The Table Tennis 53 - ITTF

The Table Tennis
Collector
In this issue ...
Auction Action
14-15
Great
Shots
3
Gerald
Gurney on
Fred Perry
4-5
Meet the
Members:
Hans-Peter
Trautmann
16-17
New
Discoveries
Old
Treasures
6
Jos & Jan
Philatelic
Update
18-20
Alan Duke
The Times
7-9
New Book
OGI- Life of
Ichiro
Ogimura
22
53
Summer
2009
New
Discovery
- page 6
Yokohama
Exhibition
Report:
10-13
Heavy
Metal:
26

The Table Tennis
Collector
No.53 No. 53
Summer 2009
Editor and Publisher:
Chuck Hoey, Curator
ITTF Museum, Switzerland
www.ittf.com/museum
museum@ittf.com
This is the fourteenth issue of the Table Tennis
Collector series published by the International Table
Tennis Federation (ITTF) Museum.
I am pleased to continue the following policies:
1. Free subscriptions
2. Full color production
3. pdf downloads via the Museum website:
www.ittf.com/museum
4. Free classified ads
5. An increase to 4 issues per year
6. A 50% increase in content, to 24 pages
Feedback is always welcome!
Publishing schedule:
Spring issue: May 1 Submit articles by April 15
Summer issue: August 1 Submit articles by July 15
Fall issue: Nov. 1 Submit articles by Oct. 15
Winter issue: Feb. 1 Submit articles by Jan. 15
From the Editor
Summer 2009 already. Your editor was in a time warp for a while, staging a
major exhibition at the recent World Championships in beautiful Yokohama.
Such exhibitions are always exhausting, but all went well thanks to the
Organizing Committee, good support from the volunteers, and a great exhibit
coordinator, David Yip of Okinawa. A full report, including photos of 17 former
World Champions who visited, is included in this issue.
Great Shots features an historic photo from the Schoelers - wonder where
that giant Dunlop Barna racket is now?
New Discoveries, Old Treasures presents a previously unknown Earl
Christy print, which graces our cover, and an elegant French menu card.
Gerald Gurney reviews a new book on the life of Fred Perry, winner of the
1929 World Table Tennis Championships, who went on to become a legendary
Tennis star. Meet the Members features world renowned philatelist Hans-
Peter Trautmann of Germany.
Researcher par excellence Alan Duke begins a series of English newspaper
research, inspired by Steve Grant’s fascinating series based on American
papers.
Our friends from the Netherlands, Jos Zinkstok and Jan Nusteleyn have
prepared their always popular Philatelic Pages.
The Book Corner reviews the much anticipated Ogi - the Life of Ichiro
Ogimura, along with a book by noted philatelist Reiko Miyagawa, and a book
documenting the records of Hungarian World Champions.
And the issue would not be complete without an update of recent auction
results, and another Mystery Photo to challenge our readers.
As always, constructive feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!
What’s this? A gloved racket,
leather decorated turtle shell, &
thick vellum on the other side,
about the size of a No. 5 battledore.
This was for the old game
of Balle au Tamis, in some parts
of France & Flanders. A sieve
was used to initiate serve, with
a 40mm ball made of wool and
leather. Another variant of our
ancient ancester, jeu de paume!
Copyright Notice
Because of numerous abuses in the past, previous permissions
are now cancelled. If you want to use ITTF Museum images, you
must now apply for permission in writing & agree to the ITTF
Museum copyright policy. Use of such images requires the following
caption credit, clearly readable and immediately adjacent
to each image:
“Copyright © ITTF Museum All Rights Reserved
www.ittf.com/museum”.
If such images are used on the internet, then the museum website
address must be an operational clickable hot link that when
clicked transfers to the ITTF Museum website.
Reminder: Submit your membership details, as well as
comments, corrections & news to the editor:
museum@ittf.com
2

Great Shots: Historic Photographs
Great Shots features a photo from our friends Diane (Rowe) & Eberhardt
Schoeler, seen holding the giant Dunlop Barna racket on the left. There is Victor
in the background, Eva Koczian 3rd from left, the others I need help to ID!
Mystery Photo
Our Mystery Photo asks the Readers to identify the players and the event. Send your answers to the
Editor at: museum@ittf.com See page 23 for the answers to the previous Mystery Photo.
3

The Last Champion: FRED PERRY
A Review by Gerald Gurney (ENG)
M
any tennis enthusiasts will be astonished, on reading
Jon Henderson’s The Last Champion - The Life of Fred
Perry, that Perry was world champion of table tennis as
well as a triple-winner of the Wimbledon lawn tennis title -
in 1934, 1935 and 1936.
The extent of Henderson’s research is most impressive;
this is seen particularly in his discovery, in the English
Table Tennis Association archives, of a typescript prepared
by the Honourable Ivor Montagu in which the President -
at that time also the non-playing captain of the English
team - gives, as Henderson says, a “splendidly graphic”
account of Perry’s victory in the Third World
Championships, Budapest, 1929.
The first paragraph reads:
Perry is 19; following sensation after sensation he faces
in the final Hungary’s newcomer of the year, Miklos
Szabados, a 17-year-old genius, who had defeated the title
holder by a wide margin in the previous round. A great
hall. Packed tiers on tiers, three thousand people, cabinet
ministers like Christmas trees in evening dress, shouting
students, a pushing crowd crammed against the police on
every staircase, adding and oozing into every exit. Fred
and I walked a little in the fresh air, then in the corridor to
get used to the closeness, talking of other things than the
night’s fate. A last word, ‘Keep it off his forehand,’ and the
match begins.
Publisher: Yellow Jersey Press
ISBN 9780224082532 May 2009
Hardback 292 pages Price: £18.99
In a later passage, Henderson quotes Montagu’s
assessment of the new world champion as a man
and player:
His success in the one sport is not due to success
in the other; both come from his inner qualities -
quickness of thought and act, quickness to learn and
a tremendous self-assurance. No player can reach
the heights of any game without wholesome and
boundless conceit, a conviction that nobody and
nothing is too difficult for them to overcome, the
ability to imagine themselves succeeding at any
obstacle even if to others it looms like a mountain.
Fred’s table tennis World Championship
trophy and 17 medals on display, with a
bat of the period, at the All-England Club,
Wimbledon (until next Spring).
Photo by Joan Gurney
4

