APTA looks into ball specifications

Ball quality had been a constant problem, and if anything, it seemed to get worse as time went on. The APTA concluded that either suppliers were not making balls to its specifications, or the specifications themselves were incorrect. The APTA invited sixteen top players to Fox Meadow to spend the day playing with balls in an organized testing program. Bob Brown and Amby Hardwick, who was the New Jersey Regional Vice President of the Association, chaired the project committee. Balls manufactured by Barr, Marcraft, Eagle Seamco and Robinson Bros. were tested and balls that met players’ approval were then further tested by the U. S. Testing Company so that they could draw up a set of specifications. Companies who met the specifications were issued approvals. The APTA encouraged a number of manufacturers in the sporting goods field interested in making balls for platform tennis to[...]

APTA publishes “How to Conduct a Tournament Draw”

This booklet, authored by Robert A. Brown, included suggestions on the makeup of the draw committee; how to determine the byes and where to place them; how to seed and rank competitors; and how the seeds, and the other teams should be placed in the draw. In the centerfold of the booklet, there was a sample draw that showed where each team would go. The procedure for conducting the draw was to be followed by all tournaments on the APTA Sanctioned Tournament Schedule. Source: Off The Wire, Vol. 5 No 1

First APTA-sanctioned professional tournament – Vat Gold Cup International at Hilton Head – Kingsbury and Mangan win a thriller

Dick Squires organized the first truly commercial play-for-pay event. Sea Pines Plantation, in Hilton Head Island, SC, hosted the first Vat Gold Cup Invitational Tournament on November 10-11. It was also the first major platform tennis competition to be played in the Deep South. The marketers of Vat 69 Gold, a brand of scotch whiskey, appreciated the demographic appeal of platform tennis enthusiasts. For the first time, top teams competed for money. The purse was $10,000, and “CBS Sports Spectacular” broadcasted highlights. The New York Times covered the event in an article by Charles Friedman, entitled “And Now a Word for Platform Tennis” in the Sunday, November 18th edition. For the event, the top sixteen men’s teams in the country were invited to participate. The offer included all-expense-paid travel, and the winners received a ten-day trip to Europe courtesy o[...]

APTA reviews foot-fault rule

The rule was essentially the same as in tennis, but because of the shorter distance from baseline to net, and the higher premium on being at the net in paddle, foot-fault infractions were seen as more serious. The problem was two-fold: first, whether the statement of the rule itself should be revised; second, how to enforce the rule. A seven-man working committee formed to cope with this rather controversial question. Chaired by Bob Brown, the committee consisted of Chuck Baird, John Beck, Brad Drowne, Bill Hoffmann, Paul Molloy, and Dick Squires. In addition, the APTA called a 26-member Advisory Committee for the purpose of providing the broadest possible cross-section of views on this delicate matter. The formation of the APTA’s Umpires Committee in 1974 was an outcome of the Working Committee’s deliberations. Source: Off The Wire, Vol. 5 No 1

Commercial sponsorship

During the early 1970’s, commercial sponsorship came knocking, raising difficult policy questions for the APTA. The exposure gained by commercial sponsorship would bring the sport to a much wider audience, but critics argued that money would detract from the game’s social aspects. Foreseeing the likelihood of company-sponsored “tours,” the APTA formally established its policy on commercial activities and decided to maintain control over all commercial tournament activities. This decision allowed platform tennis to broaden its horizon. The alternative would have undoubtedly led to the establishment of a separate professional organization.

Sponsorship draws talent

Corporate sponsorship ended up attracting several professional tennis players to the sport, with Herb S. Fitz Gibbon II, Clark Graebner, and Hank Irvine being the most successful. Fitz Gibbon ranked among the world’s top tennis players between 1961 and 1973, and became the first amateur to beat a professional in the 1968 Wimbledon. Graebner, originally from Cleveland, was on the winning U.S. Davis Cup team and ranked seventh in the world in 1968. Irvine was from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and represented his country on the Davis Cup team in 1968 and 1969, and at Wimbledon from 1970 to 1972. In 1970, he teamed with Helen Gourlay from Australia and made it to the semifinals of the Mixed at Wimbledon.

The Battle of the Sexes

The tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs at the Houston Astrodome on September 20, 1973, captivated America and was a triumph for women’s athletics. Platform tennis benefitted with an increase in participation by women. King entered the Astrodome in Cleopatra style, carried aloft in a chair held by four bare-chested muscle men dressed in the style of ancient slaves. Riggs followed in a rickshaw drawn by a bevy of scantily-clad models. Riggs presented King with a giant lollipop and she gave him a piglet named Larimore Hustle. Rather than playing her own usual aggressive game, King mostly hugged the baseline, easily handling Riggs's lobs and soft shots, making Riggs cover the entire court as she ran him from side to side, and beating him at his own defensive game. After quickly falling behind from the baseline, where he had intended to play, King forced Riggs to c[...]

Governor of New Jersey plays hooky to play paddle

Brendan Byrne had a calendar conflict, a speech to the New Jersey Education Association at their annual conference and a date to play in the National Senior Men’s 50+ at Englewood, NJ. He chose to play paddle, lost his first round match and advanced as far as the semis in the consolation. A newspaper covering the event characterized his game as “a conservative style bent on returning the ball.” Source: Off The Wire, Vol. 5, No. 3

Last year Nationals played with orange ball

APTA takes position on use of tiebreak

The APTA newsletter, Off The Wire, reported on the APTA’s position on the tiebreak. “The tiebreak is being used more and more in platform tennis tournaments. The APTA takes the following position on use of the tiebreak: (1) For National Championships – The APTA will decide prior to each tournament whether the tiebreak will be used and, if so, for how many rounds. (2) For all other Sanctioned Tournaments - The decision on whether to use the tiebreak or not is up to the tournament committee. Where the tiebreak is used, the APTA recommended the nine-point tiebreak.” Source: Off The Wire, Vol. 5 No. 2