Tennis Grandstand

Unique Tennis Perspectives

You are here: Home / Archives / U.S. Presidents and Connections To Tennis

U.S. Presidents and Connections To Tennis

by

As the Presidential campaign winds down in the United States, it is interesting to speculate whether Senator Barack Obama or Senator John McCain will be a “friend of tennis” in the Oval Office. Tennis players with high incomes may be partial to John McCain for tax purposes, while Barack Obama seems to be more engaged in the sport. Obama played tennis while growing up in Hawaii and follows the sport, as witnessed by a friend of mine who works in political circles who, back 2007, spoke with Obama, who gushed over watching the US Open on television the previous night – in particular James Blake’s five-set win over Fabrice Santoro (Blake’s first career five-set victory). As a working member of the tennis industry, author of the new book On This Day In Tennis History ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.tennistomes.com) and as the great, great, great nephew of James K. Polk, the 11th President of the United States, I have a great interest in tennis and in U.S. Presidential history.
Who was the most tennis friendly President? Teddy Roosevelt might warrant consideration as he was the man responsible for creating the White House tennis court in 1902. Tennis was part of his exercise regimen and had a group of Washingtonians who comprised of what was called his “tennis cabinet” – a group of players with whom he would talk policy between serves and forehands. Roosevelt may have been inspired in his tennis pursuits by two of the greatest American players of the time – Bill Larned and Robert Wrenn – who were members of his famed “Rough Riders” that fought under his command in the Spanish-American War in Cuba in 1898. Roosevelt in his book, The Rough Riders, bragged of the enlistment of Wrenn and Larned along with “an eclectic group of eastern dudes and western deadshots.” Roosevelt prided in the fact that on two occasions as U.S. tennis champion, Wrenn had “saved this championship from going to an Englishman” referencing Wrenn’s final-round victories over Brits Manliffe Goodbody in 1894 and Wilberforce Eaves in 1897. Larned won a record seven U.S. singles titles – 1901, 1902, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911.
Warren Harding, the 29th President, played tennis early in his life and became re-engaged in the game when the United States recaptured the Davis Cup in 1920. He hosted the winning U.S. team and the Cup to the White House on May 6, 1921 – the first time the famous trophy visited the home of the President. U.S. team members Bill Tilden, Bill Johnston, Dick Williams and Watson Washburn competed in exhibition matches against each other on the White House court, with Harding enjoying the action with his family and staff. President Harding, in fact, appointed Davis Cup founder Dwight Davis as his Assistant Secretary of War in 1923. Davis was subsequently elevated to Secretary of War (the modern day Secretary of State) in the next administration of President Calvin Coolidge starting in 1923.
Coolidge, the 30th President, was the first U.S. President to host and preside over the making of the Davis Cup draw – no doubt at the urging of Davis himself – and hosted the festivities on March 17, 1927. The draw was held on the front lawn of the White House and Coolidge picked out of the Cup the card with Czechoslovakia on it – drawn against Greece in the first round of the European Zone. Wrote the New York Times of the event, “Surrounded by diplomats from the twenty-five nations entered into the tournament, he drew the card bearing the name of Czechoslovakia from the bowl of the trophy. Joseph C. Grew, Under Secretary of State, then picked Greece, which was paired with the nation of the President’s choice. The various diplomats then formed in line and each withdrew the name of one nation from the cup.”
Herbert Hoover, the 31st President, was also a fan of the game. When running against Democrat Al Smith in 1928, Hoover received a great tennis endorsement from all-time great Helen Wills, who made her public announcement of her support of Hoover for President the day before her win at the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills. In her press announcement in support of Hoover, Wills stated, “All youth can admire Herbert Hoover because of his sincerity, intelligence and great industry. His achievements in the past have been marked with success because of his ability for organization and his wonderful powers of perservance.” During his administration (1929 to 1933), four U.S. Davis Cup matches were played at the nearby Chevy Chase Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland – 1929 vs. Japan, 1930 vs. Mexico, 1931 vs. Argentina and 1932 vs. Canada – with Hoover dispatching his wife to represent him at the matches.
[ad#adify-300×250]
Franklin Roosevelt’s connections to tennis came from his cousins Grace and Ellen, who were both U.S. champions – Ellen winning the singles title in 1890 and the pairing with Grace to win the doubles – becoming the first sisters to win a major title. It is interesting to note what President Roosevelt did NOT do in one famous episode in tennis history. On July 20, 1937, the United States Davis Cup team competed against Nazi Germany in the decisive day of the Davis Cup Inter-zone Final at Wimbledon in what many call the most dramatic and politically important Davis Cup match of all time. American Don Budge and Germany’s Gottfried von Cramm played the decisive fifth match where, famously, von Cramm received a pre-match phone call from German dictator Adolf Hitler, who told von Cramm that winning the match was of great political importance to the Fatherland. Budge, who won the match when he came back from two-sets-to-love to win 6-8, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 8-6, said later of Hitler’s phone call, “I thought why didn’t Franklin Roosevelt call me? Didn’t he give a damn?”
Harry Truman, the 33rd President, was the second Commander in Chief to host the Davis Cup draw as he presided over the ceremonies on February 3, 1947. Said Truman shortly before reaching into the Davis Cup trophy to pull of the names of nations in the second post-World War II staging of the competition, “I hope the time will come when we can settle our international differences in courts, just as we settle our tennis differences on a court.”
President Dwight Eisenhower was more of a fan of golf and delegated “tennis duty” to his vice president Richard Nixon, who gave out the winner’s trophy at the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills and Davis Cup Challenge Rounds. In 1957, he famously presented Althea Gibson, the first black to win the U.S. singles title, with her winner’s trophy at Forest Hills. Two years earlier, Nixon also presented the Australian Davis Cup team with the Davis Cup trophy after the Aussies completed a 5-0 shutout of the United States at Forest Hills. Nixon was told by Australian Davis Cup Harry Hopman that day that he might someday be “the youngest president in American history.” Nixon next touched the Davis Cup in 1969 when, as the 37th President, he welcomed the victorious 1968 U.S. Davis Cup team that defeats Hopman’s Australian team in the 1968 Davis Cup final in Adelaide, Australia. That ceremony, that also featured the challenging Romanian Davis Cup team, featured some awkward moments as Bud Collins documented in his book The Bud Collins History of Tennis. Wrote Collins; “President Richard M. Nixon, a bowler and golfer who secretly despised tennis, hosted both final-round teams at a White House reception. This was a nice gesture, but the Chief Executive caused a few awkward stares when, as a memento of the occasion, he presented each player with a golf ball. Perhaps these were left over, some speculated, from the golf-happy Eisenhower administration. “I’m a Republican, but I’ll never vote for him again,” grumbled Cliff Richey. “Why he do this?” said a puzzled Ion Tiriac. “No golf courses in Romania.”