In his 1984 autobiography, written with Ronald
Atkin, Perry stated, “I was world champions at
twenty, so I decided to retire while I was still at the
top.” But he continued playing into the 1930s; I
have 4 of his medals including one as late as 1933
when he was, remarkably, “English Table Tennis
Association Consolation Singles Winner”.
In the later chapters, lawn tennis enthusiasts will
find further evidence of Henderson’s immensely thorough
research into Perry’s international success - in
Australia, France and the United States as well as in
the Davis Cup, the equivalent of the Swaythling Cup.
Henderson gives a full chapter to Perry’s four marriages
- under the neat heading “Mixed Doubles” -
while the chapter describing the setting-up of Fred
Perry Sportswear is headed “Rag Trader”. This lightness
of touch is apparent throughout the book,
making it (in the old-fashioned phrase) “a thoroughly
good read”. This emerged most clearly and
literally, when 5 sections of the book were read on
Radio 4’s “Book of the Week”.
A rare photograph of Fred with bat in hand.
From Zdenko Uzorinac’s Table Tennis Legends
Left: Fred Perry holding the trophy
presented to him by the Budapest
hosts for his win of the 1929 World
Championship Singles. He also
received the St. Bride Vase for one
year.
Right: Runner-up Miklos Szabados
holds Fred’s racket from the 1929
Finals. This photo, donated to the
ITTF Museum by Miklos’ son,
Sandor, was taken during a much
later visit.
5

New Discoveries
Old Treasures
Several fine new discoveries and old treasures
to report in this issue. Our cover picture is a
previously unknown signed print by noted postcard
artist F. Early Christy. An impressive table!
On the reverse is a 1903 copyright date.
An interesting find from France is a stylish large
(19x11cm) menu card with advertising for Cherry
Rocher Grande Liqueur. Looks like the players
are having a cocktail after some Table Tennis.
Any other menu cards with Table Tennis motif?
Below left is a 1930s card replete with a wood
fork, to spear those martini olives at the swank
Empire Room at the Hotel Schroeder (Milwaukee)
The card announces the entertainment at dinner
& supper: “It’s a Racquet! ... COLEMAN CLARK
& Company ... World’s Foremost Exponents of
Table Tennis ... Whirlwind Matches & Amazing
Trick Shots.” Clark, 1932 American Ping Pong
Association champion & author of several well
known books, was an avid self-promoter who
turned to comic style exhibition play, touring the
USA as a Table Tennis circus, with stars such as
Jimmy McClure, Sandor Glancz and even the
legendary Victor Barna!
6

Early references in THE TIMES - Part 1: Tournaments
by Alan Duke
Prompted by Steve Grant’s excellent series of articles
arising from his research into U.S. newspapers, I have
put together two articles based on my (much more
limited) searching of The Times (London) for the period
1884 to the late 1920s.
This first article gathers together all references to the
very earliest table tennis / ping-pong tournaments. The
very first mention I could locate was in the edition of 20
November 1901:
The following week 1 brought the added information that
the tournament was for “Ladies and Gentlemen”. This was
repeated on the 30 th , although strangely the event had
apparently been condensed to just December 11 th ! In
subsequent editions of the newspaper 2 , the entry was
just “Table Tennis Tournament, Dec. 11”. On Monday 9 th ,
this became “Next Wednesday, Table Tennis Tournament”,
until finally on the big day itself:
On the 12 th the above notification was repeated but as
“2 nd day”, and then “3 rd day” on the Friday.
All the information about tournaments is taken from the
Entertainments section, and, sadly, there did not
appear to be any subsequent results in the paper.
Notification followed soon after of an event held under
the Laws of the Ping-Pong Association. The following
announcement appeared on December 17 th 1901:
Details for this event were published on Christmas Eve ;
and Boxing Day (note also the Drury Lane entry -
more in Part 3):
Further information was given on 27 th December:
Details of the final day appeared on 28 th December:
Also over the same period, Crystal Palace ran Table
Tennis Tournaments as part of its “Grand Xmas
Programme”, with notices in the paper throughout the
holiday period 3 :
7

Following in rapid succession came announcements
for The All England Table Tennis Tournament 4 :
8 Jan 1902
This was repeated on 9 th January, with details of Finals
on the 11 th :
At around the same time 5 there appeared many
announcements for a Ping-Pong Tournament later in
January. Much information can be gained about the
way in which these tournaments were run by the
different newspaper notices over the period of the
event:
1 Jan 1902
16 Jan 1902
30 Jan 1902
7
4 Feb 1902
Players in London at least were spoiled for choice
around this period, with another tournament at the
Royal Aquarium in February. Following the usual
pattern, notices appeared in many of the same
editions 6 as the previous Ping-Pong event, on the
same page, Page 1 (the Front Page was different in
those days!).
16 Jan 1902
Note the secretary’s name – he was co-author of a couple of
books on Table Tennis and Ping-Pong published in the same
year.
3 Feb 1902
Meanwhile, since January 11 th (and then throughout
February and March) Crystal Palace had been
advertising that Table Tennis was available as one of its
attractions:
3 Feb 1902
Then on 22 nd February it was named as the venue for a
“Table Tennis Club Tournament, at 7.0”:
And yet another event was announced 7 for the Royal
Aquarium:
7 March 1902
And finally for the season (if there was a season in
those early days!), yet again at the Royal Aquarium, a
Consolation event (but it is unclear for what it was a
consolation!). This was publicised on each day of the
event, from April 16 th to the Finals on 19 th :
8

