Overview

Tennis is a high-stakes game, played by prodigies identified early and coached by professionals in hopes of high rankings and endorsements. This commercial world is far removed from the origins of the sport. Before 1968—when Wimbledon invited professional players to compete for the first time—tennis was part of a sportsmanship tradition that emphasized character over money. It produced well-rounded gentlemen who expressed a code of honor, not commerce. In this authoritative and affectionate history of men's tennis, distinguished sociologist E. Digby Baltzell recovers the glory of the age. From its aristocratic origins in the late ninteenth century, to the Tilden years, and through a succession of newcomers, the amateur era and its virtues survived a century of democratization and conflict. Sporting Gentlemen examines the greatest players and matches in the history of tennis. Baltzell explores the tennis code of honor and its roots in the cricket code of the late-nineteenth-century Anglo-American upper class. This code of honor remained in spite of the later democratization of tennis. Thus, the court manners of the Renshaw twins and Doherty brothers at the Old Wimbledon were upheld to the letter by Don Budge and Jack Kramer as well as Rod Laver, John Newcombe, and Arthur Ashe. Baltzell's final chapter on the Open Era is a blistering attack on the decline of honor and the obliteration of class distinctions, leaving only those based on money. For all who love the game of tennis, Sporting Gentlemen is both fascinating history and a badly needed analysis of what has made the sport great.

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9781412851800

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Tennis has been taking quite a pasting.... Into all this E. Digby Baltzell, a distinguished sociologists, has waded with Sporting Gentlemen. .. [a] volume in which he evokes the genteel social attitudes of tennis past and holds them up to what he considers the largely loutish and vulgar character of tennis today.... Sporting Gentlemen is... a valuable volume, with a wealth of anecdote, a scholar's attention to detail.... [G]ood material. --George Plimpton, The Wall Street Journal While ostensibly writing about tennis, E. Digby Baltzell has in fact taken the occasion to say out loud, without flinching, what the late James Burnham once remarked to me: that, for men in America, the only plausible ideal of conduct is the idea of the Gentleman.... [In this book] Mr. Baltzell recounts in rich and sometimes magical detail the history of tennis in relation to the larger culture, beginning with its origins as an upperclass sport in the 1880s. --Jeffrey Hart, National Review The noted author... historian as well as sociologist, is uttering here a cri de Coeur. What was once a gentlemen's game, setting a standard of civility and good sportsmanship, has been corrupted... by commercialism by undivided emphasis on victory, and by consequent mean-spirited behavior, even by some with enormous talent. --J. Milton Yinger, Contemporary Sociology Although this is a book that any tennis maven might relish, it is no more just about tennis than Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was just about religion or C. L. R. James's (reverently cited) Beyond a Boundary was just about cricket.... A personal example of what Baltzell calls the levling upward that characterizes a society with a secure upper class, James chronicled the leveling downward that overtook cricket under the influence of professionalization and democratization. In developing a similar theme, Baltzell portrays championship tennis as a case of his larger point concerning the decline

Baltzell's classic Sporting Gentlemen: Men's Tennis from the Age of Honor to the Cult of the Superstar charts the history of tennis from its graceful origins to its current sad state. His charming anecdotes and vivid profiles are drawn from an age of nobility and grace, an age that came to an end in 1968 when the well-established amateur game gave in to economic pressures, resulting in the international professional circuit we see today. . . . even writing in 1995 he could foresee the demise of the game's character-building qualities in the face of a craven, unchecked conviction that 'one must do anything and pay any price to win.' . . . Baltzell connects that which is regrettable about modern tennis with that which is regrettable about modern times. --Peter Tonguette, The New Criterion Tennis has been taking quite a pasting. . . . Into all this E. Digby Baltzell, a distinguished sociologist, has waded with Sporting Gentlemen . . . [a] volume in which he evokes the genteel social attitudes of tennis past and holds them up to what he considers the largely loutish and vulgar character of tennis today. . . . Sporting Gentlemen is . . . a valuable volume, with a wealth of anecdote, [and] a scholar's attention to detail. . . . [G]ood material. --George Plimpton, The Wall Street Journal While ostensibly writing about tennis, E. Digby Baltzell has in fact taken the occasion to say out loud, without flinching, what the late James Burnham once remarked to me: that, for men in America, the only plausible ideal of conduct is the idea of the Gentleman. . . . [In this book] Baltzell recounts in rich and sometimes magical detail the history of tennis in relation to the larger culture, beginning with its origins as an upperclass sport in the 1880s. --Jeffrey Hart, National Review The noted author . . . historian as well as sociologist, is uttering here a cri de Coeur. What was once a gentlemen's game, setting a standard of civility and good sportsman

