Resided: Riverside, CA Date of Birth: February 11, 1931 Date of Passing: February 12, 2025
Congratulations to Vance Lerner for being awarded the USA Racquetball Lifetime Achievement Award, given shortly before his passing in March of 2025.
Lerner was a huge figure in the Southern California Racquetball scene for decades. He co-founded and opened the first racquetball club in the region, in Colton in 1976, and another one a year later in Rialto. But his greatest contribution to the sport would be the creation of the Tournament House, which he opened on Brockton Avenue in Riverside in 1979. The club would host countless tournaments over the next three decades, from local events to pro stops to National championships. Furthermore, the community built around the Riverside club generated a slew of touring pros and nationally ranked age group players, including the likes of Chris Crowther, Kelly Gelhaus, Dale Valentine, his own sons Mike & Steve Lerner, and Jeff Conine.
His contributions to the Racquetball community led to multiple recognitions over his career:
He was recognized by the California Legislature Assembly in 1990
He was inducted into the Riverside Sports Hall of Fame in 2007
And, now in 2025 he has been recognized by the sport’s governing body USA Racquetball for a lifetime of achievement in the sport.
Lerner was born on February 11, 1931, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the only child of Carl and Etta Lerner. At an early age, they moved to San Francisco. Lerner attended San Francisco State and the University of California, Berkeley, earning a degree in Education. He also earned a master’s degree in education along the way at the University of Oklahoma.
While attending UC Berkeley, he joined the ROTC program and after graduating, he joined the United States Air Force, where he enjoyed a 22-year career as a Transport Pilot, including a tour of Vietnam. He retired from active service in 1976.
Years before retiring from the Air Force, Lerner was playing and advocating the sport. He reportedly first played a form of the game while stationed in Waikiki in 1955, saying, “I used a sawed-off tennis racket on an outdoor wall. It was a great workout. It really got you moving. I felt like someone had to get this game going.” He more formally discovered the sport in the mid-1960s before the sport even had been properly named, falling in love with what he knew to be called “Paddle Rackets.”
His last military station was Norton AFB in San Bernardino in the mid-1970s, where he met a builder named Rob Henley. The pair partnered to open the first of his many clubs in the area, which led to his post-military career of club ownership in the Riverside area.
In addition to club ownership, Lerner was a top-rated player in his own right. He was a 4-time Air Force champion and won multiple age division national and regional championships beginning at age 35 all the way until 85.
Upon his passing, Lerner had promoted the game for more than 60 years, and is a worth recipient of the sport’s official Lifetime Achievement award.
