ALUMNI PROFILE
Volleying With Jerome Charyn '59,
Pongiste
By
Shira J. Boss '93
After teaching writing and film for many years and authoring
more than 30 books, Jerome Charyn '59 has combined his literary and
leisure pursuits with a book about ping-pong, Sizzling Chops
& Devilish Spins: Ping-Pong and the Art of Staying Alive
(Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001).
Despite modern-day visions of a hollow white ball being batted
around in rec rooms and dorm basements, ping-pong — or table
tennis, as it is more formally known — was once a thriving
sport in the United States and still, Charyn explains, has an
underground following of devotees. Charyn, who divides his time
between New York and Paris, is ranked in the top 10 percent of
French pongistes.
CCT: How did you get going in
ping-pong?
Charyn: I played as a kid, and then, in the '60s and
'70s, I played at Marty Reisman's club on Riverside Drive at 96th
Street. It was very popular. Bobby Fischer played there, and Dustin
Hoffman and Kurt Vonnegut. But I didn't have a trainer, and you
can't really learn how to play without a trainer.
CCT: What's the attraction of
ping-pong?
Charyn: It's like an addiction. If you play and play
well, there's nothing like it in the world. You need total
concentration or you can't play. And you fall into a rhythm. It's
incredibly restful, even as you grow tired.
CCT: Where does one play ping-pong
now?
Charyn: Every university has a club, including Columbia.
It's the second most popular sport in China, and in Asia it's as
popular as baseball or football are here. But there are only 7,000
registered players in the United States — there are more
registered players in France. In France, I play on a team and work
with a trainer two or three times a week. [In New York, the only
venue used exclusively for ping-pong is the Manhattan Table Tennis
Club on Broadway at 100th Street, were classes and tournaments are
held. Enthusiasts also play at pool halls that have ping-pong
tables.]
CCT: How has the game changed from its
heyday?
Charyn: In the '30s and '40s, there was league play and
intercity play. Tournaments were held in Madison Square Garden
— that's how popular it was. It was a novelty sport. Ginger
Rogers and Fred Astaire were ping-pong players, although they
weren't trained. A club called Lawrence's, on Broadway and 53rd
Street, was the capital of the sport. That's where all of the
champs played. It was like having an Olympic team all in one
spot.
Then, in the '50s, the game changed when the sponge racquet
came in. The American players didn't enjoy it. It was a combination
of that and television. Television killed it, just as it killed
vaudeville and killed all of the novelty sports. People stayed
home.
The
game you see in most basements is not how the game is really
played. Among trained players, it's all about the serve. The new
racquet is so scientific, it's so dependent on technology and
structure. I have a special racquet, a sponge racquet with pimples
on the outside. It has two sides — one for offense and one
for defense — and I picked the skins for the faces. It's very
hard to control and very hard to play against. It works like a
catapult and sends your missiles back to you. If you tried to play
with my racquet, you probably wouldn't be able to hit the
ball.
CCT: Is ping-pong underground?
Charyn: Yes, it's akin to the chess culture. It has its
own exotica. Among serious players, it's a beloved game.
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