Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-02
PING-PoNG.

l being called of late, is rapidly working Its way into the good graces of the American people. Although the game has been played off and on for the past fifteen years, it has only become pop ular during the past year.
 It would now seem as though half of the country is ping-pong crazy. The game has been introduced into clubs and hundreds of hotels are also put ting in tables for the amusement of their guests.
 The bats are made somewhat simi- lar to tennis racket, only about a third as large, and are either strung with catgut or stretched with thin covering of sheepskin. The sheepskin racket gives a strange sound, from which the game originally got it's name of ping-pong. The balls are made of very thin celluloid and are white. They nave considerable life or elasticity and are very strong. Even when they are driven against hard surface they will rebound without injury to the ball. The court is marked out on a piece of felt, or table painted green. The lat ter IS generally as large as fairly good-slZed dining-room table. The act IS stretched across tile center of the court and clamped on the sides of the table. The game is played the same as outdoor tennis, with a few neces- sary exceptions, and the server has but one serve instead of two. l The game is by no means confined to this country. London society long ago went wild over the new and now pet pastime, and, like golf, ping-pong has already q set of terms that de- scribe the different plays. The ping pong dictionary to date is as follows:
 Back-hand play-The bat is grasped with the knuck1es outward. This style is very useful for half volleying.
 Break-See screw
 Courts-Ping-pong table. Nine feet long by five feet wide. Is divided in middle by the net.
 Crouch Smash-An invention of the English champion. An overland l stroke made at the edge of the table. the player being at . crouching po- .sition.
 Dead Ball-The ball is dead after the second bounce from the time if leaves the players racket and cannot l then be hit
 her, diagonal play. It usually means brief rallies.
 Drive-A hard, straight stroke with no screw.
 Fore-hand Play-The racket is held I ras,1y 4t.. 41..- ball. Good for drives.
 Half Volley-Purely defensive. The pail IS taken at the moment of bounc- ing and rebounds almost of it's own impetus.
 Let-If in serving. the ball touches fthe net and then lands in the right court, 1t is let and counts to no one. ln returns let ball counts as usual. 1 Rally-A long succession of returns. 1 Returns-A reply to service. | ScreW-The spin on a ball impaired by a drawing motion of the racket. Causes the ball to curve in mid-air and break at an angle.
 l Seryice-The first stroke at each point; the players serve alternately.
 Shoot-By giving top spin to a ball it shoots instead of rising after a 1 bounce.
 l Smash-Impossib1e to take. The whole course of the body is put into a downward stroke. It is somewhat dangerous to attempt this stroke, as the ball may miss the table entirely
 Top Spin-Given by an upward movement of the racket during the in- stant that the ball touches the sheep skin; keeps the ball low and causes it to shoot violently, like cricket ball on a wet pitch.
 Undercut-The reverse of the top spin. If severe will cause the ball to bounce back again over the net. Checks the speed of the ball and may cause your opponent to miscalculate its whereabouts at the all important moment.
 Ping-pong is a game that may be readily learned by anyone. Naturally the tennis expert learns the game quickly, though lie is by no means an expert at the start any more than the man who never played the lawn game. He, like everyone else. has to accustom himself to the miniature rackets and little spheres.