A historical review of the sport at its “home”

On a Sunday early in March, before a packed house of members and invited guests, the Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarsdale New York, affectionately known as the “Home of Platform Tennis,” presented a historical review of the sport.

Molly Ware, daughter of one of the founders of the game, Fessenden Blanchard, and her husband, John, narrated the photographic slide presentation. Also present was Do Deland, daughter of James Cogswell, also recognized as a founder of the game.

Of most interest to the Club’s members was the explanation of how the introduction of the game of platform tennis literally saved the Club from bankruptcy in 1932.

A question and answer session followed the slide presentation, with many of the Club members present adding their own recollections of the times when the game was begun and the Fox Meadow Tennis Club was the first club to have courts.

On display were many of the memorabilia of that earlier age, including the first racquets and balls, instruction books, and clothes worn when the game was born.

For those who had the opportunity to hear first hand about the creation of the sport from those who lived and breathed it from its beginnings, the afternoon was an extraordinary event that will not soon be forgotten.

Source: Platform Tennis News, Spring 1997