Los Angeles Tennis Club
Encyclopedia
The Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC) 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.
Perry T. Jones (b. 1890 and d. 1970) was a major fundraiser and took control of Southern California tennis in 1930. He set up his office at the Club with his loyal Secretary, Doris Cook, and made it famous through his junior development patrons network. It reached from Santa Barbara to San Diego and came together at the LATC to produce a steady stream of world-class tennis players. dubbed "the cradle of tennis." Jones believed in schooling, cleanliness, proper attire, and sportsmanship when helping players develop into champions. He became Davis Cup Captain in 1958, recruited, mentored and named Alex Olmedo
to the team, that included Barry MacKay
and Ham Richardson, and won the Davis Cup from Australia, that year. Jack Kramer and Pancho Gonzales
acted as advisors to Jones. Mr. Jones was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970. He established the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) Hall of Fame in 1968, and was known as "Mr. Tennis of the West Coast".
From the 1930s through the early 1970s, the LATC was the center of development for world-class players in the United States. In 1930, Perry T. Jones, became President of the Southern California Tennis Association and the Director of the Southern California Championships and Pacific Southwest Tennis Championships. Bill Tilden
was the first winner of the Pacific Southwest tournament in 1927. Jones designed what he termed "The Factory System" that utilized Tennis Patrons in San Diego, Long Beach, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica, such as: Harper Ink, Dr. Ben Parks, Jack Lynch, Bob Martin, and Helen Roark; and Tennis Teachers: Mercer Beasley, Esther Bartosh, Ben Press, Clyde Walker, Wilbur Folsom, Dick Skeen, Pancho Segura, Carl Earn, Eleanor Tennant, Linda Crosby, Vic Braden, Myron Mc Namara, and Robert Lansdorp to identify and funnel top-flight junior players to his attention so he could make them champions with funding, top competition, and tournaments, such as: Ellsworth Vines
, Gene Mako
, Jack Tidball, Jack Kramer, Joe Hunt, Pauline Betz
, Bobby Riggs
, Bob Falkenburg
, Pancho Gonzales
, Ted Schroeder
, Joe Hunt, Dave Freeman, Budge Patty
, Dodo Cheney, Herb Flam, Hugh Stewart
, Pat Yeomans, Gussie Moran
, Louise Brough
, Maureen Connolly
, Beverly Baker, Alex Olmedo
, Darlene Hard
, Billie Jean King
, Sally Moore, Karen Hantze, Mike Franks
, Rafael Osuna
, Dennis Ralston
, Jon Douglas
, Allen Fox
, Stan Smith
, Charlie Pasarell
, Bob Lutz, George Toley
, and many others. Jack Kramer writes in his autobiography in 1979, that "if you wanted top competition, you had to play at the LATC — especially since there were many fewer tournaments then and practice was the vogue." Jones was a strong-willed autocrat who excluded the young Pancho Gonzales
from the Club because of his school truancy. He sometimes would not sponsor Bobby Riggs
for Eastern Tournaments. He also achieved notoriety for excluding a 12-year-old Billie Jean King
from a group photo at the Club, because she was wearing shorts instead of a tennis dress.
In 1952, Angela Buxton
, who four years later was the champion in doubles at both Wimbledon and the French Championships, ran into anti-Semitism
at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. She said, "They told me I couldn't play because I was Jewish." Instead, she was forced to train across town at public courts, but this allowed her to practice under the watchful eye of the great Bill Tilden
for six months.
When he was still a teenage player, Kramer writes, he could "get matches against Ellsworth Vines
, Bill Tilden
, Bobby Riggs
, Gene Mako
, Joe Hunt, Ted Schroeder
, Jack Tidball, Frank Shields
, and – often as not – the players on the UCLA and University of Southern California
teams. George Toley
won 10 NCAA Team Titles as Coach of USC, and was the Teaching Professional at the Club. Sidney Wood
would come in for long periods from the East, and Frank Kovacs
from Northern California." "Big Bill" Tilden
, the dominant player of the 1920s and the leading gate attraction of the 1930s, was a Philadelphian
, who spent much of his time in Los Angeles and at the LATC, playing matches in the morning and bridge in the afternoon.
