Erwin Klein

Last updated
Erwin Klein
Full nameErwin Klein
NationalityAmerican
Born(1938-06-06)6 June 1938
Died30 September 1992(1992-09-30) (aged 54)
Los Angeles, California
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1956 Tokyo Mixed

Erwin Klein (June 6, 1938 - September 30, 1992) [1] [2] was a male table tennis player from the United States, who four times US Open Table Tennis Singles Champion. [3] [4] His nickname was Chubby. [5] He won a gold medal in the Mixed Doubles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1956. [6]

Biography

Klein lived in Los Angeles and was Jewish. [7] [8] He attended Fairfax High School, UCLA and Cal-Berkeley. [5] [9]

He was Southern California men's champion at the age of 11. [10] Klein won the U.S. National Boys 15-under Championship (at age 13) and the respective age groups at age 16, 17, and 18. [9] At age 18, he also won the National Juniors title, and the National Men's Singles and Doubles Championships. [9] In 1955, he and Richard Bergmann won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Doubles Championship. [7]

In 1956, he, 17 years old, and Leah Neuberger won the World Table Tennis Mixed Doubles Championship in Tokyo. [7] [11] was a four-time US Open Table Tennis Singles Champion. In 1956 and 1961, he was the U.S. singles champion. [9] [12] In both 1964 and 1965, he won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Singles Championship, and he and Bernard Bukiet won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Doubles Championship. [9] [7] [13]

In 1973, he was a member of the United States table tennis team that competed against China. [9]

In 1990, Klein was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. [9]

He was shot to death in Los Angeles by a business partner in an argument on September 30, 1992. The shooter then killed himself. [14]

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References

  1. Profiles. Erwin Klein teamusa.org
  2. "Erwin Klein in US, Social Security Death Index". Fold3. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  3. "USA Table Tennis Magazine (2014 Winter)". Issuu.
  4. Communications, Emmis (July 11, 1998). Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis Communications via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 "Boys' Life". Boy Scouts of America, Inc. January 11, 1956 via Google Books.
  6. "ITTF_Database". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House. 2008. ISBN   9781602800137 via Google Books.
  8. "CHAMP OF THE CHOP AND LOOP". Sports Illustrated.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". scjewishsportshof.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  10. "Cream of the Table Tennis Set". The New York Times. March 21, 1972.
  11. "SCOREBOARD". Sports Illustrated.
    - "Leah Thall-Neuberger". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
    - "THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Results" (PDF). Table Tennis. 14 (8): 4. May 1956. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  12. Lipsyte, Robert M. (April 21, 1962). "Miles, 36, Takes Pro Table Tennis From Klein, 3 to 2; Miles' Defense Impressive Expert but Dull". The New York Times.
  13. "Table Tennis Champ". The Daily Banner. January 3, 1966. p. 6 via Indiana State Library.
  14. "Erwin Klein". United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015.