CHAPTER FIVE

 

            1973: End of Season Tournaments—Part I.

 

            The ‘70’s expansion of course is very evident in the number of tournaments reported in Topics, which itself has expanded considerably from its July-Aug., 1970 12-page tabloid start (the 6 issues for 1973 have the following pages: 32, 32, 60, 32, 32, 40). In this Chapter and the next I’ll cover tournaments from the middle of March to the end of June and will again begin in the Northwest and move eastward.

            The Desert Air Open is played where, do you think? In Richland, Washington. Desert/Rich land; Desert air/Washington state…doesn’t seem a match to me—but the names Tom Ruttinger over Rob Roberts in the Men’s do. Tom also paired with MIT’s Bill Ladd to take the Doubles from Dave Hudson/Jeff Kurtz. Judy Bochenski easily won the Women’s, slipping slightly in her semi’s, 21-0, 21-1. A’s went to Charlie McClarty over Eddie Ng, deuce in the 4^th. McLarty/Bob Ho won the A Doubles from Steve Berliner/Earl Adams. B’s to Ho over Dick DuBonne. B Doubles to Jim Waugh/David Gross. C’s to Jimmy Bamgbose over Lee Olsen. C Doubles to Olsen/DuBonne over Red Duncan/Nat Jackson. Novice to Chet Harmala.

Men’s winner at the San Francisco Spring Open was Jeff Mason over a spirited Azmy Ibrahim, 27-25 in the 4^th. Jeff paired with Richard Terry to take the Doubles too over LeRoy Kondo/Wong. No Women’s event reported—though there was a good Mixed: Mike Greene/Irene Ogus over Jim Naik/Hilda Brautigan, 18 in the 5^th. A’s: Tom Joyce over Greene (does wife Norma film Mike’s own matches?). B’s: Chick Chui over Vance Gillette. D’s: Arthur Yu over Bob Glenn. Men’s Consolation: Shonie Aki over Masaaki Tajima who 30 years hence will be one of the U.S.’s most prestigious coaches. Senior’s: Allan Herskovich over Harry Nelson. 17’s: John Nevarez/Chui. B/C  Doubles: Nevarez/Conway Redding over Reagan Tom/Louie. D Doubles: Lim/Tam over Richard Dong/Henry Fung. Junior Doubles: Barish/Rosal over Steve Schultz/Laing.   

            At Milla Boczar’s May 18-20 Hollywood Club tournament, Howard, free of his Rating responsibilities, won the Open Singles over Paul Raphel who in the semi’s had downed Guillen while Jack had knocked out Eric Thom. However, in the Men’s Singles, Raphel stopped Thom, after Eric had eliminated Jack, and Paul had finished Denis O’Connell. Doubles went to Thom/Raphel over Banach/Ron Von Schimmelman. Angelita Rosal won the Women’s over Heather Angelinetta, and the Mixed with Raphel over the close (15, -16, 21, 19) twosome of Howard/Bonnie Johnson.

The Topics photo of Bonnie that I’d extracted and enlarged from a group shot, Gunn pointed out to me, neither did justice to Bonnie (runner-up in Women’s A’s to Ann Smith) nor to himself, the quality-minded photographer. He had a good point, and I’ve done better with bonnie Bonnie here, but Topics wasn’t a fashion magazine (nor were any of my History volumes coffee-table crafted), and it might be argued that something I hoped was at least passable was better than nothing (though certainly I did make some bad choices).

Other Hollywood Results: A’s Garrett over Barish, 19 in the 4^th. Other Hollywood results: B’s: Kunyo over Richard Valentine. C’s: Whitlock over Joe Napoles, U-11 winner over Don Schultz. D’s: Monica Rosal over Jerry LaLande. Senior’s: Banach over soft-spoken Gene Wilson, predominately a wood-side blocker who uses his inverted side for serves. 17’s: Chris Rosal over Steve Schultz. 15’s: Barish over Dean Galardi, then Rosal. 13’s: Rosal over Joe Napoles. A Doubles: Garrett/Barish over Steve Berliner/Kunyo. C/D Doubles: Marco Chao/Wilson Wu over Valentine/Tom.

Tournament Chair Bard Brenner, given an assist by an up-for-election Mayor Yorty, was able to hold the June 15-17 $1,000 Pacific Coast Open at East Los Angeles Community College. Bard (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1973, 15+) gives us the results—and can’t resist telling us that “The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) came in to do news coverage of the tournament and got screamed at by some players and even an official”—while Don Gunn (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 15) provides human interest coverage. Here, then, before I bring in Gunn, are the Results: Men’s (almost 60 entries): Semi’s round robin: Park over runner-up Raphel. 3^rd Place: Guillen over O’Connell (Ray, up 2-1 on Park in the semi’s, “even had Yorty’s people on their feet”). Deuce in the 5^th matches of note: Eric Thom over Nick Mintsiveris, and Shonie Aki over Angie Rosal. Men’s Doubles: O’Connell/Earl Jones over Park/Danny Goodstein, deuce in the 5^th in the semi’s, and over Dave Chan/Cliff Hwee in the final. Women’s: Rosal over Cindy Cooper Feilen. Mixed: Raphel/Rosal over Guillen/Pat Crowley. 

