Tilden, Bill

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[[Image:Bill Tilden in color.jpg|thumb|right|200px|American tennis player Bill Tilden (1893-1953), colorized.]]
  
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'''William Tatem Tilden II''' (February 10, 1893 &ndash; June 5, 1953), often called '''"Big Bill"''', was an [[United States|American]] [[tennis]] player who was the [[World number one male tennis player rankings|'''World No. 1''']] player for 7 years, the last time when he was 38 years old. Born in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], to a wealthy family, he was a '''"Junior"''' at birth but changed his name to '''"II"''' when he was in his mid-20s.
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'''William Tatem Tilden II''' (February 10, 1893 &ndash; June 5, 1953) was born to a wealthy family in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]]. Often known as "Big Bill," Tilden was an [[United States|American]] [[tennis]] player who was ranked No. 1 in the world from 1920-25, and No. 1 nationally a record ten consecutive times from 1920-29.
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Among his numerous achievements were ten [[Grand Slam]] singles titles and seven [[Davis Cup]] victories before he turned professional. He was the first American tennis player to compete at [[Wimbledon]] and the first American winner.
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 +
During the 1920s, he went undefeated for seven years. He was among the most famous American athletes of his generation, which included [[Red Grange]], [[Jack Dempsey]], [[Bobby Jones]], and [[Babe Ruth]]. He won fans with his penchant for drama and with his wide array of shots. His outright dominance of tennis led him to be voted in 1950, by the [[Associated Press]] as the best tennis player of the first half of the twentieth century.
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{{toc}}
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Tragically, he is not widely remembered in the modern era as his two arrests for sexual misbehavior with teenage boys in the late 1940s led to incarcerations. After all of his great accomplishments, he ended up being shunned by much of the tennis world.  
  
 
==Early life==
 
==Early life==
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Tilden was born into a wealthy family that was overshadowed by the death of three older siblings to diptheria in 1884, in the span of three weeks. He lived a sheltered life, and was tutored at home until junior high school. His mother died of a stroke when he was 15, and, even though his father was still alive and maintained a large house staffed with servants, was sent a few houses away to live with a maiden aunt. He would call this place his home for 33 years. He found success in tennis at a young age, though he did not make the tennis team at the University of Pennsylvania in his first try.
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Tilden was born to Selina Hey and William T. Tilden, Sr. Before his birth, his parents were beset by tragedy—[[diptheria]] brought about the deaths of three of his siblings in 1884, all in the span of three weeks. His parents had two more children: Tilden and his brother Herbert. As a result Bill Tilden lived a sheltered life as a child. He was tutored at home until junior high school. When Tilden was 15, his mother contracted [[Bright's disease]] and was confined to a [[wheelchair]]. His father, who was considering a campaign for [[mayor]] of [[Philadelphia]], was rarely home.
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In 1910, he graduated from [[Germantown Academy]] in [[Philadelphia]], and entered the [[University of Pennsylvania]]. In 1911, when Tilden was 18, his mother died; even though his father was still alive and maintained a large house staffed with servants, he was sent a few houses away to live with a maiden aunt. Three years later, his father died from a [[kidney]] infection; a few months later, his beloved brother Herbert died of [[pneumonia]]. At age 22, Tilden had experienced losing his entire family to tragic and untimely deaths.<ref>Answers.com, Bill Tilden.</ref>
  
 
==Tennis career==
 
==Tennis career==
 
===As an amateur===
 
===As an amateur===
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Unique among tennis players, Tilden became a great player only at the relatively advanced age of 27, only finding recognition as a losing finalist at the U.S. Nationals the previous two years, in 1917 and 1918. He made considerable strides after the winter of 1919-20, when he moved to Rhode Island, and where, on an indoor court, he devoted himself to retooling his relatively ineffective backhand. He emerged with a new grip and a powerful new backhand in the summer of 1920 and for the rest of the decade dominated world tennis.
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Unique among tennis players, Tilden became a great player only at the relatively advanced age of 27. Prior to 1920, he had won a number of national doubles titles but his first taste of recognition came as the losing finalist at the U.S. Nationals in 1917 and 1918.
 +
 
