Kettenbach, Richard

Commercial director, sports official

Born: 23.01.1906 in Wiesbaden

died: 26.08.1996 in Wiesbaden

Kettenbach was a trained businessman and commercial director of the sparkling wine producer Henkell & Co. for many years.

He achieved international renown, particularly during his time on the board of the Wiesbaden Tennis and Hockey Club (WTHC). He was its president from 1955-69 and was regarded as a pioneer and organizer of the international May tournaments in tennis, in which the world's elite took part in the 1950s.

He was also very active in field hockey, the second pillar of the WTHC. He served as chairman of the Hessian and later the South German Hockey Association. He was particularly committed to promoting the development of indoor field hockey, which was still completely unknown at the time. Initially, he organized tournaments for the WTHC in the Kohlheck Police School, later in the Rhein-Main-Hallen, and also contributed significantly to the national and international breakthrough of indoor field hockey with his association activities.

He was also active as a rower with the Kasteler Ruder- und Kanu-Gesellschaft 1880, as a field hockey goalkeeper and, for many years, as a successful referee with several international appointments.

Kettenkopf moved to Hallgarten in 1968, where he was one of the founders of the tennis club TC Grün-Weiß Hallgarten and a member of the club's board.

He worked for the Henkell company all his life. After completing his commercial apprenticeship, he quickly rose through the ranks and became a manager at the company. In the 1920s, he became head of department, gained power of attorney in 1935 and was appointed director two years later.