Gussie Moran
Encyclopedia
Gertrude "Gussie" Agusta Moran (born 08 Sept. 1923, Santa Monica, California
) is a retired American female tennis
player who was active in the 1950s. Her highest US national tennis ranking was 4th.
's mansion (she only had lunch alone with Mr. Chaplin one time, however). When Moran was 17 their family was informed that her older brother had been declared missing in action
in World War II
. She was devastated by the news, and soon went to work at the nearby Douglas Aircraft Company
, helping to assemble airplanes for the war effort. She also joined USO
tours to California hospitals and military bases.
Moran entered several amateur tennis tourneys in California, eventually rising to eligibility to play at Wimbledon
in 1949. Preparing for that appearance
, she asked the official Wimbledon host, Ted Tinling
to design her outfit. She asked for one sleeve to be one color, the other sleeve to be another color, and the skirt to be a third color. Because of the tournament rule that all outfits had to be white only, he declined but later agreed to design an outfit that complied with the rule. Her outfit, a short tennis dress with ruffled, lace-trimmed knickers, was short enough for her knickers to be visible during the match, a first for any tournament.
Her outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her "Gorgeous Gussie", and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace. The event scandalized Wimbledon officials, prompting a debate in Parliament
. Moran, who was accused of bringing 'vulgarity and sin into tennis' by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
, later reverted to wearing shorts. Tinling, who had acted as official Wimbledon host for 23 years, was shunned for the 33 years following the incident (he was invited back to Wimbledon in 1982).
A 1988 interview with Moran reported of the 1949 Wimbledon event:
, where she was seeded seventh, Moran's amateur career ended when she began to tour as a professional with Pauline Betz
', using the dress incident as the main draw.
Her popularity led her to a cameo appearance (as herself) in the 1952 sports-oriented American movie Pat and Mike
, which featured Spencer Tracy
and Katharine Hepburn
. It also allowed her to adorn magazine covers worldwide, and her name was given to a racehorse, an aircraft
, and a sauce
. She even posed in her frilly kit in department stores
One of her last tournaments was at the 1971 U.S. Open, apart from competing in the Women's Singles
where she was eliminated at the first round, she also partnered Chuck Diaz at the Mixed Doubles.
television Channel 4, doing a 15-minute interview with the voice of the Rams
, Bob Kelly. In 1955 she became a sports newscaster at WMGM in New York City
, a position which lasted until 1961. After leaving WMGM she and a partner became active in manufacturing and selling her own line of tennis clothing (that business closed on 21 Nov. 1963). She then returned to California and became hostess of a racket club in Palm Springs
. The hostess position did not last long, however, so she became co-host (with Tom Kennedy) of a daily TV interview show in Hollywood called Sundown. She was fired after eleven weeks (the show was to run for 13 weeks) when she referred to the Catholic religion as a political party.
Moran then returned to giving tennis lessons at a Lake Encino racket club, remaining there for two and a half years. In 1969 she became advertising manager for Tennis World magazine.
In 1970 she participated in another USO tour, this time to Vietnam
. While there, her helicopter was shot down, and she suffered several broken and dislocated bones. After recovering from that accident she obtained (1972) a radio sports director position in Los Angeles, at station KFAC, but left after a short stint. She then free-lanced for a fabric manufacturer, and wrote columns for Tennis magazine. She worked for Tennis Unlimited, a promotional company.
Moran was living at the family's Santa Monica home, a Victorian structure with an ocean view, but with her mother's death in 1977 she was unable to keep up the property taxes, and was evicted on 26 April 1986. She is currently living in a one bedroom apartment with her five cats in Los Angeles.
. Her third marriage at the age of 37 was to Frank ("Bing") Simpson, a Los Angeles lawyer-yachtsman. Both her second and third marriage ended up in divorce. Moran has no children.
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
) is a retired American female tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player who was active in the 1950s. Her highest US national tennis ranking was 4th.
Early life and amateur tennis career
Moran's father (died 1960) was a sound technician and electrician at Universal Studios, and possibly because of his connections Moran worked as an extra in a few movies of the 1940s, and her tennis groups occasionally enjoyed Sunday soirees at Charlie ChaplinCharlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's mansion (she only had lunch alone with Mr. Chaplin one time, however). When Moran was 17 their family was informed that her older brother had been declared missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was devastated by the news, and soon went to work at the nearby Douglas Aircraft Company
Douglas Aircraft Company
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...
, helping to assemble airplanes for the war effort. She also joined USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
tours to California hospitals and military bases.
Moran entered several amateur tennis tourneys in California, eventually rising to eligibility to play at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
in 1949. Preparing for that appearance
1949 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Louise Brough defeated Margaret Du Pont 10–8 1–6 10–8 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 1949 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
, she asked the official Wimbledon host, Ted Tinling
Ted Tinling
Cuthbert Collingwood "Ted" Tinling , sometimes known as Teddy Tinling, was an English tennis player, fashion designer, spy and author. He was a firm fixture on the professional tennis tour for over sixty years....
to design her outfit. She asked for one sleeve to be one color, the other sleeve to be another color, and the skirt to be a third color. Because of the tournament rule that all outfits had to be white only, he declined but later agreed to design an outfit that complied with the rule. Her outfit, a short tennis dress with ruffled, lace-trimmed knickers, was short enough for her knickers to be visible during the match, a first for any tournament.
Her outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her "Gorgeous Gussie", and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace. The event scandalized Wimbledon officials, prompting a debate in Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
. Moran, who was accused of bringing 'vulgarity and sin into tennis' by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
, later reverted to wearing shorts. Tinling, who had acted as official Wimbledon host for 23 years, was shunned for the 33 years following the incident (he was invited back to Wimbledon in 1982).