A gap of a few months followed before the next event 8 :
30 Sept. 1902 THE ROYAL AQUARIUM.–Several new items have
lately been introduced into the long and varied programme at the Royal
Aquarium, Westminster; ……………… On October 29 a table tennis
tournament will take place at the Royal Aquarium under the auspices
of the Table Tennis Association.
29 Oct. 1902
The next event advertised for the Royal Aquarium, in
the edition of 12 th December 1902 appears to be a bit
of a puzzle - was it really a tournament under another
name?
To-day. The All England Table Tennis Match. Ladies 3 to 5.
Gentlemen 7 to 10.
For the remaining events of this early period, Crystal
Palace apparently became the venue of choice. Firstly,
in February 1903, the UK Championships 9 :
24 Feb. 1903
On October 17 th 1903, there was an announcement for:
Table Tennis Tournament, Imperial Club v. Mason Club, at 6.0.
Perhaps, in the reverse of the situation above, this was
a tournament that was really a match?
But a few days later, the only ambiguity in the
announcements on 22 nd and 23 rd October is whether it
is for a tournament each day or one tournament over
the two days:
22 Oct. 1903
The wording the following day was:
TO-DAY. Table Tennis Tournament, at 6.0.
The final event, during March 1904, was the next
staging of the UK Championships 10 :
5 March 1904
During this hectic period of table tennis / ping-pong
activity, there were probably many other similar events,
which did not make the ‘Personal’ section of The Times.
But it did seem that there were three favoured venues,
at least for London events. Crystal Palace probably
needs no explanation, as it is still a noted sports venue,
but if, like me, you are puzzled about Queen’s Hall and
the Royal Aquarium, this could be because they are no
longer in existence!
The latter was on the site of the current Central Hall,
opposite Westminster Abbey.
It opened as a general
entertainments venue in
1876 (though never as an
aquarium!), but its popularity
was short-lived and it was
demolished in 1902-3. This
must have made The All
England Table Tennis Match one of the very last
events to be staged there.
Queen’s Hall was in
Langham Place, next
to All Souls Church. It
opened in 1893 and
was destroyed during
the Blitz in 1941.
There was then a lengthy gap with regard to any
mention of tournaments until the period around the
time of the first World Championships in 1926 (actually
organised as European Championships). Part 2 will
present a summary of the early tournaments, and a
piece on the 1st World Championships.
References:
www.timesonline.co.uk/archive - editions of:
1 28 November 1901
2 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 December 1901
3 24, 27, 28 and 31 December 1901
4 31 December 1901; 1, 3, 6 and 8 January 1902
5 1, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Jan.; 3, 4 Feb. 1902
6 16, 18, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 Jan.; 3, 4 Feb. 1902
7 3, 4 and 7 March 1902
8 30 September; 27, 29, 31 October 1902
9 23, 24 February 1903
10 2, 5 March 1904
‘The Face of London’ by Harold P Clunn (1956) - Royal Aquarium
9

Report from Yokohama
ITTF Museum Exhibition
The World Championships in Yokohama are
finished and we congratulate the Organizing
Committee for a heroic job well done. The
LIEBHERR ITTF Museum Tour continued with
an exhibition at the arena, which proved quite
popular with the fans - over 10,000 visitors
during the 8-day event. Special thanks to Tour
sponsor LIEBHERR, Tour partners JOOLA and
DHS, and to David Yip of Okinawa, my very
capable coordinator, along with the dedicated
team of volunteers & security.
The exhibit was divided into 5 zones: the Japan
zone, with only Japanese items, a Technical
zone, which showed racket and ball evolution,
a Cultural zone, which included the celebrity
photo gallery, Timeline history, and a semi-open
air theater, with hourly films of vintage world
champions in action.
The 16-meter illustrated Timeline history was by
far the most popular exhibit, drawing daily
crowds from one end to the other. The Celebrity
Photo Gallery provided much entertainment as
usual, and the Ball Evolution display case
consistently had the most fingerprint smudges
at the end of each day, a clear sign of an interesting
exhibit.
I am pleased to report that 17 World
Champions came into the exhibit and kindly
posed for photographs, while pointing to their
place in history on our Timeline. The photos
below summarize the Yokohama experience.
See page 21 for the official collectibles. Enjoy!
Above right: The entrance, always staffed by a
very polite white-gloved security
guard
Right: The Technical Zone, ball & racket
evolution, + live matches on tv
Below Right: Part of the Celebrity Photo Gallery
Below: The Japan Zone, honoring the Emperor,
as well as Ichiro Ogimura, Hikosuke
Tamasu, and Japanese Table Tennis
tradition.
10

Above left: The Illustrated Timeline, which really drew crowds
Above right: The open-air theater, showing videos of vintage
World Championships, another popular feature.
Right: I was impressed by the interest of the very young!
Below: A special exhibit in honor of His Imperial Highness
Emperor Akihito, the first exhibit upon entering the
room. This includes a photo of the Emperor as a
young Crown Prince playing Table Tennis, and a pair
of rackets with traditional Japanese lacquered art.
Bottom: Set of the Gold, SIlver & Bronze medals, in special
presentation box, kindly donated by the Yokohama
Organizing Committee.
11

