Ping pong was an unglamorous sport until a few weeks ago. It had few adult fans, no stars and no press, and on top of that it had a funny name.
Now, after the US Ping-Pong team's visit to China, the game is suddenly gaining the dignity it lacked. It is called table tennis by its common name and serious interest in the sport is increasing across the country.
There is no great increase in enthusiasm for paddling here. Ping pong players are happy that the grin that greeted their game is disappearing, but they are still a rather lonely group. The good players all know each other; In fact, there are so few that some have given up on the game due to lack of challenge.
Few who learn table tennis in their youth continue to play it into their adult years. Although many families have tables in their basements, adults consider the game child's play.
“The game has been dead for seven or eight years,” says George Morrell, a postal worker and band leader who learned the game at the local center for ping-pong skills: the Pittsfield Fire Department.
In Central Fire Station you will find the best players locally. The men play in the evening and often spend two or more hours at the table.
“Eight years ago we had a team of six or seven guys who played all over the state,” Morrell recalled. “We used to go to Springfield and play against the teams there. But after a while we found that we played so much among ourselves that we had to give up. They knew my weaknesses, I knew theirs. Nowadays I only play when challenged word. There aren't that many good players around.
“I would like to see the game come back. It is a good game, there is no roughness in it and women can play it.”
Springfield once had 100 teams in the ping-pong league; Pittsfield held tournaments at city schools. Nowadays there are few serious players. Enthusiasts have tried to set up clubs and tournaments, but failed miserably.
Bruce Marauszwski, 29, is one of them. He is an agile player who can put a deadly spin on the ball. He started the game in high school and continued it while in the military. He loves the game so much that he taught himself to play it left-handed when he had his right arm in a cast for fourteen months after an accident.
Last November, he happened to see Karl Dastoli, a sophomore at Berkshire Community College, play at the YMCA. Dastoli was that rare thing, a very good player, and they started playing regularly. Watching them play is a joy; ferocious serves are met with ease and quick shots go over the net, until a player is caught off guard and loses the point.
This Story in History was selected from the archives of Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.
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