For five decades, the Pacific Southwest Championships, open only to amateurs until 1968, and played at the LATC, was the second most prestigious American tennis tournament. In preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics
, Leonard Strauss, an LATC member and Chairman of Thrifty Drug Stores, spearheaded construction of a new 5,800 seat tennis stadium on the UCLA campus, which now hosts Southern California's major annual professional tennis event.
community. Owned by 330 equity members, the LATC provides 17 tennis courts along with pool, gym, dining, and bar facilities to its 400 members and their families and guests. The LATC continues to host several amateur, collegiate, and charity tournaments. It is a practice venue for the Loyola High
and Marlborough School
tennis teams.
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...
club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue
Melrose Avenue is an internationally renowned shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Los Angeles that starts from Santa Monica Boulevard at the border between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood and ends at Lucille Avenue in Silver Lake...
. It is the home of the Southern California Championships.
Perry T. Jones (b. 1890 and d. 1970) was a major fundraiser and took control of Southern California tennis in 1930. He set up his office at the Club with his loyal Secretary, Doris Cook, and made it famous through his junior development patrons network. It reached from Santa Barbara to San Diego and came together at the LATC to produce a steady stream of world-class tennis players. dubbed "the cradle of tennis." Jones believed in schooling, cleanliness, proper attire, and sportsmanship when helping players develop into champions. He became Davis Cup Captain in 1958, recruited, mentored and named Alex Olmedo
Alex Olmedo
Alejandro "Alex" Rodríguez Olmedo is a former tennis player from Peru, who was ranked as the top amateur player in the world in 1959. Although born and raised in Peru, he came to Southern California and was mentored by Perry T. Jones, President of the Southern California Tennis Association at the...
to the team, that included Barry MacKay
Barry MacKay
Barry MacKay is a former American tennis player and tournament director and a current tennis broadcaster. While competing in college for the University of Michigan, he won the singles title at the 1957 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship to clinch the team title for Michigan. He was also a finalist...
and Ham Richardson, and won the Davis Cup from Australia, that year. Jack Kramer and Pancho Gonzales
Pancho Gonzales
Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...
acted as advisors to Jones. Mr. Jones was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1970. He established the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA) Hall of Fame in 1968, and was known as "Mr. Tennis of the West Coast".
From the 1930s through the early 1970s, the LATC was the center of development for world-class players in the United States. In 1930, Perry T. Jones, became President of the Southern California Tennis Association and the Director of the Southern California Championships and Pacific Southwest Tennis Championships. 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...
was the first winner of the Pacific Southwest tournament in 1927. Jones designed what he termed "The Factory System" that utilized Tennis Patrons in San Diego, Long Beach, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica, such as: Harper Ink, Dr. Ben Parks, Jack Lynch, Bob Martin, and Helen Roark; and Tennis Teachers: Mercer Beasley, Esther Bartosh, Ben Press, Clyde Walker, Wilbur Folsom, Dick Skeen, Pancho Segura, Carl Earn, Eleanor Tennant, Linda Crosby, Vic Braden, Myron Mc Namara, and Robert Lansdorp to identify and funnel top-flight junior players to his attention so he could make them champions with funding, top competition, and tournaments, such as: Ellsworth Vines
Ellsworth Vines
Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
, Gene Mako
Gene Mako
Constantine Mako is a former American tennis player and is also an art gallery owner. He was born in Budapest, capital of Hungary. He won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s...
, Jack Tidball, Jack Kramer, Joe Hunt, 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...
, Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, Bob Falkenburg
Bob Falkenburg
Robert Falkenburg is a former American amateur tennis player and entrepreneur. He is best known for winning the 1948 men's singles Wimbledon Championship and for introducing soft ice cream and American fast food to Brazil in 1952...
, Pancho Gonzales
Pancho Gonzales
Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...
