Tennis World Champion Played Celebrated Match in Pelham During Labor Day Weekend in 1934

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With the U.S. Open well underway and Labor Day weekend just ended, it seems particularly appropriate to tell the story of one of a handful of the most notable tennis matches ever played in Pelham.  I have written before about a few such notable matches.  See, e.g., Tue., Nov. 03, 2015:  A Major Tennis Tournament was Played in Pelham in 1885.   

Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. (known as Ellsworth), was a significant American tennis champion of the 1930s.  Born on September 28, 1911, he rose to become the World's top ranked player (or co-top ranked player) for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936, and 1937.  He later became a professional golfer.  

In 1934, at the height of his tennis prowess, Ellsworth Vines was invited to compete at the Pelham Country Club in one of a series of exhibition tennis matches arranged by the club.  He played Vincent ("Vinnie") Richards who was born in New York City on March 20, 1903.  Vinnie Richards won the gold medal for the United States in both singles and doubles during the 1924 Olympics held in Paris.  He and a partner took the silver medal in the mixed doubles competition as well.  Richards and his partner won the U.S. Open Doubles 1918, 1921, 1922, 1925, and 1926.  He and his partner also won Wimbledon Doubles in 1924 and the French Open Doubles in 1926.  He had many other professional championships under his belt by the time he arrived in Pelham in 1934.

On Sunday, September 2, 1934, more than 800 spectators crowded onto the hillside about and in stands adjacent to a court on the grounds of the Pelham Country Club to watch Ellsworth Vines and Vinnie Richards battle in a masterful tennis exhibition.  The photograph below shows a portion of the crowd with the match underway.

"WATCHING PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONS PLAY

TENNIS  View from the Pelham Country Club porch

overlooking the tennis courts during the match between

Vincent Richards and Ellsworth Vines on Sunday

Afternoon.  Source:  Fashionable Audience Sees

Vines Defeat Richards On Pelham Country Club

Courts -- Fall Season Officially Opened With

Fast Professional Tennis Matches; Many Prominent

Hostesses Entertain, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 7, 1934,

Vol. 25, No. 25, p. 1, cols. 4-5 & p. 4, cols. 3-4.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The match was thrilling as the two champions battled.  Though favored to win, Vines lost the first set to Richards 3-6.  The setback seemed to energize the champion who roared back to take the second match 6-4.  In the third and final rubber match, the two tennis stars battled back and forth before the crowd, with Vines finally winning the match by taking the final set 11-9.  The photographs below show the two stars who battled in Pelham on that Labor Day weekend nearly 75 years ago.

Ellsworth Vines During the Davis Cup, Reportly

Taken on December 31, 1931.  Source:  "Ellsworth

Vines" in Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia

(visited Aug. 28, 2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image

To Enlarge.

Vincent ("Vinnie") Richards at the 1922 Davis

Cup.  Source:  Library of Congress Prints and

Photographs Division, Bain News Service

Collection, Control No. ggb2006011296 (detail).

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"Fashionable Audience Sees Vines Defeat Richards On Pelham Country Club Courts
-----
Fall Season Officially Opened With Fast Professional Tennis Matches; Many Prominent Hostesses Entertain.
-----

Before a fashionable audience that numbered more than 800, Ellsworth Vines, outstanding star of the professional tennis world defeated Vincent Richards, former world's professional tennis champions in one of a series of exhibition tennis matches at Pelham Country Club on Sunday afternoon.  The tall Californian turned the Yonkers professional back by scores of 3-6, 6-4, 11-9.  In another spirited match, Alfred Chapin defeated Charles Wood, 6-3, 4-6, 12-10.  

The program officially opened the social season at Pelham Country Club.  In conjunction with the tennis matches a buffet supper dance was held.  Many Pelham hostesses entertained at cocktails and supper parties.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to a worthy local charity.

Among those who made reservations were the following:

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Morris, Mr. Northrup Dawson, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Baker, Mr. Roy H. Passmore, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Bradley, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. White, Mr. 

