Bernard Hock
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Bernard Francis Hock (August 12, 1912 – August 18, 1999) was a table tennis "bat maker", considered a world-class pioneer in the design and fabrication of table tennis rackets (known as "bats" in Britain, and "paddles" in the U.S. and Canada). Many of the great American players of the classic "Table Tennis Era" exclusively used Hock rackets. Hock is remembered as a true craftsman. In 1977, Sports Illustrated described Hock as the "Stradivarius of bats".[1]
Bernard Hock | |
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Born | Bernard Francis Hock |
Died | 18 September 1999(1999-09-18) (aged 87) |
Occupation(s) | Inventor, entrepreneur, US Table Tennis champion |
Hock's United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee biography mentions him as "'old buzzard' Hock, a number-one-class character, a champion, a fine man, and a person who has done more for table tennis than most anyone."[2]
Hock originally played tennis, but became a competitive, champion US table tennis player.[3]