P 36 GRANT: …He was always at his best on clay, the surface he grew up on. At his peak, he was almost unbeatable on it. Ellsworth Vines once cut the strings out of his racket after going down to Bitsy on clay, and vowed never to play on clay again. Shortly afterward he was again vanquished by Bitsy, this time on grass, but didn’t make the same promise about not ever playing on grass. He might have run out of surfaces and strings.
With little power and limited reach, Grant adopted a retriever style, running down every ball and keeping it in play as long as possible, which, combined with phenomenal ball control and excellent conditioning, made him difficult to beat. He did not give in to age, and was able to re-invent his game as the years wore on, relying on angles, lobs, and drop shots, all executed like a magician, combined with his trademark demeanor on court, often feigning exhaustion, then coming to life to reach what appeared to be impossible gets. He won his 11th and final Southern singles championship in 1952 at the age of 41.
In 1956 Bitsy announced his plans to play in the U.S. Open in the open age division. He had just turned 46. The USTA had just implemented a policy of allowing only players under 45 to play. Discouraged, he then said he would not play at all. Friend Natalie Cohen pleaded with him to enter the senior division, and to convince him, she organized a luncheon, and invited many of his friends, all of whom had also agreed to play as seniors. He finally relented, and won the 45’s on both grass and clay that year. Lucky for the open division players. He would probably have steamrolled quite a few of them. Just a few years later he blew through a stunned Stan Smith (a former U.S. Open and Wimbledon winner), at the time many years his junior, in the Atlanta Invitational in 1958…
P 46 MALON COURTS: ...His vision for the game, however, was to expand it beyond private clubs, and he was the driving force in the construction of Bitsy Grant Tennis Center. The Mayor of Atlanta at that time was William B. Hartsfield, whom Courts approached with a bold demand for 15 acres next to Bobby Jones Golf Course on Northside Drive, and $250,000 to build a tennis complex. The first response was something like, “...I have more important business, please leave…” The mayor underestimated Courts’ persistence, and two years later, the center became a reality, making tennis in Atlanta a sport for all economic levels. He passed away in 1957, dying of a heart attack on the court at the Piedmont Driving Club.
P 51 DONALD FLOYD: ...In the 1965 U S Championships in Forest Hills at the West Side Tennis Club, daughter Donna was playing in the Womens’ Open division, Don playing in the 45’s. A newspaper reported that “...Mrs. Donald Floyd had a strenuous few hours one day when her husband and daughter played on adjoining courts...separated by a pathway for spectators. Husband Don was playing a close three set match against Robert Lemke Jr. of Philadelphia on one court, while across the aisle daughter Donna was meeting Peachy Kellmeyer of Charleston, WV. Mrs. Floyd would watch Don for a game or two, then cross the aisle to follow her daughter’s match...“
Overall, he played over 1000 tournaments, winning 200 titles, mostly singles. Later he became a certified USPTA professional. He was inducted into Washington Capitol Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.
P62 BOBBY DODD: ...How can an aging ex-football coach with near non-existent tennis strokes even get on the court with top level players, much less win tournament after tournament, many of them state championships, in age divisions with players less than half his age? Because, as Cole Porter once said, “...you got that thing, that certain thing…” He had it. The thing was lightning quick reflexes and extraordinary hand-eye coordination. The tennis stories about him are legend. His unorthodox style someone once described as looking like a person falling out of a tree.
P66 RATCLIFF: ...The second amazing thing is where he came from. It was a place with no tennis courts, in Atlanta’s Bellwood section. His family lived in a house with no electricity, no plumbing, no phone, and you bathed in a washtub. His father was a flagman on the Atlanta/Birmingham/Nashville RR.
Herman always worked during school, delivering ice from a horse drawn wagon, throwing two paper routes, and selling newspapers in the old Peachtree Arcade building, making a penny per paper.
P70 DAN MAGILL: ...His mark was not left only on tennis. His amazing energy and creativity touched all collegiate sports. He changed, almost single-handedly, a lethargic UGA fan base into what is now an unstoppable behemoth of team spirit. Writer Gene Asher ( “Legends-Georgians Who Lived Impossible Dreams”) described what Magill found upon arriving at UGA: “...you could have fired a howitzer in Sanford Stadium in 1950 at some (football) games and not hit anyone…”
P75 PIERRE HOWARD: ...Pierre drew the short straw, at No. 4 singles. To make matters worse, it was played in Tuscaloosa, with a large, noisy partisan crowd of students watching, shouting taunts like, “hey lard butt, you’re gonna get beat by a girl today...” and similar insults. Magill said later he had selected Howard for the task because he knew he could keep his cool better than most of the other players. After a 2 hour duel, he prevailed, giving Roberta her first loss of the season, and amazingly received a standing ovation from the ‘Bama fans. He wasn’t a lard butt when it started, and he was anything but when it concluded, barely winning the first set 7-5, and having lost 10 pounds when it was all over.
P80 MANUEL DIAZ: ...Soares chose to receive in the deuce court, and what he got was a huge topspin crosscourt delivery that bounced completely over his head, unreachable. It landed out of the court, over the small fence in the corner, in Magill’s words “plumb out of the arena.” The Club Pavilion seats weren’t there then, but if they had been, the ball would have landed in someone’s lap. The crowd went wild. But it didn’t end there.
