Thelma Thall

Last updated
Thelma Thall
Thelma Thall "Tybie" Sommer- Forehand Slice.jpg
Personal information
Full nameThelma Thall "Tybie" Sommer
Born1924
Columbus, Ohio, US
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Medal record
Women's table tennis
Representing Flag of the United States.svg  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1949 Stockholm Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1949 Stockholm Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1948 Wembley Doubles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1948 Wembley Mixed

Thelma Thall “Tybie” Sommer (born 1924) is the only living American woman to have won two World Table Tennis Championships.

Contents

She received the USA Table Tennis Lifetime Achievement Award, and is in the Table Tennis Hall of Fame. She says that she excelled "because of her natural athleticism and her ability to analyze and remain objective."

Early career

Thall was born in 1924 in Columbus, Ohio, and is Jewish. [1] [2] A tomboy as a little girl, she played much football and softball. When she was 13, she won a tennis racket in a Bingo game. Never having had any lessons, and yet seeing the similarities with softball, she represented Livingston Park and won the City Junior Tennis Championship. At the age of 15, she was the Captain of the Varsity Boys' Tennis Team at East High School, the only girl ever to play on the boys' team, let alone be Captain. She graduated 1st in a class of 550 students. [3]

1940s achievements

In 1947, Thelma "Tybie" Thall won her first U.S. Open Women’s Doubles Championship with her sister Leah. They also won the Canadian Nationals that year. [4]

In 1948, Thelma and Richard Miles were the first Americans to win the World’s Mixed Doubles Title, in Wembley, London, England. [5]

In 1949, Thalla, as a member of the USA Team, won Singles and Doubles in the Corbillon Cup, a World Championship Event, in Stockholm, Sweden. That year, Thall and Miles won the English Open Mixed Doubles and Thall, with Peggy McLean, won the English Open Women’s Doubles. [6]

Thall and her sister Leah won three U.S. National Women’s Doubles, in 1947, 1948, and 1949. The Thall Sisters also won the Canadian National Doubles in 1947 and 1948. [7]

Thelma Thall "Tybie" Sommer standing next to "The Thall Sisters Loving Cup Trophy" 2012 Thelma Thall "Tybie" Sommer standing next to "The Thall Sisters Loving Cup Trophy".jpg
Thelma Thall "Tybie" Sommer standing next to "The Thall Sisters Loving Cup Trophy" 2012

Later years

Thelma "Tybie" Thall Sommer was inducted into the United States Table Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1980. [8]

Married with children, she won several Singles Tennis titles in the Northeastern United States. In 1962, she was on the founding board that created the North Shore Women’s Tennis League on Long Island, NY. [9] In 2003, she was honored by that league at the Babe Zaharias Luncheon in N.Y., for creating the flourishing league, which now has over 2,000 participants. [10] She won Mother/Daughter Tennis Titles in the state of Arizona, as well as the city of Phoenix, with daughter Marilyn, now a USPTA Tennis Pro.

In 2005, Thelma "Tybie" Thall Sommer and Leah Thall Neuberger received the USA Table Tennis Mark Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award. [11]

In 2012, she presented "The Thall Sisters Cup,” a newly created trophy to the winner of the Women’s Singles in the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships. This perpetual trophy lists the winners from 1933 to the present (sister Leah won the US Open 9 times and the World's once; Thelma won the World's twice); while the winner each year gets a small replica, the original sits at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. [12]

Tybie won the first of many Gold Medals in 1987, the inaugural year of The National Senior Olympics. [13] She continues to compete and win Gold Medals, having attended and won the Arizona Senior Olympics, Rocky Mountain Senior Games, the Huntsman Games in Utah, and the National Senior Games with Marilyn.

Honors

She received the USA Table Tennis Lifetime Achievement Award, and is in the Table Tennis Hall of Fame. [14] Thall was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman</span> American tennis and badminton player

Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss Wightman, CBE was an American tennis player and founder of the Wightman Cup, an annual team competition for British and American women. She dominated American women's tennis before World War I, and won 45 U.S. titles during her life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen McKane Godfree</span> British badminton and tennis player

Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree was a British tennis and badminton player and the second most decorated female British Olympian, joint with Katherine Grainger

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Coyne Long</span> Australian tennis player

Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career, she won 19 Grand Slam tournament titles. In 2013, Long was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Heldman</span> American tennis player

Julie Heldman is an American tennis player who won 22 singles titles. In 1969 and 1974, she was ranked as the world No. 5. In 1968 and 1969, she was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. She was Canadian National 18 and Under Singles Champion at age 12, U.S. Champion in Girls’ 15 Singles and Girls’ 18 Singles, Italian Open Singles Champion, Canadian Singles and Doubles Champion, and U.S. Clay Court Doubles Champion. She won three medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and three gold medals at the 1969 Maccabiah Games.

