1877 Wimbledon Championship

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Wolbo (talk | contribs) at 18:47, 6 February 2014 (Added wikilinks). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

1877 Wimbledon Championship
Date9 July – 19 July
Edition1st
CategoryGrand Slam
Draw22S
SurfaceGrass / Outdoor
LocationWorple Road
SW19, Wimbledon,
London, United Kingdom
VenueAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Champions
Singles
United Kingdom Spencer Gore [1]
Wimbledon Championship · 1878 →

The inaugural Wimbledon Championship was a men's tennis tournament held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. It was the world's first official tennis tournament, as well as the first edition of what was later to be called a Grand Slam tournament or Major. The Gentlemen's Singles event was the only competition held that first year, and was contested by 22 competitors. A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament which were derived from those issued in 1875 by the Marylebone Cricket Club. The grass court tournament started on Monday, 9 July 1877 and the final took place on Thursday, 19 July in front of about 200 people. The spectators paid an entry fee of one shilling each, and the prize money was 12 guineas, plus a silver challenge cup valued at 25 guineas.[2] The tournament made a profit of £10.[3] Spencer Gore won the first Wimbledon title, after defeating William Marshall in the final in a match that lasted 48 minutes.[3]

Background

Origins of lawn tennis

It is believed the origin of tennis lies in 12th century northern France, where the ball was struck with the palm of the hand and was called jeu de paume.[4] Rackets started to be used in the 16th century. This original version of tennis, now called real tennis, was mostly played indoors and was popular among the royalty and gentry. In the late 1860s several people started experimenting with a lawn version of tennis. Vulcanised bouncing rubber balls offered an opportunity to develop from the indoor game and the invention of the lawn mover a few decades earlier made it possible to create smooth, flat croquet lawns that could easily be adapted for lawn tennis.[5][6] Major Harry Gem and Augurio Perera demonstrated their game of Pelota (Spanish for ball) and in 1872 created the world's first lawn tennis club at Leamington Spa.[7][5] In 1874 Major Clopton Wingfield introduced and patented[a] his version of lawn tennis called Sphairistikè, described on his patent application as a New and Improved Court for Playing the Ancient Game of Tennis, and is widely credited with popularizing the new game through his energetic marketing efforts.[8][9][6]

All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club

On 23 July 1868 the All England Croquet Club was founded by six gentleman at the offices of The Field magazine.[10] On 24 September 1869 the club's committee decided to lease four acres of meadowland at Worple Road, Wimbledon, then an outer-suburb of London.[b] The club had to pay £50 rental on the grounds for the first year which increased the following two years to £75 and then to £100.[12] The club held its first Croquet Championships in June 1870.[13] The increasing rent coupled with the waning interest in croquet was causing financial difficulties for the club. In 1875 the club decided to introduce lawn tennis at its grounds to capitalize on the upcoming interest in this new sport and to generate additional revenue.[14] The introduction of lawn tennis was approved at the annual meeting and the club's membership fee was set to two guineas to cover both sports.[12] At a cost of £25 one croquet lawn was converted to a tennis court and soon after its completion on 25 February 1875 a dozen new club members were added.[15] In 1876 a third of the ground was handed over to lawn tennis to address the increase of new tennis members. Additionally a committee member, George Nicol, was appointed exclusively dedicated to lawn tennis.[13] Lawn tennis had become so popular that on 14 April 1877 the name of the club was formally changed to All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC).[13] On 2 June 1877 at the suggestion of founding member and club secretary, John H. Walsh, the club committee decided to organize a lawn tennis championship which they hoped would generate enough funds to repair the broken pony roller that was needed for the maintenance of the lawns.[9]

Rules

A Sphairistikè lawn tennis court as originally designed by Major Wingfield in 1874. The hourglass shape was retained in the 1875 MCC rules but was replaced by a rectangular court in the AELTC rules which governed the first Wimbledon Championship.

