The World’s Two Best Players Spend 40 Days in New Zealand

World-class players have been parading through New Zealand since 1937, with Barna and Bergmann’s 1949 tour and the Rowe twins in 1953 the stand-out acts up until now. But in terms of sheer scale, public interest, attendance figures, media coverage and entertainment value, the 1957 visit by Japanese stars Toshiaki Tanaka and Ichiro Ogimura eclipsed all that had gone before. Both had won the world singles twice, one or the other winning every year since 1954. Tanaka was the reigning world champion while Ogimura held the world mixed doubles title.

They toured New Zealand for 40 days playing 28 contests, some in towns as small as Reefton. In major centres crowds exceeded 1,000 while audiences of several hundred were a regular feature in the smaller centres.

The two players were small, wiry, ultra-fit and their exhibition matches left audiences speechless. Tanaka used soft reverse-pimpled rubber over sponge, Ogimura plain sponge. They played with the Japanese version of the Asian pen-grip style, with the blade of the bat vertical rather than horizontal. Their repertoire included ferocious serves, powerful driving into the corners, high looping defence and precisely timed drop-shots. They had excellent anticipation and lightning-fast footwork.

Four tests were played with Bob Jackson, Garry Frew, Alan Tomlinson and Bryan Foster flying the flag for New Zealand. Although, as expected, Japan won all four tests 5-0, it was by no means one-way traffic. In fact, early in the tour a headline had screamed: “New Zealander beats World Champion.” In the Japan / Auckland encounter not only had Bob Jackson narrowly beaten Tanaka, but Alan Tomlinson also comfortably disposed of Ogimura. Not to be outdone, Jackson later also beat Ogimura, 21-11, 21-15, when appearing as a guest player in the Japan / Waikato contest.

The two New Zealanders’ sponge-faced bats (Jackson’s was exceptionally thick and soft on the forehand), may have been a factor in the unexpected wins which thrilled the respective audiences in Auckland and Hamilton.

“The standard set by the New Zealand players at the 1954 World Championships was not good,” said Ogimura in an interview late in the tour. “Their footwork was slow and they lacked individuality. However I soon realised from my early matches with Jackson and Tomlinson that I need not have worried. They both showed fairly good action and attractive attacking style. After I lost matches to them I realised I would have to concentrate my utmost attention and would gain excellent playing experience from matches with players of this calibre.”

No other matches were lost by the Japanese throughout the remainder of the tour.

New Zealand’s scores in the test matches were respectable, with one match in each of the first three tests going to three games and seven further games lost by only a two point margin. But overall it had to be suspected that, in the provincial contests in particular, the world champions were holding back somewhat – evidenced by the dropping of games to players nowhere near top level by NZ standards.

The genial Japanese team manager, Mr Hitoshi Shimizu, outlined his aims for the tour: popularise the game in New Zealand and raise the standard. “The success of Japanese players is due much to their continuous exercise and endurance,” he said. “One training routine is the ‘rally of two thousand balls’ - a rally that sometimes lasts for over an hour.”

It was Mr Shimizu who provided most of the humour of the tour – clowning and joking as he participated in “social” matches at most venues. The players were far more serious although their acrobatic antics in the exhibition matches often generated laughter amid the gasps and cheers.

The tour was without a doubt the most elaborate ever organised by NZTTA in its first 75 years. The national body lost £200 in financial terms but won it back ten times over in public goodwill. District Associations were estimated to have profited by a collective total of more than £1,000. The touring party felt the visit was too long: 28 contests in 40 days and travelling the country from end to end, doubling back on several occasions. “Perhaps next time it could be a little less gruelling,” they pleaded. But they gave their best throughout and were popular wherever they went. The visit of Toshiaki Tanaka and Ichiro Ogimura with their manager Mr Hitoshi Shimizu from 21 July to 29 August, 1957 will endure as a classic event in NZTTA history.

