Orange Lawn Tennis Club in New Jersey hosted the $50,000 Passport Scotch Platform Tennis Classic event. [Official Program]
The first-year team of Clark Graebner and Doug Russell won the biggest money prize in platform tennis history by capturing the men's division. They defeated the Baird brothers, Chip and Steve, and split a prize of $8,000.
The 1978 national champions, Louise Gengler and Hilary Hilton, took the women's title, and a record $8,000. They defeated the second-seeded team of Wendy Chase and Linda Wolf.
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 3 No. 6 (June-July)
The top 20 “weekend player” teams from the APTA's four regions gathered at the Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey on April 1 and 2 to compete in the first Presidents’ Cup Championship.
The format was a round robin, with teams positioned one through five in each region playing comparable teams from every other region. Each victory was worth one point toward the region's total score.
Region IV (Mid-West and West) captured the first President’s Cup with a resounding record of 13 wins and 2 losses. Region III (Mid-Atlantic and South) finished second.
While the competitive play provided the focal point of the tournament, the social aspects were equally important. A genuine team spirit developed among the players from each region.
They scouted the opposition for each other, practiced between matches, and shouted encouragement to teammates during lengthy matches. The dinner[...]
Robert R. Kingsbury elected APTA President (1978-1980)
Back to TopGannett Westchester Newspapers, January 1979
Kingsbury was active in the APTA and served as President when paddle grew from a game to a sport to a business. He was instrumental in developing sponsors for the game when many top players were tennis and platform tennis professionals. He knew that prize money was essential for growth, but he also knew that the health of the game relied on keeping the average player involved and interested. This was a difficult balancing act, which he handled with perfection.
Kingsbury managed to get Coca Cola and Seagrams to make financial contributions to the game at the national ranking level. Following that, he enlisted the Hertz Corporation to underwrite events for club level players, culminating in a two-day President's Cup that was extremely popular.
Source: Gannett Westchester Newspapers, January 1979
Thanks to creative marketing, ample prize money, and the foresight of the APTA Board, platform tennis continued to grow. By 1978, it was estimated that four hundred thousand enthusiasts played platform tennis across the United States.
Passport Scotch ups the ante – The Passport Scotch Grand Prix of Platform Tennis Tour culminating in the Men’s and Women’s Nationals. The purse for the Men’s and Women’s tournaments was $169,000; the Nationals $25,200 each
Calvert Distillers, a division of Joseph E. Seagram & Son. Inc., renewed its sponsorship of professional men's and women's platform tennis for the season.
The 1978-79 Passport Scotch Grand Prix of Platform Tennis featured the highest prize money in the sport's 50 year history, a total of $169,400 for both men's and women's circuits.
The APTA had been asked many times why the singles game never developed in platform tennis. Singles offered certain advantages: it was more physically demanding; it appealed to the younger player; and, matches were easier to arrange.
The APTA held National Singles Championships from 1935-1938, so the idea of singles play was not new. They based the decision to abandon singles on the severe physical demands involved. However, since APTA ball specifications now allowed for a livelier ball and wire tension was greater, it was easier to reach an opponent’s shot.
As a result, the APTA Board decided that the time for singles had come. As a first step, the APTA held a singles workshop at the Apple Club in New York City on September 23. A group of top-ranked men and women players tried out several suggested formats. Two formats emerged as the most popular types. Both would be tested dur[...]
Graebner/Russell win the second Passport Scotch Grand Prix tournament of the 1978/79 season in Chicago. Grand Prix standings and prize money through 12/11/1978
On September 29th, the Region IV Board approved the change of its title from the Western Platform Tennis Association to the Midwest Platform Tennis Association.
The new APTA Region V designated the Western Platform Tennis Association, included Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 4 No. 2 (Jan 1979) and Paddle World Vol. 4 Dec/Jan 1978/79
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