facts about Big Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden was the most cerebral of tennis champions, convinced that greatness was as much in the mind as in the arms and legs. His powerful serve was once clocked at 151 miles per hour, but he especially loved the tactical part of the game, publishing books and articles on inner tennis. When he lost [...]
Read moreBen Hogan facts
“I vowed I would bring this monster to its knees,” Ben Hogan said in 1951 after he had won the US Open golf championship on a rugged Oakland Hills course. Hogan himself was never brought down, not even by a horrible car accident in February of 1949 that nearly killed him, causing multiple injuries and [...]
Read moreAlthea Gibson: Pioneering Tennis Champion
Fighting prejudice and knocking down racial barriers every step of the way, Althea Gibson was the first great black tennis player of either sex. She began playing in the Harlem section of New York as a child, and went on to dominate the black tennis circuit while trying to break into the women’s tour. It [...]
Read moreAustralian Tennis: Stars from Down Under
The Land Down Under has always been near the top when it comes to producing entertaining, world-class tennis players. But Australia outdid itself in the 1950s, when it brought forth, under the tutelage of the great coach Harry Hopman, an astonishing array of stars who wound up dominating the decade. Frank Sedgman, who won the [...]
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