CHAPTER ONE
1962: Newly Elected President
Kilpatrick and His E.C.—Their Plans. 1962: Summer Play. 1962: U.S. Impressive
at Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) ’62-’63 Season Opener. 1962: Topics the
Canadian Magazine Too?
Having just been elected 1962-64 USTTA President (over George Koehnke and Lillian Guyer), Norman Kilpatrick prepared, with a whirlwind of energy and purpose, “an agenda that included over 70 items” for his initial E.C. Meeting, held June 16-17 at the Holiday Inn in College Park, Maryland. E.C. members along with Kilpatrick who attended were: 1958-62 USTTA President Rufford Harrison, now continuing in office as elected Recording Secretary (he’s also Equipment Chair); incumbent Treasurer Mona Buell (who’d assume responsibility for the U.S. World Team “Fighting Fund” from Jimmy McClure); and (as half the officers were elected for their two-year terms every other year) incumbent Vice-Presidents Sol Schiff, Pauline Somael, and Bob Chaimson (Bob had taken over the Library Chair from Pauline, the Women’s Chair).
Not attending the Meeting were: just elected Executive Vice-President Chuck Burns, and the new Vice-President Milt Forrest, who in the recent election had split votes (141-141) with USTTA Courts, Clubs, & League Chair Richard Feuerstein. (Oh, and people say their vote really doesn’t matter?). This tie was broken when those E.C. members attending the U.S. Open Meeting at the National’s chose Forrest, who rewarded them by immediately retiring (due to the “press of personal affairs”). Appointed in his place was not Feuerstein, but former Executive Vice President and current Coaching Chair Si Wasserman who, after a seemingly disinterested one-paragraph Campaign Statement, had finished runner-up in the balloting to Burns. Wasserman apparently had enough to do, so Bill Cross, not Si, was named Selection Chair.
Completing the E.C. officers for the1962-63 season (June 1-May 31) was Junior Development Committee Chair, attendee Herman Prescott who, by a vote of the E.C. members at this Meeting, was named to the appointed (not elected) position of Executive Secretary.
Also attending the Meeting were Exhibition Committee Chair Dick Evans; Photography Chair Mal Anderson (currently with the Army, and conveniently based at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland); Rules Committee Chair Al Gill (who’d later be replaced by Cyril Lederman); Tournament Committee Chair Art Goldblatt; National Association of College Unions representative Art Garner who agreed to work with newly appointed Intercollegiate Chair Walt Stephens (Walt, who’s Secretary of the Rochester, N.Y. Genesee Valley Club, will bring an exhibition team to Garner’s Alfred University); Percy Rochester, leader of the Bayonne, N.J. Junior and Police Athletic League T.T. Club; and Dr. Bob Lynn, DCTTA President, who’d earlier been a proxy for late arrival Chaimson.
Replacing Kilpatrick as Editor of Topics was Gerald “Jerry” Schuster (V-P of the St. Charles, MO V.F.W. Club); he’d stay with the job only one season, during which there’d be an appalling dearth of tournament results in the magazine. The new USTTA Historian was Leah Neuberger, about to serve in that position for decades; she replaced ailing octogenarian Peter Roberts. Both Roberts and former V-P Lillian Guyer (rare for a woman to be on the E.C.) would receive Awards for their long years of service to the Association.
Other Committee Chairs for the 1962-63 season were: Disciplinary: Elmer Cinnater; Education: Chuck Burns; Legal: Forrest Barr; Membership (after Chaimson had resigned): Fred Danner (who’d resign and be replaced by Fran Delaney); Nominating: Marcelino Monasterial; Public Relations: George Sinclair; Referees and Umpires: Cyril Lederman; Table Tennis Week: Milt Forrest; and Trophy: Si Ratner.
