New Zealand Player Competes at World Championships

It was perhaps inevitable that one of our top players would one day take the initiative, travel independently, and become the first person to represent New Zealand at the World Championships. This happened in 1948, six years before the first officially selected team was sent.

Russell Algie marched alone under the New Zealand flag at the opening ceremony for the London-hosted World Championships at Wembley Stadium on 4 February.

The trip was undertaken on the reigning NZ Champion’s own initiative although some financial assistance was forthcoming from his local Otago Association as well as NZTTA once his plans to travel were revealed. In December, 1947 he waited 13 days in Wellington for a ship berth to England, either as a passenger or a crew member. No opportunity arose in that time so he booked a passage on the Ruahine, due to leave several days later and not getting him to London until three days before the championships. He was about to return to Dunedin to wait out the time when he miraculously heard a radio message calling him to report to the cargo ship Hornby Grange, departing from Wellington in literally a few minutes. As he was already packed for the ferry trip to Lyttelton he was able to make it to the wharf and board the ship just in time.

Algie worked his passage as a casual deck-hand. Radio messages from the English Association to the ship enabled details of his entry to be finalised and he was allocated partners in both doubles events. The ETTA saw news value in the lone New Zealander’s voyage and issued a press statement announcing that he was the first competitor in the history of the championships to work his own sea passage, and New Zealand was the 31st and last country to enter. Late in the voyage Algie received a message from the ITTF president (Ivor Montagu) welcoming him to England and wishing him well for the championships.

The ship berthed in Glasgow and Algie was greeted by Scottish TTA officials.

NZ Players Ponder His Chances

Back in New Zealand Algie’s chances at the championships were a talking point among his fellow top players. They all knew how good he was, but many also remembered the standard of play demonstrated by the world-class Hungarians who visited NZ pre-war. Laurie Wilson was well-placed to assess Algie’s skills by world standards, having seen international players in action while on military service. “Watching players like Johnny Leach (future world champion), I fear they might hit right through Algie’s backhand defence,” he wrote in the NZ press. “But against the average Englishman, Russ will stand a good chance.”

Max Gosling had also seen, and played against, world-class players during the war. “Against all except the top-liners, I give Algie a great chance,” he said. “Against the best, I consider his defensive returns are thrown back too high. These men can really put them away. But since there’s nothing in New Zealand to extend him it remains to be seen what heights he may ultimately attain.”

Reaches Last 32

It’s now history that Russell Algie performed extremely well. He won his first match against a Danish player (C Juhl) in four games, narrowly losing the third and winning the fourth 21-6. Against Egyptian Y Kabil he won 21-19, 16-21, 21-15, 21-19. In round three (round of 32) he faced Garret Nash, a former United States Champion, and lost 19-21, 11-21, 9-21. Partnered by English international Ben Casofsky - an honour and a strong vote of confidence – he beat a Belgian pair in the men’s doubles before losing in the second round. A four-game loss with Miss E Steventon in the first round of the mixed doubles (22-24 in the fourth) brought Algie’s world championships experience to an end.

With typical modesty Algie played down his own achievement and dwelled instead on what he had seen around him. “The championships were terrific,” he wrote in a letter home. “There were more countries represented than in any single event at the Olympic Games. (Richard) Bergmann won because he was superior in temperament but I consider the American Richard Miles to be the world’s finest player.”

England fans were overjoyed to see their adopted son, Austrian-born Richard Bergmann (now playing for England) win the men’s singles. He had previously won in 1937 and 1939 when representing Austria. An English pair won the women’s doubles and England won the women’s teams. Czechoslovakia won the men’s.

Stunning Atmosphere

Marie Whittaker, a New Zealander now living in London, attended the championships and was swept away by the spectacle. “You can scarcely imagine what it’s like,” she wrote to a friend in Wellington. “Wembley stadium holds about 10,000 people. The whole arena was covered with green rubber with little green fences around each table. Four men officiated at each match, sitting in a row alongside the table. Two operated the score cards, one was an interpreter and the other the umpire. The lighting arrangements were wonderful. And during the intervals an orchestra played.” She felt proud watching Russell Algie march into the stadium waving the New Zealand flag. “He did really well to reach the third round,” she said.

