So You Think That You Know Your Racquet and Court Sports.....

Finished up my third round of chemotherapy (!) and now I am back home for the next few weeks.  One more round of consolidation next month which means another three weeks of chemotherapy (will this ever end?) and then it's off to UCSF for a bone marrow transplant (there are about 12 bone marrow candidates that were found that may be a good match for me.).

John

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My friend, David Body is one of many interesting people I have met along life's path during my 40 plus years playing squash.  Over that time, I have tried my hand at Royal Tennis and Racquets, but a few years back, David spoke to me about a game that I still have yet to try: Pelota.  I've seen a court and  watched a match during the World Championships when I was in Biarritz a few years back.  I may have to give it a try.  It's on my bucket list.

THE PELOTA YEARS FALL 1972 TO FALL 1982

I was standing in the kitchen of my small but elegant Richard Neutra apartment on Kelton Avenue in Westwood holding a can of Dinty Moore beef stew and debating whether to have Dinty Stroganoff (with yoghourt), Dinty Madras (with curry powder), or Dinty Bourguignon (with red wine) when the phone rang...

“Er David, this is Bob Falkenburg. I think I understand the English a bit and I thought you might be more likely to come to try pelota if I called you myself!”

And so it started!

I met King Lambert originally through squash at the Pasadena YMCA, and he had told me that Bob Falkenburg had built a pelota court at his home in Bel Air,and would I like to try it, knowing that a combination of tennis and squash skills would be a jump start. I knew of Bob and that he had won Wimbledon in 1948, when I was 9 years old. I lived in an apartment half a mile south of Sunset Boulevard and Bob in a mansion a quarter of a mile north of Sunset. I have always been a little allergic to celebrities and  wary about second hand invitations to well to do people’s houses, so I had told King that I would stick with the tennis, squash and lacrosse that I was playing at the time.

What a mistake I nearly made!!

To call Bob impetuous is a definite understatement! First he built the court and now he faced the dilemma of finding some players .Somehow King Lambert found out about it and was enthusiastic based on his experience  when a group of talented east coast racquet men (not at pelota) had played in a tournament in San Sebastian in 1970.He decided that the way to find some players was to go to bars in the Chino area of Los Angeles where there is a large Basque population and ask if anyone played pelota.I would like to have been a fly on the wall since King’s spanish is wholly gestural and both he and Cindy, his wife are blond all American types. However it worked and he found Pierre Erro and Paco Senosiain!!

My first attempt at the game was highlighted by the warm welcome I received from Bob and awe at the beauty of the court set in the hillside below his house which mitigated the challenge of figuring out the bounce of the ball and the unsquashlike angle with which it came off the side walls.. I also met the group that was to become the core of the saga of the ensuing eleven  years.Bob,Pierre Erro,a French Basque who had been brought up playing the game and who was good enough to have played for France if he had remained there, Paco Senosiain,an Argentinean who had also been raised playing the game, King Lambert, a nationally ranked squash and tennis player and Fernando Gentil,Bob’s son in law and a Brazilian Davis Cup player who was younger than the rest of us and who took to the game like a Brazilian to samba or a Brit to beer!

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GAMES

Pelota Vasca or Pelote Basque (literally “Basque Ball?”? is the name given to the group of Basque games that are played widely in the Basque provinces of France and Spain, where they originated, and also around the world wherever the Basque people settled, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Phillipines, Brazil, Chile, and the United States.

The Courts

Three different courts are used for the games, each of which has different games played on them using different balls and paletas (paddles do not do them justice but is the closest English word)

Fronton Larga. This is a three wall court approximately 177ft by 50ft open on one of the long sides for the spectator gallery.

This is the court most likely to have been seen by Americans or Europeans, since there is a flourishing professional Jai Alai group in Florida and elsewhere.

There are two games played on this court.Jai Alai and Pala Larga.  

The most popular being Jai Alai, also called Cesta Punta, which is normally played by teams of two wielding a cesta which is a curved basket attached to the players wrist and which propels a hard leather ball similar to a slightly smaller baseball. The ball has been timed at over 170 mph and the players wear helmets as protection from the lethal possibilities.

