All
The most meaningful and fulfilling hallmark of appreciating one’s life is achieving a powerful sense of connection with those around us.
What we as people always must keep in mind is that according to philosopher Martin Buber, the fundamental value in human existence is communion with others. That we find meaning in life through acts of mutual acknowledgment: I’m here, you’re here, and I’m with you.
Dick, you achieved this as few others have done.
The ball may have stopped bouncing, but we shall continue to be appreciative and grateful.
No one should be lost to history.
John
(The following tributes were compiled in celebration of Dick's 86th birthday. Given his well-known aversion to e-mail, I sent the tributes via snail mail. Because of the pandemic, I sent the 30 page collection a full week before his birthday. Believing that he would receive them in ample time, the package arrived just TWO DAYS before the day of his birth - December 14th. (I'm glad that I thought ahead!) What started out as a compendium for his birthday celebration became a collection that preceded his last days before passing away the following year on March 8th. I was heartened that he had the joy of reading the tributes before his passing.)
John
******

Dick
Yeah, OK. I'm reading all the fine words, but actually you're the cause of all the trouble.
You're to blame for getting me addicted to a game that for 42 years has been a terribly gratifying source of social connection and exercise. I'm under its thumb even when traveling, and shudder to think of my cold-calls to satisfy my habit in London, Reykjavik, Edinburgh, Berlin, Dublin, and Calcutta.
I was a tennis player who had only played squash twice before coming to Cal. I'd heard stories of your legend from my brother Fritz and was warned that you enticed students into squash from inferior sports. Still, the stories were intriguing. It was all part of your plot, of course, where current addicts would recruit their younger siblings, which I found when I arrived: Steve Lau, Peter Hornick, Irene Naniche, Mark Jones.
You were my coach for only 2 years before you retired (for the first time), but no grownup I met at Cal, before or since, ever did as much as you to welcome students and foster real community: club, league, team, tournaments. You humanized what is usually a chilly experience for the Cal undergrad. That was enough by itself to hook me on squash for a lifetime, even if I couldn't make the big "bonding-time" team trips back East in the years that I qualified (going for a triple major while fully supporting myself).
Your tireless efforts and enthusiasm created a vibrant, inclusive, and infectious squash culture. Once bitten, there's no cure, and if you get a virulent case, as Ashley did, the thing regenerates. In the short time you were my coach I didn't realize how much you did until I saw Ashley step into the breach. The thing was beyond my control, and I felt compelled to put my shoulder to the wheel and help out, and now I've been organizing and recruiting for Cal's league team for something like 17 years. That's your fault. Even if I thoroughly enjoyed it and have expanded to work with Friends of Cal Squash and Squash Drive.
Nonetheless, you can see from the grim expressions and forced smiles in the 1978-79 team picture that we'll always carry deep psychological scars from your making us wear those shocking neon yellow uniforms. Yeah, we pretended to be all excited about them, but the truth can't be ignored when you see one 40 years later after color photography was invented.
Happy Birthday, Dick! Thank you for all you've done and continue to do to keep the connections alive. You're a model for us all.
John Kunze
Class of '82
Dick,
Happy Birthday!
Little did any of us know what we were getting into the first time we climbed down those ladders into the squash courts at Harmon Gym. Thanks to you, we all learned a great sport, great sportsmanship, and made lifelong friendships.
Now – about that “A-" in Phys Ed. Was it because I chowed a pizza at Kips an hour before one of our big matches?
Thank you from the entire Nor Cal squash community.
Mark Jones
Class of '81
Dick
Not sure exactly what to say other than thanks so much for your contribution to all the squash players whose life you touched for many, many years.
I remember taking your class (because a friend wanted to learn to play and George Pimentel (George was a renown chemist at Cal - John) who was a neighbor of my parents, always talked about squash). I remember thinking that squash was just a silly game and nothing like tennis, which I loved to play.
But after the first few classes I got hooked. I also remember you telling me that squash was a good game to play if you wanted to meet and marry a well-mannered and rich man. Well, I married a squash player - so one out two traits came to being. So I guess, you are partially responsible for that.
