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2002
USATT Hall of Fame InductionsBy Tim Boggan
1956—1968:
When Mike’s about six months old, his Doctor gives him a normal virus shot but
the hypodermic needle accidentally bruises his spinal cord and he loses the use
of his legs. “With me,” he says, “being in a wheelchair wasn’t a matter
of readjusting.You might have a period of bitterness when you have something and
lose it, but this being the only thing I ever knew, I’m not bitter. I was
always a pretty happy kid.”
1969: Mike competes in the least disabled category. The more so then with him the saying, “It’s Ability, not Disability that counts.” U.S. Wheelchair Champion John Gray brings 13-year-old Mike to the National Wheelchair Games, an unseeded newcomer, and he takes the gold. It will be the first of at least 30 National Championships in his Class he will win.
1970-71: Mike improves by competing against able-bodied players at his Columbus, Ohio club. In July of ’71, he’ll have his first international triumph – a gold at the Pan-Am Wheelchair Games in Kingston, Jamaica, where he’s coached by Jim Beckford. There’ll be many more international medals for him with the help of Coaches Chris Lehman, Christian Lillieroos, and Rong Li.
1972: At the Heidelberg Paralympics, Mike scores a silver—loses to Israel’s perennial Champion Sam Hagai.
1973: Back home among the Ohio able-bodied, Mike is ranked #1 among Young Adults in Ohio when in that event at a tournament he defeats Men’s winner Ricky Seemiller. At Stoke-Mandeville, England, Dempsey wins the Singles from Hagai.
1974: Mike graduates from Gahanna Lincoln High School. There he was awarded a Varsity sport jacket “for his achievements in table tennis and basketball” and was inducted into the National Honor Society “for his scholarship, character, leadership, and service.”
1975-82: In England in ‘75, Dempsey and Sam Fletcher win a gold in Doubles. Now World wins come rolling in. Ty Kaus tells us how in the fall of ’82, at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, Mike is playing Altendorfer a 2/3 match for the Open Championship. The Austrian, up 1-0, and, having just won several hard-fought points to pull to 17-all in the second, points his racket defiantly at Dempsey, but Mike, is not intimidated, prevails at 19. Kaus then delights in describing what happens next:
“Mike
came alive and buried the Austrian with a succession of beautifully executed and
deceptive angled pushes as he constantly flipped and twirled his MarkV/Sriver
Killer combination bat, forcing error after error. Suddenly, amazingly, the
score was 20-3 Dempsey. Then Dempsey uncorked three of his awesome forehand
kills…. He missed the first two, but the third struck paydirt, a tremendous
smash that sailed far into the spectator seats.”
1983-87: At the Vienna Sports Festival Mike wins two golds and a bronze. Meanwhile, business calls? Back in 1972, Mike had met Rainer Kuschall, a Swiss who’d invented an ultra-lightweight, ultra-maneuverable wheelchair that used weight-reducing aluminum tubing (a steel chair weighed maybe 50 pounds, an aluminum tubing one perhaps not 20). After accepting an offer by Kuschall allowing him to produce these chairs in the U.S., Dempsey, by 1985, has his own wheelchair company with his own designs.
1988: In winning the Paralympics Open at Seoul, Mike plays two gutsy matches – his 23-21, 21-19 semi’s versus world-ranked #1 Tom Kreidel; and his 19-in-the-third final against Frenchman Guy Tisserant.
1989-1992: Andre Scott/Anderson begins challenging Dempsey for supremacy. At the 1990 World Championships in Holland, Kreidel beats Mike for the gold. At the ’92 Barcelona Paralympics, Mike again has to be content with silver.
1993-1999: Win or lose, Mike remains, if not a kid, still pretty happy. And why shouldn’t he be? He has a good time at the ’99 Parapanam Games in Mexico City, and begins to get more of the accolades he deserves.
2000-: In addition to having received earlier the National Wheelchair Athletic Association’s Male Athlete of the Year Award and induction into that body’s Hall of Fame, as well as inductions into the Ohio WAA Hall and, later, the California Hall, Mike enjoys what is perhaps his finest moment. He has the honor in Sydney of being Flagbearer for the 2000 U.S. Paralympic Team.
(pronounced
“Way Wong”)
1974-79: At age 13, playing shakehands (at the
suggestion of her aunt, Wang Jien, 1961 World semifinalist), and favoring a
fast-attack game, Wei becomes part of the Beijing team. By 1979 ranked #5 in
China, but is never chosen for the National Team.
1986: After graduating from Beijing University, immigrates to U.S, settles in CA. Knows little English, so adaption to different culture is difficult.