Pala Larga uses the same ball which is hit with a large wooden implement rather like a baseball bat that has been run over by a steamroller. The rallies in this game are short, since positioning on such a large court is very difficult.

Fronton Corta. This is also a three wall court with similar configuration to Fronton Larga, and is approximately 100ft by 45ft.This court is omnipresent in Mexico where frontenis is a popular sport.

There are four games played on this court.Mano, Frontenis, Paleta con Pelota de Goma and Paleta con Pelota de Cuero.All these games can be singles or doubles, but doubles is most frequently played.

Mano is handball. Either singles or doubles. See the following description of mano on the trinquetta.

Frontenis is played with a tennis racquet and a very lively rubber ball. The majority of players have a double handed backhand to guide the ball down the long left wall, although some players do switch hands and have two forehands.

Paleta Goma and Paleta Cuero are similar except that in “Goma” the ball is lively rubber and the wooden paleta thin and light (L 22”xW 8”x0.4”thick)and in “Cuero” the ball is again similar to a small baseball and the paleta thicker and heavier (L 20”xW 6”x 1” thick)

Trinquete or Trinquet

This is a four wall court approx 93ft by 30ft.It has a shed with a sloping roof approx 5ft high and 4ft wide down the left wall which has a grille in the face, a key component of the game. The court also has a 45 degree angle (tambour) at the front right corner. This is the court that Bob Falkenburg built in Bel Air.

There are four games played on this court.Mano singles and doubles (a version of handball, and the most macho of the Basque games), Paleta con Pelota de Goma, Paleta con Pelota de Cuero and Share. With the exception of mano, these games are played with two person teams.

Mano, as its name implies is played with the hands. The ball is again similar to a small baseball. The preparation for mano is daunting. The players essentially have developed a thick callous on their palms which is treated with wax and other things before the game. Imagine hitting this leather ball on the fly over 100ft!

Paleta con Pelota de Goma and Paleta con Pelota de Cuero are played with the same paletas and balls as used in the Fronton Corta.

Share is played with a netted implement using the leather ball. The ball has to be returned in a single motion,much like a poor man’s version of Jai Alai.This is one game that most of us could not play since one has to be ambidextrous.

It should be noted that these are the games that were played in the three Championships in which I competed. Things may have changed in 30 years. Certainly there are now women’s events and the court technology has changed with many more glass courts allowing for larger spectator seating.

The Rules of Paleta con Pelota de Goma in the Trinquete (This is the game that we played most frequently).  A sketch of the Bel Air court is appended to this diatribe!

1 The ball must hit the front wall above the line before bouncing. It may hit any number of walls before and after it hits the front wall

2 The ball may only bounce once on the floor. It may bounce an unlimited number of times on the roof of the shed.

3 The service is from the left rear narrow box to the right rear box and must hit the front wall above the line. If the serve drops short of the service line, the server loses the point; if the service lands in the left narrow box, the server gets one more serve.

4 The receiver may elect to hit the serve before it bounces

5 Points are scored both when serving and receiving.

6 If a player’s progress towards the ball is impeded in the judgment of the referee, the point will be replayed

7 A limited number of timeouts are permitted each player or team

8 A ball which bounces from the floor into the grille on the shed after hitting the front wall wins the point

9 A ball that goes on the fly into the grille loses the point.

10 A ball that goes into the upper netting loses the point unless it goes directly from the floor when it wins the point.

11 The length of the game varies, but is usually to 30 points.

THE FIRST AMERICAS INVITATIONAL PELOTA CHAMPIONSHIPS, UNITED STATES vs. MEXICO, BEL AIR, CALIFORNIA MARCH 1973

This is the first invitational tournament that Bob Falkenburg hosted. His idea was to give the fledgling US players the chance to see top quality players for the first time.

The American team consisted of Bob Falkenburg, King Lambert, Fernando Gentil, David Body, Tony Trabert, Robert Perez, Steve Gurney, Frank McCabe and Ted Winston.

