Squash Magazine: USSRA Timeline

History of the USSRA A Timeline Compiled by James Zug; photos from Squash Magazine archives

1904 USSRA founded at Racquet Club of Philadelphia with seven member clubs 1905 Tin set at 24 inches; court is 16 1/4 feet wide for the US 1907 First nationals in Philadelphia; John Miskey, local doctor, wins; first doubles court built in Philadelphia 1908 First inter-city five-man team tourney at nationals, with two cities represented (Boston and Philadelphia) 1910 Nationals held in Baltimore; Chicago sends team 1912 Boston hosts nationals and wins five-man teams 1913 Toronto sends team to nationals 1920 Executive committee reorganized and new leadership takes over; 18 1/2-foot court width standardized 1921 Charlie Peabody becomes first American to win Canadian nationals 1922 17-inch tin standardized for US; Lapham Cup (US vs. Canada) started 1923 19 clubs on East Coast affiliate with USSRA 1924 Britain sends first touring side and 46-year-old Brit Timmy Robarts wins nationals 1925 First US team tours Britain, plays in English nationals; Lockett Cup (New York vs. Philadelphia vs. Boston) started; Harvard becomes first college to win national five-man teams 1926 First non-Philadelphian (Lyman Bass) becomes president 1928 First women's nationals 1929 15 cities from around country send team to nationals 1930 49 clubs affiliate with USSRA 1931 Men's intercollegiate association founded 1932 Philadelphia & Districts, first junior tournament, founded 1933 Wolfe-Noel women's cup (US vs. Britain) founded; National doubles started 1934 Knox Cup (Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland) started 1936 Seamless becomes official ball 1937 First non-East Coast president, Jim Standish from Detroit; Elko Racquets Club in Nevada becomes first squash club west of Mississippi to join USSRA 1938 USSRA board expands from five to 12 1939 Connor Cup (Hartford vs. New Haven vs. Providence) started 1940 Pacific Coast Championships founded, represents more than a dozen western states 1942 Germantown Invitational Mixed Doubles founded; Detroit, first non-East Coast team, wins national five-man teams 1943 Sherman Howes win unofficial wartime nationals 1945 Grant doubles competition added to Lapham Cup 1949 FitzGerald Cup (Washington, DC vs. Baltimore) started 1951 USSRA begins to publish national rankings 1953 Only time both finalists at men's nationals are unseeded; Ernie Howard wins, becoming first Canadian to win US nationals 1954 USSRA sanctions first United States Open; first individual memberships offered ($10 per year; $50 for life) 1955 Women's national teams renamed Howe Cup in honor of Margaret Howe and her twin daughters, Peggy Howe White and Betty Howe Constable; first Achievement Bowl goes to Anne Page Homer; Eddie and Joe Hahn of Detroit become first non-East Coast players to win national doubles 1956 250 USSRA members; 70 member clubs; first nationals juniors for boys 1957 USSRA has seven standing committees 1959 First time squash televised, broadcast locally at US Open in Pittsburgh; Yale wins national five-man teams 1960 Rochester nationals almost snowed out by freak blizzard 1961 Cragin Green Diamond becomes official ball 1963 Hahn Cup (Indianapolis vs. Cincinnati vs. Louisville) started 1965 First women's intercollegiates held 1966 US Open amalgamates with Canadian Open to become North American Open; USSRA awards first President's Cup to Charlie Ufford 1967 USSRA helps start International Squash Rackets Federation (now the WSF); Sam Howe becomes only player ever to win US and Canadian nationals in both singles and doubles in same year 1968 First glass back-wall built, at Penn 1969 National mixed doubles founded; Hyder Cup, first softball tournament in US, started 1972 Bunny Vosters & Gretchen Spruance win first of five national doubles titles together—only parent-child combination ever to win national doubles 1973 Al Molloy at Penn makes first USSRA instructional film; first public commercial squash club started in Berwyn; first intercollegiate women's Howe Cup won by Princeton; first US men's team plays in world championships, comes in fifth out of five teams 1974 USSRA hires Darwin Kingsley, first executive director and starts head office on Ford Road in Bala Cynwyd; 1,500 members and 150 member clubs 1976 Men and women play nationals together for first time at Penn 1977 70+ becomes official ball; nationals for junior girls founded; Bancroft Open, the first professional women's tournament, held in New York; Wolfe-Noel Cup stopped. 1978 Squash News becomes USSRA's first official monthly publication; first junior squash camp founded, at Heights Casino; first Insilco, national B and C tournament 1979 First pro joins USSRA executive committee: Jim McQueenie; national women's association merges with USSRA; first US women's team plays in world championships; nationals in Portland, first nationals west of Chicago 1981 First world doubles tournament in Toronto; US men's team comes in seventh out of 20 teams, best finish ever 1983 First national softball tournament in Baltimore 1984 First portable glass court tournament in US, at Boston Open 1985 8,000 members and 300 member clubs; North American Open played at Town Hall in New York; US Open re-launched as softball tournament; US women come in seventh at world championships, best finish ever 1987 Ned Edwards (foreground) d Mark Talbott 15-14 in the fourth of the 1987 North American Open. 1989 Will Carlin wins last amateur-only softball nationals; USSRA moves offices to Cynwyd Road; endowment fund campaign launched, raises $1.5 million in four years 1990 SL Green started, first time pros can play in a national tournament; USSRA joins US Olympic Committee as non-medal sport 1991 Softball nationals has more entrants than hardball nationals 1992 Craig Brand succeeds Kingsley as executive director 1993 National juniors snowed out at Trinity; women college teams switch to softball; record 628 people play in softball nationals; pro hardball and softball associations merge to create PSA (Professional Squash Association) 1994 Men's college teams switch to softball 1995 USSRA helps get squash into Pan-Am Games; last North American Open played in Denver 1997 Squash Magazine takes over as official publication of USSRA 1998 Boys world juniors held at Princeton 2000 US Squash Hall of Fame launched; pro doubles players leave PSA and start ISDA 2001 US Jr. Women finish 4th at world championships 2002 Last vestige of amateurism gone, as national doubles goes Open 2003 Palmer Page succeeds Brand as executive director 2004 USSRA has 8,100 members and 265 member clubs

History of the USSRA

A Timeline