Arthur Ashe
Page 89
I would also like to acknowledge the support of a number of other friends who helped me to frame the right questions as I rummaged through the details of Ashe’s life. Some may have grown weary of hearing me talk about Ashe, but I haven’t forgotten their many kindnesses and contributions during my long journey to publication. My sincere thanks go out to: Merle Allshouse, Kristy Anderson, Ellen Babb, Colleen Bancroft, Dave and Patty Barnicle, Reba Beeson, Peter Belmont, John Belohlavek, Randy Berg, Susan and Peter Betzer, Bob Bickel, Judy Blake, Jim Bledsoe, David Blight, Russ Buchan, Lonnie Bunch, Georgeanne and Vernon Burton, Donald Carey, Rick Cesa, Roy Peter Clark, Spencer Crew, Theresa Collington, Carol Dameron, Jack Davis, Jamie Day, Eric Deggans, Adam Estevez, Rebecca Falkenberry, Janine Farver, Laurens Grant, Wendy Grassi, Jim Grossman, Sheldon and Lucy Hackney, Steve Hahn, Joyce Haines, Eric Hall, Woody Hanson, Bill Harris, Rob Heinrich, Earl Hitchcock, Tamika Hobbs, Mike Honey, Jim Howell, Allen and Bobbie Isaacman, Bob Devin Jones, Charles Joyner, Herb Karl, Jon and Monica Kile, Richard King, Susan King, Jeff Klinkenberg, Bernard and Kate LaFayette, Lin LaPointe, Rob Lorei, Laurie Macdonald, Janice Marks, Randall Miller, Eric Morgan, Lynne Mormino, Harvey and Nancy Nelsen, Lauren Prestileo, Nano Riley, Marc Samels, Jim Schnur, David and Dawn Shedden, Howard Simon, Herb Snitzer, Jay Sokolovsky, David Starr, Bill Stokes, Rose Styron, Pat Sullivan, Jon Tallon, Mills and Brenda Thornton, Susan Turner, Daniel Tyson, Milly and Don Vappie, Jim Verhulst, Maria Vesperi, Albert Vogt, and Chris Warren.
This book also benefited from several public presentations that elicited helpful comments and constructive criticism. In April 2014, I spoke on Ashe as the annual Harold Seymour Lecturer in Sports History at Cornell University, where my hosts were Mary Beth Norton, Glen Altschuler, and the golf and baseball historian George Kirsch. In October 2016, I delivered a second paper on Ashe at the 17th International Conference on Sports, held in Lille, France; and in May 2017, I presented a third Ashe paper at the annual meeting of the Florida Historical Society, held at an even more exotic location—on a cruise ship en route to Cozumel and Tulum. While few of the fun-loving passengers took notice, the subject was Ashe’s role in the desegregation of tennis in Florida.
I am also heavily indebted to the staff of Simon & Schuster. During the course of this project, I have worked with five editors in succession: Marty Beiser, Dominick Anfuso, and Web Younce at Free Press, and Thomas Le-Bien and Bob Bender at the parent company, Simon & Schuster. Corporate upheaval of this magnitude, which has become commonplace in the publishing world in recent years, puts strains and stresses on authors and editors alike. But from start to finish I have had the good fortune to work with some of the best editors in the business. Bob Bender, the sage veteran who inherited this project five years after its inception, has provided exemplary oversight during the home stretch. He is a consummate professional, as is his associate Johanna Li. I thank them for their patience and editorial acumen. I am also grateful to Fred Chase, a superb copy editor who saved me from making many errors, and to Elizabeth Gay for her stellar publicity work. Peter Ginna, my former editor at Oxford University Press and Bloomsbury USA, also deserves acknowledgment and thanks for his continuing interest and involvement in my work. He has been both a good friend and an invaluable advisor.
Fortunately for the creative evolution of this book, I have been able to rely on the skills and judgment of my extraordinary agent, Wendy Strothman. She has been with me from the intial planning to the last revision, prodding and guiding me through the rough patches while never losing faith in the ultimate value of reconstructing Arthur Ashe’s remarkable life, and serving as both agent and editor. Spending time with Wendy and her husband, John, either in their Greenwich Village flat, or at their coastal retreat in Maine, has been a great pleasure, and I thank them for their gracious hospitality and friendship. I also greatly appreciate the work of Wendy’s gifted associate Lauren MacLeod.
