-
Si Wasserman
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Si first met his good friend and soon-to-be doubles partner Austin Finkenbinder in 1948 at the downtown Los Angeles YMCA table tennis club. (Next to Austin and Si, far right, is Ragnar “Ray” Fahlstrom, still playing in tournaments today.) It was Austin who introduced Si to the “mecca” of table tennis…
-
Bill Walk
Courtesy of Tim Boggan The South Park (Pittsburgh) Club, still in existence today (the oldest continually USATT affiliated club?), was formed in the 1957-58 season under the leadership of Lillian Guyer. Lillian was a Vice-President of the USTTA and also the Courts, Clubs, and League Chair—in fact, through the years she chaired five different committees…
-
John Varga
Courtesy of Tim Boggan At an historic 1937 meeting in Kokomo, a number of players and officials forever important to Indiana table tennis gathered together to reorganize the State Association and to elect South Bend’s W. B. Hester (the W. stood for Weldon) as their President. A selected Who’s Who at this meeting would include,…
-
Tamasu Company
Courtesy of Tim Boggan One can find out much about Japan’s Hikosuke Tamasu, founder of the famous Tokyo-based Butterfly Company, from his (1993) Songs of International Friendship. In 1945, Tamasu as a young soldier was only two kilometers away when the atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima. In caring for the injured, he first began to feel…
-
Y.C. Lee
Courtesy of Tim Boggan There’s a photo of an obviously serious-minded, not to say worried, four-year-old Ying Chow Lee, sitting in a park in Shanghai as if hoping the outdoor air will clear his head, looking for all the world like, “How am I gonna engineer a city-wide Kindergarten tournament when I’m six tables short?”…
-
Neil Smyth
Before Cornelius “Neil” Smyth became Vice President and Treasurer of Caesars Palace and so was in a position to make his Hall of Fame contribution to the Sport he loved, he’d had a varied and accomplished background outside of Table Tennis. From Eugene Wilson’s “Senior of the Month” interview with Neil (Topics, Jan., 1980), we…
-
Dr. Michael Scott
Courtesy of Tim Boggan I hardly know where to start with Michael, for as the most ubiquitous of sportsmen he’s apt to turn up anywhere, doing almost anything. For example, you could have seen him as Ringside Physician for the USA Amateur Boxing Federation. Or at a Fencing Meet in Orlando. Or tending to some…
-
William R. Price
Courtesy of Tim Boggan The Aug. 31, 1934 Cleveland Great Lakes Open–played before maybe 1,000 spectators on 40-50 tables set up outdoors at the windy Euclid Beach Amusement Park–was clearly unique. It was also significant in that it provided us with the first mention in Topics of three great St. Louis players–Robert “Bud” Blattner, Garrett…
US Table Tennis Hall of Fame
Recognizing athletes and contributors in the sport of Table Tennis in the United States