d. Keith Kalny, 17 in the 5th. U-11s: Brandon Olson d. Sean ONeill in 5.

Under 11 Champ Brandon Olson

Under 13 Champ Eric Boggan

Under 15 Champ Rutledge Barry

Girls U-17: Dawidowicz d.Liu, 24-22 in the 4th. Girls U-15: Dawidowicz d. Georgette
Rideg. Junior Consolation: R. Livingston beat R. Livingston (Richard or Robert?pick im).
439

U-17 Doubles:
Lane/F.H. Liu d. S.
Boggan/Randy
Seemiller, 23-21 in
the 5th (from down
2-0). U-15
Doubles: Barry/E.
Boggan d. Lane/
Petersen, 18 in the
4th. U-13 Doubles:
E. Boggan/Olson d.
Kalny/Masters.
Mens Singles
Danny
Caesars Palace President William E. Weinberger, flanked by Girls Under 17
Seemiller won the
Runner-up Faan Yeen Liu (L) and Champion Kasia Dawidowicz.
initial and so
historic 76 Caesars Palace Closed, held Dec. 16-19, by going through the field without losing
a single gameand this despite the fact that for the few days before the tournament started he
awoke each morning as in a dream to find the draw changed again and again. As for the venue,
he wasnt having a nightmare, but it really was dark. Said one would-be wit, Hey, did you
hear? Jose Feliciano is getting a seed here.
Still, as represented by its ever-present helpful Vice President Neil Smyth, and the
conscientious and mercifully non-officious Closed Tournament Committee of Bill Hodge, Dick
Evans,*** and Sue and Gene SargentCaesars earned our unconditional thanks. Bob
Gusikoff, Jairie Resek, and Danny Ganz all devoted much of their Topics columns to the FUN
they were having mixing among friends mid the gaming tables.**** Despite the less than ideal
playing conditions, and the fewer than expected entries (a disappointment to Hodge and
Caesars), much else was perfectthe slick 54-page Program put
together by Paul Therrio and staff,***** and especially Caesars
generosity in giving us the many free meal tickets and the reduced
room rates (its absolutely essential players stay at the sponsoring
hotel)that once the action started I heard only one complaint.
Which was that instead of seeding 24 in the Mens Singles the
Tournament Committee should have seeded 16for only the top 16
received prize money. So those who were seeded 17-24 were really
not supposed to win money in the Mens Singlesand yet they
couldnt win money in the As, for, although there was a $350 first
prize, they werent eligible to play for it. Why should these good
Paul Therrio, U.S.
players be penalized?
Closed Program Director
Bill Hodge, in his summation article (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977, 5),
said that Caesars wanted to make the tournament an annual event, and he thanked workers,
supporters, and sponsorsDiversified, Nittaku, Martin-Kilpatrick, LaLande (responsible for
trophies), Sportcraft, and Nissen. Bill explained that we couldnt use Caesars Sport Pavilion,
where the Team Trials would be held, because the WCT Tennis Matches, starring Connors and
Nastase, were booked there on the same dates. Also, as if anticipating Stan Wolfs post440

tournament criticism, Bill said publicity for our

Sport suffered because at this time Caesars was filming
boxer Alis life story, and also the AVGA awards with
Jackie Gleason and Bob Hope.
In the Mens final, Dany (thats the way hes writing his
name now?the way its spelled on the handle of the racket)
The
overpowered D-J Lee, and put to rest the sentimental speculation
Dany
Seemiller
that this Nationals could see the first husband and wife Singles
Racket
winners in History. Hodge realized that it would have been nice to
bring in bleachers for the spectators watching the final, but that was
impossible because Caesars needed this convention area daily and
couldnt handle the disruptions bleachers would cause.
The one semis saw Seemiller, in another lopsided match, get
quick revenge on Peter Pradit for the defeat hed given Danny at the
USOTCs. In the quarters, Pradit beat Lim Ming Chui in 4. But in
the 8ths, hed been perilously challenged by Raphel. Paul said he had
a dream in which he was supposed to lose to Peter deuce in the fifth.
But of course for Paul Dream sometimes had little to do with
Reality. Such seemed to be the case here. He was in the fifth alright,
but up 19-14. Make that, after exchanging two long points, 19-16.
Then, continually wiping off the handle of his racket with his no longer tucked-in shirt
(Pradits got good nerves, a guy next to me was saying), Paul just started to make easy
errors. Not once, as he lost seven straight points and the match, did he do anything
aggressivewhereas Peter hopped the ball rather easily until he got one the right height then
smacked it in for a winner.
In the other semis, there was a good match between D-J and Dannys brother Ricky
whod had to go five with Dennis Barish. Lee started off with two deep topspin serves to the
corner, was up 2-0then 8-5 as Ricky failed to return fully half of D-Js serves. Lee was
handling Seemillers serves very well and held an encouraging 12-8 lead. But up 15-14 he
served into the net and Ricky caught him at 17-all. Then, though Ricky had the serve in the
end game, D-J ran it to 20-17 his favor. SERVE SHORT! Danny yelled in disgust. But it
was too lateRicky lost the 1st.
And, still tight, he dropped a very big 2nd game at 19. In the 3rd, Seemiller shook loose,
and with D-J failing to return maybe five serves, Ricky won it at 10. In the 4th, however, Ricky
was again in trouble, down 16-12. Then, down 19-18, he thrilled the crowd by pulling out the
game. Two each.
Rickys serves could be effective, but too often he allowed D-J to spin them back.
Obviously, whoever got the chance to spin the ball was gonna win. At the turn, Seemiller was
ahead 10-9 but then D-J took control and by continually looping soft to Rickys backhand he
built up a quick 15-10 lead and held onto it to 20-15. But then Ricky made a move, got to 18
before being forced back to lob a ball that just missed the edge.
In the quarters against Galardi, in a match D-J really wanted to win (the more so
because Dean had beaten him this summer in the U.S. Opens Closed event), Lee was
devastating. A rumor had been going round about Galardihow several days earlier hed hurt
his wrist by too much backhand looping. And perhaps he wasnt at his best against Leein the
Trials to come hed finish #2 on the U.S. Mens Team. Anyway, this time Galardi never had
441

much of an
D-J Lee (L) avenging an earlier loss to Dean Galardi.
opportunity to
Photo by Barry Margolius
do anything
against Lee.
Even if
occasionally he
got the chance to
loop a ball, D-J
killed it. Dean
realized he was
serving too
longbut
apparently with
his sick wrist he
had to let the ball
come out and
then get into a
fatal re-spin
situation with D-J.
People keep saying a lot of players can beat Lee, said one knowledgeable bystander.
But when it comes to betting on any of D-Js matches theres no action.
Womens Singles
He-ja Lee, 25, won the 76 Womens Closed, defeating Insook Bhushan, 17,-19, 19,
13. To some, this might be considered an upset, for He-ja, though always a good player in
Korea, never quite reached the international level of her fellow country-woman. Insook had
fared well in Womens play in Canada and Jamaica and against many men in the U.S. She had
never been defeated by a woman living in this country until the recent Channel 11 Invitational
in Chicago where in a $300 match shed lost to the hard-hitting He-ja three straight.
As those watching in Chicago or Vegas could see, He-ja obviously knew how to play
Insook. She pushed, pushed, pushed with her, took her time until she got the right, high
enough ball, then with exceptional accuracy smacked it in.
At Caesars, Bhushan apparently couldnt convince herself to try to break up He-jas
rhythms. If Insook could have been more aggressive, flicked her backhand more and, having
flicked it, followed with a forehand, Lee couldnt have waited so comfortably to sock in her
forehand. That Insook didnt do this was perhaps the more surprising in view of the very bad
light at Caesars that she as a defensive player had to put up with. (Its like bein in a Chinese
restaurant, said one young womanyou cant see nuthin.) To compound the problem for a
defender, the squared pattern of the carpet underfoot made the ball even harder to see.
To say that Insook should have tried to flick or pick, though, is to presume that she
had the confidence to do that. Yet the Monday before the tournament she was practicing with
inverted on her forehand, then by Tuesday had switched the inverted to her backhand. Which
meant that either way she didnt have the confidence she needed.
The real problem facing Insooks table tennis future was just how much she wanted to
practice, which of course depended on what else she had going in her life. If she didnt want to
lose to He-ja, she needed to play perhaps three hours a day, five days a week. But shed also
442

want to stay home evenings with husband Shekhar. So, o.k., maybe shed continue to lose to
He-ja (but only to He-ja) and take her practice with Alan Nissen or John Tannehill when she
could. He-ja, meanwhile, being in the table tennis business with D-J, probably had ample
opportunity to practice every day with her husband or Nissen, sonetimes a sparring partner for
her too.
Lees match in the semis with
Judy Bochenski was (19, 17, -21, 20)
closer than her final. Down 20-19 in the
1st, Judy missed a big forehand. In the
2nd game, with Judys backhand starting
now to go in, there was a controversy
over the score. Apparently, the umpire
called the score wrong and neither
woman corrected him until play went
on for a couple of points. Then He-ja,
and D-J on the sidelines, thought the
score was 16-all, and Judy, and her
father on the sidelines, thought the
score was 17-15 Judys favor. It
occurred to father and daughter that DJudy Bochenski - gave He-ja her toughest match.
J, knowing the closeness of the match,
might deliberately be trying to upset Judy. The umpire ruled that play should continue from
16-all, and Judy lost that game 21-17.
In the 3rd, Bochenski was down 17-13 with He-ja serving. Whereupon Judy rallied for
a fantastic streak of 7 in a row, and now led 20-17!...Then was 21-20 match point down! Then
came through with a beautiful serve and followand it was 21-all. As He-ja prepared to serve,
someone remarked that she always puts her knuckles down on the table before she served and
speculated that perhaps this gave her an advantage, for maybe her opponents eyes were
drawn distractingly to the knuckles. This sounds knuckle-headed to me, but maybe. Judy,
however, was not distractedshe won the two points she needed, and was still in the match.
In the 4th, though, Judy took to pushing too much and He-ja was smacking in ball after
ball. Still, from down 15-12, Judy rose to 18-17. But then a fast deep serve (Right out of her
hand someone said) saved the game for He-ja and allowed her to continue on to win the
Championship.
The quarters had brought Bochenski a straight-game win over Angelita Rosal (whose
brother Stan and his wife Paula just had their first child). But in the eighths Judyd had a scare
with Junior Faan Yeen Liu. As if proving the natural smarts implicit in her name (Faanin
the nature of; Yeensmart), young Ms. Liu extended Judy into the 5th.
Bhushans match in the semis with Alice Sonne went only three games, but two of
them were deuce. At 19-all in the 1st, Alice fell back a little as she hit her forehand and the ball
didnt go in. But then she deuced it. Insook, however, got an edgewhich prompted Alice to
stop and try to compose herself. This didnt help, though, for when Insook served, Alice
immediately rolled one off. As she was changing sides, Hal stopped her, said it was deuce,
wasnt it? Its all right, Daddy, she said, as if shed seen some wishful thinking from him
before. During the 2nd game, Alice finally got the Expedite Rule inbut, down 19-14, it was
too late. And too late in the 3rd too, though again she lost a tough one, 22-20.
443

In the quarters,
Alice had defeated Patty
Martinez three straight, the
last game at 23-21. But in
the eighths, against Kasia
Dawidowicz, she was
severely pressed. After
losing the 1st at 16, Alice
led 19-14 in the 2nd when
the Expedite Rule came in.
It didnt favor her, though,
for she just barely won that
game at deuce. When
Dawidowicz took the 3rd, it
looked like that little bear
she was carrying round
with her, bought at a
Alice Green Sonne
Kasia Dawidowicz
Denver zoo, a gift from her
sister, was bringing her good luck. Of course Kasia herself was showing excellent
concentration. And, as someone pointed out to me, the shots she took she seldom overplayed.
In this long match, she was showing a great deal of patience for one so young.
But then Alice hung on to win the 4th, again at deuce. And, keeping her momentum,
took the deciding 5th. Nevertheless, Kasia, having won the Womens As and the Girls U-17s
from her formidable rival Faan Yeen, was high-spirited enough to even laugh at one of those
Polish jokes that usually incensed her father: Did you hear the one about the Polish archer
who shot an arrow into the air?...He missed.
As for Faan Yeen, she said that, well, at least she learned something from the matches.
She knew she now had to push short, vary her push more, and somehow acquire a good
backhand pick. She also began to speculate that when shed got ahead in some of the matches,
she had to have been losing concentration. When, for example, she realized that she was very
close to beating Kasia she got a little tense. Perhaps, she theorized, she was afraid of winning?
For then, what next? What would that win lead to? Where would it take me?
SELECTED NOTES.
*Know how Green won? Heresay has it that before the match Bob went off privately
and kept listening to a recording of the table tennis fight song hed written. Here, Ill show it
to you (see facing page)if it worked for Bob, maybe itll work for you too. Give it a try.
**Michael told me that Chuck came out looking like a zebra. He had on: white
stockings, black knee wrappings, white shorts, black shirt, white head-band; black gloves, and
white elbow-wrappings. Michael said hed never seen anyone wear gloves before.
Jack Howard took one look at Burns and instructed me, Dont play him when hes
dressed like that. Refuse to play.
I replied, Thats o.k. How hes dressed wont bother me.
Thats not the point, Howard said. The point is it will bother him when they make
him change.
No wonder players wanted Jack as their Team Captain, said Michael.
444

445

Dick Evans (R) has a little

setup work to do for the
Atlanta Olympics.

***This first Caesars Palace Closed, at which Tournament Director Bill Hodge asked
his old Columbus, Ohio friend Dick Evans to be Director of Physical Operations, was an
historic beginning for Dick too. It would be the first of a total of 16 U.S. Open and Closed
tournaments hed do the set-ups for, culminating, after 20 years, in his Physical
Implementation work at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
What, specifically, as Director of Physical Operations, did Dick do?
I get to the site a couple of days before the tournament starts and stay on after its
over. In the meantime Im just inconspicuous. I make sure the tables and barriers have arrived
and are set up as they should be. And dont think, say, a 50-table, 500-barrier job is easy. Even
with all the necessary tools and a foot-blistering, sweat-soaked, finally learned system of
assembly, it might still be 20 minutes a table, and literally 24 hours for three men, each
working 8-hour shifts, to set up the barriersall done on the two days before the tournament
in a not yet air-conditioned venue.
In addition, I check out the spectator-seating arrangement (maybe 5,000 chairs are
needed), and of course I check out the floor, be it wood, carpet, or concrete, check out the
lights, the P.A. system, the control desk, the scheduling flow charts, the concession
arrangements, and the early-morning clean-up. I hire and supervise the labor crew, which
means you have to know the tricks of the trade so day by day you can keep the best workers,
separate them from the minimum-hourly-wage drunks and drifters who havent enough
motivation. Im also responsible for hiring a stage-hand supervisor, a fireman, and a
policeman. Big job, huh?
446

****I wouldnt go so far as to say Pacific Coast Tournament Director Richard Alden was a
friend of Bobbys, but likely Bobby, mingling, would pass him at a blackjack table. Richard would
tell Dick Evans, Give me an hour, and Ill buy dinner. He was a card-counter, and a good one.
Jairie Resek, given the choice of joining Ali Ovessei at Baccarat, opted to play the slots with Alis
wife Doris. Danny Ganz was a big winnerat least in Don Gunns Ode poem:

*****Although Boggans How To Play article had been published earlier, Therrio
liked it and wanted it for the Program:
447

448

Chapter Thirty-Two
1976: Trials for 1977 World Team
On the day before
the Womens Team
Trials were to
begin at Caesars
Sports Pavilion, the
USTTA Executive
Committee, by a
single vote,
reversed itself and
against their own
Selection
Committees
recommendation
voted, in effect, to
Caesars Palace Sports Pavilion - site of the 1976 U.S. Team Trials.
waive the
tournament point-participation requirement. This meant that any woman whose rating was
high enough could now suddenly participate in the Tryouts, so long as she promised, should
she make the Team, to have her required points not, as anticipated by the Dec. time of these
Trials, but in the spring, before she left for the Worlds.
As you can imagine, this did not sit very well with several of the competitors,
especially those who (1) in the past couple of months had made the unusual sacrifice in time
and money of traveling to tournaments primarily to pick up their required points (which now
turned out to be not required) and (2) those who felt that, in the expected absence of three
top women players who had not made their point requirement, they would have a much better
chance of making the Team. Their position might best be typified not so much as Patty, Judy,
Olga see a chance to get a free trip to the Worlds but as A rule is a rule is a rule.
Those who stood to gain most by the E.C.s reversal were three former U.S. Team
members, Patty Martinez, Judy Bochenski, and Olga Soltesz. None of whom, if the preCaesars Palace understanding of the eligibility rule prevailed, could play in the Trialsand
this, despite what was conceded by all: that over the last half-dozen years or more these three
women had proven themselves to be among our very best players and that even now, whether
they were in practice or not, could very possibly make the Team.
There were those on the Executive Committee, myself included, who were on record
as believing that the Trials should be open to all, regardless of participation points, and that the
only criterion for making the Team was success in one final round robin. (However, in view of
the dominating play of Danny Seemiller and Insook Bhushan, Id later change my thinking
for, in case either was sick or injured, I wanted a proviso that would still allow them to be on
the Team.)
There were others on the Executive Committee who needed to be convinced not only
of the advisability of the single Tryout method in general, but more particularly of legally
waiving the participation point requirement. This was technically possible through the
loophole of pointing out that the Selection Committee, while it had implied the prospective
449

Team members need for 11 participation points by the common-sense

time of the Tryouts, it had never actually stated this deadlinepoints
had to be acquired since 7-1-76 or this season, which technically
stretched to June 31, 1977.
The arguments for waiving the point requirement rule that
were advanced, primarily (and relentlessly) by Lou Bochenski on behalf
of his daughter, were:
(1) Since the point requirement rule had not been enforced either
for the 73 or 75 Team Trials, it was hard to believe that it would
suddenly be enforced this time.
(2) There wasnt enough notice given by the E.C., and particularly
its Selection Committee, to alert the players to their need for points.
(3) The point system was ridiculous anywaysince, if the idea
Lou Bochenski
behind it was to encourage players to play in and so support U.S.
tournaments, one could go to more than half a dozen 1 and 2-Star
tournaments without getting enough points, and just three large tournaments to get enough
points. Quite obviously, if players like Judy lived hundreds of miles from some section of the
country where tournaments were regularly held, they would literally need to buy their way into
the Trials. And if they didnt have the money or the time to travel? Tough.
(4) Surely the U.S. was interested in sending its best Team. And had not Judy just
played a terrific semifinal match with the eventual U.S. Champion He-ja Lee? Did Judy look
like she couldnt play or had given up the Game? After all, how many hours of her life,
particularly in the last six years, had gone into that performance? Had she beaten He-ja, could
she also have beaten Insook and become the U.S. Champion? Was that not possible? And
wouldnt you have allowed her to play in the Trials then, or even have put her on the Team? At
21 and with her fathers table tennis business The Paddle Palace, do you think shes finished as
a serious player? Absurd.
And so Bochenski argued on through the hours of the night. (You know, Judy gave
up a chance to go to school in France this semester because she thought she could make the
Team.You know, if the USTTA would have allowed me to run those (2-Star) Regional
Trials, as they did for the last four years, Judy would have had enough points). Finally,
President Schiff wavered. Though he personally wanted to keep the points requirement, he
conscientiously agreed to again formally call the question before the Executive Committee and
let all the women players involved in the Trials individually and/or collectively come to the
Meeting and speak. Whereupon, but not without some waverings and misgivings on the part
of certain E.C. members as Ive explained in Chapter Thirty, the point requirement was
waived and the competition for places on the Womens Team, particularly for Irene Ogus,
Takako Trenholme, Kasia Dawidowicz, and Faan Yeen Liu, greatly intensified.
Initially, round robin play consisted of three seeded brackets of eight players each (the
same as for the Mens Trials), and during this first days qualifying play that established the
final 12 contenders for the Team, there were no real upsets.
In Bracket I, Insook, as expected, did not lose a matchthough, as in her Closed
singles, she again lost the first game to Olga, who throughout the Trials fluctuated in the
quality of her play. Indeed, though Olga qualified with a 6-1 record, she almost lost (12, -21,
20) to Heather Angelinetta, our persistent U.S. Womens Team Captain (who, yes, were it
possible, wouldnt object to being a player-captain).
450

Monica Rosal was third (5-2). And 11-time National titleholder Donna Chaimson
Newell (4-3) beat out Heather and Barb Taschner for the last qualifying spotthough since
Donna lost all three matches to her fellow qualifiers and these were carried over into the final
days record, the odds at the Vegas gaming tables were appreciable more to her liking than
those facing her as she continued on in theoretical contention for the Team.