, Ted Schroeder
Ted Schroeder
Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American player in 1942 and the No. 2 for 4 consecutive years, 1946 through 1949...
, Joe Hunt, Dave Freeman, Budge Patty
Budge Patty
John "Budge" Edward Patty was an American male tennis player. He was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States.1950 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles...
, Dodo Cheney, Herb Flam, Hugh Stewart
Hugh Stewart
Hugh St Clair Stewart MBE was a British film editor and producer whose notable contributions included filming Bergen-Belsen concentration camp following its liberation in April 1945....
, Pat Yeomans, Gussie Moran
Gussie Moran
Gertrude "Gussie" Agusta Moran is a retired American female tennis player who was active in the 1950s...
, Louise Brough
Louise Brough
Althea Louise Brough Clapp was a World No. 1 American female tennis player.-Biography:She was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma but moved to Beverly Hills, California when she was four years old. She was taught by Dick Skeen and had a classic forehand and backhand and a paralyzing American twist...
, Maureen Connolly
Maureen Connolly
Maureen Catherine Connolly Brinker was an American tennis player who was the first woman to win all four Grand Slam tournaments during the same calendar year.-Biography:...
, Beverly Baker, Alex Olmedo
Alex Olmedo
Alejandro "Alex" Rodríguez Olmedo is a former tennis player from Peru, who was ranked as the top amateur player in the world in 1959. Although born and raised in Peru, he came to Southern California and was mentored by Perry T. Jones, President of the Southern California Tennis Association at the...
, Darlene Hard
Darlene Hard
Darlene Hard is an American former amateur tennis player. Known for her volleying ability and strong serves, she captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S...
, Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
, Sally Moore, Karen Hantze, Mike Franks
Mike Franks
Myron Jay Franks is a former American tennis player.Franks was ranked # 3 in doubles in America in 1956, 1957, and 1959. In 1959, he also was ranked # 7 in American singles.-Tennis career:...
, Rafael Osuna
Rafael Osuna
Rafael Osuna Herrera is the most successful tennis player in the history of Mexico. He was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and is best remembered for his singles victory at the U.S. Open Championships in 1963, winning Wimbledon Doubles championships twice, the U.S...
, Dennis Ralston
Dennis Ralston
Richard Dennis Ralston is an American former professional tennis player. He attended the University of Southern California and won NCAA championships under their legendary coach, George Toley. He was coached in his earlier years by the legendary tennis player, Pancho Gonzales...
, Jon Douglas
Jon Douglas
Jon Alexander "Jack" Douglas was a professional American tennis player and college football quarterback.-Early life:...
, Allen Fox
Allen Fox
Dr. Allen E. Fox is a former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as # 4 in the U.S. . Between 1961 and 1968, he ranked among the top 10 men in the U.S...
, Stan Smith
Stan Smith
Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...
, Charlie Pasarell
Charlie Pasarell
Charlie Pasarell, Jr. is a former Puerto Rican tennis player and commentator...
, Bob Lutz, George Toley
George Toley
George Andrew Toley was an American collegiate tennis coach at the University of Southern California from 1954 to 1980...
, and many others. Jack Kramer writes in his autobiography in 1979, that "if you wanted top competition, you had to play at the LATC — especially since there were many fewer tournaments then and practice was the vogue." Jones was a strong-willed autocrat who excluded the young Pancho Gonzales
Pancho Gonzales
Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...
from the Club because of his school truancy. He sometimes would not sponsor Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
for Eastern Tournaments. He also achieved notoriety for excluding a 12-year-old Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
from a group photo at the Club, because she was wearing shorts instead of a tennis dress.
In 1952, Angela Buxton
Angela Buxton
Angela Buxton is an English tennis player. She won the women's doubles title at both the French Championships and Wimbledon in 1956 with Althea Gibson.-Tennis accomplishments:...
, who four years later was the champion in doubles at both Wimbledon and the French Championships, ran into anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. She said, "They told me I couldn't play because I was Jewish." Instead, she was forced to train across town at public courts, but this allowed her to practice under the watchful eye of the great 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...
for six months.