Baltzell's classic Sporting Gentlemen: Men's Tennis from the Age of Honor to the Cult of the Superstar charts the history of tennis from its graceful origins to its current sad state. His charming anecdotes and vivid profiles are drawn from an age of nobility and grace, an age that came to an end in 1968 when the well-established amateur game gave in to economic pressures, resulting in the international professional circuit we see today. . . . even writing in 1995 he could foresee the demise of the game's character-building qualities in the face of a craven, unchecked conviction that 'one must do anything and pay any price to win.' . . . Baltzell connects that which is regrettable about modern tennis with that which is regrettable about modern times. --Peter Tonguette, The New Criterion Tennis has been taking quite a pasting. . . . Into all this E. Digby Baltzell, a distinguished sociologist, has waded with Sporting Gentlemen . . . [a] volume in which he evokes the genteel social attitudes of tennis past and holds them up to what he considers the largely loutish and vulgar character of tennis today. . . . Sporting Gentlemen is . . . a valuable volume, with a wealth of anecdote, [and] a scholar's attention to detail. . . . [G]ood material. --George Plimpton, The Wall Street Journal While ostensibly writing about tennis, E. Digby Baltzell has in fact taken the occasion to say out loud, without flinching, what the late James Burnham once remarked to me: that, for men in America, the only plausible ideal of conduct is the idea of the Gentleman. . . . [In this book] Baltzell recounts in rich and sometimes magical detail the history of tennis in relation to the larger culture, beginning with its origins as an upperclass sport in the 1880s. --Jeffrey Hart, National Review The noted author . . . historian as well as sociologist, is uttering here a cri de Coeur. What was once a gentlemen's game, setting a standard of civility and good sportsmanship, has been corrupted . . . by commercialism, by undivided emphasis on victory, and by consequent mean-spirited behavior, even by some with enormous talent. --J. Milton Yinger, Contemporary Sociology Although this is a book that any tennis maven might relish, it is no more 'just' about tennis than Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was 'just' about religion or C. L. R. James' (reverently cited) Beyond a Boundary was 'just' about cricket. . . . A personal example of what Baltzell calls the 'levling upward' that characterizes a society with a secure upper class, James chronicled the 'leveling downward' that overtook cricket under the influence of professionalization and democratization. In developing a similar theme, Baltzell portrays championship tennis as a case of his larger point concerning the decline of magisterial manners in society at large. --N. J. Demerath III, Society Baltzell communicates a great deal of interesting information about tennis. --Allen Guttmann, The Journal of American History E. Digby Baltzell's Sporting Gentlemen is a learned, fascinating, and important book about tennis, one that combines a scholar's meticulousness with an aficionado's zeal. It also manages to make a valuable state-ment about the interplay between manhood and character in our modern world. --Arnold Rampersad, co-author with Arthur Ashe of Days of Grace Fascinating. An exploration, intermingled with social history, of the game's evolution, its rise in genuine amateurism--and decline in our time when money dictates all. Baltzell has taught even me a lot about tennis. --Bud Collins, The Boston Globe/NBC Digby Baltzell is a sociologist who writes like a novelist, and his account of the rise and decline of tennis is both a sheer delight to read and a strik-ing illumination of larger aspects of our American culture. --Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. I've written about tennis for about twenty years now, and when I finished this book I found myself wondering how I could have known so little for so long about the forces that have shaped, driven, and ultimately divided this complex, socially significant game. --Peter Bodo, senior writer, Tennis magazine; author, The Courts of Babylon: Tales of Greed and Glory in the Men's Professional Era of Tennis A lot of great tennis was played before Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Andre Agassi arrived on the scene. Sporting Gentlemenis an illu-minating history of the men, the matches and the code of conduct that pre-vailed when championship tennis was still strictly a sport, not a part of the entertainment business. --Alexander McNab, Tennis magazine; author of The Tennis Doctor

Tennis has been taking quite a pasting. . . . Into all this E. Digby Baltzell, a distinguished sociologists, has waded with Sporting Gentlemen . . . [a] volume in which he evokes the genteel social attitudes of tennis past and holds them up to what he considers the largely loutish and vulgar character of tennis today. . . . Sporting Gentlemen is . . . a valuable volume, with a wealth of anecdote, a scholar's attention to detail. . . . [G]ood material. --George Plimpton, The Wall Street Journal While ostensibly writing about tennis, E. Digby Baltzell has in fact taken the occasion to say out loud, without flinching, what the late James Burnham once remarked to me: that, for men in America, the only plausible ideal of conduct is the idea of the Gentleman. . . . [In this book] Mr. Baltzell recounts in rich and sometimes magical detail the history of tennis in relation to the larger culture, beginning with its origins as an upperclass sport in the 1880s. --Jeffrey Hart, National Review The noted author . . . historian as well as sociologist, is uttering here a cri de Coeur. What was once a gentlemen's game, setting a standard of civility and good sportsmanship, has been corrupted . . . by commercialism by undivided emphasis on victory, and by consequent mean-spirited behavior, even by some with enormous talent. --J. Milton Yinger, Contemporary Sociology Although this is a book that any tennis maven might relish, it is no more 'just' about tennis than Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was 'just' about religion or C. L. R. James's (reverently cited) Beyond a Boundary was 'just' about cricket. . . . A personal example of what Baltzell calls the 'levling upward' that characterizes a society with a secure upper class, James chronicled the 'leveling downward' that overtook cricket under the influence of professionalization and democratization. In developing a similar theme, Baltzell portrays championship tennis as a case of his larger point

