Ian Harrison (table tennis)

Ian Harrison is a male former international table tennis player from England.[1]

Ian Harrison
Personal information
Nationality England
Born (1939-06-28) June 28, 1939
Tunbridge Wells

Table tennis career

He began playing table tennis at the age of 12 after asking for a table tennis set for Christmas, and soon after joined Cheltenham Spa T.T.C..[2] Only a few years later, aged 15 he won the English Open Junior Boys Singles.[3] That same season he was picked to play for England for the first time, in a friendly match against France.[4]

The following year, 1957, he was picked for the higher level Swaythling Cup team to play at the World Championship in Stockholm.[5] He competed at the World Table Tennis Championships, in the Swaythling Cup at six consecutive tournaments from 1957 to 1967.[6]

In 1960 he won the English Open, the first English born men's winner for 36 years.[7] That year Harrison also won the English Closed title, becoming the first player to win both the "Open" and "Closed" singles titles.[8]

Throughout his career Harrison had some notable international victories, including against Ichiro Ogimura from Japan in the World Championships of 1961[9] and three times World Champion, China’s Chuang Tse-Tung (Zhuang Zedong).[10]

In 1959 a major change in table tennis came in the form of new bat technology: from pimpled rubber to sandwich rubber. This new material  enabled more, sometimes excessive, spin to be used and completely changed the game, greatly favoring more attacking styles.[11] Harrison who had excelled as a  defensive player tried hard to adapt but never fully succeeded in making the change. In addition, an increasingly busy personal life (he now had a young son) meant he wasn't able to put in the required practice and so Ian Harrison decided, whilst still at the top, to retire from table tennis saying "'Why did you retire? is a much nicer question than 'Why don't you retire?'"[12]

Despite the issue of the game change, Harrison remained in the English team for another six years and won the English Closed Singles one more time in 1967.[13] He won the English Closed Men's Doubles five times in 1960,[14] 1965,[15] 1966,[16] 1967[17] and 1968.[18] He also won at mixed doubles, once in the English Open (1960[19]) and once in the English Closed (1964[20]).

Before he retired it was well recognized that Harrison had dominated English table tennis for years. Harrison was, and still is, the only player ever to have won all three of the English Open Men's singles, Junior Boys and the English Closed Men's singles. Throughout his entire career from 1957 to 1967 he played each year for England in every major championship: The World Table Tennis Championships and the Europeans. In total he played 178 times for England, won eight English National Table Tennis Championships, won over 100 Open titles around the world, and was England number one for 7 years.[21][22][23]

See also

References
  1. "Friday Photos 74: Jeff Ingber Collection". Table Tennis England. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. Madge, Peter (January 1969). "Ian Harrison Master Craftsman, an appreciation" (PDF). Table Tennis England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. "Detailed Results (page 15)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. March 1956. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. "Official News (page 3)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. March 1956. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. "Team Selections (page 3)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. February 1957. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. "Swaythling Cup results". tischtennis-infos.de. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  7. Edwards, Harrison (April 1960). "Harrison Breaks 36 Year Jinx (page 11)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. Cutress, Bryan (October 1960). "Ian Harrison Completes Double (page 12)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  9. Wilson, Peter (May 1961). "Harrison Beats Ogimura (page 5)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  10. "Birmingham Results (page 14)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. December 1959. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  11. Fullen, Rowden (2001). "The Start and Development of Table Tennis". Pro Table Tennis. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  12. Madge, Peter (January 1969). "Ian Harrison Master Craftsman, an appreciation" (PDF). Table Tennis England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  13. "Two Titles Each for Harrison and Mary Wright" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. January 1967. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  14. "English "Closed" Special - Full Results (page 14)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. October 1960. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  15. "Detailed Results (page 14)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. February 1955. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  16. "Detailed Results (page 11)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. February 1966. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  17. "Two Titles Each for Harrison and Mary Wright" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. January 1967. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  18. Landry, Laurie (January 1968). "Neale and Harrison Provide a Treat" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  19. Edwards, Harrison (April 1960). "Harrison Breaks 36 Year Jinx" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  20. Edwards, Harrison (February 1964). "Barnes Does It Again" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  21. Caffrey, Tommy (30 October 2012). "MEMORIES By Tommy Caffrey". Table Tennis Ireland. Irish Table Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017.
  22. W.H.E. (March 1961). "Ian Harrison (page 13)" (PDF). Table Tennis, The Official Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  23. Madge, Peter (January 1969). "Ian Harrison Master Craftsman, an appreciation" (PDF). Table Tennis England. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2023.


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