1988: In March, at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, wins two singles and the doubles with U-22 U.S. Champion Lan Vuong, thus enabling the “U.S.” to defeat a visiting Japanese Team managed by 1967 U.S. Open Champion Manji Fukushima. In June, at the Pacific Rim International in Alhambra (thanks go to sponsor/host, Dr. Jiing Wang), a “U.S.” team of Wei, Lan and 1984 U.S. Closed Champion Julie Ou finishes third behind teams from China and Japan (Chinese Taipei is fourth). Wei is third in Singles behind China’s Chen Zihe and runner-up Xu Jing. In July, Wei wins North American Invitational over Lan.
1989: At the August North American Championships, Wei loses an 11-9 in the fifth horror to Barbara Chen, a former Canton Province player who was the Canadian #1 at the 1989 World’s. (Yes, that’s right, 13 years ago … 11-point games).
1990: The first of U.S. National Coach Wei’s video instruction tapes is being circulated. Modern Table Tennis 101 (with 5-time U.S. Champion Sean O’Neill) and 102 will follow. WEI WINS U.S. CLOSED SINGLES over U.S. Champ Insook Bhushan.
1991: At the World’s, in a Corbillon Cup match, Wei beats Bulgaria’s Daniela Guerguelcheva, the 1990 European Champion. In Mixed Doubles, Wei and Eric Boggan reach the round of 32. In October, at the North American Championships, Wei loses a tough final (not a best of five but best of seven match), 16, 19, 19, -17, -16, -14, -14 to Diana Huang. But the U.S. Team of Wei, Lily Hugh (former Quangdong Province Champion, now Lily Yip), and Li Ai beat the eligible Canadian women and so qualify to play in the Barcelona World Team Cup. At the U.S. Closed, Wei rallies to beat Lily, then, though cheered on by husband Diego, loses a last-game lead in the final against Insook.
1992: At the April North American Championships, Wei/Lily qualify for World Cup Doubles, which makes them each, come December, $1,000. Hard to take losses for Wei at the U.S. Open. Against a Chinese Taipei team, Wei loses her two singles, deuce in the third, and 19 in the third, and the doubles with Insook, deuce in the third. At the National’s, Wei loses deuce in the fifth to Diana Gee. But WINS U.S. CLOSED DOUBLES WITH LILY and makes U.S. Team to ’93 World’s.
1993: In June Wei becomes a U.S. citizen. Diego and Wei, working together, initiate for the USATT magazine a standard feature: selected photo sequences of top world-class players and an accompanying analysis of their strokes. At the National’s, Wei loses in the semi’s in five to Lily. However, in the Team Trials, Wei comes second to Amy.
1994: At the May North American Championships, Wei is beaten in the semi’s by Huang. But wins last match from Petra Cada to give U.S. women a 3-2 victory over Canada and make them eligible for the World Team Cup in Nimes, France. In October at Houston, makes Pan-Am Team. At the National’s, Wei beats Virginia Sung in five before losing in the semi’s to Amy. In the Team Trials, Wei loses to Amy, Lily, Virginia and Tawny Banh, and so doesn’t make U.S. Team to the ‘95 World’s. However, she’ll be in Tianjin with Diego supporting the players. “I never remember the bad things,” she says, “but I remember the good. My husband is that way too, so it seems that we are always happy.”
1995: At the January ENGLISH OPEN, Wei, playing with a pick-up Austrian partner against world-class opponents, is WOMEN’S DOUBLES RUNNER-UP. Returning home to play in the February Chinese New Year’s Open, Wei (“meticulously picking which loaded chop to loop, push or smash”) beats Lily and Virginia. At the March Pan-Am Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Gee defeats Wei in five in quarter’s, but Wei/Tawny win a Bronze in Doubles. At the National’s, Lily beats Wei in the semi’s, 19 in the fifth. Again Wei and Lily are U.S. DOUBLES CHAMPIONS.
1996-: At the U.S. Olympic Trials, Wei finishes third behind Lily and Amy, So, when Sung fails to qualify for Doubles later at Edmonton, Wei is able to partner Lily in Atlanta. After Wei trains in Beijing, she and Lily beat the Netherlands team of Vriesekoop/Noor, then lose to Russia’s strong defensive pair, Palina/Timina. The Olympic Games prove a climax for Wei, whose last published rating is 2374. Invited to attend an all-expenses-paid Coaches Symposium in Colorado, she accepts. Thereafter concentrates solely on coaching, always trying to find the best way to teach, the best way to improve her students’ play.
1941-44:
Miles, Lou Pagliaro, and Tibor Hazi win ’41 Intercities (Dick’s
first—he’ll be on half a dozen more winning N.Y. teams). Strict grandmother
locks him out when, obsessed with table tennis, he comes home in the wee hours
from Lawrence’s fabled Club. “Some nights I’d be sitting out there in the
hall crying until finally someone would open the door and I’d hear my
grandmother yell at me, “You’re a bum! We don’t want a bum in the
family!”
