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Olga Soltesz
Courtesy of Tim Boggan (PHOTO #1) Hungarian refugees Paul and Olga Soltesz are shown here in 1957 with their Budapest-born three-year-old daughter Olga. They’ve resettled in Melbourne, FL, and at the moment are heading off to town. No, they’re not going to any local table tennis club—though Paul (PHOTO #2) had been an enthusiastic player…
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Mildred Wilkinson Shipman
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Neither the Parker Brothers’ American Ping-Pong Association (APPA) nor the break-away New York Table Tennis Association (NYTTA) held U.S. Women’s Championships before 1933. But although the Mar., ‘33 APPA Chicago National’s had a very good turnout of 40 entries in the Women’s, Mildred Wilkinson, one of the locals (from Glen Ellyn)…
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Mildred Shahian
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Mildred Shahian, whose life was devoted to table tennis–both as a World and National Champion, and as the Manager for 40 years of Chicago’s well-known Net and Paddle Club–died of cardiac arrest, April Fools Day, 1992. Her close friend of 30 years, Jim Lazarus, agonized over her, comforted her, in her…
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Ricky Seemiller
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Ricky Seemiller, with brother Danny’s grip, started playing 30 years ago, and, like anyone else, began by paying his dues. After losing the U-13’s in both the 1971 Eastern’s (to N.Y.’s Timmy House) and the 1971 National’s (to N.J. ‘s Mike Stern), Ricky graduated–lost the U-15’s at the Toronto CNE (to…
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Danny Seemiller
Courtesy of Tim Boggan March 2, 1968–let’s start there; 13-year-old Danny, having come up out of the basement where he learned to play with his older brother Bill, lost in the PA Team Championships to both Erich Haring and Mal Anderson, later more respected officials than players. But by the 1969 USOTC’s, 15-year-old unranked Danny,…
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Sol Schiff
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Solomon “Sol” Schiff, born June 28, 1917, says he “learned the game [in 1925] on a lunch table at P.S. 151 on East 91st St.” By 1928 at P.S. 30 in Yorkville, he was playing with a wooden bat on another improvised lunch table. Later he joined the 92nd St. YMHA…
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David Sakai
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Although Dave began playing at a Waterbury, CT Y with a sandpaper racket, he quickly learned the game, progressed rapidly, and at the 1964 U.S. Open, showing excellent ball control, won the U-15’s over Glenn Cowan in the semi’s and Mark Radom in the final. He also beat Dell Sweeris in…
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Errol Resek
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Errol Resek came to the U.S. toward the middle of the 1960’s from the Dominican Republic where others in his family—father Alberto, brother Albertico, and particularly sister Priscilla—were also accomplished players. In contrast to Errol, Priscilla had a very short career, but at the 1967 U.S. Open she reached the final…
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Marty Reisman
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Given his long and from time to time almost magically resuscitated table tennis life, and being blessed, or damned, as he is with an insatiable urge to promote himself, Reisman has to be the most hyped player in our esteemed Hall. So how separate fact from fiction, the man from the…
US Table Tennis Hall of Fame
Recognizing athletes and contributors in the sport of Table Tennis in the United States