All
Rode around Donner Lake on my bike today, but the heat and altitude really got to me. Coincidentally enough, it was during the July 4th weekend of last year when my wife, Evy, and two of our friends rode around Lake Tahoe - a 72-mile ride. I barely completed the trip - a trip that in the previous times I made without too much trouble. Looking back at how I struggled that day, it was one of the telling signs that I wasn't quite 100%. Sure enough, I was diagnosed with leukemia no more that two weeks later.
My journey back to a normal life is a step-by-step process. Patience needs to be applied.
Have a great 4th!
John
******
One of the great squash champions living in the Bay Area, Walter Pettit, passed away last week.
In my early years as the Pro at the University Club, I could always expect a ring from Walter around January, with him asking me to knock the squash ball around with him for a few days so that he could get back in shape and tune up his game a few weeks prior of the U.S. National Championships the following month.
I always looked forward to our sparring sessions because he would practice hitting the "reverse corner" (a staple of the hardball game) in an exquisite manner whenever he had the opening, impressing upon me of the deadliness of the shot when struck at the opportune time. He would win most of those points even though he at the time was in his sixties and I was considerably younger in my thirties. Playing him, reconfirmed to me that the "reverse" was a go-to shot when there was the right opening. It became one of my put-away shots.
(Interesting enough, in most cases in softball singles play, there is no reasonable application of the "reverse corner". Nowadays, there really is no hardball singles play to speak of and with it came the demise of the "reverse corner" in most player's squash vocabulary.)
Today there is still hardball being played - doubles played by cagey veterans, raised playing hardball, still using the "reverse" very effectively. I can usually tell what the doubles acumen of a player is if he uses the "reverse" or the lack of if he doesn't.
More importantly, Walter was one of my mentors who showed many of us squash fledglings cutting our teeth in the game how to compete as squash players should; with class, good sportsmanship, and with humility.
John
******
Adored father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle, Walter Fitch Pettit passed away recently at home surrounded by his loving family.
Walter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918 to Estelle Fitch Pettit & Karl Dravo Pettit. Walter was one of seven children: three brothers, Karl Pettit, Bill Pettit and Sam Pettit; and three sisters, Anne Biddle, Mary Funk and Barbara Finch. In the early 1920s the family moved from Brooklyn to Princeton, New Jersey, which they called home for over 70 years.
Walter graduated from The Asheville School for Boys in 1936 and from Princeton University in 1940. Following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Air Corps and served from 1941-1945 as a lieutenant commander, and then again 1953-1955 as a lawyer for the Navy in Washington, D.C.
Walter attended Hastings College of the Law, graduating in 1950. He then began his legal career and practiced for over 45 years in San Francisco, eventually becoming the senior partner at Pettit & Martin Law Firm. Walter was a pioneer in government contract law and enjoyed many accomplishments in his field throughout his career including: section chairman of public contract law for the ABA, Fellow of the ABA section of public contract law, co-author of numerous articles on government contract law, author of The Treatise on Government Contracts & Default Termination and in 2004 was awarded "The Lifetime Achievement Award" by the ABA.
He took great pride in his professional accomplishments, but Walter also enjoyed all sports, especially racquet sports. He was captain of the tennis team at The Asheville School, and in 1937 he won the Freshmen Intercollegiate Title in tennis at Princeton University. At Princeton, he also took up the game of Squash Racquets, which became one of his life-long passions. Over the course of his life, he won many Squash Racquets championships and awards including: Ivy League Champion, National Inter-collegiate Champion, All American from Princeton University, Five-time National Champion, New York State Champion, California State Champion, Canadian Champion. In 2006, he was awarded the Jesters Cup, the prestigious award of the International Jesters Club for the player "making the greatest contribution to Squash Racquets" that year. And, in December 2013, Walter was inducted into the Olympic Club Hall of Fame for Squash Racquets.
Throughout his life, Walter was actively involved in his community and many organizations. He served as the chairman of the board of trustees of Santa Catalina School for 10 years, President of the Pacific-Union Club and The Villa Taverna in San Francisco. He also helped to found the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Legal Community Against Violence) in the wake of the tragic shootings at Pettit & Martin in July 1993.
