Karel Koželuh
Encyclopedia
Karel Koželuh was a top Czech
tennis
, soccer, and ice hockey
player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level.
(today's Prague
, Czech Republic
), one of seven brothers (and two sisters). His sports career began with rugby
and it was only at the age of 16 that he learned to play tennis. In 1914 he joined the strong soccer team of Sparta Prague. In later years Koželuh also played for DFC Prag
(Prague) and Teplitzer FK
(Teplice). During World War I
, in 1917, he was the center forward on the Austrian national soccer team. After the War he became a Czechoslovak citizen and played for the Czechoslovak national soccer team
until 1923. In 1925, as a member of the Czechoslovakian ice hockey team that won the European championship, he scored the winning goal in the final game.
, in which both the forehand
and backhand
are hit with the same grip, and preferred to play as much as 10 feet behind the baseline, returning balls endlessly to the other court, almost never advancing to the net. Seldom hitting the ball very hard, he was content to outrun and outlast his opponents in exhausting matches of attrition. He won the most prestigious of these European tournaments, the Bristol Cup, played in Beaulieu
, France
, 6 times.
or Bill Tilden
at their best would be able to defeat Koželuh by attacking him consistently from the net. Koželuh defended his somewhat tedious baseline style by saying: "Why should I change my style when it is so successful?"
"Big" Bill Tilden, the greatest player of the 1920s, and by far the most famous, turned professional at the end of 1930 and organized a tour with several lesser players and with himself to play the headline match against Koželuh. Their first encounter was on 18 February 1931 before 14,000 spectators in Madison Square Garden
in New York. Tilden won 3 straight sets in only 65 minutes, attacking from both the baseline and the net and overwhelming Koželuh with his power. Tilden won the next 8 matches as well, all of them played indoors on a canvas surface that seldom had enough room for Koželuh to play his normal game far behind the baseline. Koželuh finally won their 10th match on an outdoor concrete court at the Los Angeles Tennis Club
. In the course of the year, both in the United States and in Europe, the Czech eventually beat Tilden 17 times while losing 50 matches to him. Koželuh had firmly established himself as one of the half-dozen best players in the world.
Koželuh had already beaten Vinnie Richards to win the United States Pro Championship in 1929. He went on to win the title again in 1932, defeating the German Hans Nusslein
, and in 1937 at age of 41, beating the American Bruce Barnes
. As well as being the losing finalist in 1928 and 1930, he also played for the championship in 1934 and 1935. His only other major title was the French Professional Championship of 1930.
He is not to be confused with another fine Czech tennis player of the same era, Jan Koželuh
, who was Karel's younger brother. Jan was good enough to be ranked as high as number 10 in the world among amateur players. (http://www.reflex.cz/Clanek24490.html).
Koželuh was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in Newport, Rhode Island
, in 2006.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
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...
, soccer, and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh never played in the major tournaments of amateur tennis but was an all-around athlete at the very highest level.
Rugby, football and ice hockey years
Koželuh was born in Prag, Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(today's Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), one of seven brothers (and two sisters). His sports career began with rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
and it was only at the age of 16 that he learned to play tennis. In 1914 he joined the strong soccer team of Sparta Prague. In later years Koželuh also played for DFC Prag
DFC Prag
The Deutscher Fussball Club Prag was a German association football club that played in the city of Prague in what is today the Czech Republic, but was at the time of the club's founding on 25 May 1896, part of Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
(Prague) and Teplitzer FK
Teplitzer FK
' may refer to:* FK Teplice, association football club from the Czech Republic, formed in Teplice in 1945* Teplitzer FK, unrelated football club for ethnic Germans from Teplice , dissolved in 1945...
(Teplice). During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1917, he was the center forward on the Austrian national soccer team. After the War he became a Czechoslovak citizen and played for the Czechoslovak national soccer team
Czechoslovakia national football team
The Czechoslovakia national football team was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1922 to 1993. At the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name...
until 1923. In 1925, as a member of the Czechoslovakian ice hockey team that won the European championship, he scored the winning goal in the final game.
Early years
The exact circumstances are unclear, but it appears that Koželuh became a professional tennis coach at a fairly young age and thereby made himself ineligible to play in any amateur tournaments. He did, however, compete in the very few professional tournaments that took place in Europe in the 1920s, contested primarily between teaching professionals. He became known in these tournaments for his speed, his endurance, and his fine groundstrokes from the baseline. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds. The American tennis player Vinnie Richards said he was "seamy-faced, cadaverous-looking and, in general, resembled a cigar-store Indian." Koželuh used the Continental gripGrip (tennis)
In tennis, a grip is a way of holding the racquet in order to hit shots during a match. The three most commonly used conventional grips are: the Continental , the Eastern and the Western...