(Continued on Page 4)

Fashionable Crowd At Tennis Matches
-----
(Continued from Page 1)

and Mrs. J. R. Wettstein, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Hawkins, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Williams, Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Towle, Mr. and Mrs. K. R. Tully, Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Maxwell, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. McGregor, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. McMaster, Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Prescott, Mr. and Mrs. F. J. O'Brien, Mr. and Mrs. Harrison Fuller, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Arthur, Mrs. Scholz, Mr. and Mrs. Blaine Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Davis, Mr. and Mrs. D. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Minton, Jr., Mr. E. B. Baker, Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Arnold, Mr. and Mrs. F. T. Hughes, Mr. and Mrs. M. Collette, Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. T. W. McInerney, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Shattuck, Mr. H. M. Prescott, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Brooks, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Dowdell, Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Matson, Mr. and Mrs. Prior Sinclair, Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lahey, Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Muessell, Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Mullen, Mrs. C. M. Leggett, Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Potter, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Lawrence, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Kerns, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Foley, Mr. J. M. Redding, Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Ludlow, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rauh, Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Jackman, Mr. G. D. Holdom, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Borden, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Holton, Mr. and Mrs. J. T. Lykes, Judge and Mrs. Frank Roberson, Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Funke, Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Englehardt, Mr. John F. Gilman, Mr. George Cremer, Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Rovensky, Mr. and Mrs. F. E. Haag, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Retallick, Mr. and Mrs. T. W. Sprague, Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Innes, Mr. and Mrs. C. K. Granger, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Roland R. Reppert, Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Stevens."

Source:  Fashionable Audience Sees Vines Defeat Richards On Pelham Country Club Courts -- Fall Season Officially Opened With Fast Professional Tennis Matches; Many Prominent Hostesses Entertain, The Pelham Sun, Sep. 7, 1934, Vol. 25, No. 25, p. 1, cols. 4-5 & p. 4, cols. 3-4.  

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I have written before about the history of the sport of tennis in Pelham.  For a few examples, see:

Thu., Apr. 07, 2016:  The Pelham Heights Tennis Club in the Early Years of the Twentieth Century.

Tue., Nov. 03, 2015:  A Major Tennis Tournament was Played in Pelham in 1885. 

Fri., Mar. 25, 2005:  Tennis in Early Pelham.

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Football and Tennis Star George Adee Lived In Pelham

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During the final decades of the 19th century, there was an area in the Town of Pelham known as Bartow (also known as Bartow-on-the-Sound, Bartow Village, and Bartow Station).  Bartow was a quaint and tiny settlement located on the mainland near City Island.  The settlement sprang up around the railroad station serving City Island that was built on the Branch Line that opened in late December, 1873.  The entire area -- as well as City Island -- was annexed by New York City in 1895, effective in 1896. Before then, however, Bartow became an important part of Pelham and its history.

One notable Bartow resident during the 1890s was George Adee.  At the time, Adee was a college All-American quarterback at Yale who attracted national attention as a celebrity athlete.  He later became a champion tennis star and tennis administrator who was named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

1894 Mayo's Cut Plug Tobacco Trading Card No. 2 Featuring

College Football Player George Adee of Yale.  Source:

Wikipedia.  NOTE:  Click on Link to Enlarge.

George Townsend Adee was born January 4, 1874 in Stonington, Connecticut.  He was a son of George Augustus Adee (b. Apr. 11, 1847; d. Aug. 12, 1908) and Adelaide Palmer Stanton (b. Aug. 18, 1844; d. 1931).  By the age of six, George Townsend Adee had moved with his family to the town of Westchester (now part of the Bronx, but then in lower Westchester County, New York).  

He attended the Harrington School in Westchester.  At about this time, his family moved to Bartow in the Town of Pelham.  Adee's father, George Augustus Adee, long had been involved with the Country Club at Pelham located at Bartow.  He was a notable real estate lawyer and yachtsman.   When the Country Club at Pelham moved to Throgg's Neck in the late 1880s, George Augustus Adee (who was described as the "boating expert of the club"), supervised the construction of a "very substantial dock and float" to assure at least seven feet of water at low tide at the new club location on Throgg's Neck.  