 +
He made considerable strides after the winter of 1919-20, when he moved to [[Rhode Island]], and where, on an indoor court, he devoted himself to retooling his relatively ineffective backhand. He emerged with a new grip and a powerful new backhand in the summer of 1920, and for the rest of the decade he dominated world tennis.
 +
 
 +
In spite of his powerful serve, Tilden preferred to play mostly from the backcourt, where he dazzled opponents with his ever-changing tactics: A mixture of guile, of chopped and sliced shots, of dropshots and lobs, and of sudden, powerful groundstrokes deep to the corners. He hit superbly angled shots on nearly impossible returns and liked nothing better than to face an opponent who threw powerful serves and ground strokes at him and then rushed the net—one way or another Tilden would find a way to hit the ball past him.
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In addition to his seven U.S. National singles titles, he captured three Wimbledon titles. He also brought the U.S. Davis Cup team to seven consecutive wins from 1920-1926.
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His lasting dominance was attributed to relatively consistent good health. Floating [[cartilage]] in his [[knee]] hindered him seriously from time to time. But it was during the mid-1920s that an infection from a cut on his right hand's middle finger put his playing career in doubt. [[Amputation|amputating]] his finger and even his entire hand was considered, but only the tip of Tilden's middle finger was removed, leaving a short stump. After some adjustments to his technique, Tilden was able to continue his winning ways.
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Tilden had long been at odds with the rigid amateur directors of the [[United States Lawn Tennis Association]] about his income derived from [[newspaper]] articles he wrote about tennis. In 1928, they decreed that he would be suspended from amateur competition and would not be allowed to play in the Davis Cup challenge round between the United States and France. Although he had been doing this for many years, officials had always ignored it. They suspended him for six months.  
  
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It was little known at the time, but mid-way through the 20s the tip of Tilden's middle finger on his hand that gripped the racquet became infected and had to be amputated. He also had a chronic knee problem that hindered him seriously from time to time. This too was concealed from the public and hardly seemed to impede him in his long string of victories.
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When the suspension was announced and his French fans heard that Tilden would not be playing they sent diplomats to ask [[Calvin Coolidge]], then president of the United States, to allow Tilden to play. The president told the American ambassador in [[Paris]] to disregard the U.S. Davis Cup team captain, and to select Tilden for the team. Tilden was suspended after the match—which he won.
  
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In spite of his powerful serve, Tilden preferred to play mostly from the backcourt, where he dazzled opponents with his ever-changing tactics: a mixture of guile, of chopped and sliced shots, of dropshots and lobs, and of sudden powerful ground strokes deep to the corners. He hit superbly angled shots on nearly impossible returns and liked nothing better than to face an opponent who threw powerful serves and ground strokes at him and who rushed the net — one way or another Tilden would find a way to hit the ball past him.
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In the late 1920s the great [[France|French]] players known as the "Four Musketeers" ([[Jean Borotra]], [[Henri Cochet]], [[René Lacoste]], and [[Jacques Brugnon]]) finally wrested the Davis Cup away from Tilden and the United States, as well as his domination of the singles titles at Wimbledon and [[Forest Hills]].
  
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In the late 1920s the great French players known as the "Four Musketeers" finally wrested the Davis Cup away from Tilden and the United States, as well as his domination of the singles titles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills. Tilden had long been at odds with the draconianly rigid amateur directors of the United States Lawn Tennis Association about his income derived from newspaper articles about tennis. He won his last major championship at Wimbledon in 1930 at the age of 37 but was no longer able to win titles at will.  
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His last Grand Slam victory was in 1930, when at age 37, he was Wimbledon's oldest gentleman's singles champion.  
  