Parade of
Champions
One of the highlights of the exhibition
in Yokohama was the visit of 17 former
World & Olympic Champions. What a
great opportunity to photograph them,
pointing to their place in history on our
Timeline! Two Olympic Singles Gold
Medalists, 2 Olympic Doubles Golds,
6 World Singles Champs, 8 World
Doubles Champs ... I have never
before been in the presence of so
much Table Tennis royalty! Special
thanks to all of them for sharing their
time. Enjoy the parade!
Kong Linghui Ryu Seung Min
Sachiko Morisawa Jean-Philippe Gatien
Qiao Hong
Seiji Ono
Shigeo Ito
Tadaki Hayashi
12

Wang Tao Liang Geliang Liu Wei
Peter Karlsson Thomas Von Scheele Erik Lindh
Jorg Rosskopf Steffen Fetzner Gao Jun 13

Auction Action
The Twins on Table Tennis,
Diane & Rosalind Rowe, £25
£113 for this “Golly” butter dish. The golliwog
began as a storybook character, but now there are
collectors’ clubs & a wide variety of golly items.
A bargain at $27, but the ebay
seller never delivered. Beware!
The Fairyland cards usually do well on ebay.
This example of No. III sold for $113. Card
number VI seems to be the toughest to find.
Royal Bayreuth porcelain toothpick
holder in dice shape. $510
The Chinese souvenir sheet from the 1961
World Championships still commands big
prices. This example, $688
Left: Parker Brothers Ping Pong set, 1902, plain wood
rackets, box in tatters, $153 - astonishing.
Above: Empty wood box, Ping Pong or Gossima, £60
Right: Ping Pong or Gossima, ordinary contents, £99
Ping Pong in Fairyland I with no greetings
overprint, sold low at £31
Several variations of this card exist,
this example selling for 181 Euros
Hobo postcard, $103
14

Thick sponge racket, 1950s, $153
Stiga Expert waffle thick sponge, $183
Butterfly Jonyer picture racket, 1160SEK on Tradera.com
Racket
Our Racket Report features a mixture of old, middle
period and new. Auction prices for drum battledores
seem to have sagged, with a pair selling for only £30.
Another pair sold for $25. In contrast some 1950s thick
sponge rackets brought strong prices despite condition
issues.
Butterfly picture decal rackets are always popular, and
these days seldom seen on ebay or tradera. A good
example of the Jonyer picture racket surfaced on tradera.
A unique sandpaper racket was donated to the ITTF
Museum, beautifully inlaid on the handle and blade edge.
This handsome racket was made by Peter Cua of the Philippines. Inlaid
extensively with Mother-of-Pearl and buffalo horn, the striking surface is
sandpaper, or liha in Spanish. The sandpaper game is very popular in the
Philippines, and the players are called Lihadors, reminiscent of matadors!
You can watch some Liha Table Tennis on youtube - quite impressive.
Peter is a fine artist & craftsman, and an active Ambassador of the Liha
game, which may also be making a comeback in the USA.
Pair of English vellum battledores, 17-inches, £30
N
Report
15

Meet the Members
Hans-Peter Trautmann
O
ur featured collector is Hans-Peter Trautmann of Germany, world famous
for his outstanding philatelic collections. Hans-Peter started philatelic collecting
in 1962 at the age of seven, with stamps from Germany. In 1975 he began to
collect stamps and postmarks with chess and table tennis motif. He played
table tennis from 1969 - 1977 and won some district championships. Hans-
Peter owns a complete collection of all table tennis-stamps published until
2002. Only a few pieces are missing from his collection of table tennis special
postmarks and red meters.
He is particularly interested in postally sent postmarks, postcards written
from famous table tennis players with their autographs (of which he has
a fine collection) and red meters.
The album pages of his collections were written and designed by his late
father, who was a graphic illustrator by profession (example: see tt-collector
Nr. 41 page 11).
Following are some of Hans-Peter’s favorites, all very difficult to find:
Below: The postmarks from European youth tournament at Bad Blankenburg
1961, and postmark in red, for the 1961 Chinese championships,
Tai Yuen, Peoples Republic of China
Beside table
tennis items Hans-Peter
owns a large collection of
postal history (postmarks since
1805 and stamps since 1852) from his
hometown Reichelsheim. He is a member
of the philatelic societies Thurn und Taxis,
Poststempelgilde (postmark union) and
IMOS.
Hans-Peter seeks red meter franking
postmark for Germany 1960 28th
National TT Ch. Essen and
special postmarks from
Novi Sad 1961.
16

Other favorites of Hans-Peter:
Right: Rare postmark from Nanking, China, 1964
Below: Postmark from Viseu, Portugal, 1971
Highlights
The highlight of his collection is the
artist sheet from the 1977 French
stamp
(left, detail) of which only 20 exist.
Other special items include:
o Imperforated issues from Nicaragua
1948, Yugoslavia 1965 and 1981
o The oldest red meter franking postmarks
from 1935, used by the company
Franz Krebs in Hannover Linden, Hanno
Tischtennis
o A postcard written from the first
World Table Tennis Championships
1926. (see tt-collector Nr. 33 page 15)
o All postmarks from the World Table
Tennis Championships of the fifties -
most of them written and with autographs
of famous table tennis players.
See example below from 1955 Worlds.
17

Philatelic Pages
Jan Nusteleijn and Jos Zinkstok continue the regular
contribution about table-tennis stamps, post-marks and
other of philatelic interest
Haiti: 2007 Olympic Games
Beijing sheet of 6 stamps with
the 5 Fuwa's and 1 Olympic
emblem TT pictogram in border
STAMPS and SHEETS
Rep. Of Guinea: 2006 mini-sheet pictured TTplayers
Ma Lin and Wang Hao and TT-player
in the border supplementary issue see TTC 45
Rep. of Guinea: 2008 Olympic Games Beijing sheet with six
stamps of Olympic Medail winners TT-player Guo Yue in border
Please send your contribution for
the philatelic pages to:
Jos Zinkstok
Neckarstraat 8
NL-9406 VN ASSEN
The Netherlands
E-mail: j.zinkstok@poveia.nl
Sao Tomé et Principe: 2008 sheet
with Olympic stamp on stamp
pictures issue Mozambique 1991
N. Corea: 02.05.2009 sheet with nine
stamps of sports TT in the border
Rep. of Guinea: 2008 Winners of World and Olympic Gold Medails with Wang Hao, Ma Lin,
Chen Qi, Deng Yaping, Kong Linghui, Wang Liqin, Wang Nan and Zhang Yining.
18