Lyndon Johnson, Nixon’s precedessor, was not a tennis enthusiast but did host the winning 1963 U.S. Davis Cup team at the White House. On January 15, 1964, Johnson hosted the victorious U.S. team at the White House and spent 45 minutes with team members Dennis Ralston, Chuck McKinley and Marty Riessen as well as U.S. captain Bob Kelleher and U.S. Lawn Tennis Association President Ed Turville. As Johnson introduced the team to his press secretary Pierre Salinger he said, “There’s my tennis player. If I can teach Salinger to ride a horse, maybe he can teach me to play tennis.”
Gerald Ford, the 38th President, was known as an avid player and used the White House tennis court more than any President since Teddy Roosevelt. After watching 14-year-old Tracy Austin beat Virgina Ruzici in the fourth round of the 1977 U.S. Open on television, President Jimmy Carter placed a call to the pig-tailed wunderkind to offer his best wishes and congratulations.
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President, played tennis in his youth and was known as perhaps the biggest sports fan among U.S. chief executives. He hosted many athletes and sports teams – including tennis stars such as John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Arthur Ashe, Pam Shriver and others. On September 15, 1981, Reagan and his wife Nancy hosted a U.S. Tennis Association contingent to the White House that included U.S. Open champions McEnroe and Austin and the U.S. Davis Cup and Wightman Cup teams. Said Reagan of the 1981 U.S. Open finals, “Nancy and I watched the TV Saturday and Sunday and the matches were so breathtaking I nearly turned blue.” Stan Smith and Marty Riessen hit tennis balls for the assembled group on the White House tennis court – highlighted by Smith hitting a ball that broke through the flimsy, deteriorating net. “I don’t oversee the operation as closely as my predecessor” said Reagan of the White House tennis operations. Nineteen-year-old Shriver proudly told Reagan during the 90-minute visit, “This was my first election and I voted for you, sir.” Ashe then chimed in to Reagan, “Well I didn’t vote for you. But I’m all for you, and I hope your policies work, Mr. President.”
Reagan left the tennis-playing to his Vice President and successor George Bush, who not only had a strong penchant for playing the game but came from a strong tennis bloodline. Bush’s great uncles Joseph Wear and Arthur Wear were bronze medalists in tennis at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis – Joseph pairing with Allen West and Arthur pairing with Clarence Gamble. Joseph Wear also went on to serve as U.S. Davis Cup captain in 1928 and 1935 – having the opportunity to work with both Bill Tilden and Don Budge. Bush, whose mother Dorothy was also a standout ranking junior player, also entertained many tennis players during his term and remains an active player, competing often at Chris Evert’s annual charity event and frequented the U.S. Clay Court Championships, the Tennis Masters Cup and Davis Cup as a fan when held at the Westside Tennis Club in his hometown of Houston, Texas
Bush attended the U.S. Open when he was Vice President under Reagan, but Bill Clinton was the first sitting President to attend the U.S. Open when he took in the men’s semifinals on September 9, 2000, watching Marat Safin beat Todd Martin and Pete Sampras beat Lleyton Hewitt. He also called Venus Williams after she won the U.S. Open women’s singles title that year and told her “You worked really hard” prompting the witty Williams to ask Clinton for a tax cut on her hard-earned U.S. Open prize money.
After leaving office, Clinton again created tennis headlines when he attended the French Open in 2001 and was, in fact, jokingly blamed for Andre Agassi’s quarterfinal loss to Sebastien Grosjean. Clinton sat to watch the match after Agassi won the first set 6-1, but Agassi proceeded to lose 12 of the next 14 games to go down two sets to one. The five-months-out-of-office Clinton then briefly left the court, as Agassi went up a service break in the fourth set 2-1, but when Clinton returned to watch the match, Agassi lost his service break and proceeded to win only one more game in the match, losing 1-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. “I was bad for him,” Clinton said afterward, referring to Agassi. “I was bad luck. I left, and he won three games. I hated to come back.”
Like his father, George W. Bush, the 43rd President, was a tennis player, but later in life did not play the game as much as he resorted to jogging and cycling for exercise. As governor of Texas in 1999, Bush penned a note of congratulations and good luck to U.S. player Alex O’Brien when named to the U.S. Davis Cup team to face Britain in the Centennial year of the competition, writing “All athletes should consider it an honor to represent their country. Sadly, a number of America’s top tennis players do not share this view. I commend you and your teammates for stepping forward when asked by Captain Tom Gullikson and the USTA. Your patriotism, team spirit and work ethic are inspirations for athletes of all ages.”
His most infamous connection to tennis came just five days before the 2000 Presidential election when it was revealed publicly for the first time that he was arrested for drunken driving in Maine on Sept. 4 1976 with Aussie tennis legend John Newcombe in the car with the future president. “I was drinking beers, yeah, with John Newcombe,” Bush said in a briefing with the press. “I’m not proud of that. I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much, and I did that night. I learned my lesson. I told the guy (the arresting officer) I had been drinking, what do I need to do? He said, ‘here’s the fine.’ I paid the fine.” Newcombe didn’t comment on the incident for another two weeks until after the election. “When it came out I just did the first thing that came into my mind – I went underground mate. I didn’t put my head up,” Newcombe told the Australian Associated Press of when news of the arrest first surfaced. Newcombe described Bush as a “good bloke” who would make a “pretty good president” and said the drunk-driving incident was a minor one in terms of how far Bush was over the limit. “That’s something I’ve laughed about with George for the last 24 years,” Newcombe said. “That’s something that just happened that night. We were just a couple of young blokes going out and having a good time. We didn’t do anything wrong, basically. We probably shouldn’t have been driving at that stage but it wasn’t that anyone was badly inebriated.”