On 24 May 1875 the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), in its capacity as the governing body for rackets and real tennis, issued the first unified rules for lawn tennis. These were largely based on the rules introduced by Major Wingfield in February 1874 and published in his rule-book titled Sphairistike or Lawn Tennis. Various aspects of these rules, including the characteristic hourglass-shaped court and the method of scoring, were the subject of prolonged debate in the press.[16] The committee of the AELTC was not satisfied with certain aspects of the unified code.[12] To address these perceived shortcomings a sub-committee consisting of Charles Gilbert Heathcote,[c] Julian Marshall and Henry Jones was tasked with the responsibility of establishing the applicable rules for the upcoming tournament. A new set of rules was drawn up, derived from the rules published by the Marylebone Cricket Club, and declared 'provisional' in order not to offend the MCC:[18]

  • The court will have a rectangular shape with outer dimensions of 78 by 27 feet (23.77 m by 8.23 m)
  • The net will be lowered to 3 feet and 3 inches (0.99 m) in the center
  • The balls will be 2 1⁄2 to 2 5⁄8 inch (6.4 to 6.7 cm) in diameter and 1 3⁄4 ounces (49.6 g) in weight
  • The real tennis method of scoring by fifteens will be adopted [d]
  • The first player to win six games wins the set with 'sudden death' occurring at five games all except for the final, when a lead of two games in each set is necessary.[19]
  • Players will change ends at the end of a set unless otherwise decreed by the umpire
  • The server will have two chances at each point to deliver a fair service

It is these rules drawn up by the AELTC which formed the basis of the sport and which, with only slight modifications, are still valid to this day.[17]

Announcement

Henry Jones, played a pivotal role in initiating and organizing the first Championship.[10]

The first public announcement of the tournament was published on 9 June 1877 in the country and sports magazine The Field:[12][20]

The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, propose to hold a lawn tennis meeting, open to all amateurs, on Monday, July 9th and following days.[e] Entrance fee, £1 1s 0d. Names and addresses of competitors to be forwarded to the Hon Sec before that day or on that day before 2.15 p.m. at the club ground. Two prices will be given – one gold champion prize to the winner, one silver to the second player. The value of the prizes will depend on the number of entries and will be declared before the draw; but in no case will they be less than the amount of the entrance money or less than £10 10s and £5 5s — Henry Jones – Hon Sec of the Lawn Tennis sub-committee

In a footnote it added:[23]

Players must provide their own racquets and must wear shoes without heels.

Invitations were sent to prospective participants.[24] John H. Walsh, in his capacity as editor of The Field, persuaded his employer to donate a 25 guineas cup for the winner; the "Field Cup". This cup was handed out to the winner of the gentlemen's singles title until 1883 when it came in permanent possession of William Renshaw after he had won the cup for the third time.[f] The cup was made of sterling silver and had the inscription: The All England Lawn Challenge Cup – Presented by the Proprietors of The Field – For competition by Amateurs – Wimbledon July, 1877. On 6 July 1877, three days prior to the start of the tournament, a notice was published in The Times:

Next week at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club Ground a Lawn Tennis Championship Meeting will be held. The ground is situated close to the Wimbledon Station on the South Western Railway, and is sufficiently large for the errection of 30 "courts".[g] On each day the competition will begin at 3.30, the first ties, of course, beginning on Monday. The Hon. Sec. of the meeting is Mr. J.H. Walsh, while Mr. H. Jones will officiate as referee. The entries are numerous.[19]

Tournament

The 1877 Wimbledon Championship draw

The draw for the 22 entrants was made on Saturday, 7 July 1877 at 3:30 p.m. and H.T. Gillson had the honourable distinction of being the first player in the history of modern tennis to be drawn for a tournament. The posts, nets and balls for the tournament were supplied by Jefferies & Co from Woolwich.[25] The tournament began on Monday, 9 July 1877. It is not known which player hit the first ball but on the first day, in sunny weather, 10 matches were played which completed the first round. F.N. Langham, a Cambridge tennis blue, was given a walkover in the first round when C.F. Buller, an Etonian and well-known rackets player, did not appear. Julian Marshall became the first player to win a five-set match when he fought back from being two sets down against Captain Grimston. Spencer Gore won his first round match against Henry Thomas Gillson in straight sets. The five second round matches were played on Tuesday, 10 July, again in fine weather. Charles Gilbert Heathcote had a bye in the second round. J. Lambert became the first player in Wimbledon history to retire a match, conceding to L.R. Erskine after losing the first two sets. Julian Marshall again won a five-set match, this time against F.W. Oliver and Gore defeated Montague Hankey in four sets.[1]