The Mexicans, many of whom had won Olympic or world championships in their primary specialty, frontenis, included Roberto Sanciprian, Jose Luis Hernandez, Alfredo Baltazar,Manuel Beltran, Jorge Loaiza, and Antonio Chavira.Also present were Jorge Ugalde the President of the Mexican Fronton Association and Victor McGregor the President of the Mexican Jai Alai Federation.

The Mexicans certainly were much stronger than the US squad, but were delighted to have been invited, and Bob’s strategy certainly worked. During that intensive week, there was a substantial improvement in the skills of the Americans thanks to innovative scheduling which not only pitted the US against Mexico, but had a separate competition of mixed teams, one US and one Mexican playing together.

I no longer have any record of results, but that scarcely matters. The important result was the steep learning curve for us and the friendships that developed between the two teams despite the language barrier..The importance of this will be seen when you read about our matches against RIOMA later in the year.

The hospitality and generosity of Bob and his wife, Lou was unparalleled, culminating in a dinner at the Bel Air Country Club on the last evening.

Bel Air Country Club has a number of prominent show business members and the club etiquette is not to bother them or even acknowledge their presence. There was nothing that Bob could do to stem the tide when the entire Mexican team jumped up shouting “Fred McMurray” and asking for an autograph. Fortunately Mr McMurray understood the situation and handled it with good humor and grace!

CALIFORNIA vs. RIOMA DUAL MEET MEXICO CITY SEPTEMBER 1973

Following the Dual Meet in Los Angeles we were invited to a reciprocal dual meet in Mexico City. The name of the Mexican team, RIOMA, is an anagram of Mario and was selected because some of the funding came from Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) Mexico’s most famous film comedian.

The intrepid US team that ventured south consisted of David Body, King Lambert, Pierre Erro, Paco Senosiain, Steve Gurney and Frank McCabe.

Little did they know what was in store for them!!

It started off well enough, a pleasant flight from Los Angeles with several libations and much good humor. It was planned that we would have a day to practice, become familiar with the rules pertaining to the fronton and enjoy the hospitality of our hosts before starting the week long tournament which was to end with the finals being televised.

We knew something was amiss when we were met on the tarmac, bypassed customs and then rushed to a fronton where the Mexicans, who had become friends the previous year, were gathered to coach us on paleta and frontenis in the fronton corta.

It should be noted that with the exception of King Lambert and Pierre Erro, the rest of us had never seen this three wall court having played only on the four wall Bel Air trinquete, nor had we even seen frontenis played.

It transpired that there had been a monumental snafu and the television coverage was for the next afternoon, the day after our arrival. Our team unanimously elected King Lambert and me to be the sacrificial lambs for the period of TV coverage which resulted in me playing my first ever match in a fronton on television against a Mexican team that had Olympic gold medals from when frontenis had been a demonstration sport in the Mexico City Olympics. To the eternal credit of Jorge Loaiza and his partner, they were able to put a few balls within our reach so that the uninitiated may have thought that we were merely outclassed, not rank beginners!!

The matches were played at Frontones de Mexico in Tlalpan, a newly completed club owned by Carlos Alamillo, an architect and wonderfully hospitable man who became a good friend to Stephanie and me. We played from morning to evening and I will not dwell on the results except to say that we did improve during this week of total immersion.

The evening hospitality included numerous dinners, a box for a football match at Azteca Stadium and an elegant closing dinner dance at the magnificent home of Fito Velasquez, where Cantinflas made a brief cameo appearance.He also brought the manager of his fighting bull breeding ranch who was straight out of central casting!

I was awarded a trophy for “El Mejor Deportivo”, subsequently stolen from my Westwood apartment, not for my stellar play, but because I had to take a day off due to total exhaustion.

The pelota tournament was not the end of our humiliation! Word had got around the Mexican squash community that there was fresh meat in town. It was casually suggested that Steve Gurney, King Lambert, a reluctant Frank McCabe and I may enjoy hitting a squash ball around one evening.