Decisions implemented, sometimes involving changes that Kilpatrick had urged prior to his election, were the preoccupations of the weekend (as may be seen from Recording Secretary Rufford Harrison’s Minutes or their capsulized version on pages 3 and 4 of the Oct., 1962 Topics):
(1) A new Internal Promotion Committee, headed by Michigan TTA President Graham Steenhoven, was specifically charged with administering “a program of granting expense money [funded at $350] to the winners of tournaments in one region, if they agree to attend tournaments in another region. (In the case of juniors, this partial expense [funded at $150] will be to attend tourneys in another part of the same region.)”
(2) Regional Directors were re-established, so as to make 5 regions in all: Pacific (Director: Milla Boczar), Central (Director: Michael Engle), Mid-West (Director: Ken Kleffman, who’d later be replaced by John Spencer), Southern (Carl Golden), and Eastern (Bob Lynn). The duties of these Directors are:
“…[to be] in charge of sanctioning all tournaments in their respective areas, except the Nationals and the National Team Championships. In addition they are responsible for arranging team matches in their regions, and for contacting non-affiliated groups about the USTTA. Finally, they are in charge of promotion in general within their regions, and have a free hand to make exceptions and/or changes in USTTA regulations, that might be needed to encourage USTTA activity in a certain situation (within limits, naturally).”
(3) Recognition of all affiliates, except clubs and leagues, will be suspended for one year. The reason? State groups, “by and large, were not seeming to be very effective, or representative.” Some didn’t even have a single club affiliated with the USTTA. In the next year, if a cluster of clubs in an area affiliate and form a strong base, and this happens in various states, then State groups may again be recognized. Meanwhile, since clubs will now have their tournaments sanctioned by the Regional Director, no club can say that a State group is “restricting them in development.” (During this season of suspension, the number of individual members stayed about the same, and the following year the USTTA would go back to recognizing affiliates.)
For the 1961-62 season Feuerstein reported that there were “30 affiliated clubs and leagues”—that’s the “largest number of affiliates for any one season.” Total memberships were 1,108: “Multiple memberships, 44; Senior [Adult] Memberships, 188; Junior Memberships, 178; Club Memberships, 629; League Memberships, 69.” This season, League memberships (it still had been only $.25 a year to play in just Closed tourneys) have been abolished, “with members of affiliating leagues given cards allowing them the same advantages of club members. [A Club still pays a flat sum of $10 and all its members (limit: 50, or, later, 40?) are eligible to play in Closed tourneys].”
(4) Of course rules were always discussed, sometimes amended. Earlier it was decided that the “Expedite Rule’ could be called “any time it seems needed,” but by the Tournament Referee not the umpire at the table. This was later amended—so that, though the Rule would automatically be put in after 15 minutes of play in any game, thereafter to be in force throughout the match, neither the umpire nor Referee would have the discretionary power to call it before 15 minutes of play. However, whenever both players wanted the Rule in, it would go into effect immediately. Also, injury time-outs were to be questioned and perhaps not allowed. Your arm’s cramping from too much looping or lobbing? Too bad—you have to continue or default.
(5) In close votes, it was decided that there will not be separate foreign seedings at tournaments, and that the “Bat Rule” will not be rescinded or changed.
(6) The USTTA will “sanction a class of professional table tennis tournaments.” Chuck Burns’s proposal at the July, 1963 E.C. will clarify what’s meant: that “an eight man round robin event be added to an open tournament, with a fairly high entry fee and cash prize to the winner and runner-up.” This wasn’t made mandatory, but there was no objection to it. No one to promote it either.
Likely, too, Kilpatrick would want U.S. cities to play host to a group of players such as will be seen in the Sept. 2-7, 1962 World Professional Championships in Australia—“a huge success publicity –wise.” Top 5 results there? Winner: Chou Lin-Chen (Nationalist China). Runner-up: Norikazu Fujii (Japan). 3rd: Richard Bergmann (England). 4th: Mai Van Hoa (South Vietnam). And (ready?) 5th: Lenny Cooperman (USA). Pay Lenny and he’ll play? Or maybe, Don’t pay Lenny and he’ll play? (Either way, on returning home, he’s the winner at both the Santa Barbara and San Diego Opens.)
