Page 79 - The Hunt - Winter 2022

baseline and 20 feet across. While the rules are similar, serves must be underhand. The paddle is solid and may be perforated, and the ball has less air pressure than a tennis ball, making it heavier with less bounce.
Barry Snyder has played paddle for 45 years and can still be found on tennis courts. He also dabbles in pickleball. He reports that the sport’s growth has been substantial over the past few decades. Those taking part in MAPTA events hail from Philadelphia, its suburbs, Lancaster and the Lehigh Valley. The Brandywine Valley region has been able to hone the perfect mix of sport and community.
And the Morrow—named for the late Dick Morrow—is the perfect manifestation of
that blend. “Dick Morrow was the kind of guy who loved to have parties,” says Snyder, who will retire from his organizer’s role
after January’s event but will continue to participate. “He had a drum set, piano and gutbucket in his living room, and there would be plenty of singing and playing. He’d put
his arm around you and say, ‘Let’s go play platform tennis.’ If you never played, he’d say, ‘Let’s have fun.’”
The Morrow is definitely fun. Billed as a paddle party with a tournament, it began in
1974 as the Tri-Club Mixed, based around the three main clubs in the Brandywine area—Greenville, Vicmead and Wilmington. Morrow was a member at Vic Mead, which began as a hunt club and expanded. After 10 years of organizing the tournament, Morrow received a cancer diagnosis. He was able to review the draw for the 11th annual staging but passed not long after.
It didn’t take long for participants to rename the weekend after the man who’d breathed life into it. “We decided we were going to name it after Dick and make it special,” Snyder says.
“One of our mantras is: ‘Play paddle. Have fun.’ Some people want to win. Others show
up and want to have a party. And there’s everything in between.”
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