Just 118 days earlier, Don had won the Men’s 70+ Nationals.
The "Hyde Cup" was anonymously gifted to the APTA in his memory.
He had been battling cancer for many years, but always found a way to bounce back after various operations to win nine Senior National titles in the 60+, 65+, and 70+ between 1988 and 1999.
He had been an outstanding athlete at Lawrenceville School and Princeton, and excelled at tennis.
He had been awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in the Battle of the Bulge in WW II.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Summer & Fall 1998
Hope Kerr scored a hole-in-one with a nine iron on the 103 yard 11th hole of the Hendricks Field Club in Belleville, NJ.
Most golfers go an entire lifetime without such a feat, and Hope did it after only three years on the links.
In 1998, the APTA launched its own web site. www.platformtennis.org
Along with the rules of the game, the tournament schedule and results, the web site established an area where members could subscribe to receive a “News Blast”" from the world of platform tennis.
As things developed during the season, they could now receive the "latest" news along with their e-mail.
Subscribing was easy to do and it was free!
Source: Platform Tennis News, Fall 1998
The concept was a natural offshoot of the APTA attempts to expand the game.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," beamed women's National Champ Gerri Viant of Nyack, as she explained the series of “paddle camps” that she and partner Sue Aery have been conducting under the sponsorship of Wilson Racket Sports. “The whole concept is a natural off-shoot of the APTA's attempts to expand the game, create a larger and more professional teaching core group, and ignite interest in different segments of the country,” she continued. “Sue has been doing it for awhile, and when John Embree and Wilson got behind us, the whole camp thing just sort of exploded. We expected to do a half dozen or so, but we're already in double figures all over Connecticut, Jersey and New York, and we're looking to spread the word in Philly, Washington, Chicago ... anywhere they'll have us.”
" The goa[...]
Early on it was recognized that a place for players to gather to watch play and socialize was an important part of the game. They started off as simple shacks, but have slowly blossomed into fancy edifices.
It didn't happen overnight. And they're still not exactly on equal footing with golf and tennis clubs. But platform tennis facilities were rapidly becoming more than just a few dozen two-by-fours slapped on top of a ring of cinder blocks.
“When we first started pushing for warming huts some three decades ago,” claims Jim Reilly, son of platform manufacturing trailblazer Dick Reilly of R.J. Reilly Jr., Inc., “platform still held the dubious distinction of being the poor little sister to tennis at most clubs.While that hasn't completely turned around, we've certainly seen a whole lot of progress toward getting a fairer shake from club administrators and powers-that-be."
[...]
True to one of its stated goals, the APTA held an exhibition and clinic on October 18, 1998, to promote platform tennis in the North Carolina Piedmont.
The event, co-sponsored by APTA and Old Town Club in Winston-Salem, was a big success. The event was held in Winston-Salem, a city of some 170,000, and was co-sponsored and hosted by the Old Town Club, one of the few clubs in the state with paddle courts. An enthusiastic crowd of more than 50 onlookers witnessed an exciting match, pitting former national senior champion Bill Childs and APTA President John Horine against nationally-ranked Rob Lebuhn and Region III standout Tad Stellman. During changeovers, the players fielded questions from the crowd and discussed the strategies and techniques of the game.
“We couldn't be more pleased with how things turned out,” exclaimed Horine, in his dual role as APTA President and player. [...]
Credit went to David Kjeldsen, CEO of Viking Athletics for supporting the event that had become immensely popular and a breeding ground for future top players.
Carly Swain covered the event for Platform Tennis News.
"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."- Graham Greene
David Kjeldsen, CEO of Viking Athletics has opened that door for junior paddle players and for the future of the sport. For three consecutive years, David has been the moving force that has turned the Viking Cup Adult/Child Tournament into a major national event on the paddle scene. During the month of October, 10 local tournaments were held in six different states. Two hundred fifty juniors and seniors participated in these local "play-downs." Entries were up 20% from 1997. Each individual who entered received a Viking T-shirt and hat as well as a copy of "How to P[...]
An astronomical 102 teams on the courts. A mind-boggling 200+ people boogieing the night away on the dance floor. Why it must be the 25th Annual Super Scrambles Tournament in Bronxville, NY.
One of the highlights of Westchester’s paddle season, the Bronxville event had become a true platform cult classic. Marriages had been formed through paddle partnerships born there. Reputations for partying had been cemented (Peggie Theiss recalls several 3 a.m. closing time barriers). Senior records had been set, as Paul Delaney, at 63, became the oldest Super Scrambles winner. Multiple winners had been declared (among them Peter Sargeant, Brooke Johnson and Leighton Welsh). And best of all, paddlers had been having fun for 25 years, including Sugar Genereaux, who had never missed an event.
Source: Platform Tennis News, Mid-Winter 1999
PTN Winter 1999 covered the Men's and Women's Nationals:
“It was all we expected and more,” admitted a weary Bill Taubner after chairing the 1999 Nationals at the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in Westchester, NY. “But I wouldn't trade all the experiences for anything in the world.”
While the headaches were many and the rewards relatively few, Taubner and his crack committee came through like true champions for the platform tennis world.
The inimitable duo of Flip Goodspeed/Scott Mansager once again proved themselves kings of the hill , thwarting all efforts to seize their crown, without losing a set in the entire tourney. Steve Baird and Rich Maier proved there is life over 45 as they reached the round of 16 before losing to the eventual champs. The darkhorses of the tournament turned out to be Fritz Odenbach and Mike Stulac, as they fought their way all [...]
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