The beginning of squash's journey to Olympic status can be traced back to the work of "charming, witty and utterly dedicated" Ted Walbutton, who died on 5 June aged 86.
Walbutton was CEO of the World Squash Federation from 1991-2005 and went to extraordinary lengths during this period to scale the fortified walls of the International Olympic Committee and plead squash's case for Olympic inclusion.
It gave Ted great pleasure to see his quest belatedly fulfilled by his predecessors when squash was announced on the roster for LA28 in Mumbai in October 2023.
One anecdote relayed to Squash Player by Ted revealed the physical and mental toll of the relentless lobbying process that he went through in foiled attempts to get squash into the Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens and London Games.
"I flew to Moscow and spent an hour waiting in the lobby to meet a Russian IOC member. Eventually I walked in, he gave me a quarter of an hour, said how nice it was to meet me and that, yes, he knew about squash and that he'd give it every consideration. Then I went back to the airport and flew home.
"I did so many of those trips that I suffered tremendous ill health afterwards. I got deep vein thrombosis. It completely wrecked my body."
Ted worked for Durex rubber company before entering the squash world as Marketing Manager for the Squash Rackets Association (latterly England Squash), then becoming Chief Executive of England Table Tennis.
He returned to squash in his World Squash Federation role, where he would remain for 14 years, leading many reforms and doubling membership.
Along with the likes of Juan Dominguez Hocking, the late Susie Simcock and Bob Finch, Tunku Imran and Jahangir Khan, Ted travelled the globe for meetings, presentations and conferences, shaking what he hoped were the right hands to help prize open the Olympic gates.
Walbutton pictured left
"Ted did such tremendous work advancing squash's case," said George Mieras, former Secretary General of the WSF and influential Scottish delegate.
"When squash was turned down for London 2012 [at an infamous IOC session in Singapore in 2005] it was terribly, terribly hard. Ted, who had worked so tirelessly, was heartbroken that all his efforts had come to nothing.
"He must have been very pleased when subsequent efforts were successful for Los Angeles — sadly, years later than we should have been in.
"He was extremely well-liked and respected by all the Olympic people he met. He was such a truly sincere, respectable and devoted worker."
Joyce Buckley, who was European Squash Federation President from 1993-99, worked closely with Ted during this period. She highlighted his appointed as a move towards a more professional era for squash adminstration.
"Ted was a businessman. It was a big step in the right direction for the development of squash. He was a charming man, but ultimately a professional.
"He did more than was humanly demanded of him to promote squash. He was always willing to take that extra step. He was always wise counsel, very supportive and always a gentleman. It was fun. They were great days."
Andrew Shelley, who was CEO of World Squash from 2010-19 and worked with Ted during prior roles with the SRA and Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA), also paid tribute to Walbutton's business acumen and "sardonic wit."
"Although ultimately the IOC never wanted squash during his tenure, Ted made sure that squash's image and profile was raised within the IOC. It's perhaps fair to say he introduced squash into the Olympic conversation.
"He had a commercial and marketing background. He was a very good negotiator, but he also had a lovely way about him and a sardonic wit. Over a lifetime I learned a hell of a lot from Ted."
Shelley highlights an initiative Ted launched while at the SRA as typical of how his commercial nous had a positive impact on the sport.
A project called Open Door 84 provided templates and resources for clubs to give them ideas for encouraging new members. "That sort of commercial support and planning had never been done before," Shelley explains. "Before that, clubs were pretty much left to their own devices without any national assistance."
Shelley's meticulous World Squash Library website, which charts the history of the game, includes presentation documents which Walbutton produced for the IOC to further squash's case.
"These were examples of Ted's commercially-minded approach. You can't just chat to people; you've got to have the facts and figures, beautifully produced brochures and presentations, which Ted was very good at."
That Ted got to see his ultimate objective achieved by his successors before his death was a blessing.