More important than anything in his life, was his family. In 1943, Walter met the love of his life, Cherie Sutton on a blind date at the Berkeley Tennis Club. They married in 1946 and were together for 62 years. They raised three daughters of whom they were so proud: Anian Tunney (Peter), Lindsay Pettit and Cherie Arkley (Rob). They were also blessed with several grandchildren-Amy Bacon Clausing (Paul), Russell Norman Bacon (Paige), Adrienne Tunney Krumins (Rik), Catherine Tunney McDowell (Gavin), Allison Arkley Holland (Jeff), Elizabeth Arkley Hammett (Grey) and several great-grandchildren-Peter & Esme Krumins, Caroline & Camille Bacon, P.J. Clausing.
Walter often said he had the most beautiful life that anyone could ever hope for and that plain good luck was the keystone of his life, but we know better. It was his positive attitude and determination that was the key to his long and happy life. We have all been blessed to have him all of these years. "Pop" or "Shaker", as his family affectionately referred to him, will be dearly missed by all those that loved him most, but we carry with us his love of life and family. He is survived by his daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brother Bill Pettit, sister Mary Funk, brother-in-law Judge Charles Zook Sutton and many nieces and nephews that he loved dearly.
A Celebration of Walter's life will be held on Wednesday, July 9th at the Piedmont Community Church at 3:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution in his honor to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. You can donate online at www.smartgunlaws.org and designate the donation "In Memory of Walter Pettit", or you can send a check to The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and include "In Memory of Walter Pettit" in the memo line of the check. Their address is 268 Bush Street, #555, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from June 29 to July 1, 2014
******
October 2019 update
Just recently, I had the good fortune of spending a good part of an evening at the UClub's 4th floor bar, chit-chatting with drinks in hand with fellow member Jim Kirkham, a friend and fellow member of Walter's when they were both members of the Pacific Union Club.
Given his pedigree, Walter, was far and away the best player at his club, but that did not deter him from getting in the court with his fellow members.
How was he able to accomplish this?
One of the many appeals of squash is that it is a game that is challenging, intoxicating, social, and beguiling.
But it also a stratified game.
For the most part, players usually play with other players of the same skill level exclusively. Humans being creatures of habit, will rarely venture out to mix it up with players who are not on the same level as they are.
It's one of the paradoxes of the game and of clubs.
There is an unwritten and unspoken understanding among members that there are tribes within clubs. After many years of being the UClub's squash pro, I have been party to numerous unflattering accounts from our club's intermediate players that many of their club's better players will not deign to play the club's everyday players.
For the commonplace player (in my mind the life-blood of a club's membership), the opportunities for improvement are far and few in-between if they cannot play with better players.
It's not a coincidence that one of the most eagerly anticipated squash events with universal appeal at our club is the Doubles Calcutta Tournament.
Why?
Because there is only ONE draw in which each and every team plays against every other regardless of skill level. How fun is that?
By having only one draw, the challenge is to make matches competitive. Adjustments need to be made.
The adjustment is to assign fewer or more points to each team. Each team still needs to arrive at 15 points to win a game, The better the team - the more points the team needs to tally to win a game. The less skilled the team - fewer points need to be earned . The trick by the handicapper is to design a draw that if one was to throw a dart at the draw, it would be difficult to determine which team is favored. (One year, I designed a draw that had the best team start each game at (-18!). The least accomplished team started a game with (+10!)
Which brings me back to Walter Pettit.
Jim and I were engaged in the aforementioned conversation and Walter's name popped up. Both Jim and Walter would play with each other regularly. Since Walter was better than Jim, they devised a scheme to make their matches competitive.
Jim was given points. I wasn't quite sure of how many points - but points were given. As his account of their sparring matches was playing out, he mentioned that Walter assigned different handicaps to each of his playing partners. Unlike most clubs, the PU Club did not display a squash ladder.
They didn't need to. The ladder was in Walter's head!
