The real ping pong champion — and hustler — who inspired 'Marty Supreme' ^63.1%

NPR - By Elizabeth Blair - 12/25/2025, 10:00 AM

In the 1940s and '50s, New York City table tennis was a gritty subculture full of misfits, gamblers, doctors, actors, students and more. They competed, bet on the game or both at all-night spots like Lawrence's, a table tennis parlor in midtown Manhattan. A talented player could rake in hundreds in cash in one night. In this world, a... more