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Table
Tennis—How A New Sport Was Born
The History of the Hungarian Team Winning 73 Gold Medals
By Laszlo Bellak ©Copyright 1990, 124 pages
After World War I, Hungary was in a shambles. They quickly
went to rebuilding Hungary and sports of all kinds became
a national hobby. During this time, table tennis became a
very popular recreation and table tennis parlours opened up
all over the country. Soon thereafter, Hungary started a dynasty
in table tennis that resulted in 70 World Championships before
1938. Laszlo Bellak was a leading player during this golden
age of table tennis in Hungary.
Bellak was born in 1911 in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing
table tennis at 13, and at 17 he won a World Table Tennis
Championship and was soon touring the world giving table tennis
exhibitions. In 1937 and ’38 he won the U.S. Open Men’s
Singles Championships, and in the subsequent years he won
23 additional U.S. Championship titles.
During World War II Bellak volunteered for the U.S. Army in
which he served for 5 years. He was a Staff Sergeant in the
Army Engineers and for 2 1/2 years was stationed in India.
He was decorated three times and was honorably discharged
with the Victory Medal.
In 1950, Bellak settled in Miami where he established a prestigious
lithography studio, Bellak Color Corporation. The company,
with 50 employees, still exists under his name but, at 78,
Bellak chose to retire in order to return to the world of
international table tennis where he is still winning titles.
Chapters Include:
1927 to 1938 World Championships
World Tours Australia, New Zealand, & India
The English Tour 1936
Tour De France
Trick Shots
Music Hall (Exhibitions) |
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