Once again, little did we know what was in store!!

When we arrived, late, at the club, I think it was called Harrows, after a long day of playing pelota, we noticed that there were a lot of cars in the parking lot. Walking into the building we saw that their owners, who had paid for tickets, were assembled in the bleachers behind the first glass back wall court that we had seen to watch Mexico v California. Not for one, but for two nights.

The Mexican team included Juan de Villafranca and Carlos and Raul Sanchez, three of Mexico’s top ranked players at the time. While King, Steve and I would be somewhat competitive on a level field, after a day on the fronton we were fighting an uphill battle. Frank McCabe, a good tennis player, but a squash novice was reluctantly pressed into action. Once again I will draw a veil over the results. It should be noted that on the second night, in a fit of generosity they substituted a young Mario Sanchez for de Villafranca.Mario was later to win the US Open.

We returned to California having learned a lot about the games, having developed a huge regard for the Mexicans hospitality and love of life and with a determination to get some revenge when we next compete on our home court, the four wall trinquete.

UNITED STATES INVITATIONAL PELOTA CHAMPIONSHIPS, 
BEL AIR, LOS ANGELES 1974

Bob Falkenburg hosted this magnificent tournament at what was the most beautiful trinquete in the world and invited the very best players from Central and South America to participate.

The Argentinean team included the “Hashim Khan” of Pelota, Juan Labat as captain and Ricardo Bizozzero, Hector Leyenda, Jorge Utge, Aaron Sether and Roberto Elias.

Uruguay brought Cesar “Perro” Bernal, Nestor Iroldi, Carlos de Avilla, and Roque Alfieri

Mexico returned to Los Angeles with Roberto Sanciprian,Jose Luis Hernandez,Alfredo Baltazar,Jorge Loaiza and Carlos Alamillo.Fito Velasquez attended in a support capacity.

The US was represented by Bob Falkenburg, Pierre Erro, Fernando Gentil, Paco Senosiain, King Lambert, Frank McCabe and David Body.

I wrote in the program at the time..

The United States team has distinguished credentials and considerable experience when it comes to hitting assorted balls with various racquets, paddles and sticks; however, in the games at hand, they are mere children, but precocious and determined children. King Lambert is the only American present who was part of the US team at the World Championships in San Sebastian in1970 and of course we are all indebted to Bob Falkenburg who, eighteen months ago invited a group of miscellaneous racquet men to his new court and taught us all he knew about pelota…if only he knew more, who knows how good we would be??!

The matches were arranged in several different formats designed to give the US players the opportunity to play both with and against the best players in the world. It was character building. There were also very serious competitive exhibition matches, particularly between the Argentineans and the Uruguayans. One paleta cuero match in particular comes to mind. Things were reaching a climax when the popular Uruguayan” Perro” Bernal was struck behind the ear by an errant shot from his partner, Nestor Iroldi. The leather ball did significant damage and Perro was kept in the UCLA medical center for a couple of days. It brought home the fact that this game had to be respected.

We were lucky, apart from the occasional sprain; the only other injury that I can recall in all those years was when I accidentally broke Bob Falkenburg's nose with an errant ball. Hard rubber this time, but none the less damaging. We all repaired to the UCLA emergency room, including Jerry West, the basketball player who had been watching. Lou Falkenburg, knowing how bad I felt thoughtfully invited me to stay at the house for dinner.

The visitors, particularly those from Argentine and Uruguay, also treated us to some trick matches. Playing with the handle of the pelota, playing with a taped up beer bottle, using only the backhand of the left hand. It didn’t make much difference against us, so skilled were they!!

I have not mentioned the Mexicans, however it was gratifying that the US players had improved so much over the preceding two years that we actually were able to beat the Mexicans more often than not, albeit on their least favorite court. Sweet revenge for the beating they gave us on their fronton in Mexico, our least favorite court!!

Another memorable thing about the tournament had to do with the spectators. Bob’s mother, his sister Jinx ,daughter Claudia and son Bobby. Tennis greats Jack Kramer, Frank Sedgman, Gene Mako,Vic Seixas,Tony Trabert, and other celebrities including Jerry West and Sugar Ray Robinson.