When he was still a teenage player, Kramer writes, he could "get matches against Ellsworth Vines
Ellsworth Vines
Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
, 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...
, Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, Gene Mako
Gene Mako
Constantine Mako is a former American tennis player and is also an art gallery owner. He was born in Budapest, capital of Hungary. He won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s...
, Joe Hunt, Ted Schroeder
Ted Schroeder
Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American player in 1942 and the No. 2 for 4 consecutive years, 1946 through 1949...
, Jack Tidball, Frank Shields
Frank Shields
Francis Xavier Alexander Shields, Sr. was an amateur American tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s.-Tennis career:Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked eight times in the U.S...
, and – often as not – the players on the UCLA and University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
teams. George Toley
George Toley
George Andrew Toley was an American collegiate tennis coach at the University of Southern California from 1954 to 1980...
won 10 NCAA Team Titles as Coach of USC, and was the Teaching Professional at the Club. Sidney Wood
Sidney Wood
Sidney Wood was an American tennis player.Wood was born in Black Rock, Connecticut. He won the Arizona State Men’s Tournament on his 14th birthday, which qualified him for the French Championship and led to him earning a spot at Wimbledon He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania,...
would come in for long periods from the East, and Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs was an American tennis player in the mid-century; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics but was a good enough player to be each year from 1940 to 1951 one of the best five in the world. He stood 6 ft 4 inches tall and had a backhand as good as...
from Northern California." "Big 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...
, the dominant player of the 1920s and the leading gate attraction of the 1930s, was a Philadelphian
Philadelphian
Philadelphian is most commonly used to describe someone who is from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.* List of people from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania"Philadelphian" may also refer to:...
, who spent much of his time in Los Angeles and at the LATC, playing matches in the morning and bridge in the afternoon.
For five decades, the Pacific Southwest Championships, open only to amateurs until 1968, and played at the LATC, was the second most prestigious American tennis tournament. In preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
, Leonard Strauss, an LATC member and Chairman of Thrifty Drug Stores, spearheaded construction of a new 5,800 seat tennis stadium on the UCLA campus, which now hosts Southern California's major annual professional tennis event.
Today
The LATC remains an important tournament, recreation, and community resource for Los Angeles and its Hancock ParkHancock Park
Hancock Park is a park in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, area, which is the location of the La Brea Tar Pits, the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art . The park does not, however, lie within the Hancock Park neighborhood which is...
community. Owned by 330 equity members, the LATC provides 17 tennis courts along with pool, gym, dining, and bar facilities to its 400 members and their families and guests. The LATC continues to host several amateur, collegiate, and charity tournaments. It is a practice venue for the Loyola High
Loyola High School (Los Angeles)
Loyola High School of Los Angeles is a Jesuit preparatory school for young men. It is the oldest high school in Southern California, and one of the oldest in California...
and Marlborough School
Marlborough School (Los Angeles, California)
Marlborough School is a private, all-girls, college-preparatory secondary school for grades 7th through 12th located at 250 South Rossmore Avenue in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Marlborough was founded in 1889 by Mary Caswell and is the oldest independent...
tennis teams.
External links
- Los Angeles Tennis Club official website
- Jack Kramer, The Game, My 40 years in Tennis, 1979
- Perry T. Jones, The Factory System, Life Magazine, August 7, 1950
- Perry T. Jones, International Tennis Hall of Fame, 1970
- Perry T. Jones, Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame, 1968
- George Toley, The Golden Age of College Tennis, 2009
- Gardnar Mulloy, As It Was, 2009
- Pancho Gonzales, Man with a Racket. 1959
- Caroline Seebohm, Little Pancho, 2009
- Bobby Riggs, Tennis is my Racket, 1949
- Frank Deford, Big Bill Tilden: The Triumph and the Tragedy, 1976
- Dick Skeen, Tennis Champions are Made, not Born, 1976
- Vic Braden, Mental Tennis, 1994
- Ellsworth Vines, Tennis, Myth and Method, 1978
- Mercer Beasley, How to Play Tennis, 1935