A 1988 interview with Moran reported of the 1949 Wimbledon event:
- Wimbledon officials went mad, and Moran, shocked by the reaction, went into a shell. The first and only time she wore the outfit on court, she walked with her racket in front of her face. "I was embarrassed . . because they were putting so much adulation on the character, 'Gorgeous Gussie'. You know, I was really never anything to write home about. I was a plain girl. But Life magazineLife (magazine)Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
ran a picture calling me Gorgeous Gussie, and the British picked it up and did a real job with it. Then people would see me and I'd hear them say, 'I've seen better-looking waitresses at the hot-dog stand.' I just went to pieces. Emotionally, I couldn't handle it."
Professional tennis career
Following the 1950 Wimbledon tournament1950 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Louise Brough defeated Margaret Du Pont 6–1 3–6 6–1 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 1950 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
, where she was seeded seventh, Moran's amateur career ended when she began to tour as a professional with Pauline Betz
Pauline Betz
Pauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player.She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody.-Early life:Betz attended Los Angeles High...
', using the dress incident as the main draw.
Her popularity led her to a cameo appearance (as herself) in the 1952 sports-oriented American movie Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
, which featured Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
. It also allowed her to adorn magazine covers worldwide, and her name was given to a racehorse, an aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, and a sauce
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
. She even posed in her frilly kit in department stores
One of her last tournaments was at the 1971 U.S. Open, apart from competing in the Women's Singles
1971 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
Billie Jean King defeated Rosemary Casals 6–4 7–6 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1971 US Open.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
where she was eliminated at the first round, she also partnered Chuck Diaz at the Mixed Doubles.
Later life
In 1951 Moran began working for Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
television Channel 4, doing a 15-minute interview with the voice of the Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, Bob Kelly. In 1955 she became a sports newscaster at WMGM in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, a position which lasted until 1961. After leaving WMGM she and a partner became active in manufacturing and selling her own line of tennis clothing (that business closed on 21 Nov. 1963). She then returned to California and became hostess of a racket club in Palm Springs
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. The hostess position did not last long, however, so she became co-host (with Tom Kennedy) of a daily TV interview show in Hollywood called Sundown. She was fired after eleven weeks (the show was to run for 13 weeks) when she referred to the Catholic religion as a political party.
Moran then returned to giving tennis lessons at a Lake Encino racket club, remaining there for two and a half years. In 1969 she became advertising manager for Tennis World magazine.
In 1970 she participated in another USO tour, this time to Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. While there, her helicopter was shot down, and she suffered several broken and dislocated bones. After recovering from that accident she obtained (1972) a radio sports director position in Los Angeles, at station KFAC, but left after a short stint. She then free-lanced for a fabric manufacturer, and wrote columns for Tennis magazine. She worked for Tennis Unlimited, a promotional company.
Moran was living at the family's Santa Monica home, a Victorian structure with an ocean view, but with her mother's death in 1977 she was unable to keep up the property taxes, and was evicted on 26 April 1986. She is currently living in a one bedroom apartment with her five cats in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Moran was married three times. Her first marriage at age 19 was to an ex-Royal Air Force pilot; that marriage was later annulled. Her second marriage at the age of 30 was to Eddie Hand, a transport firm executive, also known as Mr. Y in the book “Beat the Dealer” by Edward O. ThorpEdward O. Thorp
Edward Oakley Thorp is an American mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack player. He was a pioneer in modern applications of probability theory, including the harnessing of very small correlations for reliable financial gain.He was the author of Beat the Dealer, the first...
. Her third marriage at the age of 37 was to Frank ("Bing") Simpson, a Los Angeles lawyer-yachtsman. Both her second and third marriage ended up in divorce. Moran has no children.
Singles wins
| |class="unsortable"|Date | Name and location of the tournament | Cat. | ($) | Surface | Finalist | Score | ||
| 1 | 1948 | US Hardcourt Championships | Hard (outdoors) | US Hardcourt 1948 |
Doubles wins
| |Date | Name and location of the tournament | Cat. | ($) | Surface | Partner | Finalist | Score | ||
| 1 | 1948 | US Hardcourt Championships | Hard (outdoors) | Virginia Wolfenden | US Hardcourt 1948s |
Doubles tournaments (losses)
| |Date | Name and location of the tournament | Cat. | ($) | Surface | Winners | Partner | Score | ||
| 1 | 1949 | The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
G. Chelem | Grass (outdoors) | Louise Brough Clapp Margaret Osborne Margaret Osborne duPont Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand... |
Patricia Canning Todd | 8-6, 7-5 | Wimbledon 1949 1949 Wimbledon Championships -Men's Singles: Ted Schroeder defeated Jaroslav Drobný 3-6 6-0 6-3 4-6 6-4-Women's Singles: Louise Brough Clapp defeated Margaret Osborne duPont 10-8, 1-6, 10-8... |
Finals in Mixed Doubles
| |Date | Name and location of the tournament | Cat. | ($) | Surface | Winners | Partner | Score | ||
| 1 | 1947 | US Women's National Championships, Forest Hills | G. Chelem | Grass (outdoors) | Louise Brough Clapp John Bromwich John Bromwich John Edward Bromwich was a male tennis player from Australia who, along with his countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed forehand.... |
Pancho Segura Pancho Segura Pancho Segura, born Francisco Olegario Segura , was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. In 1950 and 1952, as a professional, he was the World Co-No. 1 player... |
6-3 6-1 | 1947 Tennis Open 1947 U.S. National Championships (tennis) List of Champions of the 1947 U.S. National Championships :-Men's Singles: Jack Kramer defeated Frank Parker 4-6 2-6 6-1 6-0 6-3-Women's Singles: Louise Brough defeated Margaret Osborne duPont 8-6, 4-6, 6-1... |