Ruth Aarons

American table tennis player (1918–1980)

Ruth Aarons

Aarons as USA's 1936 World Women's Singles Champion.

Personal information
Full name| Ruth Hughes Aarons
Nationality|  United States
Born| (1918-06-11)11 June 1918
Stamford, Connecticut
Died| 6 June 1980(1980-06-06) (aged 61)
Los Angeles, California

Table tennis career

Playing style| Shakehand grip

Medal record

Women's table tennis
Representing  United States
World Championships
| 1937 Baden | Singles
| 1937 Baden | Women's Team
| 1936 Prague | Singles
| 1936 Prague | Women's Team
| 1936 Prague | Doubles

Ruth Hughes Aarons (June 11, 1918 – June 6, 1980)[1] was a US table tennis player, vaudeville entertainer, and talent manager.

## Early life

[edit]

Ruth Aarons was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to Leila (née Hughes), an opera singer, and Alfred E. Aarons, a Broadway theatrical producer. She came from a wealthy Jewish family, and lived in New York City, where she attended and graduated from St. Agatha Episcopal High School in 1936.[2]

## Table tennis career

[edit]

Originally a tennis player, Aarons was reportedly introduced to table tennis by mere chance, in the summer of 1933. During a rainstorm, which ended a tennis match early, she discovered and quickly became fascinated by table tennis. Over time, Aarons developed and mastered her own defensive technique centered on the "shakehand" grip, for which she became notable.[3]

Aarons would spend the next five years traveling the United States and Europe, competing in various table tennis matches and championships, and enjoying much success, eventually building a reputation as a strong defensive player. Her main achievements were winning two gold medals in the singles competition at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1936 and 1937, being the only American competitor to do so at the time. She also won doubles and team medals for the United States in the World Table Tennis Championships.[4] Upon winning the gold medal in Prague in 1936, Aarons refused to shake the hand of Astrid Krebsbach, her opponent from Nazi Germany, proclaiming: "I am Jewish".[5]

The champion of Woman's Singles in 1937 was declared vacant due to time limit rule in force at the time. In 2001, it was decided to declare the two players (i.e., Ruth Aarons and Gertrude Pritzi) Co-Champions.[6]

While still involved in professional table tennis, Aarons, thanks to her father's theatrical connections, performed in vaudeville for several years, in both America and England, in a routine centered on the game. These performances enjoyed much success in the United States, as the United States Table Tennis Association (USATT) had granted her permission as an active member, to play the game for compensation. In England, however, Aarons faced sanctions by the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), who had jurisdiction over her USATT-made performance contracts for shows in England, and eventual suspension by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in January 1937. Officials claimed that Aarons violated the newly enacted (December 1936) policy prohibiting active members from accepting compensation for public table tennis playing.[7] Aarons would later come back for the 1937 Women's World Singles Championships, and then retire altogether.

She also won two English Open titles.

In 1966, Aarons was inducted in the USATT Hall of Fame for her contributions to and success in the sport of table tennis.[8]

## Later years

[edit]

After her retirement from table tennis in 1938, Aarons found much success as a show business manager, forming her own management firm (Aarons Management), and guiding to success the careers of clientele including Jack Cassidy, Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Shaun Cassidy, Susan Dey, George Chakiris, Janis Paige, Claibe Richardson, and Celeste Holm.[9]

Later in life, Aarons developed an addiction to prescription medication, particularly Seconal. According to close friend David Cassidy, he would discover thousands of pills in her home while visiting. The medication eventually took its toll physically and psychologically, exacerbated greatly by the tragic death of longtime friend and actor Jack Cassidy in December 1976. By 1979, all her clients had lost faith in her capability as a manager and moved on.[10]

On June 6, 1980, just five days before her 62nd birthday, Aarons was found dead in the shower of her Beverly Hills home, presumably from falling and hitting her head. According to Cassidy, her drug use was so profound that her muscles often atrophied, which rendered her unable to leave her bed, much less to stand.[11]

## See also

[edit]

* List of table tennis players
* List of select Jewish table tennis players
* List of World Table Tennis Championships medalists

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "California Death Index (1940-1997)".
2. ^ Pauline Dubkin Yearwood (August 3, 2007). "Righting a wrong". Chicago Jewish News. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
3. ^ "Ruth Aarons". USATT. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
4. ^ "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
5. ^ Davar Newspaper 24 March 1936, front page
6. ^ "Ruth Aarons". USATT. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
7. ^ "Ruth Aarons". USATT. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
8. ^ "USATT Hall of Fame". USATT. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
9. ^ "TeamUSA". Archived from the original on 2012-06-21.
10. ^ Cassidy, David; Defaa, Chip (1994). C'mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 9780446395311.
11. ^ Cassidy, David; Defaa, Chip (1994). C'mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus. New York: Warner Books. ISBN 9780446395311.