With little power and limited reach, Grant adopted a retriever style, running down every ball and keeping it in play as long as possible, which, combined with phenomenal ball control and excellent conditioning, made him difficult to beat. He did not give in to age, and was able to re-invent his game as the years wore on, relying on angles, lobs, and drop shots, all executed like a magician, combined with his trademark demeanor on court, often feigning exhaustion, then coming to life to reach what appeared to be impossible gets. He won his 11th and final Southern singles championship in 1952 at the age of 41.
In 1956 Bitsy announced his plans to play in the U.S. Open in the open age division. He had just turned 46. The USTA had just implemented a policy of allowing only players under 45 to play. Discouraged, he then said he would not play at all. Friend Natalie Cohen pleaded with him to enter the senior division, and to convince him, she organized a luncheon, and invited many of his friends, all of whom had also agreed to play as seniors. He finally relented, and won the 45’s on both grass and clay that year. Lucky for the open division players. He would probably have steamrolled quite a few of them. Just a few years later he blew through a stunned Stan Smith (a former U.S. Open and Wimbledon winner), at the time many years his junior, in the Atlanta Invitational in 1958…
P 46 MALON COURTS: ...His vision for the game, however, was to expand it beyond private clubs, and he was the driving force in the construction of Bitsy Grant Tennis Center. The Mayor of Atlanta at that time was William B. Hartsfield, whom Courts approached with a bold demand for 15 acres next to Bobby Jones Golf Course on Northside Drive, and $250,000 to build a tennis complex. The first response was something like, “...I have more important business, please leave…” The mayor underestimated Courts’ persistence, and two years later, the center became a reality, making tennis in Atlanta a sport for all economic levels. He passed away in 1957, dying of a heart attack on the court at the Piedmont Driving Club.
P 51 DONALD FLOYD: ...In the 1965 U S Championships in Forest Hills at the West Side Tennis Club, daughter Donna was playing in the Womens’ Open division, Don playing in the 45’s. A newspaper reported that “...Mrs. Donald Floyd had a strenuous few hours one day when her husband and daughter played on adjoining courts...separated by a pathway for spectators. Husband Don was playing a close three set match against Robert Lemke Jr. of Philadelphia on one court, while across the aisle daughter Donna was meeting Peachy Kellmeyer of Charleston, WV. Mrs. Floyd would watch Don for a game or two, then cross the aisle to follow her daughter’s match...“
Overall, he played over 1000 tournaments, winning 200 titles, mostly singles. Later he became a certified USPTA professional. He was inducted into Washington Capitol Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.
P62 BOBBY DODD: ...How can an aging ex-football coach with near non-existent tennis strokes even get on the court with top level players, much less win tournament after tournament, many of them state championships, in age divisions with players less than half his age? Because, as Cole Porter once said, “...you got that thing, that certain thing…” He had it. The thing was lightning quick reflexes and extraordinary hand-eye coordination. The tennis stories about him are legend. His unorthodox style someone once described as looking like a person falling out of a tree.
P66 RATCLIFF: ...The second amazing thing is where he came from. It was a place with no tennis courts, in Atlanta’s Bellwood section. His family lived in a house with no electricity, no plumbing, no phone, and you bathed in a washtub. His father was a flagman on the Atlanta/Birmingham/Nashville RR.
Herman always worked during school, delivering ice from a horse drawn wagon, throwing two paper routes, and selling newspapers in the old Peachtree Arcade building, making a penny per paper.
P70 DAN MAGILL: ...His mark was not left only on tennis. His amazing energy and creativity touched all collegiate sports. He changed, almost single-handedly, a lethargic UGA fan base into what is now an unstoppable behemoth of team spirit. Writer Gene Asher ( “Legends-Georgians Who Lived Impossible Dreams”) described what Magill found upon arriving at UGA: “...you could have fired a howitzer in Sanford Stadium in 1950 at some (football) games and not hit anyone…”
P75 PIERRE HOWARD: ...Pierre drew the short straw, at No. 4 singles. To make matters worse, it was played in Tuscaloosa, with a large, noisy partisan crowd of students watching, shouting taunts like, “hey lard butt, you’re gonna get beat by a girl today...” and similar insults. Magill said later he had selected Howard for the task because he knew he could keep his cool better than most of the other players. After a 2 hour duel, he prevailed, giving Roberta her first loss of the season, and amazingly received a standing ovation from the ‘Bama fans. He wasn’t a lard butt when it started, and he was anything but when it concluded, barely winning the first set 7-5, and having lost 10 pounds when it was all over.
P80 MANUEL DIAZ: ...Soares chose to receive in the deuce court, and what he got was a huge topspin crosscourt delivery that bounced completely over his head, unreachable. It landed out of the court, over the small fence in the corner, in Magill’s words “plumb out of the arena.” The Club Pavilion seats weren’t there then, but if they had been, the ball would have landed in someone’s lap. The crowd went wild. But it didn’t end there.