Back to TopDoug Russell and Clark Graebner compete in an early round of the 1979 Men’s Nationals at Westchester Country Club. They went on to win.
The Men’s National was again by invitation only and limited to 64 teams based on qualifying criteria. Graebner and Russell captured the Men’s title over the 1976 champions Steve and Chip Baird.
Yvonne Hackenberg won her first of five Women’s titles with Linda Wolf (1976 champion) over Hilary Hilton and her partner in their 1975 win, Annabel Lang Rogan.
Doug Russell and Hilary Hilton won their second Mixed title.
In the Senior events, Charlotte Lee won her final championship in the Women’s 50+ and St. John Bain and Bill Schneebeck beat the previous year’s champions, Bob Brown and George Reynolds, in the Men’s 50+.
This alliance between one of the country's fastest growing sports and the newly owned and managed Paddle World magazine gave real promise of accelerating the game's growth through high-quality communication. In early December, APTA president Bob Kingsbury and Paddle World editor Marilyn Nason announced the naming of the magazine as the APTA's official publication.
Commenting on the step, APTA's chief executive said, "We're delighted with this move. We've been hoping for months to improve our communications program. This is going to assure us of being able to give better service to our members, as well as telling a lot more people about the game." Through this alliance, the APTA would have regular access to the magazine's 16,000 subscribers; would save a substantial sum annually on publishing their Paddle Talk; planned to have a free page in each issue for membership solicitation; and[...]
Manufacturers Hanover sponsored a prize-money tournament on February 10 and 11 at the Apple Platform Tennis Club in New York City. Those eligible to compete were the top eight pro teams, both men and women.
The previous years tournament, also sponsored by Manufacturers Hanover, was limited to women. Its success opened up the event to men.
The previous year’s events had been highly successful. The agreement again called for Hertz sponsorship of the APTA Regional Championships (this year with the addition of the new Region V), as well as the Presidents' Cup. Once again Hertz agreed to underwrite travel expenses for the regional teams to the Presidents' Cup and the cost of a Presidents' Reception.
The Minutes of the APTA Executive Committee August 22-23, 1979 reflected the fact that Hertz decided in the summer not to continue sponsorship for the following season (1979=1980) because of the gas crunch.
The E.L. Wagner Company introduced the world's first indoor “un-platformed” platform tennis court named “The Innovator."
Their advertisement explained the benefits: “Now you can really enjoy your favorite sport, all year long, in any weather. Wagner's inexpensive, new indoor court provides you with an ideal year round recreation center - perfect for your company, club or school gymnasium. Without a raised platform, Wagner's indoor court can be installed quickly and easily, for considerably less than the cost of an outdoor court. Its special ‘Innovator’ playing surface assures you of a sure-footed grip and uniform bounce. And its superstructure is made of sturdy aluminum, to maintain taut, true wires.”
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 4 No. 2 (January)
Three years earlier, the Statutory Annual APTA business meeting was moved to May from October so that newly elected officers and Board members would have time to plan and execute programs for the following fall season. In addition, the APTA was now operating on an April 30 to May 1 fiscal year. It was only natural to turn the May meeting into the APTA Annual Meeting and free up the fall event for Regional APTA planning.
APTA President Bob Kingsbury remarked: “This will be an honest-to-goodness Corporate Annual Meeting at which members, players, enthusiasts, suppliers, the general public and the press will be warmly welcomed.”
Source: Paddle Talk, Vol. 4 No. 2 (January)
The October Issue carried the announcement: “We're pleased to introduce PLATFORM TENNIS NEWS, another element in the APTA's expanded communications program.”
This development had come about because the arrangement with Paddle World had not worked out as Paddle World was facing financial difficulties that precluded them from publishing enough issues each year to satisfy APTA needs - see APTA Newsletter merges with Paddle World magazine
PTN was aimed at getting pertinent information as quickly as possible to APTA members—tournament write-ups and results, updates on APTA Board actions that affected the current season, and policy decisions on national tournaments, equipment, and rules. Compared with its companion, Platform Tennis, PTN would have a shorter cycle from copy deadline to mail delivery, and short, punchy articles.
Passport Scotch decided to underwrite PTN, because [...]
Passport Scotch continued its support in the 1979-1980 season. The sponsorship provided $20,000 for prizes as sole sponsor of the APTA men's and women's National Championships. At the same time, Passport underwrote the publication of the new member newsletter, Platform Tennis News.
PASSPORT SCOTCH TO AWARD JACKETS TO TOP TEAMS
This February, look for a new crop of colorful Passport Scotch warm-up jackets on the backs of the top national and regional players. The ten top national men's teams will receive jackets during that month. So will the first ten teams in each of the five APTA regions. The awards will be made on the basis of standings reported to the APTA by January 30, 1980. Another set of Passport Scotch jackets will be given out in April, based on March 31 standings. The president of each region will decide how to allocate this second batch of windbreakers, to avoid dupl[...]
Region IV did it again. For the second year in a row, a five-pair team from the Midwest won the APTA President’s Cup. The Mayfield Country Club in Euclid, OH, hosted the tournament.
The first formal tournament with a no-ad, two-serve format was held October 20-21 at the six-court Apple Club in New York City, where Doug Russell was the pro. This was a non-ranking Men's Doubles Open that reflected a direct APTA response to requests from many for a trial of two new dimensions.
For some time players had wanted to see how tournament play would be affected by giving the server two tries rather than the traditional one. They were also intrigued with the implications of having the first point after deuce determine who won the game.
Some of the participants liked one or another of the options and several quickly saw that the changes could heighten interest in the sport for the new player, the spectator, and even potential sponsors. The two-serve proposal proved more popular than the no-ad format, but on balance, there was not enough enthusiasm to warrant any changes of[...]
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