Anita Kanter is a former amateur tennis player from the U.S. who played in the 1950s. In singles, Kanter was ranked # 6 in the United States in 1952, and # 9 in the US in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelica Rozeanu</span>

Angelica Rozeanu was a Romanian table tennis player of Jewish origin, the most successful female table tennis player in the history of the sport, winning the women's world singles title 6 years in succession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilana Kloss</span> South African tennis player, coach, and commissioner

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.

Leah Thall-Neuberger, nicknamed Miss Ping, was an American table tennis player. She was ranked the # 3 table tennis player in the world in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audra Cohen</span> American tennis player

Audra Marie Cohen is an American former professional tennis player and current college tennis coach. She was the # 1 collegiate female tennis player in the United States in 2007. At the University of Miami in 2005-2006 she was named the ITA National Player of the Year and was the National Indoor Champion, and in 2006-07 she won the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championship, the NCAA Singles Championship, and the ITA National Player of the Year award. She is currently the head women's tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddy Blattner</span> American athlete and broadcaster (1920-2009)

Robert Garnett"Buddy"Blattner was an American table tennis and professional baseball player. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Giants. After his retirement as a player, he became a radio and television sportscaster.

Joseph R. "Tim" Boggan is an American table tennis player, official, and historian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Owens (table tennis)</span> American table tennis player

Eric Owens is a professional American table tennis player. Owens began playing and competing in tournaments nationwide at the early age of six. Owens won every major National Junior, and Junior Olympic title. Owens won several major titles, including the US National Championships and North American Championships. He was on the US National Team competing in six (6) World Championships, three (3) Pan-American Games, winning a Gold and Bronze Medal. Owens was inducted to the US Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015.

Gao Jun is a Chinese American table tennis player.

Gertrude "Traute or Trude" Kleinová was a three-time world champion table tennis player, winning the women's team world championship twice, and the world mixed doubles once.

Erwin Klein was a male table tennis player from the United States, who four times US Open Table Tennis Singles Champion. His nickname was Chubby. He won a gold medal in the Mixed Doubles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1956.

Shui-Ling "Lily" Yip is a Chinese-born American table tennis player and coach.

Davida Hawthorn was a United States international table tennis player. She was from New York.

Pauline "Peggy" Ichkoff, is a former American international table tennis player.

Angelita Rosal, also known as Angie Rosal Bengtsson, is a former American professional table tennis player and coach. Born of a Dakota mother of the Spirit Lake Tribe and a Filipino father, Rosal is inducted both in the Indian Athletic Hall of Fame and the United States of America Table Tennis Hall of Fame, the first female to be so honored. She was particularly successful in doubles, winning four US titles.

Ashley Grossman is a water polo player. She has competed as a member of the United States women's national water polo team, for both the U.S. Junior and Senior National Teams, including as Team USA won a gold medal in water polo at the 2015 Pan American Games.

References

  1. ↑ Bob Wechsler. Day by Day in Jewish Sports History
  2. ↑ Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver. Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports
  3. ↑ 1924 Yearbook Staff of East High School (Contributor) (May 1, 1924). (Reprint) 1924 Yearbook: East High School, Columbus, Ohio (Paperback). Content provided by MemoryLane.com. ASIN   B004W4YIYE.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ↑ Boggan, p. 209.
  5. ↑ Boggan, p. 235-244.
  6. ↑ Boggan, p. 266-276.
  7. ↑ Boggan.
  8. ↑ "USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on December 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ "North Shore Women's Tennis League 50th Anniversary (click on 'Archive')". Archived from the original on 2014-01-26.
  10. ↑ North Shore Women's Tennis League
  11. ↑ USA Table Tennis Achievement Award 2005.
  12. ↑ "US Olympic Center in Colorado Springs". Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Home". nsga.com.
  14. ↑ "USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame: Retrospectives". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on June 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ Thelma "Tybie" Thall-Sommer

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.