PHILADELPHIA – Over the weekend, at a special luncheon before the squash semifinals of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open, Paul D. Assaiante, Norman B. Bramall and Jane Austin Stauffer were inducted into the United States Squash Hall of Fame. The lunch was attended by current Haverford head coaches Sean Sloane (men's tennis, former men's and women's squash) and Niki Clement (men's and women's squash).
Michael Pierce, enshrined last year in the Hall of Fame, introduced Norm Bramall, the pro at the Cynwyd Club. Fifty-two years ago Bramall gave Pierce his first squash lesson. Bramall was always impeccably dressed, in cream-white flannel pants, pressed shirts and a Ben Hogan golf cap. His pro shop was in the boiler room at Cynwyd and he strung all his racquets with a vise and awl, no stringing machines. Some of Bramall's advice holds true today: Always be cognizant of the T; don't panic and overrun balls—they will come back to you; and, most famously, make the walls your friend.
Joyce Davenport, enshrined in the Class of 2011 in the Hall of Fame, then accepted the Hall of Fame plaque in honor of Bramall. Davenport was one of the many players whom Bramall watched hit their very first squash ball, predicting that they would be future national champions. At least four players are in that category and many more owe much or all of their training as champions to Bramall. Davenport spoke about Bramall's style: he was mild-mannered, patient and soft-spoken. He thought the ball was the biggest impediment to learning, that novice players needed to work on their swings and technique and not worry about where the ball was going. He also was an early advocate for solo work: for her first year Davenport practiced alone and took a weekly lesson with Bramall, as he forbade her hitting with other players.
The U.S. Squash Hall of Fame was founded in 2000. Based at Payne Whitney Gymnasium at Yale, it is the only national squash hall of fame in the world with annual inductions and a bricks-and-mortar location. With the additions of Assaiante, Bramall and Stauffer in the Class of 2016, there are now fifty-eight members of the United States Squash Hall of Fame.
About Norm Bramall: Best known at Haverford for coaching the men's tennis team from 1928 through 1968, Bramall accumulated a career record of 309 wins against just 147 losses. This stretch included the most decorated run in the program's history as the team won six straight Middle Atlantic Conference Championships from 1947-1952 and eight of 10 overall from the start of that streak until 1956. His team's won 21 straight matches from 1956-57 and had three other stretches during his career where they won 17 straight matches. During his streak of consecutive conference championships, Haverford went unbeaten in 32 straight MAC matches.
However, Bramall was no stranger to squash as he coached national champion G. Diehl Mateer '50 before Haverford even had a varsity squash team. Bramall helped raise squash to such a level that men's and women's squash were introduced as varsity sports at Haverford during the 1993-94 academic year. In his honor, Haverford has named six outdoor tennis courts in recognition of him on campus.
Memories of Norm Bramall
From Ron Norris '71
I was honored to be the last varsity tennis player (my freshman year…Fall 1967) to be coached by Norm Bramall.
I'll always remember him for a style and grace; Coach Bramall asked his players to respect the game, themselves, and their opponents.
Along the way, Coach Bramall wanted to win as much as anyone; however, within the inner logic of the game, he coached his players to improve and play beyond expectations.
From Fran "Rusty" Conroy '70
I'm glad this ceremony is happening in the fall because it is in the fall that I most remember Norm. I associate him powerfully with my very first weeks at Haverford.
In September 1966 it was crisp early, the days were getting shorter, and some were gloomy with rain and drizzle. The old gym then is still etched in my mind. We had our swim tests there in the puddle-sized pool. We met the athletic faculty there. Roy Randall, I believe, was the head. But most important for me was Norm.
Norm fit into a Haverford that was continuous with the past in 1966-67, but that waned rapidly after that. Old Haverford: President Hugh Borton; older professors like astronomer Lewis Green and engineer Ted Hetzel; Roy Randall; and Norm. It was a men's college with a little bit of a Downton Abbey feel, modified for Quaker simplicity. Norm felt respected in that environment, and in fact highly valued. He was like a professor of tennis, or racquet sports in general.
The first days I reported to "fall tennis" I remember feeling quietly awed: Bob Swift, Doug Mickeljohn, Steve Greif, Dave Koteen, David Delthony, Tom Bretl, and Al Aladjem. I couldn't crack the lineup. And then coach Bramall. The program had a timeless air to it: dignified, vigorous, disciplined, fun, shared camaraderie. I heard that on away trips Norm put in an extra $5 toward each of the player's dinners. This impressed me.
I got to experience it all myself my sophomore year. Several players had graduated. I was now third singles and second doubles. I remember Norm's coaching our doubles teams: "At their feet, over their head!" "Punish the short man!" We could beat arch-rival Swarthmore at least in doubles, and Norm's coaching was key.
When Norm left, the program didn't fall apart, but the head was gone. We needed to step into the role: myself, my doubles partner Taylor Pancoast, and third singles Ron Norris, the holdovers from 1967-68, had to become like coaches ourselves. The very nice man who became interim coach, George Leute, said he only saw himself as caretaker.
Looking at me with a beard, many who hear the story of Norm resigning in the summer of 1968 over the issue of long hair and beards may think that I was one of the ones who precipitated. I was not. I personally was completely willing to be "shaved and shorn" as Norm required. I had too much respect to cross him. Looking back, he was a little like Carson in Downton Abbey.
Norm outside of Haverford would train me to teach tennis myself. "The desire to hit ball: the great destroyer," he would say, emphasizing the patterned stroke. He and I remained friends years after Haverford. I am honored to remember him today.