Episode 114: Out to Sea
It’s another season of international sports competition, so where has one tennis star disappeared to this time?
#FrankShields, #Wimbledon, #QueenMary, #MaxBaer, #MaxSchmeling, #JoeLouis, #JackDempsey, #tennis, #heavyweightboxing
#stowaway, #lettinggo
June 1933, Frank Shields loses at the French Championship then disappears only to be found later crossing the ocean. Meanwhile another sport takes notice with a superb knockout.
Other people and subjects include:
Cobina Wright, Prince Serge Mdivani, Prince David Mdivani, Rebecca “Billie” Tenney Shields, Queen Mary of England – Mary of Teck, Prince of Wales – Prince David – future King Edward VIII – Duke of Windsor, Prince Albert – Bertie – King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III of England, Vlad III – Vlad Tepes – Vlad the Impaler – Vlad Dracula, Julius “Julie” Seligson, Ellsworth Vines, Sidney Wood, George Lott, Cliff Sutter, Wilmer Allison, Helen Jacobs, Elizabeth Ryan, Mrs. Dorothy Andrus Burke, Christian Boussus, Cilli Aussem, Dunleavy-Cleaves firm, insurance policies, heavyweight boxing match, promoter, fighter, referee, Aryan, Jew, Nazi, American, African American, Max Baer, Max Schmeling, Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Hitler, Nazis, Nazi publication Der Sturmer, Luftwaffe, Purge of Berlin, Joe Louis – the Brown Bomber, Greta Garbo, June Knight, Rocky IV, Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago, Harry Anslinger, Federal Narcotics Division, ocean liners – President Harding, Paris Europa, Le Havre, Auteuil, France, New York, Yankee Stadium, French Hardcourt Tennis Championship, London Championship, Wimbledon, Davis Cup, Newport Tennis Week, tennis, amateur status, appendicitis, strawberries, injury, Bigger Than Life by William Shields, missing person, tuxedo, stowaway, Prince Michael Romanoff – Harry Gerguson, stowaway monkey Jenny, recurring themes, overlaps, Michael Malice, Beyond Belief: the American Press & the Coming of the Holocaust 1933 – 1945 by Deborah Lipstadt, resilience, letting go, making choices changing course, Netflix film Unfrosted by Jerry Seinfeld, Marjorie Merriweather Post, Amy Schumer, Pop-Tarts,…
Archival Music provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, www.pastperfect.com.
Extra Notes / Call to Action:
Beyond Belief: the American Press & the Coming of the Holocaust 1933 – 1945 by Deborah Lipstadt
Instagram: @howhistorylooks Dracula & British royals connection
Next 2 episodes major turning point
Share, like, subscribe
X / TW / IG – @asthemoneyburns
X / Twitter – https://twitter.com/asthemoneyburns
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/asthemoneyburns/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/asthemoneyburns/
Publish Date: June 27, 2024
Length: 21:25
Opening Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 1 Music: Sunshine by Jack Hylton, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s
Section 2 Music: Just As Long As The World Goes Round And Around by Jay Wilbur, Album The Great British Dance Bands
Section 3 Music: Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s
End Music: My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands
AS THE MONEY BURNS
Podcast by Nicki Woodard
Episode 114 – Out to Sea
Outline
Tennis
Accidental stowaway
00:00
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast by Nicki Woodard. Based on historical research, this is a deep exploration into what happened to a set of actual heirs and heiresses to some of America’s most famous fortunes when the Great Depression hits.
Each episode has three primary sections. Section 1 is a narrative story. Section 2 goes deeper into the historical facts. Section 3 focuses on contemporary, emotional, and personal connections.
00:31
Story Recap
After making a few special conditions, Franklyn Hutton finally agrees to allow Barbara Hutton to marry Prince Alexis Mdivani.
Now back to AS THE MONEY BURNS
Title
00:45
Out to Sea
[Music Fade Out]
Episode Tag
It’s another season of international sports competition, so where has one tennis star disappeared to this time?
