CHAPTER FIFTEEN
1975-76: Early Winter Tournaments—Part II.
Mike Haun (TTT, Mar.-Apr., 1976, 27) reports on the Dec.13-14 $400 Yasaka Open, held at D-J Lee’s Table Tennis Center in Columbus, Ohio. Naturally Yasaka balls were used, “which presented problems to some of the players because they weren’t used to them.” But could they get used to them? Yasaka offered a 20% discount on all equipment. As we’ve seen, Angie Rosal and Faan Yeen Liu played in a Men’s Singles event when there was a Women’s Sungles offered. But Haun said Insook Bhushan had been winning the Open Singles as well as the Women’s Singles, so D-J, going by the book, instituted a Men’s Singles—which Insook couldn’t enter because D-J also offered a Women’s Singles.
So now the men had a fighting chance, especially since D-J himself wasn’t playing in the event. And, oh, neither apparently was Vern Lester. According to Hamilton, Ohio’s Larry Marshall (TTT, Nov.-Dec., 1975, 19), Vern’s 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 Gear’s 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. It’s my bet they won’t believe their eyes.” So, uh, what’s he waiting for? The purse isn’t 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 semi’s. 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 match-point…only to lose 23-21. Women’s: Bhushan over Mary Ann Burdick. Men’s: Collins over Kevin Legge. Open Doubles: Lee/Legge over Mark Wampler/Collins who’d 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 and, says Haun, they all “loved every minute of it”).
A’s: Legge over Jack Pangburn. A Doubles: Powell/Schull over Maley/Pangburn. B’s: Eiler over Schull. B Doubles: Burdick/Strang over Pangburn/Todd, -13, 22, 18, then over Eller/Ron DeMent. C’s: Kris Pangburn over Kenny in 5. Unrated: Mees over Bryan. Esquire’s: Jack Pangburn over Joe Blatt. Senior’s: 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 Men’s from Homer Brown, and Norma Hicks may have won the Women’s from Amy Rebel (scores are conflicting). Men’s Doubles went to Hicks/Ricky Hicks over Brown/Kris Pangburn who’d knocked out Al Grambo/Bob Miller. Mixed to Brown/Sally Webster over Jerry/Cindy Marcum in 3, then over Hicks/Hicks in 3. Esquire’s: San Shannon over Gene Bricker. Senior’s: Shannon over Bob Miller.
A’s: Jim Yates over Kris Pangburn. B’s: Dave Russell in 5 over Tony Marcum who’d gotten by Bill Dannacher, deuce in the 4th. B Doubles: Grambo/Jerry Marcum over Tony Marcum/Bill Johnson. C’s: Johnson over Richard Kissel, 19 in the 3rd, then over Fred Carman. Novice: William Sutton over Greg Waldbieser, 23-21 in the 3rd. Consolation’s: Mike Wyatt over Dannacher. Young Adults: Tim Yates over Jim Yates, 21, -21, -22, 21, 15. U-17’s: Tim Yates over Kris Pangburn who’d stopped Tony Marcum, -21, 20, 11. U-15’s: Tim Yates over Tony Marcum. U-13’s: Jeff Pangburn over Todd Amick who’d eliminated Greg Houston, 26-24 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 who’d prevailed over Dennis Fritchie, 18, -19, -20, 18, 19. Men’s: 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 McClesky. Women’s: Leslie Harris over Claudia Bingaman. Mixed Doubles: Heim/Harris over T. Lakes/C. Brunson. Senior’s: Art Fiebig over Hugh Lax. Junior’s: Joe Tobias over Harris. A’s: 1. Doza. 2. Fiebig. 3. Shannon (lost 19, -22, -19, -19). 4. Lax. A Doubles: Doza/Fiebig over Lax/T. Clendennin. B’s: 1. Tobias. 2. Fritchie. 3. C. Dunn. 4. A. Barth. C’s: 1. Tobias over runner-up Bill Brunson, deuce in the 5th. 3. Lakes. 4. R. Kissel. Consolation’s: 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 March. Here are the Dec. 6, 1975 winners: Men’s: Chuck Michell. Women’s: Carol Stephens. Men’s Doubles: Singles runner-up Pete May and Senior’s winner Herb Beckham over Michell/Cyril Lederman. Mixed Doubles: Herb/Tracy Beckham over May/Cathy Beckham. A’s: Ray Filz over Gene Stephens. B’s: Jimmy Flynn over Sam Cannella. Boys U-17 winner: Cecil Brooks. U-15’s: Brooks over Girls U-17 winner Tracy Beckham. U-13’s: 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 who’d had to endure “the winter-like playing conditions. The heat in the building didn’t work most of the 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. A’s: Thoman over Bill Farrar, 26-24 in the 5th, then over Jim McQueen in 4. B’s: Steve Hitchner, Ranking and Equipment Chair for the Raleigh Triangle Club, over Stephens. Novice: Fred Grubbs over Joe Miller. Senior’s: Lederman over Dillon. Junior’s: 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 quarter’s: Gingold over Marv Leff in 5; and Bukiet over John Elliott, 21-3 in the 5th. Bernie’s win over John reminds me of a “Bernie” story or two that Mal Anderson told me. Once in a match at the World’s, 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 Twik-Twik serve when we play.” Naturally the player bought Bernie dinner. As it happened, the match between the two was close—they split the first four games. Then, “before starting the 5th game, Bernie pulled out his wallet, gave his opponent $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. Women’s: Olga Soltesz over Bev Hess Patterson. Mixed Doubles: Steve Rigo/Soltesz over Pat/Bev Patterson, 18 in the 5th. A’s: Leff over Patterson. B’s: Patterson over Ross Brown. B Doubles: Randy Hess/Ron Rigo over Brown/ Blake Chamberlain. C’s: Ron Rigo over Doug Wilcock. Senior’s: Leff over Gerry Maglio.
