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Jimmy McClure
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Jimmy McClure first appeared on the 1934 American Ping-Pong Association (pro Parker Brothers) National tournament scene at the 7-city round-robin Intercity Matches at the Hotel Morrison in Chicago. Here, with a 16-1 record, he suddenly established himself as a great rival to Sol Schiff as North America’s best player. He was…
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Mark Schussheim Matthews
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Let’s credit not only Parker Brothers but New York City’s Tompkins Square (Ave. A and Tenth St. ) Boys’ Club–led by its star player and all-around athlete (swimming, basketball, the shot-put, volley ball, handball, tennis), Marcus “Mark” Schussheim–for helping to bring Ping-Pong here in the U.S. back into popularity from its…
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Brian Masters
Courtesy of Tim Boggans Brian Masters began playing table tennis at age 10 and two years later he was accepting his first National’s trophy at Caesars Palace from boxing-great Joe Louis. There followed five U.S. Open or Closed Junior Doubles Championships. Some say, being a lefty, Brian was always a better doubles than a singles…
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Patty Martinez
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Patty Martinez began winning tournaments when she was a little girl in San Diego wearing long, ankle-length dresses and patty-caking the ball back with gum-chewing, not to say exasperatingly casual, regularity. Continuing to play with an anachronistic hard-rubber bat, she grew up to win three U.S. Open Women’s Singles Championships, not…
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Attila Malek
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Five-time Hungarian World Singles Champion Victor Barna once advised, “Don’t take up table tennis too young. Fourteen is quite young enough.” Our next inductee to be honored tonight, Attila Malek, who immigrated to the U.S. from Barna’s hometown, Budapest, might have taken the Master’s highly suspect suggestion to heart, for he…
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Ilija Lupulesku
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Ilija “Lupi” Lupulesku was born Oct. 30, 1967 in Uzdin, Yugoslavia. He began playing table tennis at 9, and credits Coach Jon Bosika for convincing him to pursue a career in table tennis rather than soccer. As a 16-year-old, Lupi won the first of his back-to-back European Youth Doubles Championships with…
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Dal-Joon Lee
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Playing for South Korea in the 1958 Asian Games was one, Lee Dal-Joon. He posted a 3-9 record in the Team ties, and in the Singles lost a 19 in the 5th match to Hong Kong’s Lau Suk Fong, a veteran of the ’56 World’s. Not too impressive, nothing to write…
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Dolores Probert Kuenz
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Dolores (originally Delores?) Probert’s first National’s was the Parker Brothers-sponsored American Ping-Pong Association’s last one–at the Hotel Carter in Cleveland, Apr. 6-8, 1934. She lost in the 2nd round, badly, to Chicago veteran Helen Ovenden, and was ranked APPA #12 for the ’33-34 season. At the Apr. 5-7, 1935 unifying USTTA…
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Erwin Klein
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Unexpectedly Bobby Gusikoff called me and, in the throes of uncontrollable tears and spasmed speech, gasped out that his long-time friend Erwin Klein had just been shot to death in Los Angeles–killed in an argument on Sept. 30, 1992 by a business partner who then fatally turned the gun on himself.…
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Alice Green Kimble
Courtesy of Tim Boggan Aug. 28, 1951–that’s Alice’s birth date. Which means that in the spring of 1963 Alice is 11 years old when she and father/coach Hal (U.S. #8 for the ’51-’52 season) are runner-ups in Mixed Doubles in the Long Island Closed. Two years later, 13-year-old Alice won the Women’s Singles in that…
US Table Tennis Hall of Fame
Recognizing athletes and contributors in the sport of Table Tennis in the United States