*Albert Apuzzi was inducted into the Handball Hall of Fame in 2002. Not a fan of fanfare and still trying to compete at the Open level, Apuzzi asked to hold off on any formal induction. Though Albert’s still trying to compete, the time has come for him to receive his honor and the Annual ICHA Dinner late in 2011.
“In addition to displaying complete sportsmanship on the court at all times, he is a national handball champion many times over. He is alone in the record book as the player who has the greatest number of USHA one-wall national doubles titles with nine.” Eric Klarman penned these words in 1993 to Gino DePasquale, Handball Chairman of the renowned New York Athletic Club. They clearly and fittingly described Albert Apuzzi, who was a topflight one-waller for nearly two decades.
Yet his accomplishments and persona have somehow remained mostly anonymous. There are obvious factors which have contributed to Apuzzi’s lack of notoriety, least of which is the almost mute intensity with which he competes. Unlike his former doubles partner, Joe Durso, whose flamboyant style and disruptive temperament tab him both fabulous and eccentric, Albert’s business-like approach and equanimity are always in evidence. He and Durso are perfect foils to one another. Durso’s explosions buried Albert’s taciturnity deeper than it actually is.
Moreover, it had been Durso, not Apuzzi, who was approached by various publications for opinions, quotes, and lifestyle interviews. Inconspicuously, Apuzzi, during his years of competition, established a remarkable set of data, including the most consecutive USHA National Doubles Titles (7). Moreover, it was surgery to Albert’s axillary artery, during which a blood clot was removed from his right arm that ended his doubles streak in 1990, not defeat on the court of play.
The condition first surfaced in 1986, when in his championship match against Golden, Albert “only wanted to end the rallies” because of the pain he was feeling. Although Albert won the singles and doubles crowns that year, downing Durso in the semis and Golden in the final, his arm was “never the same again.” In April 1990, the pain grew severe enough for Albert to consult a physician. The clot had been caused, he was told, by “continuous, strenuous, repetitive movement,” probably owing to “playing too much.” According to Albert, he was playing up to 40 hours a week. Arterioplasty was performed in addition to surgery, and Apuzzi was instructed not to play handball ever again. Thus, his doubles streak ended at seven when he bowed out of the 1990 One-Wall Nationals.
But in 1991, he rebounded, playing lightly without pain. Despite the “career ending” surgery, Albert and Ed Golden remained the team to beat in doubles and his singles game was still good enough to win any tournament he entered.
Albert’s talent was always so obvious. Albert recalls: “I wasn’t even good enough to make the starting team at Canarsie High School in Brooklyn. I didn’t even play handball in junior high despite the fact that they had a team. I forgot to go to the tryouts. But I did get to play in high school. I used to substitute for either one of the two guys who had jobs and couldn’t make games. I was terrible. I had no left. I played with my right backhand. I didn’t even want to wear gloves. Canarsie’s best player, Neal Bocian, who became a USHA Doubles Champion several years after graduation, once returned to Canarsie and watched me play. He advised me to take up golf. That was in 1972.”
It’s a good thing that Albert didn’t heed the advice. Working his way up the competition levels, Albert became “addicted to winning.” In 1979, Albert savored one of the most succulent victories of his career when he knocked out aforementioned Bocian in three, tough games, not 18 holes!
Apuzzi has several other wonderful memories of his illustrious days of handball: “I knew I had gotten good when Durso and I beat Reyer and Ulbrich in the final of the USHA Nationals at Castle Hill in 1983. In 1980, I won a very difficult round robin in Coney Island. I beat just about everyone who was good at that time, including a fairly easy win over Durso in the final. Certainly beating the Oberts’ doubles record and then breaking my own record were great. And I guess I’d have to say beating Durso in the semis and Golden in the final of ‘86 are among my all-time favorite moments.”
While Albert was at the top of the one-wall world, he also became more than proficient at three- and four-wall, winning numerous doubles. Albert’s joined the Hall as a player, but he’s been a promoter of the sport as well. Apuzzi has helped run and organize numerous events, served on the one-wall committee, and been involved in improving the rules and refereeing at tournaments.
In 1990, local one-waller, Ben Brettner, wrote it simply, yet eloquently: “Albert Apuzzi is one of the sport’s nicest people, and also one of its best performers. The phrase, ‘nice guys finish last,’ doesn’t apply to him.”
Coyle was an outstanding New York Athletic Club water polo player and an excellent handball player in singles, but was best known for his doubles play. In 1944, the quick-handed southpaw startled the handball world by upsetting another lefthander, who had been unbeatable for almost a decade, Joe Platak.
Coyle used a slow, control game to overcome the blasting power of Platak on the lively Town Club court in Chicago. In doubles, “Lefty” Coyle’s style was to play a left front court with his partners. His partners worked the ball around until they could get a shot for Coyle’s deadly left.
