APTA Honor Awards: Drowne, Irvine and Ware

Bradley Drowne: Bradley Drowne served as the National Tournament director for the APTA for many years and pioneered the rankings system employed today. He was “Mr. Steady” as a player and won the National Men’s in 1968, the Mixed in 1969 and 1974, and his first Men’s 45+ in 1973 over Baird and Lankenau.

Hank Irvine: Hank Irvine was a player who changed the game and was always exciting to watch. His shot-making and control of the ball set new standards, and he had great hands and ease of stroke, coupled with economy of body movement and consistency. He started playing and teaching the game in 1973, when he became head pro at the Short Hills Club after immigrating from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). By 1997, he had won his first National Men’s with Herb Fitz Gibbon; they repeated the following year. Six years later, he again won back-to-back Men’s nationals in 1986 and 1987. In the senior events he won the 50+ once, the 55+ four times, the 60+ three times and the 65+ once. Hank was a wonderful ambassador for the sport as a teacher and devoted much time to the development of juniors. (Short Hills Club).

John Ware: John P. Ware’s first achievement was changing the color of the original white ball, which was hard to see, into an orange one with the use of spray paint. Eventually,he got the ball to be manufactured that way, until the change to yellow took place. He served as Secretary of the APTA from 1959 to 1961, and as President from 1961 to 1963. He inaugurated the first APTA Junior Boys National Championships in 1963, and designed the crossed paddles and ball that was used on stationery, trophies, ties, scarves, and everything that represented the APTA for years. As Blanchard’s son-in-law, Ware became the game’s historian, writing numerous articles on the game and helping to publish books. With his wife, Molly Blanchard Ware, he put together the first and only – and truly magnificent – slide show presentation on the history of platform tennis. It was shown first at the Princeton Club in October 1976.