Received via Stan Wolpoff after the 2009 State Doubles and Hall Of Fame tourney and banquet. -ed.
What a great event. I am sharing some of my experiences for your humor and maybe enjoyment.
I can remember a couple of my shots going to the intended location during my match. Three games later I was Reffing a new and previous Hall of Fame team. It was great seeing Steve diving, retrieving and making great saves, with Harv keeping everything in play. The rallies finally would end with a great pass shot by either team or a rollout by the other team.
Thank you for setting up the consolation for a few more surprises I experienced on the court. I then took in Jake and Lane winning a consolation match and then to the big Kahuna of Handball, the OPEN. It was simply marvelous to see Mark hit the rollout serves and flat kills from the ceiling back wall shots. To see Mike hit the fly kills to the right corner from 20 to 35 feet, and of course those sidewall slider and crouch serves. The other side had Kevin making the unbelievable saves, the underhand fist shots to the high corner and around to the sidewall, 6” from the back wall, making for some shots impossible to retrieve. He also had some great Z serves. Then there was Bear, recovering from a left finger break, pounding the ball with both hands and getting great serves down the right. In the second game at 20, he went for a crushing left hand at 35 foot, missing by ¼”. Mark and Mike came in, but were held at 19. Bear and Kevin came in to play an unbelievable rally to be finished by Kevin diving, brushing Mike on the way in, to get a rollout retrieve, and then on to the tiebreaker. It was a high-energy event, which included both partners going for the same shot at times. At one point, a classic avoidable occurred, that was called.
The Banquet was as good as it gets. The only comparable moments of the past, that I have seen, were Robin’s acceptance and Arnie’s presentation of Slime handball over the last two years
Ed was kind of like Johnny Carson; he did not over play his hand but keep things going. The jokes were good and the Intro to the Hall of Fame inductees was a presentation of creative genius. Hopefully it can be posted on the COHANDBALL web.
Gene’s presentation was interesting, particularly the third world view of Handball. Since 60% of the handball players are 60 or older, it was great to hear about the local developmental program.
The intro by Bob and especially Betty of Bob Johnston was great, and his acceptance speech covering his priorities made me wish I had seen him play. Obviously he is a very lucky guy and very good to beat Price and Bauer.
Louie on Louie was great also. Sharing his love for his cat and the emotions he felt when Louie quit smoking was heart felt. Louie Lambert over coming the Achilles and back injuries is certainly inspirational. He still is a great play with lots of energy for sure.
Steve’s intro to Harv was of course great. Certainly I am one of the folks that did not experience Harv playing in his open period with the well-known partners. Sorry I missed those times. Besides a smooth player he is definitely a great coach.