Members of the So-Called "Fleeing Club" Who Fled The City

Whenever Possible to Enjoy Themselves.  Photograph Taken

in 1898.  Left to Right:  George Augustus Adee, Father of

George Townsend Adee, Julian Curtis, Otto Bannard (President

of New York Trust), Henry James, William Milo Barnum (Founder

of Simpson, Thacher & Barnum, Now Known as Simpson Thacher

& Bartlett LLP), and Thomas Thacher (Name Partner of Simpson

Thacher & Bartlett).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

George Townsend Adee attended Yale University during the mid-1890s.  Quite an athlete, Adee became a star quarterback for the Yale Football Team (1892-1894) and made the Whitney-Camp All-America team in 1894.  That honor earned Adee a card (Card No. 2) in the 1894 Mayo's Cut Plug Tobacco Card trading set (see image above).  While at Yale, Adee was also a celebrated oarsman on the Crew team and served as Team Manager as well.  From 1895 to 1911 (excepting his service service in the Spanish American War), Adee coached quarterbacks part-time for Yale and became an active member of the Yale Football Association and various Yale alumni associations for much of his life.

George Townsend Adee served as a private in the New York Volunteer Cavalry during the Puerto Rico Expedition of the Spanish American War in 1898.  He continued his military service during World War I, attending Officer Training Camp in Plattsburg, New York and serving as a commissioned infantry Major in the United States Army.  He served in the American Expeditionary Forces under Blackjack Pershing in France in 1917 and fought in the Battle of Saint Miheil and the Meuse-Argone Offensive.

Major George Townsend Adee in an Undated Photograph Taken

in About 1917 or 1918.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.  

After his graduation from college, George Townsend Adee joined the investment banking and brokerage firm of Culyer, Morgan & Co.  In 1899 he left the firm and formed the partnership Batcheller & Adee (1899-1905) operating on the New York Curb Exchange (a predecessor to AMEX).  He reformed the partnership as Batcheller, Adee & Rawlins operating on the New York Stock Exchange and continued working as an investment banker for the remainder of his life.

In the early years of the Twentieth Century, Adee became an outstanding tennis player.  He played in the United States Championships six times (1903-1909).  Thereafter, he became passionately involved with the sport and rose through administrative ranks to serve as President of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association from 1916 until 1919.  He became Chairman of the United States Davis Cup Committee, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association Amateur Rules Committee, and held other notable administrative positions in the sport of tennis.  Adee was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum for such endeavors.  

Even after Bartow was annexed from Pelham to become part of the Bronx, George Townsend Adee and his family remained for a time and are even reflected as residing in the Bronx in the 1900 United States Census.  The 1910 United States Census reflects George Townsend Adee living with his mother, an older sister, and two "servants" in The Knickerbocker Apartments at 247 Fifth Avenue at 28th Street in New York City.  The 1930 United States Census shows Adee living with his 85-year-old mother in an apartment in the building located at 50 East 58th Street in New York City.  

George Townsend Adee received an honorary degree from Yale in 1931.  Throughout his life he was an active sportsman who enjoyed sailing, shooting, tennis, and golf.  He was fond of opera and was a Republican and an Episcopalian.  Adee died in New York City on July 31, 1948.  

To read more about George Adee, see:

"George Adee" in Wikipedia:  The Free Encyclopedia (visited Jul. 17, 2016).  

"George Adee" in International Tennis Hall of Fame (visited Jul. 17, 2016).


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"NEWS FROM OUR ENVIRONS.
-----
(From Our Correspondent.)
PELHAM MANOR. . . . 

BARTOW.
-----

-- Mr. Henry Castrop, the hotel keeper, and wife of this place have gone to Germany for the winter.

-- Mrs. Hogan a widow who has lived in this place for more than fifteen years, has moved to New York City.

-- The schooner Clara Waples which ran into Pelham Bridge some weeks ago has been newly fitted out and she looks as good as new.

-- An unknown man from New Rochelle went on the ice in Turtle Cove, on Saturday last, spearing eels and fell through the ice and was drowned.

-- Louis Ritter of Pelham Bridge has got the contract from the Riverside Steamboat Company to light the red light on Buck rock for the winter.

-- The Tallappoise Fishing Club has closed its summer home at Pelham Bridge, and opened their winter house at 150th street and Third avenue.