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===On the professional tour===
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Over the course of his amateur career, from 1912-1930, Tilden boasted a tremendous 93.6 percent winning average.<ref>Tennisfame.com, [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=140 Hall of Famers.] Retrieved August 14, 2007.</ref>
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In 1931, in need of money, he turned professional and joined the fledgling pro tour, which had begun only in 1927. For the next 15 years he and a handful of other professionals such as Hans Nusslein and Karel Koželuh barnstormed across the United States and Europe in a series of one-night stands, with Tilden still the player that people primarily paid to see. Even with greats such as Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, and Don Budge as his opponents, all of them current or recent World No. 1 players, it was often Tilden who ensured the box-office receipts — and who could still hold his own against the much younger players for a first set or even an occasional match. In 1934, he won 9 out of his first 20 matches against Vines. And in 1945 the 52-year old Tilden and his long-time doubles partner Vinnie Richards won the professional doubles championship — they had won the United States amateur title 27 years earlier in 1918.
 
  
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In 1941, when Bill Tilden was 48 years old, he toured the United States playing head-to-head matches with Don Budge, who at that time was incontestably the greatest player in the world. Joe McCauley says that Budge def. Tilden 51-7 in their head-to-head tour, but Bowers says that by his count the outcome was most probably 46-7 plus one tie, with 49 matches being fully documented for a result of 43-5 plus 1 tie. In the whole history of tennis, only Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall have ever approached the sustained level of Tilden's greatness after reaching the age of 40.
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===As a professional===
  
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==Controversy==
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In 1931, in need of money, he turned professional and joined the young pro tour, which had begun in 1927. He joined with [[Vincent Richards]], [[Hans Nusslein]], and [[Roman Najuch]] of [[Germany]] and [[Karel Kozeluh]] of [[Czechoslovakia]]. He played his first match as a professional against Kozeluh at [[Madison Square Garden]] in front of 13,500 people. He went on to win the debut tour against the Czech, 63 matches to 13.
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Although Tilden almost never drank, he smoked heavily and disdained what today would be considered a healthy life style for an athlete; for most of his life his diet consisted of 3 enormous meals a day of steak and potatoes, with, perhaps, the occasional lamb chop.  
 
  
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Tilden was first arrested on Nov. 23, 1946 on Sunset Boulevard when he was caught placing his hand in a teenage boy's pants (the boy was a prostitute whose services Tilden had solicited). He could have been charged with a felony ("lewd and lascivious behavior with a minor"), but was charged only with a misdemeanor ("contributing to the delinquency of a minor"). He was sentenced to a year in prison and served 7 1/2 months.
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As the marquee name on the young tour, Tilden set the path for other similarly popular players to turn professional. Still, even with greats such as [[Ellsworth Vines]], [[Fred Perry]], and [[Don Budge]] as his opponents—all of whom were current or recent World No. 1 players—it was often Tilden who ensured the box-office receipts.  
  
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He was arrested again on Jan. 28, 1949, after picking up a 16-year-old hitchhiker and making advances. The new charge could have been prosecuted as a felony, but the judge merely sentenced Tilden to a year on his probation violation and let the punishment for the new molesting charge run concurrently. He served 10 months.
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Joining promoter Bill O'Brien, Tilden toured the country in 1932 and 1933, but the [[Great Depression|Depression]] was on and new blood was needed. Vines furnished it. Tilden and O'Brien signed him on, and in 1934, Tilden defeated Vines in the younger man's pro debut, 8-6, 6-3, 6-2, before a turn away crowd of 16,200 at Madison Square Garden. That year, Tilden and Vines went on the first of the great tennis tours, won by Vines, 47-26.<ref>Tennisfame.com, [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=140 Hall of Famers.] Retrieved August 14, 2007.</ref>
  
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In both cases, apparently, Tilden sincerely believed that his celebrity and his longtime friendship with Hollywood names such as Charlie Chaplin were enough to keep him from paying the consequences of his acts. He therefore defended himself in court in both cases in a far less than vigorous fashion.
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In 1934, he won nine of his first 20 matches against Vines. And in 1941, at 48 years old, he toured the United States playing head-to-head matches with Don Budge, who at that time was incontestably the greatest player in the world. Even at his advanced age, Tilden was able to play competitively against these younger players, for at least the first set, if not the whole match.
  
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After his second incarceration Tilden was increasingly shunned by the tennis world. He was unable to give lessons at most clubs and even on public courts he had fewer clients. At one point he was invited to play at a prestigious professional tournament being held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel; at the last moment he was told that he could not participate.  
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The tours grew in the 1930s and '40s, and Tilden remained an attraction even though he was approaching the age of 50.
  
