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Fresno County In The 20th
Century
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By Charles W. Clough
Volume Two, page 479
The Fresno Tennis Club, a private club with three
courts at Tulare and N Streets, was organized on June 18, 1891.
William M. Hughes was the president, and other active members included
W. More Young, C.C. Freeman, E.C. White, F.M. Helm, Ted F. Winchell,
L.W. Moultrie, E.A. Walrond and J.L. Manpier. The Home Sweet Club, a
bachelor club on J Street became another early tennis center.
In the 1910s the sport moved to public grounds and
received wider interest. Two courts were asphalted at Dickey
Playground, and exhibition matches were played by nationally prominent
players. The Fresno County Championships, for all ages, was sponsored
first by the Fresno Morning Republican and later by the
Fresno Bee, producing outstanding tournaments. The Fresno
Junior tennis tournaments, sometimes referred to as the Fresno Bee
Junior Tournaments, were started in 1916 to promote the development of
local talent and to add momentum to the growth of the sport. These
junior tournaments were sponsored by the Fresno Playground Department
and by the Fresno Bee.
Four new courts were installed at Roeding Park, and
the Roeding Park Tennis Club was organized, with the subsequent
staging of the Valley’s first Open tournament. The Roeding Club
changed its name to the Fresno Tennis Club in 1926 and played on the
Fresno State College courts. The club later joined the Northern
California Lawn Tennis Association for interclub competitions. They
matched the finest in the State with players like Bill Lauritzen,
Larry King, and Walter Senior, who were all products of the junior
tennis tournaments. Walter Senior gained national prominence in the
early 1920s and was Fresno’s first entry in pro tennis. Frank Homan,
who later became mayor of Fresno, also was an ardent tennis player.
Early women’s singles stars included Cora Bramblett
Buford, Dorothy Duncan, Hazel Americanian, and Lehla Slocum. A new
Roeding Park Tennis Club was formed in 1931, and within a few years,
four more tennis courts were installed at the Park. But World
War II put a damper on the sport, and it did not regain its prewar
status despite the construction of
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additional tennis
courts throughout the city.
(Tennis Fresno Editorial Addendum)
Tennis in Fresno experienced renewed enthusiasm in the 1970s,
and Roeding Park continued to be the major public center for
tournaments and junior training in the Valley. In 1979, eight
additional tennis courts were built at Roeding Park. Soon after, the
Recreation Department, led by Director Phil Daher, decided to make
other major improvements at the facility, which would privatize it and
result in court rental fees. Strong public opposition was expressed.
Roeding Park Tennis Club, in particular was extremely vocal, and led
by President Doug Vagim, succeeded in convincing Fresno City Council
not to approve the privatization of the courts. Doug Vagim
subsequently went on to become a Fresno County Supervisor. The future
was not so bright for Director Phil Daher, however, and he left the
city of Fresno.
In the 1970s and early 80s, the free drop-in
atmosphere at the Roeding Park tennis courts was a natural spawning
ground for players, both juniors and adults. National champions like
Larry Huebner and Glen Hippenstiel were often seen at the courts.
Fresno touring pros, Butch Waltz and Chris Sylvan made regular
appearances. On the grassroots level, Northern California standout, Bill Carroll,
and junior devotee, Bob Fenton, were inspiring instructors who touched
the games and lives of hundreds of players.
In the late 80s a wheelchair program deprived the
playing public of key courts on Tuesday and Thursday evenings; and on
Wednesday evening a league had courts reserved. The result was
that players stopped coming to the Park after work, even though that
was previously the most popular time to play.
Throughout the 1990s, the area around Roeding Park
became more and more depressed as the city grew increasingly to its
northern boundaries. Greater numbers of homeless and other more
unsavory types began to appear near the tennis courts, intimidating
the players, especially women and children. Many regulars sought refuge
in Clovis, where quality high school facilities were built. The Roeding Park Tennis Club, itself, became inactive for a number of
years.
However now, after the turn of the century, the
Roeding Park Tennis Club is alive and well. A California Non-Profit
Public Benefit Corporation, it seeks to assist the city of Fresno in
improving its tennis center, revitalizing activity, and preserving its precious heritage of
free play.
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