LET’S LOOK AT A PROPOSAL TO EXPAND
THE HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE

By Charles E. Vasoll

Yes, I am an “insider”. I have served for many years as a member of the APTA Hall of Fame Committee, which has been chaired by Bob Brown. It is an honor to serve on the Committee and I am proud of the persons we have nominated and that have been elected. They are all very deserving of the designation. In this article I want to review with you the process by which the Committee, who nominates the candidates, has been formed and why I oppose a new proposal by the APTA Board of Directors. First, a little background.

For twelve years, from 1980 to 1991, the APTA Board of Directors did not administer the Hall of Fame or “Honor Award” as it was called at that time. In 1991 the process was restored with Bob Brown as its chairman. In 1992 the Committee selected three persons to be honored and the induction took place at the Saturday evening dinner-dance during the National Championships at the Nassau Country Club, Glen Cove, Long Island New York. To date, a total of 56 persons have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, of which 23 have been added since 1992.

The next step in the process took place in 1996 when the designation “Platform Tennis Hall of Fame” was established by the APTA Board, replacing the “Honor Award” The Hall of Fame charter was formally approved, specifying, “the Hall of Fame Committee shall be five persons, each of whom must be a Hall of Fame inductee or a past or present APTA Director.”

The APTA Board has now proposed increasing the number on the Committee from five to eight. They believe that more geographical representation is needed. It seems to be the Board’s opinion that Region 1 has dominated the selection process. The Board has determined that additional persons, particularly from the mid-west, will provide a broader regional representation in the nomination of candidates.

I don’t believe the Board’s evaluation of what has been done is correct. Since 1992, nine women and 14 men have been elected. Eight of these inductees play or have played our sport in areas beyond the Region 1. It also must be taken into account that platform tennis was created in Scarsdale, New York and the northeast is still a major stronghold of the sport. Therefore many of the recipients came from the Region 1 area. Also, because of the hiatus in making selections from 1980 to 1991, there has been some “catching up” to do. Several persons who were overlooked during that period of inactivity have now been nominated and inducted.

The Committees, in recent years, have “caught up” a lot, but there are probably some worthy persons during that suspended time period who may still deserve consideration. Meanwhile, the Committee has moved ahead. Recent nominations of Rich Maier, Steve Baird, Walt Peckinpaugh and Robin Fulton show that the Committee is not postponing making the award to current, well qualified, persons.

Serving on the Committee is an honor and whomever the APTA appoints should have a strong interest in the program and be willing to accept criticism when a suggested person is not immediately nominated. They should also have a background in both the playing and the administration of the game.

I believe the Committee, as presently constituted, is strong and well balanced. It has given careful consideration to deserving candidates from all geographical areas and I know it will continue to do so. I see no real benefit to the proposed addition of three more persons on the Committee. The larger the group, the more difficult it becomes to hold meetings at an agreeable time even though we use telephone conferencing to enable everyone to participate without traveling.

I believe the APTA Board of Directors should honor the charter of the Hall of Fame as drawn in 1996 maintaining a maximum of five persons, all of whom should be past or present Directors or Hall of Fame inductees.

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