01:02
[Music – Sunshine by Jack Hylton, Album Fascinating Rhythm – Great Hits of the 20s]
Section 1 – Story
[Music Fade Out]
01:18
Another summer is here, and that means plenty of fun, activities, and competitions. Our favorite athletes gather around for their individual sports.
Many fans male and female alike look forward to seeing their favorite players in action.
Returning favorite tennis sensation and movie star handsome Frank Shields heads back to Europe earlier than his other teammates to play in the French Championships then onto the London Championship then possibly Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. Frank is one of 4 Americans playing at the French Hardcourt Tennis Championships in Auteuil, France. The other 3 are ladies Helen Jacobs, Elizabeth Ryan, and Mrs. Dorothy Andrus Burke.
Meanwhile other former past and present male team members Sidney Wood, George Lott, Ellsworth Vines, Cliff Sutter, and Wilmer Allison finish up tournaments in the States including part of the Davis Cup worldwide competition.
02:11
In the intervening time since last year’s competitions, during a chance encounter former classmate and teammate *Julius “Julie” Seligson convinces Frank to switch from his dull junior loan officer job at his father-in-law’s bank to become an insurance salesman. It is the perfect match. Seligson is a genius at creating policies, and Frank knew everyone who could afford one and brought in a few blueblood clientele. They do very well in a time when making money can be very bleak. The brokerage firm Dunleavy-Cleaves happily gives Frank the flexibility to return to the sport he loves as it only enhances his elite connections.
02:50
As for Frank, the financial success alleviates some of the pressures of maintaining the amateur status needed to remain in the non-pro-competitive category for an American. Leaving behind his wife Rebecca “Billie” Tenney Shields for this year’s circuit, the Jolly Old Schoolboy Frank boards the ocean liner Europa and returns to Europe ready for more fun. Ony this year his rank has slipped a bit to Number 5 in America but still has hopes of making it for Wimbledon and the Davis Cup.
*Frank hopes a few wins in Europe will boost his profile. Only it doesn’t seem to be going as well as intended.
03:24
Wednesday, May 31st, 1933, Auteuil, France
The French Championships is tough – losing in the quarterfinals for mixed doubles, doubles, and now singles. In his final match during quarterfinals, Frank loses to left-handed French tennis player Christian Boussus, again. Boussus had beat him in mixed doubles already when Frank played with German female Cilli Aussem. Thus, Frank is now eliminated from the rest of that competition.
Never one to get too down. Frank quickly takes to having some relaxation. The following evening, in a Paris apartment owned by a friend, Frank dresses up in a tuxedo and heads out for the night.
04:10
Friday, June 2nd, 1933
The next day, Frank doesn’t appear as anticipated. Not too much concern, rumors percolate he may have headed to Berlin to play in a different tournament. But German officials deny any possibility or sighting. Another rumor is that he may be suffering from appendicitis. When his apartment is checked, his luggage, money, and passport remain so concern and confusion rises.
Phone calls are made to his brokerage firm Dunleavy-Cleaves and his wife Billie, but neither have heard from him.
04:50
Saturday, June 3rd, 1933
Finally, word arrives that Frank is aboard the President Harding ocean liner and heading back to New York, and requests that they please forward his luggage and papers.
Newspapers pick up the story announcing Frank is missing then found. Speculation abounds.
Could it be appendicitis? But wouldn’t medical treatment in Paris or London be better than the care back home?
Meanwhile back in the United States, people are preparing for the upcoming heavyweight boxing match between the young Max Baer versus German Max Schmeling. Former heavyweight champion, now promoter, and referee Jack Dempsey announces he plans to stay out of the ring as it would be too much attention on him.
05:38
A week of anticipation finally ends on…
Friday, June 9th, 1933, New York
Frank arrives to quite a bit of press attention. He shrugs off the sudden need to return stateside remarking his poor performance seemed like an unlikely chance to play at Wimbledon or join the Davis Cup team. Due to the amateur status meaning he would have to pay his own expenses, he didn’t see much point in wasting the summer away from his wife and business if not fully participating in competition.
