On this day: Died June 5, 1953:
Bill Tilden, American tennis player
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[June 04, 2020]
By Hardik Vyas
(Reuters) - Bill Tilden's star shone
brightly during the golden age of American sports in the 1920s but
his legacy as the most dominant tennis player of his generation
remains overshadowed by his off-court behaviour.
Born into wealth and privilege, Tilden had showed promise with a
racket at an early age during summers spent at the family home in
the Catskill Mountains, New York.
Having lost both his parents and older brother Herbert by the time
he was 22 years of age, however, tennis became Tilden's primary
means of coping.
Using unorthodox backcourt play and possessing a cannonball serve,
Tilden's influence on American tennis is hard to overstate.
In 1920, he became the first American to win the Wimbledon men's
singles title, and he won every major tournament he entered for six
years, including six straight U.S. Open titles.
Tilden also led his country to seven Davis Cup victories, often
sharing sporting headlines with baseball great Babe Ruth, golfer
Bobby Jones and boxer Jack Dempsey.
"Playing for himself, for his country, for posterity, he was
invincible," wrote Frank Deford in his biography 'Big Bill Tilden:
The Triumphs and The Tragedy'. "Tilden simply was tennis in the
public mind."
Tilden's instructional guide "Match Play and the Spin of the Ball"
examined tennis theory like never before, and future Grand Slam
champions including Jack Kramer and John Newcombe swore by it.
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With his artistry and flair, "Big Bill" took tennis to mainstream
America, only to be shunned for his off-court behaviour.
Tilden, who was openly gay, had his reputation destroyed in 1946
when he was charged with soliciting a 14-year-old boy.
He served seven-and-a-half months in prison, but was arrested again
in January 1949 after picking up a 16-year-old hitchhiker.
He was released in December 1949 and days later an Associated Press
poll named Tilden the greatest tennis player of the first half of
the 20th century but his personal life continued to be troubled.
Tilden was banished from several professional tennis clubs and
tournaments, and his penchant for self destruction continued as he
drained his wealth on producing less-than-successful Broadway shows.
When he died of a heart attack at the age of 60, Tilden was
preparing to play in the U.S. Pro Championships in Cleveland.
"Big Bill" was virtually airbrushed out of tennis history, with a
net worth of $88.
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
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