Hellman or Hallman ?

[Alex_Moiseyev]

In many (perhaps most) checkers literature, especially in the modern years starting 50-s / 60-s, the last name of the Second 3-move World Champion is spelled as "Hellman"

However I find an interesting fact that in the "Woods", back to 1939, they spelled it as "Hallman". Which spelling is correct, or he changed it later ?

Alex

[Patrick Parker]

both are correct.........he immigrated i believe and changed it later .....

i could be wrong tho

[Ingo_Zachos]

If I rememeber correctly, he was born Hellmann, as the Name was spelled in Sweden.
When his parents immigrated to the US, it somehow changed to Hallman, losing a latter and changing the vowel.
In the 1940 's he changed the vowel back to Hellman.

I read this in some old checker magazine, and will take a look where I can find it.

Greetinx from Dortmund, Germany

Ingo Zachos

[Mr. Checkers]

Many people right before and during the WWII period changed their name (so that they would not be persecuted) and then they changed them back to their original name after the war ended. Outside of the town where I lived as a boy there was a concentration camp which housed American citizens whose only crime was their name and their country of origin. "Inky"

[Gene Lindsay]

I read somewhere(I can't recall now), that his name was spelled Hallman, but was pronounced Hellman. He changed the spelling so we would pronouce it correctly.


Gene Lindsay

[Patrick Parker]

i asked a girl here to do that so we could say her name right........she said no

[Mr. Checkers]

Patrick the more karats that you offer a lady the greater your chances become of her wanting to change her name. "Inky"

[Mr. Checkers]

"Adopting His Real Name"--Woods Checker Player--Volume 9, page 55 (Nov. 1945). "The Swedish name of our review editor was Hellman, but when the family came to this country (when Walter was about 10) they adopted the name Hallman, and thus under that name Walter has risen to fame in the checker world. However when he became naturalized he again adopted the family name. To avoid confusion, he continued to use the name Hallman, as his pen name, but has decided in the future to use his real name--Hellman. So, in the future to all of you he prefers to be known as and called Walter Hellman". Please give thanks to my very dear friend, fellow collector and checker historian par-excellance "Al Darrow" for providing us with this enlightening information. "Inky"

[Alex_Moiseyev]

Thanks to everyone who helped us to find a true and correct answer. Excellent research.

Alex