Four Score and Forty-Two Years Ago in Table Tennis

In the Land of Lincoln, I should know the score…but it can get elusive after a wild rally in doubles.  

 For a number of years my wife and I headed down to Dearborn Street in the south loop of Chicago for Printers Row Lit Fest. The narrow two block stretch was a sea of people navigating their way around and through the booths, and maybe stumbling across something they weren’t exactly looking for. In a couple of trips there, I did just that.

One particular vendor was selling various reprints from older magazines and this lone wolf was nestled in amongst the many categories, maybe in the sports file. So I plunked down $35. How could I resist?

The print is from Harper’s Weekly, a publication originating in NYC and running from about 1857 to 1916. I ran across a larger version of this online, but I don’t think there’s too many out there, or much interest really. But hey, what a way to help appreciate where the game came from compared to what we have now.

The caption to this vintage piece reads ‘A Quiet Hour After Dinner.’ A small box below the print continues with ‘Ping-pong has taken the same vigorous hold in America as in England. Most dinner parties this spring end in an informal tournament and the change from the the usual hour of sedate conversation to one of activity and laughter has captivated everyone from Maine to California.’

Pretty cool, eh. Dining room tables getting cleared much faster than normal so the games could begin. The equipment has changed, but the social and competitive nature of the game continues with equal fervor. BTW, the artist’s name is Albert deFord Pitney, who created this for Harper’s in 1902. The details are sketchy, but Pitney may have ended up living in Cook and Kane County.

The second item, in the ‘less rare’ category, published forty years later, is the book Top Notch Table Tennis written by Women’s National Singles Champion Emily M. Fuller. The book was published in 1942 by Ziff-Davis, whose fortunes rose and fell as they ventured into magazines, TV stations, and the digital domain.

This 120 page work by Ms. Fuller (shown above)  contains some 60 photographs and illustrations and delves into many aspects of the game, including strategy and temperament. One pic shows Ginger Rogers wielding a paddle who was credited with having a good game.

A few final tidbits nestled within the pages…The Illinois Open had 17,000 spectators. Officials dressed in suits sat at the midpoint of each table apparently umpiring matches at some tournaments. The Western Electric Company in New Jersey installed 50 tables for employee use during lunch and recreational periods.  

KR