The article "Paddle Game a welcome Member of Tennis Family" by Howard Cohn appeared in the January 1950 edition of American Lawn Tennis. Cohn wrote that "tennis with a paddle not only teaches youngsters the fundamentals of lawn tennis, but it also provides wonderful off-seasom recreation for thousands of devotees of the older sport."
The article provided and excellent account of the development of paddle tennis and platform tennis.
Back to TopCliff Sutter and Sidney Wood (right) beat Addison Wilson and Gordon Sanford.
Elfie Carroll, from the Seminole Club,Forest Hills, NY, won her second straight Mixed title with her husband Ronald, and the Women’s with Louise Ganzenmueller.
Elfie Carroll (APTA Honor Award in 1970) was a former New York State tennis champion and she and Louise had been New York State tennis doubles champions; both had picked up the game very quickly. Louise was also a two-time Women’s Doubles Indoor Tennis finalist (1940 and 1955).
In the Men's long-time tennis rivals Sutter and Wood (a former Wimbledon champion) teamed up to win. This was the fourth title for Sutter but the first, and only one, for Wood.
Sutter received the APTA Honor Award in 1967.
Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959
Back to TopOrange Lawn Tennis Club: Mr. &. Mrs. Edward S. Cooke, Mr. & Mrs. C. Edwin Williams.
In 1950, the American Paddle Tennis Association was renamed the American Platform Tennis Association (see Annual Meeting Minutes).
As explained by Fess Blanchard, this was a positive move because, "despite the fact that our game developed into something very different from the original paddle tennis, we gave it the same name—a mistake, as I see it now, and one that was principally my own fault. For a while, we tried to distinguish between the two very different games by calling one 'playground paddle tennis' and the other 'platform paddle tennis.' But habits are hard to break, despite the fact that, in 1950, our game became officially 'platform tennis' when the Association changed its name. Despite the official change, it is still called—by most of the old-timers and many of the newcomers—paddle tennis.”
Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959, and 19[...]
Back to Top"Platform Tennis New Sport," Washington Post, March 31, 1950
“A new sport is making inroads in the Washington area, where less-than-perfect weather half the year has always been a bugbear to tennis fans. The importation, platform paddle tennis, is played on a slightly raised wooden platform that drains and dries in a jiffy after rain or snow.
Several of these all-weather courts are already up and in use in the environs. The Herbert (Pete) Scovilles, Jr., of Ten Oaks, at Langley, and the Edward F. Hamms, Jr. of Rocky Run, McLean, are among the sponsors here. The Scovilles recently had their platform trucked down to Virginia from their place at Taconic, Connecticut, where they have used it for many years. The Hamms brought their court three months ago.* These couples invite neighbors to play every weekend. Probably no one should own a court who isn't sociable. Friends learn to play easily and love the game so much that they keep reappearing. T[...]
Hebard and Walker won their second title and Madge Beck and Maizie Moore were again back in the winners circle after been the finalists the previous year.
The Mixed was won for the third straight year by future Hall of Famer Elfie Carroll and her husband, Ronald.
Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959
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