A’s: Doug Hobson over Don Ayers. B’s: Dean Galardi over Vance Gillette. B Doubles winners: George Taplin/Ed Kelemen. C’s: Utah’s Jafar Fatemi over Thorvan Suwanvanichij. C Doubles: Taplin/Richard Alden over Joe Napoles/Chris Rosal. D winner: Rich Livingston (“makes great greeting cards”). D Doubles: Jerry LaLande/Richard Banagas over Kent Lofthouse/Richard Ward. Women’s Novice: Jai Howard over Claire Yonan. Esquire’s: winner Julius Paal. Senior’s: Allan Herskovich over Dan Banach. U-17’s: Raphel by default over Barish who’d nipped Eric Thom deuce in the 3^rd. U-17 Doubles: Raphel/Thom over John Elliott/Ricky Walker. U-15’s: Galardi over Barish. U-13’s: Napoles over Chris Rosal in 5. U-11’s: Napoles over Bobby Rinde. Brenner thanks his many helpers, but it’s little Faan Tone Liu who wins his Chairman’s Trophy.

Since Gunn played his 1^st “C” match at 2:30 p.m. and his next at 8:40 p.m., he had plenty of time to watch and report such tidbits as Glenn Cowan sitting idly in the stands, unable to play because he’d gotten mononucleosis, and Mark Davee sitting idly there too, as one girl said, looking “lonesome, and sort of cute,” because he’d “gotten religion.” Much more noticeable, however, was Ray Minc—and here, Gunn says, is why:

 

“They took Ray Minc away in an ambulance….How it all came about I couldn’t say; he was found unconscious [after fainting] in the men’s room, and what ensued was a scene right off your TV screen. The East Los Angeles [Community College] Campus Police were already on hand, shortly to be augmented by the fire department, paramedics, sheriff’s office, and finally the ambulance that took poor Ray [‘I’m o.k.’] away.”*         

 

Don says he watched Bill Garrett play Florida’s visiting John Elliott. “John made a very good shot,” writes Gunn, “ and Garrett said, ‘Good shot,’ and then made a good return. Instead of playing the return, Elliott caught the ball, claiming the point on the grounds that players are not supposed to talk while the ball is in play. The point was awarded to Garrett, as players are also not supposed to enforce the rules themselves—that is what umpires are for.”

You’ll note in the results that Gil Park won the Open from runner-up Raphel. In a round robin semi’s match, Paul had rallied after being down against O’Connell, and then…“O’Connell knocked one off the table, which would have ended the match; indeed, umpire Harold Kopper called ‘Game and match to Raphel,’ and Raphel gleefully volleyed the ball!  So Kopper gave the point to O’Connell…and the match continued.” Of course, seeing this, Gunn wants to know if the match wasn’t over when the umpire said it was. Good question—especially for one of those Qualified Umpire tests one finds in Topics. Answer?…(Rules Chair Mal Anderson would have some difficulty in getting enough qualified people to administer the Umpires Practical Exam, and, indeed, would have absolutely no one to handle this chore in the Pacific Northwest until Pat Collins moved from Dallas to Seattle. Wouldn’t you think someone would go out and drink a couple of Tom Collins’s to the both of them if he could see strict Pat observing, or, better yet, critiquing Tom Ruttinger?)

Perhaps it was that same umpire, and/or another, and/or another, who had a few words to say to Thom when he threw his bat, bat-like, across the gym. Yup—he was defaulted on the spot.

But perhaps the best of the action was saved for last. Here’s Gunn again:

 

“The last match of the tournament was the Mixed Doubles final, and a sorry affair it was. The women had been angry all along over the small cash prizes offered them, and apparently with good reason. The entry blank did not state precisely how the money was to be allotted, but surely any finalist should win a prize greater than his (or her) entry fee into that event. The players clowned and chatted with the audience, which threw them money, although not nearly enough. The umpire endured a fusillade of abuse, before descending from the Cross. Jeff Wilhite volunteered to finish the job, and collected the $1.00 fee for officiating only five points. When the [double default] match was over, the players and sundry others stormed the control room….”