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==Legacy==
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In 1945, at age 52, Tilden and his long-time doubles partner [[Vinnie Richards]] won the professional doubles championship; they had won the United States amateur title 27 years earlier in 1918.
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Tilden was a champion player of the 1920s and 1930s who was the single most influential person in the history of tennis. He was also perhaps the most paradoxical figure in the history of any sport: a gay man who almost single-handedly changed the image of tennis from that of a "sissy" country-club sport played only by rich white people in long white pants or ankle-length skirts to that of a major sport played by robust, world-class athletes.
 
  
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Tall, lean, and gangly, with long arms, enormous hands, and exceptionally broad shoulders, Tilden possessed what was called at the time a "cannonball" service. Although he could serve aces almost at will, he had little interest in advancing to the net behind his serve. He primarily used spin and slice serves, reserving his famous cannonball for crucial moments in the match. Allison Danzig, the main tennis writer for The New York Times from 1923 through 1968 and the editor of "The Fireside Book of Tennis," called Tilden the greatest tennis player he had ever seen. "He could run like a deer," Danzig told CBS Sports.
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==Tragic end==
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Tilden's fame led him to have many famous friends, particularly movie stars. He moved to [[Hollywood]] and coached many of them in tennis, including [[Greta Garbo]], [[Katharine Hepburn]], and [[Tallulah Bankhead]]. He also became good friends with [[Charlie Chaplin]]. Tilden played at Chaplin's tennis parties, where he coached [[Errol Flynn]], [[Joseph Cotten]], [[Montgomery Clift]], [[Spencer Tracy]], and [[Olivia deHavilland]].
  
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In the United States' sports-mad decade of the Roaring Twenties Tilden was one of the five dominant figures of the "Golden Era of Sport," along with Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Bobby Jones, and Jack Dempsey. His subsequent arrests and convictions on charges of soliciting underage males cast a shadow over his illustrious career.
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His affinity for theatrics was also manifested off the court, as he wrote many unsuccessful [[Short story|short stories]] and [[novel]]s about misunderstood but sportsman-like tennis players, and dreamed of being a star on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] and in [[Hollywood]]. Much of his off-the-court time&mdash;as well as his money&mdash;was devoted to these pursuits, with failure the inevitable result.
  
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Tilden may have spent more time analyzing the game of tennis than anyone before or since.  He wrote two books about the game, ''[[The Art of Lawn Tennis]]'' ([http://www.tops4tennis.com/tilden/tilden-intro.html online text]) and ''[[Match Play and the Spin of the Ball]]'', the latter of which is still in print and is the definitive work on the subject. Besides his great physical abilities, he was an extremely cerebral player, a master of both strategy and tactics, adept at adapting himself to his opponent's style and turning his strengths against him. He was also known for his showmanship, which occasionally veered into what his opponents might have called [[gamesmanship]].  He always tried to give his paying audience its money's worth and it was frequently written, though never confirmed by Tilden himself, that he would deliberately lose the opening sets of a match in order to prolong the battle and to make it more interesting for both himself and the spectators. (This ploy was confirmed in 1963 by William Lufler, who played on Tilden's pro tour for several years. Lufler, who had become a highly regarded teaching pro  &mdash; he was instrumental in forming the USPTA, and served as its president 1963-1966 &mdash; claimed that Tilden threw the early sets in most matches.) In spite of his occasional overly colorful behavior he was a devout believer in sportsmanship at all costs and above all other aspects of the game, including the final score; he would readily (and dramatically) cede points to his opponent if he thought the umpire had miscalled a shot in Tilden's favor.
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Although Tilden is widely considered to be the greatest tennis player of all time, his life story ended in tragedy. Tilden was a closeted [[homosexual]], but in later years his sexual orientation was given much attention after two publicized arrests for indiscretion with a minor. Tilden was first arrested on Nov. 23, 1946, and was charged with a misdemeanor—contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to a year in prison and served seven and a half months. He was arrested again on Jan. 28, 1949, for a similar offense and was sentenced to a year for violating his probation. He served ten months in prison.
  
