By Randy Fiedler

On April 9, 1978, Baylor senior political science major John Smith broke the Guinness World Record for table tennis play by an individual against several opponents by completing 125 hours, which broke the previous record of 122 hours. The Chi Alpha member had used no stimulants during the contest, and survived a brief bout of hallucination following a short nap. “I feel okay,” he said. “We relied on prayer to stay awake.”

Smith had started his record-breaking attempt with a partner, graduate student Howard Kenyon, hoping to break the record for two-person play. However, Kenyon ended up passing out four times over 62 hours of play and had to be taken to the Baylor Health Center for rest and observation.

The Baylor table tennis marathon, sponsored by Chi Alpha, raised money to benefit a hospital in Calcutta, India.

(Source: Baylor Lariat 4/11/1978)