Bergmann’s suspension for playing with the outlawed Fujii has been lifted, and he and Chou, formerly World #11 and now billed as “The World’s Fastest Attacker,” and “China’s No. 1 Table Tennis Star,” are coming to the U.S. to tour with the Harlem Globetrotters. Bergmann says the English TTA is too strict, wants always to know who he’s touring with, where he’s planning on going, so he and Chou are going to join the USTTA.
U.S. Coach Jack Carr will watch them play a Dec. 20th, 1962 exhibition in Dover, Delaware and have the following observations to make:
“…Bergmann’s defense was much closer to the table and has much more chop, made to bounce lower, than I’ve seen him produce before….His forehand drive no longer has the high elbow and crooked wrist, and is harder and used more for counter-driving now.
…[Penholder] Chou Lin-Chen did not use any loop drives, although he used a lob return when Bergmann rushed in to drive his drop shot….[In addition to wristy pushes, and “a marvelous blocking game” that rivals Bergmann’s, Chou’s] forehand drive was amazing, with considerable wrist and always a closed racket. His racket seldom if ever, finished above his head….The tremendous speed he imparted to the ball made it take more of an arc over the net than I have ever seen on hard hit low balls” (TTT, Feb, 1963, 9-10).
(7) The Exhibition Committee will be allotted money to cover “the travel expenses of USTTA Instructional Card holders [no fee for the Card] when they play promotional exhibitions for groups requesting same.” The Exhibition Committee was given the o.k. to allow groups to make their own arrangements with regard to “our professional Exhibition Card holders, for which the players are paid by the hosts, in exchange for a 10% commission on the players’ fees.”
(8) USTTA memberships now begin with the calendar year (Jan. 1) so as “to encourage renewals.” Membership Chair Fred Danner’s best argument for this change is that “Renewals will be intensified in January and February when local organizations have the most activities and tournaments in progress and the most players at the clubs.” It will seem more worthwhile for people to join. Fred says that though people might be tempted to join around National’s time, the psychology is wrong: the season’s coming to an end, and they may rightly think they won’t see a Topics until next fall.
Junior memberships have been raised “to $1.00,” but—so that the kids can grasp more what’s going on in the Association—will include a regular Topics subscription, hopefully with a special page in the magazine written by, or at least for, Junior members. (That special page never happened.) Come Jan 1, 1963, previous $.25 Junior Memberships will no longer be recognized. Juniors whose membership expires 5/31/63 can pay $1.50 during this transition period to renew for the remaining half year of 1962 through Dec. 31, 1963. Thereafter their annual membership fee will be $1 (no more than the yearly subscription cost of Topics). Senior (Adult) renewals from June, 1962 through Dec. 31, 1963 cost $3.00; thereafter $2.00 annually. The three-year Multiple Membership from June, 1962 through Dec. 31, 1966 costs $6.00; thereafter $5. A Life Membership is available for $25 and guarantees Topics “for at least 15 years.” No memberships will be sold without the magazine.
(9) Color of the rubber on the racket? Has to be dark enough, if questioned, to satisfy Equipment Chair Rufford Harrison. “Yellow rubber is definitely not to be allowed.” Also, “the racket’s rubber must be the same color on both sides of a shake-hands racket.” This directive, in years to come, will present problems when the rubber on one side is radically different from the rubber on the other, and the player flips or twiddles.
(10) Regarding the dress rule, “ANY DARK SOLID COLOR” is fine. “We are mainly after a neat appearance.”
(11) In all doubles play, “the order of receiving MUST BE CHANGED at the start of each game, and at 10 points in the final game of a series.” To get a National Ranking, doubles pairs must play in at least three Open events.
(12) The USTTA will consider sending a Team to the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel (if private funds can be obtained). The Association will definitely send a Team to the 1963 World Championships in Czechoslovakia. “A minimum of 3 men and 2 women was approved, but we hope we can take 5 and 3. It was agreed to send the ‘best players available.’” Players to be considered for the U.S. World Team must have earned their participation points—a needed 13 for those who’ve been on a World Team before; 9 otherwise—either “between June 1, 1961 and May 31, 1962, or between June 1, 1962 and December 31, 1962. Tournaments are classified anywhere from 1 to 4 stars; star-points are awarded according to the importance of the tournament. A one-star gives the participant 1 point; a 4-star National’s 4 points.