L/R: Garry Frew, Alan Tomlinson, World Champion Toshiaki Tanaka, and  World no 2 Ichiro Ogimura,
Hitoshi Shimizu (Japanese manager), Frank Johnson (at microphone). Whangarei

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International Debut for Bryan Foster, Age 17

Bryan Foster’s name was practically unknown until last year’s NZ Championships when, unseeded, he sensationally won the junior boys singles. But that feat was dwarfed by his performances in the first half of this year. He won the South Island open singles title (his first of many) and then, selected to play in the trials to determine the NZ team for the four tests against Japan, beat every other trialist except Bob Jackson. His surprised victims included Garry Frew, Alan Tomlinson and Murray Dunn. This left him a certainty for selection, especially considering the unavailability of fourth-ranked Owen Jaine who did not play in the trials.

New Zealand’s top three players (Jackson, Frew and Tomlinson) were the obvious choices for the other places. Tomlinson played doubles only for the first three tests and singles in the fourth for which Jackson was not available. Frew and Foster alternated in the other singles spots, playing two tests each.

Bryan Foster’s first match was a singles against the world champion. Can a more daunting introduction to international play possibly be imagined for a 17 year old? And it happened twice, at two levels. His opening match in the Otago / Japan contest was against Toshiaki Tanaka. He managed to deprive him of a game, as did Otago’s other singles player – sponge-batted Bill Scott. 17 days later, now representing New Zealand, Foster’s first match was, again, a singles against world champion Tanaka. This time he was well beaten but held his own against Ichiro Ogimura, who was handicapped somewhat by influenza. One of Foster’s strengths, the high looping defensive shot to the backhand corner, was working well in that match. In the next test he was beaten decisively by both players, although he managed double figures in all games.

The series against Japan was also the first outing in New Zealand colours for the much more experienced Alan Tomlinson, now aged 23.

As expected, Jackson and Tomlinson played with sponge bats. Their exclusively New Zealand “black stuff” on the backhand (refer 1955 NZ Championships article) initially bewildered the Japanese with its heavy spin. Frew retained his faithful hard pimples while Foster played this season with sponge on one side and pimples on the other.

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Japan Tour Plans – Administrative Nightmare

Attempts to arrange a tour of New Zealand by top Japanese players go back almost to the day Japan burst onto the world scene in 1952. Many letters to the Japanese Association suggesting a tour went unanswered. Communication improved in 1954 and for a while it looked as if arrangements were in place for a visit by two of their top players in 1955. But yet again communication from Japan suddenly ceased and we had no choice but to abandon the tour. This year’s event was also fraught with difficulties and went dangerously close to being called off. Early in the year an attempt was made by Japan to replace their top players with much lower quality table tennis students –a proposal NZTTA refused, insisting on the two originally promised or nothing. Ogimura and Tanaka were reinstated but in early June, a mere six weeks out from the scheduled arrival date which the Japanese had themselves proposed (21 July), a cable was received advising their arrival would now be on 10 June. Rearranging the tour with just a few days notice was of course a logistical impossibility and New Zealand had no choice but to cable back (in diplomatic terms) that they must either come on 21 July as they originally proposed or not at all. A response was requested within two days.

No response came within the two days. Theatres and halls had been booked throughout the country and by now everyone was jittery. Newspapers picked up on these developments and reported that the tour, promoted with such enthusiasm, was now in serious danger of following the 1955 tour into oblivion. In a last ditch effort NZTTA bypassed the Japanese TT Association altogether and lodged an appeal with the Japanese Foreign Office through their New Zealand Embassy. This finally resolved the matter. The original arrival date was restored and, with Ambassador Hisanaga Shimadzu’s diplomatic mediation between the visitors and NZTTA officials, cordial relations were maintained throughout the tour.

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First New Zealand Woman at World Championships

Following Russell Algie, who took a courageous solo step in 1948 to become New Zealand’s first representative at the World Championships, Joyce Williamson claimed the honour of being New Zealand’s first woman to compete at world level. Algie had worked his own sea passage to and from England specifically for the event. Williamson paid her way to England where she intends to live for at least 18 months, finding work and travelling to European tournaments.

And the first of these was the World Championships! She left New Zealand in January and the championships were scheduled for 7 – 15 March in Stockholm, Sweden.

Her entry was endorsed by NZTTA and doubles partners from other countries were arranged.