You truly inspired many people to play and compete in tournaments and because of that, the program at Cal grew and grew. I met many people through my squash matches that I am still friends with today.
A group of us squash ladies get together a few times a year for dinner in SF. And we always enjoy talking about our old days playing squash at Cal, the JCC, and at Alex’s club (the Squash Club of San Francisco - now the site of the Sound Factory - John)
Thanks for all your years of teaching and inspiring people to learn and love the game.
Evy Kavaler
Class of '77
I, similar to many others, have to thank you for introducing me to the great game of squash. I was initially a racquetball player.
David Lewin
Class of 1987
Regards,
Dick was certainly a key figure in my squash career in the 1970’s. Newly arrived from the East Coast, having played squash (hardball) on the MIT varsity, then managed a very successful team in the Boston squash leagues (A Division, which we won one year), my physics career took me to the West Coast, where I expected to find a squash wasteland. To my delight I found that Cal had squash courts!
Oh those funky courts in the Men’s locker room! You climbed down the ladder to the dimly lit dungeons where the walls were black most of the time from unwashed ball marks. Adding to my surprise I found a vibrant program under Dick’s able leadership. He invited me to join the fun helping scrimmage with his “boys,” like John Lau, Paul Gessling, Ted Gross… (It was great fun later in life taking lessons from John on how to transition to the softball game, knowing that way back when I helped him learn the game!) Then the Tournament scene!
These were wonderful, even enjoyed the ones held at the Olympic Club with their two courts way up in the attic, where hopelessly optimistic scheduling had your matches played 6 hours late, a bit after midnight. Then there was my first A tournament!
I met Alex Eichmann in the second round, the reigning champion all up and down the coast! Well! My uppermost surprise, I WON the first game! He proceeded to slaughter me after that, and later said, “Jose; it took a while for me to figure out your game, you hit so many balls on the wrong foot!” The tournament before that I won the B’s, and after the awards, where I got a plastic suit carrier and Alex a nice silver bowl, we were all sitting in the lounge enjoying a beer: Alex said to me, “At least you got something useful, I just got another peanut bowl.” I asked him if he wanted to trade, he said “YES!” That’s how I got my very best squash trophy!
Happy Birthday Dick, and thanks for all that you have done for Squash on the West Coast!
Hi Dick.
Happy birthday from another Cal Squash alum. I started in grad school after playing college tennis in Santa Barbara, so I never played on the team.
It’s amazing what an active community you created at Cal. After all, squash was not very widely played in the West Coast back then. I remember playing with you and getting my clock cleaned when I was in your beginning squash class my first semester at Cal. I played off and on for the next 40 years! My shoulder finally wore out a few years ago.
Being in Denver for the last 35 years, I lost track of most of my old squash buddies. I’ve seen a few at doubles tournaments in S.F. I look forward to seeing names pop up in this birthday album that John has put together.
Hello to Dave Jones and Rich Fong who have already contributed.
Happy birthday and thanks for the memories.
Kevin O’Neill
at Cal from '76 - '84
I signed up for a squash PE class and that changed my life.
As a student I was unfocused and tempted to call it quits many times. I was further distracted as a rafting outfitter and drifting away from my education. Squash however was still my passion and it kept me in school and saw me through graduation. After school I landed my first real job in software thanks to the squash connection.
Bill Carlson
Scholls Oregon
Class of '90
Some of the highlights included traveling to the intercollegiate tournament at UPenn and getting exposed to some of the best squash athletes from the Ivy League. Another special trip was down to Southern California as we participated in a tournament that had one of the Khan family members do a clinic. It was amazing to see the types of drills that he would do. Even more amazing was him taking on an open player maybe 30 years younger than he was, and running him all over the court as he dominated the “T.”
After college I didn’t have the opportunity to continue in the sport as I moved to different parts of the world, serving in Christian ministry. Rest assured, Coach Crawford, I share about my squash experience wherever I go.
Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures from my time on the squash team, but I kept my Cal sweatsuit after all these years…it still fits, though a little snug. Thank you again, Coach, for your many years of serving and mentoring others. Thank you for your vision and seeing something in me during that tennis class. Go Bears!
Anthony Galang
Class of ’86
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