John Alfred Leach MBE (20 November 1922 – 5 June 2014) was a British table tennis player, coach, and author.

After winning the title, he achieved widespread fame within the United Kingdom, appearing on television and writing for News of the World.

He continued to write a column for News of the World for twenty years and published several books on table tennis.

Growing up in Dagenham, Essex, Leach hung out at the British Ropes Works canteen, where his father was the manager.

[5] He also met and practised with two international-level players during the war: Victor Barna of Hungary and Richard Bergmann of Austria, both of whom had emigrated to Great Britain.

"[6] Bergmann described Leach in 1950: "of excellent match temperament and fighting spirit this most outstanding of the English-born players is a good all-rounder who specialises in a cast-iron defence and a fine attack, relying to a certain extent on his long reach.

[9] The following year, Leach reached the final sixteen of the World Championships before losing a five-set match to France's Guy Amouretti.

[2] He also made the semi-finals of mixed doubles with Margaret Franks that year, winning a bronze medal.

[11] Leach's arrival back in the United Kingdom was filmed by Gaumont British News and shown in cinemas around the country.

[3] At the 1950 World Championship, Leach lost a hard-fought five-set match to Michel Haguenauer of France in the round of 16.

[9][11] The next year, Hiroji Satoh revolutionised the sport with a sponge-covered paddle that allowed him to put drastic spin on the ball.

[10] In doubles, he teamed with Bergmann to make the final against Norikazu Fujii and Tadaki Hayashi of Japan.

[9] In mixed doubles, Leach and Rowe were the runners-up to Hungary's Sidó and Romania's Angelica Rozeanu.

[10] In doubles, Leach and Bergmann again made the final, losing to the Hungarian team of Sidó and József Kóczián in five sets.

[3] Leach continued to compete at international level, making the World Championships the next four years, but never advancing past the round of 16.

Throughout the summer, the organization employed many of the game's top players, operating up to nine camps simultaneously across England, Scotland, and Wales.

[4] Leach remained a fan of table tennis, but said the improved equipment hurt the sport's popularity among spectators due to shorter rallies.

Upon his death, The Guardian remarked "For many years Johnny Leach, who has died aged 91, was synonymous with English table tennis…his impact on the sport was immense.

Another time, he purposely missed the team bus to console a player who lost a World Championship match.

Upon his death, Matthew Syed remarked: "Leach taught us that courtesy and dignity are perfectly compatible with competitiveness and sparkling success.