BIOGRAPHY CLAUDE BENHAM

Dr. Claude Benham from Newport News, Virginia has been a lifelong resident of the state. He has attained the highest ranking of any state player on the USHA national scene. His abilities are still legendary and his game is still remembered by most players and folks over 50 who saw him play. He learned to play handball at Columbia University in the 50's. Starting with a ball known as the "pinkie", he learned the game there in NYC (gasp! it really was almost a racquetball). With no gloves (as it was played) he batted it around in the off season of his college football career. Claude was an outstanding quarterback in the 150 pound division and in fact was a consensus All American. His arm was deceivingly strong. In his General Practicioner studies at UVA he became more of a regular on the old courts there in Charlottesville. Then he came back to Tidewater and established his Medical practice. His game improved dramatically and he often has said that his favorite handball times were playing the League around Virginia. Norfolk area would challenge Richmond and or the Washington DC area.

It wasn't long before he was traveling to the major metro areas of USHA tournaments. All throughout the 60's and early 70's his game became stronger as he got to play the national names (and Hall Of Famers). Claude became famous for his 99 % accuracy off the back wall. This killshot was deadly and anything set up on the back wall was history!! He played great defense and his retrievability of shots made by others was also excellent. His game was well thought of and emulated as you will see below... Perhaps his style of play is likened to the sword and shield concept. Maybe this game tactic was not as spectacular as others but it was very consistent. His natural talent and swing allowed him to play longer then many players. When asked what was his most memorable game he said it had to be the time he beat Fred Lewis in a semifinal match and the evental winning of the tourney in Knoxville. Two weeks later Lewis became the national champion. Ironically one young protégé of Claude's, a name we all know in the Mid Atlantic today and many time national champion Roger Berry. Roger was beginning to travel and learn the game by driving to play Claude in the late 70's. Ironically, last summer in the Las Vegas Nationals Roger defeated Fred in the Golden Masters semifinal.

Claude 's career featured numerous state, regional and national wins too many to detail here. His name was in the spotlights and in marquee matches against the likes of Singer, Jacobs and Haber. Although not always a nationals attendee due to his practice, Claude attained the ranking of 5th in the nation in the early 70's. He played from coast to coast when he could make it to big matches and including Los Angeles. It was common to see his named in every USHA magazine back in the 60's-70's. His game started tailing off in the late 70's but he can be seen in a picture here at our handball website at the Richmond Old Dominion Tourney in 79. By the late 80's Claude became more of doubles player and pretty much stopped traveling and being competitive but could still be seen in friendly matches at the Cardinal Club in Tidewater with longtime partner (and nationally ranked over 65) Ray Barrett. Many players learned skills and discipline of shot selection from him including Virginia state HOFer Mike Griffin. Claude is enjoying retirement as he approaches his septuagenarian birthday, there in the Virginia Beach area.