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Bill Tilden (1893 - 1953)
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 Big
Bill Tilden : The Triumphs and the Tragedy by
Frank Deford, Bud Collins
William
T. Tilden II dominated the courts during the 1920s. For seven
years in a row, he never lost a significant match. Flamboyant both
in public and private, Tilden was eventually arrested — and
shunned — for his homosexuality. He died penniless and alone,
years before his election into the tennis Hall of Fame.
Also available:
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From Tennis
One: Theories of the Game
by Kim Shanley
How big was William "Big Bill" Tilden? In the
1920's and 1930's, Bill Tilden was to tennis what Babe Ruth was to
baseball. From 1920 to 1926, he won six straight U.S.
Championships (the equivalent of today's US Open). He won it for a
seventh time in 1929, which still stands as a record (remember
Jimmy Connors only won five US Open titles). Although he didn't
play in every Wimbledon during his prime years (for a variety of
reasons including being banned as professional tennis journalist),
he won three Wimbledon crowns. As an amateur from 1912-30, he won
138 of 192 tournaments, and had a match record of 907-62--an
unbelievable .936 percent winning percentage.
Unlike most champions who can perform great athletic feats but
can't articulate how they or others perform them, Tilden was an
accomplished tennis journalist and author who could explain the
entire spectrum of physical, mental, and emotional attributes that
made a great tennis champion. Three of his books, "How to
Play Better Tennis," "The Art of Lawn Tennis," and
"Match Play and the Spin of the Ball," define the
classic tennis vision of Bill Tilden...
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From Encarta
Excerpt:
American tennis
player, who dominated the sport during the 1920s with his powerful
style of play. Tilden was born William Tatem Tilden II in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and educated at the University of
Pennsylvania. He won the United States national singles
championship in 1920 and successfully defended the title five
successive times. From 1920 to 1930 he was a member of the
American Davis Cup team and led the team to seven consecutive
victories (1920-1926). Tilden won the Wimbledon singles
championship in 1920, 1921, and 1930. In 1929 he regained the U.S.
singles championship and also won the singles championships of
Switzerland and the Netherlands...
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By Ron Borges, Special to ESPN.com
Excerpt:
Not even Bill Tilden's penchant for
self-destruction was enough for anyone to challenge his place in
tennis history. Through glorious triumph and inglorious tragedy,
Tilden remained Big Bill.
Of all his remarkable feats none can surpass
this: In 1950, during an era of closed minds, the Red scare and
sexual conservatism, Big Bill Tilden was overwhelmingly voted the
greatest tennis player of the first half of the 20th century in an
Associated Press poll only six weeks after being released from
prison for the second time on a conviction of having fondled and
made unwanted advances to a teenage boy...
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From the
Knitting Circle
Excerpt:
Born 1893, in Philadelphia, USA; died 5th. June,
1953, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA.
American tennis player. Generally called Bill
Tilden, but also known as Big Bill and Gentleman Bill Tilden.
Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family and
developed late, winning his first major title at Wimbledon in 1920
at the age of 27.
The first American to win at Wimbledon, and
during the 1920s he remained undefeated in any major match for
seven years. His ten victories in national men's singles (three at
Wimbledon and seven in the US) during 1920 to 1930 set a record
until Roy Emerson achieved twelve victories during 1961 to 1967.
Bill Tilden's writing in The Art of Tennis is still
regarded as authoritative.
When his homosexuality became better known he
was ostracized from the tennis world and was banned from the most
prestigious tennis courts...
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Names Index:
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