Growth of Lawn Tennis in California Copyrifl^ed 1013 CompHnumis of WRIGHT df DITSON San FranciffCQt Cal, .'^m Growth of Lawn Tennis in California Copyrighted 1913 Compliments of WRIGHT b- DITSON San Francisco, Cat. OCI.AS47200 1 o ^ ^ ^ o a '§ &I ^ ^ ^^ 1-1 ; m Q < ffi ^ S H O 2 d w o ranged at Del Monte as being the most desirable place, in which they were to meet the state's strongest players, — who were then Sumner and Samuel Hardy, and George and Robert Whitney, — both in Single and Doubles competition. A week of practice was given, to allow them to accus- tom themselves to the new climatic and court conditions, for it must be remembered that the usual asphalt playing surface of the far west differs materially from the turf courts of the east, as the Pacific Coast stars who visit the latter section of the country can testify. Whether a player wears spikes or not on turf he becomes accustomed to the slight give or resiliency which is wholly absent on asphalt, and the balls ^^ shoot" much more rapidly from the latter surface beside becoming lighter as the felt covering wears off (instead of heavier as they do on grass) which causes them to curve and duck more, and necessi- tates a sharper volleying game. The visiting stars quickly accustomed themselves to the climate and conditions, although Davis, who is very heavy and aggressive, succeeded in wearing through three pairs of sneakers in one week's play. The following extract taken from Wright & Ditson's Official Guide gives results of matches played — Trip of Eastern Champions to the Pacific Coast. '^ At the end of the Tournament at Newport it was arranged that four of the Eastern players should make a trip to the Pacific Coast and to the Northwest. The four were Whitman, Ward, Davis and Wright. It had been intended that Larned should go, but he was unable to do so. Five different tournaments were played — at Del Monte, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and Vic- toria, B. C. In the first named they met the two Hardy s and the two Whitney s, each player of one team to play every player of the other. Sumner Hardy proved too good for Ward, 6-2, 6-3, 6^, and for Wright 7-5, 6-2, 6-3. All the other matches in Singles w^re won by the Eastern team. In the Doubles, however, the Hardys beat Whitman and Wright in the straight sets, and Whitman and Wright had already beaten Davis and Ward in three sets — rather a curious upset. The Whitneys made little show against Whitman and Wright. It should be said that Sumner Hardy got two sets in his match with Davis and one from- Whitman, making both play their best tennis." The Doubles tournament which w^as w^on by the Hardy brothers demonstrated the splendid sportsmanship of the California players, for the management of the tournament, even though they felt that their visitors were likely to outclass their home players and annex the event, insisted upon their participating in the Doubles, and none were more insistent on this point than Messrs. Sumner and Samuel Hardy, the title holders, although a w^in for them meant the permanent possession of the challenge cups upon which they had two legs. During the course of these tournaments the visiting team was royally entertained, and indeed throughout the whole of the trip luncheons and dinners w^ere tendered them by the various clubs in every city which they visited and they returned home feeling that the trip w^as a most memorable and enjoyable one and that their entertain- ment both on and off the court spoke volumes for the thorough sportsmanship of their western hosts. After leaving Del Monte the team visited Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver and Victoria, finding especially good grass courts in the last mentioned city. Every match in the north was won by the visitors, but they left feeling that without a doubt California had the foundation for a great tennis future and that all that was needed was prac- tice and a more varied experience. In the San Francisco Examiner of Sept. 8th, 1898, Mr. George Wright's personal views of the California style of play appeared as follows: — • ^^After watching the different matches between the Coast and Eastern champions, I would say that the two styles of play vary in the greater variety of strokes, in the way of lobbing, smash- ing, fore and back hand play and twist service employed by Easterners. Your players hold themselves principally to cross and back court play at a medium pace. This they do very well. I can fully understand why they have not developed all the strokes mentioned above. They