Ivor Montagu is 1 of 10 men who met in Germany in January 1926 and set in motion a series of events that made table tennis an international sport. In 1926, Montagu initiated the creation of
the International Table Tennis Federation and served as its first president for 41 years until 1967. The ITTF began with four member countries and grew to 160 national associations during his leadership.

The constitution and laws of the sport of table tennis were adopted and the World Table Tennis Championships established during a meeting at the family home of Lord and Lady Swaythling, Montagu’s parents.

At age 18, he was a founder of the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), and served as its chairman from 1923 to 1929, from 1932 to 1933, and again from 1936 to 1958. He was also the
ETTA’s president from 1927 to 1931 and 1958 to 1966.

The trophy presented annually to the men’s World Champion table tennis team bears the name Swaythling Cup—named for Montagu’s mother, Lady Gladys Goldsmid Montagu Swaythling.

Montagu was the first non-player elected to the ITTF Hall of Fame.