Monica Rosal
Photo by Mal Anderson

Faan Yeen Liu

Photo by Don Gunn

Takako Trenholme

In Bracket II, Alice Sonne, who I knew from my head-down defeats to her at
Reismans Club, was playing better than Id ever seen her play, and, sure enough, she didnt
lose a single game. Angie Rosal was second (6-1). Takako finished third (5-2). She (19, -18, 14) put up another good fight against Angie whom shed gone five with at the Nissen Open.
The last qualifying place went to Junior Faan Yeen Liu who took a game from Rosal (that was
before Angie started serving short to her). Liu lost to Alice, -20, -18, and to Takako, -12, -19,
which was a creditable showing, and kept her in the running, if not for one of the top three places
on the Team, for the coveted fourth spot. This year, according to the new, highly controversial
selection rule for both men and women, the last person on the Team would be chosen by the
Selection Committee/E.C. and not necessarily on the basis of his/her Trials record.
In Bracket III, Judy, immediately justifying her fathers and other peoples faith in her,
was 7-0, solidifying her position as a prospective Team member with very important wins over
chief rivals Dawidowicz, Martinez, and Ogus. Against Kasia, Judy wasnt hitting well. It
hadnt helped, she said, to play easy matches and then have to play Kasia. Even as she often
found herself on the defensive, blocking Kasias loops, she kept thinking that she was
supposed to hit soft. Was that not the safe way you played women you were supposed to
beat? Hardly. It wasnt safe to lose the first game, and after Kasia took to chopping too much,
it still wasnt safe to relax leading 18-11 in the 3rd. Down 20-18 Kasia deuced it, then watched
Judy get a net to go ad up and then win it after a fierce struggle at match point.
Patty was the #2 qualifier (6-1). But she was very lucky to prevail, -9, 19, 12, over
Ogus, the former English star who in 1971 made the U.S. Team but couldnt go to the Worlds
in Japan. Unknown to her, nobody ever bothered to tell her, the Team was not funded and she
hadnt the money, especially at the last minute, to send herself. After which, feeling no love for
the USTTA, she stayed out of competition for four years, during which time she had more bad
luckgot phlebitis and was even now, because of the breakdown of the veins in her legs,
wearing support stockings.
451

Add to this the further

psychological handicap of the
USTTA suddenly changing its
mind and allowing Bochenski,
Martinez, and Soltesz to play
when, if they didnt, she would
be a favorite to make the Team,
its perhaps surprising that more
often than not she seemed quite
cheerful and really had her head
together. She absolutely
Irene Ogus
destroys Patty in their first
game, 21-9. At which point, Patty, at a loss what to do, looks to
Patty Martinez
Darryl, the fellow shes long been living with and soon intends to
marry, and sees his coaching gesture of advicethat is, hes holding up a little drink of scotch
for her.
As it happens, Patty hates scotch, but, what the hell, she instinctively goes over to
Darryl for comfort (for many years shed been used to getting good advice from her father).
And, surprisingly, Darryl, who knows nothing about table tennis (or does he?), begins telling
her a few things. Like how shes been hitting too much to Irenes backhand, and how shes
been allowing Irene to set herself up to hit her forehand. If that first game would have been
close, Patty later said, I would have thought, What does he know? I wouldnt have listened
to him. But now, she thought, What do I have to lose by testing out his advice? Sometimes,
she knew, someone on the outside could see better than she herself what was going on in the
inside. And though the transition in her play took a little time, Patty, who a few minutes
earlier didnt think she had a chance, won the second at 19, and then the match.
Irene thus ended up third (5-2), which included a little (15, -18, 17) trouble with U.S.
Intercollegiate Champ Sheila ODougherty. Keeping her young hopes alive by finishing fourth
(4-3) was 15-year-old Kasia. Although she would have to carry over three losses, there was
still the chance of her being awarded the fourth position on the Team should she do well in the
final days playthe more so because of her great 11, -17, -20 match with Judy.
The next day, after two rounds of play, there was an unexpected development.
Martinez could no longer continueshed done something to her arm, and, after losing to
Olga and Insook, she would have to default to Alice and Angie and four other players whom
she figured to beat. Wow! Eight matches, half of them intense, on this one day. You had to be
fit, huh? They took Patty off to a local hospital where she hoped she could get a pain-killer
that would enable her to return and play her matches. Give me what you give football
players, she said to the doctor. But, no, he didnt want to take that responsibility. Did he have
her permission to x-ray for calcium deposits? No. Some pills perhaps to make the
inflammation go down? They brought her back with her arm in a sling. So much for the
Birmingham Worlds.
With Patty out of it, and Donna Newell, in particular, having her troubles, the
contenders with the best chances were narrowing down. Takako could not afford her loss to
Monica. Faan Yeen, though she beat Monica, could not afford her loss to Takako. Neither
helped herself with losses to Kasia. But Kasia dropped a match to Monica that hurt her badly.
The records of these women, all of them losing on average four three-game matches against
452

top contenders, eventually more or less evened outMonica finished at 3-8, Takako at 4-7,
and the two juniors, Faan Yeen and Kasia, also at 4-7, though in considering these results
youd have to take into account that Kasia, who beat Angie, unlike the others didnt get a
default win over Patty.
Kasias match with Alice is a beauty. Its expedite and 15-all in the 3rd. If Alice wins it,
shes made the Team; if Kasia wins it, the Selection Committee is sure to consider her
favorably. Both Alice and Kasia are feeling the pressure. Kasia continues to miss every
forehand off the end of the table. Her father, Bohdan, says his daughter isnt moving. Its 1816, Alice, then she pushes two off and one into the net19-18, Kasia. But now Alice gets
hold of herself and smacks one in19-all. Then 20-19 match point, Kasia. Then 20-all. And
Kasia can hear her father talking. Hes been coaching her since she was seven. Quiet! she
yells. Part of Kasias success is that she has a mind of her own, knows exactly what she can do
with her game and does it.
Dawidowicz, serving, is in no panic to hitfinally half hits, half rolls four in a row, but
cant get through, and Alice returns the 13th ball. Now its Alices serveshe temporizes one
shot, then quickly tries to end it all. She doesnt. But again gets the ad. Repeats her (Oh! Why
cant I get just one more point!) strategy. Then, with Kasia serving, Alice gets into trouble
taking a swing at a ball she doesnt have to. It looks like all shes thinking about is how quickly
she wants to be on the Team. But then she hits one in to deuce it. After which Kasia misses
another loop and Alice again quickly hits and misses. How long can this go on? But in another
moment, Hal, Alices father-coach, is out on court hugging his daughter.
Later, alluding to what many feel is an injustice toward some top Mens players (a
topic Ill cover shortly), Alice says to President Schiff and some members of the Selection
Committee, Whats this new rule about being too old to play at 22? Im 25 now and Ive
never played better. I feel good. I think I have a future in this gameI feel my table tennis life
is just beginning!
So, o.k., the Team positions are starting to be defined. First, as anticipated, is Insook
with a perfect 11-0 record. Only Alice (10-1), whos beaten everyone else, has given her some
really worrisome moments. Astonishingly, the New Yorker had won the 1st 21-6! And with
Insook still not showing a good touch on her push, its 16-all in the 3rd, and theyre in
Expedite. But Alice cant quite do itfinally loses the match 21-18 on an irretrievable net.
That leaves who for the third and the (selected) fourth position? Those still struggling in
contentionOlga, Irene, Angie, Judy? Or Kasia, who, in losing so closely not only to Alice (26-24
in the 3rd) but to Judy (22-20 in the 3rd) and Olga (21-19 in the 3rd), has shown such promise? Or
even possibly Faan Yeen (who played contested matches against Alice, Judy, Angie, and Olga)?
Kasias record is clearly superior to Faan Yeens (though if Faan Yeen had played and
beaten Patty that would have furthered the similarity between them). If it were mandatory that
one of these two juniors be placed on the Team, most (though not all) would say that Kasia
certainly deserved the edge. Bobby Gusikoff in his Topics column, Match Point, would
complain that the USTTA had a perfect candidate in Kasia for the youth member theyd
always been trying to put on a Teamand they bypassed her. Any other Association in the
world would have put her on the Team. Thus our Association, says Bobby, proves again their
total incompetence in dealing fairly and intelligently with any issue of true importance.
I would assume that, in the eyes of any E.C. member, had Kasia won two of those
three very close matches she lost (to finish 6-5), she would have been on the Team. In her
stead would bewho?
453

Olga, thought to be out of practice, nevertheless

pulled out four very close 3-game matches against
Monica, Takako, Faan Yeen, and Kasia. And having
beaten Patty earlier she was in good position to
make the Team. Yet, like Judy, she finished 7-4
which in percentage of games won and lost (13-11
for Judy; 14-12 for Olga) was slightly inferior to
Judys. This small percentage difference would be
quite costly to Olga. Where did she run afoul?
Against Alice, Olga might have won two
straightbut she lost, -19, 9, -15. And in the later
stages of play, after surviving for so long, she finally
dropped an absolutely crucial match to Ireneonly
Olga Soltesz
one game of which she had to win to become the
Photo by Mal Anderson
fourth-place and not the fifth-place (1st Alternate)
finisher. As for Irene, in losing to four of the five top
seeds and Faan Yeen, she posted a 6-5 recordnot good enough. Its still surprising to me,
after all these years, to see how just a few points at the right time makes all the difference
between what might be the trip of a lifetime to the Worlds or just one more disappointing
tournament that might finally persuade you to give up the Game forever.
Perhaps
this difference
is nowhere
better
illustrated than
in the match
between Angie
and Judy.
Angies not
been playing
too well. Its a
break for her
Angelita Rosal
Judy Bochenski
that she didnt
have to play
Patty. And does she look good against Judy? She does notis down 1-0 and 20-16 match
point. If Judy wins, shes a lock for 3rd place and doesnt have to worry about being selected.
Butyou guessed itshe falters and Angie stays determined. Lord, says Angie, please
keep me humble, and let me win. In a near miraculous moment its 20-all. O.k., Lord, Im
humble, says Angie, now let me win! And, flashing in her flat backhand, she does win the
game. And the next one too. Joyfully returning to her seat, she points to her two socksone
red, one blue. Ive never lost in four years with these socks, she says. Never.
Judy, as if still in shock, goes off to get pummeled by Olga. Then sits and waits to hear
if shes going to be displaced by the Selection Committee/E.C. No, Judys not thinking of age
discrimination, of hiring Hal Green as her lawyer. On the contrary. If I dont make the Team,
she says, in a kind of dreamy paralysis, Ill go back to school. You know, you have to think
about your future.
454

U.S. Mens Team Trials

On the day before the Mens Team Trials were to begin and after (USTTA Tournament
Chairman?) Neal Fox had prematurely read out the names of those 24 men players who by
their accumulated tournament participation points and highest ratings were eligible to
participate in said Trials, the USTTA E.C. changed its mind and waived the pointparticipation requirement. Which meant that Henry Fung, a player who immediately following
the Closed Championships had left Vegas, and Bernie Bukiet, a player whod planned to stay
on as a spectator for the Trials, were unexpectedly eligible to play.
This sudden decision to do away with the point requirement rule caused some
confusion, disorder, and ill-feeling. Every big tournaments marred by something, someone
said. Things never change. Theres still all this fighting. Indeed. Another announcement on
the morning of the Trials brought news of stronger dissension. Even as the round robin draws
were being made, four of the countrys top players were boycotting the Trials. D-J Lee (finalist
in the Mens Singles), George Brathwaite (Senior Singles and Doubles winner), Mens
semifinalist Peter Pradit (old at 28?), and former U.S. Team member John Tannehill (old at
24?) were boycotting the Trials in protest over the USTTAs new method of selecting the
Team.
President Sol Schiff said he wanted a
youth-oriented Team (age 17-21) and,
though it was likely such a Team would
pretty much naturally evolve in the course of
round robin play, certain insurance rules
had been laid down by the Selection
Committee/E.C., which a few members,
including myself, were not in favor of.
Sol Schiff (L) and
Brathwaitesee
his article Denied Equal
George Brathwaite
Opportunity (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977, 19)was
outraged at the new method of selection. He said that our despotic
President Schiff showed blatant age-discrimination in unconstitutionally
wanting to keep certain players, all with a good chance of making the Team, from
trying out. This, he said, made the Trials a farce, a disgrace, an insult to all players.
Im sure Rufford Harrison didnt like this accusation, for, as he says in a Dec. 31st,
1976 letter to Disciplinary Chair Michael Scott, Brathwaite, Lee, and Pradit had, by their
entry, signed an availability contract, as it were, which they then broke on the very morning of
the Trials. This caused the entire format of the tournament to be changed. Rufford asks
Scott to see if disciplinary action is appropriate. In his protest article, George draws attention
to the fact that a top player, a U.S. Team Alternate, told Harrison that another top player was
using performance-enhancing drugs (the names of these unnamed players being for some not
too hard to deduce).*
Only a few U.S. women were concerned about who might be selected as #4 on the
Team, but the men had more of a worry. The #1 and #2 finishers were automatically safe. But
the others.The #3 would be a Junior finishing in the top 10, or, if no Junior did that, the #3
would be the highest-finishing Youth in the top 10 (as in those eligible for the newly popular
Young Adults or Under 21 events at various tournaments). The #4 would be the next
highest Youth finisher. And the #5 player would be decided by the Selection Committee/E.C.
Obviously old players, 22 or over, were at a tremendous disadvantage under this system
455

for, unless they finished either 1st (which Danny Seemiller was almost certain to do) or 2nd,
they could not be assured of making the Team.
Before D-J withdrew from the Trials, hed tried again to get the E.C. to change this
new selection process. But though Id voted with him against it before, and still thought it
wrong, I now felt, amid the confusion already rampant that, were we even to attempt to
change the process, it would be far too drastic a psychological shift for most of the people
concernedthe younger players, the E.C. members (Schiff was again speaking of resigning),
and the harried Tournament Committee whod already announced their reluctance to run the
Trials (yes, they were going to continue their commitment, but under protest).
It was uncertain whether my own two boys could possibly get to the round of 12. I
wanted them to play in the Trials, but if by some miracle one or the other could finish in the
Top 10 my joy would be undercut if it cost someone I much admired, like Pradit, his place on
the Team. I urged Peter to play, said that if he came 3rd (and Danny was 1st or 2nd) theyd have
to put him on the Team. But he was pessimistically saying such things as Ive lived my life
let your son play in my place.
Some thought that, if Schiff wanted Juniors on the Team, why didnt he give them
more of an opportunity to get into, as one fellow said, the USTTAs Keeno Game, the 24entry preliminary round robin (that included Bernie Bukiet and Bohdan Dawidowicz). A mini
round-robin was held among six JuniorsEric Boggan, Dean Doyle (who, after losing to
Brandon Olson, the Closed U-11 Champion, had collected $200 for getting to the eighths of
the Mens), Jimmy Lane, Mike Lardon, Faan Hoan Liu, and Randy Seemiller. (Had Rutledge
Barry not left Vegas, he would have been asked to play too.) Eric (5-0) and Jimmy (2-3)
joined Scott Boggan and Charles Butler to take the place of the four whod boycotted the
Trials. (Apparently Scott and Charles barely qualified by their rating.)
The format was the same as the Womensa first round robin of three brackets of 8
players, then top four in each would advance with carryovers to the final round robin of 12.
In Bracket I, Danny Seemiller, who understandably didnt think he ought to have been
forced to play in these Trials (hadnt he more than proved himself over the last few years?),
finished 1st, winning all 7 of his matches in straight games. Dean Galardi (6-1), came 2nd
(though he had three-game trouble with Dave Philip and Eric Boggan). Philip (4-3/9-9) was 3rd
(How about these guys? he said. Are they trying to tell me Im all through playing at 24?)
And Mike Bush (4-3/8-9), having beaten Eric from 9-4 down in the 3rd, and having
gotten by Closed Class A Champ Jerry Thrasher in a 19, -18, 15 swing match, finished 4th
and this despite a loss to John Soderberg. Mike, however, whom Maxwell Lawrence had
gotten into the steak and seafood business (Heyyy, want a couple of dollars off on the shrimp,
just call me), was in a better position than Philip because he didnt have to carry over his loss
to John but did get to count his win over Dave.
Bracket II saw Ray Guillen (6-1) finish 1st. He was lucky, thoughhis loss to Alan
Nissen didnt carry over. Earlier, Ray had confided that he couldnt see how any top player
could resort to pushing. Now here he was against Alanrecovering from being down 1-0
and 19-12 in the 2nd, only to fall 14-8 behind in the 3rd, then, pushing his way into Expedite,
climbing back to14-16. But then Alan got a net and, as one spectator put it, Ray just choked
out. Guillen was fortunate, too, in that Roger Sverdlik had him 18-11 in the 1st and let him
slip away. Of course Ray had Roger 15-9 in the 2nd and returned the favor. But after Roger
lost the 3rd he had the distinct impression he should have won two straightsuch is the way
leading players feel.
456

