Excerpt from New Dinerman Anthology, 'Selected Squash Writings'
December 15, 2014
This
passage is excerpted from a chronicle of the first squash court
built in Mexico and its impact on the growth of the sport in that
country.
"From the very beginning, the game was a tremendous hit with the
friends and business colleagues that visited the deVillafrancas, with
the court in constant use at all hours of the day and night, especially
on weekends, when every afternoon the property metamorphosed into a
crowded and continuous celebration of the game, to the point where the
family actually installed a swimming pool just yards from the court so
that their guests could cool off while awaiting their turn on court!
Because of the senior deVillafranca's status in the political and
business communities, the playing group at this juncture was decidedly
upper-crust: one noted USSRA officer in for a visit during that period
vividly recalls his host gesturing to the several dozen guests
thronging the grounds late one afternoon and commenting that '80% of
all the wealth in Mexico is right here on this lawn'.
"During the 1968 Olympic Games, which
were held in Mexico City, Mr. DeVillafranca approached Carlos and Raul
Sanchez, who were members of the Mexican team in frontenis, which was a
demonstration sport in those Games, and invited them to visit his home
and give squash a try. Both became instant converts, and the latter
would eventually attain a level of stardom (including a number of USSRA
age-group championships) that was, however, eclipsed by the
achievements of his nephew, Mario, who in 1979 would become the first
Mexican to win the U. S. Nationals, jump-starting a WPSA pro career
that saw him become a perennial top-five-ranked superstar, a finalist
in the '82 Boston Open and the '89 North American Open and the '86 WPSA
Championships winner via a 3-0 final-round victory over Michael
Desaulniers in Toledo."
