The game comes to “Ole Miss”

Platform tennis had come to the Deep South in resounding fashion. Two courts were being built as part of a recreational complex and the game was to be incorporated into the intramural program for both men and women with the courts available from 7:00 am to midnight.

National Championships. Sellout crowd of 2000 witnesses dramatic Men’s at Fox Meadow, filmed for TV by PBS

In 1976, for the first time, stringent qualifying criteria were applied to entrants to limit the Men's draw to a manageable number. The event could be followed on television as PBS, courtesy of Tribuno, filmed it. Commentary was by Billy Talbert and Dick Squires The gang's all here to watch as Chip and Steve Baird, receiving, win the 1976 Nationals. Note the cameraman with his overview from the cat bird's seat! By 11:30 on Sunday the ticket allocation of 2000 had been sold. Most spectators found seats in the stands on three sides of the Court 1 and others climbed tress or hung from the roof and pipes of the clubhouse. In the Men’s, the Baird brothers defeated defending champions Jennings and Steele in four sets that included a dramatic ending when Steve passed out for a moment. This was the first of ten Men’s titles for Steve Baird. Wendy Chase and Linda Wolf defe[...]

Tribuno World Paddle Championships

The World Championships [Tournament Brochure] were the culmination of the Tribuno Men’s Circuit and included a women’s event. Forest Hills hosted the event on April 2-3. Tribuno Wines raised prize money to $82,900 for the 1976–77 Tribuno Men’s Circuit, which consisted of nine events in Cleveland, Hartford, Rye, NY, Short Hills NJ, Chicago, New Canaan, CT, Washington, DC, and Scarsdale. The prize money for each of the first seven tournaments was $4,200, while the Scarsdale Nationals prize money was $6,500. On April 1 and 2, 1976, the tour culminated at the Tribuno Platform Tennis World Championship, held at Forest Hills, Queens, NY. Tribuno put up $15,000 for both the men’s and women’s events, with the winners earning $5,000, the largest purse in the sport. Without a doubt, this event was the pinnacle of commercially-sponsored platform tennis competition. On a clear, be[...]

Richard J. Reilly Jr., Inc. introduces the “Happy House”.

A big step forward for the traditional warming hut which was so important for the social aspects of the game. Happy Hour in the Happy House. You could even build it yourself

Russell and Gray capture Tribuno Championships. They get the prize money but not the trophy

Paddle Talk head-lined the finals: To cries of "Whoa-ho, Gordo!," Russell and Gray became the First Tribuno World Paddle Champions, coming back from 4-6, 3-6 down after the first two sets to beat National Champions Steve and Chip Baird, with scores of 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in the later sets. Russell summed up the match afterwards, "Patience and power have given us the edge. The power is Gordon's and the patience is mine." In a season in which Gordon Gray and Doug Russell had vied with the Bairds for the top spot, it was indeed a tremendously popular victory. Between 2,500 and 3,000 spectators were at Forest Hills to watch the semifinals, finals and pro-celebrity tournament on a cold, blustery but sunny day. Russell and Gray received a check for $4,000 and the promise of a trophy1 from Charlie Millard, Chairman of Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York, for their victory in the climact[...]

The trials and tribulations of the Umpire’s Committee

Finding experienced umpires and linesmen was a challenge and cold weather made it worse. Paul Molloy reported on the challenges. He wrote the following article for the May edition of the APTA newsletter Paddle Talk: “The APTA created an arm known as the Umpires Committee approximately three years ago. Bob Brown, the APTA president, called a meeting of players interested and experienced in paddle and tennis officiating. Two of those in attendance were Paul Sullivan and myself, both members of the Eastern Tennis Umpires Association (ETUA). A committee was formed for the purpose of providing consistent and experienced officials at all APTA sanctioned and ranking tournaments. Paul Sullivan as Chairman and I as Secretary, sought out qualified Chair Umpires in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Hartford, Long Island, and the other sanctioned tournament locations. We also recruited some ETUA me[...]

The APTA Board

Source: Paddle World Winter 1975/1976

Paddle People: Mixed Doubles Champions 1975-76 – DeBree and Fitz Gibbon

APTA faces Issues with the tournament system

Carl S. Forsythe III sounded off in the Issues section of the May edition of Paddle Talk about a system that appeared to be creating incentives and recognition for a small group of elite teams at the expense of the broader tournament playing population. “If the game of paddle tennis is to maintain a healthy depth and broad base of interest, a number of changes should be made next year in the manner in which the men's tournament schedule is set up. Generally, the current procedures discourage all but the top 15 or 20 teams, to whom they accord such a position of honor that teams below this group tend to become discouraged and drop ‘off the circuit.’ This causes a lack of depth in APTA draws and is, to some extent, responsible for the regularity with which the top teams march into the 16's and quarters of the draw. In the long run it is neither in the interests of the top [...]

Paddle World magazine debuts