Old courts at FMTC replaced

As part of Killy Kilmarx’s (1900–1996) long-range plan, developed in 1948 for moving and refurbishing the Club’s seven courts and adding two more, all the old paddle courts east of the clubhouse had been dismantled. By 1953 and in the 1953-54 season, the Club built two new courts for $6,000.

Source: Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club – The First Hundred Years, 1983

Intently watching the platform tennis action at Fox Meadow Tennis Club

National Championships

1953

The streak of Mixed wins by Elfie Carroll and her husband came to an end when they lost to the Fox Meadow team of Dick Hebard and Madge Beck in the Finals.

French and U.S. singles and doubles champion Don McNeill (1918-1996) teamed with 1938-1939 NCAA tennis champion Frank D. Guernsey (1917-2008) to win the Men’s.

Fox Meadow members and sisters, Madge Beck and Maizie Moore, both future Hall of Famers, won the Women’s for the third straight time.

Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959

Historical Factoid: Guernsey, a decorated World War II fighter pilot, had defeated Bobby Riggs in 1939, a week after Riggs had won Wimbledon. McNeill and Guernsey had been Men’s Doubles finalists in the US Open in 1946 losing to Gardnar Malloy and William Talbert 20-18 in the fifth set.

James Carlisle's "Hiawatha" poem, with due apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem was read at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the game held at Fox Meadow on February 21, 1953.

James Carlisle’s “Hiawatha” poem

The Old Army Athletes (OAA) had a long tradition of enlivening celebrations with poetry about the game and the people involved starting with Frederick Lewis Allen, editor of Harper’s magazine, and his wife. The Allens were neighbors of the Cogswells and regulars at OAA gatherings. This tradition carried over to Fox Meadow when many OAA joined after the construction of the first paddle court. On February 21, 1953 another poet laureate for platform tennis came to the fore at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the game at Fox Meadow. The poet laureate was James M. Carlisle, a worthy successor to the Allens and one of the games best players, even though he served underhanded!

Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959

Jim Carlisle reads his epic poem "Hiawatha," a tribute to co-founders Blanchard and Cogswell on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of paddle tennis. Among the appreciative audience: Maizie Moore, Dick Hebard, Elliott Wilson, Violet Wellington and Earle Gatchell

Fox Meadow Hosts 25th Anniversary of Platform Tennis

On February 21, 1953, T. Edmund Beck, President of the Fox Meadow Tennis Club, presented silver bowls, on behalf of his club and the APTA, to Jimmy Cogswell and Fessenden Blanchard, to commemorate their founding of the game 25 years ago

About a hundred “devotees of the sport,” as the Scarsdale Inquirer put it, turned up for the occasion, which was a complete surprise to Cogswell and Blanchard who thought it was just another party.

Blanchard adds this personal remembrance of the event: “James M. Carlisle, one of the games best players at the time, read his famous ‘Hiawatha’ poem and proved himself to be a worthy poet laureate successor to the Allens. It really was a proud moment for Jimmy and me.”

Source: Fessenden S. Blanchard, Platform Paddle Tennis, 1959

Richard K. Hebard, 1983. Photograph taken at FMTC Centennial

Richard K. Hebard elected APTA President (1953-1955) and FMTC President (1953-1955)

Hebard (1914-2007) graduated in 1933 from the Hill school in Pottstown, PA where he had an outstanding athletic record (see side-bar) and in 1937 from Springfield College. MA. He returned to the Hill School as a faculty member for a number of years and later during WWII he served as a lieutenant commander with the Navy.

After the war he joined his father’s business the R. W. Hebard Company Inc., an engineering and contracting company (had been involved in the Panama canal construction) and R. W. Hebard Associates, agents for Brazilian mining interests (Hebard had South American lineage through his mother’s side).

He was the National Boys tennis champion in 1928 at the age of 14 and continued to have great success on the tennis courts over his playing days.

Hebard married Lois Fuller the daughter of Percival and Kitty Fuller in 1948 and they were long-time members of Fox Meadow where Dick, following in his mother-in-law’s footsteps, amassed many platform tennis titles and became recognized as one of the finest players in the games history.

In tennis Hebard won the Men’s singles five times – 1947-1949 and 1961-1962; the men’s doubles nine times – 1946, 1948, 1951-1953, 1955-1957 and 1960; and the mixed doubles five times – 1949-1950, 1954, 1957, 1963, four of which were with his wife and the other with his mother-in-law.

In platform tennis he won the Men’s nine times – 1947-1948, 1951-1952, 1955-1957, 1963 and 1965 and the Mixed three times – 1953-1955, twice with his mother-in-law and once with his wife.

Both Hebard (1914-2007) and Kitty Fuller were among the first group of ten individuals1 inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965 for their contributions to the game (nine of the ten where Fox meadow members).

Historical Factoid: Note 1: Nine of the ten were Fox Meadow members