In celebration of our centennial we present a series of profiles of legends of NY Squash. We have curated these profiles to include three loose groups: players, coaches and “builders,” who have helped build the institutions that make up the NY Squash community today. Each has made a significant contribution to the NY Squash community. And their accomplishments on and off the court make them NY Squash Legends. This is an ongoing series by noted squash historian Rob Dinerman to be published over the course of our centennial year, 2024.
If you have a worthy candidate for this honor please let us know at Centennial@NYSquash.com, and we will consider adding them to the series, if not already chosen.
John Nimick
John Nimick & The Tournament of Champions
John Nimick is a past US Intercollegiate squash champion, former top American professional player and a US Squash Hall of Famer. However, what makes him a NY Squash Legend is his leadership and vision promoting the top tier, platinum PSA World Tour event, the Tournament of Champions, now truly iconic thanks to his guidance bringing it to Grand Central Station.
The tournament began in 1930, just six years after the founding of NY Squash, and 2024 marks its 26th anniversary at Grand Central. Every season it is one of the marquee events on the international pro tour, drawing the best players in the world, and has become an annual centerpiece of our squash season here in New York.
Carol and Fred Weymuller
Photos: Courtesy of US Squash
Fred and Carol Weymuller, Pioneers in Junior Development
Fred and Carol Weymuller became NY Squash Legends through their innovative work coaching and developing youth players, notably at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn Heights. They were the first to take juniors to the Nationals, helped develop dozens of champions, and were the first to start summer squash camps and interntional junior squash tours. They are both inductees into the US Squash Hall of Fame and their coaching efforts reverberate across the US squash scene today. Carol was a top 10, nationally ranked player herself, and a significant force in the development of women’s squash. Fittingly, she is the name behind the Carol Weymuller Open, the prestigious, annual NYC squash tournament on the Women’s pro circuit held in late January at The Heights Casino.
Victor Niederhoffer
Photo: Courtesy of US Squash
Victor Niederhoffer, Storied American Player of the 60’s and 70’s
And Steely Rival to International Legend Sharif Khan
New Yorker Victor Niederhoffer was one of the great Americans of the game during the 1960s and 1970s. And a literal first ballot inductee into the US Squash Hall of Fame. Although he never played squash until his freshman year at Harvard in 1960, he was so gifted and determined that in his sophomore year he became Harvard’s number one and won the U.S. National Junior title. And went on to win the U.S. Intercollegiate Individual title in 1964. His hard working and intense style of play led him to win five U.S. National Singles titles, and become the only man to win it four years in a row. He also won three U.S. National Doubles Championships. But perhaps his greatest rivalry was against the dominate player of the era, Sharif Khan, culminating in an even more highly prized North American Open victory, which he won against Khan in 1975—the only player to interrupt Khan’s 13 year run. And he was a national bestselling author too!
Dr. Quentin Hyder
Photo: NY Squash
Dr. Quentin Hyder, Pioneering Booster of the Softball Game
Creator of the Hyder Trophy, The Longest Running Softball Tournament in the US
The sport of squash in the USA and North America had developed using a hard ball in a separate trajectory from the British and international use of a softball on a 2.5 foot wider court. And the softball game was largely ignored in American play. That is, until British-born Dr. Quentin Hyder created the Hyder Trophy tournament, generating New York, US and international interest in softball play here in America. The tournament began with top New York and American players and quickly blossomed to attract top players from around the world. Dr. Hyder’s efforts track along with the globalization of the game and the eventual US adoption of the softball game on the wider court, the international standard. From it’s pioneering start, Dr. Hyder’s tournament has become an iconic New York and international squash tournament.
Harry Saint
NY Squash Legend: Harry Saint, Commercial Squash Club Builder Extraordinaire
Creator of the ‘70s & ‘80s boom that made squash accessible to the general public
Squash in New York was at its highest peak yet, back in the 1970s and early 1980s and the man most responsible was Harry Saint. He was a brilliant entrepreneur, who envisioned commercial squash clubs open to the general public—expanding squash outside the provenance of private clubs and elite schools and colleges. His three Manhattan clubs attracted a broad demographic, notably providing access to girls and women, and hosted prestigious pro tournaments, including the first US women's pro tournament, the Bancroft in 1977.