Sverdlik and Lim Ming Chui both qualified with 5-2 records. Ming, who two years ago
wasnt too old to compile a marvelous record at the Calcutta Worlds, practically ruined his chances
to make the team this year when he dropped early matches to Guillen and Sverdlik. Roger had what
he hoped would be a phantom loss to Dawidowicz (formerly the #4 player on the Polish Team?),
but Bohdan beat Everett, Nissen, and Butler and so made the last qualifying spot.
The worst defeat in Bracket II, however, was the one
U.S. Junior Champion Schwartzberg suffered. It was
thought, especially by those whod seen him practice these
last two months in Pittsburgh with the Seemillers, that he
might make the Team. If he could get into the final round of
12, he had only, with his 2200 rating, to finish in the top 10,
and hed be in. But Perry had very bad luck in losing to
Sverdlik after having him match point and missing a near
hanger that would have put Roger out of the Trials and
Perry in. Also, there was Schwartzbergs match against
Nissen (was it five minutes prior to their encounter that
somebody wanted to shake Alans handand he wouldnt
Perry Schwartzberg - still a little dazed
do it because he didnt want to take the paddle out of his
hand?). Against Nissen, Perrys concentration failed him (up
18-16 in the 3rd, he served off), and Alan, with a near maniacal look, triumphed wild-eyed to
the spectators, 21-19. But losses to Everett and Dawidowicz kept him from the round of 12.
In Brackett III, Ricky Seemiller (7-0), losing only one game (to Scott Boggan), came
st
1 . Paul Raphel (5-2) fnished 2nd. One of his losses was to young Jimmy Lane that potentially
could be devastating if psychologically he had to carry over such baggage. Probably safely in
was Dave Sakai (4-3)though he wasnt happy about his loss to Lane and Jimmys 1000%steady, rolling forehand. Lane was in very good shapehe had three wins (one of which was
over Barish whod hurt his leg and after playing three matches had to default), and only one
loss (to Ricky). Were Lane to win two of his last three matches against Fagan, Bukiet, and
Boggan, hed be 5-2 and a lock to advance. If Lane were to beat only Bukiet, the worst he
could do was finish 4-3 and be tied with Sakai and possibly either Boggan or Fagan (still with
possible 4-3 records) for the two spots available. This meant a tie-breaker was possible
involving two Juniors.
Never mind, we wont go thereit aint gonna happen. But these last matches with
Lane, Fagan, and Boggan all trying to avoid a 4th loss that would keep them from advancing
sure provided possibilities for drama. Especially since were Jimmy, a Junior, to qualify, he
would carry over two wins. This would mean that on the final day of play hed need to win
only one match, or perhaps not even that, to be on the Team. It looked like Schiffs new
selection format might soon have 14-year-old Jimmy Lane in Birminghamwhich though it
made a number of people happy turned others aghast!
But, like Schwartzberg, Lane began to run into some very bad luck. Up 12-2 in the 3rd
against Fagan, and playing confidently, coolly, his place in the next-day Trials looking more
and more likely, one of those unaccountable things happenedand Fagan, bolstered by the
late-game arrival of some of his and Schwartzbergs sometimes a little too noisy friends, rallied
and astonishingly won the match to keep his own qualifying hopes alive.
The Fagan-Boggan match was thus a big one, for the loser would drop his 4th and thus
one too many match. As it happened, Scott played well and Gary did not. Exit Fagan.
457

Meanwhile, the legendary Bukiet, who had been on a record 8

U.S. World Teams but who in these Trials had not yet won a match,
was trying hard against Lane. Not just because I made sure he was
aware of what might be the all-important Scott-Jimmy match shaping
up, but because Bernies still got a lot of pride. And whether or not
hes wearing his Playboy shirt and a mischievous grin, he has ingrained
in him a lifetime of stubbornly wanting to win (even in exhibitions
where he wasnt supposed to). The 1st game at deuce with Bernie
and Jimmy can go either way. It goes to Bernie, 24-22. And Lane
cant get going in the 2nd.
So now its Scott and Jimmy, each with 3-3 records, for the 4th
qualifying spot. Scotts brother Eric has been beating Lane in crucial
matches this yearbut Scott has never played him Some of the
players intently watching the match are rooting for Scott because if he
wins he will be the only Junior in the Trials and since hes lost to
Seemiller, Raphel, and Sakai, he wont have any carryover wins. Whereas
if Jims the victor and carries over his two wins against Raphel and Sakai,
Bernie Bukiet
those in contention will have less chance of making the Team.
Paul has perched himself up on the railings overlooking the matchand Im afraid hes
going to upset Scotts concentration. Lane has this habit of speaking out a No! in a high,
squeaky, barely audible voice when he misses a crucial shot, and Raphel, both when hes lost
to him, and occasionally even now as hes watching, has mimicked him back a falsetto Yes.
The juxtaposition of these two responses really moved me because, on the one hand, I
was struck by Lanes great intensity, poignantly expressed by his frail little cry, and, on the
other, by Pauls undercutting mockery, which Im sure was thought monstrous by some. But
Pauls Yes was to me nothing malicious or calculatingly personal. You might say he was
W.C. Fields-like in his instinctive disdain for the everybody-likes-a-well-mannered-child clich.
Yes, Pauls got an ego, wants attention, but those who know him well, like fellow Californian
Danny Goodstein, insists theres no selfishness in him, and that hes a nice and gentle man
who would never harm a soul. Anyway, Lane didnt really seem affected by Paul or my shouts of
encouragement
to Scott or any
other cheers and
yells, pro or con,
and was up 1815 in the 1st.
Then Scott just
played extremely
well and ran off
six points. And,
still playing well,
won the next
game from the
very
Scott Boggan
Jimmy Lane
disappointed
Photo by Mal Anderson
Californian.
458

The next morning around 10:00 oclock theres serious talk about what the order of
the matches ought to be. Friends ought to play friends early, so theres less chance of
collusion. And those whore apt to lose interest if theyre not competing meaningfully should
play Boggan earlyconceivably, Scott might need only two wins to make the Team. Neal Fox
and Sue and Gene Sargent are conscientiously making inquiries among the players themselves
to find the best order of play. Yes, Danny would meet Ricky early, Sverdlik-Sakai, and so on.
One jokester suggested that if anyone was caught dumping he should be punished by having
to attend five E.C. Meetings.
At 8:45 a.m., Boggan was practicing his serves alone in the hall, then he opened
against the unpredictable Chui. Since Scott would later beat Philip (19 in the 3rd), this match
was considered very important. I thought Scott had an outside chance to win and I was right,
but he lost 18 and 20. Although he was never to win more than the one match, had he beaten
Chui right off (Ming was to win only once more, against the hapless Philip), Scotts chances
for making the Team would have been good.
So, new selection system or not, there would be no Juniors, boys or girls, going to the
Birmingham Worlds as players or observers. Actually, from this point on, the Trials were not
very dramatic. Play went very much as expectedwith the lower-rated good players
scrambling unsuccessfully amongst themselves for wins that could possibly raise them into
some kind of contention.
Danny didnt lose a match; indeed, he lost only one singles game the entire time he was
in Vegasto Chui. Galardi, who when he wasnt playing, appeared never to get up from his
outstretched blanket on the seat of his eyrie nest high up in a corner of the bleachersnot
even to eatwas 2nd with a 9-2 record, losing only to Danny and Ray Guillen.
Raphel, Guillen, and Ricky Seemiller were a microscopically close 3-4-5, each having
identical records (8-3/16-8) so that the final placings had to be decided by points won/lost.
There was some apprehension up until the end that the Selection Committee/E.C. with their
dreaded power to select the 5th man regardless of his finishing position, might not pick one of
these three players. But when Ricky came fifth, there was no chance theyd pick a Junior over
him, or D-J Lee who didnt try out.
Raphel, given new life by Lanes failure to get into the final 12, lost only to the
Seemillers and Galardi. Ray, who lost only to the two Seemillers and Raphel, put on several
exhibition-like matches for the crowd and indulged in his usual mild trash-talk. Against Ricky
its deuce in the 1st when Ray suddenly stops play, turns to the noisy spectator-players, and
says in that firm yet curiously deferential manner of his, Were playing here to go to England.
What could possibly be more important than that? Comes back the answer, Well, if you
dont like our conversation, why dont you play on the back table?
Guillens response is to super-loop in Rickys serve to get the ad. Then he whiffs the
follow to his own serve. Loses another point, then counters to deuce it. Again, deuce. Then,
match-point down, deja-vu, Ray super-loops in. He turns to the audience and says modestly,
Now thats when you ought to make the noise. But, back knocking down the barriers and
trying still another (spectacular? ridiculous?) loop kill, he doesnt win the game or the match.
Later, in his last match with Scott Boggan, where, with the score 12-all, if he loses this
game he comes 5th and is dependent on others opinions of him to make the Team, he abruptly
throws his racket onto the table and stalks off the court. Its attention-getting alright, but he is
irritated by the laughing, talking, uncaring crowd. Sponge really ruined the game, says
someone also disaffected. I thought Ray was damn well justified in not playing until the
459

insulting noise stoppedand I loudly made this thought

known to the crowdwho heard and heeded me. Ray
came back, beat Scott.
Ricky would have finished 2nd or 3rd had he not lost
to Dawidowicz, a professional soccer player for 25 years
and a table tennis player for 30. In Poland, where he was a
National League player, all Bohdan did was play table
tennis. Every week, he said, there was a Match or a
tournament. It was a life he loved.
Rickys always had trouble with consistent
choppers and Dawidowiczs Phantom 009 enabled him to
put a lot of low dead spin on the ball so that Ricky often
had to lift more than he was used to. And when he tried to
play too safe, Bodhan could come gracefully in with his
Butterfly backhand pick. As a result, Ricky didnt average
15 points a game. Dawidowicz, like Sakai whom he made
arm-weary, finished with a 4-7 record.
Mike Bush, having
learned everybodys
Bohdan Dawidowicz
game in the East, had
Photo by Mal Anderson
gone to the West
Coast for several months but still hadnt been able to beat
the Californians. He lost three critical matches to Ray,
Dean, and Paul. And when he couldnt beat the
Seemillers he finished 6-5. This made him the 1st
Alternate.
For a short time it was thought that if Mike paid his own
way to Birmingham he might be able to play not in the
Team event but in the Singles and Doubles. Because
Danny had a World ranking, the U.S. was entitled to
another place in the Draw? Afraid notDannyd have to
Mike Bush
be ranked in the Top Ten for that. Going into the
Worlds, he was #39. When I talked to Mike some time
after his trials at Caesars, he said he hadnt been playinghad, in fact, lost his desire to play.
He had gotten good, but not good enough. Think hell give it up?
SELECTED NOTES.
*It wasnt only Harrison who heard this charge that one of the players in the Trials was
playing under the influence of drugs, but quite a few others, including myself. Perhaps the
USTTA should have strict Doping Laws? Perhaps all of those (some of those?) who played
in the Trials should have been subjected to another kind of test? Perhaps any really interested
player or official should have speedily raised this question of drug-taking long before play had
gone so far? For naively (would you say?) no one, player or official, was adequately prepared
to take just (or, careful, unjust) action at this point in time.

460

461

Chapter Thirty-Three
1976: World-Class Play Meant To Orient (Not Scare) Our Birmingham Teams.
So if, through hoped-for sterling play in 77 in Birmingham, England, our U.S. Teams
advance to the Championship Division, theyre likely to meet in 79 in Pyongyang, North
Korea...who?
Ill start with the Asians, then go on to the most significant year-ending European
tournaments. Our Yugoslav correspondent Zdenko Uzorinac (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1976, 3) tells
us that one of the greatest tournaments in the world took place in Shanghai, Sept. 19-22
Chinas Friendship Invitational. But before the table tennis action started, all of China stood
and paid their last respects to Chairman Mao. National table tennis representatives were part
of a mass of a million people at Pekings Great Square who observed three minutes of silence
for this unforgettable man.
In Mens Team play, underdog Japan defeated Mighty
China, 5-3. Of course some thought this curious
considering that in the same tournament the last four in
Mens Singles were all Chinese who virtually destroyed their
enemies. In this overture for the Birmingham Worlds,
China did not play such well-known masters as Hsu Shao-fa
and Hsi En-ting, but they did use Liang Ko-liang and Li
Chen-shih (though not Li in the Teams!). In going with
Wang Wen-jung and Kuo Yao-hua, China kept in the
shadows Huang Liang, 19-year-old famous shakehands
defensive artist. Considered Chinas most dangerous (if not
so secret) weapon, Liang is introduced to us (TTT, JulyAug., 1976, 7-A; 27-A) by Scottish Champion Richard Yule.
Richard says that when playing Liang 99% of the
Richard Yule
From
1977
World Program;
points are won or lost on the second or third ball. He
photo by John Elder
applies severe backspin to the ball and with apparently the
same action applies a severe lack of spin. Consequently his
opponents just cant maintain a rallythey return the ball low into the net or high enough
for Liang to loop-kill or smash in a winner. His
racket is a masked accomplice: inverted
backhand side with a thin layer of sponge but
extremely thick rubber; pips-out forehand side
with pips 2mm in length and extremely soft.
Yule speculates that table tennis is
becoming too difficult to play. Speeds are
approaching human reaction time and a
tremendous amount of practice time is required
to gain the necessary ball control.
Standardization of playing surfaces are needed.
Shanghai Results: Mens Team: Final:
Japan (5)China A (3). Takashima d. the 1975
Chinas Wang Wen-jung
Chinese Champion Wang Wen-jung, 17, 11;
From English TT News, Dec., 1975
462

Tetsuo Inoue lost to Liang Ko-liang, -13, -18; Kohno d. Kuo Yao-hua, 16, 20; Takashima d.
Liang-19, 15, 20; Kohno d. Wang, 14, 19; Inoue d. Kuo, 14, 19; Kohno lost to Liang, 13, -16,
17; Takashima d. Kuo, 18, 20. Some other ties: Japan d. Sweden, 5-1 (Johansson didnt play,
was recovering from a knee operation); Sweden d. Yugoslavia, 5-1 (Stipancic didnt play,
was in the Army); China A d. Yugoslavia, 5-1, Japan d. Yugoslavia, 5-3, China A d. Sweden, 51.Final Placement: 1. Japan. 2. China A. 3. Sweden. 4. Yugoslavia. 5. West Germany. 6.
Romania. 7. France. 8. China B (just a filler team at this Friendship tournament?).
Womens Team: Final: China (3)Japan (1). Chang Li d. Fumiko Shinpo, 3-1; Chang
Te-ying d. Sachiko Yokota, 2-0; Chang Li/Yang Ying lost to Yokota/Shinpo; 0-2; Chang Li d.
Yokota, 2-0. Some other ties: China d. Sweden, 3-1; Japan d. Yugoslavia, 3-0; Sweden d.
Yugoslavia, 3-1.Final Placement: 1. China. 2. Japan. 3. Sweden. 4. Yugoslavia. 5. Romania.
6. France. 7. China B. 8. West Germany.
Mens Singles. Final: former China Champ Li Chen-shih
d.76 Asian Champ Liang Ko-liang, 22-20 in the fourth. Semis:
Li d. former Chinese Champ Kuo Yao-hua, 22-20 in the 5th;
Liang Ko-liang d. Huang Liang, -15, 13, 18, 17. Quarters: Liang
Ko-liang d. Norio Takashima, 17, 18, 19; Huang Liang d. Stellan
Bengtsson, 15, 15, 18; Li Chen-shih d. Mitsuru Kohno, 8, 10, 17, 21; Kuo Yao-hua d. Katsuyuki Abe, 16, 18, 8.
Womens Singles.
Final: Chinas left-handed
76 Asian Games
Champion Chang Li, by
far the best woman player,
d. Ke Hsin-ai, 15, 12, -17,
14. Semis: Chang Li d
Chang Te-ying (whom our
Insook would play a
marvelous match against in
Birmingham); Ke Hsin-ai
d. Yang Ying, 17, 20, 19.
Quarters: Chang Li d. Eva
Ferenczi, 3-0; Chang Teying d. Shinpo, 3-0; Ke
Hsin-ai d.Erzebet
Palatinus, 3-0;Yang Ying d.
European Cadet Champ
Gordana Perkucin.
Mens Doubles:
Erzebet Palatinus, Yugoslavias 1976
Final: Secretin/Birocheau
National Champion
d. Surbek/Jurcic, 23, 18, 13, 18. Both these teams beat the top Chinese in the semis.
Womens Doubles: Final: Yokota/Shinpo d. Chang Li/Chang Teying, 21, 15, 19. Mixed Doubles: Surbek/Palatinus d. Isao
Nakandakare/Yokota, -19, 16, -15, 12, 21. Doubles results were
appropriate for a Friendship Invitational, said Zdenko.
Chinas Chang Te-ying
463

France went to the Oct. 22-24 Polish Open at Krakow and did quite well. Jacques
Secretin won the Mens from his teammate Patrick Birocheau who stands out in the French
record books as a National Mens Championthat title coming in the midst of a lost-count
(16? 17? 18?) group of others all won by Secretin. In the Womens, Frances Claude Bergeret,
after downing Ivaszko in 5, lost in the final to the Czech Blanka Silhanova. Mens Doubles:
Secretin/Birocheau over Mesaros/Molnar. Womens Doubles: Ursula Hirschmuller/
Schmidt over Marie Lindblad/Anneli Hernvall. Mixed Doubles: Kucharski/Patko over
Molnar/Ivaszko.
Yugoslavia made its mark at both the Italian Open and the Balkan
Games. In Milan, in the Mens final, Zoran Kalinic stood tall, rallying
against teammate Jurcic from down 2-1 and 20-all in the 4th. In the
semis, it was Kalinic over Polands Stanislaw Franczyk, and Jurcic over
Denmarks Johnny Hansen. Two Yugoslavs also fought it out in the
Womens finalBranka Batinic beat Dubravka Fabri in the 5th. Mens
Doubles went to Bosi/Malesei over the Netherlands pair of Van Der
Helm/Van Slobbe. Womens Doubles to the Yugos over Belgiums
Germiat sisters. In the Mixed, Kalinic/Batinic were upset by Van Der
Helm/Hetzel.
At the Balkan Games in Samsun, Turkey, Zoran Zoki Kosanovic,
who in a few years will be immigrating to Canada, defeated Bulgarias
Djevat Hassanov to win the Mens. Batinic beat Maria Alexandru, 18 in
the 5th, in the Womens. But Alexandru paired with Rumanias Teodor
Doru Gheorghe to win the Mixed. Gheorghe/Serban Dobosi (both of whom beat
Karakasevic in the Teams) took the Mens Doubles from Karakasevic/Kosanovic. Three
decades later, Doru will be our USATTs Executive/Technical Director and National
Coach.
The three most important European winter tournaments are played back-to-back-toback from Nov. 18-20 (Yugoslav Open) through Nov. 25-28 (Scandinavian Open) through
Dec. 3-5 (French Open). Players look to peak for these before resting and preparing to peak
again for the Mar. 26-Apr. 5 Worlds.
Zdenko Uzorinac, in his report on the 1976 Novi Sad Yugoslav Open (TTT, Jan.-Feb.,
1977, 2) said the Fair Hall venue drew 130 players from 17 nations. Attending were the
Chinese, whose Team in Birmingham figured to be Liang Ko-liang (in the latest World
Rankings printed in the Mar.-Apr., 77 issue of Topics, World #3), Kuo Yao-hua (the
Defending Mens Champion here and World # 2), Li Chen-shih (World #6), and miraculous
defender Huang Liang (World #12).
Zdenko, in covering the Team final between China and Yugoslavia, said that after
Dragutin Surbek (World # 5) had beaten KuoYao-hua, and Kosanovic had lost to Liang Koliang, the Yugos had won the doubles to take a 2-1 lead. Of course the partisan audience was
wired for an upsetSurba! Surba! they were screaming. But though the acrobatic Surbek
went all-out against Liang, and though at 20-20 a first game was within his reach, he lost two
straight, as did Kosanovic to Liang Ko-liang.
China blitzed North Korea to win the Womens Teamswith Ke Hsin-Ai downing
World Champion PakYung Sun two straight. Womens Singles: In the final, the North Korean
Pak (World #1), nothing to it, reversed her loss in the Teams to Ke Hsin-Ai (World #3)won
easily, 10, 14, 17. Semis: Pak over Chang Te-ying (World #4); Ke over Chu Hsiang Yun.
464