The relationships that we developed with the Argentineans and the Uruguayans would prove most valuable when King Lambert and I ventured south to Montevideo later in 1974.

VII CAMPEONATOS DEL MUNDO MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY, NOVEMBER 1974

King Lambert and I went down to South America to represent the US in the world championships. There was one other player, Pedro Baccallao,who played frontenis,and a full US Jai Alai team. King had entered us in paleta goma and cuero in both the trinquete and the fronton and had entered himself and Pedro in frontenis! I don’t recall why Pierre Erro did not join us. We would have been a much stronger team.

I have mislaid the newspaper clippings that I brought back with all the scores but suffice it to say that we played as hard as possible usually in a losing cause, but our efforts were well received. We were made very welcome, particularly by the Argentinians, Uruguayans and Mexicans who had played in the Bel Air Invitational earlier in the year.

My recollection of the games is that they were very well attended by spectators; in fact it was difficult to get into the trinquetes particularly for the mano competition..The fronton that we played on was quite old, and was much larger than we had seen in Mexico. I recall standing at the back wall and wondering whether I could get the leather ball to the front wall and back to the restraining line.

The press was nice to us, but could not resist this.

A mano? Nooo!duele mucho, nos gusta más ver partidos

Se han ganado la simpatía de todos. Juega Estados Unidos en paleta argentina, están ellos, en paleta española, también están al firme y sea en trinquete o frontón. Son David Body y Kingman Lambert, dos rubios muy simpáticos, para quienos Bernal el día que se les gano en española, pidió el aplauso de las tribunas. Ayer volvieron a perder pero eso no interesa, porque vinieron a competir a participar de la fiesta del deporte vasco…….En una mezcla de español y gestos surgió este dialogo:

Juegan todas las especialidades?

Preferimos la argentina en trinquete, especialidad en la que hace dos años venimos insistiendo. La española no nos gusta tanto. Más nos agrada ver a los mejores jugadores.

Que les sorprendió mas del mundial?

Los trinquetes. Espectáculos lindísimos con esas tribunas de 2 o 3 pisos que dan calor al partido. Nos sentimos rodeados, estimulados.Nosotros hemos jugado tenis en muchas paises, pero sin este ambiente, sin este furor.

Los mejores jugadores?

Bernal  y Iroldi son muy  Fuertes.Utge, intelligente, Bizzozzero y Sehter, grandes jugadores, Se aprende, viendolos e ellos.

No “tienen” zurda?

En tenis, la zurda se utiliza para elevar la pelota para el saque, es como se dice, el brazo de nina. Por eso no pagamos con ella.

Y a mano?

Noooo, Duele mucho, nos gusta ver jugar..

The trinquetes were usually located behind a bar/restaurant and were hugely atmospheric. Before King and I played the Uruguayan hero’s, Bernal and Iroldi, Perro Bernal, who we had got to know in Los Angeles made a very touching speech to the gallery explaining that we were new to the game, that he welcomed us to Montevideo and that the gallery should support us against all other countries! They then proceeded to beat us 30 to 5!!!

I learned that King is not comfortable in a foreign country until he has mastered the phone system. One of the first things he did was to arrange a meeting with the US ambassador. We arrived at the embassy building which was quite new and which had an open inviting ground floor, but became increasingly secure as we went to higher floors. The tupamaro terrorist group had only recently been controlled.

We met with Ambassador Ernest Siracusa and his “Press Aide” discussing our safety on the streets wearing the US flag and other chit chat, when out of the blue King said “Do you mind if I call you Ernie?”There was a moment’s hesitation and he gave us a big smile and said he would be delighted!!Subsequently he made his first public appearance since the tupamaro crisis at one of our matches and invited us to breakfast at the residence with he and his wife. It was interesting eating in the garden with guards on elevated platforms at each corner.