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Another of his party pieces, when serving for the match against lesser opposition, was to pick up four balls in his massive hand and proceed to serve four aces, one with each ball. To show his disdain for the women's game, he played an exhibition against the foremost female player of the day, Suzanne Lenglen, giving her three points in each game, and won 6-0 6-0 (I hasten to add that he started each game from minus 40 to love, not love-40, so Lenglen had to win four points before Tilden won seven).  
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After his second incarceration, Tilden was increasingly shunned by the tennis world. When this became public knowledge, he was no longer allowed to enter tennis clubs or to play on the professional circuit. By the end of his life, his former friends had abandoned him. Some of them literally turned their backs when he approached. The officials at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] removed his name from their alumni files. The [[Germantown Cricket Club]], where he had won many of his Davis Cup matches, removed his pictures from their walls. The same happened at [[Forest Hills]].<ref>Answers.com, [http://www.answers.com/Bill%20Tilden Bill Tilden.] Retrieved August 14, 2007.</ref>
  
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Tilden the consummate showman on the court was also a ham and showman in the larger world.  He wrote many unsuccessful short stories and novels about misunderstood but sportsman-like tennis players, and dreamed of being a star on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and in [[Hollywood]]. Much of his off-the-court time &mdash; as well as his money &mdash; was devoted to these pursuits, with failure the inevitable result.
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On June 5, 1953, he died of a [[heart attack]] in West Hollywood, [[California]]. He was alone, and his rackets were found beside his bed, packed and ready to go to the 1953 U.S. Championships.
  
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Although Tilden had been born to wealth, and earned large sums of money during his long career, particularly in his early years on the pro tour, he spent it lavishly, keeping a suite at the Algonquin Hotel. Much of his income went towards financing Broadway shows that he wrote, produced, and starred in [1] . The last part of his life was spent quietly and away from his family, occasionally participating in celebrity tennis matches. He died penniless in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 60. He was preparing to leave for the United States Professional Championship tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, when he fell dead of a stroke.
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==Legacy==
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The outstanding tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and perhaps the single most influential person in the history of tennis, Tilden brought a refreshing and revolutionary mind to the sport. Tilden may have spent more time analyzing the game of tennis than anyone before or since. He wrote many books about tennis strategy, including ''The Art of Lawn Tennis'' and ''Match Play and the Spin of the Ball''.
  
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Tilden was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959.
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Tilden was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in [[Newport]], [[Rhode Island]], in 1959.
  
 
==Grand Slam record==
 
==Grand Slam record==
 
*[[French Championships]]
 
*[[French Championships]]
 
**Singles finalist: 1927, 1930
 
**Singles finalist: 1927, 1930
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**'''Mixed champion''': '''1930'''
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**'''Mixed champion:''' '''1930'''
  
 
*[[Wimbledon Championships]]
 
*[[Wimbledon Championships]]
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**'''Singles champion''': '''1920''', '''1921''', '''1930'''
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**'''Singles champion:''' '''1920''', '''1921''', '''1930'''
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**'''Doubles champion''': '''1927'''
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**'''Doubles champion:''' '''1927'''
  
 
*[[U.S. Championships]]
 
*[[U.S. Championships]]
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**'''Singles champion''': '''1920''', '''1921''', '''1922''', '''1923''', '''1924''', '''1925''', '''1929'''
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**'''Singles champion:''' '''1920''', '''1921''', '''1922''', '''1923''', '''1924''', '''1925''', '''1929'''
 
**Singles finalist: 1918, 1919, 1927
 
**Singles finalist: 1918, 1919, 1927
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**'''Doubles champion''': '''1918''', '''1921''', '''1922''', '''1923''', '''1927'''
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**'''Doubles champion:''' '''1918''', '''1921''', '''1922''', '''1923''', '''1927'''
 
**Doubles finalist: 1919, 1926
 
**Doubles finalist: 1919, 1926
−
**'''Mixed champion''': '''1913''', '''1914''', '''1922''', '''1923'''  
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**'''Mixed champion:''' '''1913''', '''1914''', '''1922''', '''1923'''  
 