Womens
Doubles: Ke Hsinai/Lin Hsin Jin
over Chang Teying/Chu Hi Sin,
16, 9, 16. Mixed
Doubles: Liang
Ko-liang/Ke Hsinai over Orlowski/
Ilona Uhlikova.
In the
Mens Singles, the
Hungarians, with
all their big
guns blazing
Jonyer, Gergely,
and Klampar
surprised
everyone
(including the
Chinese
Ke Hsin-ai (R) and Pak Yung Sun will split matches at the Yugoslav Open
apparently, for
they didnt have a man in the final). Uzorinac said the Hungarians are the strongest team in
Europethough he doesnt try to explain their 3-1 loss here in the Teams to Sweden (in
Johanssons knee-injury absence, Bengtsson
and Ulf Thorsell). Jonyer (World #1 and the
Defending World Champion), Zdenko says, is
playing well after his knee operation. He
uses his backhand much more than before,
and he gets lots of topspin on his forehand.
Sometimes, too, Jonyer returns the ball like a
great defender!
Final: Dragutin Surbek over Tibor
Klampar (World #7), 19 in the 5th. The
Dragon, down 13-8 in the 5th, fought like a
lion, said Zdenko. It was his 4th Yugoslav
Open win. Semis: Surbek over Liang Koliang, 12, 15, 17; Klampar over Jonyer, -17,
20, 13, 16. Quarters: Surbek over Orlowski
(World #13), 20, -17, 13, -9, 15; Liang Koliang over Bengtsson, 16, 8, 14; Klampar
over Lu Chen Wei, 18, -9, 14, 18; Jonyer over
Kuo Yao-hua, 19, 19, 19. Mens Doubles:
Orlowski/Gergely over Surbek/Kosanovic,
deuce in the 4th (Jonyer and Klampar are now
Gabor Gergely (L) and Milan Orlowski
back playing together).
465

Surbek was asked if he was tired after all this

play. Tired? No, he said, know why? Three times a
day an excellent fizioterapeutics fingers make me
another player, one capable always at the beginning of
my matches to fight like a tiger. And at my age, 30, this
is very important.
Next up, the
annual Scandinavian
Openat
Kristianstad,
Sweden (TTT, Jan.Feb., 1977, 4). No
Johansson/Alser* in
this one, though. In
the Mens Teams, in
semis play, Hungary
won 3-2 over China
(Liang Ko-liang and
Kuo Yao-hua didnt
play). In the final,
Johansson (L) and Alser Dragutin Surbek and somebodys
Hungary stopped
is he getting through?
fizioterapeutis fingers?
Sweden 3-1
(Bengtsson/Thorsell beat Jonyer/Klampar in the
Doublessuggesting that the old partnership has to
work out a few kinks). In the Womens Teams, China
blanked Hungary whod downed (upset?) North
Korea, 3-2.
Mens Singles: Final: KuoYao-hua over
European Champ Secretin, 19, 10, 17. The Frenchman
was up 19-17 in the 1st when only he heard Kuos ball
tick the table. A good sport, he insisted the point go to
the Chinese. Kuo then went on to win the game 21-19.
Semis: Secretin 3-0 over Klampar who way back in
the eighths beat Liang-Ko-liang in 5; Kuo over Jonyer,
3-2. Some surprising results: (World #18) Jochen Leiss
over Orlowski, 3-0; Thorsell over Surbek, 3-0; and
Des Douglas over Bengtsson. Mens Doubles: Liang/
Kuo Yao-hua over Orlowski/Gergely (from down 2-1).
Mixed Doubles: Liang/Ke Hsin-Ai over Surbek/
Palatinus
Womens Singles. Final: North Koreas Pak
Yung Sun over Chinas Chu Hsiang Yun in 4. Semis:
Pak over Chang Te-ying, 3-0; Chu over Ke Hsin-Ai, 30.
North Koreas 1975 and 1977 Womens
Womens Doubles: Pak/Kim Chang Ae over
World Champion Pak Yung Sun
Ke/Lin Hsien Jin in 5. With Paks showing here, says
Photo by Allsport Photographic
466

Zdenko, she becomes the favorite to win at Birminghamthough, remember, Chinas best, Chang
Li, didnt take this European trip. We hear from Uzorinac that Pak is a member of the February
8th Cluba reminder of the day when the Army of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea was
created. She is an officer, a professional soldier (!) and lives in Pyongyang.I did not receive any
money for winning the Calcutta Worlds, she said recently. It was my contribution to my country
and peopleI gave to them, to Korea, our first gold medal in sport.
At the French Opens Pierre Coubertin
Sports Hall in Paris (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1977, 4),
Hungarys Judit Magos won the Womens over
Swedens Ann-Christin Hellman. Womens Doubles
winners were Beatrix Kishazi/Wiebke Hendriksen
over Hirschmuller/Kirsten Kruger. The Mixed was
won by Karakasevic/Gordana Perkucin over
Wilfried Lieck/Hendricksen. In the Mens final,
Jonyer
had a
comfortable
Hungarys Judit Magos
lead, up 2From English TT News, Jan., 1976
0 and 1816. But then some timely edge balls helped Secretin
reverse the situation 100%, and to the delight of the
home crowd he won in 5. Mens Doubles, however,
went to Jonyer/Klampar over Leiss/Peter Engel.
Scotlands #1, Richard Yule (TTT, Mar.-Apr.,
1977, 6), has some things to say about the
Hungarian Mens play in general and in particular at
the French Open. The Hungarians all attack from
mid-court with a low-starting, long-sweeping
forehand that generates violent and well-paced
topspin/sidespin. The backhand topspin is executed
with the wrist and the forearm and is also begun low
with the knees bent. Much training is done to
improve the strength of the players arms and
especially the legs. But while the Hungarians are
extremely powerful, they arent very fast.
However, they all have a great touch so they can
take the initiative with short spinning serves, or by
well-placed returns of serve.
Yule says Jonyer plays up to 6-7 hours per day.
Klampar, one of the less courageous, only practices
4-5 hours per day. They are real State athletes. That
is, they are employed by the railway and the post
office. Training is spread throughout the day with a
lot of weight training, using heavy weights for the
arms and legs, and shadow play, using heavy training
rackets.
467

Of course the U.S. has State athletes too; the Seemillerstheyre from Pennsylvania
come instantly to mind. Team Captain Bozorgzadeh wants everyone to know how our U.S.
Teams are handicapped by a lack of patronage. Compared to the Championship teams, we
come up short, way short. China, for hosting just one Friendship Asian-African-Latin America
tournament, will spend $6,000,000. The Russians will sponsor 27 International table tennis
Meets in one season, the Chinese at least 35. China often has as many as five top-echelon
teams performing around the world simultaneously. Japan operates similarly. Nor is Geography
on our side. With the European countries so close together, their players can pick up and go to
competitions easily and at not too great a cost.
In the Mens Singles at Paris, Klampar lost to Germanys five-time National Champion
Lieck. His rapid blocks to all sides of the table didnt allow Klampar time to impose his
powerful forehand. Gergely, after mounting a desperate rally, got by Birocheau, but then
succumbed to Secretin. And thats because, though in spinning the ball he often made
openings, he couldnt smash forehand winners. Yule says that Jonyer, now playing with blue
attacking Tackiness rubber, looked really good in winning the first two games with some
quite fantastic backhand and forehand sidespins. Gradually, however, Secretin began
anticipating where the ball was going and was there to return an equally well-placed topspin.
True, their topspin match was fun to watch, but Jonyers technique is deficient in mobility of
speed, and the lack of a killer stroke.
And our playerswhat kind of techniques have they? And their challengers? Were
going to find out. Our Teams are about to play at the $80 million-dollar National Exhibition
Centre in Birmingham, England, in the largest table tennis event ever held.
If our Teams are going to advance into world-class Category I, theyll need some support. So,
it goes without saying, if by any means you can, please be there.
SELECTED NOTES
*I have to note a sad ending to this chapter. Swedens great European Champion Hans
Hasse Alser, whom readers of these volumes have followed for years, died in a plane crash
in Jan., 1977. Of course many aficionados the world over immediately paid homage to him,
including two in the U.S.International Chair Rufford Harrison, and Editor/Journalist Tim
Boggan. Here are their remembrances.

Drawing by Bez Pozadine

468

A PLAYERS PLAYER
The memories of Hans Alser crowd each other, mixing Alser the man, Alser the player,
Alser the horse racer, Alser the coach. Unconsciously he showed us the height to which our
sport had risen in Sweden. We had gone to the top of the Empire State Building one day,
where an unknown Swede recognized him as the national champion. Equally unconsciously he
mirrored the freedom of
Europe when he was stopped,
just in time, from changing on
the sand at Jones Beach.
I suppose I must
remember him, though, for
what he exacted from the sport
and what he put into it. He
was an accurate player who
demanded accuracy in his
equipment. The table wasnt
quite to his taste in a
tournament of Geza Gazdags
in New York. Hasse turned to
me, pointing to his racket, and
in his Swedish lilt he noted
that the ball hit here instead
of here; the two points were
about an inch apart. It was
quite inconceivable to him that
Hans Alser at a Geza Gazdag International Tournament in the
he could have been slightly off 1960s. First row, far right, is Diana Gusikoff, then Doug Cartland:
that day.
between then, Tim Boggan.
He was also a
determined player. In spite of his own statement that he felt in trouble if he ever had to retreat
from the table, it is as a defender that I most remember him, since it was his defense that was
so spectacular. In that same tournament of Gazdags, Hasse was covering every inch of the
back court. The sweat was dripping from his chin and down his arms as he returned kill after
kill. Once he dived across the court to a ball that was surely out of his reach, but managed to
put it up in what looked like a beautiful lob, only to see it miss by an inch. When asked why he
looked so disgusted with himself, he remarked that any time he could get rubber on the ball, it
should go back on the table.
Above all, Hasse was a fit player, one of the first of the modern generation of
Europeans. After the Eastern Open in Wilmington, DE in 1964, he and I went out to the
sidewalk where I left him, loaded with trophies and bags, while I went to fetch the car. When I
returned, the pile of equipment and loot was in the middle of the sidewalk, but Hasse was
nowhere in sight. He loomed up through the almost midnight darkness a few minutes later,
after a run round a few city blocks.
The term a players player has always had a nebulous meaning for me, but it takes on
a new significance when I think of Hans Alser.
J. Rufford Harrison
469

470

Chapter Thirty-Four
1977: U. S Teams Triumph at Birmingham Worlds.

U.S. Team and entourage at Birmingham Worlds

At this 77 Worlds, I wasnt the ITTF Delegate as I was in 71, wasnt the President
of the USTTA as I was in 73, wasnt the Captain of the U.S. Team as I was in 75, so, aside
from my ever-passionate rooting for our players, my only jobbut job enoughwas to cover
the Team and Individual events for our magazine Topics, which Id been editing for seven
years now. Since this Worlds was relatively nearby, in England, and communication abroad
would be easy, the Team had quite a few supporters. The Tamasu Company, through its U.S.
Butterfly distributor, Bowie Martin, provided playing outfits, and George Nissen, the
trampoline and table manufacturer, provided street uniforms. Adding a little more prestige to
our Team was the fact that at this Worlds we had a Mens Captain (Houshang Bozorgzadeh),
a Womans Captain (Heather Angelinetta), and a Team Manager (John Read), all of whom
wrote Topics articles that I draw on here to celebrate the long-awaited U.S. advance into the
Swaythling and Corbillon Cup Championship Category.
U.S. Womens Team Play
The U.S. Team arrived in England several days early to allow for acclimation and some
practice timeincluding some sessions at Londons Crystal Palace, and also an undemanding
Match in Norwich with the Norfolk County Mens and Womens Teams at the Norwich Union
Social Club (an excellent venue provided by Norwich Union Insurance, the major sponsor of
this Worlds). Then later, just before Corbillon Cup play began, Captain Angelinetta arranged a
Friendly Match with the rather weak (soon to be relegated) Championship Category Polish
Womens Teamwhich we won.
471

All the players from the 56 Mens and 49 Womens Teams were housed at the
University of Birmingham Dorms. Heather and Angelita Rosal Sistrunk, and Judy Bochenski
had their own rooms, and South Korean expatriate Insook Bushan (who would go on to win
both the 77 U.S. Open and Closed) and Alice Green Sonne (69 Munich Worlds veteran and
73 U.S. Open runner-up) seemed comfortable being roommates. Since a pre-tournament
Bulletin had officially proclaimed First class catering will be a matter of course, the food
for the players at the University was at least o.k. However, Houshang, our Mens Captain,
complained that the 45-minute drive to and from the (1976) just completed National
Exhibition Centre venue outside Birmingham was rather tiring and took its toll on
enthusiasm, and that the venue itself, in catering so to commercial interests, was too noisy.
Mal Anderson was critical of the concrete floor and also the lighting (the sun sometimes hit
the tables, and there was low light after sundown).
The format for Corbillon Cup play was a familiar one. There were 14 teams in
Category II (teams ranked #19-32 from the last Worlds)7 in Group A (including the #25ranked U.S.) and 7 in Group B. After complete round robins in each Group, there would be
crossover ties to determine the two teams that, at the 79 World Championships in Pyongyang,
North Korea, would advance to the Championship Category and the two that would be
relegated to Category III. The winner of Group A would play the runner-up from Group B,
and the winner of Group B would play the runner-up from Group A. Then, from these semis, the
two finalists would play. But as both these finalists would advance, it mattered little who in the final
Rankings was one position higher than the other. The all-deciding semis became the climactic tie.
For the
first time in 20
years, we had
a (Top 30)
world-class
player in
Insook. Shed
been the titular
non-playing
Captain of the
winning 1973
Team Captain Heather Angelinetta Corbillon Cup
getting the monkey of our backs
South Korean
Photo by Mal Anderson
team, but felt
Insook Bhushan - mainstay of that she should
have been picked as a player. With such a stalwart almost
the U.S. Womens Team
certain to deliver two singles matches per Category II tie,
Captain Angelinetta had great hopes for advancement.
Although in the best 3 out of 5 matches Davis Cup format (a minimum of two singles,
a maximum of four, and a mandatory 3rd-match doubles) it was legal for Insook to play, if
necessary, two singles and the doubles, Heather had to be careful not to burn out our star.
Also, the other women on the Team had to be given playing chances, though Judy would be
troubled by shin splints.
Against World #26 Australia, Bhushan, as expected, won her two singlesthough in
her opening match against Vicki Woodward, which she won -21, 12, 11, that first game was
472

the only one she would lose through her entire 13-0 Cup play. A strange case of nerves? And
nerves, too, from Rosal and Bochenski? They lost the doubles, 18 and 21. This meant that
someone other than Insook had to win a singles match. And 25-year-old Alice, our #2 from the
Las Vegas Trials, came through, downing Singles Qualifier Woodward two straight.
Next up? A weak Scotland, who no doubt couldnt finance a team to Calcutta in 75,
and who in Sarajevo in 73 had finished World #32. As if she knew Scotland would be
relegated here in Birmingham, Angelinetta played Insook andit would be her only singles
matchthe pregnant Angie, who beat Grace McKay in 3 (McKay would later make the 1stround Singles proper). Judy, our #4, would not be playing any singles, but here she and Alice 15, 20, 16 rallied to win the doubles. (Afterwards they would sustain their good play to qualify
for the Womens Doubles).
The Netherlands, we knew, would be tough
particularly Bettine Vriesekoop. She had no World Ranking as
yet, but after Pyongyang she would be World #25 and three
years after that the European Champion and the Netherlands
greatest woman player. She opened against Alice and won in
straight games. Bhushan then convincingly stopped Judy
Williams, whod told the English Association they didnt have
to worry about funding hershe was going Dutch. But now
our doubles play, which had been shaky, failed us again
Vriesekoop and Marjan van de Vliet (who would share with
Williams an unimpressive 3-2 record in singles) beat us 19 and
18. Insook then won handily over Vriesekoop (the U.S. player
Think were in trouble with The turning out to be the only player shed lose to). Alice, however,
Netherlands? Angelita does too. after dropping the 1st at 10 to Williams, then going into
Photo by Neal Fox
expedite to take the 2nd at 19, couldnt continue her rally.
(Later, in the Singles, Williams would also get the better of our
Judy, 11, -19, 20, 16.) So, Netherlands 3-U.S. 2, and certainly if we were to advance wed
have to win all three remaining ties in our round robin.
By this time, Heather had decided that she was going to stick with Alice in singles, and
pair Insook in doubles with Angie. Against the U.S., Canada played, unsuccessfully, two nonnative Canadians in singlesIrena Cordas, whom Insook beat, and Rupa Banerjee (7-3),
whom Alice beat, 2-0. At the just
played Commonwealth Games,
Banerjee and Violetta Nesukaitis had
been Womens Doubles runner-ups to
Englands Karen Witt and Melody Ludi.
Against the U.S., Irena paired with
Mariann Domonkos (whod eventually
make a smooth transition from being
many-time Canadian National
Champion to permanent National
Coach)but the Canadians couldnt
win the doubles either, lost the deciding
2nd game at deuce. Later, in the 1st
Errol and Mariann pull off big upset in the Mixed.
round of the Mixed, Mariann and Errol
Photo by Mal Anderson
473

