Johnny Leach

John Alfred Leach MBE (20 November 1922 – 5 June 2014) was a British table tennis player, coach, and author.

He began competing at a relatively old age, 17, before serving in World War II.

John Alfred Leach was born 20 November 1922 in Bow on the east side of London, the son of Jim and Emma Leach.

Growing up in Dagenham, Essex, Leach hung out at the British Ropes Works canteen, where his father was the manager.

There, he learned to play table tennis.

Leach was soon spending every spare moment, up to eight hours a day, practising.

On the encouragement of his father, he began to compete in junior-level competitions at the age of 17, considered a late age to get started in competition.

As Leach began to get serious about his play, World War II broke out.

He enlisted, serving with the Royal Air Force in Northern Ireland as a radioman.

He was placed in the same squadron as table tennis player and coach Jack Carrington, who began to instruct him, and international-level player Ron Craydon.

Working 24 hours on, 24 hours off shifts, Leach would spend most of his time off practising hitting the ball to different parts of the table.

He also met and practised with two international-level players during the war: Victor Barna of Hungary and Richard Bergmann of Austria, both of whom had emigrated to Great Britain.

At times, Leach and the others would entertain the troops by competing.

Considered an all-around player, Leach was tall and skinny.

He was equally adept on forehand and backhand.

He could play long-range defence, attack from either side of the table, and had an excellent drop shot.

Viktor Barna called Leach "a great fighter. He never gives up, never loses heart."

During the war, he greatly elevated his game and, in 1946, achieved a world ranking.

By 1946, he achieved a world ranking.

He also won 13 bronze and silver World championship medals between 1947 and 1955.

In 1947, he reached the semi-finals of the first post-war World Championships by beating Carrington in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

He then lost a four-set match to eventual champion Bohumil Váňa of Czechoslovakia.

In doubles, Leach and Carrington lost in the finals to Váňa and Adolf Slar.

The following year, Leach reached the final sixteen of the World Championships before losing a five-set match to France's Guy Amouretti.

In 1949, Leach became Great Britain's second World Champion singles player.

After winning the title, he achieved widespread fame within the United Kingdom, appearing on television and writing for News of the World.

Two years later, Leach added a second singles title.

Leach faced a tough draw in the 1949 World Championships in Stockholm where he beat Ferenc Sidó, Dick Miles, and Ferenc Soos en route to the final.

Bergmann described Leach in 1950: "of excellent match temperament and fighting spirit this most outstanding of the English-born players is a good all-rounder who specialises in a cast-iron defence and a fine attack, relying to a certain extent on his long reach."

Barna credited hard work, not natural ability, for Leach's success.

Under Carrington's tutelage, Leach quickly elevated his play and became England's top player.

In 1953, he was part of the team that won Great Britain's first, and as of 2023 only, team World Championship.

After Leach retired in 1965, he remained active in the sport.

He was England's national coach for eight years and served as president of the English Table Tennis Association for more than 20 years.

He continued to write a column for News of the World for twenty years and published several books on table tennis.

He also worked as a commentator for the BBC and ITV during table tennis broadcasts.

Leach bought a table tennis manufacture and started a talent search agency.

In 1966, he was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

He was inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation Hall of Fame in 1997.

As of 2014, Leach is just one of 11 players from any country to win two singles championships.