A better game plan is to rest up and prep for Tennis Week in Newport this upcoming August 1933.
Oh, how some international fans will surely be disappointed over his absence. Good looking, playful, and charismatic Frank has won many friends and fans over the years, including one Queen Mary of England who invited the tennis star to rest in her box after an injury at a prior Wimbledon match.
06:36
No matter attention shifts again to the heavyweight fight between Max Baer and Max Schmeling, and despite earlier protests Jack Dempsey attends the fight the night before. At Yankee Stadium in front of 60,000 people, they go 10 rounds until Max Baer lands a final punch in a knockout. An upset victory of an American Jew over a possible Nazi is celebrated by many in the United States. Baer is the new sports darling.
The morning after, Baer is seen enjoying breakfast and plans to spend the day with actress June Knight. He hints marriage might be pending, but of course he needs to finish his current divorce from his first wife.
As always there’s another game, another competition, another heartthrob so Frank avoids further inquiry into his sudden decision to return home.
07:26
The truth… Many years later, Frank informs his second son…
That long ago Thursday evening the tennis star joins a farewell party for some friends leaving on the President Harding. Frank himself brings some of bottles of champagne and rides with them on the train over to Le Havre. As the evening runs late, he agrees for another set of drinks in the stateroom before the bon voyage. Only the imbibing in his Irish way goes a bit too far, and he falls asleep.
Only several hours later and into the next day, Frank wakes up to realize they are far out to sea. In essence an accidental stowaway like one charming rogue Prince Michael Romanoff claims upon multiple occasions.
Luckily, Frank is not due back on the courts.
08:14
Anyway he has to deal with more immediate complications. Dressed only in a tux, Frank remains hidden until the evening dinner when his attire will be less noticeable. Emerging for dinner, Frank befriends Harry Anslinger, head of the Federal Narcotics Division. Harry is quite amused at the tale and offers help both in talking with the captain and paying for a cabin accommodation. Meanwhile, Frank was not as fortunate in clothing. Frank being very tall and thin, and Harry very short and round. However one of the boiler room hands loans the athlete a shirt and pants, but Frank is left to wear his fancy dress shoes with silk bows for the remainder of the trip.
Good thing, Frank has a great sense of humor.
08:59
Saturday, June 10th, 1933
As Frank settles back in the United States, his teammates Ellsworth Vines along with Cliff Sutter and two others board the ocean liner Paris and set sail over to England for Wimbledon and the Davis Cup matches.
Win or lose, life goes on, and there will always be another game to play. Better luck next year…
09:29
[Music – Just As Long As The World Goes Round And Around by Jay Wilbur, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Section 2 – History & Historiography
[Music Fade Out]
09:45
By now if you have listened to multiple episodes, you might be able to pick out and identify some of the recurring themes both big and small in this series.
Many years ago, I learned about Frank Shields’ multiple antics through his biography Bigger Than Life written by his second son William Shields. It is filled with fun and amusing anecdotes while revealing some of the personal struggles of its subject. Frank’s troubles with drinking often referred to being Irish masks the full range of his problem but points to recurring issues and situations linked to alcohol. Once Frank begins to drink, he doesn’t stop, and thus other situations arise including some less reputable and good.
However, this trip is a more humorous incident.
10:29
When I was developing this podcast as a tv series, Frank himself became an early part of the regular characters. He is the same age and companion to many of our primary heirs and heiresses while not being of the wealthy status. He gains entry due to his athletic skills and likeable personality. He like supreme hostess and opera singer Cobina Wright manages to continually pop up in the stories of the others. Furthermore, exploring their own set of tales, they intertwine more and more with the wealthy and provide fun segways, interludes, and outsider perspectives.