-- Mr. Barker of New York, a stockholder in the New York Central, has hired Goose Island from the Park Department and stocked it with water fowl.

-- Jos. Schock who found the body of the drowned man in East Chester Creek has received a reward of fifty dollars from the family of the deceased.

-- George Adee, champion quarterback football player on the Yale team arrived at his home in Bartow Wednesday night, for the first time since the season began.

-- The Westchester County Electric Light Company have got permission from the Park Department to put the electric light through the park.  It will not make driving very pleasant in the park in the evening.

-- At the last meeting of the Pelham Park Board it was decided to discharge the sixty men who have been employed in the park all summer and fifteen teams.  There are but one team and five men in service now. . . ."

Source:  NEWS FROM OUR ENVIRONS . . . BARTOW, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 12, 1895, p. 8, col. 4.  

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The Pelham Heights Tennis Club in the Early Years of the Twentieth Century

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It seems that many residents of the Town of Pelham have been tennis fanatics for nearly as long as tennis has been in our region.  Indeed, I have written before of national-level tennis tournaments that were played in Pelham as early as 1885.  See Tue., Nov. 03, 2015:  A Major Tennis Tournament was Played in Pelham in 1885.  See also Fri., Mar. 25, 2005:  Tennis in Early Pelham.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, small tennis clubs sprang up throughout Pelham.  Some had their own tennis facilities while others arranged for playing time at other facilities.  There were clubs for residents of Pelhamwood, the Village of North Pelham, and the Village of Pelham Manor, to name a few.  Some were women's tennis clubs.  Others were men's clubs.  Some were mixed.  One intriguing club about which very little is known was known as the "Pelham Heights Tennis Club."

The Pelham Heights Tennis Club seems to have come into existence in about 1901.  Indeed, a newspaper article published in 1904 noted that the club was about to hold its third annual Labor Day tournament.  

The club seems to have operated for at least a decade.  A silver-plated, three-handled tennis trophy awarded for a Columbus Day mixed doubles tournament sponsored by the Club in 1911 recently was offered for sale on eBay.  Below are two images of that trophy. 

Two Images of a Silver-Plated, Three-Handled Tennis Trophy

Awarded for a Columbus Day Married Couples Doubles Tennis

Tournament Sponsored by the Pelham Heights Tennis Club.

Engraved Inscription Apparently Reads:  "Pelham Heights Tennis

Club Married Couples Doubles Columbus Day Tournament 1911

Won by Isabel M. Deuscher and Theordore I. Deuscher Jr."

Source:  eBay Online Auction of the Trophy.

NOTE:  Click on Images to Enlarge.

The Pelham Heights Tennis Club had two tennis courts located in Pelham Heights though no extant record and no period map yet has revealed the precise location of the two courts used by the club.  A brief reference published in a local newspaper in 1905 noted that "The Tennis Club of Pelham Heights are having their two courts rolled, and a new fence put around them."  (See text below.)

In 1902, the Club elected the following Pelham Heights residents as officers and directors of the Club:

President:  E. H. Kingsland 
Secretary and Treasurer:  Thomas C. Walz 
Board of Directors:  W. D. Hadsell, C. S. Walz and Thomas C. Beattie 
Tournament Committee, George B. Sherman and Thomas A. Beattie.

President E. H. Kingsland seems to have been a driving force behind the Club.  By at least 1903 he had donated what came to be known as the "Kingsland Trophy" awarded to the men's singles winner of the annual Labor Day tournament sponsored by the Club.  (An article published before the annual tournament in 1904 noted that the Kingsland Trophy would be defended by Mr. Thomas C. Beattie.)  According to one account:

"The third annual Labor Day tournament of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club will be held on the club courts, on September 3 and 5, and is for a trophy presented by Mr. E. H. Kingsland, with the condition that it be played for by members of this club only; that the tournament be a 'scratch' tournament of singles; that it be played on Labor Day of each year; that the winner of the tournament shall hold the cup for one year and defend it the year succeeding, and that the winner of three of these tournaments shall retain permanent possession.  A separate prize will be awarded to the successful competitor who reaches the finals, which will privilege him to play the present holder."