France: 02.03.2009 The Looney Tunes, Disney characters with
Table-Tennis player Sylvester the cat serie of 3 different stamps
(1 with Table-Tennis), sheet, sheetlet and booklet
Micronesia: 2009 Sports of the Summer
Games China 2009 World Stamp
Exhibition
China: 02.08.2008 Opening of Anhui Sports
Philatelic Exhibition title welcoming the
Olympic Games City: Huabei
Singapore: 2009 Asian Youth Games, divice Asia's Youth,
Our Future sheetlet with 10 identical stamps and tabs with
different sports
All stamps showed at 100% and sheets showed at about 50%
Cancellations
China: 08.08.2008 Opening Olympic Games
Beijing City: Panjin
19

China: 06.09.2008 Opening
of the Paralympics Beijing
City: Fuzhou
France: 21.-23 May Redmeter slogan
referring to the 79th French Senior
Table-Tennis Championships 2009
held in Dreux
Germany: 2009 International
Philatic Exhibition held from
6 to 10 May in Essen
For their contribution to these pages we want to thank Marc Templereau, Winfried Engelbrecht and Gao Yi-Bin
All cancellations showed at about 100%
China: 17.09.2008
Paralympic Games Beijing
City Bengbu
Germany: 18.-22.03 Redmeter
slogan referring to the German
Open 2009 in Bremen with or
without text 'par Avion'
Germany: 13.-20.9 two Redmeter slogans referring to the European Table-Tennis Championships 2009
held in Stuttgart with or without text 'Par Avion' or 'Standardbrief int. Zusatzleistung' (registered mail)
20

Beautiful postcard. Sadly no thematic postmarks
were issued for the World Championships, quite
a departure from tradition!
2 Pins
Collectibles from the
Yokohama 2009
World Championships
Wood racket with traditional
Japanese doll attached.
21

This issue’s Book Corner features several new Table
Tennis books. The much anticipated English translation of
Ogi - the Life of Ichiro Ogimura, by Mitsuru Jojima, was
released at the recent World Table Tennis Championships
in Yokohama. Originally published by Kodansha in
Japanese as Ping Pong-san (2007), the book is a biography
of legendary Ichiro Ogimura, 2-times World Singles
Champ-ion, former President of the International Table
Tennis Federation (ITTF) who is widely respected as an
innovator, author and visionary. According to the press
release, the book “also documents his close relationship
with Mrs. Hisae Uehara, owner of the table tennis hall that
gave him continuous support.”
Having had the honor of meeting both protagonists of this
wonderful book, I can observe that they were not only
heroes of the sport, but also heroes of the heart. Order
your copy (US $20 + post) at:
enami02@attglobal.net
Noted philatelic collector Mrs. Reiko Miyagawa of Japan
has published a fine book about her wonderful collection:
Stamps: Connecting the Table Tennis World. The book
is well presented in 6 separate categories.
Róbert Szentgyörgyi has compiled an excellent record of
Hungarian World Champions, with many great photos, in
English and Hungarian.
Book
Corner
Mrs. Hisae Uehara, now 90 years young, a true hero
of the heart. An honor to meet her in Yokohama
during the World Championships. Read about this
remarkable woman in the new book, OGI.
While many books note the 12 World Championship
Gold Medals that the mercurial Ichiro Ogimura won
during his career, this book adds the personal touch,
a compelling story about his rise to stardom as seen
through the gentle eyes of Mrs. Uehara.
We see Ogimura as a teenager honing his skills at
her home Table Tennis hall, where he showed his
tremendous desire to become the best, his relentless
work ethic, his iron will. “What matters isn’t extraordinary
ability but extraordinary effort.” The book
reveals that his aloof self-centered demeanor sometimes
caused strains in relations with his friends and
fellow Table Tennis players.
Another surprising revelation was Ogimura’s claim
of anti-Japanese treatment at the 1954 World Championships
in London, on and off the table, in the media
as well as in the venue, with loud boos from the
crowds, cheers & foot stomping whenever an error
was made by a Japanese player.
The book provides colorful details throughout his
entire career, from his World Championship victories,
his difficulties with Koji Goto, to becoming ITTF
President in 1987, the debut of Table Tennis at the
Olympic Games, his triumph in negotiating a united
Korea team at the 1991 Worlds ... and sadly to his
untimely passing at age 62 in 1995.
A must read for all Table Tennis enthusiasts!
22

Hungarian Table Tennis World Champions is a fine
compilation about the achievements of so many great
players. The book begins with an interesting history of
Table Tennis in Hungary, where an international event
was organized in 1904; their first national championship
was in 1905.
The author then presents a table documenting all
Hungarian Gold Medalists in the World Championships
from 1926 to 1979.
This is followed by a series of biographies with career
highlights and photo of each Gold Medallist. One photo
could not be located, and perhaps our Readers can help:
Erno Foldi, a member of the 1938 World Championship
team. Please contact Robert via the Hungarian TTA if
anyone can find this photo: moatsz@moatsz.hu
The book concludes with a series of delightful and historic
photos of many of the great Hungarian legends.
From Jacobi to Gergely, Mednyanszki to the Koczians,
Barna, Mechlovits, Gizi Farkas, Bellak, Sido ... Klampar,
Jonyer ... a remarkable 151 World Championship Gold
Medals.
Congratulations to Robert Szentgyörgyi for this great
addition to the history of Table Tennis.
Mrs. Miyagawa and your editor share a remarkable
connection: both of our collections began by noticing
the same stamp, issued by Sweden for the 1967 World
Table Tennis Championships!
Her book is beautifully presented in 6 categories:
o World Championships
o Olympic Games
o International Championships
o Europe, Asia, Japan
o Worldwide Regional events
o Other philatelic items
This book is bursting with very clear and colorful
photos of stamps, postmarks and cards, a great guide
for the collector, and highly recommended. Well done
Reiko!
After publication Mrs. Miyagawa kindly donated parts
of her collection to the ITTF Museum.
23