The initiatory North American Inter-City League Team event for the East’s top Men (“Professionals” we’ll 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 didn’t come about, and perhaps—for both the New Carrollton Club that sponsored it and those members of the Players Association who at the last minute rather reluctantly came to it—it would have been better if it hadn’t 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 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 players—they 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 can’t 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 promoters—where 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 Women’s Division (where players were rated from 972-1753) and the 20-team Amateur Division? What conjunction was this—alternating these players back and forth on court with our country’s best? “Sakai’s the limit,” one wit said. It’s 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 Women’s 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 didn’t 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 who’d 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 shirt—the 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 Mike’s drawing of Mike, er, rather, Thong, the Almighty, for the cover of the May-June, 1975 Topics.
In Round Two, New England (seeded #3) wasn’t happy to be playing Pennsylvania (seeded #1) this early. Sakai (“I want someone to buy me a shirt if I come to Maryland to play”) out-steadied Bush. And Roberts, who didn’t know how to find the playing site (he said he couldn’t 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 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 Buffalo—with 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, 5-2—for Dixon hit through both Sakai and Shiroky. Florida wasn’t 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 I’d ever seen him, lost 19 in the 3rd to Ricky. “Jerry’s backhand loop is dynamite,” said one observer, “but he doesn’t vary his game enough.” N.Y. beat Long Island, 5-2. Sverdlik and Boggan won out over Oveissi, but that’s not why later Ali’s $15,000 sports car was in a smash-up. (He and wife Doris hadn’t so much as a bruise.)
In Round Four, unbeaten N.Y. (seeded #2) played New England for 2nd Place. Down 4-1, and with Resek having lost the first game in the 6th match, N.Y. did what seemed almost impossible—they came back to win it, 5-4. Originally “Fishcake”—that’s Robert Earle—was going to play for N.Y. But either Robert had the flu, or was off somewhere—perhaps at a dart tournament. At any event, when he didn’t 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 Ali’s part. Playing against his physician’s and family’s 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 can’t work and play well—something’s 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 Place—what was it worth? Fuarnado said he spent $161.11 for the weekend, won $20—something’s 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 one—over a worse than listless Florida in a what’s-the-difference match. After Mack beat Thrasher that was enough—play ended with three defaults. In the last tie, 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 couldn’t 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 most—more 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 (6-7). 6. Herb Horton, 3-3 (4-7). R.R. B Group: 1. Mike Lardon, 3-1 (7-5). 2. Barry Robbins, 3-1 (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 Philly’s 20-event, Jan. 18-19 Quaker City Open: Men’s: Robert Earle over Hamid Hayatghaib. Best match: Mike Bush (from down 2-0), 19 in the 5th, over Dave Sakai. Women’s: Louise Nieves over Dana Gvildys, 19 in the 3rd, then over Helen Weiner. Men’s Doubles: Final: not reported. Semi’s: Parviz Mojaverian/George Brathwaite over Bush/Roger Sverdlik, 18 in the 5th; Earle/Oveissi over Sakai/Shiroky, 16 in the 5th. Senior’s: Tim Boggan over George Rocker. U-17’s: Mike Stern over Scott Boggan. U-17A’s: Final: not reported. Semi’s: S. Boggan over Whitener; Eric Boggan over Phil Shaw. U-15’s: Stern over Scott Boggan. U-13’s: Eric Boggan over Dave Dickson III. Handicap: Eric Boggan over Dan Green. Handicap Doubles: Jacobs/Lardon over Green/T. Boggan.