(13) All Canadian TTA Open events “will now count as regular ‘two star’ tourneys, while the Canadian Open (Canadian National Exhibition tournament) “will count as a ‘three star’ tournament”—for “rankings, world team consideration, etc.” It’s o.k. for Topics to continue to have a Canadian page and for Canada to think of Topics as their official magazine, but it’s suggested that “all CTTA members [be] obligated to subscribe to it as part of their CTTA membership fee.” Expect that to happen?
(14) All American tournaments that are Opens “MUST hold Men’s Novice Singles and Women’s Novice Singles.” The USTTA definition of a NOVICE is: one who has never won an Open Novice Singles event, never has been ranked in men’s or women’s singles, or has held a national title in men’s or women’s divisions, never has been a member of a team to the National Team Championships, never has been a finalist in men’s or women’s singles in an ‘open’ tourney, or the winner of a ‘state closed’ championship in men’s or women’s singles.” And to show, as with everything else, Kilpatrick means business, the Oct., 1962 Topics (pages 20-21), thanks to research by Leah Neuberger, lists 167 past Novice winners (alphabetized, dating back to 1940) and the specific tournament and when it was held at which they won, some having scored a first in two, one even in three, Novice events.
(15) Also, any sanctioned tournament MAY have a Class A division “for men, for women, or open to both.” To play in Class A, “a player must not be seeded in the regular men’s singles (or women’s singles), and may not be ‘placed’ in the men’s singles due to his ability, and can not currently hold a national ranking in men’s singles.” However, “a player in one tourney might be eligible for Class ‘A,’ but in a weaker one not be eligible due to seeding.” One can win a Class A “as many times as possible.”
Kilpatrick, in seeking to bring harmony to an Association he wants to see flourish, is liberal but not loose. He is admirably clear here at the outset of his Administration as to what the “rules” are now regarding new matters, or those that might heretofore have been controversial. He and his E.C. seem to have laid it all out so as to have a productive season, and likely after that another.
Schiff, who has a history of being miffed to action over this or that, would have liked it that his friend Howie Ornstein (at Sol’s suggestion?) was named Capt. of the U.S. Team to Canada; and he would have been pleased that when the Ranking Committee couldn’t decide whether he or Marty Doss should be the 4th man on the U.S. Team to the CNE International Matches, it fell to his fellow E.C.ers sitting round him to choose, and they chose Sol.
However, Schiff may not have liked several things that happened at the Meeting. One, that when Kilpatrick “suggested the appointment of a special representative to the World’s Fair (N.Y.) Cttee” (this will involve a failed attempt to get teams here for a 1964-65 World’s Fair World Championship)* and mentioned Johnny Somael, Sol said that “he and Mitchell Silbert had had a conversation with a member of that cttee., and suggested Silbert’s comments be solicited.” But Somael was then and there chosen to “assume the negotiations.”
Two, when the names of Somael and Schiff were put forward as possible candidates for the position of Captain of the 1963 U.S. World Team, Kilpatrick said that “he would think of others who might be available, and submit the names of several for a vote.” (Later, Kilpatrick was against Schiff as Captain, wanted Prescott, but this was one time he didn’t get his way.)
And, three, when Harrison proposed that a U.S. Delegate be selected to attend the 1963 ITTF Congress, and Schiff suggested Harrison, Kilpatrick objected. It was then decided that Kilpatrick would “submit to the Committee within six weeks names from which both the delegate and the team captain shall be chosen; that the voting be open; and that both positions be selected by a majority, there being a second voting if necessary.” (Later, Bob Chaimson will be named Delegate.)