We have many thousands of new readers
who are not listed in our Directory. This is
due to our online format, which opens the
journal to all with internet access. New
readers who are interested in collecting and
wish to be included in the Directory can
send your details to: museum@ittf.com
Carlos Acevedo, Venezuela
early Table Tennis items
carlosacevedo69@cantv.net
ebay ID: zappiros
Gunther Angenendt ebay ID: thorin2001
Langacker 10a 44869 Bochum, Germany
/Fax: +49-2327-77117 ttanpp@gmx.de
Pre-war World Ch. programs; all TT items
German boxed sets & bats; TT pins
Jorge Arango
Cr. 35 No. 7 - 100 Medellin, Colombia
jharango@epm.net.co ebay ID: nofrah37
Philatelic & general TT items
Michael L. Babuin, PhD
P.O.Box 3401, Cary N.C. 27519 USA
mike.babuin@townofcary.org
pre-1905 books (any language), copies of old films,
programmes ebay ID: sircules
Oliver Born Germany
born4TT@freenet.de www.bornoli.de
Old Butterfly rackets, especially Korpa
Keith Bowler
14 Ewell Street, Balmain, N.S.W.
2041 Australia (02) 98104128
Old magazines, publications up to 1961
Fabrice Chantriaux
10 Rue des Chevrefeuilles F-45130 Saint-Ay
FRANCE 02.38.88.82.11 Fax: 02.38.46.94.29
f,chantriaux@wanadoo.fr Stamps, cancels, postcards,
posters (major events) old papers on TT
Colin Clemett
7 Brookmead Way, Havant PO9 1RT UK
colin@clemett.demon.co.uk
Historical documents
Ron Crayden (ENG) in Memoriam
Andre Demeure Place de Mai, 10
B-1200 Brussels BELGIUM 02/770.55.29
a.m.demeure@skynet.be Cancellations, red
meter, stationaries, stamps (perf+imperf), color
proofs, artist sheets, postcards, phonecards, coins
Jean Devys Residence La petite vigne
20 rue Edgar Quinet A/16 F-59100 Roubaix
FRANCE 33.320828444 Fax: 33.320660849
TT Philately, Cycling jean.devys@orange.fr
Axel Dickhaus
Atzlenbacherf Str. 88
D-51381 Leverkusen GERMANY
+49 (0)2171 32108 Fax: +49(0)2171.731478
axel.dickhaus@freenet.de TT balls, phone cards
Collector Collector
Directory Directory
Alan Duke
2 Shapwick Close Swindon WILTS.
ENGLAND SN3 3RQ UK
+44-01 793 531234 alan-duke2@talktalk.net
History, music & photo record of TT items
Sergio Durazzano
Via Girardini 8, 33100 Udine ITALY
0432-21105 e-mail: durazzano@aruba.it
stamps and historical books
Winfried Engelbrecht
Virgiliastr. 21, D-45131 Essen Germany
+49 201 78 6795
winfried.engelbrecht@imail.de
Philately: Stamps, FDCs, Sheets Postmarks,
Phonecards, Books, tickets, stickers, W.C. Programs
Romualdas Franckaitis Lithuania
e-mail: rfranckaitis@gmail.com
Gao Yi-bin
2-202 Lakeside Apartment, Jiangning,
Nanjing. P.R.China 211100
+8625-5212 3334 gaoybd@yahoo.com.cn
TT stamps, FDCs, postcards, phonecards, coins,
medals, pins, cancellations
Roman Gelman Rgpinman@aol.com
24 Taverngreen Court, Baltimore, MD 21209 USA
410-602-0267 TT pins,badges,medals
David George + 44-01236 872350
No.1 Kingshill Cottages, Coatbridge Rd.
Gartcosh GT69-8DS SCOTLAND UK
Badges, keyrings, medals, olympics, pins
David Good
710 N.Waverly, Dearborn, MI 48128 USA
+1 313 278 5271 dgood42@yahoo.com
c.1900 sets, equipment, ephemera, memorabilia
Scott Gordon
5340 Shelato Way, Carmichael, CA USA 95608
+1 916 457 8482 www.hardbat.com
sgordon@hardbat.com Acquire: films
historic films; classic-era hardbats, old books
Gordan Gotal
Meduliceva 23 Zagreb 10000 Croatia
+3851 4848 687 mim-borovo@zg.htnet.hr
Exch: TT pins, medals, postcards
Acquire: Official badges from WC & EC (guest, organizer,
player, press, etc.)
Steve Grant NY, NY USA
nyman455@yahoo.com ebay ID: prompt101
Ping Pong Diplomacy Early 1900s Table Tennis
Gerald Gurney
Guildhall Orchard, Great Bromley
Colchester, ESSEX CO7 7TU England
/Fax: +44-1206-230330
All racket games, Table Tennis, Tennis, Badminton.
All equipment, ephemera. Historian & author.
Worldwide exhibitions. Also swimming items.
Exch: boxed sets, postcards, books, rackets
Rex Haggett
27 Meadow Close, Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire, CV37 9PJ, England
+44 (0) 1789 269352
rex.haggett@ntlworld.com
Interests: Philately ebay ID:
Esko Heikkinen
Vaimoisenkatu 9 B 17, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
+358 50 62532 esko.heikkinen@diacor.fi
TT history, Stiga bats
Chuck Hoey Curator, ITTF Museum
Chemin de la Roche 11
CH-1020 RENENS, Switzerland
museum@ittf.com ebay ID: ittfmuseum
World Ch. programmes: 1928, 1930; Art bats,
unusual bats, historic photos, museum quality items
Martin Holland
44 Victoria Road Barrow-in-Furness
Cumbria ENGLAND BA14 5JU
mjh44now@yahoo.co.uk
Postcards, trade cards
Rolf Jaeger USA tennisheritage@aol.com
Tennis & Table Tennis items
Custom jewelry: www.tennisboutique.com
Dean Johnson
3404 Holly Road Virginia Beach, VA 23451 USA
(757) 478-3605 E-mail: djab2b@aol.com
Jean-Francois Kahn
49 rue Léonardo da Vinci
77330 OZOIR LA FERRIERE France
+33 1 40779762 jean-francois.kahn@upmc.fr
TT philately : imperforated stamps, sheets, colour
proofs, minister / artist sheets, errors, postmarks,
red/blue meters, FDCs, specimens, etc.
Jan Kleeven
Margrietstraat 63, 6373 NN Landgraaf
Netherlands e-mail: sjang.kleeven@planet.nl
Pins, flags, pennants, stamps, phonecards,stickers
Matti Kolppanen
Kollekannaksent 12E, FI-02720 Espoo, FInland
matti.kolppanen@kolumbus.fi
TT history, TT postcards
Randy Koo
Torenwacht 37 2353 DB Leiderdorp Netherlands
+31 071 5417413 rkoo@planet.nl
Stamps mint, special postmarks, red meters, FDC
Hans Kreischer Avenue les Comargues 21
03111 Busot_Alicante SPAIN
+34965698195 hanskreischer@hotmail.com
www.ttmuseum.nl
Kevin Lau, 7544 N.Claremont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60645 USA Phone: 773-719-0860
Fax:773-338-1831 kevintennis@yahoo.com
Philatelic items, pins, coins, souvenir items, memorabilia,
decorative items
Caron Leff 9201 LaLique Lane #1602
Ft. Myers, FL 33919 USA
csleff@aol.com Interests: pins
24

