Claremont Living • September 2017 September 2017 • Claremont Living26 27

claremont history

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By Wendy Markel in collaboration with Don Jacobus

AsamemberoftheBerkeleyTennisClub(BTC),Ihavealwaysbeen struck by the incredible physical location it occupies in our community.Andovertheyears,Ihavebecomeawareofthelonghistory of fame that has put it on the larger international tennis map.AstheclubcelebratesitcentennialatitsTunnelRoadloca-tion, we thought it would be a good time to look back. ThegameoftenniscametotheUnitedStatesfromEnglandin1874.TheBerkeleyTennisClubwascreatedin1906,andplaybegan on the two courts of rolled earth in May 1907 at the leased locationof2624HillegassAvenue,Berkeley.Theclubstartedwith 40 members but swelled to 180 members by 1908. In 1909, five courts were in operation, with three of the courts surfaced with crushed seashells. “The first Berkeley woman to achieve national recognition in tennis . . . was at the university on (a court) which girls were prohibitedfromplayingaftereighto’clockinthemorning!After1906, she became one of the first women players at the newly formedBerkeleyTennisClub.[i]”HernamewasHazelHotchkissWightman,andshewentontowin43nationalchampionships! In 1917, the club’s Hillegass lease was about to run out. The membership explored alternative arrangements, which led to the presentsiteat1TunnelRoad.Aroundthattime,theclubhousewasbuiltbyclubmemberandTunnelRoadresident,architectRolandS.Stringham. TheBTCleasefromtheClaremontHotelstipulatedthattwoweeks per year would be free from rent, with the understanding thatthistimewouldbeheldfortheNorthernCaliforniaTennisAssociationTournament.ThefirsttournamentheldwascalledtheCaliforniaStatePatrioticTournamentaftertheendofWorldWarI.After1917,theCaliforniaStateChampionshipswereheld

attheBerkeleyTennisClubinthespring,andthePacificCoastTournament took place in the fall. Inthe1920s,ayounggirltoburstontotheBerkeleyTennisClubscenewasHelenWills.ShewasgivenamembershipintheClubforher14thbirthdaypresent.Atage18,shewontheWimbledonLadies’Singlesandeventuallytook11Wimbledontitlesand4titles at the French Nationals. She was elected to the Internation-alTennisHallofFamein1959.ToquoteAnnaHarperinaninter-view in 1975, “Helen Wills . . . every morning would run from her homeonTunnelRoadallthewaydowntotheAnnaHeadSchoolin the middle of Berkeley to strengthen her legs. Well, I didn’t think they looked as though they needed strengthening.” In a 1975 interview with Ned McFord, he said, “In the 1920s, therewereonlytwobig(NorthernCalifornian)clubs—theCalClubandtheBerkeleyTennisClub.That’swherealltheplayerswere centered; there was nothing else.” Don Budge, one of the club’s most famous members, was 15 years oldwhenhejoinedin1930andwentontowintheCaliforniaStateJuniorChampionshipandthePacificCoastJuniors,andin1938,hewonallthreeWimbledontitles.AtWimbledon,helost no sets in the entire tournament! That same year, he turned pro—atage23. Intheearly1930stheClaremontHotel,apparentlyinneedofmore capital, sold off a small portion of their land. It concerned theBTCmembersthatthehotelmightseektoselltheirleasedland.Aclubmember,WallaceAlexander,afriendofHelenWills, offered to buy out the club property and lease it to the club.Abouttenyearslater,in1943,undertheauspicesofRoyMcDonaldandCyrilGeorge,planswereformulatedtobuyofftheAlexanderloanbyissuing$35,000worthof20-yearbonds.“TheBerkeleyTennisClubisaweather-beatenlittle-shingledbuildingwithaporcharoundit.Afewyardsbeyondit,thereisasingletrack railroad, and a locomotive and a few cars invariably puff and clank by at critical moments on the courts.”[ii] TheBerkeleyTennisClubwasincorporatedasanonprofitorga-nization in 1945, the bonds were fully subscribed to by its mem-bership, and an agreement was made to retire the bonds and meet the 5 percent interest on them on a yearly basis. By this time, the club’s membership had grown to about 160 members, but by the 1960s membership applications would burgeon to the point that there were 500 members; some new members had to wait as long as four years before space was available for them to join. In1971,theBerkeleyTennisClubhosteditslastPacificCoastInternational Tournament. The club simply could not compete withthesizeoftheOaklandColiseumortheSanFranciscoCowPalace.Asidefromthat,somemembersfeltthattheextreme

Berkeley Tennis ClubLOOKING100BACK

USA Team captain Donald Dell (L) with player Arthur Ashe before North & Central America Draw Final matches vs Mexico at Berkeley Tennis Club.

Helen Wills

Don Budge

When the train still ran between the courts.

Don Budge in front of the Berkeley Tennis Club.

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commercial orientation was “not in keeping with the traditions of theBerkeleyTennisClub.”

Throughtheyears,BerkeleyTennisClubhasbeenblessedwithmany great players in its membership, including Don Budge and Helen Wills Moody as mentioned, Helen Jacobs, William John-son,EdwardChandler,BillCrosby,HughDitzler,JulieHeldman,WilliamHoogs,FrankKovacs,DonJacobus,ClifMayne,BillMaze,JimMcManus,JeffBorowiak,Girls’18NationalChampionSashaPodkolzina,andHazelWightman(oftheWightmanCup),and many others. In1968,oneoftheUnitedStatesDavisCupmatcheswashostedattheBTC.TheU.S.teamofArthurAshe,ClarkGraebner,StanSmith,andBobLutztriumphedovertheMexicanteamthatyear.The club has many feathers in its cap, and not the least of these is thefactthattheBTCwasthe“onlyprivateclubevertohaveboththe No. 1 male and No. 1 female players in the world as mem-bers—Don Budge and Helen Wills.”[iii] The club has the largest representationofanyorganizationinNorthernCaliforniaintheNorthernCaliforniaTennisHallofFame. Recently,BillieJeanKingreturnedtotheclubatwhichsheplayedatsoofteninheryoungeryearstocrowntheGirls'18Na-tionalChampion.BerkeleyTennisClubwasproudtogiveBillie

JeananhonorarylifetimemembershiptoBerkeleyTennisClubat that time. TherealsouloftheBerkeleyTennisClubisreflectedinaquietdig-nity of sportsmanship. It basks in the fame of past tennis “greats,” at the same time as it energetically encourages the famous of the future and nurtures the comradery of all its members.

[i]TheBerkeleyTennisClub,AHistory1906–1997”byGailBax-terandLutherNichols[ii]AliceMarbleinAmericanTennis1957[iii]GeoffHayes

Are you a history buff? Do you have an idea for a Claremont History feature on a person, place or event? Please reach out to ClaremontLiving@n2pub.com. We would love to hear from you.

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