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Considered an all-around player, Leach was tall and skinny. He was equally adept on forehand and backhand. He could play long-range defence, attack from either side of the table, and had an excellent drop shot.
broadcasts. Leach authored a number of books on table tennis, and also served as a coach for actors Gregory Peck and
John Alfred Leach MBE (20 November 1922 – 5 June 2014) was a British
and ITV during table tennis broadcasts. Leach bought a table tennis manufacture and started a talent search agency. In 1966, he was named a table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
player, coach, and author. He began competing at a relatively old age, 17, before serving in World War II. During the war, he greatly elevated his game and, in 1946, achieved a world ranking. In 1949, Leach became Great Britain's second World Champion singles player. After winning the title, he achieved widespread fame within the United Kingdom, appearing on television and writing for '' News of the World''. Two years later, Leach added a second singles title. In 1953, he was part of the team that won Great Britain's first, and as of 2014 only, team World Championship. He also won 13 bronze and silver World championship medals between 1947 and 1955. As of 2014, Leach is just one of 11 players from any country to win two singles championships.
After Leach retired in 1965, he remained active in the sport. He was England's national coach for eight years and served as president of the English Table Tennis Association for more than 20 years. He continued to write a column for '' News of the World'' for twenty years and published several books on table tennis. He also worked as a commentator for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
. He was inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.
Early life
John Alfred Leach was born 20 November 1922 in Bow on the east side of London, the son of Jim and Emma Leach. Growing up in Dagenham, Essex, Leach hung out at the British Ropes Works canteen, where his father was the manager. There, he learned to play table tennis. Leach was soon spending every spare moment, up to eight hours a day, practising. On the encouragement of his father, he began to compete in junior-level competitions at the age of 17, considered a late age to get started in competition. As Leach began to get serious about his play,World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
broke out. He enlisted, serving with the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
in Northern Ireland as a radioman. He was placed in the same squadron as table tennis player and coach Jack Carrington
Jack Carrington (1909-1984), was a male England, English international table tennis player.
Table tennis career
He won a silver medal at the 1947 World Table Tennis Championships in the men's doubles with Johnny Leach. Four years later he won a ...
, who began to instruct him, and international-level player Ron Craydon Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
. Working 24 hours on, 24 hours off shifts, Leach would spend most of his time off practising hitting the ball to different parts of the table. He also met and practised with two international-level players during the war: Victor Barna of Hungary and Richard Bergmann of Austria, both of whom had emigrated to Great Britain. At times, Leach and the others would entertain the troops by competing.
Playing career
Considered an all-around player, Leach was tall and skinny. He was equally adept on forehand and backhand. He could play long-range defence, attack from either side of the table, and had an excellent drop shot. Viktor Barna
Viktor Győző Barna (Braun) (24 August 1911 – 27 February 1972) was a Hungarian and British champion table tennis player as well as a record five times singles World Champion.
He won 41 World Championship medals and also won 20 English O ...
called Leach "a great fighter. He never gives up, never loses heart." Bergmann described Leach in 1950: "of excellent match temperament and fighting spirit this most outstanding of the English-born players is a good all-rounder who specialises in a cast-iron defence and a fine attack, relying to a certain extent on his long reach." Barna credited hard work, not natural ability, for Leach's success.
Under Carrington's tutelage, Leach quickly elevated his play and became England's top player. By 1946, he achieved a world ranking. In 1947, he reached the semi-finals of the first post-war World Championships by beating Carrington in straight sets in the quarterfinals. He then lost a four-set match to eventual champion Bohumil Váňa
Bohumil Váňa (17 January 1920 in Prague – 4 November 1989 in Prague) was a male international table tennis player from Czechoslovakia.
Table tennis career
From 1935 to 1955 he won an incredible 30 medals in singles, doubles, and team events ...
of Czechoslovakia. In doubles, Leach and Carrington lost in the finals to Váňa and Adolf Slar. The following year, Leach reached the final sixteen of the World Championships before losing a five-set match to France's Guy Amouretti.
Leach faced a tough draw in the 1949 World Championships in Stockholm where he beat Ferenc Sidó, Dick Miles
Richard Theodore Miles (June 12, 1925 – October 12, 2010) was an American table tennis player who won 10 national championships between 1945 and 1962, more than any other player. After his playing career ended, Miles wrote an instructional g ...
, and Ferenc Soos en route to the final. There he faced two-time singles World Champion Váňa, whom he had never beaten. republished in Leach won the first set 21–19, but dropped the second 11–21. He rallied to win the third set 21–17, but Váňa took the fourth set 21–14. Leach emerged victorious, winning the fifth set 21–16. The win made him just the second British-born player to win a singles World Title. He also made the semi-finals of mixed doubles with Margaret Franks that year, winning a bronze medal.
Leach's arrival back in the United Kingdom was filmed by Gaumont British News and shown in cinemas around the country. He became a household name, appearing on TV to promote the sport, writing a weekly column for '' News of the World'', and even appearing in the popular ''Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
'' kid's comic. The "Johnny Leach bat" became Britain's most popular table tennis equipment.
At the 1950 World Championship, Leach lost a hard-fought five-set match to Michel Haguenauer
Michel Haguenauer (1916–2000), was a male French international table tennis player.
He won a five medals in the team event at the World Table Tennis Championships. In addition he won a bronze medal at the 1939 World Table Tennis Championships ...
of France in the round of 16. The next year, he regained his singles title by beating Czechoslovakia's Ivan Andreadis in four sets: 16–21, 21–18, 21–18, 21–12. He also made the semi-finals of doubles with Carrington and mixed doubles with Diane Rowe in 1951.
