Miklos Szabados
Encyclopedia
Miklós Szabados was a Hungarian and Australian table tennis
champion.
Szabados won 15 World Championship titles, including the World Singles crown in 1931.
.
Miklós Szabados, was born of Catholic parents on 7 March 1912 in Budapest, younger son of Sandor Szabados, flour-mill manager, and his wife Rosa, née Schwartz, a professor of languages and history. After receiving a table tennis set from his mother for his thirteenth birthday, Miklos developed a passion for the game. He won his first major tournament in Hungary in 1927 by beating his friend Victor Barna. He attributed his success to hard work and concentration.
From 1928 to 1935, Szabados captured six World Doubles titles (1929–32 and 1934–35 with Barna), three Mixed Doubles (1930, 1931, and 1934 with M. Mednyanszky), and five times was a member of the Hungarian World Championship (Swaythling Cup) Team (1929–31, 1934, and 1935). In 1931, he won all four World events — men’s Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles, and the Swaythling Cup.
He began studying engineering at the University of Berlin, but, being of Jewish descent,even though he was raised in the Catholic religion, he fled to Paris
in 1933, and then Britain in 1936.
In 1937, Szabados and countryman Istvan Kelen embarked on a two-year exhibition tour of the Far East
and South America
, and Australia
. Sponsored by the New South Wales Table Tennis Association, they competed in the Australian championships in Sydney. The Hungarian pair won every match: Szabados defeated Kelen in four sets in the singles title, and they won the doubles in straight sets. Upon completion of this tour they returned to Europe.
Returning to Australia in 1939, Szabados settled in Sydney. By 1941 he owned a table tennis club in Pitt St. On the 26 December 1941 he married, with Presbyterian forms Marie Alice Bracher, (now Marie Alice Kuliffay) an artist and millinery designer. They had one son, Sandor, before being divorced in 1954. Miklos was called up by the Allied Works Council and served as a truck driver at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, in 1943–44. During this period as a "truck driver" he used his time to play and teach Table Tennis to his fellow Works Council colleagues and play Bridge with the Northern Territory's Administrators wife. As a result he played more Bridge than anything else as he was already an NSW Bridge champion.
He won the Australian Table Tennis Championship in singles (1950 and 1952), doubles (1950) and mixed doubles (1955).
Operating table tennis academies, he was prominent in coaching younger players, including his son Sandor. Two of his protégés became Australian singles champions — Cliff McDonald (1959, 1964 and 1966) and Michael Wilcox (1963 and 1967). He also played matches with celebrities such as the tennis player Bobby Riggs
(1948) and the concert pianist Julius Katchen
(1955).
. (In 1948, the Geneva based Red Cross wrote to Miklos in Sydney and enclosed a letter that his mother that had sewn into the lining of her winter coat in Auschwitz – and thus he learnt of her death in the holocaust.)
Szabados was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.http://www.ittf.com/museum/HallofFame.pdf
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
champion.
Szabados won 15 World Championship titles, including the World Singles crown in 1931.
Table tennis career
Szabados was one of the two most successful table tennis champions of his time, the other being Viktor BarnaViktor Barna
Viktor Győző Barna was a Hungarian and British champion table tennis player.-Personal life:...
.
Miklós Szabados, was born of Catholic parents on 7 March 1912 in Budapest, younger son of Sandor Szabados, flour-mill manager, and his wife Rosa, née Schwartz, a professor of languages and history. After receiving a table tennis set from his mother for his thirteenth birthday, Miklos developed a passion for the game. He won his first major tournament in Hungary in 1927 by beating his friend Victor Barna. He attributed his success to hard work and concentration.
From 1928 to 1935, Szabados captured six World Doubles titles (1929–32 and 1934–35 with Barna), three Mixed Doubles (1930, 1931, and 1934 with M. Mednyanszky), and five times was a member of the Hungarian World Championship (Swaythling Cup) Team (1929–31, 1934, and 1935). In 1931, he won all four World events — men’s Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles, and the Swaythling Cup.
He began studying engineering at the University of Berlin, but, being of Jewish descent,even though he was raised in the Catholic religion, he fled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1933, and then Britain in 1936.
In 1937, Szabados and countryman Istvan Kelen embarked on a two-year exhibition tour of the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Sponsored by the New South Wales Table Tennis Association, they competed in the Australian championships in Sydney. The Hungarian pair won every match: Szabados defeated Kelen in four sets in the singles title, and they won the doubles in straight sets. Upon completion of this tour they returned to Europe.
Returning to Australia in 1939, Szabados settled in Sydney. By 1941 he owned a table tennis club in Pitt St. On the 26 December 1941 he married, with Presbyterian forms Marie Alice Bracher, (now Marie Alice Kuliffay) an artist and millinery designer. They had one son, Sandor, before being divorced in 1954. Miklos was called up by the Allied Works Council and served as a truck driver at Alice Springs, Northern Territory, in 1943–44. During this period as a "truck driver" he used his time to play and teach Table Tennis to his fellow Works Council colleagues and play Bridge with the Northern Territory's Administrators wife. As a result he played more Bridge than anything else as he was already an NSW Bridge champion.
He won the Australian Table Tennis Championship in singles (1950 and 1952), doubles (1950) and mixed doubles (1955).
Operating table tennis academies, he was prominent in coaching younger players, including his son Sandor. Two of his protégés became Australian singles champions — Cliff McDonald (1959, 1964 and 1966) and Michael Wilcox (1963 and 1967). He also played matches with celebrities such as the tennis player Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
(1948) and the concert pianist Julius Katchen
Julius Katchen
Julius Katchen was an American concert pianist, possibly best known for his recordings of Johannes Brahms's solo piano compositions.-Early career:...
(1955).
Style of play
Szabados was strong and muscular. He had clever footwork, good defense, a fierce forehand, and an effective long game. He developed his own unique stroke, a backhand forehand (hitting with a backhand action on the forehand side). He attributed his success to hard work and concentration.Hall of Fame
Szabados was born a Catholic in 1912. (His mother, Rosa Schwarz, changed from being Jewish to Catholic at her marriage.) Miklós died of pneumonia at the age of 49 in 1962. He was never Jewish and thus it was erroneous that in 1987 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
. (In 1948, the Geneva based Red Cross wrote to Miklos in Sydney and enclosed a letter that his mother that had sewn into the lining of her winter coat in Auschwitz – and thus he learnt of her death in the holocaust.)
Szabados was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.http://www.ittf.com/museum/HallofFame.pdf