Caetanao would defeat the #1 seeds, the 1969 World Champions, Russias Stanislav
Gomozkov and Zoya Rudnova (Gomozkov was, in fact, defending his 75 Mixed
Championship which hed won with Tatiana Ferdman). Errol and Mariann were then beaten by
the Hungarians Gabor Gergely/Judit Magos.
Having succeeded with that singles/doubles combination, Heather played it again,
against India who remained really our only challenge before the crossovers. Indu Puri and
Shailaja Shalokhe could not quite average 10 points between them in the four games they
played against Insook. Class clearly would tell in Category IIand there werent any players
in Insooks class. Alice, however, fell in 3 to Shalokhe (12-4). Although she would finish 3-6,
only Vriesekoop would beat her in straight games. Alice was spared playing Puri in a tiedeciding 5th match when Insook and Angie scored a huge 19-in-the-3rd doubles win.
Our last round robin tie was with Greece. But since the Netherlands was undefeated,
and wed beaten both our nearest competitors, Canada then India, even if we were to
somehow have a second loss, wed still, via a tiebreaker, come second in the Group. But just
to keep Insook in 7, 7, and Alice in 14, -14, 14 practice, Heather went with the tried and
truedeviating only to pair Judy with Angie for a squeaky 19, 19 win.
Do you suppose without Insook, who of course had become world-class in South
Korea, we could with just our native-American players get out of the Second Category?
Who cares?
Now the climactic crossover. Like several of these teams we competed against,
Luxembourg had one standout player on whom the team depended. She was undefeated
Jeanny Dom. But in the start-off match, Alice scored 63 points from her. Bravo! Except the 23, 11, -19 result didnt allow Alice to win. Berthy Krier came out, scored 21 against Insook.
Except that was her total for two games. The doubles would be keyand, yes, as wed come
to expect, it fit the lock. Now Bhushan had only to beat Dom. But...what was happening?
Insook was down 19-16 in the 1st. Worried? Dont be. She ran 5 in a row. Then took the 2nd
game 21-6.
The final 3-2 repeat tie we lost against the Netherlands was anticlimacticbut with
Heathers help Ill try to make it a little dramatic.
Insook won two, defeating Vriesekoop and
annihilating van de Vliet, 3, 13, but, pairing not with
Alice but with Angie, again couldnt win the doubles.
And Alice lost in 3 to both van de Vliet and
Vriesekoop. Angelinetta said that this second tie with
the Netherlands was a bit of a grudge match. Turns
out that in the first encounter thered been a disputed
point, as a result of which, empathized our Captain,
soft-spoken Alice had alluded to the Dutch bench as
a whole lot of cheaters. Heather said she
appreciated Alices feelings since Vriesekoop, who
is big and strong and tall, had started the unfriendly
relations by physically removing Insook [from the
table] with a push during the [Our turn, U.S.get off
the court] warm-up session. Nor did it sit well with
Heather that Vriesekoop had called her a crazy fool
for cheering so enthusiastically for her Team.
Netherlands #1, Bettine Vriesekoop
474

But, though this

dampening episode remains,
our smiles of accomplishment
shone through Birminghams
steady rain.
U.S. Mens Team Play
The U.S. Mens
advance was going to be
considerably more difficult
than the Womens, for though
we had in Danny Seemiller the
equivalent of Insook as
Category II superstar, the
Insook being congratulated on the U.S. Womens Team advance
stronger competition would
to the Championship division.
Photo by Mal Anderson
put more of a strain on our
subordinate playersCalcutta
veteran Paul Raphel and our rookies, Dannys brother Ricky, Ray Guillen, and Dean Galardi.
They would have to rise to the occasion. More demanding, too, was the fact that the U.S. men
had to play (in the best 5 out of 9 singles-only format) more matches, and also more ties than
the women. The U.S. women competed in a round robin of seven teams, the men in a round
robin of nine. Why? Apparently for the following accomodating reasons: Bulgaria, whod not
played in 75, was World #20 in 73; and Israel, who prior to being denied admission to the
75 Worlds, had nevertheless been elevated to Category II for play there. So the feeling was
you couldnt keep either of those teams out. Then with Nigeria a no show, the uneven 17
teams had to be balanced with an 18th, so Scotland, who likewise didnt play in 75, but was
#34 in 73 was deemed next in line.
Our opening tie was against
Egypt, and our 5-3 victory
portended the narrowest of margins
to come. Seemiller won all 3, giving
up but 66 points in six games. But
Galardi lost both of his matches 20, though getting to 19 one game in
each. Guillen lost to Galal Ezz two
straight, though he, too, reached 19
once. Ray, however, did score the
two matches we needed, winning a
deuce game in one match, a 19
game in the other. Egypt would
finish 7th of the 9 teams.
If that tie seemed a bit
shaky, what of the next with
Luxembourg who in 75 had just
climbed out of Category III? This
Danny Seemiller, U.S. Swaythling Cup Star
time Seemiller gave up 79 points in
Photo by Mal Anderson
475

six games. But brother Ricky, making his debut, lost all three matchesa really 18, -19, -19
nasty one to Andre Hartmann, whose eventual 12-11 record would seem to make him just able
to hold his own in this field. Raphel lost in 3 to Camille Putz (alas, no putz at all with a final
13-14 record) and, like Ricky, Paul also lost to Jean Krier, the Luxembourg #3 whod close
with a very unimpressive 6-15 record.
So we were 1-1, and as yet hadnt played any of the top teams. Clearly, even if Danny
continued at his world-class pace, he was going to be terribly disappointed. He alone couldnt
advance us to where we all wanted to bethe Championship Category.
Greece, World #27, how
good could they be? Alright, Danny do
your thing. He did, gave up 94 points in
six games. Either his opponents were
getting better, or he already felt the
weight on him? Guillen battled well
lost 19 and 18 to the Greek #1
Constantine Priftis (22-6), then almost
had Demetrios Zikos, winning the 1st at
9, then strongly contending at 22-all in
the 2nd. But Ray (-17, 15, 14) rallied to
down Christos Christodoulatos. That
gave us 4 wins. We needed one
more...from Raphel, who in the four
games hed lost had had an encouraging
24-22 moment with Priftis. Pauls final
record in Swaythling Cup play here in
Ray has a big win over Christodoulatos
Birmingham would be 1-7. Need I tell
Photo by Neal Fox
you which of those 8 matches we most
needed him to win? Christodoulatoss
final record would be...0-5. Yes, Paul just got by, 19, -18,
19, with a little help from his screaming U.S. friends. U.S.
5-Greece 4. A big win (Greece would finish 3rd in our
Group).
Belgium next. With...Norby Van de Walle! Its
doubtful if, before Birmingham, any of our players ever
heard of him. Norby had grown up in Chicago and,
though never a U.S. citizen, had played for the U.S. in
three World Championships. He was a former U.S. Boys
(1955-56) and U.S. Junior Champion (1959). Also, a
U.S. Open Doubles winner, first (1957) with Bill
Holzrichter, then (1962) with Dick Miles. He was runnerup to his good friend and Far East Tour partner Miles in
Paul won the one that counted.
the 62 U.S. Open. On leaving the U.S. and taking up
Photo by Mal Anderson
residence in Belgium, he won, sometime in the mid-60s,
the Belgium Top 10. At the 72 European Championships he beat the #1 Czech Milan Orlowski
before losing in the round of 16 to the winner Stellan Bengtsson. Now he had to be one of the
oldest, if not the oldest, player our Team would face. That was encouraging?
476

Danny, in giving up 57 points to this Belgian team, beat Van de Walle 6 and 10. So
Norby had to be nothing more than a shade of his former self, couldnt play at all anymore?
Not exactlyfor he beat Guillen 11 and 17. And so did Daniel Nassaux, one game under
double figures. But Ray, as expected, did dispose of Lambert Belien (4-16). Only Galardi
didnt, and lost to Nassaux, 18 in the 3rd, as well. Now Dean, who wasnt always in the best
of health this triphed have shoulder and stomach problemshad to play the 9th match
against Van de Walle.
Fellow Chicagoan John Read, who over the years had watched Norby in action,
describes how the-boy-in-the-man hopes to psych Dean. First, by practicing a couple of
tables down with furious energy, then preparatory to going on court with Dean by doing
more knee-bends, dance-like exercises, and...[a hurried jog] to the table. Then he
loosens up some more,
stares at his opponent, and
generally tries to scare the
hell out of him. Deans
final record in Swaythling
Cup play was 1-4. Need I
tell you which of those 5
matches we most needed
him to win? Van de Walles
final record would be 6-7.
Thankfully it would not be
reversedGalardi takes
him with surprising ease.
Norby Van de Walle
Dean wins the deciding one
U.S. 5-Belgium 4. But
over Norby
such a death struggle against a team destined to end up 8th in
the Group. What next? Malaysia. And that this ones a much needed breather you can tell
when Danny gives up only 45 points...for four games. Ray brings in a winner. And Ricky
chalks up twois especially impressive with his gritty 19, 26 win over the Malaysian #1
Peong Tah Seng (8-8).
Now our big test: Hong Kong. Strangely, neither of the two strong playersChan
Sheng Min and Chiu Man Kuenwho in Calcutta had to play one another in the round of 64
are on the Hong Kong Team this year. Could their Association have found two players who
are better? Li Kuang Tsu, who in 75 beat D-J Lee badly, is back. And has he improved?
Believe it. Hes just come from winning the Commonwealth Singles and Doubles. And later in
the Singles hell beat Japans World #22 Katsuyuki Abe and in the round of 32 take a game
from Bengtsson. With some new faces, Hong Kong has beaten Egypt 5-0, Luxembourg 5-0,
Greece 5-1, and Belgium 5-1theyre 20-2 against these teams. We are 18-16. It wouldnt
seem wed have a chance to win this tie.
But it seems like every American in our entourage is there rooting for usamong
whom I remember are Mal Anderson, Rutledge Barry, Mike Bush, Erich Haring, Pat
Crowley Hodgins, our ITTF Delegates Neal Fox and Leah Miss Ping Neuberger, Gary
Fagan, Hal and Fran Green, ITTF Equipment Chairman Rufford Harrison, Assistant Team
Manager Gus Kennedy and family, Yvonne Kronlage, Fuarnado Roberts, Dave Sakai, and
Mort and Evelyn Zakarin. So many are cheering for us and some are shouting themselves
hoarse.
477

Danny did it againstayed

undefeated...but not in games; lost one
in deuce to Chen Scheng Shien, and was
forced to deuce in another by Vong Iu
Veng, whod won the Mixed at the
Commonwealth Games. Quite
unexpectedly Li Kuang Tsu (20-2), in
losing to Danny 10 and 7, was
unexplainably docile, for in 75 hed
been one of the few players to wrest a
game from him. Ricky lost to Li, 6 in the
3rd, but contributed an important 19, 18
win over Vong (18-4). We still needed
one more. Ray struggled into the 3rd
with both Chen and Li, then finally came
Vong Iu Veng
Photo by Mal Anderson
through in the 8th match by 19, 9
breaking Vong in that 1st game.
For Danny, Scotland might as well have been a walkover. But when Paul lost two and
ripped the rubber off his racket, Ricky calmly posted his 2nd straight-game winand that, and
Houshangs increasingly unfavorable opinion of our least cooperative Team member, relieved
Paul of any further responsibility.
Indeed, Houshang felt he had to request a USTTA E.C. Meeting because Paul was
behaving too much like an individual and not as a compliant Team member. Thus, Houshang
himself, given the Teams entourage that included more than a quorum of E.C. members, was
in the spotlight, under pressure. He had to show control. The Apr. 4th Minutes of this Meeting
suggest to me that Pauls infractions werent really of much consequence. Of course, as weve
seen, I, as Captain, had my problems with him in Calcutta. Anyway, Houshang received E.C.
agreement to withdraw Paul from the remainder of the tournament (though I dont think hed
been paired with any U.S. player in either the Mens or Mixed Doubles).
Some discussion ensued. Heather Angelinetta said Paul had made no preparations at
all for the World Championships. John Read said Paul had as many as 12 drinks the night
before playing. Houshang recommended that we bar Raphel from all International Matches
for one year. Mal Anderson thought that five years would be more appropriatea notice to
others that erratic behavior would not be tolerated. Tim Boggan recommended we shouldnt
severely punish Raphel, and commented that the players were not unsympathetic with him.
Selection Chair John Read said there should be some way of getting the best representatives
on the U.S. Team, not just the players who happen to win at the Trials. Rufford Harrison
recommended and everybody agreed that Disciplinary Chair Dr. Michael Scotts advice should
be considered.
Advice is what our players needed as they prepared for the tie that, if all went well,
would lead us to the crossovers. Hong Kong had completed their 7-1 round robin with a rout
of Austria, so it was our turn to finish with the Austrians now. Were we to lose to them (an
impossible-to-consider thought?), the U.S. would be 6-2 tied with both Austria and Greece
and so subject to a tie-breaker. Greece, then, would no doubt advance, for theyd be 9-8 in
matches. Even if the U.S. lost 5-4 to Austria, 9-9 would be our play-off best. Austria would
need at least a 5-2 win over the U.S. to 8-7 edge Greece on percentage points.
478

The tie with Austria was 5-2 alrightbut in our favor. Danny allowed only 71 points in
his six games. Ray lost to Heinz Schluter (15-6), but beat Gunter Muller in 3 (Muller, the
Austrian #3, had a weak 5-10 record in the Teams, but in the Singles would get to the round
of 64). Ricky fell, 18, 20, to Erich Amplatz (16-7), but downed Schluter in 3.
So, as in Calcutta, we were in the crossoversonly one tie away from advancing. Our
opponent was Italy, who, in the other Group, had lost only to Bulgaria. Though in 75 it was
Poland whod last-minute ended our drive to Category I, wed also lost an early 5-4 tie to
Italy. That same Italian Team was backStefano Bosi, Massimo Costantini, and Giovanni
Bisi, but in this critical tie Roberto Giontella (12-8) would replace Bisi (4-3).
Danny continued his magnificent play, but this time there
were added pressures. Hed lost the 1st gamesomething that
hadnt happened in his previous 25 matchesand to who? Of all
people, Bosi (15-4), the player whod given him the only blemish
on his (18-1) record in Calcutta. Worse, our Team was down 4-2,
and, even worse, Danny was behind 6-1 in the 2nd game....
But nothing spoiled anything here in Birmingham for
Seemiller. Dream and Reality merged. Nobody could be more
determined than Danny or match his Category II playit was
26-0 perfect. But, as I said earlier, even an unparalleled Danny
had to have help. Guillen lost to Bosi and, though he won the
1st from Costantini, dropped the next two. But, bless him, he
kept us alive with an 8th-match win over Giontella. Ricky,
Italys Stefano Bosi gave Danny a scare
meanwhile, was being 7, 16...8, 10 massacred. My god, Ricky,
no time now to have your worst losses, your confidence shaken!
Talk to him, Dannyafter that comeback, he cant let his Team, his brother down. And he
doesntdefeats Singles Qualifier Costantini (9-7), 11 and 16.
What happens afterwards Mal Andersons and Neal Foxs cameras will capture. Team
Manager John Read will show such excitement that he might have thought Steve Isaacsons
telegram to him (All Chicago ecstaticticker-tape parade planned) really echoed the news
at home. Heres John capturing the moment:
...We had finally done it! All the team members, everyone in the stands,
poured out onto the table, knocking down the barriers. Danny leaped up in the air
screaming repeatedly: We did it! We did it! No more four years waiting! Rick was
hoisted up repeatedly. Wild bedlam is a conservative estimate. For at least two minutes
we forgot to shake hands with the dejected Italians who had fought so hard and well.
Photographs were taken, everybody kissed everybody, until we were finally brought
back to earth by the Australians who came over from the next table to remind us that,
After all, there are other matches going on.
Not for usnot even for our last tie that would decide 17th or 18th place. This tie,
which Danny deservedly sat out, we lost 5-0. What did we care about playing Hong Kong,
who in the other crossover by just getting by Bulgaria 5-4 had accomplished their mission.
Through recruiting, so the story goes, more Mainland Chinese, they, too, had been able to
advance to Category I. Still, our success was perhaps sweeter: it had been achieved by five
native-born U.S. players.
479

480
Photo by Mal Anderson

U.S. Team and entourage go wild with Rickys success

Chapter Thirty-Five
1977: Worlds Corbillon/Swaythling Cup Play.
In a very cold, near empty hall on my first night in Birmingham before the World
Championships were to start, Id watched two members of the Chinese Womens Team
practicing. Amazing. Since Id last seen the Chinese play in 75 Id forgotten how quick their
movements were. Seeing them practice here, and then looking at U.S. Team members Danny
and Ricky Seemiller a few tables down, I realized again that back in the States Id been seeing
table tennis in slow motion.
It was fascinating. The older
of the two young women would
reach into this huge cellophane bag
at the side of the table containing
hundreds of balls, would come up
with a half-closed fistful, and,
holding in her free, non-racket hand
all but the one she put into play,
would begin furiously counterdriving with her partner until one or
the other of them missed.
Whereupon, without the least
hesitation, without any change in her Only a kangaroo court could judge this form of multi-ball
practice superior to what the Chinese women
timing, she would transfer into play
showed in Birmingham.
one of the balls shed been holding
Cartoon by Deng Quangqiang
and the in-close-to-the-table
countering would go high-speed on.
Their court of course, like some marked-off section of a shag field for practicing golfers, was
strewn with little white ballsnot tournament Halexes but what to a mystic, or at least a
romantic, appeared to be little red roses in circle after circle of white.
Corbillon Cup Play
Naturally the Chinese won the Corbillon Cup
without losing a tie.
It was not their superb athleticism, said a
Birmingham reporter, not the hours of dedicated
practice, the high-elevation services, or the special bats
with sponge on one side and pimpled rubber on the other
that allowed them to win.
Oh, what then?
I believe we won through following the thoughts
and teachings of Chairman Mao, said Chang Li (long
before as Zhang Li shed come to the U.S. to be our
National Coach). Our aim, continued Chang, is to create
unity between our players and those of other countries. We
put friendship first and competition second.
481

