Seemiller: The American

(by Steve Hopkins)

One of the most storied players in American table tennis history, Dan Seemiller.  He first qualified for the US Team in 1972, was the top ranked player in the country by 1974, won five US National Championships, and logged an amazing international record that at one point included completing two consecutive World Team Championships without losing a match.  Later in his career, he became a highly decorated and successful coach, a tournament promoter and director, an author, and he also served as President of USTTA.

The signature grip and style that bears his name is still referred to by many internationally as “the American grip”.  Seemiller is the quintessential “American” player – with emotion and grit and heart.

In February, as Dan was training for the Olympic Trials, he began posting memories to his Facebook page.  Over the next few weeks, we are going to share some of those photos and quotes in this series “Seemiller – The American”:

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A dream come true.

My brother Rick and I practiced for years in our backyard chicken coop- renovated- to someday beat the Chinese. In 1977 round of 16 we did it.

The score was 3-0 against the #1 seed and 2 time world singles champion Guo Yue Hua and his partner Liao Fu Min. The match was in Birmingham, England and technically we haven’t won until the ball hits the floor. After the match we were so thrilled we were hoping that maybe someone caught this moment on camera. As you can see someone did. This was the World Championships.

Rick and I won eight U.S. Doubles Championships in a row 1976-1983.