I must add that, though, as we saw in Vol. III, Sol had had an intense run-in with Monasterial, at this Meeting he seconded the successful appointment (with one objection) of Marcy as Nominating Chair. Also, these summer of ‘62 Minutes do not in any way suggest that Sol was an obstructionist force to Kilpatrick’s plans. It will be apparent to readers later why I raise the thought that all might not be as harmonious as it seems.
Prior to the Easterners’ new season’s kick-off tournament, the CNE in Toronto, summer action was sketchily reported in various parts of the country. A Providence, R.I. Club team (Dick Evans, Irv Levine, Herv Lupien, Ed Raky) hosted a Springfield, MA Club team (Lem Kuusk, Lyn Smith, Ralph Naylor, and Lou Texiera) and defeated them in round-robin matches 11-5. (The Providence “B” Team also won—13-3.) Emboldened by such success, Providence, active with Tuesday night league play and a Friday night handicap tournament, took on the Waltham Club and beat them too—with Les Verdi scoring notable wins over Frank Dwelly and Benny Hull.
Westinghouse won the 7-team Delco T.T. League of Delaware County, and two of its players won hard-fought honors in its Closed tourney—Bert Poole took the Singles from Houdry Laboratories’ Bill Suda, -21, 20, 19, and Poole and George Chang, this coming season’s League President, defeated Houdry’s Ken Cosselin and Walt Guyer, the League’s immediate past President.
To help support the USTTA’s Internal Promotion program, Representatives-At-Large who “do much travel into non-affiliated areas” were appointed by the E.C. to spread the USTTA gospel. They were “empowered to speak for the USTTA in connection with any dispute that might arise at a tournament at which they may be present.” One of these reps was Bobby Fields. But at the Washington, D.C. Summer Open, could there have been any dispute when in the semi’s Bobby eliminated red-faced Tibor Hazi, or when in the final he came from two games down to knock off his brother-in-law Marty Doss? Certainly Marty had been exiting quietly in the Doubles, for the finals of the Men’s went to Fields/Clark Goldstein over Hazi/Jim Verta, and the Mixed went to Goldstein/Pauline Somael over Hazi/Julia Rutelionis.
Other results: Women’s Singles: Pauline over Donna Chaimson. Women’s Doubles: Donna and Ann Evans over Barbara Chaimson (did she play Singles?) and Ramona Kilpatrick, Norman’s wife. Both in Women’s Novice and Women’s Consolation, Brooke Williams, having moved into the D.C. area from Santa Barbara, CA, was too good for Kilpatrick. At the moment Brooke was attending Georgetown University, but she’d later complete her undergrad work at the University of California back in Santa Barbara, majoring in History and Political Science.
At this summer’s first Greenville, N.C. Open, Norm Kilpatrick was the Champ over his winning Doubles partner, Cairo, Egypt’s Zak Haleem, a Business Administration student at Howard University and also a part-time worker in the Washington, D.C. Libyan Embassy Passport Department. Bowie Martin, President of the Greenville Club, took the Class A Singles from Nelson Tugwell. Both Martin and Tugwell are finishing their senior year at East Carolina College in Greenville, and along with Kilpatrick, have helped to make the College Union there a hotbed of table tennis.
In the second Greenville Open, Hampton Roads’ Boys’ Club teammates fought it out in the Men’s with Herman Johnson besting Ronnie Hobson (who’d ousted Kilpatrick in 5). The winning and losing Singles finalists bonded, but shakily, into two winners when they just got by Ken Silverstone/Lester Moskowitz deuce in the 5th. In both “A” and “B” Singles, Silverstone outshone Art Goldblatt. Novice winner in a contested match was James Gatling over A. Brad Bulla.
Inter-club Matches were held between New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL. New Orleans, led by Ed Barrios and Reggie Barrus (with 12-0 records), and Baton Rouge, led by Meredith Bogan (9-3) finished in a tie, which had to be called a draw because there wasn’t time for a play-off. Others with strong 9-3 records were Pensacola’s Dave Dickson II and Mobile’s V-P Lansing Steed.