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. And although the Acadia shares most of its body, powertrain and suspension with the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave, GMC has given its 8-passenger SUV a bit of an edge.
    The hatch is also the same as the Saturn, but that has always been the case.
    On the highway, another important driving dynamic
    here in the Cowboy State, the 2013 GMC Acadia does very well and is far more comfortable than many of its competitors.

  4. I was very pleased to find this web site. I want to to thank you for
    ones time just for this fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every part of it and i
    also have you bookmarked to check out new things in your website.

  7. Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog
    loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or
    if it’s the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.

  9. Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and
    found that it’s really informative. I’m going to watch out for
    brussels. I’ll be grateful if you continue this
    in future. Numerous people will be benefited from your writing.
    Cheers!
    Also visit my web-site – http://www.cialis.com

  11. Hey there great blog! Does running a blog similar to this
    take a lot of work? I have no knowledge of programming
    however I had been hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
    Anyways, should you have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners please share.
    I know this is off topic nevertheless I simply needed to ask.
    Appreciate it!

  12. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a
    lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little
    bit, but instead of that, this is great blog. An excellent read.
    I’ll definitely be back.

  15. you’re really a excellent webmaster. The website loading speed is
    amazing. It seems that you’re doing any unique trick.
    Furthermore, The contents are masterwork.
    you’ve done a great job in this matter!

