Former Squash Captain Wins Nationals

Benjamin H. Heckscher '57, former Crimson squash captain, won the national amateur squash championship yesterday in Hemenway. Playing before a quiet, crowded gallery of Boston squash enthusiasts, Heckscher disposed of McGill's John Smith-Chapman, 15-13, 12-15, 18-15 and 18-14, to become the first Harvard graduate in the 20 year history of the tournament to win the title.

In winning his first National Amateur crown, Heckscher had to overcome a long series of obstacles, foremost among whom was the brilliant defending champion, Henri Salaun of Boston. Salaun is one of the very finest players in the world, probably second only to the Khan's of Pakistan at present, and has always stopped Heckscher's ambitions in the past. But Sunday, playing with a recently improved backhand, Heckscher finally pulled out a victory. Salaun played deliberately to Heckscher's backhand side in their semi-final contest, and this strategy proved his undoing.

The former varsity captain did not give an inch under Salaun's expertly applied pressure, and took the match with a perfectly executed backhand corner shot at match point in the fifth game. In this game Hechscher appeared to be on his way to an easy win, as he took a quick 10-4 lead. But at this point the remarkable Salaun, tired and hampered by an injury, came back to win four points in a row, and after Heckscher duplicated this feat to make the score 14-8, he pulled out five straight match points to make the score 14-13. At this critical juncture, where a loss of a point would probably have meant eventual loss of the match to the experienced Salaun, Heckscher came through with his corner shot to put him in the finals. The score was 15-13, 15-17, 5-15, 15-9 and 15-13.

Smith-Chapman, a 21-year-old McGill student and an excellent player, was definitely not of Salaum's caliber, and Heckscher's win was expected. In fact, Heckscher almost found himself up against another Harvard graduate in the finals. Playing in the quarter round, Smith-Chapman just managed to get past Charlie Ufford '53, a third year Law School student, 15-11, 12-15, 15-9, 5-15 and 15-11.