In 1988, Jim McCready stepped down as Executive Director to return to the teaching court. He had been instrumental in changing over the APTA office environment to the computer age. Jim took the office on the road frequently, as a player visiting emerging paddle hubs, and championed the return of the nationals to FMTC in 1985. He also edited, photographed, and wrote for the APTA newsletter, Platform Tennis News.

Vasoll was a platform tennis fanatic, as was confirmed by his vanity automobile license plate, “P T NUT,” and the frame around it that read, “I’m crazy about platform tennis.”

After only one year on the APTA Board of Directors, he was tapped to be the Association’s President.

He had retired when a large New York City bank bought the community bank for which he worked, and he was able to devote many hours to his new “job.” He commuted from Long Island to the APTA office in Upper Montclair, New Jersey.

Vasoll was the first President to serve four years since Fessenden Blanchard in 1934-38. After his term as President, he continued to serve on the Board until 2001. In 2002, he chaired the National Championships on Long Island.

He was active in the publishing of the APTA newsletter, Platform Tennis News, and had a web site, PlatformTennisNews.com for five years after retiring from the Board.

When President, he started a merchandising program with the APTA logo on clothing, coffee mugs, pens, clocks, etc., and, after an absence of twelve years, in 1992, reinstated the Honor Award, later to be renamed Hall of Fame, with the support of Bob Brown.

Vasoll led the APTA from a period of corporate insolvency to the threshold of breaking the $100,000.00 equity position.

His achievements were even more monumental when one considers that his administrative successes were coupled with both a qualitative and quantitative increase in paddle competition.

Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer 1988 & Summer 1994

PTN Spring and Fritz Odenbach in PTN Summer covered the Men’s and Women’s Nationals

Neither rain nor sleet nor 70-degree heat could keep Rochester from hosting the platform event of the year. And no weather anomalies could derail the eventual crowning of Gerri Viant and Connie Jones as national women’s champs, and Rich Maier and Steve Baird as men’s titlists.

Gordon Gray almost achieved a Triple Crown by winning the 50+ and 55+, but lost a three-setter in the 45+ finals to Dick Heverland and Dave Dickenson.

In bright sunlight and warm temperatures, patience played a major part in the Viant/Jones victory, as they refused to hurry their offensive attacks, and wore down Butterfield/Tucker with athleticism and soft overheads down the middle. The eventual winners also managed to avoid the crunching forehand of Tucker and patented Butterfield blitzes.

The men’s final had very different weather: eye-squinting sunlight, gray skies, swirling snow squalls, and bitter drops in temperature. Through it all, Bob and Jack Kleinert battled hard against the top seeded Baird/Maier duo and came within a hair of pulling off a major upset. Seeded #3 going into the tourney, the Kleinerts pushed the five-time national champs to the very brink before succumbing 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

Three-set matches ruled the day at the Mixed Nationals, contested at Fox Meadow in New York. One of the few duos to escape the strength-sapping three-setters was the eventual championship team of Bob Kleinert and Muffin Slonaker. They won a tight 7-6, 6-3 decision from Mike Gillespie/Gerri Viant in the final, after topping Keith Butterfield Jr./Diane Tucker in the semis.

Source: Platform Tennis News, Spring 1988 & Summer 1988