AA’s: Hayatghaib in 5 over Bruce Plotnick who’d knocked out Mojaverian, 19 in the 5th. A’s: Mojaverian over Joe Rokop. A Doubles: Vichnin/Rokop over S. Boggan/Jeff Steif. B’s: Barry Robbins over Hank McCoullum, 19 in the 4th. C’s: McCoullum over Rocker. D’s: S. Boggan over Dickson III, 19, -21, 20. E’s: E. Boggan over Gene Wonderlin, 18, -21, 20, then over Ang, def. F’s: Weitzen over Prickett. G’s: Shaw over Winslow, deuce in the 3rd. N’s: Winslow over Ang.
Alan Ziegler reports (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 27) on the New Jersey Open, held Dec. 13-14 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 I’ll 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 quarter’s match: Dave Shapiro over Mike Stern, 25-23 in the 4th, after Mike had “smashed through Dave’s block defense” in the semi’s of the A’s.
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 you’ll see a different sort of play from Steve Women’s: Edie Nitchie over Evelyn Zakarin. Esquire’s: Marcy Monasterial over Sid Jacobs. Senior’s: Tim Boggan, 19 in the 3rd, over Elmer Wengert who’d eliminated Monasterial, 19 in the 3rd. A’s: Stern over Eliot Katz. A Doubles: Shapiro/Mike Lardon over John Kilpatrick/Wengert. B’s: Doon Wong over George Hellerman who’d escaped Harvey Gutman, 20, -19, 19. C’s: Lardon over Bruce Hvasta, after Bruce had -19, 20, 16 rallied by T. Lee. D’s: Lee over S. Weitzen who’d stopped J. Steinberg, 19 in the 3rd. E’s: Lee over A. Forde. F’s: L. Schumann over P. Yutko. U-17’s: Stern over Robert Nochenson, 18 in the 3rd, then over Jeff Steif. U-15’s: Stern over Paul Gvildys. U-13’s: Eric Boggan over R. Robins.
Now here at Westfield to what will 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 Anderson’s “The Rights of Players” (TTT, Jan.-Feb., 1976, 27).
Mike begins by saying how unfortunate it was that for his Men’s 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 legally—except that when someone like Barns, who makes it his “life’s work” to find a fault, well, what can you do? Switch from serving backhand to forehand—and give Bob a warning, a practice “test” serve. Fault! But at least that one didn’t count. Barns said “he couldn’t see the ball from where he was sitting” because Bush’s “back was blocking his view.” Fault!—that was Mike’s 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 didn’t do either…until the “tournament referee commanded him to move—which he did.” By this time Mike said he’d lost concentration, was down 2-0 in games, and asked for another umpire. When this was refused, he said he’d 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 Mike’s serves are illegal because he cups the ball, says at his club years ago he’d 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 I’ve ever seen.” Mal says he’s training more umpires just like Bob, for if we get the ’79 World’s we’ll need them. [Come the ’76 U.S. Open when we’ll see world-class players object to Bob’s umpiring, it’s questionable whether we’d really want a group of Barns’ clones.] Mal also says, forget about a second umpire or asking the umpire to move—there’s no such rule; the player has to serve so “the ball is visible at all times to the umpire.” It’s as simple as that, Mike—“the fault is yours.”
With the next issue of Topics (Mar.-Apr., 1976, 13), Manny Moskowitz, who was acting as referee when Barns was umpiring Bush’s match with Resek, says he did not command Bob to change table sides—he did it of his own volition, which I, Moskowitz, should not have allowed. [Why not? Why not honor the player’s request—the rules don’t forbid it.] Manny says that when Mike requested a change of umpires because he couldn’t concentrate, he turned him down because that wasn’t 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 didn’t, 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 mis-edited his Jan.-Feb. article, changed it when he said he wasn’t going to change it, so that his “views were not heard” and he was made to “look like a cry-baby.” (Mike doesn’t want Errol, for whom he has a lot of respect, to get the impression he’s making an excuse for losing to him.) He also didn’t think Tim should have shown the article to Mal so he could write a side-by-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 nasty—says that recently Mal was “kicked off the Board of Directors” of not his club but the Philadelphia Club, says that he, Mike, wasn’t a “cocky youngster, but a smart one,” ‘cause he knew Mal was “neither player nor coach,” though he “boasted both.”
