The Triple Crown - Chasing Greatness

The Triple Crown of Squash?

I've thought that a Triple Crown ranking based on playing all three versions of squash should be awarded to the player who plays them all well.

During my time as a player, the three versions of the game were: Hardball Singles, Softball Singles, and Hardball Doubles. 

In this day and age, my notion of theTriple Crown of Squash has lost luster given the demise of the Hardball Singles game. But there was a period of time when I entertained vieing for the "Triple" during the era when all three versions of the game were part of the game's landscape.

After all, the sport of horse racing has the Triple Crown which gave the nod to the best 3-year racing thoroughbred of any given racing season. Baseball awards the Triple Crown to a position player who leads their league with the highest batting average, most runs batted and home runs in a given season.  The following are sports that see fit to award players with the highest over-all ranking  Why not squash?

• Alpine Skiing
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Brazilian Football
• Bridge
• Cycling
• Golf
• Hiking
• Poker
• Rugby Union
• Snooker
• Surfing
• OpenWater Swimming
• Cricket
• Grand Slam (Tennis)
• Nordic skiing
• Triple Crown Tour of USA Ultimate
• Canoe Racing

In 1991 and in 1992, I became U.S. National Hardball Veteran's Squash Singles Champion. In 1998, I won the U.S. National Veteran's Squash Doubles Champion with my partner, Buffalo's Gordie Anderson. After awhile, I mused, "OK. How about attempting to become a U.S. Champ in softball?" I tried once before in 1993,  Why not try again? Thus, in my mind, was when the intriguing idea of the Squash Triple Crown germinated.  

So I had the temerity to go for it.

At the time, softball and I didn't really agree with one another. To this dyed-in-the-wool hardball player, softball was no more than a mere change-of-pace that was played by a number of us during the summer months. As I soon discovered, it was great for conditioning, but it wasn't the established game that was played in the U.S. To me, the game was akin to chewing gum when the sugar is long gone.

Playing softball on a narrow North American court was not for the faint of heart. When Fall season came around, I was back playing our American game.

Softball (at the time with hand-in, hand-out scoring) takes uber patience and supreme fitness. Opportunities that are created needed to be well developed by a player. 

I read somewhere that the great international player, Jonah Barrington, didn't care if he won or lost the first game in any match. He just wanted to stretch out the first game for as long as he could so that later in the match his opponent was worn down and out. It was a grind. I said to myself, "This was fun?"

In Hardball, the pace was fast and furious and the game's keystone for a player was to create and seize opportunities during a point as early as possible (as least that was the game that was taught to me by my coach at Cal, Dick Crawford). This version of the game, unlike softball, fit my athletic sensibilities. For me,  it was also fun and I didn't have to train like a maniac to be in supreme shape for competition.

I admire athletes who run marathons, but I was not a marathoner.  And I certainly didn't want to train like one either.

The opportunity presented itself in 1993 for the second leg of the Triple Crown came when the San Francisco Bay Area hosted the playing of National Softball Championships. At the time, I wasn’t thinking at all about my ambition to strive for the Triple Crown.  I just loved the competition.

to be continued......