******
All
Rode around Donner Lake on my bike today, but the heat and altitude really got to me. Coincidentally enough, it was during the July 4th weekend of last year when my wife, Evy, and two of our friends rode around Lake Tahoe - a 72-mile ride. I barely completed the trip - a trip that in the previous times I made without too much trouble. Looking back at how I struggled that day, it was one of the telling signs that I wasn't quite 100%. Sure enough, I was diagnosed with leukemia no more that two weeks later.
My journey back to a normal life is a step-by-step process. Patience needs to be applied.
Have a great 4th!
John
John
******
One of the great squash champions living in the Bay Area, Walter Pettit, passed away last week.
In my early years as the Pro at the University Club, I could always expect a ring from Walter around January, with him asking me to knock the squash ball around with him for a few days so that he could get back in shape and tune up his game a few weeks prior of the U.S. National Championships the following month.
I always looked forward to our sparring sessions because he would practice hitting the "reverse corner" (a staple of the hardball game) in an exquisite manner whenever he had the opening, impressing upon me of the deadliness of the shot when struck at the opportune time. He would win most of those points even though he at the time was in his sixties and I was considerably younger in my thirties. Playing him, reconfirmed to me that the "reverse" was a go-to shot when there was the right opening. It became one of my put-away shots.
(Interesting enough, in most cases in softball singles play, there is no reasonable application of the "reverse corner". Nowadays, there really is no hardball singles play to speak of and with it came the demise of the "reverse corner" in most player's squash vocabulary.)
Today there is still hardball being played - doubles played by cagey veterans, raised playing hardball, still using the "reverse" very effectively. I can usually tell what the doubles acumen of a player is if he uses the "reverse" or the lack of if he doesn't.
More importantly, Walter was one of my mentors who showed many of us squash fledglings cutting our teeth in the game how to compete as squash players should; with class, good sportsmanship, and with humility.
John
John
******
Adored father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle, Walter Fitch Pettit passed away recently at home surrounded by his loving family.
Walter was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918 to Estelle Fitch Pettit & Karl Dravo Pettit. Walter was one of seven children: three brothers, Karl Pettit, Bill Pettit and Sam Pettit; and three sisters, Anne Biddle, Mary Funk and Barbara Finch. In the early 1920s the family moved from Brooklyn to Princeton, New Jersey, which they called home for over 70 years.
Walter graduated from The Asheville School for Boys in 1936 and from Princeton University in 1940. Following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Air Corps and served from 1941-1945 as a lieutenant commander, and then again 1953-1955 as a lawyer for the Navy in Washington, D.C.
Walter attended Hastings College of the Law, graduating in 1950. He then began his legal career and practiced for over 45 years in San Francisco, eventually becoming the senior partner at Pettit & Martin Law Firm. Walter was a pioneer in government contract law and enjoyed many accomplishments in his field throughout his career including: section chairman of public contract law for the ABA, Fellow of the ABA section of public contract law, co-author of numerous articles on government contract law, author of The Treatise on Government Contracts & Default Termination and in 2004 was awarded "The Lifetime Achievement Award" by the ABA.
He took great pride in his professional accomplishments, but Walter also enjoyed all sports, especially racquet sports. He was captain of the tennis team at The Asheville School, and in 1937 he won the Freshmen Intercollegiate Title in tennis at Princeton University. At Princeton, he also took up the game of Squash Racquets, which became one of his life-long passions. Over the course of his life, he won many Squash Racquets championships and awards including: Ivy League Champion, National Inter-collegiate Champion, All American from Princeton University, Five-time National Champion, New York State Champion, California State Champion, Canadian Champion. In 2006, he was awarded the Jesters Cup, the prestigious award of the International Jesters Club for the player "making the greatest contribution to Squash Racquets" that year. And, in December 2013, Walter was inducted into the Olympic Club Hall of Fame for Squash Racquets.
Throughout his life, Walter was actively involved in his community and many organizations. He served as the chairman of the board of trustees of Santa Catalina School for 10 years, President of the Pacific-Union Club and The Villa Taverna in San Francisco. He also helped to found the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Legal Community Against Violence) in the wake of the tragic shootings at Pettit & Martin in July 1993.