 

            Paul Longmire reports (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 19) that the 3^rd Annual New Mexico Open, played May 19 in Albuquerque, drew 75 participants. Results: Championship Singles: 1. Bob Dawidowicz ($40). 2. Jerry Plybon. 3. Sigi Sporer. 4. Longmire. Woman’s: Bob’s 10-year-old daughter Kasia over Liz Gresham for the 2^nd year in a row. Men’s Doubles: Dawidowicz/Sporer over Plybon/John Gillies. A’s: Keith Treece over Longmire. Ohio’s Bill Hodge, now living in Las Vegas and reportedly Nevada’s best player, “complained of a lack of good practice as he was eliminated from both the Championship and A singles.” B’s: Jim Wherry over Salt Lake City’s Yihlin Chan who upset Texas Open finalist Richard James in his Championship opener. Senior’s: perennial Champ Mac Horn over Charles Griffin. 17’s: Steve Dodgen over Dawidowicz.

            At the 1973 Air Force Championships, held in handball courts at the Kirtland Air Force base in New Mexico, Ferenc “Frank” Mercz successfully defended his Singles title by defeating Ziad Shebaro. Mercz said that Shebaro, reputedly “No. 1 in Lebanon a few years ago,” had  “consistent, sharp pushes that reminded one of Surasak’s serve returns,” and that his angled-off shots made it difficult for Frank to loop well. Up 1-0 but down 10-5 in the 2^nd, Mercz  “rallied for an incredible 16 out of 17 points to win the 2^nd game at 11.”

Last year’s runner-up Larry Kesler couldn’t attend this year’s tournament, and “through some administrative mishandling that requires the mentality of a bureaucrat in uniform,” the two “talented players” from Japan, Bob Burke and Dennis Driggs of the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), had to choose whether to play Singles or Doubles. Because they’d been training and practicing together—jogging, bike-riding, going into Tokyo to practice—and also because, as Frank says, “Dan Reeves of Dayton, Ohio scared their athletic supporters off of them” by letting it be known that Mercz had taken a game from Lim Ming Chui at the National’s, the Pacific pair chose to play Doubles. A wise choice—for they won the title over Mercz/Greg McElveen. 

            Austin’s Alex Tam, his English labored but improving, defeated his friend Richard Ling to win the Southwest Open Men’s at Waco, and paired with him in Doubles to down John McAdams/Bob O’Neill. Women’s went to Cindy Garza over Anna Lynn. A’s: John Tomlinson over Don Weems. A Doubles: John Hewes and Steve Smith, who was instrumental in getting Tam to Austin, over Paul LaBlanc/Tomlinson, 19 in the 5^th. Consolation: Hewes over Perry Schwartzberg, 19 in the 4^th. 17’s: Steve Hammond over Octavio Pinnell. 15’s: Hammond over Schwartzberg, 19 in the 4^th. Esquire’s: George Batson over Jay Evans. Senior’s: Grady Gordon over Edgar Stein. Senior Doubles: Stein and Jack “Buddy” Melamed over Van Vooren/Watkins. After making a name for himself in baseball, basketball, and bowling, Buddy, at 42, has brought his competitive spirit to table tennis. If you want to share his focus, know what’s going on in southwest t.t., contact him at the Houston Club. 

Remember the Alamo Open with Paul LeBlanc’s write-up (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 20), $645 in prize money, and excellent playing conditions in the Alamo Heights High School Gym. LeBlanc, an innovative fellow himself, pointed out that the tournament organizers, in addition to money and trophies to the winners (some, afraid they might lose their amateur standing, took trophies in place of cash), gave out patches. These “were inscribed with ‘Alamo Open Table Tennis 1973’ and the name of the event and the place won (1^st, 2^nd, etc.).” Since bulky trophies have become meaningless to repeated winners, it was thought they might prefer these patches that could be “sewed on to shorts, warm-ups, shirts, etc.” Sounds tacky to me to be sporting such stuff regardless of what place one finished—but, hey, if people want a jacket full of them, why not?

I might add that elsewhere (TTT, May-June, 1973, 12;15) LeBlanc proposed a nation-wide U.S. World Team Selection System, heavily dependent on a series of Regional play-offs (demanding much work from Regional Directors), which would allow for more geographical representation in the Final Tryouts. He’s thinking particularly of the Southwest players who’ve found it too much of a burden financially and/or time-wise to try to qualify in West, Central, or East Regions. In Paul’s multi-step plan, qualifiers gradually paying incremental entry fees would advance from Club, Area, State, and Regional participation to finally arrive, four of them from each Region, expenses paid, at the National Play-offs. One wonders, however, what states would be in what Regions, and, since good players beget other good players, what a clamor there’d be if you had 20 high-rated players clustered in one Region who are, with possibly an exception or two (Alex Tam in the Southwest, for example), superior to the best of the best from another Region. Nope, don’t think it would work.