Last, but by no means least, I want to acknowledge the love and support of my wonderful family. During this book’s nine years of gestation, the personal circumstances of virtually every member of my family underwent substantial change, including my mother, who passed away in 2012 at the age of eighty-six. My wife, Kathy, retired after more than thirty years as a university librarian, the last ten as a library dean; my daughter Anne completed her law degree and became a successful attorney and federal law clerk; and my daughter Amelia and her partner, Shawn Powers, finished their dissertations, became professors, got married, and bore a child. Yet they all found the time and energy to lend considerable aid, comfort, and technical expertise to a struggling historian in need of help on all fronts.
Kathy was especially valiant, offering her talents as an editor when severe cuts in the manuscript were required. Initially, I hesitated to accept her offer, hoping to save her from an onerous and thankless task. But she insisted and ultimately prevailed, demonstrating after fifty years of marriage that she is still the best writer in the family. After several painful but productive months of line-by-line editing, we came to the end of our combined effort in early June 2017, just in time to enjoy a much anticipated Golden Wedding Anniversary in Ireland. The highlight of this joyous celebration was spending a glorious week with two daughters, a son-in-law—and our impish and precocious twenty-one-month-old grandson, Lincoln.
Back home in Washington, D.C., Lincoln has an old-style wooden tennis racket and an oversized, bright orange U.S. Open tennis ball in his room. He loves to drape himself over the ball and roll around, though he doesn’t know what to make of the racket other than to chew on its strings. But someday soon, I predict, he will figure it out, and later yet he may even read his grandfather’s book on one of the greatest tennis players of the modern era. I certainly hope so. Like everyone else, he will need inspiring role models to help him find his way in life—and I can’t think of any better example to follow than the young boy from Richmond who moved from athletic achievement to enlightened service as a “citizen of the world.” Beyond identifying with Arthur Ashe, sharing this book’s dedication with Jim and Lois Horton is an additional honor that, I trust, Lincoln will someday appreciate in full measure.
ARTHUR ASHE’S TENNIS STATISTICS
NATIONAL TITLES
American Tennis Association
Boys 12 and Under Singles (1955)
Boys 15 and Under Doubles (1956, 1958)
Boys 16 and Under Singles (1957, 1958)
Interscholastic Singles (1958, 1959, 1960)
Boys 18 and Under Singles (1960)
Men’s Singles (1960, 1961, 1962)
Men’s Doubles (1961)
USLTA
U.S. National Indoor Junior Men’s Singles (1960, 1961)
U.S. National Interscholastic Men’s Singles (1961)
U.S. Hard Court Men’s Singles (1963)
U.S. Clay Court Men’s Singles (1967)
U.S. Indoor Men’s Doubles (1967)
U.S. National Amateur Men’s Singles (1968)
NCAA
NCAA Singles, Doubles, and Team Championships (1965)
Open Era
U.S. Open Men’s Singles (1968)
Australian Open Men’s Singles (1970)
U.S. Clay Court Men’s Doubles (1970)
U.S. Indoor Men’s Doubles (1970)
French Open Men’s Doubles (1971)
Wimbledon Men’s Singles (1975)
Australian Open Men’s Doubles (1977)
OPEN ERA STATISTICS (SINGLES)
YEAR
TOURNAMENTS
TITLES
FINALS
MATCH RECORD
WINNING PERCENTAGE
U.S. RANK
WORLD RANK
1968
22
10
12**
72–10
.878
1
2
1969
26
2
8
83–24
.776
2
8
1970
30
11
14
91–20
.820
3
9
1971
32
3
9
77–31
.713
2
6
1972
31
3
6
69–30
.690
NR*
5
1973
31
2
9
68–29
.701
3
9
1974
29
3
9
85–27
.759
5
7
1975
29
9
14
108–23
.824
1
4
1976
28
5
9
64–23
.736
3
2
1977
5
0
0
6–5
.545
NR
130
1978
28
3
4
65–25
.722
9
10
1979
13
0
2
30–13
.698
5
7
TOTAL
304
51
96
818–260
.751
Sources: OTC, 220–30; BCHT, 543–44; “Arthur Ashe,” atpworldtour.com.
