History of the Reisman rubber

any hardbat players prefer to play the Classic Hardbat Game with the low friction rubbers that were predominant during the Classic Era (1930’s to early 1950’s). In fact, many supporters of the classic game state that these are the only type of rubbers that should be used in hardbat tournaments. The legendary Marty Reisman, a worldclass player during the Classic Era and still active now, is the foremost proponent of this movement

Many pimpled rubber manufacturers, including Andro and Butterfly, maintain that their rubbers are ‘classic orthodox rubbers’ and Andro advertise that their rubber is a copy of the Barna Dunlop. Although the dimensions of the Andro are within the specification for hardbat play, the rubber itself does not play like the Barna Leyland Rubber of the 1930’s to early 1950’s as there is a degree of compliance together with a lack of touch and feel on the ball and a slight muffling of sound. The Butterfly Orthodox is comprised of a purer rubber material than the Andro but the base is too thick and the back cloth too heavy which results in a sponge like feel on the ball which is in total contrast to the object of classic hardbat table tennis.

The Reisman© Classic rubber however, has all the characteristics of the Leyland rubber with the same core constituents, which took over a year of research to produce. The sound of the Reisman is that of the wonderful sound heard during the golden classic era of the 1930’s to 1950’s i.e., the characteristic click of the wood, not the muffled sound of modern so called orthodox pimpled rubbers. British Leyland manufactured the rubber most widely used in tournaments in the USA and elsewhere during the Classic era. Leyland, quite rightly, is considered by many players in the USA to be the classic rubber. Unfortunately, the company has gone out of business and only a limited number of rubber sheets are readily available for sale. So, many players have looked for a replacement. While copies of other so called classic rubbers are on the market now, these are not the ‘real deal’ and a good Leyland copy has not been available until the introduction of the Reisman Classic, a collaboration between the legendary Marty Reisman, the Johnson’s of ATP Sport Ltd. and Doug Gwilliam of the now defunct Alphatool Productions Ltd, England.

The Reisman Classic is the only hardbat rubber at the present time that is in current production and the company who has produced this rubber incorporated all of the elements of the Leyland such as spin continuation rather than spin reversal, the touch, feel and sound of the Leyland but with a modernized approach as an alternative to serrated pimpled tops using automotive techniques from the racing industry to grip the ball. However, it should be noted that the Reisman Classic does not spin the ball any more or less than the Leyland and plays the same and lets a player use skill to outwit the opponent.

All new sheets of the Reisman Classic are now being sold under the REISMAN label and are unique in that they are handcrafted with individual gold artwork screen printed onto the logo strip of the rubber. ATP Sport Ltd., who produce the rubber have indicated that at some time in the future players can opt to have their name screen printed onto the logo strip.

The REISMAN© rubber meets the specifications of the Hardbat Committee of USATT and may be used in all hardbat tournaments. The REISMAN rubber also carries the endorsement of the US Classic Table Tennis Association (USCTTA).

At the 2004 US National Championships, the first tournament in which the REISMAN rubber was used, Steve Berger, 2000 National Hardbat Champion, won the Over 40 Hardbat event playing with the purple REISMAN rubber. Scott Johnson, winner of the junior 2004 Gloucester Classic Tournament and senior finalist, plays with nothing else.

The Reisman Classic rubber can now be ordered directly from England (Click here for details of how to order). An ITTF approved version in red and black is also available and may be bought from table tennis supply vendors.

History article by Mark and Lily Johnson and Hermann Luechinger.