Origin of Fox Meadow’s “Drop-Ins”

“From October to April, beginning in the winter of 1928-29, hardly a weekend or holiday went by without a gathering of the Old Army Athletes (O.A.A.). We often had a gallery of twenty-five or more men, women and children, most of them waiting their turn to play.”

This called for organization. One bench, erected under the supervision of the gang boss who had directed the platform project, Cogswell by name, was soon followed by two more. And in the nearby Cogswell cellar there began the accumulation of a collection of bear rugs, coonskin coats, and army blankets, many of them donated by members of the O.A.A. Jimmy and I would assume the job of trying to give everyone a chance to play, including ourselves, and we would attempt to arrange matches which would be as even as possible.”

Source: Adapted from Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1958