The tall, rakishly handsome netter was ranked No. 1 in the world for an amazing seven years in a row — mostly during the first World War. He was 21 amateur and four professional Grand Slam titles, seven consecutive Davis Cups and the doubles title at the age of 52. An Associated Press poll ranked him as the greatest tennis player to ever step onto a court. No other athlete in any other sport — basketball, track, golf, football, you name it — was considered as dominant.
After being on the cover of nearly every magazine and newspaper in America, he would end up being a recalcitrant — and broken — guest of the Santa Clarita Valley in the late 1940s.
“Big” Bill Tilden was born into wealth and tragedy.
He was born on Feb. 10th, 1893 into a wealthy family. By the time he had turned 15, he had already suffered staggering personal losses. Three of his siblings would die along with his mother.
His father shunned him, forcing him out of the house to live with a nearby aunt. Then, at 19, his father died.
Brilliant, charismatic, flamboyant — he would use all this angst on the court. Psychologists amateur and professional postulated that he spent a lifetime trying to create some sort of father-son bond by becoming friend and mentor to younger players and ballboys.
Homosexuality was considered a heinous sin in the America of the 1920s through 1950s. Tilden reportedly had only one sexual interlude with a woman, a prostitute near a military base. In his biography, he said the experience “sickened him.” He never had any sexual relations with a man until he was into his 40s. He still lived at his aunt’s house until he was 48. His entire life was an enigma.
First, Tilden came to tennis rather late in life. He dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania and spent his days just hitting a tennis ball against a wall.
Starting in 1912, at the age of 19 and for 18 years, Tilden won 138 out of 192 amateur tournaments with an unbelievable 907-62 match record.
He won Wimbledon.
Twice.
He won 13 Davis Cup singles matches in a row and that was back when the Davis Cup was viewed as the biggest tourney on the planet.
Tilden won the U.S. Open.
Seven times.
He was in his late 20s when he started slicing up tournaments and became one of the five most dominant sports figures of the Roaring’20s — along with superstars Babe Ruth, Red Grange, golfer Bobby Jones and heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey.
Though gay, he cut a machismo figure and ironically changed the face of tennis from one of a rich man’s country club recreation to that of a full-fledged sport.
Understand this: the tortured genius of tennis, in that seven-year-period, NEVER LOST A MATCH.
Now, understand this: during this period, the middle finger of his gripping hand became infected and HAD TO BE AMPUTATED. Also, Tilden suffered through severe knee problems.
When he was at the impossible age of 48, Tilden toured America with 25-year-old Don Budge, who was the undisputed top-ranked player in the world. At 48, Tilden was still beating the superstar.
Tilden was so overpowering, he would sometimes subtly throw a few sets — against world class players — just to keep the match interesting for the spectator.
This in no way can tarnish the ethics of the man.
If he thought a referee had made a wrong call — in favor of HIM — he would intentionally — and rather flamboyantly — miss the next ball or hit it into the ground.
What a gentleman.
He wrote “The Art of Lawn Tennis” and “Match Play and the Spin of the Ball.” In the 21st century of graphite rackets and supersonic serves, these are still considered the two Bibles of tennis.
A frustrated artist, Tilden sunk much of his time and own money into writing and producing Broadway plays and movies. He had a cameo in the romantic comedy classic with Hepburn and Tracy, “Pat and Mike,” and even starred in his biography, filmed in 1941.
As he grew older, according to biographers, the handsome athlete “grew more effeminate,” in appearance and manner.
Fifty five years ago this month, Tilden, a broken, embarrassed giant, was the unwilling guest of the Wayside Honor Rancho, which today is the Peter Pitchess Maximum Security penitentiary in Castaic.
In November of 1946, Tilden was arrested on Sunset Boulevard, trying to solicit the services of a male prostitute. The hooker turned out to be a teenage boy. Tilden’s fame and humility may have come into play. In those climes, he could have been charged with a felony assault charge on a minor. Instead, he was slapped with a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Sentenced to a year at the SCV’s country club of prisons, he served just 7-1/2 months with good behavior.
Local prison guards told the local Newhall paper that Tilden seemed to be a broken man.
His demons would call again.
In 1949, he was arrested a second time. Tilden had picked up a 16-year-old male hitchhiker and made sexual advances toward him.
The poor fellow.
Acting as his own defense, he had foolishly thought his fame and connections in Hollywood would help him. One of the game’s best defensemen on the court, he fumbled and stammered in the courtroom. The judge gave him a light sentence of 10 months at Wayside again.
From the court transcripts:
TILDEN: “Your honor, may I ask you something?”
JUDGE: “Go ahead.”
TILDEN: “If this [young hitchhiker who’d brought molestation charges against Tilden] had been one of those young girls in shorts and halters who wave at the cars along La Cienega Boulevard, would I be in the same difficulty?”
JUDGE: “If she were a minor.” After a pause, the judge rebuked the tennis legend: “You are not a sportsman, Mr. Tilden. You were once a great athlete. You may still be an excellent teacher [of tennis]… But you are no longer a sportsman nor a gentleman. You are a pederast, Mr. Tilden… You are a criminal, sir.”
TILDEN: “I am not a criminal!” Tilden cried. “I am a tennis player. I feel awkward saying this, but I consider myself an artist, an artist of the game. Other people have said so too. Sportswriters, tennis players, the great opera star Mary Garden have all told me the same thing. I am an artist! I have to create! And now that I’m getting too old to create my own game, I have to create it in others. I have to pass on what I know.”
The shame of the charges and the values of the time caused Tilden to be shunned by the very tennis culture he had built.
Tilden had two fortunes. He inherited money from his wealthy family and he made tons of money as the world’s greatest tennis player.
He lived a lavish life, keeping a suite in a 5-star hotel and funding flop after flop in Hollywood and Broadway.
In 1953, at the young age of 60, he suffered a stroke and died instantly and penniless in Los Angeles.
John Boston has earned 119 major awards for writing stuff. Besides The Mighty West Ranch Beacon, his work appears in the prestigious thebostonreport.net just about every darn day. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon. Read Boston’s daily blog, his Daily English Muffins, the Adventures of Job Hunter and more of John Boston’s award-winning commentary on thebostonreport.net.