THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 37, NO. 27 | FEBRUARY 19, 2016
FAITH &
TABLE TENNIS BY JILL RAGAR ESFELD
R Bill Guilfoil started playing table tennis in 1936, competed internationally and has been in two Olympic trials. At 93, he still teaches and plays every chance he gets.
OELAND PARK — St. Agnes parishioner Bill Guilfoil likes to tell a story about the time his friend George Brett was in Australia and saw a local newscast about table tennis. The baseball Hall of Famer was shocked to see Guilfoil as the featured player. “Then George came back,” Guilfoil said. “And he told me, ‘You know, you’ve got a problem now — you’re going to be world famous. “Baseball is just a national sport, but table tennis is all over the world.’” Brett was right. Guilfoil has been meeting with reporters from international newspapers and television stations for the past few months because, for the second time in his life, he competed in the U.S. Olympic table tennis trials. Guilfoil won’t be representing the United States this year in Rio. But there’s little doubt why he’s famous for trying. “It’s because I’m 93 years of age and two months,” he said. >> See “?????” on page 4