At the National Guard Armory in Amarillo, TX, the Fort Worth team of Harry Liedtke, Louie Lancer, John Rangel, Larry Ferstenfeld and R.W. Kirkland won the summer’s Southwestern Cities tournament over teams from (2nd) Oklahoma City; (3rd) Phoenix; (4th) Denver; and (5th) Amarillo. Oklahoma City’s Joe Sokoloff won the “A” Singles, Lancer the “B’s,” Rangel the “C’s,” and Denver’s John Jayner the “D’s.” “A” Doubles winners were Liedtke/Lancer; “B” Doubles winners, Jayner/Cecil Woodworth.
As a Newsletter written by Leo Bernat and Charlie Disney detailing the early history of play in Minnesota tells us, there was a new player coming to the fore in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Immigrant Henry Klass, “a short, muscular, master defense player” who back in the March Northern Open had won both the Singles and Doubles, also got to the final of the May Minnesota Open before understandably being beaten by Danny Vegh. Mabel Smith didn’t go south either—coolly took both tourneys. One of the players in the thick of the action was Chris Faye, purveyor of spins, loops, and disconcerting other shots. Among the tournament regulars were Ron Nordby, Jerry Knutsen, and Gordon McDowell (who at age 10 had given exhibitions with Coleman Clark).
Another summer, another Harry Lund victory in Colorado—this time over Senior Champ LeRoy Land, Treasurer of the Oklahoma City Y Club. Denver’s Mary White was the Women’s and (with Cecil Woodworth) the Mixed winner. Richard Rhoad (an Ohioan in the Service and being moved about?) took the Class AA. Larry Kesler from Oklahoma’s Tinker Air Force Base ran through a number of competitors—scored a 1st in Class A over Salt Lake City’s Herald Hammond, and a 1st in Novice Doubles (with John Guarney). Ralph Bender, President of the host Boulder Club, paired with Novice winner Lee Lonnquist to take the A Doubles, and with Men’s Consolation winner Azmy Ibrahim to come a very respectable 2nd in Men’s Doubles.
Canadian National Exhibition (CNE)
At the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 CNE International Matches at Toronto, U.S. Team Captain Howard Ornstein (Howie and each of his players received $25 from the USTTA towards expenses) saw all three of his teams—Men’s, Women’s, and Juniors—come through overwhelmingly against Canada. No problem in the 6-0 Men’s win—though Bobby Fields –15, 23, 12 almost fell to Howie Grossman. Bobby’s teammates—Erwin Klein, Bernie Bukiet, and Sol Schiff—didn’t lose even a game to their opponents—respectively Modris Zulps, Guy Germain, and Quebec TT Federation Executive V-P Nick Gadanyi.
In the Women’s, Pauline Somael escaped former Irish Champion Joy Owens of Vancouver, deuce in the 3rd, and Barbara Kaminsky, after winning the 1st at deuce, also defeated Joy in 3. Only in the Doubles did Owens, teamed with Denise Hunnius, get some measure of revenge—keeping Canada from being blitzed by downing Kaminsky/Lona Rubenstein. Also playing were Leah Neuberger of the U.S., and Jenny Marinko and Velta Adminis for Canada.
Although the U.S. agreed to allow Canadian Juniors to have an extra year of eligibility (CTTA President Hunnius was lamenting that “membership and participation had declined solely because there had been no replacement of older players by juniors”), Yat Chuen “Larry” Lee and Guy Germain really couldn’t make a match of it against U.S. U-15 Champ Ralph Childs and U.S. U-17 Champ Danny Pecora.
The Canadian Inter-Provincial Matches were split between Ontario and Quebec—with Capt. John Hunnius’s Quebec Women’s Team winning 6-4 over Capt. Gord Freeman’s Ontario Team; and Capt. Ken Scullion’s Ontario Men’s Team winning 6-3 over Hunnius’s Team. Women’s swing matches: Defending Closed Champion Hunnius over Adminis, -15, 19, 15, and Hunnius/Helga Bultemeier over Adminis/Marinko, -18, 18, 18. Also playing in this Team match were Louisa Griffin for Quebec, and former CNE Champions Joan Jessop and Sofie Kasperas (a.k.a. Kasperaviciute) for Ontario. Men’s swing matches: Lee, 19, 20 over Germain, and Max Marinko deuce in the 3rd over Eddy Schultz. Also playing were Zulps and Laimon Eichvald for Ontario and Gadanyi for Quebec.