The quarterfinals were played on Wednesday, 11 July and left three players, instead of four, in the draw for the semifinals scheduled for Thursday. To solve the situation lots were drawn and William Marshall, a 28-year-old Cambridge real tennis blue, was given a bye to the final where he would play Spencer Gore who defeated Heathcote in straight sets in the only semifinal played.[h] When the semifinal stage had concluded on Thursday, 12 July play was suspended until next Monday, 16 July due to the Eton v Harrow cricket match that was played at Lord's Cricket Ground on Friday and Saturday.[2][3] The final was further postponed from Monday, 16 July at 4 p.m. to Thursday, 19 July at 3:30 p.m. because of rain. On Thursday it was still showery, so the final began an hour late, at 4:30 p.m. on a dead and slippery court in front of about 200 spectators.[i] There was a temporary three-plank stand on one side of the court offering seating to 30 people.[27] A Centre Court did not yet exist during the first four years of the championship.[25] The final lasted 48 minutes and Spencer Gore, a 27-year-old rackets player from Wandsworth, won the inaugural championship against William Marshall in three straight sets, lasting 15, 13 and 20 minutes respectively. En route to the title Gore had won 15 sets and lost two and won 99 games for the loss of 46.[28] Gore, the volley specialist, had beaten the baseline player, at a time when volleying was considered by some to be unsporting.[j][29] Some tried to outlaw the volley and a discussion on its pros and cons was held in The Field for weeks after the tournament.[30]

The final was followed by a play-off match for 2nd place in which Marshall defeated Heathcote in straight sets.[31][32]

Analysis

Spencer Gore, the winner of the inaugural Wimbledon Championship.

On the day following the final, 20 July 1877, a report was published in The Morning Post newspaper:[32]

Lawn Tennis Championship – A fair number of spectators assembled yesterday, notwithstanding the rain, on the beautifully kept ground of the All England Club, Wimbledon, to witness the final contest between Messrs. Spencer Gore and W. Marshall for the championship. The play on both sides was of the highest order and its exhibition afforded a great treat to lovers of the game. All three sets were won buy Mr. Gore, who, therefore, becomes lawn tennis champion for 1877, and wins the £12 12s. gold prize and holds the silver challenge cup, value £25 5s. The second and third prizes were then played for by Messrs. W. Marshall and G.C. Heathcote (best of three sets by agreement). Mr. Marshall won two sets to love, and therefore takes the silver prize (value £12 12s.). Mr. Heathcote takes the third prize, value £3 3s.

Gore's victory was regarded as a win of the rackets style of play over the [real] tennis style, and of the offensive style of the volley player – who comes to the net, over the baseline player – who plays groundstrokes from the back of the court.[3] Gore was a player with an aptitude for many games, he had a long reach and a strong and flexible wrist. His volleying style was novel at the time, a forceful shot instead of merely a pat back over the net. His volleying game was also successful because the height of the net at the post, 5 ft (1.52 m) compared to the current 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m), made it difficult for his opponents to pass him by driving the ball down the line.[23]

Despite his historic championship title Gore was not enthusiastic about the new sport of lawn tennis. He wrote 13 years after winning his championship title: "... it is want of variety that will prevent lawn tennis in its present form from taking rank among our great games ... That anyone who has really played well at cricket, tennis, or even rackets, will ever seriously give his attention to lawn tennis, beyond showing himself to be a promising player, is extremely doubtful; for in all probability the monotony of the game as compared with others would choke him off before he had time to excel in it."[14][33] Nevertheless he did return the next year, 1878, to defend his title in the Challenge Round[k] but lost to Frank Hadow in straight sets.