## External links

[edit]

* Aarons Family papers, circa 1870-1979 Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

* v
* t
* e

World table tennis women's singles champions

* 1926:  Mária Mednyánszky (HUN)
* 1928:  Mária Mednyánszky (HUN)
* 1929:  Mária Mednyánszky (HUN)
* 1930:  Mária Mednyánszky (HUN)
* 1931:  Mária Mednyánszky (HUN)
* 1932:  Anna Sipos (HUN)
* 1933:  Anna Sipos (HUN)
* 1934:  Marie Kettnerová (TCH)
* 1935:  Marie Kettnerová (TCH)
* 1936:  Ruth Aarons (USA)
* 1937:  Ruth Aarons (USA) /  Gertrude Pritzi (AUT)
* 1938:  Gertrude Pritzi (AUT)
* 1939:  Vlasta Depetrisová (TCH)
* 1947:  Gizella Farkas (HUN)
* 1948:  Gizella Farkas (HUN)
* 1949:  Gizella Farkas (HUN)
* 1950:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1951:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1952:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1953:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1954:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1955:  Angelica Rozeanu (ROU)
* 1956:  Tomie Okawa (JPN)
* 1957:  Fujie Eguchi (JPN)
* 1959:  Kimiyo Matsuzaki (JPN)
* 1961:  Qiu Zhonghui (CHN)
* 1963:  Kimiyo Matsuzaki (JPN)
* 1965:  Naoko Fukatsu (JPN)
* 1967:  Sachiko Morisawa (JPN)
* 1969:  Toshiko Kowada (JPN)
* 1971:  Lin Huiqing (CHN)
* 1973:  Hu Yulan (CHN)
* 1975:  Pak Yung-sun (PRK)
* 1977:  Pak Yung-sun (PRK)
* 1979:  Ge Xin'ai (CHN)
* 1981:  Tong Ling (CHN)
* 1983:  Cao Yanhua (CHN)
* 1985:  Cao Yanhua (CHN)
* 1987:  He Zhili (CHN)
* 1989:  Qiao Hong (CHN)
* 1991:  Deng Yaping (CHN)
* 1993:  Hyun Jung-hwa (KOR)
* 1995:  Deng Yaping (CHN)
* 1997:  Deng Yaping (CHN)
* 1999:  Wang Nan (CHN)
* 2001:  Wang Nan (CHN)
* 2003:  Wang Nan (CHN)
* 2005:  Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2007:  Guo Yue (CHN)
* 2009:  Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2011:  Ding Ning (CHN)
* 2013:  Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
* 2015:  Ding Ning (CHN)
* 2017:  Ding Ning (CHN)
* 2019:  Liu Shiwen (CHN)
* 2021:  Wang Manyu (CHN)
* 2023:  Sun Yingsha (CHN)
* 2025:  Sun Yingsha (CHN)