Emulated Algie

Russell Algie had been commended internationally for reaching the final 32 in 1948. Joyce Williamson’s performance received less overseas media attention but she too reached the last 32 and statistically did just as well. She was spared a round one match by drawing the bye but then had an excellent win over top United States junior Sharlene Krizman (21-13, 21-7, 22-24, 21-10). In the round of 32 she faced Wie Sang Sook of Korea who beat her 21-19, 22-24, 21-17, 21-19. Wie then proceeded to take a game off Angelica Rozeanu – winner of six consecutive world singles titles, the last in 1955 after which the Japanese finally dethroned her. This puts Williamson’s gallant effort against Wie into perspective.

With a strong Australian partner (N Buckland) Williamson beat a Swedish pair three straight in the women’s doubles before losing in four to two French players in round two. Her mixed doubles partner, M Prager (USA), was unable to help her past Johnny Leach and Diane Rowe (both former world champions) who beat them in round two after a first round bye.

Providing administrative and moral support for Williamson at the championships was Vivienne Fleming, a New Zealander from Manawatu, who was also our representative at ITTF meetings.

It was an excellent tournament for Williamson, especially the singles results. The New Zealand press reminded us that Williamson was only our second-ranked player, behind Margaret Hoar, and breathing down both their necks were June Magorian and a new star on the scene, the constantly improving Manawatu junior Merle Rolston (ranked #8 in 1956). Players of the calibre of Lois Rodgers (now gaining international experience in Canada) and Barbara Packwood were in the same league. In the light of this and of Williamson’s world performance there was speculation on how much more successful a women’s team might have been compared with the 1954 men, especially as the women’s event required teams of only two players. But no consideration appears to have ever been given to sending another one or two players to join Williamson and form a women’s team.

Success in Scotland; Coaching Contract

Moving to England after the World Championships Williamson travelled to compete in the Scottish Open. An arena for previous New Zealand success (1950 and 1954), this tournament again witnessed a New Zealander on the podium. Partnered by top Australian Phil Anderson Williamson won the mixed doubles. She also reached the women’s singles final (losing to former world doubles champion Helen Elliot), and, partnered by fellow New Zealander Vivienne Fleming, she reached the women’s doubles semi-final.

Settling back in England for her extended stay, Williamson was talent-spotted and she was offered a three month coaching contract in a nationwide holiday camp programme headed by Johnny Leach.

She would compete in several European tournaments, including the 1958 European Championships and English Open, and would represent New Zealand in one more World Championships in 1959. Although she returned home briefly in 1960 to display sparkling form against two world class Japanese players, her playing days at top level within New Zealand were virtually over and she did not appear on the NZ ranking list again after 1956.

As our first woman table tennis representative at world level, Joyce Williamson was a worthy and successful ambassador.

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Japan Dominates – Again

The closing stages of the World Championships were again dominated by Japan. Earlier predictions that Japan’s success would be short-lived once the rest of the world got used to their pen-grip and sponge rubber were proving to be misplaced. While Japan had managed to win only the men’s singles and men’s teams in 1955, in 1956 they added the women’s singles and men’s doubles and at this year’s event in Stockholm they collected both team titles, both singles titles and the mixed doubles – losing only the men’s doubles (to Czechoslovakia) and the women’s doubles (to Hungary).

European nations had simply been underestimating the speed, dedication, fitness and training programmes of the Japanese. Pen-grips and sponge bats were only minor factors. The Japanese were now better players. And they had not yet peaked. At the next championships (1959 – the tournament was biennial from this year onwards) Japan would win every event except the men’s singles and even that would be won by another Asian, Rong Guotuan of the People’s Republic of China.

Chinese Era Looms

The era of total Chinese dominance lay some years in the future but the threat was signaled at these 1957 championships. China’s success had been minimal in their only previous appearances (1953 and 1956) but this year their teams beat some highly ranked European nations to win their respective groups and were only eliminated in the semi-finals by Japan. The 1959 men’s singles would be China’s first success at world level and they would have their first team win in 1961 when they hosted the championships themselves. New Zealand teams (men and women) would be there.

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Bittersweet Success for Women in Australia

Despite winning all 16 team contests in a six week tour that included matches in every Australian state except Northern Territory and Western Australia, and despite collecting the women’s singles and doubles titles at the Australian Open Championships in Adelaide, a team of New Zealand women returned home feeling somewhat bitter over lost opportunities.