Alicia McConnell
NY Squash Legend: Alicia McConnell, U.S. Squash Hall of Famer
Record Seven-Time U.S. National Singles Champion
Alicia McConnell is one of the greatest American squash players. She was inducted into the U.S. Squash Hall of Fame in 2000. Her squash career spanned a juggernaut of top victories, including seven U.S. National hardball singles titles and five U.S. National doubles titles. She soared into the spotlight at the legendary Heights Casino junior program in Brooklyn and won the 1980 World Junior Championship, before rising to the highest levels in hardball, softball and doubles squash. Later she held significant roles in athletic administration, including on the US Olympic Committee. And has continued to influence the sports world through her work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
William Treadwell Ketcham
Photo: Courtesy of US Squash
William Tredwell “Treddy” Ketcham, U.S. Squash Hall of Famer,
and Squash Administrator/Ambassador Extraordinaire
Probably no individual established a more visible and multi-front persona in the American squash world during the second half of the 20th Century than William Tredwell Ketcham, affectionately known as Treddy. He was President of NY Squash (at the time known as the MSRA) from 1959-61, US Squash (at the time known as the USSRA) from 1965-67, and the Rockaway Hunting Club (Ketcham’s squash stomping ground as a youngster) in Lawrence, Long Island from 1987-2003, making him the longest-ever holder of that position. The Rockaway Hunting Club, founded in 1878, was one of the NY Squash’s three founding member clubs—The University Club of New York in Manhattan and The Montclair Athletic Club in northern New Jersey were the others—when it was established in January, 1924.
Damien Mudge (left), and match partner Ben Gould
Damien Mudge, All-Time Greatest Doubles Player
Damien Mudge was the most accomplished doubles player in the history of the sport and the Squash Doubles Association’s (SDA) “all-time leading scorer” by a wide margin. His career was a paragon of longevity and not just record-breaking but record-shattering excellence. He was on the No. 1 ranked doubles team virtually uninterrupted from the outset of the 1999-2000 season, partnered with Gary Waite, all the way through the 19-year period that extended to the end of the 2017-18 season, during which he and Manek Mathur went undefeated as wel. Remarkably, he excelled on both walls, a distinct rarity in doubles squash. After seven years— and 75 tournament wins, the most all-time of any combination—playing the right wall with Waite, Mudge switched to the left wall and led the tour in wins first from 2007-10 with Viktor Berg and then from 2010-15 with Ben Gould before joining forces (and returning to the right wall) with Mathur for the 2016-17 season.
President Treddy Ketcham (left) and Bob Lehman
Bob Lehman, Dedicated Supporter and Historian of New York Squash
Never in the history of squash in the United States has any association been blessed with a member who cared as much about its well-being, or done as much to further it, as Robert H. Lehman, universally known as Bob did on behalf of NY Squash for four decades. Besides being the Association’s only two-time recipient of the Board of Governors Award—“For contributions to the game of squash in the New York metropolitan area”—Lehman was also its most vocal supporter, leading citizen and loyal friend.
Stu Goldstein
Stu Goldstein, Top Player and Historic Khan Stopping 1978 WPSA Champion
Stuart Goldstein, universally known as Stu, was the most persistent of Sharif Khan's pursuers during the latter's extended period of domination (from 1969-81) of hardball squash in North America, and the best player in the New York metropolitan area for a half-decade encompassing the late 1970's and early 1980's. When Goldstein won the 1978 World Pro Squash Association (WPSA) Championship at the Commodore Club in Minnesota—defeating Gordon Anderson and Rainer Ratinac in the semi-final and final rounds in February of that year—it ended a span of 15 consecutive years (from 1963-77) throughout which a member of the extended Khan clan had won this tournament.
Doug McLaggan (right), playing Hashim Khan Image courtesy Life Magazine.
Doug McLaggan, Longtime Squash Club Professional & Pro Level Player
McLaggan's incredible 49-year squash journey took him from an eager apprentice in Edinburgh to a revered pro at the University Club of New York, redefining squash excellence along the way. A squash sage and a veteran of World War II, McLaggan's global voyage through the sport's elite ranks isn't just about trophies and titles; it's a story of unmatched dedication and inspirational mentorship.
With a career packed with high-stakes matches, McLaggan dazzled fans and frustrated opponents with his smart, strategic play, clinching victories even against younger, spry challengers in his 60s. His on-court acumen, backed by a fierce work ethic and an undying love for the game, left a lasting legacy in squash programs across North America. From Montreal to Manhattan, McLaggan wasn't just playing squash; he was breathing life into the game, teaching not just how to swing, but how to respect the sport and each other.