It appears that those who entered such Club tournaments paid an entry fee of $1 to help defray expenses.  

There remain many mysteries regarding the Pelham Heights Tennis Club.  Only time will tell if historians will be able to fill in the blanks and provide more information about this 

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"MARRIED NEARLY A YEAR.
-----
None of the Friends of Mr. and Mrs. Walz Suspected Their Marriage.
-----

Friends of Chester S. Walz of Pelham Heights, and Miss Lulu Schwartz of North Pelham, were treated to a surprise when it became known that they had been quietly married on September 21, 1901, and had succeeded in keeping it a secret ever since.  This was the culmination of a pretty little romance which commenced two years ago, when Miss Schwartz and Mr. Walz first met, at a dance.  

The bride is nineteen, while the bridegroom is one year her senior.  C. A. Walz, president of the Hotel Keepers' Protective association, is the father of the bridegroom, who is also secretary and treasurer of the same association, with offices at No. 7 E. Forty-second street.  The father was the first secretary of the ice trust, and is at present making a tour of the United States with his wife.  The bride's father, Edward A. Schwarz, is a drummer.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Walz are members of the Pelham Heights Tennis club and Pelham Golf club, and considered experts at the games.  For some time they have been noticed a great deal in each other's company on the tennis court and golf links, but the older members of the club thought it was a case of youthful love and would never amount to much.  None of them suspected that for nearly a year they had been man and wife.  It is said that Mr. and Mrs. Walz, Sr. were opposed to the match, but despite this, the young couple went to New York on September 21 and had the knot tied."

Source:  MARRIED NEARLY A YEAR -- None of the Friends of Mr. and Mrs. Walz Suspected Their Marriage, Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 23, 1902, Vol. XLI, No. 3185, p. 1, col. 1.  See also ALMOST A YEAR MARRIED -- Fellow Club Members Had Thought It a Case of Calf Love All the While, The Sun [NY, NY], Aug. 23, 1902, p. 10, col. 3 (similar text); KEPT MARRIAGE SECRET A YEAR, New-York Daily Tribune, Aug. 23, 1902, p. 5, col. 4 (similar text).    

See The Tennis Tournament, New Rochelle Pioneer, Sep. 27, 1902, Vol. 44, No. 28, p. 1, col. 2 (noting that George Sherman, a member of the "Pelham Heights Club" was entered to play in the Men's Singles event of the Bancker Place Tennis Club Tournament scheduled to begin that day).  See also TOURNAMENT COMMENCES TO-MORROW, New Rochelle Press, Sep. 27, 1902, p. 4, col. 2 (same).

"PELHAM NEWS. . . . 

The annual fall tournament of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club will be held September 5th and 7th.  The tournament will be held on the club courts nd is for a prize cup donated by E. H. Kingsland, president of the club."

Source:  PELHAM NEWS, The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 27, 1903, p. 3, col. 3.

"IN PELHAM MANOR.
-----

PELHAM MANOR, N.Y., Saturday. -- Mrs. J. C. Hazen is entertaining her brother and wife, Mr. and Mrs. E. Hagaman Hall, and daughter, of Manhattan.

The Pelham Heights Tennis Club has elected the following officers:  --  President, E. H. Kingsland; Secretary and Treasurer, Thomas C. Walz; Board of Directors, W. D. Hadsell, C. S. Walz and Thomas C. Beattie; Tournament Committee, George B. Sherman and Thomas A. Beattie.

Howard Phelps won the golf tournament at the Pelham Manor links on last Saturday.

Miss Bonnie de Freece, of Rosedale Chateau, entertained the children of the Pelham Summer Home last week.  The day was spent in playing unique games."

Source:  IN PELHAM MANOR, New York Herald, Aug. 24, 1902, p. 6, col. 4.  

"The annual fall-tournament of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club will be held September 5th and 7th.  The tournament will be held on the club courts in Pelham Heights and is for a prize cup donated by E. H. Kingsland, president of the club."

Source:  [Untitled], New Rochelle Press, Aug. 29, 1903, Vol. XXVIIII, No. 13, p. 1, col. 3.  