It was a privately arranged tour but sanctioned by NZTTA who also granted a small travelling subsidy to the players. The team members were Margaret Hoar, Barbara Packwood and June Magorian – on current form our best available with Joyce Williamson absent in Europe. Gwen Buckler was the manager and travelling with the team were Violet MacMurray and Margaret Straka, both of whom played in the Australian Open.

The first disappointment was the discovery that no New Zealand player or doubles pair had been seeded for the Australian Championships, not even our current title-holder Margaret Hoar. The next was when the New Zealanders, despite being invited to march in the opening ceremony as a team, were excluded from the interstate team competition. Finally, as our players were progressing relentlessly through the draw in the individual events, a decision was made to cancel two scheduled Australia / New Zealand test matches which were to have been played immediately after the championships. Unavailability of the top Australian women was given as the official reason.

This treatment by Australian officialdom so incensed team manager Gwen Buckler that she submitted a strongly worded report to the NZTTA executive. The committee’s response was surprisingly coy. Records show that they felt “…Miss Hoar, as New Zealand champion, should have been seeded out of courtesy.”

Out of courtesy! Margaret Hoar was the best player in the tournament! She beat top Australian Joan Mulconry in the singles final and, strongly supported by Barbara Packwood, also won the doubles. To complete the New Zealand dominance Barbara Packwood and June Magorian both also reached the singles semi-finals meaning three New Zealanders and one lone Australian constituted the final four.

As the NZTTA committee continued to ponder Gwen Buckler’s report they scratched their heads over the cancellation of the tests. They concluded that they should have been played regardless of the Australian players’ availability since the arrangements were all in place. But it was the failure to seed any New Zealanders that most concerned them and they resolved to write to the Australian Association expressing “… disappointment and amazement that Miss Hoar, at least, was not seeded for the Australian Championships.”

At the conclusion of the tournament Australian official Keith Bowler expressed high praise for the performance of Margaret Hoar, deeming her to be the best female defensive player ever seen in Australia after Diane Rowe, England’s world doubles champion.

Wholesale Slaughter in Team Contests

In broiling heat the New Zealanders spent the next four weeks on an extensive tour and were hospitably received throughout their 7,000 miles of travel. After their performances in Adelaide, the chances of any local or even State team beating them were slim. So it transpired. 16 contests were played for 16 New Zealand wins. Their opposition in some contests included top local male players. There were decisive victories over three women’s state teams: South Australia (7-1), Victoria (10-1) and champion state New South Wales (8-3). In the other 13 contests New Zealand won a total of 124 matches and conceded 5.

Margaret Hoar was in no doubt that this trip, with or without tests, had proved New Zealand women should now be competing as a team at international level. She took the opportunity later in the year to express her thoughts publicly (Later article refers). Joyce Williamson’s world championships performance earlier in the year added weight to her argument.

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Neti Davis Outshines the Stars at NZ Championships

While Bob Jackson and Margaret Hoar were busy re-writing the record books at the New Zealand Championships, played for the first time in Lower Hutt, a 13 year old from Northland was stealing the media headlines. Even Bob Jackson winning for the 6th time (5th in a row) and Margaret Hoar winning her 7th title didn’t upstage the pint-sized Neti Davis when she appeared in the mixed doubles final alongside the gigantic frame of Garry Frew to face the legendary Bob Jackson’s sponge bat. It was a sight to charm the audience and media alike, regardless of the result.

Most were wondering how on earth they got there but any Northlander could have briefed them on young Neti’s track record in 1957 alone, not to mention her succession of local titles over several years in Northland. For a start she was (aged 13, remember) the current women’s champion of Northland and Waikato. She had reached the semi-finals of the North Island singles; she was North Island under 18 and under 16 champion and, most dramatic of all, had just beaten Joan Brown in the Northland / Hutt Valley inter-Association contest, before Brown went on to meet Margaret Hoar the singles final.