  16. ӏf you hadn’t realized it by now, those gimmіcky weight loss ƿills
    are a scam. Just order Proactol noow and feel
    the differeence by yourself. ECA arre proven to provide you a bit bit extгa when it comɗs
    to losing weight, it goes a litgtle bіt quicker
    іf you’re utilizing an ECA stack comparеd to a regular diet plan pill.
    Hеre is my web-site … https://www.weightloss2go.us.com

  17. Classic Denali Luxury – While the big news with the introduction of the 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali is the powerful drivetrain lineup, it
    is hard to miss the high level of luxury amenities inside and out that make
    this truck worthy of wearing the Denali name. Booking your car model is made easier
    by the modern day GMC dealers in Miami, as you just have to fill an online form,
    through which you can fix a date of purchase with the respective dealer.
    Both are good vehicles, reasonably well equipped for the money and suitable for Texas family needs in most cases.

  19. Perhaps we will check out these in the coming games system or probably
    that won’t be a certainty till the first 9th gen games console.
    This is odd as well because one would think it would be great
    to address to the public. Controlling playback with a Dual Shock controller
    is awkward, however, so I recommend a separate DVD remote.

  20. A boolean value indicating whether the progress is indeterminate.
    There tend to be obvious variations between the fineness of the print
    at all three grades, with a rough grain within sections of
    solid colour printed utilizing the fast setting, and super-smooth
    shades at the high setting. The topic, keyword and a full text document are considered as the three major elements of an article.

  21. When you can find not getting paid with the site visitor next clients don’t really have the right to help protest.
    Many sexual predators choose to use online dating sites as a
    tool for their perversions. To a lot of people, especially my parents’ generation and their friends, online dating seemed very alien, a very suspicious concept to even be communicating like that.

  22. I sincerely hope in the next one week, many of you can benefit from this
    Success Dating Guides, and find your true love. Follow these
    4 suggestions and you will never go wrong:. The truth
    is that online dating is a very successful way to find love, but make sure that you
    have two things covered.

  24. De – Mille this is not, but instead a possible dig at Google.
    Just restart your i – Phone and this should resolve on switching back on. This is all handy and useful information, but it wont convert your traffic to leads, to do that
    you need a couple of different lead capture or landing pages
    that you continually split test for best results.

  25. To work with Free Video Converter, simply download the program from free-video-converter.
    This is the place where your video and audio collection will display and allow access to multiple tools.
    When looking for software to fulfill your video editing needs, there are many options
    available on the market to choose from.

  26. In facelift surgery, you can expect to have bandages your
    her face. Now, more and more women and men to choose a better and fresher face that could have
    Botox, a filling or peeling, and not to him. Apart from these, wrinkles that occur around the neck, while laughing
    or smiling, while raising eyebrows, are easily removed by Dermatologists
    in Mumbai using Botox.

  28. Article Marketing Robot has the best spinner built into it
    that you can get. A typical tower defense game, Tap Defense allows gamers to set up turrets and wait for waves of enemies to fall into your traps.
    In this situation Apple can actually be helpful, which is uncharacteristic.

  29. The Xbox console kick off date may very well be published as early
    as 2013. In fact, in a recent earnings call with investors,
    Game – Stop president Tony Bartel said that his company has 900,
    000 people signed up for its first-to-know list on the Play – Station 4.
    The PS4 will be one amazing device, if Sony is to be trusted.

  30. In the next chapter we will have a complete
    insight on Article Marketing Automation. The new warnings, which will be narrowed to nine
    different images and should be in place next
    October, would also be required to take up at least 50 percent of a
    pack of cigarettes. Now, you can stick to the approach and
    be unworried about the work that runs for the reason that it must.

  33. The requirements to become an ERP consultant are important as these consultants help to assist the organizations in managing the business
    requirements. Professional writing firms have experienced
    content developers, who have in depth knowledge of SEO methods and techniques that can significantly increase your site traffic.
    For example, you should not assign medical or technical articles to someone who
    knows nothing about it.

  34. The company writes its curriculum on a foundation of Biblical scripture to provide academic excellence alongside good character
    training. If the lady is comfortable, ask
    about her ex-boyfriends. After that we Skyped for a couple weeks, I had to know
    she was who she said she was of course.

  35. You might need to spend a bit but don’t worry because its worth it anyway.
    Like the previous free green screen software we discussed, you
    can get this application’s trial version for free.
    This is the fundamental reason why choosing a video software is very crucial.

