Many of you who play at Manitou Park know Dar Walters – a man who walks slow, always has a big smile and a kind word, but who can beat you in a heartbeat with any shot in the book. But some of you may not know the rest of the Dar Walters story. He was in the Marine Special Forces in Vietnam, is a member of the Idaho Sports Hall of Fame, won more state and national tennis titles than you can count (try 450+), was a professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization – and that’s just part of the story. Below you can read a little more about the many things Dar has accomplished. We are grateful to have someone as nice and as talented as Dar in our club.
Chris Clougherty, BPC President
Dar Walters’ Record (a giant among us)
• Inducted into the Idaho Sports Hall of Fame (3/1994)
• Inducted into the Univ. of Idaho Sports Hall of Fame (9/2008)
• Winner of more titles & national championships than any other player in Idaho tennis history (453 titles in 15 states)
• Winner of 19 national USTA Open & Senior doubles titles
• Idaho’s highest world-ranked (ITF) tennis player ever in singles (#49) in 1994 and in doubles (#23) in 2000
• Nationally ranked in the USTA Senior “Top 10” twenty-three (23) times in singles or doubles since 1984
• Idaho’s highest nationally ranked tennis player in a Senior USTA category (#7 in singles – 1987 and #2 in doubles – 2000)
• Big Sky Conference #1 Singles & Doubles Champion (1968)
• U S Marine Corps Singles & Doubles Champion (1970)
• Undefeated Idaho High School Tennis Singles Player (1967)
• Winner of Wilson National Senior (50+) Fast Serve Contest (2001 – 119 mph )
• Developed, trained or coached many (over 500) of Idaho’s top junior tennis players (1975 – present)
• Selected as 2017 Intermountain Section Junior Development Coach of the Year for developing 94 junior players who earned NCAA Division I tennis scholarships and 389 junior players who were placed on Division II, III or NAIA teams
• Received the “Presidential Achievement Award” from President Jimmy Carter – in recognition of service to the nation in time of war and outstanding community achievement in time of peace (June 3, 1979 – Vietnam War Special Forces – US Marine Corps)
• Received the “Governor’s Incentive Award” from Governor John V. Evans – in recognition of public service to the citizens of Idaho and outstanding personal achievement by implementing cost saving measures which reduced overhead costs for state government by hundreds of thousands of dollars (June 29, 1978)
• Idaho Torchbearer for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, UT – (January 26, 2002)
The Diadem Paddle company has today (10/21/2022) released a tribute video to Dar on Instagram. You may view it by clicking below:
