Erwin Klein
Full nameErwin Klein
NationalityAmerican
Born(1938-06-06)6 June 1938
Died30 September 1992(1992-09-30) (aged 54)
Los Angeles, California
Medal record
Men's table tennis
Representing  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1956 Tokyo Mixed

Erwin Klein (died September 30, 1992)[1] was a male table tennis player from the United States, who four times US Open Table Tennis Singles Champion.[2][3] His nickname was Chubby.[4] He won a gold medal in the Mixed Doubles event at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1956.[5]

Biography

Klein lived in Los Angeles and was Jewish.[6][7] He attended Fairfax High School, UCLA and Cal-Berkeley.[4][8]

He was Southern California men's champion at the age of 11.[9] Klein won the U.S. National Boys 15-under Championship (at age 13) and the respective age groups at age 16, 17, and 18.[8] At age 18, he also won the National Juniors title, and the National Men's Singles and Doubles Championships.[8] In 1955, he and Richard Bergmann won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Doubles Championship.[6]

In 1956, he, 17 years old, and Leah Neuberger won the World Table Tennis Mixed Doubles Championship in Tokyo.[6][10] was a four-time US Open Table Tennis Singles Champion. In 1956 and 1961, he was the U.S. singles champion.[8][11] In both 1964 and 1965, he won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Singles Championship, and he and Bernard Bukiet won the U.S. Open Table Tennis Men's Doubles Championship.[8][6][12]

In 1973, he was a member of the United States table tennis team that competed against China.[8]

In 1990, Klein was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[8]

He was shot to death in Los Angeles by a business partner in an argument on September 30, 1992. The shooter then killed himself.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Profiles. Erwin Klein teamusa.org
  2. ↑ "USA Table Tennis Magazine (2014 Winter)". Issuu.
  3. ↑ Communications, Emmis (July 11, 1998). Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis Communications – via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 "Boys' Life". Boy Scouts of America, Inc. January 11, 1956 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "ITTF_Database". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House. 2008. ISBN 9781602800137 – via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "CHAMP OF THE CHOP AND LOOP". Sports Illustrated.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". scjewishsportshof.com.
  9. ↑ "Cream of the Table Tennis Set". The New York Times. March 21, 1972.
  10. ↑ "SCOREBOARD". Sports Illustrated.
    - "Leah Thall-Neuberger". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
    - "THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Results" (PDF). Table Tennis. 14 (8): 4. May 1956.
  11. ↑ Lipsyte, Robert M. (April 21, 1962). "Miles, 36, Takes Pro Table Tennis From Klein, 3 to 2; Miles' Defense Impressive Expert but Dull". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ "Table Tennis Champ". The Daily Banner. January 3, 1966. p. 6 – via Indiana State Library.
  13. ↑ "Erwin Klein". United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 5, 2015.
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