Benjamin Lipton

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Achievements

Adaptive Sports Hall of Fame

Benjamin Lipton was Director of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, a world famous rehabilitation training center founded in 1945. He was one of the country’s outstanding administrators in the field of rehabilitation/vocational guidance for veterans following World War II.

Best known as the father of wheelchair sports in this country, Ben organized the first National Wheelchair Games (NWG) in 1957 at Adelphi College in Garden City, New York.

The word “national” was virtually a misnomer, as those inaugural games included 63 competitors from New York and New Jersey. However, Ben had a grand vision and was an eternal optimist. In 1958, the NWG was moved to Bulova Park in Jackson Heights, New York and the Bulova School of Watchmaking in Woodside, Queens, New York became the primary sponsor. Under his direction the NWG flourished beyond anyone’s expectations and remained in New York until 1974 when the event moved around the country.

In the subsequent years, Ben was the principal in the creation of the National Wheelchair Athletic Association, the governing body of wheelchair sports; and the U.S. Wheelchair Sports Fund (USWSF) that supported the U.S. wheelchair competitive sports teams. He was NWAA Board Chairman and USWSF President during the earliest years. As director of Team USA, he led the first team to compete in the annual Stoke Mandeville Games (SMG) held in England. Lipton worked with Sir Ludwig Guttman, founder of the international wheelchair sports competitions, to organize what is now the Paralympic Games.

Lipton served on various ISMG and International Governing Executive Committees, including the initial Pan American Organizing Committee. Ben poured his heart and soul into assuring the wheelchair sports movement was successful.

His wife Anne (HOF 1991) worked tirelessly behind the scenes with Ben to ensure that success. Their indomitable spirit gave countless people with disabilities an opportunity to compete in athletics and, more importantly, enhance the quality of their lives.