11:02
Having some knowledge of their experiences also adds to the fun when I see similar crossover stories. As in earlier this year when Prince Michael Romanoff appeared into our tale with his own stowaway adventures, that is one I could hardly resist knowing this one was only months away.
Other stowaways in our story – the Mdivani brothers Prince Serge Mdivani and Prince David Mdivani as young lads stowed away on a vessel and then met their American sponsor who aided in their acclimating to US society via the elite private school Andover.
It’s fun to have these tales as well. Seemingly familiar plots of yesteryear in literary and entertainment stories, and then the reality of actual events. Something fictional verified by something factual.
Of course, I am still wondering whatever happened to last year’s mysterious stowaway – a monkey named Jenny. I wish there had been more information and at least a photo of her, not even a description as to the type of monkey. Alas, our imagination will have to suffice.
12:07
These episodes aren’t just one-off stories, but the rebuilding of a world. A familiarity, a mindset, cultural reference points, and context. We can understand them once we are reminded of that distance and the changes since. Breaking away from our current interpretations and overfocus in the here and now. Especially because right now, we are so bombarded with ideology and arguments and constantly being put on the edge. It’s nice to pull back and look at another time, one of high stress too, and remember to relate to other elements outside the main primary focus of our modern lives.
The twists and turns are not always so light and fun in our story. But there are so many more overlaps, and Frank has other overlaps within a story within our story. Entanglements to be sorted out a bit later as well beyond our time frame. Queen Mary will not be the only royal attached to Frank.
13:05
And like I’ve mentioned previously it is also the little details that pop up that remind us of the time period. Another case in point adjacent to Frank’s missing story is the prize fight between American Max Baer and German Max Schmeling. The German is already a former world champion and Hitler’s favorite boxer, so he is considered the favorite to win. Though years later, questions percolate over the differences in fighting styles – Baer younger and more unrestrained and what today might not be permissible and considered fouls while Schmeling following an older gentleman like manner in style.
13:39
The Nazi publication Der Sturmer later attacks Schmeling for fighting a non-Aryan as Baer’s was Jewish. Though Baer did not practice the Jewish religion, he did wear the Star of David on his shorts adding to the drama of the fight. In the tenth round, Baer wins with a knockout that even Jack Dempsey praised. Greta Garbo delights in the mini victory against the Nazis and strikes a brief romance with the fighter. Baer will later leave her for another fight with Italian boxer Primo Carnera, who is previously mentioned in another athletic Episode 52: Believe It or Not.
Throughout World War II Baer will be considered a hero to the Jews.
14:17
In 1936, Schmeling will face off with undefeated boxing sensation Joe Louis – the Brown Bomber, eh-hem African American, and win. They will face off again in 1938, and this time Joe Louis defeats Schmeling at Yankee Stadium. Recounting this moment, the German boxer is relieved to have lost and not have that victory go to the Nazis. He never liked nor joined the party and actually shunned offers of membership. Schmeling would go on to have more conflict with Hitler after refusing to part with his longtime Jewish fight promoter. Schmeling will be drafted and serve as a paratrooper in the Luftwaffe. After the War, it will be discovered that Schmeling helped save the lives of two Jewish children by hiding them in his apartment during the Purge of Berlin.
15:07
In later years, Schmeling becomes a successful commercial farmer and would reunite and befriend Joe Louis, even attending the latter’s funeral in 1981. Their relationship would be featured in many films and will serve as the inspiration behind American Rocky Balboa and Russian Ivan Drago though updated with the Cold War dynamics in Rocky IV.
15:28
Lastly, I heard mention on another podcast a book that might interest some of you. A dive into Nazi history that seems relevant to our own story, and what I might be partially seeing in the adjacent headlines as I research various storylines and people. This book was mentioned by Michael Malice in an interview I saw on YouTube. Beyond Belief: The American Press & the Coming of the Holocaust 1933 – 1945 by Deborah Lipstadt. The title alone makes it sound like something worth looking at, especially when considering various factors in our own world today.