Prior to the championships Algie had played three tournaments in the north of England and in Scotland, reaching the quarter-finals in two of them. He was also invited to play a televised exhibition match against the Irish Champion (H Thuillier) while in Newcastle – making him the first New Zealander to play table tennis on television.

Reflecting on his overall experience Russell Algie could see only an uphill road ahead of him and other New Zealand players. “I thought we were not so bad at home,” he said. “How wrong I was. But I’ve gained a lot and feel I can now improve my game immensely.” He took immediate steps in that direction by withdrawing from several championships in England after the Worlds and used the time instead for practice. He was delighted to renew his acquaintance with the legendary Viktor Barna, the man who had predicted a great future for the then 17 year old when they played each other in Dunedin in 1938. Barna introduced him to Johnny Leach, another world-class player destined to visit New Zealand. The three were able to practise together and also gave some public exhibitions.

By the time he left England to return home Russell Algie had decided that his game had to change. “The old style of long-range chop defence has had it,” he said. “The new game is speed, speed and more speed.”

Officials Impressed

One of the key figures involved in Algie’s world championships appearance was Corti Woodcock, who had recently replaced Mr HN Smith as New Zealand’s ITTF representative in London. He took care of the essential details and arranged practice opportunities. “I want to say at once that he has made an absolutely first-class impression on everybody,” he wrote in an official report to NZTTA. “I doubt whether there was a more popular visitor among the 250 overseas people attending the championships.” Generous indeed, and undeniable confirmation that, thanks to Russell Algie, New Zealand had earned international respect at its first world championships.

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Russell Algie – Juryman

New Zealand’s pioneer ambassador at the world championships was accorded a further vote of confidence when he was appointed to the jury set up to resolve disputes and to hear appeals over umpiring or refereeing decisions. The most serious issue to arise concerned the 20 minute time limit rule and involved the eventual women’s singles winner, Hungarian Gizella Farkas. “The umpire failed to issue the five minute warning after 15 minutes – it was given after 18 minutes,” reported Russell Algie on his return home. “When time was called Farkas was trailing but she appealed for the game to continue as she had not been given the required warning. The umpire agreed and Farkas won 27-25 after 26 minutes.” Her opponent felt the time limit should have been applied regardless and appealed to the jury. They upheld the appeal and ordered a replay of the match. Hungary’s reaction was an eye-opening revelation to Algie. “Their government intervened and refused to allow Farkas to participate in the replay. It wasn’t until the following day that they relented. Farkas won the replay. The Hungarians take their table tennis very seriously. It was all quite disconcerting to a new member of the jury such as myself.”

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Media Under-Estimates Margaret Hoar

The 1948 NZ Championships, hosted by Otago for the first time since 1939, were preceded by the usual flurry of newspaper speculation. One can only marvel at the shortsightedness displayed by the pundits regarding the women’s singles. A lengthy article in Dunedin’s Star Sports reeled off no fewer than ten names, all from Wellington, Hutt Valley or Otago, that they considered contenders for the women’s title. Margaret Hoar (pictured) was not among them. An equally name-laden feature in Wellington’s Sports Post mentioned Hoar almost as an after-thought. “Miss Margaret Hoar’s mission will probably be the under 18 title,” predicted the paper. “She should gain valuable experience in the open grade, in which she might well reach the quarter-finals.”

Margaret Hoar had reached the final of 1947 North Island Championships. Now aged only 17 and rapidly improving, her prospects at the 1948 NZ Championships surely justified a little more enthusiasm. The seeding committee hadn’t entirely ignored her – she was seeded sixth.

Statistics now show that 1948 was the beginning of a Hoar-dominated era destined to last ten years. She beat top seed Audrey Hughes (pictured) in the quarter-finals and in the semi-finals disposed of unseeded Marie McLennan, the tall willowy Otago player who had ended 4th seed June Leathley’s chances. Then came the final against second seed Joyce Dalgleish (formerly Joyce Strange) which she won 20-22, 21-10, 21-16. Strange and Hughes had been the 1946 and 1947 champions.

Even after the event, the aforementioned newspapers appeared to focus more on the fact that the stubbornly defensive Hoar’s matches were long, dour and uninteresting to watch, rather than on her title-winning performance. It was also pointed out that Mrs Dalgleish had been ill and failed to display the form she had shown in a recent win over Hoar at the Wellington championships. But the Sports Post did ultimately concede that “…it was magnificent on the part of an inexperienced player to show such admirable temperament.”

