FIVE YEARS OF “PLATFORM TENNIS MAGAZINE”

By Charles E. Vasoll

Congratulations are in order to Wayne Dollard, publisher and editor of Platform Tennis Magazine, the American Platform Tennis Association’s communication with its membership. Five years of publication is amazing. There was no way that I could have believed, when the proposal was made at the Board of Director’s meeting in Chicago in 1999, that this concept would last this long. On the other hand, I had no idea that the Association would bankroll the publication to the extent that it has.

The previous magazine devoted to our sport, Paddle World, survived for about four years. It did not, however, have the support of the APTA. It was a commercial publication that tried to make a profit from the sport when it was at one of its peak times of popularity from 1975 to 1979. Just as today, the advertising of the equipment manufacturers and court builders largely supported the magazine. You probably would not recognize many of the names. Court builders were “Quantum Industries”, “The E.L. Wagner Company”, “Courts Marketing” “Medalist Standard Steel”, ”American Platform Tennis Maintenance Corp.”, ”Precision Courts, Inc.”, “Lomma Enterprises, Inc.”, “O’Malley Platform Tennis Courts”, “Courts Concepts, Inc.”, “Northern States Metals Corp.”, and, of course, “Richard J. Reilly, Jr. Inc.” the lone survivor of the group.

On the equipment side, mainly paddle manufacturers, the vendors were “Bullet”, “Marcraft Recreation Corp.”,”Sportcraft”, “Paddle-Pro by F.L. Fiberglass”, “Vittert Sports” and “Pro-Keds” from Uniroyal. None of these names remain today except “Keds”.

What is significant is the other advertising in Paddle World. There is a full two page spread from Mercedes-Benz in the Mid-Winter 1976 issue and also advertising for Benihana of Tokyo (the restaurant chain), the Woodstock Inn in Vermont the White Heron Club & Guest House in Bermuda, Feron’s Racquet and Tennis Specialists, and Tribuno vermouth. But it was not enough.

The newstand (who would even carry the magazine) price was $1.25 a copy and an individual could subscribe to four issues for $3.95. “SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE $1.05 OVER NEWSTAND PRICES”, the business reply card inserted in the magazine for subscriptions boasted. Remember, this is 1975, not 1930.

Paddle World left this world in 1979. It had a good run but the circulation was insufficient and advertising could not cover costs.

Back in 1999, I expected that Platform Tennis Magazine would follow the fate of its short-lived predecessor. And it would have, except that the APTA is financially supporting the publication to the tune of nearly $100,000.00 annually. Look through the current issue – Vol. 6 Number 6 (?). There is not a single advertiser not directly connected to platform tennis equipment or courts. Even the premier back cover space had to be taken by the APTA.

My question to the Board of Directors is simple. Can the APTA continue to afford this luxury?

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