DENNIS
NORBURN
DENNIS
NORBURN
1930-2002
Paul Stansfield pays tribute to one of our own!
Halifax Table Tennis lost one it’s most popular statesmen in December 2002 when 72 year-old Dennis Norburn died. The word legend is often easily used, but as long as table tennis is played in Halifax the name of Dennis Norburn will be remembered. Dennis saw table tennis go through many changing phases throughout his fifty-nine years in the game, and even had the honour of playing two World Champions in Richard Bergmann and Johnny Leach. In his later years, Dennis spent most of the time helping and organizing the Halifax juniors, his own game limited to cameo appearances (still in the top division I might add!).
His table tennis career started at the same time that he took up boxing in 1946 at the Air Training Core in Halifax at the age of sixteen and It did not take him long to forget about the latter. A year later he joined the YMCA and made his debut in the league for their fourth team. His progress was swift indeed and the following season he was elevated to the first team playing alongside other notable names such as, Ronnie Thompson, Geoff Kidd, Peter Walton and Cedric Whiteley.
In 1949 Dennis was hauled in for his National Service in Staffordshire with the RAF, a time he regards has one of the happiest of his life. In those days good facilities for sport were hard to find but the National Services had them in abundance and they produced sportsmen of very high quality from many fields. Dennis was in his element and had freedom and time to practice regularly, his game took off! Beating the American teams that were stationed in the UK gave him immense satisfaction.
It did not take long before Staffordshire realised his talents and he represented the County as well as winning the Stafford Closed Championships. Dennis was invited by the World Champion Johnny Leach to play exhibition matches around this time. Yorkshire County player Les Forrest made up a trio and they embarked on a two-week mini tour of Staffordshire. One of these took place in Stafford Prison were they performed to a captive audience!
Dennis was making smooth progress in the 1951 Midland Open when he came across ex-World Champion Richard Bergmann in the quarterfinals. Despite playing to the best of his capabilities he was beaten 21-8 21-8. Dennis described this experience, as like hitting the ball against a brick wall, his defence was simply awesome.
Returning to Halifax in 1951 Dennis picked up were he had left off and won the Halifax Championships on four occasions. It is worth noting that Dennis had represented Yorkshire four times before squeezing into the Halifax 1st team, such was the depth of talent around in our town at that time. He also took the 1953 Coronation Open at Dewsbury, beating Maurice Pitt in the final. His only other Open success came in 1955 at the Leeds Invitation were he beat his friend and doubles partner Les Forrest in the final.
Moving was the order of the day once more in 1963 and Dennis packed his bags and relocated to York where he promptly became Champion in 1965, beating former winner Johnny Ranz in the final. Early retirement from the game beckoned when he took over the running of a Public House in 1969, which took up all of his spare time and almost bankrupted him.
Returning back home to Halifax in 1975 Dennis was persuaded to play again by his lifelong friend Geoff Kidd. He quickly found that he had to alter his style or change his hard bat to counter the demands of the modern day game. Struggling he turned to anti-loop and it suited him down to the ground. He went on to pick up the Halifax Veterans title on two occasions and was enjoying the game again. Dennis was one of the few players who made the seamless transition through all brands of rubbers and equipment in recent years, a testament to his all round talent and no little ability. His acute angled hitting was a joy to watch when he was at his best.
In recent years Dennis channelled is enthusiasm for the game through his activities in youth development. He was non-playing captain for the Halifax junior squad in numerous competitions and many promising local young player would not have been able to continue in the game had it not been for Dennis giving up so much of his time to ferry young players to matches and tournaments. In a sporting context, his knowledge of the game was second to none, and being able to offer advice to a youngster during a game, which often turned defeat into victory, will be sorely missed. On a more personal note, all officials and players of the Halifax and District Table Tennis Association and the Yorkshire Table Tennis Association would like to offer their condolences to the family of Dennis who will be sadly missed, but never forgotten.