On the recommendation of Eagle Rubber Company, the APTA introduced a yellow ball (the “night ball”) in 1972.
Other ball manufacturers soon followed their lead. Vittert produced the V-29 ball while Marcraft introduced both a red and yellow ball named “Big M.” Other manufacturers, like Barr, Puma and Bullet began producing orange and red balls as the game took off through the 1970’s.
Source: Christina Kelly,Passing Shots: A Pictorial History of Platform Tennis, 2010 and Robert A. Brown,personal communication.
At their annual dinner, the Western Pennsylvania Platform Tennis Association (WPPTA) elected Neil Van Horn as President, replacing Eldridge (Woolly) Birmingham, who was a founding member.
Birmingham had been largely instrumental in the development of paddle tennis in the Pittsburgh area, from court building to initiating the Men's, Women's and Mixed Doubles Invitational Tournaments.
The WPPTA now had 10 member clubs.
Source:The APTA Paddle Newsletter, Vol. 3 No. 3
In a 1972 article about the Nationals in The New York Times, Tournament Co- Chairman Dick Balzac noted that teams had participated from as far away as Illinois, North Carolina, and Texas.
The April APTA Paddle Newsletter included two Times’ articles on the game – one previewing the upcoming Men’s Nationals at Fox Meadow, published on February 27th, and a March 26th article by Suzanne S. Fremon entitled “It’s Dawn for Platform Tennis.”
George H.B. (Hig) Gould, introduced paddle to the Mile High City with the formation of the Arapahoe Tennis Club in 1964.
He was tragically killed in a car accident in April 1971.
The Arapahoe Tennis Club established an annual tournament in his honor that rapidly became well attended by nationally ranked players seeking to both ski and play paddle. The Hertz Corporation offered to put up cash prizes but the organizers declined the offer as they wanted to keep the event low-key.
Hig was an accomplished player and had competed in the 1969 National Platform Tennis Championship at Scarsdale, NY.
At the time of his death, he was president and a director of Gates LearJet Corp.
Bob Kingsbury and John Mangan broke through to win the Men’s over the three time defending champions, Gray and Sammis. It was a dominating performance by Kingsbury and Mangan, taking the title without losing a set.
Gloria Dillenbeck and B.J. DeBree1 repeated as Women’s champions, and the brother-sister team of John Beck and Susan Wasch won the Mixed.
In the Senior events, Charlotte Lee and Eleanor Hesseltine1 repeated as winners of the Women’s 50+, Charles Baird and Edmund Swanberg won the Men’s 50+, and Walter Frese and Ken LaVine won the 60+ (Veterans).
Charles (Chip) Baird, Jr. won his fourth straight Junior Boy's title.
Note 1: Historical Factoid:This was the second year in a row that Charlotte Lee won the Senior Women's with Eleanor Hesseltine and also the second year in a row where she lost to Eleanor Hesseltine's daughter, B. J DeBree, and her partne[...]
For many years, the APTA newsletters carried the results of all the major tournaments from the round of 16 on.
The February, April, and September newsletters included the draw sheets from the round of 16 for the Women’s Nationals; Senior Women’s; Western Pennsylvania Men’s, Women’s and Mixed; Connecticut State Men’s; Long Island Men’s Invitational; Rye Men’s Invitational; Middle Atlantic Men’s; Short Hills; and Bronxville Field Club Women’s Invitational. There were also notes on the New Canaan Men’s Invitational, the APTA Senior Men’s, and the first North Carolina Men’s tournament.
By the mid-1970's, platform tennis was a national game, attracting an estimated 500,000 competitors. The game was no longer exclusively played by Eastern clubs. The tournaments were often commercially sponsored. As the game widened, Fox Meadow lost its dominance of the Nationals, but the Club's impact in other areas remained strong.
Cecil J. (Mike) North, Jr.(APTA President 1975-1977) of Bedford Golf and Tennis Club wrote in the program for an earlier Nationals:
"As platform tennis attracts greater numbers of players, expands geographically, and becomes increasingly money-oriented, I think it is important to remember why people played it in the first place: because it is informal, because it is fun. Fox Meadow is a reminder of these qualities."
Source: Diana Reische, Fox Meadow Tennis Club – The First Hundred Years, 1983
© 2025 Platform Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation, All Rights Reserved.