Chang Li
Photo by Mal Anderson

In that case, since China won both the Swaythling and Corbillon Cup competition,
whats going to happen in the Individual events?
Especially when Chinas Womens Team Coach Chang Hsieh-lin said simply, We won
because we had the better players.
Did friendship now demand that the better players not be the better players?
Ten straight ties the Chinese won, losing
only two matchesone when 75 World runner-up
Chang Li lost what many felt was an obligatory 15,
17 match to 75 North Korean World Champion
Pak Yung Sun, and the other when World #4
Chang Te-ying (who would not be on Paks side of
the Singles draw) beat Pak two straight yet
averaged only 16 points a game against
Communist Romanias unranked Liana Mihut.
So what truth am I trying to get at? That
the Chinese encourage people everywhere to be
cynical? Or, say skeptical? For youd have to agree
that Mihut with a 7-8 record was a good enough
player to defeat North Koreas Pak, deuce in the
Romanias Liana Mihut
3rd. Thats World #29 PakPak Yong Ok, who, all
friendly-like, would pair with Chinas Yang Ying to win the Womens Doubles over two strong
Chinese pairs.
Friendship aside, there could be no doubt the North Koreans were here to compete
especially against South Korea. The rivalry in that tie was demonstrably highso much so that
at the 3-1 victorious end South Korean partisans broke into anthem-song. The turning point
came when Lee Ailesa, World #11, trounced World Champion Pak 15, 9 to even the tie at 1-1,
and then teamed with Chung Hyun-Sook, World #5, to break Pak and Pak with a 25-23 1stgame doubles win. Afterwards, in the 4th match, North Korea had to pack it in when the
World Champion, who sometimes looped as many as 20 balls before trying to kill a winner,
could not get through Chungs defense.
In the final with China, South Koreas Lee showed soul-strength against Chang Li,
rallying from down 1-0 and
13-7...only to lose that 2nd
Russias Tatiana Ferdman (L)
game at deuce. After that,
and Valentina Popova
whatever the spin on those
high-up Chinese serves, the
result was straight-game
devastating to anyone with
a previously waved but now
very limp Korean flag.
In advancing to the
final, South Korea had
difficulty with only one
other teamthe USSR,
whose buxomy young
women are strong and stay482

at-the-table mean. Valentina Popova, who would be European Champion in 1980, upset Lee
Ailesa, and, as Russian women are particularly good at doubles, Popova and Consolation
winner Tatiana Ferdman were able to outplay the Koreans. Also, in the last match, Popova
continued to impressforced Chung into the 3rd.
North Koreas stumble to the semis began with their 3-2 win over 5th-place finisher
Czechoslovakia. World #13 Ilona Uhlikova won both her singleshighlighted by a gutsy 25,
22 performance against World Champion Pak. However, as the Czechs for whatever reason
didnt play their #2, World #33 Blanca Silhanova, Ri Song Suk scored an easy 5th-match
victory over Dana Dubinova.
Following that, North Korea had a barely successful 3-2 tie with Hungary, whod finish
3rd in the Group. Judit Magos, European Champ in 74 and again in 78, knocked off Pak
Yong Ok, and Magos and Gabriella Szabo came through in the 3rd to down the World
Champion and (the fourth North Korean wed see in action) Kim Chang Ai. But though Pak
Yong Ok lost the 1st game of the 5th match to World #9 Beatrix Kishazi, she toughened when
she had to and smacked ball after ball through the European defensive star.
One more 3-2 tie the North Koreans would have to struggle through to get to the
crossoversthis one with Sweden. And perhaps with added pressure. For sometime after their
last two clutch victories, their rackets were rejected by the ITTF because the rubber on them
was worn and frayed at the edges and so did not comply with the rules regarding uniformity of
surface. Now, after changing rackets, they had to beat Sweden or fall into a 6-2 three-way
tiewhich in the tiebreak would easily favor Hungary, whod zipped through Sweden. When
Pak Yong Ok opened with a win over Hellman, North Korea seemed to have nothing to worry
about. But thenhow explain it, the forced change of rackets?...nerves?World Champion
Pak was beaten, 18, 11, by unranked Anneli Hervall. And then clobbered, 14, 8, by 74
European runner-up Ann-Christin Hellman. Fortunately for North Korea, Kim wasnt
paralyzed in doubles, and the other Pak wasnt threatened by Hervall.
However, Pak Yung Suns mediocre 9-6 record in Corbillon Cup play (which included
an eked out -12, 21, 9 win over Englands 76 European Champion Jill Hammersley) did not
do much for her credibility as 75 World Champion about to defend her title.
Swaythling Cup Play
China, as expected, took the Mens Team Championship, winning 10 ties in a row and
losing only 4 matches in all. Chinas #1 dumper, Li Chen-shih (recall how tamely hed been
beaten by an unranked player in the 2nd round at Calcutta), lost two 19 games to 74 West
German and 77 U.S. Open Champ Jochen Leiss. Then, perhaps more significantly, in the final
round robin tie for the #1 position in the crossover, China gave up three matches in defeating
undefeated Hungary, touted as the one team that might be able to stop the Chinese.
In Group A, the Hungarians in their routine advance were challenged in a 5-3 tie only
onceagainst the Czechs when 74 European Champ Milan Orlowski played spectacular
games against Klampar (15, 23) and Jonyer (-20, 15, 23). The Czechs to their credit were able
to get by France, 5-4, when Christian Martins promising 1st-match win over Jaroslav Kunz,
and 77 Mixed Doubles winner Secretins three victories didnt quite total up. Consolation
runner-up Josef Dvoracek was the 8th-match hero when he beat World #29 Martin. The
Czechs fell to 4th, though, when 3rd-place Germany got the better of them, 5-3. Again, there
was only one Orlowski, and when Kunz couldnt provide any support (in a dying cause he lost
to Peter Stellwag, 23-in the 3rd), Deutschland finished 3rd.
483

In the deciding crossover in the A Group, Tibor

Klampar opened for Hungary (yes, he was backthough his
forced absence had been felt at Calcutta, he had not, after all,
been suspended for life)but World #7-valuable as he was, he
could not get through or around the quick short strokes, the
fast-move blocks and snap hits of Li Chen-shih. Then poor
Gabor Gergely had his first 9, 7 experience playing the
mystifying chopper Huang Liang. Providing continuing
consternation for a number of players was Liangs perfectly
legal racketstickier-than-Tackiness inverted on the one side,
Chinese Friendship Phantom with ultra-long pips on the other.
(Friendship Phantomwho thought up that name? What the
Chinese are stroking you with is a guaranteed friendly
illusion?) Maybe the racket did have old pips-out rubber dating
back to the early 1960s (the Chinese kept insisting that the
Huang Liang
rubber wasnt new), but, if so, the pimples had been
From The Table Tennis Report, June, 76
stretchedso much so that, as someone told me, you could
take your fingernail and make a discernible S (for super racket)
in the wavy pips.
So what? Well, if youre Gergely and are going to get to the quarters of the Singles
only to meet up with that same Huang again, you really would like to be able to read the spin
on the ball. Imagine a pro golfer whose years of expertise suddenly wouldnt allow him to
read a single break on any green of the course hes playing, and youll have a comparable
idea of Gergelys frustration.
Huang was enviably adept at twirling his twin-weaponed, dark brown racket so that,
when he chops on the one side (no, hes not pretending to chop, he does chop), the long pips
dont grip the balland so, though to the conditioned receiver the ball looks loaded, it isnt
(has topspin!) and when the receiver goes to lift the ball he carries it off the table. Conversely,
when the receiver thinks hed better be careful about lifting those Phantom pips, it turns out
that Huang has chopped with the inverted side, absolutely loading the ball, and anything but a
counteracting lift will put the ball in the net.
Yes, right, before I go any further youd like to know just what the other world-class
players use. Thats at the moment of course. In a few years the rackets might change, as the
players surely will. Larry? Larry Jacobsen? Will you please give us at your convenience a racket
run-down?
Of course its not just during the rally that Huang changes the racket side (craftily, at the
moment when youre necessarily looking to meet the ball), but right off the serve, racket twirled
up from under the table or half hidden behind his back while hes waiting for his high throw-up
serve to begin picking up speed as it accelerates downward and he spins deceptively into it.
Moreover, even if Gergely can return the ball, Huang is waiting to all-out loop-kill it away. China
2-Hungary 0.
The next match in this important tie is the battle of the super-loopersKuo Yao-hua,
who in Birmingham will get to the final of the Singles, vs. Istvan Jonyer, the Defending World
Champion. Because Jonyer has this very thick rubber, his ball is so topspin heavy that, as one
spectator put it, Youve got to be afraid even to touch your racket to it. Sometimes he
deliberately catches the ball at his shoestrings and arcs it (like a lobster tail, says my friend
484

485

Fuarnado Roberts) around the net and onto the table.

Other times his touch blocks, full fadeaways, and
clumsy, caught-off-guard recoveries produce
extraordinary point-winning shots. After losing the
1st at deuce, Jonyer beats Kuo, 18 in the 3rd. Which
makes him the better looper? Maybe, maybe not.
Everybody agrees, though, that the Hungarian is one
of those highly individual players whose strokework
and footwork defy comparison. China 2-Hungary 1.
When Jonyer goes on to whip Li in 3, and
follows by coiling his loops, python-like, around
Huang (14-1) who has trouble controlling his pipsout backhand play, some people are saying that this
whole crop of talked-about Chinese are not really as
good as those in the 60s. But how damning a
judgment is that? Meanwhile, Huang downs
Klampar, and Kuo beats Gergely and Klampar.
Back in 71, the Chinese hitters and blockers
had to face up to the new sidespin of the Hungarians.
Now the Hungarians had to acknowledge the
sophisticated rackets and deceptive serves of the
Chinese.

Istvan Jonyer
From English TT News,
Jan., 1977; photo by
Don Morley

In Group B, the USSR begins by

surviving 5-3 feisty ties with both
South Korea (wholl finish 6th in the
round robin) and Poland (5th).
Sarkis Sarkhoyan, Stanislav
Gomozkov, and Anatoly Strokatov
are all in the World #17-22 range
and all contribute wins. No doubt it
was something of a surprise, though,
that Gomozkov, whod taken down
all three Koreans, was beaten, first,
by Polands Stanislaw Fraczyk (the
Mens Consolation winner here, he
Polands Andrzej Grubba
was the gimpy-legged guy who did
Photo by Mal Anderson
in our U.S. Team in Calcutta), and
then by young Andrzej Grubba, deuce in the 3rd. Grubbas star wont rise for half a dozen
years yethe didnt win a match in Polands 5-3 loss to South Koreabut in 1988 hell hold
high the World Cup.
Upsetting the Koreans in a 5-4 tingler was Denmark. Like the Poles in 75, the Danes
in 73 had kept the U.S. out of the Championship Category. Claus Pedersen had not only
beaten our Danny Seemiller but had killed us with deuce-in-the-3rd wins over D-J Lee and
Peter Pradit. When Pedersen, whod won two, lost the 7th match in 3 to Chol Sung Kuk (167), it seemed unlikely that Denmark could win. But veteran Bjarne Grimstrup, whod lost a
lead-off match deuce in the 3rd, to Lee Sang Kuk, was able to hold 17, 20 strong against the
486

winless Kim In Soo to send the tie into the 9th. And now Palle Rud (5-8), downing Lee, 23-21
in the 3rd, capped a fine win for Denmark.
Alas, however, the unfortunate Danes finished 7th in the round robin and, along with
Indonesia, were relegated when in the crisscross they lost to Australia 5-3. Pedersen won
three, but Rud dropped two, and Grimstrup (2-12) threeto Stephen Knapp (deuce in the
third), Paul Pinkewich, and Bob Tuckett (-20, 19, -17). This was the only tie the Aussies won
and the only one they needed to win to stay up there at the next Worlds and be batted about
by the Championship contenders.
Contending teams Sweden and Yugoslavia lost to Japan (7-0). Only 71 World
Champion Stellan Bengtsson (14-5) could take even a game from Mitsuru Kohno. Ten years
ago this Japanese was a world finalist. Now at 30, still hitting the forehand hard, he seems
even better than he was then. Why? Because hes developed a much better backhand and so
doesnt have to run around his forehand as much.
Since Ulf Thorsell cant help, and Bengtsson, whos had the flu for the last two
months, cant do more than merely prevail over Tetsuo Inoue, deuce in the 3rd, while enduring
a -20, 16, -9 loss to Norio Takashima (14-4), and since Kjell Johansson (14-4) can score only
against Inoue, the Swedes cant win. Words going round that Hans Alsers death in that mid70s plane crash really depressed the Swedish players. Their Association membership is
reportedly down 25%from 12,000 to 9,000and the lament is that they have no one with
charismatic strength to take the place not only of 1970 European Champ Alser, but soon 1973
World runner-up Johansson, for Kjell, regardless of whether his knee injury (suffered in a
soccer exhibition) heals, is insisting that this is his last tournament.
The tie between Japan and Yugoslavia is the most exciting of the tournament.
Takashima opens up a 13-3 lead against Zoran Zoki Kosanovic. Zoki, wholl emigrate to
Canada and win the 82 U.S. Open, is playing in place of veteran Milivoj Karakasevic, whose
penholder style does not seem suitable against the Japanese. But now that the dice are cast, the
shakehands style isnt suitable
either. At one point Kosanovic
throws a look at his bench, as if to
say, I see how hes chopping the
ball, I see the change of spin. But
what can I do? In watching him
score 7, 11, all agreed his roll
amounted to...snake eyes. Later,
against Kohno, he does much
betterbeats him 21-8 one game,
but cant win.
In the 2nd match, Inoue,
whos playing in his first Worlds,
tries to fend off World #5 Dragutin
Surbek, whos often
uncomfortable against a blocker.
The Japanese, up 20-19, threatens
but cant get through the
Yugoslavs acrobatic end-game
Surbeks athletic lobs are too much for Japans Tetsuo Inoue
lobs. Afterwards, Surbek is just
Photo by Mike Hoffland
487

too powerful for Takashima. But not powerful enough to get more than 12 points from Kohno
who seems to hit through him at will.
Anton Tova Stipancic, though hed lost in 3 to Kohno, did well to beat Inoue. For
his first three months of Army life he didnt play at all, and without sufficient practice is just
not his old self. Japan 4-Yugoslavia 3.
If Takashima loses to Stipancic, says one knowledgeable observer, Japan has no
chance. Yeah? Well, lose he does.
However, after 20 minutes or so,
Japan, by Chance or not, is still out there
on courtand in fact looking like the
winner until Zoki evens the odds by
winning the 2nd at 19. In the 3rd, Inoue,
a pudgy, soft-looking type with glasses, is
leading at the turn. Whats more,
Kosanovic, repeatedly stalling, has got a
serious problem in that his racket handle
is coming apart. Get another racket insist
the Japanese. Kosanovic says he doesnt
have another racket. But the umpire
Zoran Zoki
wont let him fix the handle properly.
Kosanovic
Wont even let the Yugoslav coach come
Photo by
out and discuss it (while of course the
Mal Anderson
handle can be taped?).
Inoue is not distractedis in a hot
streak. Cant anything be done? wail the Yugoslavs. Suddenly, just as Inoue, up 16-12, makes
contact (and hits out), the ball cracks. The umpire awards the point16-13to Kosanovic. Is
perhaps sympathetic to the Yugoslavs predicamentand so, all things considered, in all fairness,
lets move on. But Inoues coach protests, stops the match, finds the Chief Umpire who overrules
this table umpire. The ball broke during play, he says. Score reverts to 16-12.
After which, Kosanovic, having taken his time picking out a new ball while his handle
is taped, cant on resuming play pull out the match.
Swedens
And Japan, the #1 team in the crisscross, does not
Ulf
Thorsell
have to meet China just yet.
Thorsell, who somebody said was now the
best player in Sweden, was the only Swede to lose
in his countrys 6-2 win over Yugoslavia, so Sweden
(6-1) theoretically kept their title hopes alive. That
is, until in the crisscross they were disposed of a by
no-nonsense China.
It was understood that the Swedes would
have trouble with Huang Liang and Kuo Yao-hua.
But Li Chen-shih, who, unlike his teammates,
doesnt use any special rubber, who is just a pure,
pips-out player (pips short and trapezoidallike a
Mayan pyramid, said my source), finished off both
Johansson and Bengtsson in 3. Though Johansson
488

might not have been able to move quite as well as usual, he could certainly stretch those long
limbs of his, and his instinctive anticipation of Lis quick hits almost allowed him to prevail.
Down 19-18 in the 3rd, he whiffed his own serveand lost 21-19.
Bengtssons well-known single-minded concentration was there, and hed had to have
been encouraged by his B-E-N-G-T-S-S-O-N! supporters chanting in the stands, but, down
14-3 in the 1st, down 10-3 in the 3rd, there seemed to be at times nothing he could do. Except
just stand there waiting for Li to half-whirl into his high-up, fast-falling serve.
Liang Ko-liang also beat Bengtsson in straight games. And Huang Liang, after
downing Thorsell, moved on to drub Johansson so thoroughly that the Swede didnt even play
the last point, just pushed the ball into the net.
In the other crossover tie, Japan and Hungary were vying to see who would play China
in the final. Again, the hard-hitting Kohno, bobbing and bouncing about, was invincible. By
beating Gergely, Klampar, and Jonyer he ran his streak to 17 straight. Its as Dick Miles said in
his Topics article two years agoonce the hitter correctly judges the spin, he just makes his
adjustment and smacks the ball. Somebody also said it was Kohnos glue that made him so
effective. Every day he reglued his racketkept the same rubber (his pips are the widestspaced and biggest in circumference you can find), but changed his glue. Takashima, too, was
effective. Though losing to Klampar, he beat Gergely and Jonyer (5 and 14). When this
Japanese defender picks, which is every chance he gets, he one-balls it hard.
Against China, Japan, who cant seem to develop a good young player, started not Inoue
(28) or Tokio Tasaka (29) but the crew-cut youngest foil they could find, 23-year-old Masahiro
Maehara. And he was doing alright until Huang Liang decided to start fooling him. China 1Japan 0.
Next up was Kohno vs. Liang Ko-liang (9-0). Liang, constantly switching the sides of
his racket, was not at all friendly with his Friendship rubber. So that often Kohno was not

Chinas Liang Ko-liang (R) defeating Japans Mitsuru Kohno 3-0 in Swaythling Cup play
Photo by Mal Anderson

489

getting his customary chance to hit the ball in, or, if he did, was then misreading the return and
so missing every second kill. People are commenting that, with Liang up 12-5 in the 3rd, this
match is a joke, and that Liang didnt even try in the 2nd game. Up 19-10 Liang goes for his
towelwhich apparently so angers Kohno that when Liang returns to the table Kohno goes
for his towel. After which Liang snaps in a vicious backhand. China 2Japan 0.
I never saw anybody loop against Takashima like Kuo Yao-hua. Takashima of course
has no strange rackethe uses a dead blade, slightly larger than normal, and is adept at
changing spin, but always with the same sponge. In the 1st, hes down 8-0 to Kuos onrush
that includes some beautifully-timed drops. Up 8-2 in the 2nd, the Chinese unrelentingly offers
more of the same. He drives Takashima back, then cleverly twirls his racket round and, as at a
shot-put meet, lets gobut, surprise, merely drops the ball double-bounce dead. The racket,
the techniqueboth, say the Chinese, are beyond reproach. China 3-Japan 0.
The debacle continues. Against Kohno, who has just destroyed all Europe and who is
destined to be our 77 World Champion, Liang is up 10-2 in the 1st. At 15-6, some guy way
up in the stands yells and waves a big Japanese flag. Kohno looks up andwhats the
difference?misses. China 4-Japan 0.
Whos going
to stop the slaughter?
Maehara blinking
behind his glasses? In
the 1st game, Kuo
gives him 11. Some
people in the audience
are disgusted by this
rout. They feel
strongly that the
rubbers got to be
standardized or the
Chinese will make a
fiasco of the Sport.
They want to ban their
super-sticky inverted,
their 3-inch-long
pimples. Perhaps the
Chinese hear whats in
the air. For as that same
Chinas Huang Liang is too strong in the Team final for this years
World Champion, Japans Mitsuru Kohno
man on high again
Photo by Mal Anderson
waves, like a kamikaze
pilot, the Japanese flag,
Maehara, unbelievably has Kuo down in the 2nd 20-15. Can he deuce it? says a fellow in back of
me to a friend. I think hes gonna try comes the wry response....Perhaps the reader can imagine
what happened now with Kuo serving? Final score: 22-20, Kuo. China 5-Japan 0.
After the presentation ceremony there are congratulations. A TV man asks Li Fu-jung,
the Chinese coach, how he thinks China will do in the Individual eventsthe Singles and
Doubles. Know what he says? But of course you dowhether you were in Birmingham or
not. The other five events are for us, as always, friendship first, competition second.
490