Alamo Open results: Championship: 1. Tam ($200). 2. Hanumanth Rao ($100). 3. John Tomlinson ($50) who (from down 2-0 and deuce in the 4^th) upset #2 seed Richard Ling. 4. Brad Fountain ($50). Women’s: 1. Norma LeBlanc ($15). 2. Cindy Garza ($10). 3. Shirley Woo. 4. Sue Sargent. The Men’s/Women’s Prize Money ($400 to $25) is a bit disproportionate, don’t you think? Championship Doubles: Tam/Ling in 5 over Joe Cummings/Tomlinson who’d edged Tommy Vaello/Fountain, rallying from 2-0 down to win deuce in the 5^th. Women’s Doubles: LaBlanc/Stacie Moore over Garza/Woo. Mixed Doubles: Tam/Sargent over Fountain/Woo who’d eliminated Ling/Karen Ostrum 24-22 in the 5^th.

Paul picked a moment from the Mixed semi’s, won by Tam/Sargent over Vaello/LaBlanc (14, -16, 21, 23), to share with us: When Sargent pushed LeBlanc’s serves back, Vaello power-looped to Tam, and Tam “was having trouble getting in fast enough to cover the ball with a block.” So Alex (a penholder) “switched to the handshake grip and began chopping the loop back with the wood on his forehand (he’s quite good at it).”

Other results: A’s: Vaello ($50) over O’Neill ($25). B’s: Hibbs ($35) over Choi ($20). C’s: Steve Simon ($25) over Collins ($15). D’s: Steve Babb ($15) over Larry Puls ($10). Novice: Shirley Woo over Mike Finnell. Championship Consolation’s: Koo over Bob Mandel in 5. Senior’s: Van Vooren over Melamed who’d knocked out Grady Gordon, 23-21 in the 5^th. Boys Under 17’s: Schwartzberg over Simon. Girls Under 17: Garza over Ostrum. Under 15’s: Schwartzberg over Puls in 5.

            Phil Napolietto tells us (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 20) that at the 8^th Annual Oklahoma Closed 15-year-old Northwest High sophomore Steve Hammond, the nation’s youngest State Champion, became the first Oklahoman to win back-to-back titles. Men’s runner-up was 27-year-old Russell Finley of Oklahoma State University. Wiriya Tjakra finished 3^rd; Dennis Crawford 4^th. Defending Champ Peggy Shaha took the Women’s from Mary Martin. The Mixed also went to Peggy who paired with Crawford to beat Markwell/Markwell. Men’s Doubles went to State/Regional Collegiate Champ Finley and Crawford over Irl Copely/Ron Shirley who’d squeaked by Hammond/Dale Donaldson, 19 in the deciding 3^rd.

            Shirley, who, according to an article by Kathy Lowe in Orbit Magazine, first played the game “in a junior high school church youth group,” is part owner of the full-time Oklahoma City t.t. center, Table Tennis Oklahoma. He’s quick to point out to newcomers who come to his Club (80% of the players are adults) that it isn’t like a pool hall. “No smoking or bad language is allowed. This is a sports center, not a place where people hang out for long periods of time.” Ron himself organizes leagues and coaches (“50 children and five adults in his [six] classes”), so it’s not surprising that its operation is similar “to a tennis club or bowling center.”

            Other Closed winners: A’s: Donaldson over Shirley. B’s: Charles Butler (who years later would be having a table tennis career in Germany) over Fred King. C’s: Baird Askins over Johnny Owen. Senior’s: Vern Eisenhour successfully defended—but –19, 21, 16 just barely over Rudy Crawford. 17’s: Hammond over Northwest soph Copely. 15’s: Hammond over Donaldson.

             Larry Knouft had originally scheduled his $5,000 Truman Memorial in Kansas City for May 12-13 with “a percentage of advertising sales” to be “donated to the Truman Institute.” But that tournament was postponed (not canceled—the prize money had been raised, said Knouft), and in its place Larry (TTT, May-June, 1973, 14) reports on his $1100 Kansas City Open, “the biggest money tournament ever held in Missouri.” For the $800 in prizes in the Men’s, the quarterfinalists played a complete round robin. Results: 1. Joong Gil Park (without losing a game)—included wins over runner-up Tam, #3 finisher Lim Ming Chui, #4 finisher Danny Seemiller, #5 finisher Errol Caetano, #6 finisher Siegfried “Sigi” Sporer, a student at the University of Colorado, #7 finisher Bob Dawidowicz (who lost two games 3 and 6 to Park), and #8 finisher John Messerly. A 3-way tie for 2^nd was broken “by games” when Seemiller beat Chui in 5; Chui beat Tam in 5, and Tam beat Seemiller (scores missing, but games had to be 3-1 or 3-0 for Tam). Alex had an easy win over Caetano who also lost to Chui in 5 and Seemiller in 4.