Baltzell's classic <em>Sporting Gentlemen: Men's Tennis from the Age of Honor to the Cult of the Superstar</em> charts the history of tennis from its graceful origins to its current sad state. His charming anecdotes and vivid profiles are drawn from an age of nobility and grace, an age that came to an end in 1968 when the well-established amateur game gave in to economic pressures, resulting in the international professional circuit we see today. . . . even writing in 1995 he could foresee the demise of the game's character-building qualities in the face of a craven, unchecked conviction that 'one must do anything and pay any price to win.' . . . Baltzell connects that which is regrettable about modern tennis with that which is regrettable about modern times. </p> --Peter Tonguette, <em>The New Criterion</em></p> Tennis has been taking quite a pasting. . . . Into all this E. Digby Baltzell, a distinguished sociologist, has waded with Sporting Gentlemen</em> . . . [a] volume in which he evokes the genteel social attitudes of tennis past and holds them up to what he considers the largely loutish and vulgar character of tennis today. . . . Sporting Gentlemen</em> is . . . a valuable volume, with a wealth of anecdote, [and] a scholar's attention to detail. . . . [G]ood material. </p> --George Plimpton, <em>The Wall Street Journal</em></p> While ostensibly writing about tennis, E. Digby Baltzell has in fact taken the occasion to say out loud, without flinching, what the late James Burnham once remarked to me: that, for men in America, the only plausible ideal of conduct is the idea of the Gentleman. . . . [In this book] Baltzell recounts in rich and sometimes magical detail the history of tennis in relation to the larger culture, beginning with its origins as an upperclass sport in the 1880s. </p> --Jeffrey Hart, <em>National Review</em></p> The noted author . . . historian as well as sociologist, is uttering here a <em>cri de Coeur</em>. What was once a gentlemen's game, setting a standard of civility and good sportsmanship, has been corrupted . . . by commercialism, by undivided emphasis on victory, and by consequent mean-spirited behavior, even by some with enormous talent. </p> --J. Milton Yinger, <em>Contemporary Sociology</em></p> Although this is a book that any tennis maven might relish, it is no more 'just' about tennis than Max Weber's <em>The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism</em> was 'just' about religion or C. L. R. James' (reverently cited) <em>Beyond a Boundary</em> was 'just' about cricket. . . . A personal example of what Baltzell calls the 'levling upward' that characterizes a society with a secure upper class, James chronicled the 'leveling downward' that overtook cricket under the influence of professionalization and democratization. In developing a similar theme, Baltzell portrays championship tennis as a case of his larger point concerning the decline of magisterial manners in society at large. </p> --N. J. Demerath III, <em>Society</em></p> Baltzell communicates a great deal of interesting information about tennis. </p> --Allen Guttmann, <em>The Journal of American History</em></p> E. Digby Baltzell's <em>Sporting Gentlemen </em>is a learned, fascinating, and important book about tennis, one that combines a scholar's meticulousness with an aficionado's zeal. It also manages to make a valuable state-ment about the interplay between manhood and character in our modern world. </p> --Arnold Rampersad, co-author with Arthur Ashe of <em>Days of Grace</em></p> Fascinating. An exploration, intermingled with social history, of the game's evolution, its rise in genuine amateurism--and decline in our time when money dictates all. Baltzell has taught even me a lot about tennis. </p> --Bud Collins, <em>The Boston Globe/</em>NBC</p> Digby Baltzell is a sociologist who writes like a novelist, and his account of the rise and decline of tennis is both a sheer delight to read and a strik-ing illumination of larger aspects of our American culture. </p> --Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.</p> I've written about tennis for about twenty years now, and when I finished this book I found myself wondering how I could have known so little for so long about the forces that have shaped, driven, and ultimately divided this complex, socially significant game. </p> --Peter Bodo, senior writer, <em>Tennis </em>magazine; author, <em>The Courts of Babylon: Tales of Greed and Glory in the Men's Professional Era of Tennis </em></p> A lot of great tennis was played before Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, and Andre Agassi arrived on the scene. <em>Sporting Gentlemen</em>is an illu-minating history of the men, the matches and the code of conduct that pre-vailed when championship tennis was still strictly a sport, not a part of the entertainment business. </p> --Alexander McNab, <em>Tennis </em>magazine; author of <em>The Tennis Doctor</em></p>

Author Information

E. Digby Baltzell (1915-1996) was professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The Protestant Establishment Revisited and Philadelphia Gentlemen.

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