have not had oppor- tunities to play against players of different styles, as our men have, nor have they the number of tournaments to play in. They have been too much confined to play- ing with each other, as is shown by the fact that they all play nearly the same style, while each of the Eastern men has a particular style of his own.'' As has been said, this trip served as a turning point for Lawn Tennis in California, the enthusiasm and incentive aroused by the visit of the Eastern men resulting in re- newed effort by the leading players. The number of players and tournaments Increased, and as a result of this and the interest shown by the city authorities in building courts in Golden Gate Park for the school boys, the gen- eral standard of play was persistently raised. In 1900 the Hardy Brothers visited the East, and three years later another leading player, A. E. Bell, but their trips, in spite of the excellence of their play, indicated that the standard was not yet as high in the far West as in the East. In 1904, however, came the triumphal conquest of the wonderful Miss May Sutton (now Mrs. Thomas C. Bundy) which proved to the astonished world that what- ever the standard of play among the men, California stood alone among players of the fair sex. Not only did she win the National Championship and many other important events with ease, but th^ following year visited England and had the honor of winning the coveced English Championship, which the English Association calls the ^Championship of the World. '^ California's leading place in American Lawn Tennis, at least where '^meie man" is concerned, was not so quickly attained, however, and in fact it took another Eastern invasion to show the Californians their real power and convince the association that it was high time for the two rival sections of the state to join forces and send a repre- sentative team to the Ease for the National tournament. In 1908, by invitation of the Pacific States Lawn Tennis Association, a team made up of N. W. Niles, Wallace F. Johnson and Irving C. Wright, all being ranked at various times among the ten first players of the Country, visited California and competed in the Championship held at Del Monte, in which all of them were defeated both in Singles and Doubles before the Challenge round. SECOND EASTERN TEAM TO VISIT CALIFORNIA, SEASON OF 1908 WALLACE F. JOHNSON 'IRVING C. WRIGHT NATHANIEL W. NILES Without doubt the success of the young Californian players against this second team of eastern experts en- couraged the far west to send on the following year, 1909, five of its leading players, McLoughlin, Janes, Long, Bundy, and Sinsabaugh, the first named pair being the team which had won the Pacific Coast Doubles that year. They stopped at Chicago and won the National Prelimi- nary Doubles tie, over the representatives of the East, West and South, which entitled them to contend for the National Championship at Newport. Although defeated there they gained a ranking of second among the National Doubles teams; and the invaders received the following rank in Singles: — McLoughlin, 6th; Long, 7th; Bundy, 12th; and Janes, 28th. Their record was so credi- table that the California Association sent three of the same players, McLoughlin, Long and Bundy East again in 1910, and T. Hendricks, who with Bundy had won the Pacific States doubles, accompanied them, and once again the California Team won the National Preliminary Doubles, though losing the Challenge match. Thomas Bundy did finely in the Singles, winning the National ^' All Comers" and being ranked 2nd; McLough- lin, 4th; Long, 5th, and Hendricks 39th. In 1911 the first three again made the trip East, but this time the Doubles, Team, Bundy and McLoughlin, were defeated in the preliminaries by Little and Touchard; but all gained higher honors in Singles, McLoughlin winning the ''All Comers," duplicating Bundy's success of the year before. He was ranked No. 2, Bundy 3rd and Long 5th. California's repeated assaults on the Championships culminated last year in the wonderful record of eight National Championship titles out of fourteen being captured, Maurice E. McLoughlin winning the Singles, and with Thomas C. Bundy the Doubles; Miss Mary K. Browne, Women's Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles; CUfton B. Herd, the National Interscholastic Champion- ship, and Miss May Sutton the Clay Court Women's Singles and Mixed Doubles. The two first named players, and Long as well, have been selected at different times to play on ^^ Davis Cup" teams. McLoughhn's