The Irrepressible Ed Dold

All

Over the long span of my decades of playing squash, I've observed matches that have made lasting impressions on me. Some entertaining, some enthralling, a few that were boring, and as a tournament was winding down - matches that were significant and meaningful. Matches on local levels; matches on the national level; matches that had influenced the playing of my game. Given that I had been made a goal of playing the Nationals for a number of years, I got to know some accomplished players - particularly the ones competing in my age group.

One of the most memorable experiences was during the era of the hardball game. The year was 1991. The place was New Haven, Conn. The site was Yale University's grand Payne Whitney Gym.  I believe that there were 23 singles courts and a doubles court in the facility. And on this particular February weekend of the Nationals, the squash venue was teeming with nearly 600 men and women players from across the country, all excited for the opportunity of renewing old acquaintances and vying for a chance to win one of the coveted age group titles. The excitement of the first day of the tournament was palpable.

But in my mind, some of these most notable matches in my lifetime were the one that I DID NOT WITNESS. 

Each season a calendar of events was organized by the Northern California Squash Racquets Association. One of the early tournaments of each season was played in the Fall - the Ralfe Miller Singles Invitational in Harmon Gym on the UC Berkeley Campus which was ably run by Cal's Squash Coach Dick Crawford and his band of students. The 5 squash courts, which date back to 1934, were put to good use by players from across the Bay Area. 

The two dominant players in the region at the time were two Princeton graduates - Luke Evnin and Bill Ullman.  For a number of years, when they resided in the Bay Area, they competed in virtually every finals against each other.

Joe Ginet Invitational - Fresno, October

Olympic Club C-D Tournament, October

Venice Squash Club Championships, October

Ralfe D. Miller - UC Berkeley, November

University Club of SF, December

Olympic Club Invitational, January

Cate School Championships, Carpenteria, February

California State Championships, February

The Northern Calif. Squash Racquets Championships, February

The Pacific Coast Singles Championships, March

But that string of seemingly routine victories unexpectedly came to an end at the Ralfe Miller in Berkeley with an outstanding win by Berkeley grad Ed Dold. 

Dold was a fine player and for most of the NorCal tournaments one could always count on his participation.  The top players from the Bay Area were also competing that weekend: Paul Gessling and Kris Surano, were among others (sorry for the players omissions - it's been over 30 years!  I don't believe I played having committed to another engagement.

The "A" draw was rounding into form with Evnin and Ullman gaining the semis as was expected. Dold made it to the semis as well. won his semi-final match - beating one of the two Princetonians - to gain a place in the finals to face either Luke or Bill. 

A few days later I heard through the buzzing squash grapevine that Ed broke through! He beat one of the Tigers that weekend!. I was astounded, flabbergasted, and happy for Ed all at the same moment!  And for good measure, he beat the other Tiger later that season competing in a tourney in L.A.! Two great wins in one squash year. GO BEARS!

On those two occasions, the stars aligned! Lightening was caught in a bottle! The Red Sea parted!. What a glorious time!

John

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