APTA Nationals Hall of Fame Dinner Honors John Horine

March 15, 2017
Paoli, PA

John Horine was officially inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame on March 10, 2017, during the APTA Nationals at Waynesborough Country Club, in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Hall-of-Famer and Tournament Director Tim McAvoy introduced the honoree, with a speech depicting Horine’s contributions to the game. While Horine was a very accomplished player, his leadership of the APTA was a game-changer for the sport. His initiatives included creating the APTA website, the PPTA, and introducing the let cord service rule.

“John was a quiet leader who did a tremendous amount for our sport. In a subtle way, that might go unnoticed. He is a very humble person and would downplay the accomplishments that took place during his leadership. He is not the type of person to stand up and take credit for all he did for paddle. But John had a huge impact on the game. Each of us here tonight owes our honoree a debt of gratitude as his contributions to the growth of the game are a large reason why there are so many of us across the country playing the sport we love with the support of the APTA.”
John Horine thanked a large number of players, family, and contributors to his paddle career and the game itself. His humble speech included the following:

“When I told friends at home I was elected to the Hall of Fame, some asked me “How many Nationals did you win?” I told them I didn’t win any! But I did beat Tim McAvoy two times, which to me was just like winning a National Championship. I didn’t tell them how many times we played though, because the odds were never in my favor.

“In my seven years as President we did accomplish a lot. Of course, I didn’t do it all by myself. There were some very devoted board members and lovers of the game who shared my vision and helped make the ideas a reality.”

Read Tim McAvoy’s Induction Speech and John Horine’s Acceptance Speech in their entirety (in the very near future) on the Platform Tennis Virtual Museum and Hall of Fame at www.platformtennis.org/Hall_of_Fame.htm.