Laszlo Bellak

Laszlo Bellak
Personal information
Full nameBellák László
Nationality Hungary
 United States
Born(1911-02-12)12 February 1911
Budapest, Hungary
Died20 September 2006(2006-09-20) (aged 95)
Miami, Florida
Sport
SportTable tennis
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  Hungary
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1938 WembleyDoubles
Gold medal – first place1938 WembleyMixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place1938 WembleyMen's Team
Silver medal – second place1937 BadenMen's Team
Bronze medal – third place1936 PragueMen's Team
Bronze medal – third place1935 WembleyDoubles
Gold medal – first place1935 WembleyMen's Team
Silver medal – second place1934 ParisSingles
Bronze medal – third place1934 ParisMixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place1934 ParisMen's Team
Silver medal – second place1932 PragueDoubles
Silver medal – second place1932 PragueMen's Team
Bronze medal – third place1931 BudapestMixed Doubles
Gold medal – first place1931 BudapestMen's Team
Silver medal – second place1930 BerlinSingles
Bronze medal – third place1930 BerlinDoubles
Gold medal – first place1930 BerlinMen's Team
Silver medal – second place1929 BudapestDoubles
Silver medal – second place1929 BudapestMixed Doubles
Silver medal – second place1928 StockholmSingles
Bronze medal – third place1928 StockholmDoubles
Gold medal – first place1928 StockholmMen's Team

Laszlo Bellak (February 12, 1911 – September 20, 2006) was a Hungarian and American table tennis player.

Table tennis career

He represented Hungary 59 times in international competition.[1] He won 21 medals at the World Championships, seven of which were gold. This included six wins as a member of the Hungarian National Team that won the Swaythling Cup in 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, and 1938.[2]

Bellak moved to the United States at the start of World War II, and enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in India and Burma.[1] He was decorated three times, and was honorably discharged with the Victory Medal, attaining the rank of Sergeant.

He won the U.S. Men’s Singles title in 1938, the U.S. Men’s Doubles in 1937, 1939, and 1943, and the U.S. Mixed Doubles in 1941.[2] He also won three English Open titles.

Halls of Fame

Bellak was inducted into the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980[3] and the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.[4]

Bellak, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[2]

He was inducted into the Florida Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996.[5]

Book

He authored Table Tennis—How A New Sport Was Born: The History of the Hungarian Team Winning 73 Gold Medals (1990).[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Marshall, Ian (20 September 2006). "Farewell to the Clown Prince of Table Tennis, Laszlo Bellak (1911-2006)". ITTF News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Laszlo Bellak". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Laszlo ("Laci") Bellak--Part I". USA Table Tennis - USATT Hall of Fame -. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "ITTF Hall of Fame 1993 Inductees" (PDF). ITTF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Florida Table Tennis Hall of Fame Biographies". Swfloridatabletennis.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Newgy Industries - Table Tennis — How a New Sport was Born". www.newgy.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.