* v
* t
* e

World table tennis women's team champions

* 1934:  Anita Felguth, Annemarie Haensch, Astrid Krebsbach, Mona Muller-Rüster (GER)
* 1935:  Marie Kettnerová, Gertrude Kleinová, Marie Šmídová (TCH)
* 1936:  Marie Kettnerová, Gertrude Kleinová, Marie Šmídová, Věra Votrubcová (TCH)
* 1937:  Ruth Aarons, Emily Fuller, Dolores Kuenz, Jessie Purves (USA)
* 1938:  Vlasta Depetrisová, Jindriska Holubkova, Marie Kettnerová, Věra Votrubcová (TCH)
* 1939:  Hilde Bussmann, Gertrude Pritzi (GER)
* 1947:  Elizabeth Blackbourn, Vera Dace, Margaret Franks, Margaret Osborne-Knott (ENG)
* 1948:  Dora Beregi, Margaret Franks, Elizabeth Steventon, Vera Thomas (ENG)
* 1949:  Peggy McLean, Mildred Shahian, Thelma Thall (USA)
* 1950:  Sari Kolozsvári, Angelica Rozeanu, Luci Slavescu (ROU)
* 1951:  Paraschiva Patulea, Angelica Rozeanu, Sari Szasz (ROU)
* 1952:  Shizuka Narahara, Tomie Nishimura (JPN)
* 1953:  Angelica Rozeanu, Sari Szasz, Ella Zeller (ROU)
* 1954:  Fujie Eguchi, Hideko Goto, Yoshiko Tanaka, Kiiko Watanabe (JPN)
* 1955:  Angelica Rozeanu, Sari Szasz, Ella Zeller (ROU)
* 1956:  Angelica Rozeanu, Ella Zeller (ROU)
* 1957:  Fujie Eguchi, Taeko Namba, Tomie Okawa, Kiiko Watanabe (JPN)
* 1959:  Fujie Eguchi, Kimiyo Matsuzaki, Taeko Namba, Kazuko Yamaizumi (JPN)
* 1961:  Kazuko Ito-Yamaizumi, Kimiyo Matsuzaki, Tomie Okawa, Masako Seki (JPN)
* 1963:  Kazuko Ito-Yamaizumi, Kimiyo Matsuzaki, Masako Seki, Noriko Yamanaka (JPN)
* 1965:  Li Henan, Liang Lizhen, Lin Huiqing, Zheng Minzhi (CHN)
* 1967:  Naoko Fukatsu, Saeko Hirota, Sachiko Morisawa, Noriko Yamanaka (JPN)
* 1969:  Laima Amelina, Svetlana Grinberg, Rita Pogosova, Zoja Rudnova (URS)
* 1971:  Yasuko Konno, Toshiko Kowada, Emiko Ohba, Yukie Ozeki (JPN)
* 1973:  Chung Hyun-sook, Kim Soon-ok, Lee Ailesa, Park Mi-ra (KOR)
* 1975:  Ge Xin'ai, Hu Yulan, Zhang Li, Zheng Huaiying (CHN)
* 1977:  Ge Xin'ai, Zhang Deying, Zhang Li, Zhu Xiangyun (CHN)
* 1979:  Cao Yanhua, Ge Xin'ai, Zhang Deying, Zhang Li (CHN)
* 1981:  Cao Yanhua, Qi Baoxiang, Tong Ling, Zhang Deying (CHN)
* 1983:  Cao Yanhua, Geng Lijuan, Ni Xialian, Tong Ling (CHN)
* 1985:  Dai Lili, Geng Lijuan, He Zhili, Tong Ling (CHN)
* 1987:  Chen Jing, Dai Lili, Jiao Zhimin, Li Huifen (CHN)
* 1989:  Chen Jing, Chen Zihe, Hu Xiaoxin, Li Huifen (CHN)
* 1991:  Hong Cha-ok, Hyun Jung-hwa, Li Bun-hui, Yu Sun-bok (KOU)
* 1993:  Chen Zihe, Deng Yaping, Gao Jun, Qiao Hong (CHN)
* 1995:  Deng Yaping, Liu Wei, Qiao Hong, Qiao Yunping (CHN)
* 1997:  Deng Yaping, Li Ju, Wang Chen, Wang Nan, Yang Ying (CHN)
* 2000:  Li Ju, Sun Jin, Wang Hui, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2001:  Li Ju, Sun Jin, Wang Nan, Yang Ying, Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2004:  Guo Yue, Li Ju, Niu Jianfeng, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2006:  Guo Yan, Guo Yue, Li Xiaoxia, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2008:  Guo Yan, Guo Yue, Li Xiaoxia, Wang Nan, Zhang Yining (CHN)
* 2010:  Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei, Sun Beibei, Wang Yuegu, Yu Mengyu (SIN)
* 2012:  Ding Ning, Guo Yan, Guo Yue, Li Xiaoxia, Liu Shiwen (CHN)
* 2014:  Chen Meng, Ding Ning, Li Xiaoxia, Liu Shiwen, Zhu Yuling (CHN)
* 2016:  Chen Meng, Ding Ning, Li Xiaoxia, Liu Shiwen, Zhu Yuling (CHN)
* 2018:  Chen Meng, Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Wang Manyu, Zhu Yuling (CHN)
* 2022:  Chen Meng, Chen Xingtong, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi (CHN)
* 2024:  Chen Meng, Chen Xingtong, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi (CHN)

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