Another experience was when we went to Colonia, which is about 150 miles from Montevideo, to see the Jai Alai matches. They were also held on an ancient outdoor fronton. There were some transportation problems on the return and the fellow who took us there solved the overcrowding problem by putting his ten year old son in the trunk for three hours!

Montevideo at the time was suffering economically despite it having the highest literacy rate in S America and having a political system based on the Swiss. We generously took about eight people for a steak dinner and the bill was less than $30.00

VIII CHAMPIONATS DU MONDE DE PELOTE BASQUE, BIARRITZ/BAYONNE, FRANCE, SEPTEMBER 1978

This was the most enjoyable of the three Championats that I played in. Not only did we acquit ourselves  well (in a losing cause) but the setting was very pleasant and the company splendid.There were several stories worth recounting!

Our team included Bob Falkenburg, Pierre Erro, David Body and Paco Senosiain.For the first time we had a rooting section. Bob’s wife, Lou and my wife, Stephanie.

This is a good opportunity to list the events that were held in all the Championships since I have an accurate record. I will list them in French. The events we competed in are italicized

Trinquet

Main Nue Individuelle

Main Nue par Equipes

Sare

Paleta Gomme

Paleta Cuir

Fronton Grand

Cesta Punta (Jai Alai)

Pala

Fronton

Paleta Cuir

Paleta Gomme

Frontenis

Main Nue Individuelle

Main Nue par Equipes

Nine nation’s participated.USA, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Italy and France.

The first couple of days were eventful. Our baggage did not arrive in time for our first match which was Body and Erro to open the championships in the trinquet against the French national champions. We each fortunately had our shoes, pants, and our paletas, but trying to find other garments in Biarritz was a challenge!  My build is not typically Basque, and finding white pants would have been impossible!!

The opening match in the Trinquet Moderne in Bayonne had the most electric atmosphere that I have ever experienced. It is difficult to describe the court, but there are three levels of spectators along the left wall and a bank of seats at the rear. It was packed to the rafters.

In the locker room under the stands, Pierre and I wondered what we were doing here and I recall that the Trojan marching song came to us. Pierre was inspired, partly because he was not fond of the French administration, partly pride and partly because he had to play with me! We held them until about 24 all when Pierre became a little tired and I made a couple of errors and we lost 30 to 26.Elduayen and Dibarrat went on to miss silver narrowly and took the bronze.

A few amusing comments were made by the TV and the press. The TV commentator referred to me as “L’immense Body”, and in print the French took a gentle shot at me. Here goes for you French speakers. Apologies for grammatical errors!.

Firmin Elduayen and Francis Dibarrat de débuter le tournoi de paleta gomme, face a David Body et Pierre Erro, assemblage sympathétique représentant les USA. Les deux compères, qui jouent “a domicile”, sont une instante accroche. Il faut dire, que si le dilettantisme de Body peut prêter à  sourire, la détente et la dextérité d’Erro sont disablement efficacies. Que diable, nous sommes en tournoi de Championnat du Monde, il convient de se ressaisir et d’adopter la sérieuse attitude qui sied à présent evenement, Elduayen et Dibarrat le savent, qui concluent sur 30 à 26, sauvegardant toutes leurs chances.

Bob Falkenburg was referred to as “Pittoresque et toujours juvenile”Paco Senosiain and I were described as “pulvarizar” by the Uruguayans.The score will remain a closely guarded secret. Bob and Pierre had a couple of credible performances, and although we were, with the exception of Pelote de Gomme in the trinquet, not competitive with the major countries, I think that we did make a lot of friends and certainly showed our respect for the remarkable athletes who play this underappreciated and extremely demanding  game.

On the social side, it was a delight that Bob and Lou Falkenburg joined us. This was the only “out of US” tournament that they attended and their presence was much appreciated by our hosts. There were several organized and impromptu evening events. One wine fuelled highlight was when after we had seen one of the reporters perform traditional Basque music and dance which involves one person with a drum and a flute like instrument, Pierre demonstrated his terpsichorean talents and Stephanie drew on her Beverly Hills High School cheerleading skills to mount a table top and emulate the baton twirling that is also a feature of Basque folk dance!