More important than anything in his life, was his family. In 1943, Walter met the love of his life, Cherie Sutton on a blind date at the Berkeley Tennis Club. They married in 1946 and were together for 62 years. They raised three daughters of whom they were so proud: Anian Tunney (Peter), Lindsay Pettit and Cherie Arkley (Rob). They were also blessed with several grandchildren-Amy Bacon Clausing (Paul), Russell Norman Bacon (Paige), Adrienne Tunney Krumins (Rik), Catherine Tunney McDowell (Gavin), Allison Arkley Holland (Jeff), Elizabeth Arkley Hammett (Grey) and several great-grandchildren-Peter & Esme Krumins, Caroline & Camille Bacon, P.J. Clausing.
Walter often said he had the most beautiful life that anyone could ever hope for and that plain good luck was the keystone of his life, but we know better. It was his positive attitude and determination that was the key to his long and happy life. We have all been blessed to have him all of these years. "Pop" or "Shaker", as his family affectionately referred to him, will be dearly missed by all those that loved him most, but we carry with us his love of life and family. He is survived by his daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brother Bill Pettit, sister Mary Funk, brother-in-law Judge Charles Zook Sutton and many nieces and nephews that he loved dearly.
A Celebration of Walter's life will be held on Wednesday, July 9th at the Piedmont Community Church at 3:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution in his honor to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. You can donate online at www.smartgunlaws.org and designate the donation "In Memory of Walter Pettit", or you can send a check to The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence and include "In Memory of Walter Pettit" in the memo line of the check. Their address is 268 Bush Street, #555, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Published in San Francisco Chronicle from June 29 to July 1, 2014
******
October 2019 update
Just recently, I had the good fortune of spending a good part of an evening at the UClub's 4th floor bar, chit-chatting with drinks in hand with fellow member Jim Kirkham, a friend and fellow member of Walter's when they were both members of the Pacific Union Club.
Given his pedigree, Walter, was far and away the best player at his club, but that did not deter him from getting in the court with his fellow members.
How was he able to accomplish this?
One of the many appeals of squash is that it is a game that is challenging, intoxicating, social, and beguiling.
But it also a stratified game.
For the most part, players usually play with other players of the same skill level exclusively. Humans being creatures of habit, will rarely venture out to mix it up with players who are not on the same level as they are.
It's one of the paradoxes of the game and of clubs.
There is an unwritten and unspoken understanding among members that there are tribes within clubs. After many years of being the UClub's squash pro, I have been party to numerous unflattering accounts from our club's intermediate players that many of their club's better players will not deign to play the club's everyday players.
For the commonplace player (in my mind the life-blood of a club's membership), the opportunities for improvement are far and few in-between if they cannot play with better players.
It's not a coincidence that one of the most eagerly anticipated squash events with universal appeal at our club is the Doubles Calcutta Tournament.
Why?
Because there is only ONE draw in which each and every team plays against every other regardless of skill level. How fun is that?
By having only one draw, the challenge is to make matches competitive. Adjustments need to be made.
The adjustment is to assign fewer or more points to each team. Each team still needs to arrive at 15 points to win a game, The better the team - the more points the team needs to tally to win a game. The less skilled the team - fewer points need to be earned . The trick by the handicapper is to design a draw that if one was to throw a dart at the draw, it would be difficult to determine which team is favored. (One year, I designed a draw that had the best team start each game at (-18!). The least accomplished team started a game with (+10!)
Which brings me back to Walter Pettit.
Jim and I were engaged in the aforementioned conversation and Walter's name popped up. Both Jim and Walter would play with each other regularly. Since Walter was better than Jim, they devised a scheme to make their matches competitive.
Jim was given points. I wasn't quite sure of how many points - but points were given. As his account of their sparring matches was playing out, he mentioned that Walter assigned different handicaps to each of his playing partners. Unlike most clubs, the PU Club did not display a squash ladder.
They didn't need to. The ladder was in Walter's head!
******
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