**Mixed finalist: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1924
 
**Mixed finalist: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1924
  
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==[[Professional Tennis Championships]] wins==
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==Professional Tennis Championships highlights==
 
*'''[[Wembley Arena|Wembley]], [[England]]'''
 
*'''[[Wembley Arena|Wembley]], [[England]]'''
 
**''Finalist, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938''
 
**''Finalist, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938''
Line 78: Line 96:
 
**''Singles, 1934
 
**''Singles, 1934
  
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==Other notable wins==
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==Works==
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*'''[[Cincinnati Masters|Cincinnati]]'''
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*Tilden, Bill. 1922. ''The Art of Lawn Tennis''. London: Methuen.
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**''Singles, 1926''
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*Tilden, Bill. ''Match Play and the Spin of the Ball''. Kennikat, 1969.
  
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*'''[[Mercedes-Benz Cup|Los Angeles]]'''
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==Notes==
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**''Singles, 1927''
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<references/>
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**''Doubles, 1927''
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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*DeFord, Frank. ''Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy''. Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976. ISBN 0-671-22254-6
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*DeFord, Frank. ''Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976. ISBN 0671222546
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*Tilden, William Tatem. ''My Story: A Champion's Memoirs''. Classic Textbooks, 1948. ISBN 140478652X.
+
*Tilden, William Tatem. ''My Story: A Champion's Memoirs''. Classic Textbooks, 1948. ISBN 1258197588
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*Tilden, William Tatem. ''Match Play and Spin of the Ball''. Kennikat Press, 1969. ISBN 0804617716.
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*Tilden, William Tatem. ''Match Play and Spin of the Ball''. Kennikat Press, 1969. ISBN 0804617716
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=140 "William Tatem Tilden"], ''International Tennis Hall of Fame'', Retrieved July 16, 2007.
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All links retrieved October 31, 2023.
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* Schwartz, Larry, ESPN.com, 2007; [http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016511.html "Tilden Won With Style"], ''ESPN.com'', Retrieved July 16, 2007.
+
 
 +
* [https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/bill-tilden/ Bill Tilden], ''International Tennis Hall of Fame''
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* Schwartz, Larry. 2007. [http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016511.html "Tilden Won With Style"], ''ESPN.com''
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* Borges, Ron. [http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00016509.html Tilden Brought Theatrics to Tennis.] ''ESPN.com''
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[[Category:Athletes and sports professionals]]
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[[Category:History and biography]]
 
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[[Category:Biography]]
 
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[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 
 
{{Credit|144114899}}
 
{{Credit|144114899}}

Latest revision as of 16:08, 31 October 2023

American tennis player Bill Tilden (1893-1953), colorized.

William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953) was born to a wealthy family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Often known as "Big Bill," Tilden was an American tennis player who was ranked No. 1 in the world from 1920-25, and No. 1 nationally a record ten consecutive times from 1920-29.

Among his numerous achievements were ten Grand Slam singles titles and seven Davis Cup victories before he turned professional. He was the first American tennis player to compete at Wimbledon and the first American winner.

During the 1920s, he went undefeated for seven years. He was among the most famous American athletes of his generation, which included Red Grange, Jack Dempsey, Bobby Jones, and Babe Ruth. He won fans with his penchant for drama and with his wide array of shots. His outright dominance of tennis led him to be voted in 1950, by the Associated Press as the best tennis player of the first half of the twentieth century.

Tragically, he is not widely remembered in the modern era as his two arrests for sexual misbehavior with teenage boys in the late 1940s led to incarcerations. After all of his great accomplishments, he ended up being shunned by much of the tennis world.

Early life

Tilden was born to Selina Hey and William T. Tilden, Sr. Before his birth, his parents were beset by tragedy—diptheria brought about the deaths of three of his siblings in 1884, all in the span of three weeks. His parents had two more children: Tilden and his brother Herbert. As a result Bill Tilden lived a sheltered life as a child. He was tutored at home until junior high school. When Tilden was 15, his mother contracted Bright's disease and was confined to a wheelchair. His father, who was considering a campaign for mayor of Philadelphia, was rarely home.

