Martin Reisman (February 1, 1930 – December 7, 2012) was an American champion table tennis player and author. He was the 1958 and 1960 U.S. Men's singles champion and the 1997 U.S. hardbat champion. He was a proponent of the traditional hardbat style of table tennis. Reisman was a staple in New York's table tennis community for decades, known for his ability, flamboyant style, and flair as a showman. He was nicknamed "the Needle" due to his quick wit and slender build. == Early life == Reisman was born on February 1, 1930, in Manhattan, New York to Sarah, a Russian immigrant, and Morris. He grew up on East Broadway with his older brother, David. His father worked as a cab driver. He started playing table tennis after experiencing a nervous breakdown at the age of 9 and found it soothing. He went on to become the city junior champion at the age of 13. == Table tennis career == === As a hustler and showman === He began playing for bets and hustling for real money at Lawrence's Broadway Table Tennis Club at 54th and Broadway. He would lure in challengers, intentionally lose the first few games, then suggest doubling the stakes before showing his true skill level and winning. If a bet were large enough, he would play sitting down or blindfolded.He would sometimes pull a $100 bill from a roll in his pocket and measure the height of the net. At 15, he placed a $500 bet on himself at a national tournament in Detroit with a man he thought was a bookie, placing the bills in his hand. The man turned out to be the head of the United States Table Tennis Association. Police officers escorted Reisman out of the tournament. From 1949 to 1951, Reisman and Douglas Cartland toured the world performing a comedy table tennis routine for the opening act of the Harlem Globetrotters. They hit balls with frying pans and the soles of their sneakers. Comedian Jonathan Katz recalled that he met and played against Reisman when he was a youth and that Reisman was an amazing athlete, and that he once beat him with the flat end of a chess piece. === Competitive play === He won five bronze medals at the World Table Tennis Championships, starting with a men's team event bronze at 1948 World Table Tennis Championships, followed by three medals at the 1949 World Table Tennis Championships in the men's singles, the men's team and the mixed doubles with Peggy McLean. His fifth medal came in 1952 in the men's doubles with Douglas Cartland at the 1952 World Table Tennis Championships. Reisman won 22 major table tennis titles from 1946 to 2002, including two United States Opens and a British Open. === Later life === He became the oldest player to win an open national competition in a racket sport by winning the 1997 United States National Hardbat Championship at the age of 67. Reisman continued to be one of the most visible presences and known personalities in the table tennis world. He was a flamboyant figure, known for regularly wearing fashionable, bright clothing, accompanied by his signature fedora and Panama hats. He appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2008. The guest, Matthew Broderick, mentioned Reisman while talking about his ping-pong hobby. Letterman then revealed Reisman was in the studio, emerging to perform his signature trick of attempting to split a cigarette with a ping-pong ball live on stage. Reisman was president of Table Tennis Nation at the time of his death in December 2012. == Personal life == He was married to Yoshiko Reisman and had one daughter, Debbie. == Death == He died on December 7, 2012, in Manhattan, New York due to heart and lung complications. == Film == Marty Supreme is an upcoming film inspired by Marty Reisman. Josh Safdie directed the film and Timothée Chalamet stars in the lead role. Although not a biographical film, the fictional lead character 'Marty Mauser,' a table tennis hustler from the Lower East Side, was loosely based on Reisman. == Bibliography == Reisman's autobiography, The Money Player, The Confessions of America's Greatest Table Tennis Player and Hustler was published in 1974. Publisher: Morrow, ISBN 0-688-00273-0 == See also == List of select Jewish table tennis players List of table tennis players List of World Table Tennis Championships medalists == References == == External links == Table Tennis Nation Full biography at USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame. Accessed November 2006. Interview With Marty Reisman at USA Table Tennis By Tyra Parkins 2001. Accessed November 2006. Marty Reisman article at hardbat.com A Giant Misunderstanding Nearly Made A Giant-killer Of The Author, by Parton Keese A Little Night Music by Ray Kennedy Obituary in The New York Times Sklarbro Country (2012-11-23). "a woman like that". www.earwolf.com/show/sklarbro-country/ (Podcast). earwolf.com. Event occurs at 45:48. Retrieved 2012-12-17.