It had been a highly eventful mixed doubles competition by the time Frew and Davis stepped up for the final. Seeds had fallen on stony ground all over the place. Such was the casualty rate that the unseeded Northlanders reached the final without having to play any seeded pairs at all. Others did the damage. In the third round a local Hutt Valley combination, Ted Walsh and Fay Inglis (pictured), surprised everyone by beating 3rd seeds Ray Mercer and Pat Purdon (nee Quinn). Mercer, a Canterbury star on the rise, was seeded 7th in the men’s singles and Purdon would be NZ Champion in 1959. In the same round a rampant Bryan Foster and Val Braumann beat second seeds Owen Jaine and Margaret Hoar. This put Frew and Davis against Foster and Braumann in the quarter-finals. It was an exciting match but the Northland pair prevailed 22-24, 17-21, 21-13, 21-17, 21-18. Top seeds Alan Tomlinson and Barbara Packwood were lurking menacingly in the other half of the draw but were beaten by Bob Jackson and his 1956 Australian Open partner Kay Lye in the semi-final. Walsh and Inglis had survived the quarter-finals and now faced Frew and Davis in the other semi-final. In another marathon the Northlanders again scraped home 21-18 in the fifth.

The unseeded crowd-pleasers could not manage the final hurdle and lost in four to fourth seeds Jackson and Lye. But Neti Davis had left nobody in any doubt that she was on the road to stardom. At the amazing age of just ten she had won the 1954 North Island under 16 singles in her home town of Whangarei but this was her first appearance at the NZ Championships. Her fluid, effortless stroking on both wings with body, arm and bat melding into a seamless unit, her solid defence and her imperturbable temperament earned the talented young player eye-catching headlines and rave reviews.

Joan Brown Beats Packwood and Magorian

Seeded 5th behind Hoar, Magorian, Packwood and Purdon, local Hutt Valley defensive player Joan Brown was the surprise package in the women’s singles. She met Barbara Packwood in the quarter-finals and June Magorian in the semis, beating both in four after dropping the first game and dominating the last three with her faultless defence. But she was no match for Margaret Hoar who ran out an easy winner in a tedious final curtailed predictably, and some would say thankfully, by the time limit rule.

The winners of the women’s doubles were an unseeded Wellington pair, Joyce Bratton (later Kapiti and NZ administrator Joyce Harris) and Pam Smith (later Pam Dean). They disposed of, first, Pat Purdon and June Magorian, then Margaret Hoar and Barbara Packwood in the final. It was a superb result, especially considering the Wellington pair were playing together for only the second time.

Alan Tomlinson Emerges as Jackson’s Main Rival

Since 1955 Alan Tomlinson’s game had been very much on the ascendency and he was among the first to seriously threaten Bob Jackson. Few had forgotten the exciting 1956 semi-final between them. This year Tomlinson was seeded third behind Jackson and Garry Frew and met Frew in the semi-final. He had to come back from two games to one down but won the last two comfortably for a place in the final against Jackson. Jackson’s win in the final, for his 6th title, was decisive on paper (21-13, 21-19, 21-13) but, as in 1956, it was a brilliant match with Jackson having to work hard for his points.

Tomlinson had always regretted a decision, made in early 1952, to base his game entirely on his strong forehand. “There was a theory advocated by World Champions Bergmann and Vana that an all-forehand game freed a player from indecision,” he remembered many years later. “So I tried it for two seasons.” In hindsight he recognised that it was an unwise move especially as he had, in his own words, “a useful backhand gathering dust.” By 1954 he had switched to sponge, dusted off his backhand and set about realising his full potential. Even by this year his best years still lay in the future.

Otago Man Impresses

Otago’s Bill Scott (22) had an excellent tournament, with a three straight win over 6th seed Murray Dunn followed by a narrow loss to the aforementioned Alan Tomlinson (22-20, 21-18, 17 -21, 16-21, 19-21). He had taken a game off Bob Jackson in the Otago / Auckland team contest.

The shrewd tactics and experience of Owen Jaine put an end to Bryan Foster’s chances in the quarter-finals.

Local Hutt Valley veteran Bob Campbell caused probably the biggest sensation of the men’s singles when he eliminated 8th seed John Crossley by the startling margin of 21-12, 21-14, 21-16. Both Crossley and Dunn had changed to sponge only a few weeks before the championships and this may well have been a factor in their unexpected defeats.

Jackson and Tomlinson won the men’s doubles.