"ANNUAL TENNIS TOURNEY.
-----

The third annual Labor Day tournament of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club will be held on the club courts, on September 3 and 5, and is for a trophy presented by Mr. E. H. Kingsland, with the condition that it be played for by members of this club only; that the tournament be a 'scratch' tournament of singles; that it be played on Labor Day of each year; that the winner of the tournament shall hold the cup for one year and defend it the year succeeding, and that the winner of three of these tournaments shall retain permanent possession.  A separate prize will be awarded to the successful competitor who reaches the finals, which will privilege him to play the present holder.

The entrance fee is $1 and should accompany the entry, which must be in the hands of the Secretary not later than Saturday, August 27, inasmuch as the drawings and final arrangements of the tournament will be completed on that evening."

Source:  Annual Tennis Tourney,  The Daily Argus, [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 20, 1904, p. 3, col. 4.  See also ANNUAL TENNIS TOURNEY, The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 25, 1904, p. 4, col. 4 (same text). 

"PELHAM NOTES. . . . 

Tomorrow is the last day to file entries in the third annual tournament of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club, which takes place Labor Day. . . ."

Source:  PELHAM NOTES, The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 26, 1904, p. 3, col. 4.  

"PELHAM NOTES. . . . 

The members of the Pelham Heights Tennis Club are busy practicing on the club courts for the annual Labor Day tournament next Monday.  The courts are in fine shape and some clever playing is looked for.  Several members are figuring on winning the Kingsland trophy from the present holder, Mr. Beattie, who expects to successfully defend it. . . ."


Source:  PELHAM NOTES, The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], Aug. 31, 1904, p. 3, col. 4. 

"PELHAM. . . . 

The Tennis Club of Pelham Heights are having their two courts rolled, and a new fence put around them. . . ."

Source:  PELHAM, The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY], May 11, 1905, p. 4, col. 3.   

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A Major Tennis Tournament was Played in Pelham in 1885

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Tennis is mentioned in literature as long ago as during the Middle Ages.  Indeed, a popular form of tennis, believed to be a cousin of today's tennis, was played in Medieval times and is known as "real tennis."  

It took the sport of tennis much longer to reach the little Town of Pelham outside of New York City.  When it came, however, it came thunderously.

In 1884, Pelham residents created the Country Club at Pelham along today's Shore Road inside what now is Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.  The clubhouse stood not far from the carriage house of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.  The grounds of the Country Club extended on both sides of Shore Road and encompassed about 34 acres.  

Among the first sports offered by the Country Club was lawn tennis.  I have written about an early women's tennis tournament played at the club June 8-9, 1885, and a men's tournament held in late September of that year.  See Fri., Mar. 25, 2005:  Tennis in Early Pelham.  

"Tennis Players, 1885" an Oil Painting by Horace Henry

Cauty (1846-1909) Depicting a Mixed Doubles Tennis

Match in 1885.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

During the summer of 1885, the town of Pelham was infected with "tennis fever."  The 1885 U.S. National Championships (now known as the US Open) were held from August 18 to August 22 at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island.  Richard D. Sears became singles champion and was a member of the doubles champion team as well.     

The Country Club at Pelham scheduled a major tennis tournament set for the last two days of September and the first day of October that year.  Among those who reportedly agreed to compete was U.S. National Champion Richard D. Sears.  Although Sears did not compete in the tournament, one of his national competitors, R. Livingston Beeckman did.  The club billed the tournament as the "First Annual Lawn Tennis Tournament of the Country Club."  

1885 Advertisement for "First Annual Lawn Tennis

Tournament of the Country Club."  Text is Transcribed

Immediately Below.  Source:  THE COUNTRY CLUB --

First Annual Lawn Tennis Tournament, New Rochelle

Pioneer, Bet. Sep. 18 and Sep. 23, 1885,

col. 4 (date information cut off on all copies).

NOTE:  Click Image to Enlarge.