When the tournament was finished Henry Jones gathered all the score cards to analyse the results and found that of the 601 games played during the tournament 376 were won by the server and 225 by the receiver ("striker-out").[34] At a time when the service was either made underarm or, usually, at shoulder height this was seen as a serving dominance and resulted in a modification of the rules for the 1878 Championship which was published jointly by the AELTC and MCC. The length of the service court was reduced from 26 feet to 22 feet (7.92 m to 6.71 m) and the height of the net was reduced to 4 feet 9 inches (1.45 m) at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) at the centre.[34]

Commemorative plaque

On 18 June 2012 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the former home of The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in Worple Road, Wimbledon celebrating the first Wimbledon Championships held there in 1877, as well as the 1908 Olympic tennis event.[b] The ceremony was performed by Heather Hanbury, Headmistress of Wimbledon High School; Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Club, and Cr David T Williams JP, Mayor of Merton.[11]

Gentlemen's singles

Final

Main article: 1877 Wimbledon Championship – Singles

United Kingdom Spencer Gore defeated United Kingdom William Marshall, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4[2]

  • It was Gore's first and only Major title.

Second place match

United Kingdom William Marshall defeated United Kingdom Charles Gilbert Heathcote 6–4, 6–4[3]

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ^ The patent application was filed on 23 February 1874 and was issued on 24 July 1874. The patent lapsed on 2 March 1877.
  2. ^ a b In 1922 the AELTC moved to its current location at Church Road. The site of the inaugural tournament at Worple Road now serves as a playing field for the Wimbledon High School.[11]
  3. ^ According to Gillmeister (1998) it was not Charles Gilbert but his brother John Moyer Heathcote who, as a representative of the MCC, was part of the rules sub-committee.[17]
  4. ^ This was in contrast to the 1875 MCC regulations which prescribed the rackets method of scoring in which only the serving side ("hand in") could score and each game consisted of 15 aces (points). This method was also previously adopted by Major Clopton Wingfield's sphairistikè, Harry Gem's & Augurio Perera's pelota and John Hales' Germains lawn tennis.
  5. ^ The term "amateur" here has a specific meaning that differs from its current connotation. The distinction between "amateurs" and "professionals" at the time was not so much one of remuneration but more one of social status and class. The amateur was a gentleman who was of independent means and belonged to the upper or middle class, whereas professionals invariably came from the working class.[21] The construct "Gentleman Amateur" was an ideological method of social distinction and the amateur code was frequently a means of excluding working-class players from competition.[22]
  6. ^ The cup is on display in the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.
  7. ^ According to Tingay (1977) there were in fact only 12 courts. It is not known how many courts were used but five would have been sufficient.
  8. ^ In the first years of the championship byes could be distributed through the entire draw. Only from 1885 onward were byes used exclusively in the first round. This was formalised in the Bagnall–Wild system which came into effect in 1887.[26]
  9. ^ A 'dead' court refers to a tennis court where the ball bounces significantly less compared to other courts or to the same court under different weather conditions.
  10. ^ Writing in 1957, journalist Tony Mottram said of Gore using the volley: "He was immediately branded unsporting and unscrupulous."[29]
  11. ^ The Challenge Round system was introduced at Wimbledon in 1878. The existing champion, in this case Spencer Gore, did not have to play through the tournament but instead faced the winner of the All Comers' tournament in a Challenge Round match to determine the new champion. This system was abolished in 1922.