            Other winners: Women’s: Kathy Dawidowicz over Doris Mercz. Championship Doubles: Chui/Tam over Park/Caetano in 5. Championship Consolation: Rick Seemiller over Don Bassett. A’s: Sporer over R. Seeemiller 19 in the 4^th, then over Steve Hammond, 3-0. A Doubles: John McAdams/Tommy Vaello over Sporer/Tom Hall, 19 in the 5^th. B’s: Pat Windham over Scott Grafton, 23-21 in the 3^rd, then over Dennis Orne in 4. C’s: Charles Butler over Don Haskard. U-17’s/U-15’s: R. Seemiller over Hammond (Ricky’s best tournament to date; he must be learning something from brother Danny).

            Amazing! We learn from LeRoy Petersen (TTT, May-June, 1973, 16) that the little town of Wisner, Nebraska (Pop. 1900) ran a rainy-day tournament that drew 100 players—and this despite “particularly heavy rains in the south and a snow storm in the west, [so that] a number of players just couldn’t make it.” Petersen says that “we were able to sell all the equipment we had on hand, and because most people bought chances on a color TV we were offering, we made a profit just on that of $1050.” Juniors who sold tickets got “warm-up suits, USTTA memberships, paddles and other equipment.” Some of the money generated, LeRoy says, will be used to hire coaches—the first being Jeff Smart. Appropriately, Wisner won the overall Club trophy donated by Wisner’s Dr. John O’Neal; the Benson Club was 2^nd.

            At the Omaha Nebraska Open, Larry Kesler will lose a close encounter with Joe Windham, but here in Wisner it’s rapidly Rapid City, South Dakota Larry’s day. He takes four titles: the Championship Singles (over Don Taylor); the Men’s Doubles with Craig “Minnesota Dead” Satersmoen (over Taylor/Francis Leung); the A’s (over Diana Myers with whom he’ll win both the Championship and Mixed Doubles in Omaha); and the B’s (over Satersmoen). A Consolation’s: Jim Craig over Francis Leung. Todd Petersen also won four events: the U-11’s (over Mark Engelman); the U-13’s (over Kevin Jimmerson); the U-15’s (over Scott Ichkoff who’d beat him in the U-17 final); and the U-15 Doubles with J. Moeller. Diana Myers of course has no peer in the area—is a lock to win Women’s, Girls U-17, and the Mixed. Debbie Denenberg, Kathy Moeller, and Vicky Heller bravely contest with her. 

             In the Mar. 26-27 Minnesota Team tournament, Class A winners were: Stu Sinykin (11-1), John Soderberg (10-3), and Ed Ells. Runner-ups: Doug Maday (13-0), Pete Tellegen (8-4), and Steve Steblay. MVP: Don Larson (8-3). Class B winners were: Hal Lupinek (12-2), John Luk (11-2), and MVP Brian Saeger. Runner-ups: Jeff Soderberg, Greg Mosio (11-2), and Nick Steblay. Class C winners were: Sheila O’Dougherty (13-1), MVP Deb Holle (11-2), and Karen Skenzitch. Runner-ups: Dean Redman (11-3), Yousef ben Yousef (11-3), and Steve Gilman.

             The May Western Michigan Open is surely being held at Sweeris’s Woodland Club and since Dell isn’t playing he must be preoccupied with running the tournament, selling equipment, and trying to drum up business for his June/July Coaching Clinics and Training Camps. Results: Men’s: Tim O’Grosky d. runner-up Jim Lazarus, 3-0; 3^rd Place: Mike Veillette d. Alan Goldstein in 5. Women’s: Sue Hildebrandt d. Lorma Bauer. No Men’s Doubles? No Mixed? A’s: Paul Lamse d. Don Brazzell. B’s: Mike Baber d. Leroy Bontrager, -25, 11, 23, then S. Hildebrandt. C’s: Arni Muzumbar d. Larson. Consolation: Larson d. Brazzell. Handicap: Randy Priest d. Brazzell. Senior’s: Joe Bujalski d. Ray Hildebrandt, 26-24 in the 4^th. 17’s: Veillette d. Rick Cogswell. 15’s: Veillette d. Dale Scheltema. And Mike’s dad, Sam, what of him? With Sweeris and Smart so into coaching, Sam’s just slipped away from the scene? Is pursuing other interests? Someone said, “With his full beard, he looks more like a Norwegian whaler than a hair stylist.”

