Will Shortz: Puzzlemaster & Table Tennis Player

By Pat Yee

Between waiting for matches at clubs, players occupy themselves with anything from idle chit-chat to crosswords and, while few players have the talent to say that they solved the crossword puzzle from the Tribune or Times, only one USATT player has the background to actually say, “I made that crossword.”

Crossword puzzle editor of The New York Times Will Shortz, a puzzle fan and avid table tennis player, can say that.

Shortz, like many Americans, first discovered table tennis in the rec. room of his childhood home in Indiana where he developed his own game.

“I was so small when I started that my head barely poked above the table,” he said. “By necessity I held the paddle Seemiller-style ... which I still use today.”

His early “intense if friendly” competitions with his family influenced him enough to continue to play after his move to New York in the early 80’s.

“I joined the USATT for a few years and played in a couple tournaments,” Shortz said. “Then life got too busy and I stopped.”

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