This tournament also was the subject of an agonizing architectural professional decision for me and my partner. I had long committed to playing in Biarritz, when a couple of weeks before we were to leave, we heard that we had been shortlisted for a sports project at UCLA,and the interviews were in the middle of the tournament. I had previously cancelled a vacation for an interview which we lost, and we decided that I would go to Biarritz and that the interview would include numerous slides of me, and statements about how I was representing the US. Fortunately we were awarded the commission, and the design of the John Wooden Recreation Center at UCLA was to shape the next thirty five years of my architectural career.

BUENOS AIRES MINIMUNDIAL BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA DECEMBER 1979 

Pierre Erro and I ventured south at the last minute to play in this tournament. This time we only entered the paleta goma in the trinquetta.

The teams entered were from Spain, France, Uruguay, USA and Argentina, the host country

We arrived a few days before the tournament and Pierre and I went to visit and practice in Olavarria, a town some 220 miles from Buenos Aires. We stayed with one of Pierre’s relatives (it had become clear by now that Basques have relatives everywhere!) who had an estancia out of town some distance which we visited. It was fascinating to visit a small farmhouse where a family of traditional gauchos still lived and worked and we were treated to mate from a well used bombilla prepared by a group of old ladies. We also went past a local agricultural college which was having end of school celebrations complete with a whole steer being barbecued on a massive spit.

Before a match was played a couple of incidents are worth recounting.

The arrangement for all the teams was that they would pay travel expenses and the host country would provide accomodation.  We duly went well out of town to some sort of college where there was rather dubious dormitory accommodation with extremely fragrant restrooms. The French and Spanish teams and Pierre and I declared it unacceptable and rapidly retraced our steps and found an inexpensive hotel in the center of the city.

The press welcomed us.

No puede olvidarse la presencia simbólica de dos pelotaris que representaron a los Estados Unidos en la competición del  Cincuentario.Y no fue solo turismo lo que Body y Erro hicieron en Buenos Aires. Pusieron toda la carne en el asador en sus compromisos de paleta con pelota de goma en trinquete, modalidad en la que alcanzaron una victoria que ni con el mayor optimismo podían esperar. Ahí  esta, en pleno esfuerzo, el  norteamericano de Valcarlos Erro, que se trajo en la cartera una golosa invitación para el trinquete de su amigo Falkenburg en Los Ángeles.

The opening ceremony was held in a fronton, complete with a brass band and young ladies carrying our national flags. Most of the teams had twenty to thirty players. We had two and were located between the large French and Spanish contingents to our left and right respectively, many of whom Pierre knew well and even I knew somewhat. The band played the Marsellaise and then the Spanish national anthem causing grins and whispered comments to us from either side and even a bit of a hum from the gallery. Did the band know that I supported the Falklands or was it an anti American statement?  Neither.  A rather sheepish announcement was made that due to our last minute entry, the band had not been able to find the sheet music for the Star Spangled Banner!!

Now to the match. The biggest win in major competition for Pierre and me. We beat the Spanish national champions, Erro and Letemendia by a score of 30 to 24.Pierre was fantastic, and the modest crowd was in shock. I have no record of who we played in the next round, but I know that we reverted to our losing ways!

The press tersely announced

En otros enfrentamientos, Estados Unidos de América, con David Body y Pierre Erro dio la sorpresa, diríamos que de la competencia, al vencieren paleta argentina a España, con Santiago Erro y Miguel Letemendia por 30 a 24.

It is a tribute to the Spanish team, who were going to take a beating in the press back home, that they came to dinner with Pierre and me and some other members of their team.

This was a time of austerity in Argentina and the government had decreed that in order to boost exports, steak could be served for two weeks and then there were two weeks when only other parts of the animal were available.We were there during the second period We went to a parrillada where the Spanish, with great glee, selected the morsels that I should eat!!  Perhaps that’s why we lost in the next round!

