The New York Times looks at paddle

The April APTA Paddle Newsletter included two Times’ articles on the game – one previewing the upcoming Men’s Nationals at Fox Meadow, published on February 27th, and a March 26th article by Suzanne S. Fremon entitled “It’s Dawn for Platform Tennis.”

Arapahoe Tennis Club establishes a tournament in memory of Hig Gould who brought the game to Denver, CO

George H.B. (Hig) Gould, introduced paddle to the Mile High City with the formation of the Arapahoe Tennis Club in 1964. He was tragically killed in a car accident in April 1971. The Arapahoe Tennis Club established an annual tournament in his honor that rapidly became well attended by nationally ranked players seeking to both ski and play paddle. The Hertz Corporation offered to put up cash prizes but the organizers declined the offer as they wanted to keep the event low-key. Hig was an accomplished player and had competed in the 1969 National Platform Tennis Championship at Scarsdale, NY. At the time of his death, he was president and a director of Gates LearJet Corp.

As game expands Fox Meadow players lose dominance at tournaments but the “spirit” of the game remains an essential part of the club

By the mid-1970's, platform tennis was a national game, attracting an estimated 500,000 competitors. The game was no longer exclusively played by Eastern clubs. The tournaments were often commercially sponsored. As the game widened, Fox Meadow lost its dominance of the Nationals, but the Club's impact in other areas remained strong. Cecil J. (Mike) North, Jr.(APTA President 1975-1977) of Bedford Golf and Tennis Club wrote in the program for an earlier Nationals: "As platform tennis attracts greater numbers of players, expands geographically, and becomes increasingly money-oriented, I think it is important to remember why people played it in the first place: because it is informal, because it is fun. Fox Meadow is a reminder of these qualities." Source: Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club – The First Hundred Years, 1983

“The Etiquette of Platform Tennis” published

The Annual Meeting minutes included the following report by Secretary Robert A. Brown. “The rapid growth of the game is attributable to the increasing number of ‘newcomers’ who are exposed to and are taken up by the game. With this in mind and in order to maintain the high level of sportsmanship and good conduct that is such an important part of ‘paddle,’ the APTA recently published a new booklet entitled “The Etiquette of Platform Paddle Tennis.” The author of the booklet was Robert A. Brown. It has been reprinted a number of times and is still available. The APTA mailed the booklet to all members, and it was well received. Subsequently, the APTA received requests for over 3,000 additional copies of the booklet. Although intended for the newcomer, a number of old-timers requested copies for their close friends who played. Source: The APTA Paddle Newsletter, [...]

APTA develops policy on platform tennis court builders

The September 15th Newsletter carried the following basic policy: • It is the intent of the APTA that the game of Platform Tennis be played under uniform court conditions wherever it is played. • The APTA considers it appropriate to provide advice and guidance, where needed, to ensure quality and uniformity in court construction while recognizing the desirability of encouraging innovations in the use of materials and methods of construction so long as the basic nature of the play of the game is not affected. • The APTA will offer guidance to those seeking information on plans, specifications, and builders of platform tennis courts. Such guidance is offered within the framework of this policy, the implementation of which is outlined below; while it is based upon the best information available, the APTA cannot accept responsibility for quality of construction, delays, or fa[...]

Bob Callaway opens the first commercial platform tennis facility in Norwalk, CT

An article in the magazine Paddle World by Bob Callaway covered his experiences in opening the center

Marcraft works on new ball

The game grows in the Wild West and reaches the West Coast

In 1972 Web and Dottie Otis returned to Ross, California, from a government assignment in Washington, D.C., where they had been introduced to platform tennis. Armed with plans for a court, they employed a local contractor, Bim Lansill, to erect an all-wooden court over a small swimming pool on a hillside above their home. Two more private courts were soon erected in Ross, and in 1975 an amorphous group calling themselves the Ross Valley Hunt Club conducted the first tournament in Northern California. By 1978 Ross, with a population of 2,700, had a public court in the town park. In addition to Ross, the 1970s were a time of growth throughout the region. San Jose Steel constructed grade-level courts on a tennis court surface in various locations from San Diego to Salishan, Oregon. The facility that drew the most attention was the Cabrillo Athletic Club in San Diego. The manager a[...]

Robert R Kingsbury Scrapbook – a source for some historical artifacts during the 1970s not otherwise available

During his active playing career Bob Kingsbury's wife keep a scrapbook of tournament records, newspaper article, photographs, etc. The scrapbook also contained information on events at Kingsbury's home club, Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarsdale NY. A number of newspaper articles are from local Scarsdale papers and these have been difficult to find as newspaper editions during the 1970s have yet to be digitized. As such the scrapbook provides some valuable historical records not available elsewhere. Source: Donated to the PTMHOFF by Robert R Kingsbury

Cleveland hosts Nationals – the first time Nationals held outside of NY Metropolitan Area

Up until 1973, all National Championships had been held in or around New York City, primarily at Fox Meadow Tennis Club in Scarsdale, which had the most courts. The other two founding clubs of the APTA—The Field Club in Greenwich, CT, and Manursing Island Club in Rye, NY—also hosted, as did the Englewood Club, in Englewood, NJ. In the fall of 1971, the Cleveland Committee, headed by Carrington Clark, submitted a comprehensive proposal to the APTA Board to host the Men’s National Championship. After some consideration, the Board approved the plan to move the Nationals. The 1973 Men’s Nationals in Cleveland were highly successful, and it signified the start of an era when the Nationals moved to a different location each year. It returned to Fox Meadow from 1974 to 1979; Montclair, New Jersey, from 1980 to 1982; New Canaan, Connecticut, in 1983; and Cleveland, Ohio, in 1984. [...]