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The game of international softball squash first became an official Maccabiah Games sport in the 10th Games, which were played in 1977. The competition was held at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which had two courts that were covered by a tin roof and were open to the air. With the temperature in Jerusalem often reaching 90 °F+ (32 °C) in July, the inside temperature of the courts exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) on some days.
The United States team consisted of the top Jewish hardball squash players in the country. The team was led by Glenn Whitman, former captain and number one player at Harvard University. Other players included Len Bernheimer, a top ranked amateur who previously played in college at Williams, Roger Alcaly, and Bill Kaplan, the recent captain of Harvard's varsity squash team.
The U.S. team was a heavy underdog, because none of the players had ever played any competitive softball squash, which is played on a wider court with a higher tin on the front wall and a much slower ball. Nevertheless, the U.S. team managed to earn a Silver Medal by upsetting both England and Australia before losing to South Africa in the finals.
Captained by Bill Kaplan, now a world-ranked squash player on the World Professional (hardball) Squash Tour (WPSA), the U.S. Squash Team eked out upsets again to earn a Silver Medal, falling to South Africa in the finals. This time, the team included another Harvard freshman squash standout, David Boyum.
Fielding its strongest team ever yet still with almost no competitive experience in the international softball game, the U.S. Team this time consisted of three professionally ranked WPSA hardball players, including captain Bill Kaplan, David Boyum, and Stewart Grodman, former #1 player at StonyBrook College. Unfortunately, Stew Grodman sustained heat exhaustion in an early round match in the 100+ degree courts and had to be taken to a hospital for intravenous therapy. South Africa again prevailed over the U.S. in the finals, leaving the U.S. with another hard fought Silver Medal.
Another notable player on the team was Brian Roberts, former #1 player at the University of Pennsylvania, who would go on to turn his father's growing cable TV business, Comcast, into the leading player in the industry.
| | This article about the game of squash is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Squash is a racket and ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. There are about 20 million people who play squash regularly world-wide in over 185 countries. The governing body of Squash, the World Squash Federation (WSF), is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the sport is not part of the Olympic Games, despite a number of applications. Supporters continue to lobby for its incorporation in a future Olympic program. The Professional Squash Association (PSA) organizes the pro tour. The sport is infrequently called "squash rackets", to distinguish itself from the related sport of rackets.
Allen E. Fox is an American former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4 in 1962, and was in the top ten in the U.S. five times between 1961 and 1968.
Hardball squash is a format of the indoor racquet sport squash which was first developed in North America in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It is sometimes referred to as being the "American version" of the sport. Compared to the "British version" of the game—which today is usually referred to as being the "international" version, or "softball" squash—the hardball game is played using a harder rubber ball which plays faster, and usually on a smaller court for singles play, or a much larger court for the doubles game.
Mark Talbott is an American squash coach and former professional squash player. He is known as one of the all-time great players of hardball squash.
Ilana Sheryl Kloss is a former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and commissioner of World TeamTennis from 2001-21. She was the World's No. 1 ranked doubles player in 1976, and World No. 19 in singles in 1979. She won the Wimbledon juniors singles title in 1972, the US Open juniors singles title in 1974, and the US Open Doubles and French Open Mixed Doubles titles in 1976. She won three gold medals at the 1973 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
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Maccabiah sports are official sports contested at the Maccabiah by the International Maccabiah Committee (IMC). Recent Maccabiah games included over 40 different sports.
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