Personal information | |
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Nationality | ![]() |
Born | Tunbridge Wells, England | 28 June 1939
Ian Harrison is a male former international table tennis player from England. [1]
He began playing table tennis at the age of 12 after asking for a table tennis set for Christmas, and soon after joined Cheltenham Spa T.T.C. [2] Only a few years later, aged 15 he won the English Open Junior Boys Singles. [3] That same season he was picked to play for England for the first time, in a friendly match against France. [4]
The following year, 1957, he was picked for the higher level Swaythling Cup team to play at the World Championship in Stockholm. [5] He competed at the World Table Tennis Championships, in the Swaythling Cup at six consecutive tournaments from 1957 to 1967. [6]
In 1960 he won the English Open, the first English born men's winner for 36 years. [7] That year Harrison also won the English Closed title, becoming the first player to win both the "Open" and "Closed" singles titles. [8]
Throughout his career Harrison had some notable international victories, including against Ichiro Ogimura from Japan in the World Championships of 1961 [9] and three times World Champion, China’s Chuang Tse-Tung (Zhuang Zedong). [10]
In 1959 a major change in table tennis came in the form of new bat technology: from pimpled rubber to sandwich rubber. This new material enabled more, sometimes excessive, spin to be used and completely changed the game, greatly favoring more attacking styles. [11] Harrison who had excelled as a defensive player tried hard to adapt but never fully succeeded in making the change. In addition, an increasingly busy personal life (he now had a young son) meant he wasn't able to put in the required practice and so Ian Harrison decided, whilst still at the top, to retire from table tennis saying "'Why did you retire? is a much nicer question than 'Why don't you retire?'" [12]
Despite the issue of the game change, Harrison remained in the English team for another six years and won the English Closed Singles one more time in 1967. [13] He won the English Closed Men's Doubles five times in 1960, [14] 1965, [15] 1966, [16] 1967 [17] and 1968. [18] He also won at mixed doubles, once in the English Open (1960 [19] ) and once in the English Closed (1964 [20] ).
Before he retired it was well recognized that Harrison had dominated English table tennis for years. Harrison was, and still is, the only player ever to have won all three of the English Open Men's singles, Junior Boys and the English Closed Men's singles. Throughout his entire career from 1957 to 1967 he played each year for England in every major championship: The World Table Tennis Championships and the Europeans. In total he played 178 times for England, won eight English National Table Tennis Championships, won over 100 Open titles around the world, and was England number one for 7 years. [21] [22] [23]
John Alfred Leach MBE was a British table tennis player, coach, and author. He began competing at a relatively old age, 17, before serving in World War II. During the war, he greatly elevated his game and, in 1946, achieved a world ranking. In 1949, Leach became Great Britain's second World Champion singles player. After winning the title, he achieved widespread fame within the United Kingdom, appearing on television and writing for News of the World. Two years later, Leach added a second singles title. In 1953, he was part of the team that won Great Britain's first, and as of 2023 only, team World Championship. He also won 13 bronze and silver World championship medals between 1947 and 1955. As of 2014, Leach is just one of 11 players from any country to win two singles championships.
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The 1949 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 16th edition of the men's team championship.
The 1950 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 17th edition of the men's team championship.
The 1952 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 19th edition of the men's team championship.
The 1955 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 22nd edition of the men's team championship.
The 1954 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 21st edition of the men's team championship.
The 1961 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 26th edition of the men's team championship.
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The 1975 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 33rd edition of the men's team championship.
The 1979 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 35th edition of the men's team championship.
The 1981 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 36th edition of the men's team championship.
The 1983 World Table Tennis Championships – Swaythling Cup was the 37th edition of the men's team championship.
Michael 'Mickey' Thornhill was a male international table tennis player from England.
Jeff Ingber was an English international table tennis player.
David Creamer is a former international table tennis player and professional golfer from England.
Brian Wright is a male former international table tennis player from England.
Stuart Gibbs is a male former international table tennis player from England.