Francis Leibenguth
231 rue du Maréchal Oudinot
54000 Nancy - FRANCE
+33383578422 stanfl54-hardbat@yahoo.fr
Vintage bats (especially hardbats), vintage sets
Website: http://raquettes-collection.blog4ever.com/
Jorgen Lindh
Egnahemsgatan 13D S-43242 Varberg SWEDEN
joli@mbox303.swipnet.se ebay ID: joliswede
Steve Luck, Essex, U.K.
tennis@steveluck.freeserve.co.uk
racket sports, rowing, billiards, croquet, archery –
most sports
Eldon Mohler 3910 Pecos-McLeod, A100
Las Vegas. NV 89121 USA
Fax: +1-702-453-8472 eam2@ix.netcom.com
Erik Kenneth Muhr
2 Highgate Hill, Hawkhurst KENT
TN18 4LB ENGLAND UK
01580 752676 kenmuhr@btopenworld.com
History of Table Tennis
Rudolf Muller Bahnhofstr. 58 D-57250
Netphen GERMANY 02738-1461
Stamps, cancels, letter, error, red meter marks
Jan Nusteleyn
Weserstraat 21, 9406 VP Assen The Netherlands
0592-356050 e-mail: nleyn@hotmail.com
Stamps, mint perforated FDCs red meters,
cancels WC, EC, EC-Youth, Top-12
Robert Op de Beeck +03/455.41.59
J.F.Willemstraat 66 2530 Boechout BELGIUM
Florian Pagel Germany flo.p@gmx.net
Older bats: Banda, Stiga, Joola, Butterfly, Imperial
Gregory Pinkhusovich
Apt.10, h.2 Sheshet Ha-Yamim Str
Ariel 40700 ISRAEL gpinkhusovich@yahoo.com
+972-54-3394739 TTpins, badges, medals, coins
Jeong-Kye Park
P.O.Box 555 BUSAN 600-605
KOREA SOUTH 016 242 2075
fifaball@hanmail.net
Stamps, cancellations, covers
Robin Radford
16 St Edmund Cr TAWA, Wellington, NZ
+64 04 232 5672 rradford@paradise.net.nz
TT cartoons, comic strips, clip art
Jose Ransome
”Conifers” Church Lane ORMESBY
Middleborough TS7 9AU ENGLAND
01642 322223 ajransome@aol.com
Geoff Reed 21 Beaulieu Park, St Helier.
Jersey JE24RN reedgeo@googlemail.com
44.01534.730132 Table Tennis history
Collector Collector
Directory Directory
Helmut Reinhardt Lion-Fuchtwanger-Str. 6
D-18435 Stralsund, GERMANY
+49-(0)3831-397141
H.Reinhardt-Stral@t-online.de
Lutz Schoenfeld Germany
selling Table Tennis items on ebay ID: pongiste
e-mail: rulusch@T-Online.de
Martin Senn St. Gallen, Switzerland
e-mail: keys@swissonline.ch
Seeks old Stiga blades & catalogues
Luigi Simeoni
Via Ponte S.Pancrazio 2/a
37133 Verona ITALY
0039 045 532033 luigi.simeoni@tin.it
TT Balls, catalogue available
Harry Sintemaartensdijk Julianastraat 8,
2651 DP Berkel en Rodenrijs The Netherlands.
0031 105114621 harry.smd@wanadoo.nl
Tischtennis Aufklebers/stickers
Tang Gan Xian
Qing Hu 4-35-104, ChangShu 215500 P.R.China
86-512-52722359 tangganxian@yahoo.com.cn
Philately: TT stamps, FDCs, postmarks, postcards,
phonecards,tickets, pins
Marc Templereau
16 Hameau des cerisiers 38150 Roussillon France
Secretary, AFCTT (French TT Collectors Assoc)
website: http://afc3t.free.fr
Collections : stamps, FDC, players postcards, autographs,
programs e-mail: tpam@free.fr
Michael Thomson 1 Kinnoull Terrace, PERTH
PH2 7DJ SCOTLAND UK
01738 622052 ebay ID: thetartatrader
thomsonmfamily@blueyonder.co.uk
Jaques and history of Table Tennis
Solazzi Tonino
Via Millefonti 6 / 5 10126 Torino, Italy
00393391870279 solton66@alice.it
Table Tennis pins
Hans-Peter Trautmann
Siegfriedstr. 17 64385 Reichelsheim GERMANY
hpt@hptrautmann.de ebay ID: hpt146
Stamps mint, perforated, imperforated, sheets,
colour proofs, minister/artist sheets, errors, postmarks,
red/blue meters
Graham Trimming Rosemount Juniper Lane
Wooburn Green, Bucks HP10 0DE England
+44 (0) 1628 529609
graham.trimming@virgin.net
All TT items pre-1939, esp. c.1900s
Acquire: Gossima 1891; other early unusual items;
early World Ch items. ebay ID:graham-ttcollector
Nikola Turk
Ulica Pavla Hatza 26, Zagreb 10000 Croatia
nikola.turk@zg.t-com.hr
Sport historian, Sport-recreation activist, journalist
Professor of Kinesiology, Philatelic collector
Damir Uzorinac
Prilaz Gjure Dezelica 20 10000 Zagreb Croatia
Damir.Uzorinac@pliva.hr 38598474982
Books, pins, stamps, cancellations
Russ Walker
4316 Irving Ave N, MPLS MN 55412 USA
+1-612-522-7905
rj_wal@msn.com ebay ID: russw58
Early 1900s equipment & boxed sets
Yao Zhenxu TT Competiton Manager
Sport Department, Beijing Organizing Committee
for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Room 903A No.267 North Si Huan Zhong Road,
Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
+86-10 66690508 (Fax):86-10 66693298
cttayao@china.com TT stamps, FDC, postcards,
coins, phonecards, pins, postal material, tickets etc.
Jos Zinkstok
Neckarstraat 8 NL9406 VN ASSEN
The Netherlands
+31 592 350486 Fax: 0031 592 355861
j.zinkstok@poveia.nl website: www.poveia.nl
TT cancellations, stamps, vignettes, on real used
letters/covers/cards, FDC ebay ID: joszi_nl
Anton Zwiebel
Kerkweg 30, 9439 PG Witteveen, Netherlands
+31 593 552788 a.zwiebel@hotmail.com
Exch: Stamps, cancellations, postcards
Acquire: postcards ebay ID: pongist
Name not on the list? Send your details
to the Editor: museum@ittf.com
Mystery Photo
TTC52 Answer
Jorge Arango & Gunther Angenendt
correctly identified the Mystery Photo
TTC #52: the French team at the 1936
World Championships (l-r): Captain
Jean Badre, Paul Wolshoefer, Daniel
Guerin, Charles Dubouille, Michel
Haguenauer.
25