First time Women’s Closed winner was Adminis—in the semi’s over 1960 Champ Owens; in the final over 4-time Champ Marinko. Men’s Closed winner (his 7th in the last 8 years) was Marinko, now 42 years old, over Grossman (who’d reportedly been sharpening his game in England). After Max’s imprisonment in Czechoslovakia for his pro-democracy views, his release and rapid departure for Austria and then Canada, do you think he’ll risk going back to play at the upcoming Prague World’s? Not a chance.
For a while, it wasn’t clear that cash-strapped Canada could send a Team to Prague, but the federal government provided “50% travel assistance” for CTTA players and officials. After this CNE tournament, the Association named Denise Hunnius and Velta Adminis for the Women’s Team, and Eddy Schultz, Claude Landry, Howie Grossman, and Guy Germain for the Men’s Team. At the ITTF Congress Meeting in Prague, CTTA President John Hunnius would succeed former USTTA President and World Team Captain Elmer Cinnater as ITTF Vice-President for North America—it’d be the first time a Canadian ever held any Executive ITTF post.
Since the U.S. World Team had to be selected by Dec. 31, wins at this tournament were of crucial importance. The Fairgrounds’ Small Judging Ring near the animal stalls was far from the best venue, but though complaints would continue every year (for example, about the direct sunlight coming into the courts), the Canadians pleaded, What can we do? The CNE sponsors the whole event. Strangely, in retrospect, the place had a kind of anti-aromatic charm to it.
In the Men’s Open, Klein, on getting by youth, 14-year-old “Pete” Childs in 5, then age, 43-year-old Bukiet in 5, had little trouble in the final with Marinko’s penhold pushiness. Best earlier matches were Richard Hicks’s upset wins—18 in the 5th over Harry Hirschkowitz, and 19 in the 5th over Defending Champion Fields (who’d been taken to 5 by former Irish star Pete Kelly). Losers, at least early round losers, like future U.S. World Team member Errol Resek, a recent arrival from the Dominican Republic, were requested to please umpire a match. “Don’t try and sneak out,” wrote Tournament Chair Gord Freeman in his Welcome. “Pinkerton’s Guards are at all the exits.” “I didn’t see any guard,” someone said. Hirschkowitz/Marty Doss took the Men’s Doubles in 5 from Klein/Chuck Burns who’d slipped by Norby Van de Walle/Irv Wasserman 19 in the 5th. Burns won the Senior’s—over Marinko in the semi’s, Schiff in the final.
In the Women’s Open, there were some late-round bloody battles. Barbara Kaminsky made the finals via a 5-gamer over Pauline Somael, and so did Lona Rubenstein with a fierce –19, 19, -23, 21, 13 win over Jenny Marinko. Then a big turn-around match: Lona came from –16, -20 20, 12, 16 down to take the Championship. Which prompted Bob, Barbara’s husband of a couple of months, to say later, “After that match was the only time I ever saw Barbara really drunk.” How much later did Bob say that? Alright, take a bow anyway, Barbara—40 years later.
Women’s Doubles went to Somael and Neuberger (Leah had been upset in the Singles by underrated Canada #5 Marinko) over Hunnius and Owens, conquerors of Kaminsky/ Rubenstein in 5. Barbara, however, did win the Mixed with Bukiet from Donna Chaimson and Lenny Cooperman (Lenny must like Donna because I can’t find a trace of him in any other event). In the semi’s, Barbara/Bernie beat the twosome of Somael/Dennis Hickerson, and Donna/ Lenny downed Lona/Erwin in 5.
