Monday, September 14, 2009

One's Legacy Is Not One's Estate

On the same page of the September 12, 1959 New Yorker as the Grace ad below appeared this one for the U.S. tennis championships at Forest Hills. Teenagers could get in for 50¢ the first four days.
The championships were still amateur-only in 1959. The player and promoter who did as much as anyone to open things up was Jack Kramer, who died September 12.

In pre-open days, top tennis players were compensated with expense-free living and money under the table. Kramer toured as an out-and-out professional, and in the eyes of the old guard, that made him not quite a gentleman. No matter, Kramer prevailed. When the Association of Tennis Professionals was formed, he served as the ATP's first executive director.

Kramer also changed the dress code of the game. He showed up at Wimbledon in 1947 without trousers. He played in shorts, and he won.

These days we tend to use "legacy" as a tony synonym for "estate." It's not. Jack Kramer presumably left a decent estate, but his true legacy is his immense contribution to the modern, professional game of tennis. Check out the current version later today when Roger Federer seeks to augment his legacy.

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