We have seen this style medal before (issue 43), but
this heavy medal was witness to the tragic defaults of both
women’s singles finalists, Ruth Aarons (USA) and Trude
Pritzi (AUT) in the 1937 World Championships, because of
the new timelimit rule. The title was declared vacant,
unprecedented in all of World Championship history.
This medal is of special interest, as D. III is for women’s
(Damen) singles, 3rd place, shared by Kettnerova (CZE)
and Bussmann (GER), the highest survivors after the
unfortunate defaults.
Young Ruth Aarons never returned to the World Championship
arena as a result of this fiasco. ITTF President
Hon. Ivor Montagu regarded the rule as “thoroughly bad.”
Master historian Tim Boggan, in his monumental History
of U.S. Table Tennis (Vol. I) notes that the time limit rule
was not being consistently enforced; both the Bergmann-
Ehrlich Final and the Pritzi-Adelstein match exceeded the
1 hour 45 minute limit for a 5-game match.
A difficult time for our sport - what was the best way to
discourage the pushing style play? Another new rule gave
the final word to the Tournament Committee or jury. The
jury voted in favor of the default by a two vote margin; the
Austrian juror voted against default. This sad episode in
Table Tennis history was postumously corrected when
both players were declared co-champions in 2001.
Heavy Metal
Our Heavy Metal page features the rare
and unusual. The large and very rare
medal below is from the 1937 World
Championships held in Baden-bei-Wien in
Austria. It brings back some controversial
memories.
The unusual and stylish medal shown on
the left is actually from Japan. Based on
other Japanese Table Tennis/Ping Pong
medals presented in the previous issue
(especially the cover picture), there is
clear evidence of not only Table Tennis
activity, but also a strong art deco movement
during the 1930s in Japan. Perhaps
one of our readers can do some research
to identify these artists.
This particular example has a rather
abstract flavor in the image of the player,
quite striking, even surprising to the eyes.
The Hungarian medal shown in issue 44
is another impressive example.
© ITTF Museum 2009 Published by the ITTF Museum on behalf of the Table Tennis Collectors’ Society
Contact: ITTF Museum, Chemin de la Roche 11, CH-1020 RENENS, SWITZERLAND
e-mail: museum@ittf.com Website: www.ittf.com/museum
No part of this journal may be reproduced without prior consent of the publisher