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Algie Stumbles

Russell Algie was under pressure when he returned to New Zealand mid-season, following his trip to the world championships. As noted above, he resolved to abandon the mainly defensive game that had served him so well prior to the trip, convinced that he could go no further unless he made a change. His new game was modelled on the American style – short snappy strokes with very little follow-through. He utilised the new style to good effect in winning the Otago championships, beating South Island champion Jack Borough (pictured) in the final. In an exhibition against touring Australian Phil Anderson he mixed it somewhat with his former style. As the NZ championships loomed all eyes were upon him.

He lost in the round of 16 to Neville Brightwell (pictured) – the Otago player he had been practising with almost exclusively since his return from overseas. Maybe Algie settling into his new game was a factor, maybe not. Brightwell played brilliantly. He won 21-14, 21-18, 21-19. The ovation from the large gallery was deafening and prolonged. Algie acknowledged he had been beaten by a better man but the unexpected three-straight loss in front of his home crowd was humiliating.

His day would come again.

Meanwhile Afton Algie restored some pride for the Algie family when he scored a memorable three-straight win over Eric Boniface, also in the round of 16. He then faced Brightwell in a match that could have been Algie v Algie, or, as the seeding committee had planned it, Algie v Boniface. Beating two Algies in succession was a step too far for Brightwell and he narrowly lost 21-12, 28-26, 21-23, 19-21, 15-21. But it was a memorable tournament for Neville Brightwell, a man who would stay near the top of NZ table tennis for three decades.

His victor, Afton Algie, lost his semi-final to the evergreen Frank Paton. Bill Fogarty, mysteriously unseeded, dominated the bottom half of the draw by beating first John Crossley and then Laurie Howe to meet Paton in the final. Fogarty won 21-13, 21-10, 21-18. After a lapse of form at the 1947 championships it was a great comeback for the powerfully-built new champion, affectionately known as Wild Bill.

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Table Tennis “Show Biz” Style

An exhibition by former world champion Michael (Miklos) Szabados, who was now living in Australia, and Australian champion Phil Anderson was a feature act in a glitzy variety show put together by Australian entrepreneur Norman Dyer and taken on an extensive tour of New Zealand mid-year. NZTTA had no part in it - not particularly surprising when a glance at the programme reveals “Table Tennis Oddities with Jackpot and Crackpot” and “Table Tennis Tantrums” listed alongside such off-table offerings as “Hawaiian Memories” and “Melodious Moments”. An astonishing 100 centres were visited throughout the country and a crowd of 800 is reported to have flocked to the show in the small town of Raetihi alone. In some larger cities top local players participated.

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More Rankling Over Rankings

Into its third year, the ranking system continued to engender controversy. The issue came to a head when a remit was put to the Annual General Meeting calling for publication of the end-of-season ranking lists to be delayed until they had been approved by delegates at an AGM. The remit was defeated and the practice of having rankings confirmed by the executive committee continued.

One can only shudder at the thought of trying to seek AGM consensus on such a topic.

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No More Finger-Spin Serving

An amendment to the service law came into effect in New Zealand from the 1948 season. The ball now had to be held on the flat palm of the free hand prior to service, and released by the hand either lifting upwards or dropping away. This ensured that no spin could be imparted on the ball by the fingers, a practice previously indulged in.

In 1949 the law was further amended requiring the ball to be projected upwards only, removing the option of dropping the hand away.

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Overseas Experience for Sisters

Three-times Canterbury champion Allison Peppler, and her sister Mrs Miriam Dennis (nee Peppler) travelled to Australia after the NZ Championships to compete in the Australian Open in Melbourne. They were largely unsuccessful at that tournament but then travelled north to compete in the Sydney Metropolitan Championships where they won the women’s doubles.

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More New Affiliations

Waikato re-affiliated this year, after a brief pre-war membership as Hamilton. A new Association was formed in Northland comprising three sub-Associations: Bay of Islands, Northern Wairoa and Whangarei. Northland, like other largely rural Associations, covered a vast area and any Association-wide interclub would have been handicapped by the post-war petrol rationing still in place. For this reason, no club affiliated directly to Northland but instead to its local sub-Association. Even within a sub-Association, a return trip of eighty miles for interclub was not uncommon.

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