Draft:James Gibb

James Gibb was an active athlete from 1874 to 1878, affiliated to the South London Harriers. He served as Secretary of the club from 1875-76, later becoming Vice President. Along with a number of victories in five and ten mile races, he held the 10 mile track record with a time of 54:49 from 17th November 1877 to the 2nd August 1879. He donated the Gibb Cup to the South London Harriers, and the club runs a 5 mile cross country race under this name to this day.{{Cite web |title=The Gibb - Club 5 mile Cross Country championship |url=https://www.southlondonharriers.org/Events/Calendar/View?id=838 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.southlondonharriers.org |language=en-GB}} He was a founder member of the Amateur Athletic Association of England.{{Cite web |title=INVENTOR OF PING-PONG. - Daily Mercury (Mackay, Qld. : 1906 - 1954) - 10 Sep 1930 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/170455331 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Trove |language=en}} He never trained seriously.

In 1880, he joined London firm Baines & Tait, subsequently renaming itself first Baines, Tait & Gibb, before becoming James Gibb & Co in 1881. The firm were brass founders, engineers and iron merchants, in addition to manufacturing an array of iron products. Drain covers bearing the company's name can be found across England to this day.{{Citation |last=McDermott |first=Mike G. |title=Wimbledon UDC 'Crimp' vented manhole cover |date=2013-10-10 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikegmcdermott/23217725772/ |access-date=2025-03-27}}{{Cite web |title=Volume 11 : 2020 , 2021 - 2024 Archives |url=https://www.hadas.org.uk/2021/05/?cat=3881 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=HADAS |language=en-US}}

In 1875, he published the first rules for what was then referred to as lawn tennis.

During a company trip to the United States in either 1887 or 1890, he encountered novelty celluloid balls with which he returned to England. According to Ivor Montagu, filmmaker and founder of the International Table Tennis Federation, who wrote his book Table Tennis in 1936, he introduced the celluloid balls to friend and neighbour John Jaques of Jaques of London, who commercialised the game as Ping pong:{{Cite web |title=Table Tennis Collector 67 |url=https://www.ittf.com/history/documents/journals/ttc67/ |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=International Table Tennis Federation |language=en-GB}}

"This crucial invention was made by the late Mr. James Gibb (born 1853, died 1930), a founder of the Amateur Athletic Association, and in his day a noted cross-country runner, who in 1878 established a record (20 min. 29 sec.) for the four miles that stood for fifteen years. Mr. Gibb's was one of those family circles that played a home-made Tennis on a table, The rackets were made from wood box covers, or sometimes thick cardboard. The balls were little rubber balls, as supplied with various children's games. Mr. Gibb, who was an engineer, made a clamp to fit the table and used string for a net. Unfortunately, Mr. Gibb's surviving relatives are not clearer about the date than to have affirmed, in 1930, "about forty years ago." After a while Mr. Gibb went on a business trip to America, saw some toy celluloid balls, and thought, "Just the thing for my game." He brought a supply back with him, and his nephew remembers quite well the occasion when some players were playing slowly and he mocked them by saying, "Ping-pong, ping-pong." The idea struck him that this would be an excellent name for the game, and he presented it to his friend and neighbour who happened to be in the sports goods business, John Jaques, of Croydon, receiving in return a silver tea-service or coffee-service."

The Daily Chronicle, 2nd May 1901:

“The inventor of Ping-Pong has been discovered, it was Mr. James Gibb, an old Cambridge athlete, now living in Croydon. Mr. Gibb … is an engineer, and started the game to amuse his leisure one evening with champagne corks and the lids of cigar-boxes. Thence he advanced to india-rubber balls, and finally sent to America for the well-known celluloids. But is Mr. Gibb responsible for the name? Since “Diddledaddle-jim-jams” there has been no such triumph of linguistic lunacy. It beats Tiddlywink out of sight.”

The Echo, 9 May 1901:

Then Mr. Jaques talked about the inventors of the game. "A lot of people are claiming to have invented the game, but it was a Mr James Devonshire, an electrician, who invented it. Mr. Gibb also claims to have had a hand in it, but he was the first to think about changing the indiarubber balls to celluloid."

James Gibb was born in 1853 in Marholm, near Peterborough, to a Scottish father, John, and an English mother, Mary, née Jackson. His father was a farmer. He was the youngest of five, having two sisters and two brothers. Both parents likely died during the 1860's, with James living in Lambeth by 1871.

He married Kate Lucia Clarke in Croydon in 1886, moving to Reigate by 1911. He retired in 1912 before moving to the Isle of Wight by 1915.

He died at home in April 1930 after a lengthy illness, aged 76, leaving an estate of £156,115 (1930).

He is buried at St Lawrence Church.

{{reflist}}