1972 TO 1980 PELOTA IN BEL AIR

This is good time to take a break from the major milestones and talk about the most enjoyable part of the pelota years; our twice or thrice weekly “friendly” games.

The core group distilled down to four of us. Bob Falkenburg, Pierre Erro, Paco Senosiain and David Body. Of the players who started in 1971, Fernando Gentil left the area, Steve Gurney went off to coach squash at Yale, Frank McCabe’s work and geography caused him to drop out, and even King Lambert became an infrequent visitor due to the commute from Orange County. We added one enthusiastic player,Miguel Llanos whose charm and love of the game far exceeded his skill at it.  Paco and Pierre also trotted out a series of Basques from time to time which kept us fresh.

The camaraderie was superb. I cannot recall a single disagreement apart from the good natured and unintelligible altercations between Pierre and Paco, and we all looked forward to our games.  When Bob moved away from Los Angeles and we lost the court, it left a hole in our sporting life that was hard to fill.

A few reminiscences…

Bob liked to wager on the games with his golf and other cronies who came to watch. At no time did Pierre, Paco or anyone else bet on the games, and on one occasion when a rather famous figure floated a few bills down to the” players” after winning a bet, Bob had to take him aside and explain that this was not the done thing!

Fatigue is an interesting thing.  Pierre, Paco and I would slowly wear down. Bob had only two gears fast and stop. We always knew within a couple of points when he would be heading for the house!

The only negative thing that I recall was Bobs love of his huge Brazilian hunting dogs, Fila’s I think. They reciprocated his love, but this did not extend to anyone else! One of them bit one of my employees who had to get a shot. Bob’s note to me said that this was one of Tupi’s cheaper bites.

Bob and Lou were prodigiously generous, with me a prime beneficiary, being invited for dinner almost weekly after our games. These were very enjoyable times for me having relatively recently arrived in California and trying to find my feet both professionally and socially (i.e. get a date!)

IX CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL DE PELOTA VASCA, MEXICO CITY OCTOBER 1982

This championship brought “The Pelota Years” to a conclusion and was not our finest hour.

The US team included David Body, Pierre Erro, King Lambert and Paco Senosiain.  By this time, Bob Falkenburg had sold the house in Bel Air where the trinquete was located and our bi or tri weekly games had stopped. Our preparation consisted of occasional visits to the only other court in S California located at a farm in Chino. The owner welcomed us, but the court was larger than we were used to, it had an additional shed at the rear of the court, was not well lit and rather slippery.

We all knew that this was the end of a great journey together and wanted to have one last Hurrah. King and Paco were 53, I was 43 and even the indefatigable Pierre was getting “fatigable”!!

We competed hard on the first glass side wall trinqueta that we had seen, but were soundly beaten by younger and better teams from Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay. By some quirk of scheduling, the French and the Spanish did not get a shot at us.

Again, the Mexican hospitality was in evidence, including being blessed by the Archbishop of Mexico in the magnificent contemporary Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an Opening Ceremony in the venerable Fronton Nacional attended by the President, and the obligatory trip out to the Teotihuacan ruins

One incident caused some amusement. The trinquete coach of the Mexican team had three players vying to be selected for the two man team. He decided to announce the pairing after the warm ups immediately preceding the first match. He announced the pairing and with a great roar of anguish the player not selected punched him in the nose which ran scarlet…Ahh the Latin temperament!!!

Since our return from Mexico City, Stephanie and I have visited Bob and Lou Falkenburg several times at their ranch in Santa Ynez, we have seen King Lambert and Frank McCabe from time to time at tennis events, but apart from a couple of phone calls soon after returning we have had no contact with Pierre or Paco.We did find out that Pierre had passed away in the early 2000’s at a young age.

Did eleven years of pounding on the concrete surface and whacking a hard ball with an unforgiving piece of wood take its toll on my shoulder, hips and knees? Certainly it did. Would I have swapped better joints for the remarkable experiences that we shared for these eleven years? Definitely not!

One of the best decisions of my life was to accept Bob’s invitation to try pelota! I think I decided on Dinty Bourguignon that evening.

David Body. October 2013