In the Junior’s, Pecora beat Childs, 3-0. Pete, however, took the Boys with a contested semi’s over Doug Burns and an easier final over Herman Johnson who, winning a pivotal 26-24 3rd game, had advanced in 5 over Mike Dorsey. Helen Sabaliauskas, who last April won the Women’s in the U.S./Canadian Lithuanian Tournament at Cobo Hall, was best in Junior Miss over Connie Stace, 19 in the 4th. Girls’ went to Violetta Nesukaitis, future super-star, who didn’t look all that special in being forced into the 5th by Ontario’s Dana Kudada.
Maybe the Canadians didn’t quite think of Topics as their own, but at least their two Oct. tournaments got coverage in our magazine. However, at the first of these, the Central Canadian Open, held Oct. 6-7 at the frosty Niagara Falls Badminton Club, the turnout was poor because, though “the entry forms were issued nearly three weeks prior to the closing date, many [especially in the U.S.] had not received their copy by tournament time.”
Both at the Central Canadian and the Ontario Open, played (probably in Toronto) three weeks later, Marinko and Eichvald were in the Men’s final—with Max exacting straight-game revenge for his earlier 19-in-the-5th loss. His wife, Jenny, not to be outdone, was also in both Women’s finals—losing to Adminis, 3-0, but then coming back to beat Hunnius in 5. In the Mixed, Max and Jenny were twice winners over Zulps/Adminis, though pressed, 19-in-the-5th, in the repeat. The Men’s Doubles finalists also split matches—with Marinko/Art Saltpeter first beating, then losing to, Grossman/Martin Ivakitsch.
This doubling up syndrome continued. In the Junior’s, first Buffalo’s Jim Dixon defeated Adam Jones in 5, then Buffalo’s Adam defeated Jim in 5. In the Niagara Open, Cleveland’s Joe Bilka won both the B’s and the Senior’s; in the Ontario Open, Mike Behan won both the B’s and C’s. There wasn’t any Junior Miss event at the Niagara tourney, but 15-year-old Sabaliauskas was best in Women’s B’s; there wasn’t any Women’s B’s at the Ontario tourney, but Sabaliauskas was best in Junior Miss. Who’d I fail to single out? First, Handicap Singles winner Sager Barton; then Senior Champ Bob Wyatt.
I’ll keep you posted of course, but since there’s no write-up to go along with the results of these Canadian tournaments, how many members of the CTTA do you think will buy Topics? And how many months do you think it’ll be before more Canadian news appears in the U.S. magazine? A magazine, as the months fall away, whose readers will increasingly long for what former Editor Kilpatrick brought to it—verve, sought after photos, and wide-ranging interests.
SELECTED NOTES.
*In a Feb. 14, 1961 letter to Presidents of U.S. National Sports Organizations, including USTTA President Rufford Harrison, Edward P. F. Eagan, Chairman, People-to-People Sports Committee and Sports Consultant for the New York World’s Fair 1964-65 Corporation, had asked if it were possible, whatever the sport, to run a World Championship in conjunction with the Fair. Rufford then wrote to ITTF Secretary Roy Evans just before the ’61 Peking World’s, said he wanted to put in a provisional bid for the World’s in May, 1965, but would have to have two assurances—(1) that the U.S. State department would invite every country including “Red China,” and (2) that monies would come from somewhere to finance the tournament.
Evans wrote back that though Australia had a bid in for ’65, he’d await U.S. developments, which Rufford felt wouldn’t be conclusive until 1963. (As it turned out, the Australians were denied the World’s because their government wouldn’t accept North Vietnam’s entry, and Yugoslavia was awarded the tournament.) The idea of a U.S. World Championship then changed to the more feasible one of an International Open to be held in ’64 or ’65 at the World’s Fair, and Rufford dutifully sent out letters, “feelers,” to various ITTF member-countries, perhaps all 80 of them, asking if they could send a team and, if so, what financing they’d require, and also, given the ’65 Yugoslav World’s, when it would best suit them to come—autumn of ’64 seemed best. But of course country after country required financial aid that wasn’t forthcoming, and so no such International Open was held. It’s amazing to me now, and perhaps to Rufford, how much time and energy he spent on this project that seemed doomed from the beginning.
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