*As a contract player, Ashe received no ranking from the USTA in 1972.
**Estimate.
According to atpworldtour.com, Ashe’s Open Era tournament prize money totaled $1,584,109.
GRAND SLAM TOURNAMENTS, SINGLES
Australian National Championship (1966–67), Australian Open (1970–1978)
1966: (finalist, l. Roy Emerson)
1967: (finalist, l. Roy Emerson)
1970: (champion, d. Dick Crealy)
1971: (finalist, l. Ken Rosewall)
1977: (quarterfinalist, l. John Alexander)
1978: (semifinalist, l. John Marks)
French Open
1969: (4th round, l. Fred Stolle)
1970: (quarterfinalist, l. Zeljko Franulovic)
1971: (quarterfinalist, l. Frank Froehling)
1973: (4th round, l. Paolo Bertolucci)
1974: (4th round, l. Manolo Orantes)
1976: (4th round, l. Balazs Taroczy)
1978: (4th round, l. Guillermo Vilas)
1979: (3rd round, l. Ivan Lendl)
U.S. National Championship (1959–68), U.S. Open (1968–78)
1959: (1st round, l. Rod Laver)
1960: (2nd round, l. Edward Zuleta)
1961: (2nd round, l. François Godbout)
1962: (2nd round, l. Roy Emerson)
1963: (3rd round, l. Marty Riessen)
1964: (4th round, l. Tony Roche)
1965: (semifinalist, l. Manuel Santana)
1966: (3rd Round, l. John Newcombe)
1968: (National Amateur champion, d. Bob Lutz)
1968: (Open champion, d. Tom Okker)
1969: (National quarterfinalist, l. Bob Lutz)
1969: (Open semifinalist, l. Rod Laver)
1970: (quarterfinalist, l. John Newcombe)
1971: (semifinalist, l. Jan Kodes)
1972: (finalist, l. Ilie Nastase)
1973: (3rd round, l. Bjorn Borg)
1974: (quarterfinalist, l. John Newcombe)
1975: (4th round, l. Eddie Dibbs)
1976: (2nd round, l. Jan Kodes)
1978: (4th round, l. Raúl Ramírez)
Wimbledon
1963: (3rd round, l. Chuck McKinley)
1964: (4th round, l. Roy Emerson)
1965: (4th round, l. Rafael Osuna)
1968: (semifinalist, l. Rod Laver)
1969: (semifinalist, l. Rod Laver)
1970: (4th round, l. Andrés Gimeno)
1971: (3rd round, l. Marty Riessen)
1974: (3rd round, l. Roscoe Tanner)
1975: (champion, d. Jimmy Connors)
1976: (4th round, l. Vitas Gerulaitis)
1978: (1st round, l. Steve Docherty)
1979: (1st round, l. Kris Kachel)
DAVIS CUP COMPETITION
1963: vs.
Venezuela (d. Orlando Bracamonte)
1965: vs.
Canada (d. Keith Carpenter and Harry Fauquier)
1111: vs.
vs. Mexico (d. Rafael Osuna and Antonio Palafox)
1966: vs.
British West Indies (d. Lance Lumsden and Richard Russell)
1111: vs.
Brazil (doubles, with Ralston, d. Thomas Koch and José Edison Mandarino)
1967: vs.
Mexico (d. Marcelo Lara and Rafael Osuna)
1111: vs.
Ecuador (l. Miguel Olvera and Pancho Guzman)
1968: vs.
British West Indies (d. Lance Lumsden and Richard Russell)
1111: vs.
Mexico (d. Rafael Osuna and Joaquín Loyo-Mayo)
1111: vs.
Ecuador (d. Pancho Guzman and Miguel Olivera)
1111: vs.
Spain (d. Juan Gisbert and Manuel Santana)
1111: vs.
India (d. Premjit Lall and Ramanathan Krishnan)
1111: vs.
Australia (d. Ray Ruffels, l. Bill Bowrey)
1969: vs.
