Bud Collins History of Tennis Archives

The legacy of Bud Collins will continue in his encyclopedic compilation “The Bud Collins History of Tennis,” which is now available in a third edition.

Collins, the most influential and famous journalist in the history of tennis, died on March 6 of this year after 86 colorful, enthusiastic and kind-hearted years of life. Throughout his 59 years of covering tennis from all corners of the world, Collins became the sport’s premier story-teller and historian. Starting in 1980, Collins encyclopedic knowledge was first documented in his “Encyclopedia of Tennis” which has endured through different incarnations from different publishing houses. The current version published by New Chapter Press is titled “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” and is now available in a third edition with information updated through the 2016 U.S. Open. The 796-page book is available where books are sold for $39.95 including on Amazon.com here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_oYEvybKBFJHW8

For the first time ever, the book will also be available in electronic formats including Kindle starting in early 2017.

“I am so pleased that Bud’s life-long work in ‘The Bud Collins History of Tennis’ will continue to endure for more generations to enjoy and treasure,” said Anita Ruthling Klaussen, the wife of Bud Collins. “Under (Publisher) Randy Walker’s wonderful and enthusiastic guidance, we intend to keep Bud’s book going and going and going. It is a wonderful way to honor him!”
“The Bud Collins History of Tennis” is the ultimate compilation of historical tennis information, including year-by-year recaps of every tennis season, biographical sketches of every major tennis personality, as well as stats, records, and championship rolls for all the major events. Through his life in tennis, Collins offers insights into the world of professional tennis found from his countless experiences and relationships.

Arthur Worth “Bud” Collins, Jr. was born June 17, 1929, in Lima, Ohio and grew up in Berea (outside of Cleveland) about 50 yards from the dirt tennis courts of Baldwin-Wallace College, from which he graduated in 1951, and where his father had been head coach of football, basketball, baseball and track, as well as athletic director. He moved to Boston in 1954 where he soon joined the sports staff at the Boston Herald, moving to the Boston Globe in 1963. He first covered tennis at the 1956 U.S. Championships, covering the event every year until 2015 when the U.S. Tennis Association officially named the media center at Arthur Ashe Stadium in his honor. In 1963, the year began working for the Boston Globe, Collins ﬁrst did television commentary, covering the U.S. Doubles at Longwood Cricket Club for Boston’s PBS outlet, WGBH, a station that for the next 20 years would pioneer American coverage of the sport. He worked the U.S. Open for CBS from 1968 to 1972, before signing on with NBC in 1972 where he began, perhaps, his signature association as the American voice of Wimbledon until 2007. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994.

Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” by Steve Flink, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” by Chris Lewit, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness From Yourself And Others” by Rick Macci with Jim Martz, “The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time” by Sandy Harwitt, “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer, “The Days of Roger Federer” by Randy Walker, “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Titanic: The Tennis Story” by Lindsay Gibbs, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes with Peter Kolar, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker (www.TennisHistoryApp.com), “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Court Confidential: Inside The World Of Tennis” by Neil Harman, “A Backhanded Gift” by Marshall Jon Fisher, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com,) “Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have To Be” by Laura Schreffler, “How to Permanently Erase Negative Self-Talk: So You Can Be Extraordinary” by Emily Filloramo, “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Suzan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin among others.

New Third Edition "Bud Collins History of Tennis" — New Third Edition “Bud Collins History of Tennis”

Tennis History Tuesday” is a feature every Tuesday on Tennisgrandstand.com that highlights the glorified history of the sport of tennis by virtue of access to excerpts from books The Bud Collins History of Tennis and On This Day In Tennis History and other sources.
The inaugural edition of “Tennis History Tuesday” brings readers events that happened “On This Day In Tennis History” with an excerpt from the book by the same name, written by, yours truly. It is a day that John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors will certainly never forget and reminds us that anything can happen in Davis Cup, which is a large part of the beauty of the competition. For more info on “On This Day In Tennis History,” go to www.tennishistorybook.com. It makes for a great stocking-stuffer for the Holidays!
December 16
1984 – In an ignominious low for the United States Davis Cup team, future Hall of Famers and the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, are embarrassingly straight-setted by Henrik Sundstrom and Mats Wilander, respectively, as Sweden takes a surprising 2-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup Final in Goteborg, Sweden. Wilander easily defeats Connors 6-1, 6-3, 6-3, while Sundstrom hands McEnroe only his third loss in the calendar year in a 13-11, 6-4, 6-3 upset. Connors is criticized for his rude and boorish behavior highlighted by many obscenity-laced tirades against chair umpire George Grime. Alan Mills, the event’s referee, considers tossing Connors from the series due to his behavior, but his decision to simply fine Connors $2,000 the next day is made a moot point when Sweden closes out the victory over the United States the next day in the doubles rubber. The behavior of McEnroe and Connors cause for the U.S. Tennis Association to implement a code of conduct for its players following the eventual 4-1 loss. Connors never plays Davis Cup again and McEnroe refuses to sign the USTA’s contract and does not play Davis Cup again until 1987.
1990 – Pete Sampras wins $2 million – the largest payout in tennis history – by defeating Brad Gilbert 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany, a year-end tournament that features the 16 players who perform the best in all four major tournaments during the year. Sampras compares his win over Gilbert to his win over Andre Agassi in the final of the U.S. Open earlier in the year saying “I just felt similar to when I beat Agassi at the U.S. Open – that anything I hit turned to gold.” Says Gilbert, whose runner-up showing earned him $1 million, “I have bought a lot of bad stock and I would like to buy some stock in him (Sampras) because his stock is rising.”