              Jeff Smart reports (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 23) on the June Detroit Team Tournament, held at the “G.A.R. building, with its nice wooden floors, strong lighting, and—first time ever used in a tournament—1 and 3/8-inch thick Detroiter International tables.” Billy Reid, Michigan’s new Ranking Chair, ran the 4-team tournament with the following results. #1 seed Wayne State (Chuck Burns, Pete Kelly, and Tommy Waters) beat G.A.R (Paul Potter, Hani Sirgani, Bill Rapp, Frank Sexton, and Chad) 5-2; and #2 seed Pontiac (Bill Lesner, Jeff Smart, Bob Quinn, and Bob Tunnell) stopped Ann Arbor (Pete Nasvytis, John Herman, Levers, and substitute Cass Tech graduate Aaron Smith who, because of his desire to continue his education and especially because of his continued assistance to the Detroit Club, was the 1973 $500 recipient of the Club’s Scholarship Program).

            In the final between the two top-seeded teams, Lesner opened with an easy 2-game win over Kelly. Smart, however, had to rally from 20-18 match-point-down in the 3^rd to best Burns. Waters then beat Quinn to make the tie 2-1 Pontiac. Now Kelly, with his 2.2 mm. antispin on both sides, built a 20-15 1^st-game lead against Smart. But, says Jeff, “concentrating with all his strength, to the delight of his friends and teammates, Smart looped and looped, then killed, to win 7 straight points!” The 2^nd game “was equally exciting, with Smart finally smashing his way to a 23-21 victory!” Next up: Lesner vs. Burns with Bill winning in 3 after blowing a 16-9 lead in the 1^st. Smart then gave Pontiac a 5-1 win (and the $60 prize) by downing Waters two straight.

            In the Singles event that followed, the best quarter’s match saw Kelly exact 3-game revenge on Smart. In the Team event, Nasvytis—with his “consistent chopping and his left-hand super-side-spin loops”—had blanked Jeff (“Without a doubt, this was the biggest upset of the tournament”), and had then gone out to play Lesner. Bill won the 1^st game at 6, then from 1-all ran out the match—took 20 consecutive points! So, strange, when before “he didn’t give Pete a chance to loop a single ball,” he now in the Singles lost an 18 game to him.

In the one semi’s, Lesner beat Waters, 10, 20. In the other, Kelly, leading Burns 1-0 and 20-18 match point, retired “because his legs were ‘too sore’ to give him a chance against Lesner.” The final was some match—it went to Burns, 28-26 in the 5^th, after Chuck, down 20-17 that last game, “decided to hit Bill’s [heretofore effective] high loops.”

Sylvia DeMent’s pleased to say (TTT, May-June, 1973, 17) that her Newark, Ohio’s first Annual Moundbuilders Open and its 99 entries kept Jennie Williams (bless her) busy “almost 16 hours behind the tournament desk” seeing that “the tables were filled with matches at all times.” Results: Men’s: Ricky Seemiller over Mark Wampler. Women’s/Girls 17: Mary Ann Burdick over Cleveland’s Laurie Miller. Men’s Doubles: Graham Gear/Tom Hall over Wampler/Lyle Thiem. Mixed Doubles: Wampler/DeMent over John Temple/Temple. Young Adult Singles (Under 21): Mike Dempsey over Burdick in 5, then (from down 2-0) over Seemiller. Men’s Consolation’s: Duong Van Vu over Kam Kwan. (Back at the Dayton Gem City Open in Nov., Vu won the Young Adults and Class B, so he sure had to be upset to be in the Consolation’s here).

A’s: Seemiller over Vu who attends Ohio University in Athens. A Doubles: Vu/Pinson over Seemiller/Dempsey. B’s: Glen Marhefka, 26, who’s very serious about taking notes at Sweeris’s clinics, over the Beatty Club’s Leon Turner in 5. C’s (64 entries): Greg Collins, 13, over Miller. Other winners: Esquire’s: Lou Radzeli over George Sinclair. Senior’s: Radzeli over DeMent. Boys 17: Seemiller over Dempsey in 5. Boys 15: Seemiller over Cincinnati’s Greg Doud. Girls 15: Sandy Hensley over Newark’s 11-year-old Denise Horn (her 1^st tournament). Boys 13: Collins in 5 over Jeff Williams (who has 3 more seasons in this event). Girls 13: Jodee Williams over Horn.

George Sinclair, in reporting on the Columbus Beatty Club’s May 19-20 Midwest Open (TTT, July-Aug., 1973, 25), stressed tournament-related outside activities. John Tannehill, Mary Ann Burdick, Laurie Miller, Leon Turner, and Jeff Smart “returned to an audience of 500 at the Juvenile Diagnostic Center to demonstrate the dress, rules, and skills of organized Table Tennis.” Also, Tannehill crowned Midwest Open Queen Jenese Smith. And honored guest D-J Lee showed and commented on “his movies of the Sarajevo World’s and the 1973 U.S. Championships.” Receiving plaudits for “their leadership in Ohio Table Tennis” were OTTA President Andy Gad, Secretary-Treasurer Gene Cravens, and Ex-President John Spencer. “The presentation of trophies and travel expense vouchers was climaxed by hefty servings of home-cooked food.”