individual record for the year, which con- sisted of winning five important Championships in Singles and four Double events, and several of minor importance without a defeat, is a feat perhaps never equalled in American Tennis, certainly not since the days of Mal- colm Whitman's triumphal march to the Championship. d o ^ /j S:3 .S.S fl fl fl I .a 5r a. • TiT) s. >> •i. >>>>>> >> fl '^^ W) M e« Pi 0>0'-i(MCOTtOOOiOi-l(N 000i05050i050i0i0i0505OOOOOOOOOO'-<'-irH OOOOOOOOOOOOCX)OOOOOOOOOia)0>05050i05C50i05050505 WILLIAM H. TAYLOR, JR. Pacific States Champion 1889—90—91—92 THOMAS A. DRISCOLL Pacific States Champion X893 SAMUEL HARDY Pacific States Champion 1894—1896 SUMNER HARDY Pacific States Champion 1895—1898 GEORGE F. WHITNEY Pacific States Champion 1897—99—1900—01 LEWIS R. FREEMAN Pacific States Champion 1902 ALONZO E. BELL Pacific States Champion 1903 DRUMMOND McGAVIN Pacific States Champion 1904 GEORGE J. JAXES Pacific States Champion 1905—1909 MELVILLE H. LONG Pacific States Champion, 190G— 1908 -^-. AlAURICE E. McLOUGHLIN Pacific States Champion 1907—1911—1912 The California Lady Players Long before the Pacific States forced its way into the front rank among the men players of the country, her lady experts had begun to show the way to their Eastern sisters. As far back as 1899 Miss Marion Jones won the Women's National Singles championship and repeated her victory in 1902. Two years later, Miss May Sutton went east and swept away every important title before her, completely out-classing the other players of the fair sex. The next year, 1905, she crossed the Atlantic and won the English Championship from Miss Kate Douglas, thus becoming undisputedly the leading woman player of the world. She lost her title in 1906 to her great rival, but regained it in 1907, and although she has since limited her play to local or less important events up to last year, she still remains the ^^ peerless player." Two years after Miss Sutton's withdrawal from the major tournaments appeared from the northern section of the State (she hailed from Los Angeles) another star who for three years shone fully as refulgently and in turn made a clean sweep of all the important events. This was Miss Hazel Hotchkiss of San Francisco, who in 1909, 1910 and 1911 won the National Singles andDoubles titles with consumate ease, h^r only real rival during that time being yet another Californian, MiSs Florence Sut- ton. When after Miss Hotchkiss' retirement from the lists it became necessary for the Pacific Coast to find another player capable of sustaining the laurels relin- quished by her last representative, there appeared, this time from Los Angeles again. Miss Mary K. Browne, who took up the shield and bore it unmarred by defeat, through to victory in the Women's Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles. California, north and south in equal share, may well be proud of such a record and rejoice that in these past and present champions and her still younger champions in th3 making she has given to the country men and women of a world wide fame. WOMEN CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONS 1891— Mrs. Martin Chase, nee Miss Bertha Couch. 1892— Miss Ella Morgan. 1893— Miss Bee Hooper. 1894— Miss Bee Hooper. 1895 — No tournament played. 1896— '' 1897— '' 1898 — Mrs. Farquhar, nee Miss Marion Jones 1899— Mrs. Harold Doeg, nee Miss Violet Sutton. 1900— Miss Marion Hall. 1901— Mrs. Thomas C. Bundy, nee Miss May Sutton -| QAO cc (C (c a (c a a 1 QQo a a cc cc cc cc cc 1 004 ^ ^ ^ ^ ' ^ ^ ' ^ ^ ^ * * ^ iQrjr ic cc cc cc cc cc cc 1906 — Mrs. George W. Wightman, nee Miss Hazel Hotchkiss. 1907 — Miss Florence Sutton. 1908— Mrs. Thomas C. Bundy, nee Miss May Sutton IQAQ CC CC CC CC CC CC CC -jQin cc cc cc cc cc cc cc •iq-j-j cc cc cc cc cc cc cc 1Q10 cc a (c cc cc cc cc MRS. MARTIN CHASE nee MISS BERTHA COUCH Pacific States Champion 1891 ^-^.. MRS. HAROLD DOEG nee MISS VIOLET SUTTON Pacific States Champion 1899 MISS MARIAN HALL Pacific States Champion 1900 ^i^. MRS. GEO. W. WIGHTMAN nee MISS HAZEL HOTCHKISS— 1906 2. MRS. THOMAS C. BUNDY nee MISS MAY SUTTON 1901—02—03—04—05—08—09—10—1 1—12 3. MRS. FARQUHAR nee MISS MARIAN JONES— 1898 Pacific States Champions ^ MISS FLORENCE SUTTON Pacific States Champion 1907 MISS MARY K. BROWNE National Lady Champion 1 1 D a •—5 Gj 5 ^ o ^ o CALIFORNIA Our New Racket Dedicated To the California Tennis Players FINE LATVN TENJSriS 359 IkdlAI^KIET ST- San Francisco, - Cal. MAY 8 T9t3 i r i -i r"' ' - ' • • ' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 020 237 344 6 4«C «^ •••«▼.