  36. I can still include some other good programs here like Final Cut, Edius, Avid Media Composer, and others and you can also choose those softwares if you want.
    Traffic Geyser comes with a vast library consisting of video lessons on various interesting topics,
    starting with the production and submission of videos.
    Training ‘ Searchable video software helps to easily capture training from anywhere
    in the organization thereby lowering overall cost
    and streamlining content creation.

  37. De – Mille this is not, but instead a possible dig at
    Google. Constantly add new content on as part of your daily routine this is
    imperative to generating backlinks and building rank, which in turn forces more traffic.
    Web development involves the creation of websites
    consisting of web pages.

  38. It is not that impressive as the other handsets of the same category but still
    an efficient one. If you have always wanted to own a robot or
    are just sick and tired of cleaning up all the time – the Roomba
    780 is just the thing you have been waiting for. At this time he
    can begin to learn to use the litter box and should start to become a social animal.

  39. Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this article and
    the rest of the website is also very good.
    Feel free to visit my homepage: Clint

  40. That commits them to it and that is when you can decide whether
    this will work. During my hurry while in the
    damn parking lot to primp and preen before going in to the bar (which for any
    guy involves cleaning his nose area of foreign. Also featured in the image is the regular version of Link, who is also using
    the same attack.

  41. When you get close to the end, if you feel like
    you might run over or need a few extra minutes to
    finish up, stop and check with all participants.
    In the Kali age everyone who has cars and elephants and steeds will be a R.
    If Google intends improving the experience of its visitors searching for information, then multiple listings
    differing only by several synonym changes will be targeted – as, in fact, they are – and those pages that benefit will likely be manually written rather than by
    use of software: algorithms can detect content with he same paragraph and sentence structure
    that changes only in its vocabulary.

  42. Wonderful work! This is the kind of information that are meant to be shared around the web.
    Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this publish upper!
    Come onn over and seek advice from mmy site . Thanks =)
    Feel free tto surf to my homepage – webpage (Raul)

  43. It is much more engaging than a Power – Point could ever
    be. The interface is simplified for both amateur and intermediate video editors.
    But, what sets it apart are some of the highly advanced features, which aren’t available elsewhere (on other free special effects software).

  44. I don’t think I’ve read anything like this before.
    And so great to find anyone with some original views on this topic.
    thanks for sharing this up. This site is
    one thing that is needed on the internet, an individual with
    a little originality. Excellent job for bringing something fresh to the net!
    My web-site; inversion table teeter (josefaacheson388.bligoo.com)

  46. These guidelines will help you to filter down your look for
    perform and look for out the best web developer of Calgary:
    -Consider his past perform – An experienced developer will always keep their past perform example
    so as to explain his expertise and ability in front of
    his customers. The web design should serve as a connecting element.
    However they mean entirely separate things yet both play a major role
    in building the website.
    My blog post: seo; http://drg.yangtzeu.edu.cn/ActivityFeed/MyProfile/tabid/60/userId/4760/Default.aspx,

  48. ʟet us see some facts pertinent to weight loss before you can decide
    which route tto use. You should take healthy meal and exercise regularlƴ to burn the caloгies you have accumulated.
    So іif yοu aгee taaking diet pills in the hopes thаt
    yoս do nnot havce to eat health and exercise, you are hurting yοurself and аre
    maqking tɦe diet pills be unhеalthy fοr you.
    My page; https://www.weightloss2go.us.com

  55. Very good blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that
    I’m totally confused .. Any tips? Kudos!

  67. Nowadays you may utilize modern technology in order to get mystic result and also tarot result coming from a trusted person.
    my website :: bottompics.foduadmin.isaev.info – Thalia –

  72. The functionality allows you to select the precise beard
    or moustache length you want to trim and also includes a unique
    stubble trimming design used for the old six o clock shadow.
    ) Tailored suits, fitted shirts and t-shirts are proof that clothes don’t have
    to be extra-tight or unbuttoned to the navel to make you look sexy.
    At the start, the company was specialized in producing hair clippers
    before moving onto beard trimmers and electric shavers.

  73. Always soak the stone in water prior to sharpening. When looking for
    the quality of a knife set you’ll want to make sure that it is:.
    Searching for a knife set and having to spend more money.

  74. An oven used for heating or in factories are also called
    furnaces. With this information, Larson suggests
    cooks who have concerns regarding food safety to follow the
    instructions of the University of Minnesota. If you seal you meat in aluminum
    foil, it will retain the moisture from the meat.

  76. When someone writes an piece of writing he/she keeps the thought of a user in his/her brain that how a
    user can understand it. Therefore that’s why this article is perfect.
    Thanks!

  77. Hi my friend! I want to say that this article is amazing, nice written and
    include approximately all significant infos. I would like
    to peer more posts like this .

%d bloggers like this: