Walt Peckinpaugh, Region IV President and Board Member led an effort to address issues with the ball – how true it bounces, how long it lasts and how much it cost.
The following report was contained in the Fall edition of Platform Tennis News:
Late in May, Walt brought our concerns about the ball to our primary supplier, the Hedstrom Corporation, maker of Vittert platform tennis balls. In their conversation, several matters were discussed and plans to implement improvements were on the agenda of the June meeting of the APTA Board.
First and foremost, Hedstrom will continue to supply Vittert balls to the market at a competitive price. This is vital because we have no game without a proper ball. We are told, however, that there may be a substantial price increase because the costs of raw material used in the ball have more than doubled since last year. This is due to the demand[...]
APTA President Chuck Vasoll reported on progress in the Mid-Winter edition of PTN.
We received several responses to our ad for a “Rubber Chemist” to aid us in our search for improvements to “The Ball."
We will be following up on them with the hope that it will be fruitful in bringing us an improved product for our game. Speaking of the "ball," I recently delivered a supply to the captain of one our women's teams. As I was descending the steps at the rear of her house, I could not believe my eyes. There growing in the garden were "Platform Tennis Balls." Closer inspection, however, showed them to be yellow gourds. Unfortunately, this picture in black and white is not as striking as the color original, but you can visualize it. When I mentioned this finding and put up the picture on our warm-up hut bulletin board, I was told that it was a great idea to grow the balls, except t[...]
Probably the worst match Paul Molloy ever worked was at Rye, between Herb Fitz Gibbon and Hank Irvine against Gordon Gray and Doug Russell that went to 18-16 in the fifth set on a Super Bowl Sunday. After the match, Molloy met with the rules committee and got them to agree to play tiebreakers all the way.
When Paddle Tennis News asked about the memorable matches he saw, this was his response. These recollections appeared in the March edition of PTN:
“I wish I had some vivid recollections of the classic matches involving Hebard, Carver, Pardoe, Harrison, O'Hearn and others. They were all great. Ted Winpenny comes to mind as the cagiest player I ever saw. Very steady and sneaky good.
Of the players I have umpired for over the last 16 years, there are several that stand out in my mind. Bob Kingsbury gave the most effort. I wish I had a dollar for every time he scraped himself up going for and usually getting an impossible shot.
Greg Brents was the fastest I ever saw. There was no way you could send a ball past him that he couldn't get back and retrieve. Watching Hank Irvine was a joy. He has great style and no one ever covered his partner as he did. Herb Fitz Gibbon's serve retu[...]
The Spring edition of Platform Tennis News carried the following article from an anonymous paddler from Troy, NY who was obviously unaware that the eminent historian and Old Army Athlete C. Alison Scully had already provided a history of the game to Fess Blanchard in 1935 for an article Blanchard had been asked to write for Esquire (See Tracing the Origins of Paddle Tennis).
The History of Platform Tennis:
THE EARLIEST SIGNS
Carbon dating has fixed earliest known relics of platform tennis around 40,000 B.C. Signs at the tundra town of Jhurk, have unearthed early paddles, probably made of caribou or whale skin, laminated by placing under eskimos. Over what must have been a precipice have been found thousands of round, resilient projectil[...]
The APTA moved to a best-of-three sets format for the men's national ranking and National Championship events. Many ranking events had already adopted this format. The 12 point Tiebreak was recommended for all sets except for the third set in the finals of the Men's, Women's and Mixed National Championships which were to be played out.
See also 1984 rule change for Men's National Championship
Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer 1989
Platform tennis was not only enjoying a resurgence in the United States, but its boundaries were expanding worldwide.
Alfred Schulter sent expansion news from Austria. Schulter had built the first two courts in his country with construction information and encouragement from the APTA home office. At the time, he was building new courts for the Sporting University in Graz, in the south of Austria. The Second Open National Championship of Styria (Graz region) was scheduled for Nov. 10-12.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer 1989
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, racquets became more responsive, balls became livelier, and there was a general trend toward tighter screen tension. All these changes facilitated learning the sport and increased enjoyment for the recreational player.
The average player could now sustain extended rallies and balls wouldn’t simply die on the screens. At the highest levels of the game, however, long points and tight screens pushed the physical threshold of players further than ever.
Tom Rodgers at Eastern Mountain Platform Tennis built the first court in Stockholm, Sweden in the Fall of 1988. Rick Williams and Fritz Odenbach helped promote the game by conducting an exhibition and clinics.
Rick Williams reported on the experience in the Mid-Winter edition of Platform Tennis News:
“Our host was Jan Stenbeck who is an enthusiastic player now residing on Long Island but still cultivating many strong Swedish ties. Located on city property near a public tennis/sport facility and in the shadow of the 1912 summer Olympic stadium in Stockholm, the public exposure is tremendous. This could be the beginning of a paddle tennis explosion in Sweden.
The climate is perfect for paddle with an average winter temperature a touch below freezing, short days with a long season and the Swedish passion for outdoor sports. It is a natural. A wonderful gentleman named Per Torne[...]
Vasoll penned an article for the Winter edition of PTN covering an informal conversation he had had with Robert Brown, former APTA President and the President of Region I, who had suggested that platform tennis take the lead in the elimination of the "let" on the serve. No changes were being proposed, but APTA membership was encouraged to provide opinions.
© 2025 Platform Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation, All Rights Reserved.