Maurice Heckscher

Maurice Heckscher, skilled and steady, was one of the greatest right-wall doubles players in history. He grew up in Philadelphia and played at Episcopal Academy and Merion Cricket Club. In singles he won the national interscholastics, was a member of the Philadelphia team that won the 1963 national teams and played No. 1 and went undefeated for Penn when they won the Ivy League title in 1966. In doubles, he was national champion in 1975 and 1989, and he took the Canadian nationals in 1975 and 1977. As a pro he often paired with Michael Pierce and won eight Philadelphia district titles, eight William Whites with five partners, six Johnsons, four Gold Racquets, two World Doubles, two Cambridge Clubs and one North American Open. In masters play, he won the national 40+ in 1990; 50+ in 1993 and 1995 (on the left wall); 55+ in 1998; and the 65+ in 2008. Off the court, Heckscher founded and ran The Elite, which for twenty-one years was the season-ending major on the pro doubles tour. For the past fourteen years he has coached the junior varsity squash team at Agnes Irwin School.