Angelo Trulio gave as much of himself to handball as anyone associated with the game…as a player, contributor and lifelong enthusiast. He developed a pattern of play best suited to his physical attributes — stamina and control. In 1932, he burst upon the national scene, as champion in both singles and doubles. He amazed the handball world when he won the singles 14 years later at the age of 39.
Trulio was absolute master of the big court, a man who thrived on rally, rally, and more rally. He was a cover boy for strength magazines in his glory days, a dedicated weight lifter and physical fitness model. Trulio also served as columnist for Ace Magazine.
George was told to forget about handball, because it was strictly a two-handed game. Quam determinedly learned the game and went on to win an exhibition over Baltimore’s George Nelson in 1928, the year after Nelson won the national singles. Herbert Hoover invited Quam to the White House and chatted with him for half an hour.
“I’ve had more fun playing handball than any other activity…handball has been the vehicle by which I won my way out of darkness and despair…I don’t believe that having one hand has been a handicap…everyone is given more natural ability, equipment and talent than we will ever use. Success is not going to be determined by what you have to work with, but how you use what you have.”
Joe Danilczyk’s main arsenal was a hopping two-way hook serve. He could also mix in deadly kills, a round-house opposite left punch along with crafty placement. He won his first National title when he and his brother Charlie won the Three-Wall National Doubles title in 1961. The next year they reached a semifinal in the 1962 Four-Wall Nationals (Houston). Joe had tremendous success in age division events, having won many masters championships beyond the age of 40 to become a National Grand Master.
As a New York firefighter, Joe won several firefighter tournaments while partnered with Vic Hershkowitz.
Joe’s brother and doubles partner Charlie shared the following at his Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony:
“Joe Danilczyk had perhaps the biggest two-way hook serves of anybody. They enabled him always to receive soft returns, which he killed or drove with great power.
With his left hand he could punch kills or hit drives into his opponents’ chests. And playing front-court position, he always seemed to hit shots in font of himself or his partner.
Joe was one-wall doubles champion in 1964, 1966 and 1967. He was runner-up on four occasions and a semifinalist nine other times.
Although Joe was not known for his singles play, his great serve and aggressive shots made him a tough challenge for all the great singles players of his day. None of them could take him lightly.”
Hershkowitz is considered by most historians as the greatest all-around player in handball history. No other player has ever so thoroughly dominated one-, three-, and four-wall handball competition. It was appropriate that Vic should win the first USHA Masters singles in 1966. In addition to his 23 national Open singles and doubles championships, Hershkowitz holds 12 national Masters titles.
Vic worked in New York City as a fireman, and incidentally won several National Firefighters tournaments.
The first multiple winner of the national handball title was Maynard Laswell of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The champion had one of the greatest underhand back-wall drives in handball history. That, combined with a fine overhand game, a side-arm fly kill, great conditioning and competitive instinct, enabled him to win three consecutive national singles titles. Laswell teamed with fellow club member Max Gold to win the doubles title the year before his first singles win.
A fine all-around athlete, Laswell competed at the national AAU level in basketball.
Sam Atcheson won the four-wall National Open singles title in 1933 and 1934. In 1945, at the age of 43, he added the Open doubles title with partner Walter Detweiler.
The slender, wiry and speedy perfectionist was a stellar national Y champion. He won 14 national titles over a period covering 1930-45. In YMCA competition he was virtually unbeatable. He took the singles six times from 1931 through 1937, missing only in 1934 when George Nelson of Baltimore was the victor.
On Nov. 4, 1989, Atcheson was honored as the first inductee into the National YMCA Handball Hall of Fame.
The record book shows that Platak, representing Chicago’s Lake Shore Club, won seven national four-wall singles championships in a row, added two more after Navy service in World War II, and took two doubles titles. Not until Naty Alvarado did any other player win as many four-wall titles in national Open singles play.
Never in his nine singles victories was he pushed to three games and only once did an opponent score more points in the second game than in the first.
In 1937, when Joe was at his peak, he went on an exhibition tour. He played 136 games in 21 days in 17 clubs in 13 cities and nine states, covering some 3,000 miles on the trip. He didn’t lose a game in singles or doubles!
Whenever there is talk of the all-time best, Al Banuet is mentioned. He won three consecutive titles, in 1929 (at the age of 19), 1930 and 1931. He also won the doubles in 1929 and 1930.
Because Banuet was such a great athlete, a boxing promoter talked him into a short-lived boxing career, which forever banned him from AAU-sponsored handball.
Banuet stories are legendary. Trulio said: “I’ve seen him run up a back wall to retrieve a shot. He could do things that are regarded as impossible.”
W.O. McGeehan, sports editor of the New York Times said: “He is the greatest champion in his chosen sport I have seen. Greater than Babe Ruth in baseball, greater than Bobby Jones in golf, greater than Jack Dempsey in boxing.”