1945: In Detroit wins the first of his record-breaking 10 National’s. Michigan TTA President Graham Steenhoven, on presenting Dick with his trophy, says, “Here, I hope you behave like a Champion.”
1946-47: At the ’47 Paris World’s, Dick finds such a cold venue that he’s out there on court with two hot water bottles tied to his waist. Loses to England’s Johnny Leach. A combination of the cold and nerves forces Dick to repeatedly cramp up so that his forearm locks. Suffers long-term psychic consequences: sometimes feels he has to attack when he doesn’t want to, else fears his arm will tighten. Sick at heart, he loses in the Team’s to the vaunted Czechs – Vana, Andreadis, Tereba. Wins U.S. Open Singles and first Mixed with England’s ’47 World runner-up Betty Blackbourn.
1948: English Coach Jack Carrington describes Dick’s game:
“The ‘Miles
Forehand’ threatens to become as famous as the ‘Barna Backhand.’ It is
produced by an unbelievably fast circular whip of the forearm and wrist….[If
you] try to follow the bat with your eye, you will find it almost impossible.
The effect is a
fast bounding ball imbued with twice as much topspin as most players use. Miles
can take the ball so early he can keep most opponents scouting the deep….
As for defense,
the speed with which he falls back and the controlled returns from either wing
are beautiful to watch.”
At Wembley World’s, Miles leads Defending Champ Vana 16-9 in the fifth, but then, in “blindly” hitting himself out of the match, he reverses the defensive strategy he’d used in losing a lead against Vana in the Team’s. Depressed, he doesn’t want to play the Mixed, but thanks to partner Tybie Thall’s sun-bursting enthusiasm, he thaws a bit and they beat Leach/Vera Thomas 16, -11, -16, 22, 19. Off to a -13, -14 start in the final against Vana/Pokorna, Dick tells “crazy hitter” Tybie, “Listen, this is embarrassing. You don’t hit a ball until I tell you to.” Then – “with Miles driving fiercely” and Tybie taking “Vana’s sneaky service with coolness” – they win the last three games. “Tybie threw her racket in the air and came over for a hug,” Dick said. “But I pushed her away. Didn’t say a word to her, didn’t even shake hands. I acted like a real shit. Afterwards, good players congratulated me, fussed over me – it was sickening.” However, by presentation time Dick is feeling pretty good about being a World Champion, is even smiling. Back home at the U.S. Open, Dick beats Marty Reisman in one of their legendary matches, deuce in the 5th.
1949: At the Stockholm World’s, Miles is again beaten by Leach, deuce in the fifth, after Dick has two match points. On this World trip, Miles, Reisman, and Cartland, “professionals,” are not happy with the food or their accommodations. They express their displeasure, make changes, maybe miss an exhibition or two. As a result, the USATT suspends all three of them for a year.
1950-52: In ’51 U.S. Open final Dick rallies from two games down to again beat Reisman. But in ’52, though he wins the Doubles with Schiff (he’ll also win with Somael, Reisman, and Van de Walle), he loses an expedited 5-game final to Pagliaro.
1953-58: At the ‘54 World’s Dick is 13-1 in Swaythling Cup play. In Singles, he beats Zarko Dolinar, World runner-up in ‘55, then, up 2-0, he can’t hold on against Japan’s Tomita. In ‘55 he wins the U.S Open from Richard Bergmann with whom he’s been on a Globetrotters Tour. Also wins the Mixed with Millie Shahian. At the ‘56 World’s he upsets Andreadis, loses to Ogimura in the quarter’s.
1959: At the Dortmund World’s he beats Iran’s Houshang Bozorgzadeh (who would soon move to the U.S.) in five, then two Chinese. In the semi’s is up 2-1 against a third Chinese, Jung Kuo-tuan, but can’t finish him.
1960—85: In ’62 Dick wins his last National’s – over Norbie Van de Walle, whom he enjoys giving USO shows with, be they in Alaska or Cambodia. “I’m a non-worker,” he quips. Dick will continue playing in U.S. tournaments for more than a decade, but his last World’s is in ‘67 at Stockholm where, almost 42, he plays a five-gamer with Gomozkov, the #1 Soviet player. In ‘68 his The Game of Table Tennis is published. In ’71 he’s on the historic 1971 U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” trip to China. He continues to write articles for Sports Ilustrated. Is a colorman at World Championships for ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Involves himself as a USTTA Executive Committeeman in the running of U.S. Opens. And all the while carries on his Dick Miles line of equipment with Sears and Montgomery Ward.
A non-worker? Don’t you believe it. Had his grandmother been able to look ahead to see his lengthy accomplishments, she’d have said, “Got your key, Dickie? Make sure you’ve got your key, dear, in case you come in late.”
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