In 1910, he graduated from Germantown Academy in Philadelphia, and entered the University of Pennsylvania. In 1911, when Tilden was 18, his mother died; even though his father was still alive and maintained a large house staffed with servants, he was sent a few houses away to live with a maiden aunt. Three years later, his father died from a kidney infection; a few months later, his beloved brother Herbert died of pneumonia. At age 22, Tilden had experienced losing his entire family to tragic and untimely deaths.[1]

Tennis career

As an amateur

Unique among tennis players, Tilden became a great player only at the relatively advanced age of 27. Prior to 1920, he had won a number of national doubles titles but his first taste of recognition came as the losing finalist at the U.S. Nationals in 1917 and 1918.

He made considerable strides after the winter of 1919-20, when he moved to Rhode Island, and where, on an indoor court, he devoted himself to retooling his relatively ineffective backhand. He emerged with a new grip and a powerful new backhand in the summer of 1920, and for the rest of the decade he dominated world tennis.

In spite of his powerful serve, Tilden preferred to play mostly from the backcourt, where he dazzled opponents with his ever-changing tactics: A mixture of guile, of chopped and sliced shots, of dropshots and lobs, and of sudden, powerful groundstrokes deep to the corners. He hit superbly angled shots on nearly impossible returns and liked nothing better than to face an opponent who threw powerful serves and ground strokes at him and then rushed the net—one way or another Tilden would find a way to hit the ball past him.

In addition to his seven U.S. National singles titles, he captured three Wimbledon titles. He also brought the U.S. Davis Cup team to seven consecutive wins from 1920-1926.

His lasting dominance was attributed to relatively consistent good health. Floating cartilage in his knee hindered him seriously from time to time. But it was during the mid-1920s that an infection from a cut on his right hand's middle finger put his playing career in doubt. amputating his finger and even his entire hand was considered, but only the tip of Tilden's middle finger was removed, leaving a short stump. After some adjustments to his technique, Tilden was able to continue his winning ways.

Tilden had long been at odds with the rigid amateur directors of the United States Lawn Tennis Association about his income derived from newspaper articles he wrote about tennis. In 1928, they decreed that he would be suspended from amateur competition and would not be allowed to play in the Davis Cup challenge round between the United States and France. Although he had been doing this for many years, officials had always ignored it. They suspended him for six months.

When the suspension was announced and his French fans heard that Tilden would not be playing they sent diplomats to ask Calvin Coolidge, then president of the United States, to allow Tilden to play. The president told the American ambassador in Paris to disregard the U.S. Davis Cup team captain, and to select Tilden for the team. Tilden was suspended after the match—which he won.

In the late 1920s the great French players known as the "Four Musketeers" (Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, René Lacoste, and Jacques Brugnon) finally wrested the Davis Cup away from Tilden and the United States, as well as his domination of the singles titles at Wimbledon and Forest Hills.

His last Grand Slam victory was in 1930, when at age 37, he was Wimbledon's oldest gentleman's singles champion.

Over the course of his amateur career, from 1912-1930, Tilden boasted a tremendous 93.6 percent winning average.[2]

As a professional

In 1931, in need of money, he turned professional and joined the young pro tour, which had begun in 1927. He joined with Vincent Richards, Hans Nusslein, and Roman Najuch of Germany and Karel Kozeluh of Czechoslovakia. He played his first match as a professional against Kozeluh at Madison Square Garden in front of 13,500 people. He went on to win the debut tour against the Czech, 63 matches to 13.

As the marquee name on the young tour, Tilden set the path for other similarly popular players to turn professional. Still, even with greats such as Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, and Don Budge as his opponents—all of whom were current or recent World No. 1 players—it was often Tilden who ensured the box-office receipts.

Joining promoter Bill O'Brien, Tilden toured the country in 1932 and 1933, but the Depression was on and new blood was needed. Vines furnished it. Tilden and O'Brien signed him on, and in 1934, Tilden defeated Vines in the younger man's pro debut, 8-6, 6-3, 6-2, before a turn away crowd of 16,200 at Madison Square Garden. That year, Tilden and Vines went on the first of the great tennis tours, won by Vines, 47-26.[3]

In 1934, he won nine of his first 20 matches against Vines. And in 1941, at 48 years old, he toured the United States playing head-to-head matches with Don Budge, who at that time was incontestably the greatest player in the world. Even at his advanced age, Tilden was able to play competitively against these younger players, for at least the first set, if not the whole match.

