May 20, 2012
From A Reader: No Way Stu Goldstein The Most Talented American
Interesting observations about past Hyder Trophy winners, but there is absolutely no way on earth that Stu Goldstein was the most talented American.
Mark Talbott, Mark Talbott and Mark Talbott.
The numbers don't lie.
And if you want to go back further, Charlie Brinton, Diehl Mateer and Henri Salaun.
Stu was good, VERY good, but no way was he in the firmament with those all time greats.
-From a reader
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Salaun was clearly a rare talent, having beaten Hashim Khan in the 1954 North American Open, but it's hard to comment on the "heavy racquet" era.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is Goldstein was the most all-around talented American player of the modern era.
Mark was the greatest retriever, greatest competitor, and obviously the greatest winner.
Ned was the best ball striker.
Tommy Page was the greatest "raw" talent.
Julian Illingworth belongs in the discussion as well, but it's not as easy to place Julian because current American men's squash lacks the depth that was present during the Talbott run.
A case could be made that Goldstein was mentally fragile at times and didn't fulfill his complete potential, but if you were going to pick one American who played the game as close to perfectly as is possible, I'd take Stu.