Swaythling October 2019 (No.107)

1949 English Open partnering Johnny Leach
Richard Bergmann, not necessarily in
financial terms but was he not the first
table tennis professional?
Accepted that accolade may well be
bestowed on the shoulders of Victor
Barna but has there ever been
a player who took the sport of table
tennis so seriously? Throughout his
life, Richard Bergmann dedicated
himself to the sport. He was of the
opinion that he was a great sportsman
in a great sport; for him table tennis
was an art to be revered and to be
respected.
Furthermore, his approach was
reflected in his character. Richard
Bergmann was always smartly
dressed, never a hair out of place; he
bought his suits in Hong Kong, his
shoes in Spain, his sports shirts in
Italy. Whether playing or attending a
social function, meticulously he paid
attention to detail. He was ahead of
his time; nowadays he would have
been the marketing man’s dream!
A most professional approach, he
believed you must be physically fit
to play table tennis, he had endless
stamina, undoubtedly footwork was
one of his major assets but totally different
from the modern day player he
paid very little attention to the service,
for him it was just a way of starting the
rally. He did not drink alcohol and he
did not smoke but always he carried
a smart cigarette case just in case
he met the acquaintance of a lady
smoker.
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Debonair but no prima donna; whether
at the local club or whatever tournament,
he was willing to play against
anyone who wanted to test their skills.
Primarily a defensive player but his
forehand attacking stroke was the
equal of the best of the era; however,
arguably his strengths were his will to
win, his sense of anticipation and his
quick thinking, all reflected in the fact
he spoke seven languages.
The determination, the drive to succeed
was nowhere better demonstrated
than in 1937 in Baden bei Wien, a
spa town located in southern Austria,
when he won the men’s singles title at
the World Championships for the first
time in his career.
En route to the final he beat Sol Schiff
of the United States, the favourite for
the title and the expert at executing
finger spin serves. In the title decider
he faced Aloizy Ehrlich; the experienced
Polish star won the opening
game 21-19, in the second he went
ahead 20-14, Bergmann recovered
to succeed 25-23! The third went in
favour of Ehrlich 21-19, after trailing
15-19!
The fourth game progressed, controversial
decisions, they went in favour
of Bergmann. Ehrlich was furious,
outraged, accusing the umpires of
bias. He asked for the umpire to be
changed but all were Austrian so
he refused every nomination! The
situation was resolved by Laszlo
Bellak, the well-known member of the
Hungarian national team. The match
resumed, Bergmann was mentally the
stronger; he won the fourth game 21-
7, the fifth 21-11.
The following year in London,
Bergmann was to lose in the final
to Czechoslovakia’s Bohumil Vana
(20-22, 21-9, 21-16, 21-14), before in
Cairo in 1939, living in London but at
the time theoretically stateless owing
to the Nazi annexation of Austria, he
was to beat Ehrlich (21-7, 21-15, 21-
18) to regain the title.
It was to be the last World Championships
before World War Two; during
the hostilities Bergmann served in
the Royal Air Force. On Wednesday
7th June 1944 he was involved in the
Normandy landings; he embarked
with machine gun in hand, table tennis
racket and ball in his backpack!
He was not able to compete in the
1947 World Championships in Paris
but was present as a spectator; he
brought with him several thousand
leaflets in various languages which he
scattered out of an airplane offering
£500.00 to anyone who could beat
the “best player in the world”. At the
time gambling by national associations
was forbidden, there were no
takers. Disappointing but at the end of
the year in mid-December, there was
better news, Richard Bergmann was
granted British citizenship. Immediately,
he entered the English Open in
Manchester and duly won the men’s
singles title.
Now with the 1948 World Championships
on the horizon in London, his
new home, the sheer will to win, the
determination was once again displayed.
He did not enjoy the best of
results in the men’s team event, the
final witnessed a 5-2 win for Czechoslovakia
against France but Bergmann
did not watch the contest, he
practised; his diligence bore fruit.
He reached the penultimate round
of the men’s singles event. He faced
Czechoslovakia’s Ivam Andreadis
in what to this day stands as one of
the epic semi-finals. The man from
Prague won the opening two games,
appeared to tire as he lost the third
but then in the fourth led 19-16 and
20-18; two match points, at 21-20 he
held a third. Bergmann recovered,
won the game 25-23 but then in the
fifth appeared to be facing defeat as
Andreadis established a 9-4 lead;
from that point onwards, the defe
nce of Bergmann proved rock
solid, he afforded his gallant
adversary just seven
more points (17-21,
18-21, 21-7, 25-23, 21-
16). A place in the final,
Bergmann accounted
for Bohumil Vana (21-12,
18-21, 21-19, 14-21, 21-11)
to seal the title.
A Bergmann racket and
The recommended ball
“Return the ball any
way you can but return
it. Any stroke,
any smash, whatever
its impact
can be returned if
your racket catches
the ball. Of course
your legs must act
fast in order
to get you
to the right
position.”
One year later in 1949 in Stockholm,
Bergmann was to somewhat unexpectedly
lose to Hungary’s Ferenc
Soos in the last 16, before in 1950
in Budapest avenging the defeat.
He overcame Soos in the final, yet
another contest that underlined his
tenacity. The match started at 1.00
am in the morning, both principally
defenders, it was a long drawn out
encounter, Soos won the opening two
games, Bergmann returning the ball
high, encouraging his opponent to
attack, recovered to level matters. In
the fifth game, Soos went ahead 8-2,
at 12-all it was parity, Soos lost his
temper, Bergmann surrendered just
one further point; for the fourth time he
was the world champion.
Success in English colours but
also he experienced clashes with
the authorities. He was suspended
after travelling to South Africa to play
exhibition matches; thus he did not
compete in the 1951 World Championships
staged in Vienna, the country
of his birth. The following year, he
was involved in exhibition matches
in a Paris music hall; as a result for
the forthcoming 1952 World Championships
in Bombay, England did not
originally select Bergmann believing
with justification that his form was not
at the level required.
However, they kept the fifth place
vacant, advising that an improvement
was needed and he would be required
to pay his own expenses. Bergmann
duly practised diligently. In the
The year 1952
1955 in Tokyo with Johnny Leach and Ivor Montagu
Monday 13th July 1953, with Johnny Leach at the Wataya Hotel in Kumamoto
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