September 9, 1998
Klangs save TC shuffle board
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
John and Teri Klang know a thing or two about cues, shooting a straight lag and staying out of the kitchen. Simply put, this Traverse City couple knows the game of shuffleboard.
Whether in Michigan, the New Jersey coast or in the game's Mecca state of Florida, the Klangs bump and blast discs with the best.
But this husband and wife duo aren't merely players. For more than a quarter of a century they have been tireless promoters of the game here in Traverse City. From scrubbing and polishing courts to running tournaments, the Klangs have been a guiding hand in the revitalization and resurgence of tournament play in one of the oldest shuffleboard clubs in the United States.
Those years of dedication were recognized this past Tuesday during a ceremony at Traverse City Senior Citizen shuffleboard courts, the highlight of which included the naming of a court in their honor with a bronze marker presented by Reynold Jonkhoff Funeral Home.
For John Klang, it was an amazing tribute to an endeavor with such humble expectations.
"We started out by putting a little ad in the paper looking for players and I was told, 'Now don't be discouraged if you only get four of five people,'" recalled Klang in between plays during a single's tournament competition at the Senior Center courts on Thursday. "On the first day out we had 40 people. We were floored."
Since that day, and throughout the 1970s and 80s, the Klangs were at the forefront of promoting shuffleboard league play. Today their work is carried on by members of the Traverse City Shuffleboard Association, one of the oldest clubs in the country. Founded in 1930, it is second only to St. Petersburg, Fla. in years of play.
"(Club ?) Bernie Oaks has done a beautiful job of running the association. Teri and I taught he and his friend how to play this game and now they can beat the hell out of us," Klang noted.
But while Klang admits the mentor now has to play "second fiddle" to one-time students, the spirit of competition and a simple love of the game keeps his cue on the court. Playing in Florida in the winter and Michigan in the summer months, the Klangs have run into their fair share of friendly, and not so friendly, competition.
"We entered a tournament in Muskegon that was full of professionals, which we were not, and it was just like getting into a meat grinder," Klang said. "In two days they had chased us out of there."
While the competition is bit stiff in Muskegon, it can be down right brutal in the Sunshine State. "They play for blood," remarked Klang about shuffleboard play in Florida.
Home court advantage, as Teri Klang noted, is taken very seriously down south.
"People down in Florida will mark down what each court does, whether it drifts one way or another. They'll even use code numbers to keep track of if a disc is slow or fast," she said.
While they may not use secret code numbers, the Klangs aren't afraid of a little competition. This couple plays to win, whether its guarding their 10 point shot or knocking a competitors disc into the 'kitchen' for minus 10.
In the end, however, what matters most is not the final score but the winning friendships.
"No matter where you go, wherever there is a shuffleboard court, you'll make friends within a week," John remarked.
"So many people that have lost their mate end up marrying someone they meet while playing shuffleboard. It's sociability that goes beyond the courts, you make life-long friends."