Chapter Thirty-Six
1977: World Womens/
Mens Singles
It was again apparent from
the Singles matches that South
Korean emigrant Insook Bhushan
was largely responsible for our U.S.
Womens advance into
Championship Corbillon Cup play.
Both Alice Green Sonne and
Angelita Rosal lost in the 1st
Qualifying roundAlice 19, -20,
12, 16 to Indias #1 Shailaja
Salokhe, and Angie, 10, 16, 9, to
the Czechs little-used Cup player
Dana Dubinova. Judy Bochenski,
after a satisfying -15, 19, 9, 20 win
over Turkeys Kadriye Poyrazoglu
(the Turkish team finished 40th),
fell, fighting, in the 3rd Qualifying
Czechoslovakias Jaroslav Jardo Stanek (L), winner over
round, -11, 19, -20, -16 to the
Tim Boggan in final of the 77 Worlds Press Tournament
Netherlands Judy Williams. Neither
Angie nor Judy played in the
Consolations (though I dont know why not), but Alice did, and in the 1st round almost (19, 21, -16) beat the English #3 Linda Howard.
I myself took the opportunity to playin the Press Tournament. After beating
Menachim Stein, a former Israeli National Champion who was certainly not as serious about
the match as I was, I reached the finalwhere of course I lost to Jaroslav Jardo Stanek, the
ex-Czech #1 who wed seen play in the States some years ago.
Of the eight Womens Singles quarterfinalists,
only one was a European23-year-old Ursula
Hirschmullerwho in77 won the first of her five West
German National Championships. Ursula means
little she-bearwhich suggests her short physical
stature but may pooh-pooh any notion of mere
playfulness. Someone told me that all members of the
German Team have to sign a contract guaranteeing
theyll be on call at least 100 days of the year. On some
of these days players are more apt to find their calling
than on others. Hirschmuller began earning her World
# 8 ranking by beating the 74 European Champ,
Hungarys Judit Magos, -19, 23, 16, 20. Then, in the
3rd round, she knocked out the #2 North Korean,
Germanys Ursula Hirschmuller
PakYong Ok, deuce in the 5th. And in the 8ths, she
From The Table Tennis Report, 2/82
491

won, deuce in the 5th

Frances Jacques Secretin and Claude Bergeret,
again, by downing
World Mixed Doubles Champions
Ilona Uhlikova, the
Czech who used to
be the fastest
counter-driver in
Europe. (Married
now, shes slowed
down, or else others
have gotten faster).
But finally, in the
quarters, Ursula was
caught in a bear trap
by Chinas Chang Teying and, averaging
only 10 points a
game, couldnt begin
to maneuver her way
out.
Perhaps Chang was due for a breather. Though thats what you would have thought
shed started with. In the 1st round, shed drawn Lee Ki Won, whom the South Koreans
hadnt played in a single match in the Teams, and apparently had to struggle mightily, 27-25 in
the 4th, to wrestle her down.
Meanwhile, Changs 2nd-round opponent was being decided. Our Insook Bhushan,
former Captain and playing teammate of the formidable South Korean players here, after a 150 record was found qualified to meet Claude Bergeret, the French #1. Ms. Bergeret, you might
say, had to qualify to play Insook...by passing a surprise Doping Test. Andanother
surpriseour own Team Captain Heather Angelinetta was called on to accompany Claude to
the toiletteto make sure she didnt switch her urine with anyone.
Down 2-1, Insook was playing too predictably defensively. Heather suggested she try
putting a little pressure on Bergeret by picking up her pick-hitting. Which she did
successfully. And now, with her new awareness and confidence that she could vary her game,
her chopping got better. Up 17-13 in the 5th, she unexpectedly snapped a backhand in. Up 2016 she finished with a quick forehand.
This Bhushan, said the involved umpire afterwards, as if justice had triumphed, has
the most legal serve of anyone Ive umpired for. Bergeret, sobbing, was to have only the one
consolation (no, not that biennial, less meaningful event for loserswhich she didnt even
enter). She would continue on...to win a World title! The Mixed Doubles with Jacques
Secretin via a key (-12, 19, -13, 19, 16) 8ths match in which they were 96-88 outscored by,
but beat, Huang Liang/Wei Li-chieh (both of whom, not incidentally, were, respectively,
runner-up in Mens and Womens Doubles).
Insooks next and last match was with Shanghai schoolteacher and in her spare time
World #4 Cheng Te-ying. Up 19-15 in the 1st, Insook finished with two beautiesa backhand
pick and a deceptive fadeaway forehand. Bobby Gusikoff, former U.S. Team member, sitting
with others of us on the U.S. bench (Bobbyd been critical of the tournaments poor lighting
and the non-wooden floor, but appreciative of the many spectators) tried to point out
492

Chinas Chang Te-ying (L), 18-in-the-5th winner over Insook

Photo by Mal Anderson

something to Insook, but No, she said, dont tell me anything. I know what Im doing.
Sometimes I have to hit and miss.
In the 2nd game, Chang, down 12-4, apparently cant hit the ball hard enough to get
through Bhushan. Perhaps Insooks chops are coming a little too high and deep? Penholders
have a tendency to hit low balls better than high ones. Still, the Chinese girl wins 14 of the
next 22 points, rallies to 20-18 before pushing the game-point into the net.
As the 3rd game is about to get underway, Chinese Coach Chang Hsieh-lin is making
angry gestures at Chang. Does she need such a reminder to play?
At 16-all in the 3rd, Chang pulls awayis up 19-16. But Insook ties it up. Fearlessly,
Chang throws the ball heavenward, serves and follows with a winner...saves the day.
Insook wants to change her playing shirt. She has 5 minutes, so off she goes. Hey!
someone says. Is she crazy? Somebody stop her. You cant go out of the hallyou cant even
leave your team bench! (Is that true? She couldnt go to the toilet?) Nobody stops her, and
shes back within the time limit. She forgets her towel though, and in starting the 4th game she
and her opponent play the first two points on the wrong side. Up 4-1, Insooks huffing and
puffing (shed jogged to and from wherever she went to change?). Not an encouraging sign,
and one that precipitates a 7-0 run on Changs part. Insook loses this game at 14. Maybe the
Chinese has just now understood that with her Friendship racket shes supposed to come into
Insooks chops in a more direct straight line?
In the 5th, Chang opens ominously with a net. But then is soon down 13-5! Insook is
going to beat the World #4! In fact, she can win the tournament! True, shes been shaking her
left footas if shes got a cramp, but....But no excuses. Chang goes into a zonejust plays
perfectly, has gone 16-15 up! At 16-all Insook flashes in a forehandbut at this precise
moment the umpire has to call a let, and in a moment instead of being 17-16 up shes 17-16
down. Then she fails to return a Chinese throw-up serve. Down 20-18 match-point, she cant
return a carefully angled-off roll. So her great chance is gone. She comes back, takes off her
sneakers, and, head, down, preoccupies herself with her blisters.
493

Lee Ailesa, whod been the mainstay of the

1973 Corbillon Cup Championship Team that Insook
had begrudgingly been the non-playing Captain for,
looked, like Insook, to be a winner in the bottom
quarter of Chengs half of the drawbut wasnt.
After losing the first two games, Chinas Chang Li
rallied to win. In the very exciting 5th, Lee had her
chances. Up 19-17 and serving, she blocked Changs
return off. Then missed a forehand. At 19-all she
served and followedand missed again. Finally, after
surviving two match points, Lee looped one off, then
served and followed...with a whiff.
Changs quarterfinal opponent was another
Asian, the lone remaining Japanese19-year-old
Kayoko Kawahigashi (who in the 2nd Qualifying
Round beat someone 5, 3, and 21!). In the 2nd Round
proper she got a break when her opponent, Englands
Lee Ailesa
Jill Hammersley, whod recently recovered from an
From English Table Tennis News, May, 1977;
photo by Tony Ross
appendectomy, was suffering a recurrent hip pain and
was not at full Defending European Champion
strength. (Of course many a player continuing day after day to play all these Team and
Individual matches on the hard surface courts here at Sparta, er, rather Sportacus, as the
Championships were named, risked aggravating an injury.)
Before her 5-game
match with the
chunky Kawahigashi
(who would go on to
win the 1980 and 82
U.S. Opens),
Hammersley had
received last-minute
acupuncture (an
ages old traditional
treatment) from a
Englands Jill Hammersley
friendly Chinese
From Birminghams Evening Mail
Team Doctor. (Even
more Anglo-Chinese understanding the Chinese might have shown to Jill...might even have
allowed her to win the Worlds...had she been up to itor so someone was trying to tell me.)
But though this Chinese treatment (putting black powder on two tender points in her ears and
on the injured area) was helpful, it didnt completely relieve her pain. Said Jill, The Japanese
girl was catching me wide on the forehand and then dropping the ball short, and I had to stamp
forward to reach the ball. She knew about the injury and exploited itbut I would have done
the same. Anyway, the pain affected my concentration.
Against Swedens Ann-Christin Hellman, European runner-up to Magos in 74,
Kawaigashi lost the 1st, was down 12-8 in the 2nd, down 14-8 in the 3rd, and down 1-2-3-4
game points in the 4th before winning.
494

Perhaps then playing Chang Li was an anticlimax? At any rate, the young Japanese
averaged only 11 points a game.
So, on the one side of the draw, Chang and Changs twin wins in the quarters eased
them into the semis.
In the quarters on the other side of the draw, South Koreas Chung Hyun Sook could
manage only 13 points a game from bespectacled Ke Hsin-ai, destined in 79 in Pyongyang to
be the World Champion. A penholder, Ke played like an all-around shakehands playerat least
thats what our USTTA Rating Chair Neal Fox was telling me. Ive experimented with my
penhold game like that too, he said with more than a litttle touch of pride that, for a moment,
with originality, with imagination, hed matched the Chinese. Moving into the semis, then,
was the 3rd ChineseKe Hsin-ai.
One last quarters to mentionwhere
perhaps well see the fourth Chinese advance to
the semis? In her opening match, Sachiko
Yokoto, the #1 Japanese, playing with a
deceptive black racket (hard rubber? long pips?),
met Chinas Chen Huai-ying, the 27-year-old
veteran of four World Championships, who it
was presumed had to be tested once again in the
Preliminaries else she couldnt qualify. She came
through. Up 19-17 in the 5th against Yokota,
Chen pushed into the net. Up 20-19 match-point,
she served into the net. At 20-all, she missed.
Down 21-20, she missed. What a way to lose,
huh?
In the next round against Hungarys
Beatriz Kishazi, runner-up in the 72 European
Championship, Yokoto wasnt so fortunate, this
time lost in 5. But then in the 8ths Kishazi was
Japans Kayo Kawahigashi (L)
beaten decisively by Chinas Chu Hsiang-yun.
and Sachiko Yokoto
Oh, oh, another Chinese quarterfinalist. While
theres still time, someone had better give the encouraging cheer, Friendship First,
Competition Second!
Ah, just in timetheres one quarterfinalist yet to be accounted for: North Koreas
Defending Champion Pak Yung Sun. The Chinese are waiting. No need for Pak to worry
about the aging Romanian Maria Alexandru, is there? So Maria was World Womens Doubles
Champion back in 1961. Can she play Singles? Uh, she was European Champion in 66. But
now? Turns out shes been World Womens Doubles Champion three times and that two of her
Doubles titles have been at the last two Worlds, and that at the last Europeans she was
Singles runner-up. But she can be looped away. So all Pak has to do is get by the 1st round.
Can Englands Carole Knight be a problem?
Jill Hammersley, yesshe was match point up on Pak in the Teams when the North
Korean daringly took an all-out smash that went in and allowed her to save the game and the
match. But Carole Knight. Whos she?
Well, in the final of the recent Norwich Union Championship, shed beaten
Hammersley, and here in Birmingham had caused a small sensation in Cup play when, down
495

19-9 in the 3rd to Romanias Liana Mihut, she rallied to win, played what she called the most
amazing match of her career. As if this wasnt enough, when she lost to Russias Elmira
Antonian in the Teams, she promptly stepped on the ball. So shes tough.
Down 2-1 in games to Pak, Knight, up 20-18 in the 4th, cant keep the North Korean
from deucing it. But at 20-all Carole doesnt falter, serves and follows for a winner, then goes
on to take the game. In the 5th, the turning point comes at 9-all. Knight makes errors and Pak
scores with a serve and one. From 14-11 Pak runs it to 20-16 match point. But Carole spins
one in. And, for the first time, serves and socks20-18. Finishesfinishes herselfby
whiffing the ball.
Pakgive
her creditis safely
through the 1st
round...and home.
She will now meet
four Chineseand
will beat them all
three straight.
Youll forgive me if
I skip to the final?
There she meets
Chang Li, the same
Chinese who in the
Teams in Singles
and Doubles play
had been 17-1 (her
only loss? to Pak),
and the same
Pak, advancing, is safe with Chang Li
Chinese shed
Photo by Mal Anderson
beaten in the final of
the last Worlds.
After losing the 1st gamedown 20-15 she seems to just, friendly-like, give Pak the
last pointChang, playing along in the 2nd, suddenly smashes a ball that goes outside the
court. Pak chases it, steps over the divider and is about to pick up the ball when Chang,
jumping over the barrier, is alongside her, joining her in what can only be the sporting gesture
of a real friend. The crowd approves, applauds. The two of them return to the table and play
resumesthe North Korean looping, the Chinese blocking. The points harmonize. Down 2019 Chang serves, and, as if she has nothing to lose or everything to gain, all-out follows.
Deuce! And deuce again. How evenly matched they are. Like mirror images these two lefthanded attackers. What will decide the outcome of this game, their match? Fate? Pak, up 2322, gets an irretrievable net. Pak 2Chang 0.
At 18-all in the 3rd, the umpire takes a point away from the Chinese. Says he cant see
her serve. And though Pak herself expresses disapproval, the catcalls stand. Again, call it what
you willLuck, Fatethe North Korean gets another net. Wins the game, the match, and the
title.
So much then for the rose-red myth of Chinese invincibility.
Afterwards, the Press is invited to an interview with the Champion. The facts are these:
496

The New York Times is in error

World Champion
to call her Mrs. Pak. She is 20 years old,
Pak Yung Sun
From English TT
is definitely not married, has no
News, Jan., 77
boyfriendloves music and books. Her
father is a worker in a chemical factory
and her mother a kindergarten teacher.
She has been playing table tennis since she
was 13 and wears the uniform of the
commemorative 28 Sports Club.
She felt, said her coach,
reconditioned after her day or two of
rest between the Team (she was 16-9 in
Singles and Doubles) and the Individual
events.
Yes, she herself said,
I felt sorry for the Chinese
girl. Her serve was not a
fault. Did it affect the result
of the match? asked a
reporter. Ms. Paks coach
answered, We cant deny our
opponent received a bad
impression....Was Ms. Pak
surprised to win in 3?...Was
Chang Li at her peak?...The
questions seemed to come so
quickly she could hardly
answer them....Which was her
hardest match? From the
quarters on, she said, every
match was hard. Well, maybe
North Koreas Pak Yung Sun makes it two in a row not too hard. When Chang Li
and
the
Chinese (L-R: Chang Li, Chang Te-ying, and Ke Hsin-ai)
(Zhang Li) later came to
couldnt be happier for her.
coach in the U.S., she told
Photo by Mal Anderson
Mal Anderson that shed been
instructed to lose to Pak. I know, said Mal, I saw the match.
Mens Singles
Well, it couldnt have worked out any better, eh? One admires the symmetry of it all
the four quarters of the Mens Singles pitted four Asians against four Europeans. And the
semiswhy, in make-up they were just like the Womens: three Chinese and the one other,
not too far away Oriental. And naturally there would not likely be a Chinese Mens Singles
Champion any more than there would likely be a Chinese Womens Champion. Coach Li Fujung had said as much.
In the 1st quarter of the draw, there was of course Istvan Jonyer, the Defending
Champion. Hed have to watch out for a ringer though, for someone said that Mexicos
497

