A friend of my brother Ronnie, whose name was Dick Pieper, attended Cornell University from 1968 - 1971.  During Christmas break of 1968, he came home to visit and introduced us to Tiddley Winks.  I consider myself the founder of Tiddley Winks at Haverford High School and its chief proponent.  It was fun, easy to set up and a craze was born. In early 1969, it had grown into a fad and had some 30 odd students at Haverford High School playing.  By late spring of 1969, we decided to have a tournament of winks called the First Annual R. D. Pieper Memorial Spring Tiddley Winks Tournament of Champions, named after Dick Pieper, with 32 participants.

Below are some links showing the Haverford High School Lunch Bulletin announcements describing the setup and execution of the first tournament.  Highlights included posters, faculty sponsors and actual human beings playing Tiddley Winks in display cases in the hallway outside of the cafeteria.  The finals were broadcast live over the high school radio station, WHHS.  The flight and seeds are included below.  The winner was Steve Soltoff, which was a personal disappointment to me.  I figured since I "invented" the sport and made the whole thing happen, it was only logical that I win.  I created a trophy, the Golden Tiddley, but had to give it to Steve.  I gave myself the "Golden Wink" as a consolation prize.
    The Lunch Bulletin/Official Rules Sheet/Flight of Champions

In the summer of 1969, I compiled all of the information available, complete with terminology and biographies and published the one and only edition of the "Pocketbook of Winks" which was actually hand-typed.  Here is the only known copy:
    The Pocketbook of Winks

By the fall of 1969, the fad had grown into a cult and had over 70 students playing.  In May of 1970, we held the Second Annual R. D. Pieper Memorial Spring Tiddley Winks Tournament of Champions.  The flight consisted of 64 players, again broadcast on WHHS, and culminated in Larry Hirsch taking the top prize, beating the previous year's champion, Steve Soltoff.  Included are a poster publicizing the event and two articles announcing the start and finish of the tournament.
    1970 Documentation

HOME | A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIDDLEY WINKS AT HHS | PUBLICATIONS | PICTURES | VEGA