References
  1. ^ a b "Wimbledon draws archive – 1877 Gentlemen's singles". AELTC.
  2. ^ a b c Atkin, Ron. "1877 Wimbledon Championships". Wimbledon.org. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tingay, p.20
  4. ^ Gillmeister, p.117
  5. ^ a b Sally Mitchell, ed. (2011). Victorian Britain An Encyclopedia. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 791. ISBN 978-0415668514.
  6. ^ a b Dave Scheiber (Jul 1, 1986). "A tennis tapestry". St. Petersburg Times. p. 3C.
  7. ^ Baker, William J. (1988). Sports in the Western world (Rev. ed., Illini books ed. ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-0252060427. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  8. ^ Barrett 2001, p.16
  9. ^ a b Gary Morley (June 22, 2011). "125 years of Wimbledon: From birth of lawn tennis to modern marvels". CNN.
  10. ^ a b Barrett 2001, p.20
  11. ^ a b "Tennis History Celebrated in Another Corner of SW19". AELTC. 18 June 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d Parsons, John (2006). The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Tennis : The Definitive Illustrated Guide to World Tennis (Rev. ed.). London: Carlton. pp. 10–13, 50. ISBN 978-1-84442-157-2.
  13. ^ a b c Barrett 2001, p.1
  14. ^ a b Schickel, Richard (1975). The World of Tennis. New York: Random House. p. 40. ISBN 0-394-49940-9.
  15. ^ Haylett, John; Evans, Richard (1989). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Tennis. London: Marshall Cavendish. p. 14. ISBN 0-86307-897-4.
  16. ^ Alexander, George E. (1974). Lawn Tennis : Its Founders & Its Early Days. Lynn: H.O. Zimman. pp. 77–107. OCLC 1177585.
  17. ^ a b Gillmeister, p.188
  18. ^ Barrett, John (2010). The Original Rules of Tennis. Oxford: Bodleian Library. pp. 32, 33. ISBN 978-1-85124-318-1.
  19. ^ a b Tingay, p.17
  20. ^ Barrett 2001, p.13
  21. ^ Birley, Derek (2004). A Social History of English Cricket (1. publ., repr. ed.). London: Aurum Press. pp. 105–107. ISBN 978-1-85410-941-5.
  22. ^ Holt, Richard (1990). Sport and the British : A Modern History (Clarendon pbk. [ed.]. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 98–116. ISBN 978-0-19-285229-8.
  23. ^ a b Peter Schwed (1972). Allison Danzig (ed.). The Fireside Book of Tennis. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 493, 494. ISBN 978-0-671-21128-8.
  24. ^ Todd, Terry (1979). The Tennis Players : from Pagan Rites to Strawberries and Cream. Guernsey: Vallency Press. p. 95. OCLC 6041549.
  25. ^ a b Little, Alan (2011). Wimbledon Compendium 2011 (21st ed.). London: All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. pp. 9, 102. ISBN 978-1-899039-36-4.
  26. ^ Gillmeister, p.355
  27. ^ Ronald Atkin (20 June 1999). "Wimbledon '99: When Wimbledon was Worpledon". The Independent.
  28. ^ John Barrett, Alan Little (2012). Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles Champions 1877-2011. Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. p. 2. ISBN 978-0906741511.
  29. ^ a b Tony Mottram (9 January 1957). "Tennis "Revolt"". The Age.
  30. ^ Baltzell, E. Digby (1995). Sporting Gentlemen : Men's Tennis from the Age of Honor to the Cult of the Superstar. New York [u.a.]: Free Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-0029013151.
  31. ^ Barrett 2001, p.24
  32. ^ a b "Spencer Gore – Gentlemen's Singles Champion at Wimbledon in 1877". The British Newspaper Archive. June 27, 2012.
  33. ^ Barrett 2001, pp. 25–26
  34. ^ a b Tingay, p.21

Sources

  • Barrett, John (2001). Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships. London: CollinsWillow. ISBN 0-00-711707-8.
  • Gillmeister, Heiner (1998). Tennis : A Cultural History (Repr. ed.). London: Leicester University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7185-0195-2.
  • Tingay, Lance (1977). 100 Years of Wimbledon. Enfield [Eng.]: Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 0-900424-71-0. OCLC 607858270.

External links

Preceded by
None
 Wimbledon Championships Succeeded by
Preceded by
None
 Grand Slams Succeeded by

Template:Link FA

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1877_Wimbledon_Championship&oldid=594247506"