Former paddle champion and Hall of Fame member Bill Pardoe died on February 10 at his home in Stratton, VT, at the age of 62.
A graduate of Brigham Young University and Fordham Law School, he was senior vice president and senior financial officer for the Union Carbide Corporation.
Bill Pardoe and his partner, George Harrison, won the National Men's Doubles championship in 1956 and again in 1960. He won the National Mixed Doubles with Charlotte Lee in 1965. In the Senior Men's Doubles, he and his partner George Lowman won the championship three years in a row - 1966, '67 and '68.
In 1969, William Pardoe received the APTA Honor Award given to those individuals who have made significant contributions to the game of platform tennis.
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 3 No. 5 (April-May)
British Open International Platform Tennis Tournament - February 3, 4, 5.
An invitation International Tournament under the joint auspices of the International Platform Tennis Association and the BPTA, to be held at Silvermere Country Club, Redhill Road, Cobham, Surrey. Sponsored by Racquet Sports International Limited. Teams from the United States, Holland and the United Kingdom.
The First European Open Championships - February 10, 11, 12.
Hapert, Holland, the site of last year's Dutch Open Championships. Sponsored by Bellfires Corporation and its President, Nico de Wal. Teams from the United States, United Kingdom and Holland.
Program and Drawsheets
British National Platform Tennis Championships
Sponsored by En-tout-cas Limited, it involved regional competitions at a number of centers for all entrants, culminating in a National Final for regional winners. Men's, women'[...]
FMTC hosted the event (its 41st National Championship) commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of platform tennis.
The highlight of the afternoon was the presentation of sterling silver trays by APTA President Dick Hornigold to members of the “first families” of platform tennis, Mrs. Fessenden Blanchard and Do Cogswell Deland.
In the Men’s, Herb Fitz Gibbon and Hank Irvine won their second straight title as did Hilary Hilton and Louise Gengler in the Women’s. Paddle Talk covered the event
Clark Graebner (Russell’s partner in the Men’s final) and Louise Gengler (Hilton’s partner in the Women’s) won the mixed over Russell and Hilton.
In the Senior’s, Bob Brown won his first of many Senior titles with George Reynolds over the winners of the past two years, Baird and Lankenau.
Source: Paddle Talk Vol. 3 No. 5 (April-May)
Orange Lawn Tennis Club in New Jersey hosted the $50,000 Passport Scotch Platform Tennis Classic event. [Official Program]
The first-year team of Clark Graebner and Doug Russell won the biggest money prize in platform tennis history by capturing the men's division. They defeated the Baird brothers, Chip and Steve, and split a prize of $8,000.
The 1978 national champions, Louise Gengler and Hilary Hilton, took the women's title, and a record $8,000. They defeated the second-seeded team of Wendy Chase and Linda Wolf.
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 3 No. 6 (June-July)
The top 20 “weekend player” teams from the APTA's four regions gathered at the Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey on April 1 and 2 to compete in the first Presidents’ Cup Championship.
The format was a round robin, with teams positioned one through five in each region playing comparable teams from every other region. Each victory was worth one point toward the region's total score.
Region IV (Mid-West and West) captured the first President’s Cup with a resounding record of 13 wins and 2 losses. Region III (Mid-Atlantic and South) finished second.
While the competitive play provided the focal point of the tournament, the social aspects were equally important. A genuine team spirit developed among the players from each region.
They scouted the opposition for each other, practiced between matches, and shouted encouragement to teammates during lengthy matches. The dinner[...]
Robert R. Kingsbury elected APTA President (1978-1980)
Back to TopGannett Westchester Newspapers, January 1979
Kingsbury was active in the APTA and served as President when paddle grew from a game to a sport to a business. He was instrumental in developing sponsors for the game when many top players were tennis and platform tennis professionals. He knew that prize money was essential for growth, but he also knew that the health of the game relied on keeping the average player involved and interested. This was a difficult balancing act, which he handled with perfection.
Kingsbury managed to get Coca Cola and Seagrams to make financial contributions to the game at the national ranking level. Following that, he enlisted the Hertz Corporation to underwrite events for club level players, culminating in a two-day President's Cup that was extremely popular.
Source: Gannett Westchester Newspapers, January 1979
Thanks to creative marketing, ample prize money, and the foresight of the APTA Board, platform tennis continued to grow. By 1978, it was estimated that four hundred thousand enthusiasts played platform tennis across the United States.
Passport Scotch ups the ante – The Passport Scotch Grand Prix of Platform Tennis Tour culminating in the Men’s and Women’s Nationals. The purse for the Men’s and Women’s tournaments was $169,000; the Nationals $25,200 each
Calvert Distillers, a division of Joseph E. Seagram & Son. Inc., renewed its sponsorship of professional men's and women's platform tennis for the season.
The 1978-79 Passport Scotch Grand Prix of Platform Tennis featured the highest prize money in the sport's 50 year history, a total of $169,400 for both men's and women's circuits.
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