Whether history repeats or rhymes, without a doubt there are many lessons needed to learn, relearn, and hopefully never forget.
16:14
[Music – Red Sails In The Sunset by Casani Club Orchestra, Album The Great Dance Bands Play Hits of the 30s]
Section 3 – Contemporary & Personal Relevance
[Music Fade Out]
16:28
You ever have those moments where things just don’t seem to work out as planned? You prepare, you work, you face a few obstacles, you get a little off track, you forge ahead, more obstacles,… Even things you prepared for, for whatever reason just don’t seem to work out.
Arggghhhhh, I hate when that happens. I’m pretty resilient. I mean really, truly resilient. Setbacks don’t bother me. I keep pushing if I have a goal in mind. It can take years, no problem. In personal life, I will try my hardest to fix something, but eventually the hardest thing to do is to let go. Change course.
17:13
I am lucky when I get the choice on how to change that course. There are times where I have no absolute choice and must accept the hand dealt. And sometimes frankly, it can be soul crushing, heart breaking, and mind blown in not a good way.
My good and bad – the ability to endure, that is until I break down. I need to learn my limits sooner, not so far past a point. I’ve been behind most of this last year, and I plan on catching up. But in pushing myself, I’ve had to face not only internal struggles but several external obstacles. It gets to the point of exhaustion and a mental state I don’t want to be trapped inside. I love doing this, I have standards I don’t want to reduce, so I have to find a balance in order to keep doing this longer until the story is fully told. Like I said I’m not good at giving up, and this at least feels completely within my control. I keep choosing to get the story right over rushing it. There’s so much to savor and enjoy. Recharge, refocus, rebuild, move ahead…
18:31
I can’t necessarily say that about our heirs and heiresses. Many who don’t have a lot of the resilience and grit needed when their troubles come. They always get bailed out by money, at least until there is none left.
That is after all where many of our tales end, but we are so very far away. Only the path is clear hindsight. Would you have made the same mistakes?
The next two episodes are big within our story. A major turning point for two main characters, and one the others are surely to notice.
19:10
Ok, bizarre little tidbit I saw on Instagram via @howhistorylooks – Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III are direct descendants of Vlad III – Vlad Tepes – aka the Impaler, Vlad Dracula, i.e. the historical Dracula. The family line comes through Queen Mary – Mary of Teck who is the wife of King George V and mother of Prince David, Prince of Wales – King Edward VIII – Duke of Windsor and Prince Albert – Bertie – King George VI, who is Elizabeth II’s father. This Queen Mary is the same queen whose strawberries Frank Shields ate during one particular Wimbledon tournament, and she invited into her box when he was injured at another. Oh, royal lines are very long, twisted, intwined, and very interconnected.
Instagram: @howhistorylooks
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8FcLUWMDPx/
20:03
And in case, I haven’t mentioned already The Netflix film Unfrosted by Jerry Seinfeld is a fictionalized version loosely based on the true story behind the creation of Pop-Tarts in the 1960s. The lead antagonistic female character is Marjorie Merriweather Post played by Amy Schumer.
See all the fun connections our regular and recurring ongoing characters provide to the larger world.
If you enjoy As The Money Burns, then please share, like, & subscribe.
Hook
20:36
[Music – My Heart Belongs to Daddy by Billy Cotton, Album The Great British Dance Bands]
Next when we return to AS THE MONEY BURNS…
A royal wedding draws a large crowd, but could the honeymoon be over already?
Until then…
Credits
20:54
AS THE MONEY BURNS is an original podcast written, produced, and voiced by Nicki Woodard, based on historical research. Archival music has been provided by Past Perfect Vintage Music, check out their website at www.pastperfect.com.
Please come visit us at As The Money Burns via Goodpods, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook (now Meta), or Instagram. Transcripts, timeline, episode guide, and character bios are available at asthemoneyburns.com.
21:25
THE END.