Next Bush goes after Barns—says many people told him stories about Barns’s umpiring. At one tournament, John Kilpatrick, for example, who’d 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 umpiring…he was driving people away from the tournament.” Mike questions why the world-class Chinese can block the umpire’s view of their serves without a fault being called, but he can’t. He snipes: Are you sure you’re ready for the World’s, 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 side-switching hassle).” Bob says he shouldn’t have switched sides because “the rules imply that an umpire’s 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 doesn’t 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 ass”—and, oh, oh, “failure to show respect for tournament officials” was grounds for a default. But, said Bob, “I didn’t 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 harm”—in 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. I’m too lazy to write letters.
b. Mr. Bush has had his big game only a short time and I think he’ll 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. Bush’s age, resentment toward any opposing authority is a common reaction.
e. I didn’t believe that Mr. Bush actually wanted to cheat.”
Bob says if you have a competitive game you’ve 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? That’s just not true, Bob. There’s a big difference in the parochial Westfield play you’re used to seeing and world-class play. Ask Danny Seemiller what it’s like to play Huang Liang. Ask the ITTF for the next quarter of a century the problems International players have with legal serves. Wuvanich’s first big coaching article in Topics (Nov.-Dec., 1975, 9) stresses that players who don’t 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 placements—this is just some of his advice.]
Barns says “a player or umpire has absolutely no way of knowing what bothers an opponent.” But this isn’t true—the opponent has a voice, he can protest. And an umpire isn’t blind—Bob says Bush’s illegal serves bothered Boggan in Westfield, and he couldn’t understand “why a player who is as highly competitive as Tim didn’t ask for a different umpire.” Maybe the umpire was using discretionary power that Barns says he has no right to use—waiting to see if I protested. Maybe I felt I should be able to adjust to the serves? Actually, says Barns, Boggan’s 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)?” [That’s 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, I’m 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 Bush’s serves is illegal; points out to Mike that he is at present on the Philly Club’s Board of Directors as the Secretary; says he never “boasted” he was a player or a coach—“I know better,” though he thinks it fair to acknowledge he’s a “basic technical” coach. As for that player who hadn’t 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 World’s 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, he’ll 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 I’ll honor them here. Results: Boys U-17: T. Lee over Paul Gvildys. Boys U-15: Gvildys over B. Pollack. Girls U-17: Flora Ng over Dana Gvildys. Girls U-15: Gvildys over Susan Marullo. Girls U-13: R. Vebeliunas over J. Pollack. Junior A’s (-1300): Ng over Gina Vebeliunas, 10, 11. Junior B’s (-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 get—wow! some pencil work for Bob Pendel, Director of Special Events for the Huntington Recreation and Parks Dept., and his two secretaries—380 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, it’s ‘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 tremendous picture of last year’s 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 tournament—and equally amazing the amount of publicity effort that isn’t 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 didn’t have to set up tables in the High’s 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. USOTC’s 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 provisions. They could not and were not permitted to pay sanction fees to outside organizations. This meant that they usually couldn’t 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 out—many stay on in our clubs and later become USTTA members.” [Many? I’d like to have been able to trace those 250 brand new players that came to this special promotional tournament—which I think History shows takes a special person like Danner, committed to a vision, to promote—and 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 it’ll 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 success—hard work pays off—but he exaggerates, by implication, its importance when he stresses it’s 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 he’s exceptional, a Hall of Famer.]”
Results: Nassau/Suffolk County Men’s Open (136 entries): Dan Green over
Mike Lardon, 19, -10, 10. Women’s Open: Evelyn Zakarin over Janet Newbold. Junior Open: Mike Lardon over Dave Margolin. Girls Open: Susan Hofheimer over Barbara Anselmo. Huntington Town Men’s: Green* over former winner Fred Danner, 15, 14. Doubles: Green/Jacobs over Carl Danner/Dave Kralstein. Women’s: Defending Champ Terry Green over Helen Gniazdowski. Novice: Kent Vandewater over Bob Blank. Senior’s: 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 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. It’s 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.”