The Christian Science Monitor covered the annual platform tennis battle between Moscow and Warsaw Embassies first started by Ambassador Walter J. Stoessel, Jr.
The US Ambassador to Moscow, Malcolm Toon, was looking to sweep the Warsaw contingent but had to settle for a 13-2 win, much to his disgust.
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Source: Christian Science Monitor, July 3, 1979
“Warmth, fun, tradition, standards, camaraderie, friendship, an oasis in the middle of Scarsdale.”—Bob Lee, president, 1979-80.
Produced as an aid to promoting the game, the slide show “Platform Tennis 50 Years and On” was produced by Rich Lombard’s company, Cal Industries, with financial support from the Fessenden S. Blanchard Memorial Fund, the APTA, and John and Molly Ware (Blanchard’s daughter and son-in-law).
The March 27, 1979 Minutes of the APTA BOD Meeting covered the background:
“Mr. Brown reported on a meeting held in New York City with John Ware, Mr. Kingsbury, Mrs. Dillenbeck and himself at which the suggestion was made to produce a slide show depicting the fifty years of platform tennis. Mr. Ware was asked to oversee the production, Vicky Cosstick would script it, and Thornton Gerrish would film.
The total cost of production is estimated at $2,500. and Mr. Brown announced that the Blanchard Memorial Fund would contribute $1,000 of this total. The APTA would have to make up the difference, unless we solicited funds.
Messrs. Carlisle and Lombard stated that a professional job could not be completed for less than $5,000 or $6,000. Mr. Lombard was asked to meet with the committee members to clarify procedure and delineate costs and then report to the Board.
The January 1980 edition of PTN carried this description:
“As you plan your platform events for the winter, don’t forget the APTA’s brand new slide show. It’s professional and informative, and well worth using as a center-piece for a mid-season donnybrook in the warming hut. The 15-minute show describes the history of the sport and explains its basics. It consists of a Kodak tray of 35 mm. slides, accompanied by a taped track (complete with audible and inaudible pulses to advance the slides automatically). Also in the package: a script, and notes on how to use the program.”
Hank Irvine and three associates responded actively to the needs of the Junior Development program. Irvine, the pro at the Short Hills Club, Short Hills, NJ, went on the road with Steve Nycum, Mark Allen, and Tom Smith, and put on exhibitions and clinics at the municipal center in Princeton; the Pleasant Valley Paddle Club, West Orange, NJ; Wilson Park, Summit, NJ; and the Brookside Racquet Club in Allendale, NJ.
The chairman of the APTA’s junior program, William Dodd commented:
“Hank deserves an awful lot of credit. He took the ball and organized the whole thing. He really wants to give something back to the game, and he knows that the juniors are its future. This way, they’re going to be getting ready for intercollegiate play later on.”
For the last several years, the draw for this event has been below 64 teams and, to break even financially, this tournament had to have at least 90 teams participating. APTA Directors John Packard and Bradley Drowne volunteered to study the issue and recommended a change that they felt would get at least 96 teams participating. Their suggestion was to allow those who had reached the third round of an APTA-sanctioned tournament to be eligible to play.
Mr. Drowne, a five-year veteran of the men’s tournament committee, wrote a carefully considered explanation of the circumstances involved in this issue.
“The APTA introduced qualifying criteria for entering the Men’s Nationals in 1976 and prior to that the Men’s Nationals had always drawn 128 teams. There were three reasons why this was so:
• In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Men’s Nationals were “virtually the only tournament open to newcomers.” Apart from this prestigious event, there were scrambles, closed state tournaments, and a very few invitationals that were extremely difficult to get into.
• Having nine courts, Fox Meadow Tennis Club, site of all Nationals except 1973’s, could handle 128 teams.
• The decision was made to hold the event over two weekends.
In 1975, the Men’s Tournament Committee began thinking about limiting the number of entries. There were several reasons. For one, there were many more tournaments around the country for every level of player and the feeling was that the Nationals should be reserved for the better players and it need not be a ‘proving ground’ for new players, since people could enter regional events. Further, it had become evident that the facilities of Fox Meadow were “inadequate” for 256 players and their wives. At the same time, it was felt that, for the good of the game, the Nationals should be moved every two or three years to other areas. Doing this would necessitate smaller draws to conform to the fewer courts at any other major site. The Men’s Tournament Committee also concluded in its mid-1970’s review that the Nationals should be held over a three-day weekend, rather than on two successive weekends, because of the complexities of the weather, travel plans and illness; this meant limiting the draw to less than 80 teams.
Limiting the draw for these reasons now appeared to be too restrictive, resulting in some good local teams not being eligible to play. Meanwhile, the better regional teams traditionally boycotted the Nationals because of the travel cost, even though they could easily qualify.”
Drowne believed that the proposed change offering eligibility to any player who reaches the third round of a sanctioned tournament represented a promising compromise. The qualifications would be relaxed enough to accommodate most of the talented players around the country who wished to compete.
The APTA’s freedom to set standards for platform tennis equipment could have been in trouble as a result of a regulation, proposed by the Federal Trade Commission, that would have affected all sports associations in the country. The FTC argued that having sports associations set standards was a violation of the anti-trust laws. The Chamber of Commerce discussed the issue in their Washington Report (“Does Arnold Palmer Need Golf Lessons from the FTC”)
The U.S. Golf Association objected strenuously, even on national TV, with Arnold Palmer as their spokesman and the APTA Board planned to join the protest. The proposal generated so much opposition that it was dropped.
Source: Platform Tennis News (October), APTA Executive Committee Minutes August 22 and 23, 1979
Among its bizarre ways, Team Tennis allowed the carry, or the catching or letting the ball come to rest on the racquet. This led to confusion on this point.
But Team Tennis died, while the more enduring racquet sports continued and still disallowed this bobble-hit.
Source: Platform Tennis News (October & December)
Eldredge L. (Wooley) Bermingham and his wife, Pam, had been enthusiastic players while living in Westchester County, NY, but moved to Sewickley, PA, in 1958 where they found just one primitive court on which to play.
Wooley went to work to change this and finally, over considerable opposition, was able to convince the Edgeworth Club to build a court as a way to keep the club active in winter. That was the start of building considerable interest in the game in the region.
Bermingham also founded the Western Pennsylvania Platform Tennis Association, which became the first region of the APTA, and served as the regional vice president. He also served on the Board of the APTA from 1973-1975. (Edgeworth Club, Sewickley, PA).
Margaret G. (Peggy) Stanton won four straight National Women’s with Charlotte Lee from 1967-1970, and the Women’s 50+ in 1974 and 1977.
She was active in promoting and teaching the women’s game and became the first woman director of the APTA in 1971 and, concomitantly, the first APTA women’s tournament director, a position she held for three years. (Field Club of Greenwich).
The first formal tournament with a no-ad, two-serve format was held October 20-21 at the six-court Apple Club in New York City, where Doug Russell was the pro. This was a non-ranking Men’s Doubles Open that reflected a direct APTA response to requests from many for a trial of two new dimensions.
For some time players had wanted to see how tournament play would be affected by giving the server two tries rather than the traditional one. They were also intrigued with the implications of having the first point after deuce determine who won the game.
Some of the participants liked one or another of the options and several quickly saw that the changes could heighten interest in the sport for the new player, the spectator, and even potential sponsors. The two-serve proposal proved more popular than the no-ad format, but on balance, there was not enough enthusiasm to warrant any changes of this magnitude to the game.
Source: Platform Tennis News (October)
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