The Birth of Lawn Tennis

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Description

This seminal history of the birth of the game and its development over the first four years of its life begins with a detailed study of Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, the inventor. It examines his doubters and rivals, dispelling common myths as it cleverly weaves its way through a chronology of events culminating with a detailed description of the staging of the first Wimbledon Championship in 1877 and the players who took part. This mighty tome has taken authors Bob and Richard twenty years to compile. The depth of their research is breathtaking. Extending to over 570 pages, the book includes biographies of the players and tournament officials, with masses of information on manufacturers, a comparison of the rules, and a time-line of lawn tennis related events. Fully indexed, it will be a book desired by all tennis history loving fans and bibliophiles.

Author Bio

Bob Everitt was born in Wolverhampton in 1956 and was educated at Ettingshall Junior School and Bilston Boys' Grammar Schools. He graduated from Wolverhampton College of Art in 1978 with an honours degree in graphic design and illustration. During the 1970s, he represented Staffordshire at lawn tennis, he achieved the unusual honour of winning his club's junior singles championship while being the club's official groundsman. Later he also secured the senior singles championships and qualified as a lawn tennis teacher. More recently he also captured the club's Veteran singles championship. Richard Hillway of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, is an international tennis historian who has authored over 100 published tennis articles, many in the English and American "Tennis Collector" magazines. He is a collector of tennis books and letters, owning more than 2,000 of each, as well as hundreds of periodicals. He is an expert on Major Walter Wingfield and Bill Tilden, and has researched all of Colorado's important tennis tournaments back to their beginnings.