Just who was this Lineal Group sponsoring organization? They were part of Ditri Associates, Inc. who also owned Hedstrom Corporation the manufacturers of the Vittert paddle ball
The Lineal Group was a leading manufacturer of casual, storable, and commercial furniture. Lineal included Samsonite Furniture Company, Halcyon, Harbour Towne, Pacific Rattan, Fort Smith, Tradewinds and Molla. Lineal was also the largest U.S. manufacturer of folding tables and chairs, and marketed these products under the Samsonite name.
“Four stars” and “two thumbs up” were the universal reaction to the celebrated Rye Invitational, hosted by Westchester Country Club in Harrison, NY.
A slew of platform stars came out to strut their stuff, highlighted by the 1992 men's Nationals champs, Rich Maier and Bob Kleinert, making their seasonal debut. And what a debut, as they roared through the tourney with the loss of only one set, and finished off by topping the number one seeds, Peter Gruenberg and Art Williams, in straight sets.
The high-flying women's duo of Robin Fulton and Diane Tucker cemented their role as the leading ladies by also only losing a single set all weekend, and knocking off Patti Hogan and Kate Rogers in a straight -set final.
While not quite a cast of thousands, there were more than 240 other players who assumed roles from struggling first-rounders to almost up-setters, as not only the [...]
National Championships and coverage of Men’s and Women’s Nationals in Cleveland, OH
Back to Top1993 National Championships Cleveland, OH, March 4-7, 1993
The Men's and Women's Nationals were covered in PTN Spring 1993:
“It was the toughest one of them all to run,” admitted APTA Nationals chairman Walt Peckinpaugh afterward. "But with the money we raised for charity, and overcoming the bad weather, and putting on the Saturday night show ... well we didn't do too badly, I guess." Almost a foot of snow fell during the tourney, along with hail, sleet, rain and more.
Robin Fulton/Diane Tucker solidified their claim as numero uno in the women's ranks with a rollercoaster three-set win over Patti Hogan and Kate Rogers. But on the men's side, Bill Fiedler and Barry Judge took the men's title by knocking off both top seeds in thrilling three-set matches.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Spring and Fall 1993
The first prize money series of events on the platform tennis scene in over a decade ended its four-event run with a grand finale at the Brookside Racquet and Swim Club in Allendale, NJ that drew rave reviews and plans for similar future tournaments.
Over $10,000 in prize money was up for grabs when the top 16 men's and women's teams from the Lineal Group series collided at Brookside, making for ultra-competitive matches, superb shot-making, and spell-binding watching for the fans.
The biggest checks were carted home by Peter Gruenberg and Art Williams on the men's side, and Robin Fulton and Diane Tucker on the women's.
But the biggest winners of all were those who participated in the various events surrounding the main show.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Spring 1993
The Rules & Equipment Committee had been busy with the ARD ball, a new paddle from Marcraft, and had been updating the Rules Book, The Etiquette of Paddle and How to Conduct a Tournament Draw. Bob Brown also provided the Board with a copy of a position statement supporting the change of "playing lets on serve"
The Board reaffirmed that the President's Cup was not intended for top ranked players and agreed to eliminate from President's Cup competition any player who had reached the quarter finals of the Nationals in the last two years or who was one of the top eight ranked women's teams or top sixteen ranked men's teams
Kent Sutton, a freelance writer and teaching professional at Indianapolis Racquet Club, “lost his virginity” at 31—his paddle playing virginity, that is.
This article, which originally appeared in the Indianapolis Sports Monthly, was reprinted in the Spring edition of Platform Tennis News.
“I lost my virginity recently at age 31. It was a cold and overcast morning in early December, and, though not romantic, it was a perfect setting for myself and four other women as we had our eyes opened to a new and wonderful experience. It was just 25 degrees but after several minutes of "foreplay," my constant movement soon had me shedding layer after layer of clothing. After two short hours it was over. My cheeks were rosy, my lungs full of air, and my legs were sore - but a good sore. I wanted to keep going, but unfortunately other virgins were coming to this sacred place to discove[...]
Back to TopPlatform Tennis News covered the ceremony. PTN Summer 1993
Robert A. Brown had more years of service to the game than anyone else.
He started as APTA Treasurer in 1969, and was then Secretary, and President (1974-1975) during the time the sport was growing rapidly and expanding internationally.
He hired the first Executive Director of the APTA, incorporated the APTA as a not-for-profit corporation, revamped the bylaws, authored the "Etiquette of Platform Tennis," and championed the yellow ball that is today’s standard.
If that was not enough, the APTA brought him back on the Board in 1988 as Region I president, and then chair of the Rules and Equipment Committee. He also managed to play while handling these assignments and accumulated an impressive senior record, with a total of 38 National Senior finals, including 21 wins.
In achieving his last win at the age of 84, he became the oldest player in the history of the game to win[...]
The first APTA-approved Summer Paddle League began on May 3, 1993, when four teams initiated play at the Morristown Field Club, in Morristown, New Jersey.
Play continued every Monday evening through August 30th, with the courts at the Beacon Hill Club in Summit, New Jersey providing the alternating site.
Back to TopMid-Winter edition of Platform Tennis News
The new edition was more than a reprint of existing text. With input from all the directors of the Association, and suggestions from members, Rules Committee, Director Bob Brown did a major rewriting of the text.
One of the seemingly simple, but really arduous tasks was to remove all the male pronouns (he, his, him) from the rules, in line with current practice.
The second major effort was to clarify rules for certain play situations that were not specified, but were understood to be accepted practice in actual court action. For example, the circumstances surrounding the ball hitting a net post were defined much more clearly than in the prior edition of the Official Rules.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer 1993
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