Romania (d. Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac)
1970: vs.
West Germany (d. Wilhelm Bungert and Christian Kuhnke)
1975: vs.
British West Indies (d. Richard Russell)
1977: vs.
Mexico (d. Roberto Chávez, l. Raúl Ramírez)
1978: vs.
Sweden (l. Bjorn Borg, d. Kjell Johansson)
Davis Cup Player Summary (1963–78)
27 wins, 5 losses, .844 winning percentage, 5 Davis Cups (1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1978); Doubles (1966), 1 win, 0 losses.
U.S. Davis Cup Captain Summary (1981–85)
13 wins, 3 losses, .812 winning percentage, 2 Davis Cups (1981, 1982)
NOTE ON ARCHIVAL SOURCES AND INTERVIEWS
The largest and most important archival collection related to Arthur Ashe’s life and career is the Arthur Ashe Papers (AAP), located at the Arthur Schomburg Center for Black Culture, a branch of the New York Public Library. Organized in a collection of forty-two boxes, the AAP contains newspaper and magazine clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, published writings, and miscellaneous documents, the majority of which deal with the years 1968 to 1997. Other significant collections of Ashe materials include: the Ashe Files at the library of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island; the Ashe Vertical File at the Richmond, Virginia, Public Library; the Arthur Ashe File located at the UCLA Sports Information Office; the various collections dealing with Coach J. D. Morgan and the UCLA tennis program, located in the UCLA University Archive; and the Wimbledon Scrapbooks at the Kenneth Ritchie Wimbledon Library, Wimbledon, U.K. The research for this book also benefited from access to an extensive privately held collection in the possession of Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, South Kent, Connecticut; and a smaller collection held by Al Schragis, Scarsdale, New York.
Oral history interviews also constituted an essential source of information on Ashe’s life, the historical context of his career, his experiences as an African American, and the evolution of tennis both before and after the beginning of the Open era in 1968. Interviews were conducted both by phone and in person, and their length and character ranged from lengthy formal interview sessions to casual conversations. The following list of interviews includes Ashe fa
mily members, friends, players and other figures from the world of professional tennis, individuals associated with various institutions with which Ashe was involved, and miscellaneous others.
INTERVIEWS
Abraham, Seth, by Jackie Inman, January 26, 2014
Abram, D. A., by author, August 30, 2016
Adams, Katrina, by author, September 1, 2015
Allen, Leslie, by author, September 1, 2013
Amdur, Neil, by author, September 1, 2013
Anderson, Susan, by author, September 12, 2011
Ashe, Johnnie, by author, May 25, 2017
Beale, Sam, by author, July 18, 2013
Beck, Chris, by Dara Vance, July 2013
Bent, Timothy, by author, January 8, 2016
Bloom, Alex, by author, April 7, 2017
Blount, Renee, by Rachel Sanderson, January 27, 2014
Bonds, Steve, by author, August 27, 2016
Bollettieri, Nick, by author, September 1, 2013; by Dara Vance, July 2014
Boxser, Litten, by author, November 16, 2017
Buchholz, Butch, by Jackie Inman, December 9, 2013
Buchholz, Cliff, by author, August 30, 2013
Buchholz, Karin, by author, August 29, 2016
Burgess, Granville, by author, January 15, 2016
Burpee, Trey, by author, January 31, 2016
Cammack-Spencer, Doris, by author, August 9, 2009, October 7, 2015
Carrico, Lucretia, by author, March 31, 2017
Carrington, Arthur, by Jackie Inman, January 31, February 3, 2014
Carson, Clayborne, by author, May 19, 2016
Chewning, Tom, by Dara Vance, June 11, 2014; by author, March 14, 2017
Collins, Bud, by author, June 10, 2014
Crookenden, Ian, by Dara Vance, July 15, 2013; by author, March 26, 2018
Davis, Bobby, by Dara Vance, July 24, 2013
Davis, Jonathan, by author, March 14, 2017
Davis, Patricia Battles, and Billy Davis, by Dara Vance, July 2014
Dell, Donald, by author, August 30, 2013, March 26, 2014
Desdunes, Jean, by author, July 29, 2013