The next year, Hiroji Satoh
was an international table tennis player from Japan.
Table Tennis career
From 1952 to 1953 he won two medals in the singles and team events in the World Table Tennis Championships and four medals in the Asian Table Tennis Championships. Hiroji ...
revolutionised the sport with a sponge-covered paddle that allowed him to put drastic spin on the ball. Players with the old style hard wood and rubber paddles such as Leach had little chance. At the 1952 World Championships, Leach was eliminated in the round of 16 in singles by Amouretti. In doubles, he teamed with Bergmann to make the final against Norikazu Fujii and Tadaki Hayashi of Japan. They won the first two sets, but the Japanese team rallied to win the final three sets and the match. In mixed doubles, Leach and Rowe were the runners-up to Hungary's Sidó and Romania's Angelica Rozeanu.
Leach tried the new paddles the following year, but found he could not adapt. He was again eliminated in the round of 16 at the 1953 World Championships, this time by Czechoslovakia's Frantisek Tokar. In doubles, Leach and Bergmann again made the final, losing to the Hungarian team of Sidó and József Kóczián in five sets. In the team competition, Leach, Bergman, Adrian Haydon
Arthur 'Adrian' Haydon (1911 – 12 September 1973) was a male international table tennis player from England.
Table tennis career
He started playing table tennis aged just 7 years-old. During the 1927-28 season he was world ranked 6. He won f ...
, Brian Kennedy, and Aubrey Simons won the Swaythling Cup, giving Leach a third World Title. The team title was the first in Great Britain's history, and, as of 2014, has not been duplicated.
Leach continued to compete at international level, making the World Championships the next four years, but never advancing past the round of 16. He made three more World Championships: 1959 and 1961 in singles and doubles, and 1963 in doubles only. He retired in 1965, after capturing one last national title the year before, in doubles with David Creamer. Leach is one of only eleven players to win at least two individual World Championship titles. He won 16 World Championship medals in total and he reached the world number one ranking during his career. He was inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.
Later life
Leach remained active in the sport after his playing days. From 1964 until 1972, he served as the English coach, overseeing multiple European Champions. In 1964, he became vice-president of the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA). Simultaneously, he worked at SW Hancock, a table tennis manufacturer he would eventually buy. In 1988, Leach became the president of the ETTA, a post he held until 2011. As president, he helped bring the 1994, 1997, and 1998 World Championship events to England. After his stint as president, Leach was named Honorary Vice-President for life. He continued to write for ''News of the World'' for 20 years and was a commentator on ITV andBBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Conrad Yama
Conrad Yama (born Kiyoshi Conrad Hamanaka; October 8, 1919 – March 10, 2010), was an American theatre, film, and television actor.
Early life
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Hamanaka attended Fresno State after high school, studying s ...
for an extended table tennis scene in the 1969 film The Chairman.
Leach also established a talent-spotting organization operating out of Butlins
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
' children's camps. Throughout the summer, the organization employed many of the game's top players, operating up to nine camps simultaneously across England, Scotland, and Wales. In the morning, the children would receive instruction and in the afternoon they would play each other. The top players at each camp were then invited to a second week of instruction at Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...
. The camps found 50 international players during Leach's life.
Leach was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1966. Throughout his retirement, he was one of "the sport's most influential ambassadors and promoters", according to the ETTA. He played a major role in the work of Swaythling Club International (SCI), which helps former players with medical bills and helps them attend World Championships as spectators. He was SCI President from 1989 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1995; Honorary President in 1995; and Deputy President from 1997 until his death in 2014. Leach remained a fan of table tennis, but said the improved equipment hurt the sport's popularity among spectators due to shorter rallies. In 2006, he was featured in a documentary called ''Planet Ping Pong''.
Personal life
Leach married his wife Daisy in 1946. The couple had two children: John (d. 2013) and Jeff. Daisy died in 2009. Leach died on 5 June 2014. Upon his death, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' remarked "For many years Johnny Leach, who has died aged 91, was synonymous with English table tennis…his impact on the sport was immense." At the time of his death, Leach was the oldest living World Champion. He was survived by his son Jeff and four grandchildren.
On and off the court, Leach was known for his humility and gentle nature. Despite being one of the most famous players in the world, he would let others have the spotlight whenever possible. For example, as an official at the Swedish Open in 1988 he was entitled to get his lunch first, but instead went to the back of the line. Another time, he purposely missed the team bus to console a player who lost a World Championship match. Upon his death, Matthew Syed
Matthew Philip Syed (born 2 November 1970) is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player. He competed as an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years. He was three times the me ...
remarked: "Leach taught us that courtesy and dignity are perfectly compatible with competitiveness and sparkling success. He was England's greatest player, an example both on and off the table."
See also
*List of table tennis players
This list of table tennis players is alphabetically ordered by surname. The main source of the information included in this page is the official International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) database. More detailed information about their careers is ...
* List of World Table Tennis Championships medalists
Results of individual events
The tables below are medalists of individual events (men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed).
Men's singles
Medal table
Women's singles
The champion of women's singles in 1937 was declared ...
* List of England players at the World Team Table Tennis Championships
Publications
*Table Tennis for All
' (Nicholas Kaye, 1951) *
Table Tennis My Way
' (Nicolas Vane, 1955) *
Table Tennis Complete
' (1960) *
Table Tennis for the 'Seventies
' (A. S. Barnes, 1971) *
Table Tennis Made Easy
' (Wilshire Book Company, 1972) *
Better Table Tennis
' (Kaye and Ward, 1978; )
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Johnny 1922 births 2014 deaths English male table tennis players Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force personnel of World War II