07:25

[Music – Ain’t She Sweet by Piccadilly Revels Band, Album Charleston – Great Stars Of the 20s

Section 2 – History & Historiography

[Music fade out]

07:37

Tennis is generally a game for the wealthy.  The origin is suspected to be in 12th Century Northern France with players using their hands.  By the 14th C, King Louis X of France became an avid player even constructing indoor courts which quickly became en vogue in other European royal courts.  After an exhaustive long game in 1316, King Louis X drank wine to cool off and fell ill shortly thereafter died, some suspect poisoning – his epithet le Hutin translates as the Quarrelsome – Headstrong – Stubborn.  The popular accounts of his death make King Louis X the first known tennis player by name.

08:14

By 16th Century, rackets came into use along with the term “tennis” derived from the French verb “tener” meaning take / receive.   The game quickly became popular in France & England.  Infamous French Queen & famed poisoner Catherine de Medici would hold games for her young guests, and England’s King Henry VIII was also a big fan and player of the game.

The modern game of tennis formed in the 19th century with rules pretty much codified since the 1890s with two exceptions.  Between 1908-1961, the server has to keep at least one foot on the ground at all times.  In 1970s, the tiebreak was officially introduced which modernized the point challenge system. 

08:54

Overall tennis is a very democratic game which anyone can play as long as they have the simplest equipment – a racket and ball.  Females too have enjoyed and competed for most of the last century.  There are multiple tournaments played worldwide – Wimbledon, French Open, Davis Cup, U.S. Open,… to name a few.  Tennis was part of the new Olympics until 1924 and reinstated in 1984.

In the U.S., amateur versus professional status was always an issue.  Lots of top players came from wealthier families, but occasionally a kid from the wrong side of the tracks might make a name.

09:27

In the U.S., the long reigning tennis champion William “Big Bill” Tilden was everywhere – World’s No. 1 player for 6 years from 1920-1925, 14 Major Singles Titles, including 10 Grand Slam events.  The first American to win Wimbledon in 1920.  He played as an amateur for 20 years from 1911 to 1930, then 15 more as a professional – turning pro in 1930 with another major title win at Wimbledon.  In 1929, Big Bill became the first player to reach 10 finals at a Grand Slam Event – a record not broken until 2017 by Roger Federer for his 11th.  Overall as an amateur, Tilden won 138 out of 192 tournaments, lost 28 finals, and had 907-62 match record.  As in 93.6% winning streak.

Tilden came from a wealthy family in Philadelphia.  He survived three older siblings, lost his mother to Bright’s disease at 18, and his father at age 22 and another older brother shortly thereafter.  In Big Bill’s depression, he started playing tennis continuously. He wasn’t originally a star and didn’t even make his college team.

To play with or being referenced to Big Bill Tilden was quite an honor.

10:45

Thus when a young 14 year old upstart from the Bronx caused a sensation in 1924 by winning nationals in his only 3rd tournament ever.  He was dubbed a young Tilden.  That upstart was the poor Irish kid Frankie Shields.  When reporters asked his training schedule, instead of the long detailed list of drills of the wealthier kids, this unpolished kid talked about stringing a net across an empty lot and looking forward to playing basketball.  Shields was nicknamed the Jolly School Boy.  Only 3 years earlier he was recruited to play at Columbia Grammar in an attempt to improve the school’s sports wins, and he played with Julius Seligson a long time friend both on and off the court. 

11:24

The poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks had a grandfather who ran a string of saloons, a fireman uncle, and a very cranky accountant father.  Frank’s father was a strict disciplinarian, which meant Frank spent much of his time outside to avoid being home and the lash.  He was devoted to his bedridden mother but lost her before he turned 16.  He had a younger brother too who died before the age of 10.  His three sisters all tried mothering him, somewhat trying to keep him in line and at other times helping him avoid punishment.

At school, Frank struggled with dyslexia and would often skip class.  He wasn’t chastised too often as long as he kept winning.  In 1928, he transferred to the boarding school Roxbury outside of New Haven.  There he met future opponent and doubles partner Sidney Wood. 

12:09

Frank Shields’ early admirer, benefactor, and hostess was Newport socialite Maud Barger-Wallach, a female winner of the 1908 U.S. Open at age 38.  She would die in 1954.

Up until this moment, I have avoided defining Louise’s two ever present brothers.  There are just so many heirs and heiresses to cover, I didn’t want to muddle up the confusion.  They are not central characters, but they appear consistently throughout and link forwards and backwards to the other characters in our stories. 

12:38

Born in 1902, James Henry Van Alen II is the oldest child of James Laurens Van Alen and Marguerite “Daisy”, great grandson to the former socialite queen Caroline Astor, and big brother to Sam and Louise.  The siblings will have the somewhat rare situation in which they will almost receive primarily equal inheritances of a substantial nature.  Only marriages and one of them’s future disinheritance by a particular relative will cause a difference in economics.

13:05

Second son and middle child William Laurens Van Alen was born in 1907 and actually went by the name of Sam – which is more than helpful in a story ripe with too many duplicate names and a differentiation from another William Van Alen the architect of the Chrysler building.  Though Sam too would become an architect.  Sister Louise would be born 1910.  The family along with their grandfather – seriously James John Van Alen – lived in Europe during Prohibition, when both brothers matriculated into the British school system including Eton, Cambridge, and Oxford.

13:38

It was Sam who befriended a young Prince Alexis Mdivani while at Eton.  The Prince would follow him off to Cambridge and live off the generosity of the Van Alens both in Britain as well as Paris and occasionally the U.S.  At the time of our story, the Van Alen brothers have a house in England with Prince Alexis as their perpetual houseguest.

As Prince Alexis and his own brothers are devoted to the sport of polo, the Van Alens are prime and influential players in the world of tennis.

14:02

James Henry Van Alen served as the captain of his Oxford tennis team and played singles at the 1927 French Open, 1922 – 1924 – 1925 Wimbledon, and 1931 US Open.  Infamous for his one handed, right backhand.  He will play against the best players of his day – including and often losing to Tilden.  A prominent Newport figure, James was popularly known as Jimmy, but for our story purpose of clarity from other Jimmy’s and even within his own family I will refer to him by his middle name Henry.

14:36

Sam would grow to have an influence too.  He was a founding member, served as the first association president, and on January 30th, 1955, convened the first initial meeting of the United States Court Tennis Association, the governing body regulating, promoting, and preserving the game of court tennis.

In 1954, James Henry Van Alen helped found the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, which by then was threatening to be demolished.  Instead it became a museum for players and the history of the game.

15:05

James Henry Van Alen contributed and developed the Van Alen Streamlined Scoring System (VASSS) which included his 9 point sudden death match tiebreak system. He was inspired after a 1954 game which lasted for four hours ruined his martini cocktail hour, thus he developed the system in 1958 even testing with his other heretics – he was nicknamed the Newport Bolshevik, and after 1965 would tirelessly promote his system.  In 1970, the US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce the tiebreak.  The tiebreak also made it possible to now televise matches as prior to that the players might play endless rounds with no clear victory.  The tiebreak was revised over time to 12 points, and it would have an impact on important games involving Arthur Ashe in that first 1970 U.S. Open and John McEnroe later at Wimbledon who won the set but still lost the title.

16:04

Two days after James Henry Van Alen’s death in 1991 and after losing to opponent Michael Stich during a tiebreak, Wimbledon semifinalist Stefan Edenberg remarked, “If he (James) hadn’t lived, Michael and I might still be out there playing.”