The tours grew in the 1930s and '40s, and Tilden remained an attraction even though he was approaching the age of 50.

In 1945, at age 52, Tilden and his long-time doubles partner Vinnie Richards won the professional doubles championship; they had won the United States amateur title 27 years earlier in 1918.

Tragic end

Tilden's fame led him to have many famous friends, particularly movie stars. He moved to Hollywood and coached many of them in tennis, including Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, and Tallulah Bankhead. He also became good friends with Charlie Chaplin. Tilden played at Chaplin's tennis parties, where he coached Errol Flynn, Joseph Cotten, Montgomery Clift, Spencer Tracy, and Olivia deHavilland.

His affinity for theatrics was also manifested off the court, as he wrote many unsuccessful short stories and novels about misunderstood but sportsman-like tennis players, and dreamed of being a star on Broadway and in Hollywood. Much of his off-the-court time—as well as his money—was devoted to these pursuits, with failure the inevitable result.

Although Tilden is widely considered to be the greatest tennis player of all time, his life story ended in tragedy. Tilden was a closeted homosexual, but in later years his sexual orientation was given much attention after two publicized arrests for indiscretion with a minor. Tilden was first arrested on Nov. 23, 1946, and was charged with a misdemeanor—contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to a year in prison and served seven and a half months. He was arrested again on Jan. 28, 1949, for a similar offense and was sentenced to a year for violating his probation. He served ten months in prison.

After his second incarceration, Tilden was increasingly shunned by the tennis world. When this became public knowledge, he was no longer allowed to enter tennis clubs or to play on the professional circuit. By the end of his life, his former friends had abandoned him. Some of them literally turned their backs when he approached. The officials at the University of Pennsylvania removed his name from their alumni files. The Germantown Cricket Club, where he had won many of his Davis Cup matches, removed his pictures from their walls. The same happened at Forest Hills.[4]

On June 5, 1953, he died of a heart attack in West Hollywood, California. He was alone, and his rackets were found beside his bed, packed and ready to go to the 1953 U.S. Championships.

Legacy

The outstanding tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and perhaps the single most influential person in the history of tennis, Tilden brought a refreshing and revolutionary mind to the sport. Tilden may have spent more time analyzing the game of tennis than anyone before or since. He wrote many books about tennis strategy, including The Art of Lawn Tennis and Match Play and the Spin of the Ball.

Tilden was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1959.

Grand Slam record

  • French Championships
    • Singles finalist: 1927, 1930
    • Mixed champion: 1930
  • Wimbledon Championships
    • Singles champion: 1920, 1921, 1930
    • Doubles champion: 1927
  • U.S. Championships
    • Singles champion: 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1929
    • Singles finalist: 1918, 1919, 1927
    • Doubles champion: 1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1927
    • Doubles finalist: 1919, 1926
    • Mixed champion: 1913, 1914, 1922, 1923
    • Mixed finalist: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1924

Professional Tennis Championships highlights

  • Wembley, England
    • Finalist, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938
  • United States Professional Championship
    • Singles, 1931, 1935
  • French Professional Championship
    • Singles, 1934

Works

  • Tilden, Bill. 1922. The Art of Lawn Tennis. London: Methuen.
  • Tilden, Bill. Match Play and the Spin of the Ball. Kennikat, 1969.

Notes

  1. ↑ Answers.com, Bill Tilden.
  2. ↑ Tennisfame.com, Hall of Famers. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  3. ↑ Tennisfame.com, Hall of Famers. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  4. ↑ Answers.com, Bill Tilden. Retrieved August 14, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • DeFord, Frank. Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1976. ISBN 0671222546
  • Tilden, William Tatem. My Story: A Champion's Memoirs. Classic Textbooks, 1948. ISBN 1258197588
  • Tilden, William Tatem. Match Play and Spin of the Ball. Kennikat Press, 1969. ISBN 0804617716

External links

All links retrieved October 31, 2023.


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