"COUNTRY CLUB, PELHAM.
-----
First Annual
Lawn Tennis Tournament
OF THE COUNTRY CLUB.
-----
The Country Club, of Westchester County
WILL HOLD A
TOURNAMENT
Open to all comers, for singles and doubles, on
the Club Grounds.
BARTOW-ON-SOUND, N.Y., ON
Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday,
Sept. 29th, 30th, & Oct. 1st.
ENTRANCE, $2.00 FOR EACH PERSON FOR EACH EVENT
Ayres balls will be used.  Entires close September
28th, 10 A.M.
Games will be called at 10:30 A.M. each day.
The grounds will be opened to all who wish to wit-
ness the games, upon paying an admission fee of 50 cts
per diem.  Children half price.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,
Of the Country Club."

The Spirit of the Times, a national sporting magazine, reported on the results of the tournament at the Country Club at Pelham, noting that it was held "in the presence of a large number of residents and visitors."  There were three principal events during the tournament:  men's singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles.

In the men's single event, R. Livingston Beeckman sailed his way to the final round.  R. Livingston Beeckman was fresh off the U.S. National Championships the prior month in Newport, Rhode Island.  There, following a bye in the first round, he lost to Foxhall P. Keene in the second round.    

Beeckman won the first round by default.  He crushed C. F. Watson in the second round 6-0, 6-2.  Little is known about C. F. Watson, although he seems to have been involved in amateur tennis principally in New Jersey during the mid-1880s.

In the third round, Beeckman faced Morton Spring Paton.  Paton had lost in the second round of each of the 1883 U.S. National Championships, the 1884 U.S. National Championships, and the 1885 U.S. National Championships.  Beeckman crushed Paton 6-0, 6-1.  

In the final round, Beeckman faced Henry Warner Slocum, Jr.  Slocum also was also a national-level competitor.  Only the month before he had also lost in the second round of the U.S. National Championships, defeated by Godfrey Malbone Brinley.  Slocum gave Beeckman a little better run for his money, but Beeckman still defeated Slocum soundly, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, to take the Country Club Men's Singles championship.

Beeckman then partnered with Slocum for the men's doubles event.  Beeckman and his partner sailed to the finals of that event as well.  The pair won the first round by default.  In the second round they faced a pair of unknown amateur tennis players named Morris and Adee.  They beat the pair 6-1, 6-2.

In the men's doubles finals, Beeckman and Slocum faced Morton Spring Paton and Alexander Van Rensselaer.  Van Rensselaer and a partner made it to the semifinals of the 1882 U.S. Lawn Tennis Championships in the men's doubles event.  He and a partner lost in the finals of the same event during the same tournament during 1883 and 1884 as well.  Van Rensselaer made it to the quarterfinals of the men's singles event during the 1884 U.S. National Championships.  

The men's doubles finals at the Country Club at Pelham were the most thrilling matches of the day.  Slocum and Beeckman beat Paton and Van Rensselaer 7-5, 7-5, and 7-5 to take the championship.

The mixed doubles event seems to have been more of an exhibition.  A published account of the tournament results (quoted in full below) suggests there was no championship, merely a pair of mixed doubles matches.  The account describes the results as follows:

"Ladies' and gentlemen's doubles -- Miss Roberts and Beeckman beat Miss Lee and P. R. Morris, 6 2, 6 1; Miss Dickey and L. Gregory beat Miss Watson and E. R. Adee, 6 3, 6 4."

Tennis seems to have gained a firm foothold in Pelham during the spring, summer, and fall of 1885.  It has been played joyously and competitively within Pelham ever since.

Lawn Tennis in Long Meadow at Prospect Park in 1885.

This Image Likely Depicts a Lawn Tennis Tournament

Much Like the One Played on the Grounds of the Country

Club at Pelham, Sep. 29-30 and Oct. 1, 1885.  Source:

"8.  Lawn Tennis in Prospect Park," in New York City

Department of Parks & Recreation, 9 Things You Won't

See iin Our Parks Today (visited Nov. 1, 2015).  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

Below is text from a couple of articles about the 1885 Tennis Tournament at the Country Club at Pelham.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"THE COUNTRY CLUB.
-----
First Annual Lawn Tennis Tournament.

