A museum that is established to honor individuals who have made noteworthy achievements in a given field is called a Hall of Fame. The museum may be in an actual building or could be more figurative and simply exist as a listing of individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame by the organizing community. The USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame was the brainchild of Steve Isaacson. In 1966, while Isaacson was the table tennis editor of “Tennis” magazine he came up with the idea of a hall of fame to honor table tennis players in the same manner that baseball greats Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb or basketball stars Wilt Chamberlain and Bob Cousy were honored in the Hall of Fames of their respective sports. Isaacson mentioned his idea to the magazine publisher, Asher Birnbaum who thought it was a viable idea. Birnbaum offered to devote a full page in the magazine to the induction ceremony, including photographs, if Isaacson could make it a reality.
Isaacson met with Richard Fuertstein, President of the USTTA, to present his idea. Along with his proposal, he presented his list of the seven greatest players of all time; Dick Miles, Leah Thall Neuberger, Sol Schiff, Jimmy McClure, Ruth Hughes Aarons, Lou Pagliaro, and Sally Green Prouty. Fuerstein was impressed with the idea and presented the idea and proposed list of inductees to the USTTA Executive Committee. The Committee enthusiastically approved to support the idea of a table tennis hall of fame but shortened the list of seven potential inductees down to five. Pagliaro and Prouty were cut from the inaugural ceremony.
Even with the support of the magazine publisher and the USTTA, the Hall of Fame almost dissolved before the first group of inductees was publicly announced. Isaacson made arrangements to have a short Hall of Fame induction ceremony prior to the 1966 U.S. Open Men’s Singles Final. Isaacson contacted the inductees, notified the press, obtained plane tickets and hotel rooms for himself and a photographer from the magazine. Unfortunately, when it came time for the ceremony, Graham Steenhoven, the Executive Committee member who was running the Open, decided they did not have time to pause the tournament to hold an induction ceremony. He referred to it as “nonsense”. It took another thirteen years for the Hall of Fame to be revived by USTTA Executive Director Hill Haid and Steve Isaacson. This second effort was more thorough with by-laws and a constitution being written, officers being elected, and a charter being recorded in the state of Illinois. The original induction ceremony finally took place in 1979 with the original seven being honored along with ten others.
As of January 1, 2009 the museum roster includes 79 players (many of whom were on the USATT national team) and 43 officials / contributors. The 2009 induction banquet and ceremonies will be held on December 17th at the Las Vegas Hilton in conjunction with the U.S. National Championships. Olympians Gao Jun and Diana Gee have been selected as the 2009 inductees. Olympic Team Manager Bob Fox has been selected as a Contributor and Houshang Bozorgzedah will be honored with the Mark Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2007, Joe Newgarden was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Joe discovered table tennis as a young teenager and developed a lifetime love for the game. He formed a permanent table tennis club in Miami, Florida. It was known as one of the finest commercial table tennis clubs in the states with its special flooring, lighting, and training robots. Joe became known as a man who helped others without seeking recognition, as someone who was passionate about table tennis, and a guy who did all he could to help those who shared his dedication to the sport. For more than a decade, Newgy’s was a home away from home for many table tennis athletes. During this time Joe began to explore ways of making training robots more efficient and affordable. In the late 1980’s, Joe introduced his Newgy Robo-Pong model 1929.This robot was considered by many to be better than existing robots on the market. It did not take long for Newgy to become the largest manufacturer of table tennis robots in the world.
Joe Newgarden and his company, Newgy Industries, continue to help table tennis athletes around the world by contributing to the National Schools Program, High School Leagues, ACUI and NCTTA competitions, and training centers. Newgy donated thousands of paddles to the ITTF for use in developing countries and a number of robots to national TT associations in Southeast Asia that were hit hardest by the tragic tsunami in 2005. If Joe Newgarden has his way, everyone in the world will have access to the game of table tennis. It has been said that Joe Newgarden does not simply sell robots, he sells table tennis.
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