, in which both the forehand
Forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
and backhand
Backhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
are hit with the same grip, and preferred to play as much as 10 feet behind the baseline, returning balls endlessly to the other court, almost never advancing to the net. Seldom hitting the ball very hard, he was content to outrun and outlast his opponents in exhausting matches of attrition. He won the most prestigious of these European tournaments, the Bristol Cup, played in Beaulieu
Beaulieu
-England:* Beaulieu, Hampshire, a village in the New Forest* Beaulieu Abbey, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu Palace House, located in Beaulieu, Hampshire* Beaulieu River, running through Beaulieu, Hampshire...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 6 times.
Professional years
When a true professional tour was at last started, Koželuh was one of the first players to join it, being signed up for it by Vinnie Richards, who made a special trip to Europe for that sole purpose. In the years to come Koželuh would achieve much greater prominence as a pro than as an amateur. In 1928, his first year as a professional, he beat Richards 15 matches to 5, at a time when Richards was generally considered to be one of the 5 or 6 best players in the world, amateur or professional. The following years Koželuh continued to dominate Richards, in 1929 beating him 5 times to 2 and in 1930 4 times to 2. After watching one of their lengthy matches, a tennis expert of the time, J. Parmly Paret, wrote in American Lawn Tennis, that Koželuh had "the most perfect defense that I have seen.... But defense alone does not make a champion." He went on to say that either Henri CochetHenri Cochet
Henri Jean Cochet was a champion tennis player, one of the famous "Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s....
or Bill Tilden
Bill Tilden
William Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...
at their best would be able to defeat Koželuh by attacking him consistently from the net. Koželuh defended his somewhat tedious baseline style by saying: "Why should I change my style when it is so successful?"
"Big" Bill Tilden, the greatest player of the 1920s, and by far the most famous, turned professional at the end of 1930 and organized a tour with several lesser players and with himself to play the headline match against Koželuh. Their first encounter was on 18 February 1931 before 14,000 spectators in Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York. Tilden won 3 straight sets in only 65 minutes, attacking from both the baseline and the net and overwhelming Koželuh with his power. Tilden won the next 8 matches as well, all of them played indoors on a canvas surface that seldom had enough room for Koželuh to play his normal game far behind the baseline. Koželuh finally won their 10th match on an outdoor concrete court at the Los Angeles Tennis Club
Los Angeles Tennis Club
The Los Angeles Tennis Club is a private tennis club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue. It is the home of the Southern California Championships....
. In the course of the year, both in the United States and in Europe, the Czech eventually beat Tilden 17 times while losing 50 matches to him. Koželuh had firmly established himself as one of the half-dozen best players in the world.
Koželuh had already beaten Vinnie Richards to win the United States Pro Championship in 1929. He went on to win the title again in 1932, defeating the German Hans Nusslein
Hans Nüsslein
Hans Nüsslein was a German tennis player of the 1930s.Born in Nuremberg, he had almost no background in amateur tennis. In late 1931, as a professional, he played Bill Tilden twice in Europe, taking him to 5 sets each time. Later in the 1930s, as Tilden aged, Nüsslein would beat the far more...
, and in 1937 at age of 41, beating the American Bruce Barnes
Bruce Barnes (tennis)
Bruce Parkhouse Barnes was a high-ranking American tennis player of the 1930s.Barnes was born in Dallas, Texas. As a professional, he won the 1933 world men's doubles championship with Bill Tilden, and lost the finals of the 1937 United States Professional Championship to Karel Koželuh and the...
. As well as being the losing finalist in 1928 and 1930, he also played for the championship in 1934 and 1935. His only other major title was the French Professional Championship of 1930.
He is not to be confused with another fine Czech tennis player of the same era, Jan Koželuh
Jan Koželuh
Jan Koželuh was a Czech tennis player of the 1920s, not to be confused with his older brother Karel Koželuh , a player of the same era...
, who was Karel's younger brother. Jan was good enough to be ranked as high as number 10 in the world among amateur players. (http://www.reflex.cz/Clanek24490.html).
Koželuh was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, in 2006.