The Country Club was organized about two years ago.  Its object was not only for the social enjoyment of its members but the promotion of legitimate sports of all kinds.  The club grounds, situated at Pelham about half way between New Rochelle and Westchester are most admirably adapted for this purpose.  There are about 34 acres of land beautifully laid out, woods and low rolling ground pleasantly relieving the monotony of a dead level.  The club house is a substantial building and tastefully fitted up.  There and a number of tennis courts, second to none in the country, pigeon shooting grounds, the finest polo field in the United States and a better steeple chase course cannot be found.  Access from the city is excellent, either by taking the Harlem Branch of the N.Y., N.H. and H.R.R., at Harlem River to Bartow-on-the-Sound, or by the Main Line and changing at New Rochelle.

At this place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, September 29, 30, and October 1, the first annual

LAWN TENNIS TOURNAMENT

will take place, open to all comers, for singles or doubles.  The winner of the Newport Tournament, Mr. Sears, the champion of the United States, and many of the best players of the country will compete.  Silver cups and other prizes will be competed for, given by the Country Club of Westchester County.

The grounds will be open to all who wish to witness the games, upon paying a small admission fee for each day.  The courts are admirably situated for witnessing the games and the arrangements made by the Lawn Tennis Committee, Mr. Randolph Morris and Mr. Adee, for the comfort of the guests are complete in every particular.  Entries close for the tournament at ten o'clock on the morning of Sept. 28.  All lovers of the game in this vicinity will have an opportunity of witnessing some of the finest lawn tennis playing ever seen in the country.  See advertisement in another column for further particulars."

Source:  THE COUNTRY CLUB -- First Annual Lawn Tennis Tournament, New Rochelle Pioneer, Bet. Sep. 18 and Sep. 23, 1885, col. 4 (date information cut off on all copies).  

"LAWN-TENNIS.
-----

THE TOURNAMENT AT BARTOW-ON-SOUND

This tournament came off last week, in the presence of a large number of residents and visitors.  

Singles - First round.  W. H. Titus beat R. Morris, 6 4, 4 6, 7 5; E. M. Adee beat A. H. Morris, 4 6, 8 6, 7 5; H. L. Magor beat A. M. Wood by default; H. W. Slocum, Jr., beat L. Gregory, 4 6, 6 1, 6 1; R. L. Beeckman beat G. C. Thomas by default; C. F. Watson beat S. E. Appleton, 6 8, 6 4, 6 4; W. H. Sands beat H. M. Peters by default; M. S. Paton beat W. P. Williams, 6 3, 6 1.

Second round.  W. H. Titus beat E. M. Adee, 7 5, 6 1; H. W. Slocum, Jr., beat R. L. Magor, 6 2 7 5; R. L. Beeckman beat C. F. Watson, 6 0, 6 2; M. S. Paton beat W. H. Sands, 6 2, 6 5.

Third round.  H. W. Slocum, Jr., beat W. H. Titus, 6 3, 6 1; R. L. Beeckman beat M. S. Paton, 6 0, 6 1.

Final round, Beeckman beat Slocum, 6 1, 6 2, 4 6, 6 4.

Doubles -- Preliminary round.  Adee and partner beat Sands and Morris, 6 2, 6 2.

First round.  Magor and Gregory beat E. M. Adee and Titus, 6 1, 6 2; Paton and Van Rensselaer beat A. M. Wood and partner by default; E. R. Adee and Morris beat Watson and Appleton, 3 6, 7 6, 7 5; Slocum and Beeckman beat Thomas and Peters by default.

Second round.  Paton and Van Rensselaer beat Magor and Gregory, 6 4, 6 1; Slocum and Beeckman beat K. R. Adee and Morris, 6 1, 6 2.

Final round, Slocum and Beeckman beat Paton and Van Rensselaer, 7 5, 7 5, 7 5.

Ladies' and gentlemen's doubles -- Miss Roberts and Beeckman beat Miss Lee and P. R. Morris, 6 2, 6 1; Miss Dickey and L. Gregory beat Miss Watson and E. R. Adee, 6 3, 6 4.

Much credit is due to Mr. W. H. Sands for the success of the tournament."

Source:  "LAWN-TENNIS" in The Spirit of the Times, Oct. 10, 1885, Vol. 110, No. 11, p. 339, col. 3 (NY, NY:  Oct. 10, 1885).   

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