Results: Men’s: Tannehill (“in his 3^rd successful defense”) over runner-up Jerry Thrasher who’d escaped Tom Hall, 17 in the 5^th. 3^rd Place: Mark Wampler (after earlier outlasting Lyle Thiem, 27-25 in the 5^th). 4^th Place: Spencer. Women’s: Burdick over Miller, 17, -17, 21, 19. Men’s Doubles: Tannhell/Thrasher over Spencer/Wampler, 18 in the 4^th. Women’s Doubles: Burdick/Miller over Dempsey/Lyn Doudna. Mixed: Spencer/Burdick over Tannehill/Miller.

A’s: Dempsey in the semi’s from down 2-1 and deuce in the 4th over Tom Hall (19-in-the-5^th winner over Neil Myers), and 23-21 in the 4^th in the final over Thiem (who’d earlier 28-26-in-the-5^th triumphed over John Temple). B’s: C. Federal over John Dichiaro. Special (what makes it so?): Thrasher over Smart. Consolation’s: Art Holloway over Ron DeMent. Esquire’s: Sinclair over Sam Shannon, 23-21 in the 4^th, then over Harry Sage, 25 years ago one of Ohio’s best players. Boys/Girls 17’s: Greg Doud over Dave Strang in 4, then over Dempsey. Boys 15’s: Doud over Greg Collins.

Coach Schleff’s May 5-6 Steel City Open in Gary, IN drew some high-powered entries. Earlier Coach had advertised a National Interscholastic tournament and, in conjunction with that, a $5,000 Athletic Association Open to be held on this date. The Interscholastic tournament seems to have disappeared. How much of the $5,000 remains is speculative. Anyway, he is running something. Men’s: 1. Dell Sweeris, 3-0. 2. (via a tie-breaker) George Brathwaite, 1-2. 3. Lim Ming Chui, 1-2. 4. John Tannehill, 1-2. Women’s: Angelita Rosal. 2. Millie Shahian. Championship Doubles: Sweeris/Bill Lesner over Brathwaite/Alex Shiroky who’d downed Karbulka/Dawodu, 23-21 in the 4^th. Mixed: Sweeris/Rosal over Chui/Burdick.

Other results: Men’s A’s: Eric Thom over Hong-Chi Chang. Women’s A’s: Final: Jean Varker over Maureen Farmer. Semi’s: Varker over Carol Cook, 21, -20, 22; Farmer over Doris Mercz, 21, 22. A Doubles: Smart/Danny LeBaron over Shorey/Imants Karklis. Mixed A Doubles: Muzumdar/Barbara Taschner over Frank/Doris Mercz. Men’s B’s: Chang over Hugh Shorey in 5. Women’s B’s: Taschner over Mercz., 23-21 in the 3^rd.  B Doubles: Karklis/Shorey over Robert Irvin/Bruce Ackerman, 19, 20. C’s: Joe Bujalski over Wayne Wasielewski, 19 in the 3^rd, then over Dempsey. C Doubles: Irvin/Ackerman over Cieslarski/Wasieleski. Men’s Consolation’s: Mike Baber over Dempsey, deuce in the 3^rd. Wood Bat: Tom McEvoy over Bruce McGee.

John Read writes (TTT, May-June, 1973, 14) that the semi’s and final of the 8-player, single elimination May 14 $1800 Chicago WTTW Invitational “was shown live on TV (prime-time—8 to 10 p.m.) Watching was an enthusiastic studio audience of close to 500 (seating capacity 450).” The fact that some very good players were not invited prompted John Read to ask if the USTTA should have “some say in who’s invited to whose Invitational?” John umpired every match, and as Dick Miles was kept busy on court, Steve Isaacson played color man to local announcer Frank Sweeney.

Results: Final: Dell Sweeris ($500) d. George Brathwaite ($400), 18, 13, 19. Semi’s: Sweeris d. Miles ($200), -16, 10, 20, 10; Brathwaite d. Lim Ming Chui ($200), 15, 19, 18. Quarter’s: Sweeris d. Alex Shiroky, -16, 10, 14, -16, 17; Miles d. Joong Gil Park, 19, 20, -13, 18; Brathwaite d. Danny Seemiller, 15, 16, -18, 19; Chui d. Errol Caetano, -10, 14, -10, 16, 14.

There was also a one-game Doubles match for $100—won by Park/Jim Lazarus over Caetano/Paul Pashuku.