Coach, 73 World Champion Hsi En-ting, was letting it be known that Jonyers 1st round
opponent Li Yu-hsiang was in reality the best of the Chinese players. Which prompted
somebody (since British bookmakers were offering odds on the players) to go out and bet 20
pounds on him. But that he was the best did not turn out to be truefor he lost. Still, his -19,
20, -18, -15 loss to Jonyer was close enough, and Jonyer soft enough, to worry those who
hoped the Hungarian spinner extraordinaire would stay in the tournament.
Advancing to meet Jonyer came the current French Champion Patrick Birocheau, who
was momentarily interrupting Jacques Secretins
forever reign. Birocheau had started shakily, was at the
-20, 21, 20,9 cliff edge with Bulgarias Djevat
Hassanov, then had to go deuce in the 4th with
Swedens Ake Liljegren (whod knocked out Russias
Bagrat Burnazian, in a 26-24 5th-game thriller).
Birocheaus relatively easy 4-game win over
Jonyer gave the impression that the Hungarian had not
yet recovered (1) from his recent Achilles tendon injury,
and (2) from that old cartilage injury hed suffered in
the fall of 75 in Russia. For a year or so after his knee
operation he didnt compete. And even now, I heard,
his knee swells if he plays more than two hours a day.
Another explanation for Birocheaus upset win
was that Jonyer and Klampar, up 20-13 in the 5th, had
just blown their Doubles match against (They
suddenly just didnt miss a ball) Huang Liang and Lu
Frances Patrick Birocheau knocked out Jonyer
Yuan-sheng. Or still another thought was that, with the
Photo by Neal Fox
match tied at 1-1, Birocheau, down 18-13 in the 3rd,
ran out the game and so further broke Jonyers spirit.
Anyway, the crowd was very fickle. Jonyers a piece of shit, said the guy next to me. Hes
the worst player of all time to win the Worlds. Thus, spake the Historian.
Japans Mitsuru Kohno, high from his strong performance in the Teams, moved
toward Birocheau by besting Englands
Denis Neale, 3-zip. Before the
tournament started, Denis, whose
favorite hobby is horse-racing and who
therefore lists his favorite TV
programme as Grandstand, had tried
to get 1500 pounds for his mates. They
had only to wear a certain bookies
name on their track suits. But the deal
fell through.
Shortly thereafter Denis
Englands Denis Neale
received an official-looking letter from
From English TT News,
his Coach that said simply, You have
Feb.-Mar., 1975
been omitted from the World
Championship Team. No rime or reason to it, protested Neale, who was most annoyed that,
after hed played almost 400 matches for his country over a period of 16 years, his Coach
498

didnt even know how to spell his nameit was Denis not Dennis. So Neale paid 250 pounds for a
lawyer who promptly pressured the English TTA about their lack of consideration, their kangaroo
court, and Denis was reinstatedat least, said his Coach, for this his last World Championships.
After Kohno had downed Birocheau in 4 to reach the quarters, spectators were
naturally interested in who hed face there. Li Chen-Shih, who was to later win the Mens
Doubles with Liang Ke-liang? Nope. Li was upset in the 1st round by Zoran Zoki
Kosanovic, the #4 Yugoslav. Naturally this brought to mind Lis dump to the #4 Yugoslav in
Calcutta. Up 2-1 against Zoki, Li managed maybe 25 points total in the 4th and 5th games.
Someone claimed that what he was doing was illegal. Had the wooden side of his penhold
racket paintednot, as the ITTF required, stained.
Kosanovic, however, then lost in 4 (the last three games under 10) to Wilfried Lieckafter
which the 1976 and 5-time West German Champion, planted at the table, the better with unerring
anticipation to sprout fast-hands blocks in all directions, was ready to play five strung-out games of
what someone called stringball with 71 World Champion Stellan Bengtsson.
Down 14-13 in the 5th, Bengtsson has to suffer, first, a net (15-13), then an edge (1613). Lieck is so hands-up apologetic that he seems to talk himself right out of the next point.
In fact, he now begins to play very badly
Fair Play Award
so that soon the score is 18-all. Whereupon
winner - Germanys
the umpire stops play and again warns
Wilfried Lieck
Christer Johansson, Kjells brother and the
former Swedish National Coach of
Bengtsson, who, in his present capacity as
German National Coach, has been calling
advice to Lieck almost every point.
Lieck himself has, if not the last
word, the last gesture. With the score 2018 Bengtsson, the players play a
questionable match point. Did
Bengtssons ball nick the edge? The
umpire says it did not. Bengtsson doesnt
say anything, but looks expectantly
at Lieck. Lieck looks down, looks
up at Bengtsson, walks over to the
side of the table and grimly, silently,
points to the edge. He thus wins, if
not this match and a chance for the
Big Trophy, the Richard Bergmann
Fair Play Award for, as one fellow
put it, conspicuously good
sportsmanship.
In that top-half of the draws
companion quarters, the U.S.s
world-ranked Danny Seemiller got
thrown a curve. Wang Chien-chiang,
Id heard, was in the semis of a
Chinas Wang Chien-chiang defeating Danny Seemiller
recent All-China tournament. Now
Photo by Mal Anderson
499

here he was
having to qualify,
the only one of the
Chinese men
forced to do so
and, you guessed
it, he happened to
be drawn in
against Seemiller
in the 1st round.
To make matters
worse, according
to Mal Anderson,
our USTTA/ITTF
Rules expert, the
Preliminary draws,
contrary to ITTF
rules, were made
available at least a
month ahead of
timeso that the
Chinese, alerted to
the fact that their
#11 Qualifier
would be put in
opposite Danny,
were prepared.
In the
practice hall before
the match, Wang
reportedly put in a
couple of hours
Danny (R) and Ricky Seemillers fun win over Chinas Kuo Yao-hua and Kiao Fu-min
work playing
Photo by Mal Anderson
against an
imaginary
Seemiller who was using anti on one side, inverted on the other, and who was serving as much like
Danny as possible. Danny, too, was practicing, and from time to time some interested Chinese
would come over and observe him and then go back and talk to Wang for a while.
Sad to say, then, Danny, whod played so brilliantly in the Teams, could never get
going in this Singles match. No doubt it was something of an anticlimax for him after the
U.S.s great victory. Also, the Chinese handled Dannys serves without difficulty. Gary Fagan,
whose never-say-die spirit had proved so valuable in organizing the Americans to cheer Danny
in his darkest moments against Stefano Bosi in our deciding Team tie with Italy, was extremely
disappointed in the lack of American support for Danny in this match. The biggest yell finally
came when Seemiller was 20-15 match point downan ironically humorous plea addressed to
Wang (Friendship Match!).
500

Also losing early matchesall in Qualifying playwere the other U.S. men. Of these,
only Dean Galardi had a (-16, 20, -20, -19) closely contested fightwith the young Czech
Jindrich Pansky who by 1983 would be among the Worlds Top 30.
The U.S. did have one moment of ecstatic, unreflecting gloryin the Doubles. Danny
and brother Ricky, after downing Greek and English teams in 4, blocked down Kuo Yao-hua
and his lowly, obviously not meant to win partner Kiao Fu-min, 19, 19, 21, and so advanced
to the quartersthe farthest an American mens pair had gotten since Dick Miles and Johnny
Somael in 1955. Dont be scared of them, Danny kept telling Ricky. Make them scared of
you. And on coming off the court, Danny could be heard to say, They were so confused
they kept talking all the time.
Later, Danny expressed some second thoughts about this win. Kuo really was a very
good playerbeginning this year hed be in four consecutive World Singles finals (something
only Barna back in the relatively weak competition of the 30s could match). Also, on
reflection, Dannys singles loss didnt seem so bad. Wang may have been a qualifier, but there
was no shame, and shouldnt have been much disgust, in losing to him. One of the worlds Top
15, Swedens Ulf Thorsell, had been Dannys next door neighbor in this loaded draw, and
Wang got by him in 5. Meanwhile, not far down the block, another neighbor was Chinas
World #30 Lu Yuan-sheng. Leading 2-0, he was upset (but not unsettled?) by Japans
unheralded Isao Nakandakare, who in turn was beaten 19 in the 4th by Romanias Teodor
Doru Gheorghe. Wang then downed Gheorghe, 18 in the 5th. After which, it was Wangs
turn to fall. You cant say Dragutin Surbek knocked him for a loop though; more that the
Yugoslav strongman outpointed him, -19, 20, 20, 17, in four furious games. The pivotal point
of the match came when Surbek, down 1-0, won the 2nd at deucethen, tap-tap-tapping the
ball on his racket, popped it up, caught it in his thrown-back mouth, and with a sigh of relief
expelled it table-ward.
Advancing into
Surbeks quarters was
Chinas Liang Ke-liang. Hed
opened with a vengeance
against West Germanys Peter
Stellwagwas up 16-3 in the
1st, 11-0 in the 2nd. Which
was damn near unbelievable,
for in the Teams Stellwag had
beaten the Czech Milan
Orlowski, winner of the Top
12 tournament only a couple
of weeks previous. Liang then
gave up a game to Japans
Masahiro Maehara, who
earlier had struggled into the
5th with Englands Paul Day.
Orlowski was Liangs next
victim. The 1974 Czech
European Champion was now
Japans Masahiro Maehara
in the Army and about to be
Photo by Mal Anderson
501

married. He had very good two-wing control of spin. But when Liangs pips-out backhand
zigzagged crazily at him he was powerless. Liang murdered him, 10, 14, 8.
Atop the other side of the draw, Secretin, whose ball looks so easy to hit, got by
Englands Desmond Douglas in 4, largely because, in losing that swing 25-23 2nd game, Des
didnt seem to feel he could winor thats what it looked like to the spectators around me.
As the Frenchman went on to exchange games with Huang Liang, a fellow next to me
said that because Secretin had been to China and played against the Chinese he was one of the
first Europeans to really understand this new spin. And what he said sounded quite plausible to
me until, down 14-10 in the 5th, Huang won the next 8 points on the 1st or 2nd ball as
Secretin failed to return 1-2-3-4-5 serves!
Naturally Secretin knows that since 1975 the Chinese have been using this bat with
three millimeters of pips out on one side, and a thin layer of sponge on the otherwhich is
exactly the reverse of the conventional bat. But this knowledge doesnt Frenchify because,
unless the sides of Huangs racket are colored differently, Secretin cant read the spin coming
from it. Huang chops and Secretin might as well take French leave, for why continuehe
cant tell if the balls got topspin or underspin on it.
Neale, who played against Huang and Lu Yuan-sheng in the Doubles, said, They
could have beaten Des and me three straight under 4. Huang could kill Secretin, but doesnt
want to. Too badbecause then the racket would be banned.
As for the official ITTF position, hear its Secretary General Tony Brooks: The bats
have been examined and are legal. Bats and types of service were discussed at Congress...and
whereas no permanent conclusions were reached it should be remembered that the ITTF is
always concerned to ensure the game is a contest between the skills of players and not
between equipment.
Or, as somebody else in the ITTF offhandedly said to me, embarrassed when I read him
back his line, A lot of principles have to be sublimated for expediency and conciliation.
Coming out to meet Huang in the quarters was Hungarys Gabor Gergely. Hed
dropped games to Heinrich Lammers (whod edged Scotlands Richard Yule in a marathon 2826 in the 5th match) and the USSRs Sarkis Sarkhoyan (whod romped through Hong Kongs
Chen Scheng-shien after Chen had gotten by Czechoslovakias Josef Dvoracek in 5).
Sarkhoyan, I want to whisper, choked away every match I saw him playincluding his 19 in
the 4th loss to Gergely. The Russiansthough the players themselves probably got along well
enough with one anotherseemed to have the worst morale of any Championship Category
team in Birmingham. If coach and player werent squabbling, or wanting to, they were all
sitting there on their bench looking glumly paralyzed.
Taking a first stepmore a crawl than a steptoward Gergely was West Germanys
Peter Engel with a 5-game win over Spains David Sanchez. Engel was then stopped in 5 by
Milivoj Karakasevic. But in the 16ths the Yugoslav lost the 1st game at 19 to Johansson and
then collapsed. Gergely, however, won a big 19 game from the Swede that saved the match for
him. Kjell countered well with his backhand, but too often he just didnt seem to find or create
enough of his old forehand openings. Will he really retire from 60,000 pounds a year?
In the section of the draw Ive not yet talked about, the Chinese lost one of their men.
Wang Chun (who in the Teams had beaten Orlowski) refused to come out to the table against
an Israeli player. (China doesnt recognize Israel as a country.) Prior to this an Australian had
gone off to make a legal bet on the Sportacus grounds20 pounds on Wang to win. After the
Chinese defaulted, the Aussie went back, wanted to switch his bet. Yeah, sure.
502

The odds on Anton Tova Stipancic, the Yugoslav runner-up at the last Worlds, were
probably pretty high? He didnt look too impressivebut he did win two 19 games that gave him
the necessary lackadaisical lift by Tokio Tasaka in 5. However, if Klampar wasnt threatened in the
4th by the tenacious Czech Jaroslav Kunz, neither would he be by Stipancic. Indeed, the
temperamental Hungarian seemed to be warming upthat, or the New York doctor (no, its not
Dr. Gal) the Hungarians have picked up has made his bad left shoulder better.

Clockwise from
left: Germanys
Jochen Leiss,
Japans Norio
Takashima, and
Chinas Kuo
Yao-hua
Kuo photo by Mal
Anderson

Joining Klampar in the quarters was Chinas Kuo

Yao-hua. Somebody said hed done 20 laps around this
huge National Exhibition Centre and, like a ballet dancer,
wasnt even winded. Others had seen him, using his tiltedin body as a marker for his service drop, practicing
hundreds of throw-up serves. Sometimes he (or Huang or Li or Liang or how many more?) would
illegally spin the ball as he threw it uplike Schiff and his fingerspin, someone from long ago
said. Which, since Schiffs fingerspin was legal, perhaps makes the comment suspect? In successive
straight-game wins, Kuo said goodbye to Swedens Roger Lagerfeldt (5-game 1st-round victor
over South Koreas Choi Sung Kuk), West Germanys Jochen Leiss, and Japans Norio Takashima.
Ready then for the quarters? They offered some of the best matches of the
tournament.
Bengtsson wins the 1st game from Kohno at deuce because his backhand counter is
stronger. But then the Japanese, keeping Bengtsson back from the table until he can pass him
with backhand or forehand, evens the match. In the 3rd game, at 19-all, Kohno serves into the
net. But now the Swede whiffs one and its deuce. And after Bengtsson loops Kohnos serve
off, its deuce again. And deuce again. And when Kohno powers in a gorgeous backhand,
deuce again. Finally its STELL-an!...STELL-an!
Bengtsson 2Kohno 1. And yet, says a nearby spectator, when you look at this
match you wonder how Kohno can lose it.
503

Kohno beats Bengtsson 19 in the 5th

Photo by Mal Anderson

In the 4th, Kohno

slows downand
what can Bengtsson
do? He hasnt any
spin. In fact, what
does he have? A little
bit of everything. But
not enough to win the
4th. In the deciding
5th, Bengtsson goes
from 6-4 up to 10-6
downthen draws
close again before
pushing two of
Kohnos serves into
the net, and falls
behind 14-10.
Someone draws me a
little diagram. Kohno,
its pointed out, hits
properlythe ball
goes up first, then

comes down. Whereas Bengtsson hits improperlythe ball just goes down.
Up 18-14, Kohno serves off. And, as if shaken, sees Bengtsson tie it up at 18-all. Then
19-18 Kohno. Then 20-18 Kohno on maybe the best point of the tournamentending when
Bengtsson, trying for an impossible retrieve, jumps over the barrier into Surbeks court. Then
20-19 when Kohno doesnt return the Swedes serve. But he doesnt miss the next one, and
wins the game...and the title. Says one observer, If Bengtsson had won that match, hed be
World Champion again.
Against Surbek, whos talking about retiring this year to play for a German club, Liang Koliang himself almost retires early. But then, from two games down, he rallies to beat the World #5
Yugoslav and remain the only undefeated player in the tournament. (Why, asks Li Fu-jung on
looking over Neal Foxs World Rankings, are the Chinese so high?)
So, so far, the one Japanese and two Chinese remain.
Some say, faced with the Chinese, the Europeans are giving up, getting tiredare old
before their time. But that night, or rather early morning, in a bar, Surbek, whos talked about
going to the Bundesliga, takes a half-drunken vow. From this moment on, he says, I start
preparing for the next World Championship.
Huang against Gergely, as in the Teams, was a joke. How Huang (or any of the other
Chinese) can keep switching his racket and yet preserve his either-side touch is amazing.
Gergely, down 6-1, 12-3, slapping the ball away in frustration, returning serves into the net, is
so ridiculous that half the aficionados around me are laughing hysterically.
In the remaining quarters, its understood, isnt it, that Kuo has to beat Klampar? For,
since surely Huang Liang and his infuriating racket have to be stopped short of a scutinized
World final, wouldnt it be better that Kuo do the dirty work rather than Klampar? Moreover,
if Klampar should beat Kohno, can the Chinese rush to applaud him?
504

Kuo, too, has a few tricks up his

sleeve. On one early point against Klampar
he pushes the ball. It hits the top of the net
and crawls overthen, as if it were alive, it
bounces...and spins, clambers back over the
net to Kuos side. Ive never seen anything
like it.
Klampar of course is not bad.
Though not everybody may know it, hes
the best player in Hungary. He has more
speed in his forehand loop, more snap in his
backhand, than Jonyer. And often against
Kuo his shots are going in. After losing the
first two games, he wins the next two with
11, 15 ease. Is this match a friendly or
competitive one? Maybe the Chinese
themselves havent yet made up their mind,
dont want to be thought too predictable?
Tibor Klampar
Much depends on Klamparhow he plays
From English TT News, May-June, 1974
in the clutch, whether he deserves to win?
IF, as so many think, Kuo has the game and the confidence to allow the match to get perilously
close, how end-game intimidating is that to Klampar? At 17-all in the 5th, the Chinese catches
Klampar with a high-up serve and follow, then runs it to 20-17. But the Hungarian, who
alwayseven nowlooks bored, holds 18, 19 firm...until with a whiff his chance for the
World Championship vanishes into thin air.
In the one semis, Kuo wont let Huang hit a ball. All is 17, 15, 15 as predicted.
In the other semis, Liang, down 20-17 in the 1st against Kohnos sharp hitting and
nice little touch blocks, makes it to 19 before pushing his Japanese opponents serve off. And
now, after beating Kohno convincingly in the Teams, Liang can only score 14 and 11 in the
remaining games. Maybe he got the World Championship jitters? Maybe he developed a hitch
in his flawless, fluid strokes?
Now for the final: Japan vs. Chinaer, rather Kohno vs. Kuo. The New York Times
says that Kohno, semifinalist at the last Worlds, is making his first appearance in the
tournament in ten years. About the last Asian-African-Latin American Invitational in Mexico
City, though, they say nothingthough of course that was where Kuo beat Kohno 19 in the
4th.
In the 1st game, Kohno, up 12-6, hits in a shot, a beauty, and Li Fu-yung claps. Then
Kuo hits one in, a beauty, and Li claps again. In a moment the Chinese is up 16-14, has
outscored the Japanese 10-2, and goes on to win the game when Kohno, serve and one fast
turning sour, doesnt even give him a chance to play out a point.
In the 2nd, the umpire warns Kuo about his high-up serve, later faults him. Hes
putting impermissable spin on the ball? Whatever hes doing, a Chinese on the back-up bench
applauds...applauds presumably the umpires wariness. Behind me, a friend is yelling to
someone, Ill bet you $10 if it gets to be 18-17, or close like that, Kuo will serve into the
net. The fellow in the distance hears him, but, though he keeps insisting that the Chinese
wouldnt dump, he wont take the 3-1 odds on Kohno my friends ready to give him.
505

In the 3rd, with the match tied

at 1-1, Kuo, down 18-17, serves into
the net. And, since such a point makes
all the difference, Kohno goes on to
win. Quite clearly, its no surprise that
the 4th game, the match, and the title
are his.
Many would say he deserved it.
ADDENDUM: Since in this History
I take not only a long look to the past,
but also an occasional glance to the
future, and since of course I dont
hesitate to include selected writings of
my own that I think significant, I
conclude this volume with an account
of a little trip I took immediately after
the Birmingham Worlds:

Chinas runner-up Kuo Yao-hua serving to

Japans World Champion Mitsuru Kohno
Photo by Houshang Bozorgzadeh

Why is this man, holding the World Championship Cup, surrounded by Chinese friends,
not smiling? L-R: Kuo Yao-hua, Mitsuru
Kohno, Huang Liang, Liang Ko-liang

506

507

508

To order copies of

History of
U.S. Table Tennis,
Volumes I, II, III, IV, V,
VI, VII, or VIII,
send $35 per book to:
Tim Boggan,
12 Lake Avenue,
Merrick, NY 11566

Caesars Palace Executive Neil Smyth (left) and

Tournament Chair Bill Hodge, initiators of the historic 1976 U.S. Closed.