Known as the Clown Prince of Table Tennis, the acrobatic Bellak won seven World Championship gold medals, including six Swaythling Cups (Men’s World Championships as a member of the Hungarian National Team) between 1928 and 1938. The Swaythling victories came in 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, and 1938.

Bellak won the World Mixed Doubles title in 1938 with W. Woodhead of Great Britain. He also captured the U.S. Men’s Singles in 1938; the U.S. Men’s Doubles in 1937, 1939, and 1943; and the U.S. Mixed Doubles in 1941.

The Clown Prince moniker was not always a compliment, and many thought his clowning antics prevented Bellak from greater competitive success.