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Fire Haunts NZ Championships

There was drama surrounding the New Zealand Championships long before they even started. They were initially allocated to Wellington but a delay in lengthy repair work following a 1956 fire at the Winter Show Building necessitated postponing the city’s annual show from the May school holidays to the August holidays. This meant the championships, scheduled for the same period, could not be held there. The Winter Show Building was not a popular venue anyway. Memories still lingered of the 1954 championships when hail had to be raked off the tables after leaking through the roof. (“… winter snow building,” muttered some) and even without hail the venue was notorious for its frigid temperatures. But Wellington simply had nowhere else to go. They eventually passed up the hosting rights and in February NZTTA invited new applications. Initially North Taranaki was the only applicant but later Wellington’s neighbour, Hutt Valley, also applied, undertaking to hold the event in their brand new Town Hall and the older adjacent Horticultural Hall. NZTTA approved the facilities and re-allocated the tournament to Hutt Valley.

But then the Horticultural Hall burned down. A despairing committee of Hutt Valley officials hurriedly convened a meeting and resolved to go ahead with the championships. They embarked on an urgent search for alternative accommodation. With the local high school able to make their gymnasium and assembly hall available the problem was resolved remarkably quickly (within four days in fact) and in plenty of time for the new venues to be printed on the entry form.

Wellington Association was able to supply extra tables, nets, lighting equipment and other essential items so to some extent it was a joint hosting. Considering the circumstances the tournament was a major success apart from some timetabling issues which were adequately dealt with.

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Player of Year: Margaret Hoar

Margaret Hoar was the obvious choice for Player of the Year. She was unbeaten in singles throughout the entire year and was champion of both New Zealand and Australia.

In her acceptance speech to a gathering which included members of the NZTTA management committee she appealed for greater recognition of women players. New Zealand men had featured in numerous international contests since 1938 but the women in only a solitary series against the Rowe twins in 1953. Considering the New Zealand women’s strong performance in Australia, and Joyce Williamson’s in Stockholm, Hoar pleaded for a women’s team to be sent to Germany in 1959 to compete in the World Championships Corbillon Cup.

Her comments were widely reported and media columnists in general agreed that there had been discrimination against women players in the past.

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Equal Voting Power for All

A passionate debate spanning both the 1956 and 1957 AGMs finally concluded with a resolution to allow all Associations equal voting strength regardless of size. South Taranaki led the campaign with backing from Marlborough and crucial support from Auckland. Previously votes were apportioned according to interclub strength with one vote for every ten teams up to a maximum of ten votes. The change was scorned by the media. “A strange situation that differs from most democratic methods,” commented the NZ Sportsman under the headline “Tail Wags Dog”. Sports Digest concluded its assessment with “… logic left the room when the equal vote motion was passed.”

Logical or not, the system endured and has not been changed since.

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AGM About Turn on Sponge Bats

With yet another remit before the ITTF Annual Meeting calling for sponge bats to be banned (the third, following 1954 and 1955) the New Zealand AGM pondered over which way to instruct our delegate (Vivienne Fleming) to vote. In a reversal of previous thinking, the meeting resolved to support the continued use of sponge. By now sponge bats well and truly outnumbered pimples at top level among New Zealand’s male players. A comparatively smaller number of women had made the switch.

The ITTF meeting failed to make a decision and a special committee was set up to report back in twelve months.

England had voted to ban sponge outright from 1958 at all events except the English Open. In some other countries there were moves to have sponge at least limited in thickness if not banned altogether. These were clear signs that the era of the thick sponge bat could be coming to an end.

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Death of Arthur Marshall

NZTTA’s first Life Member and first elected Chairman passed away on 6 December, aged 76. Arthur Marshall was an influential figure during three crucial periods – the mid-1930s when the sport was becoming established; the war years when a fragile infrastructure had to be maintained; and the years of spectacular growth following the war.

Mr Marshall served as NZTTA Chairman from 1936 to 1947, relinquishing the post prior to moving away from Wellington in 1948. He also served as a Lower Hutt City Councillor.

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All-Time Peak for Interclub Participation

After steady increases since the end of the war interclub participation peaked at 2,169 teams in 1957. This level would never be reached again.

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