            The St. Charles, MO Club held it s annual Great Plains Open Apr. 14-15, a week before the St. Louis Closed. Results: Men’s: 1. Dick Hicks, 3-0. 2. John Messerly, 2-1. 3. Homer Brown, 1-2. 4. Larry Chisolm (next week’s Closed winner over Messerly), 0-3. Women’s/Girls U-17 Jean Varker over Peggy Shaha, Men’s Doubles: Hicks/Brown over Messerly/Chisolm. Women’s Doubles: Varker/Doris Mercz over Shaha/ Melanie Spain. Mixed: Brown/Varker over Dick/Norma Hicks. Women Over 21 (that’s new): Mercz over Spain. Men’s Consolation: Dave Barnes over Dennis Orne.

            Other winners: A’s: Joe Windham over Bill Edwards. A Doubles: Mercz/Richard Berg over Ricky Hicks/Angel Cruz. B’s: Cruz over Steve Rattner. Esquire’s: Sam Shannon over H. J. Hofacker. Senior’s: Hugh Lax over Harry Kasten, 23-21 in the 4^th, then over Closed Senior winner Art Fiebig, 23-21 in the 4^th. Boys U-17: Edwards over Richard Berg, 18 in the 3^rd. Boys U-15: Robert Berg over Chris Clendenin. Girls U-15: Shaha over Leslie Harris, deuce in the deciding 3^rd. Boys U-13: 1. Ricky Hicks. 2. Steve Lowry.

            At the end-of-season St. Louis Open, Danny Seemiller came 1^st in the Men’s—with Tom Hall runner-up, Graham Gear 3^rd, and Homer Brown 4^th. Women’s: Mercz over Harris. Men’s Doubles: 1. (via a 3-way tie-breaker) Seemiller/Frank Mercz. 2. Gear/Hall. 3. Brown/Messerly. Mixed Doubles: Seemiller/Mercz over Brown/M.Dahl. A’s: Hall over Mercz. B’s: Orne over R. Berg. C’s: Jim Schnorf over Rich Doza. Senior’s: Art Fiebig over Hofacker. Boys U-17: Greg Redman over John Stillions. Girls U-17: Harris over G. Dahl.

George Hendry, a famous St. Louis name from the past, in an Oct. 26, 1973 letter to Leah (“Miss Ping”) Neuberger, would say that he hadn’t played table tennis in 15 years and that the Game was “dead” in St. Louis. But there’s no denying this tournament was held there, and that Rich Doza is President of a USTTA affiliated club in St. Louis, so we’ll see if George might have to change his mind. Also remembering the City’s once intense interest in the Sport was the former South American Champion Raul Rivero. He’d attended the 1950 St. Louis U.S. Open (Men’s winner: England’s Johnny Leach), and was friends with former U.S. Team Captain Bill Gunn and future USTTA Executive Director Bill Haid and his wife Sarah. In an article in Topics (Nov.-Dec., 1974, 2; 26), he seeks to get in touch with them again.

             Duke Stogner (TTT, Sept.-Oct., 1973, 21) gives us the Results of the June Arkansas Closed: Men’s: 16-year-old Marty Simpson ($50)—with beat-the-drum wins: over Max Denman in 5 in the quarter’s; over Duke (from down 2-0) 19 in the 5^th in the semi’s; and over Senior Champ Dick Coffman in the final. Women’s: J. Bratton over C. Leflar. Men’s Doubles: 14-year-old Jamey Hall/Paul Hadfield over Stogner/Val Eichmann, 18, -19, 23, 20. Mixed winners: Coffman/T. Cappleman. A’s: Hadfield over Hall. B’s: Larry Lyon over Jim Pruden (who’d knocked Simpson out of the A’s). Consolation’s: Pruden over Hall. Hardbat: Denman over Novice winner J. Light. Under 17’s: Simpson over Hall who’d ousted Danny Trawick, 19 in the 3^rd. Under 14’s: Jon Baker over B. Rogers.

            Duke adds that 47 players battled it out for 31 trophies and a little cash. Sounds like good odds for a player, huh?. When the organizers gave away a table tennis table, a “player’s wife, who was not playing, reached in the box, which was way over her head,” and, talk about odds, guess what? Uh-huh, she pulled out…Jerry Palmer—her husband’s name. It was his first sanctioned tournament. But with such easy pickin’s, chances are it won’t be his last.

 

SELECTED NOTES.

*When Ray was discovered to have fainted, Bard Brenner thought instinctively of calling out for Dr. Ike Sanders, then remembered that Dr. Ike quit the tournament scene, maybe no longer plays even at home. For those concerned about Ray’s fate as they took him away, the vibes had to be better if the ambulance wasn’t heading for White Memorial Medical Center there in East Los Angeles, for that’s where Dr. Sanders worked, and he was an L.A. County Deputy Coroner.