Marty Reisman is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 champion table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

 player and author. He was the 1958 and 1960 U.S. Men’s Singles Champion and the 1997 U.S. Hardbat Champion.

Table tennis career

Reisman developed his table tennis skills beginning at the age of 12 on the Lower East Side

Lower East Side

The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....

, and then as a hustler in New York in the 1940s, playing for bets and prizes, notably at Lawrence's Table tennis emporium on Broadway and 54th Street

54th Street (Manhattan)

54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...

.

He is the oldest person ever to win an open national competition in a racquet sport when he won the 1997 United States National Hardbat championship at age 67.

In recent years, Reisman has continued to be one of the most visible presences and known personalities in the Table Tennis world and Reisman is currently the President of Table Tennis Nation. Reisman is Jewish, and Jews dominated the sport in the 1930s and 1940s. Comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

 Jonathan Katz

Jonathan Katz

Jonathan Paul Katz is an American comedian, actor, and voice actor who is best known for his starring role in the animated sitcom Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist...

recalled that he met and played Reisman when he was young and that Reisman was an amazing athlete.