The research by Gurney - presented in "Table Tennis: The Early Years" - is considered to be the definitive guide.
Who invented table tennis?
It's thought that a game resembling table tennis was in existence in England as early as 1884 and various names were used during the history of table tennis (or should that be the history of ping pong?) with Gossima, Whiff-Whaff and Ping Pong all either patented or trademarked.Around 1898 the English sports company John Jaques & Son were popularising the game and were manufacturing the first table tennis sets.
Early versions of table tennis used rackets (bats / paddles) with velum stretched over an outer casing (similar to a small drum) attached to a handle. This gave rise to the name Ping Pong which was derived from the sound that was made by different sized rackets (bats / paddles) striking a ball.
Let the battle commence
As the popularity of the game spread, two rival organisations were set up in England with the "Table Tennis Association" and
the "Ping Pong Association" formed within days of each other in 1901.
Soon after this time in the history of table tennis though, it's thought that the game fell out of favour.
But by the 1920s it was back in fashion, particularly in Europe, and Englishman Ivor Montagu was instrumental in reviving the "Ping Pong Association" in 1921 - reformed as the "Table Tennis Association" in 1922 (later adding the prefix "English") - and forming the "International Table Tennis Federation" (ITTF) in 1926.
Soon after this time in the history of table tennis though, it's thought that the game fell out of favour.
But by the 1920s it was back in fashion, particularly in Europe, and Englishman Ivor Montagu was instrumental in reviving the "Ping Pong Association" in 1921 - reformed as the "Table Tennis Association" in 1922 (later adding the prefix "English") - and forming the "International Table Tennis Federation" (ITTF) in 1926.
