Tournament 1877 Wimbledon Championship

1 tournament

1.1 announcement
1.2 rules
1.3 play

tournament

a lawn tennis racket 1876 characteristic lopsided head

on 2 june 1877, @ suggestion of england club secretary , founding member john h. walsh, club committee decided organise lawn tennis championship amateurs, gentlemen s singles event, hoped generate enough funds repair broken pony roller needed maintenance of lawns. championship became world s first official lawn tennis tournament, , first edition of later called grand slam tournament (or major ). committee agreed hold tournament on condition not endanger club s limited funds; ensure this, henry jones persuaded 20 members , friends of club guarantee part of tournament s financial requirement , made himself responsible remaining amount. jones investigated potential tournament locations in , around london came conclusion no other ground more suitable wimbledon premises @ worple road. consequence, remaining croquet lawns converted tennis courts.

announcement

the first public announcement of tournament published on 9 june 1877 in field magazine under header lawn tennis championship:

the england croquet , lawn tennis club, wimbledon, propose hold lawn tennis meeting, open amateurs, on monday, july 9th , following days. entrance fee, £1 1s 0d. names , addresses of competitors forwarded hon. sec. a.e.c. , l.t.c. before saturday, july 7, or on day before 2.15 p.m. @ club ground, wimbledon. 2 prizes given – 1 gold champion prize winner, 1 silver second player. value of prizes depend on number of entries, , declared before draw; in no case less amount of entrance money, , if there ten , less sixteen entries, made £10 10s , £5 5s respectively.– henry jones – hon sec of lawn tennis sub-committee

players instructed provide own racquets , wear shoes without heels. announcement stated programme available shortly further details, including rules adopted meeting. invitations sent prospective participants. potential visitors informed arriving horse , carriage should use entrance @ worple road while planned come foot advised use railway path. upon payment of entrance fee, participants allowed practise before championship on twelve available courts provision on saturdays , during croquet championship week, held week before tennis tournament, croquet players had first choice of courts. practice balls, similar ones used tournament, available club s gardener @ price of 12s per dozen balls. john h. walsh, in capacity editor of field, persuaded employer donate cup worth 25 guineas winner; field cup. cup made of sterling silver , had inscription: england lawn challenge cup – presented proprietors of field – competition amateurs – wimbledon july 1877. on 6 july 1877, 3 days prior start of tournament, notice published in times:

next week @ england croquet , lawn tennis club ground lawn tennis championship meeting held. ground situated close wimbledon station on south western railway, , sufficiently large erection of thirty courts . on each day competition begin @ 3.30, first ties, of course, beginning on monday. hon. sec. of meeting mr. j.h. walsh, while mr. h. jones officiate referee. entries numerous.

rules

henry jones played pivotal role in initiating , organising first championship.

the committee of club not satisfied aspects of 1875 mcc unified rules. address these perceived shortcomings, sub-committee consisting of charles gilbert heathcote, julian marshall , henry jones set on 2 june 1877, establish rules applicable upcoming tournament. reported on 7 june new set of rules, derived different published mcc; in order not offend mcc, these rules declared provisional , valid championship:

the court have rectangular shape outer dimensions of 78 27 feet (23.8 8.2 m).
the net lowered 3 feet 3 inches (0.99 m) in centre.
the balls 2 ⁄2 2 ⁄8 inches (6.4 6.7 cm) in diameter , 1 ⁄4 ounces (50 g) in weight.
the real tennis method of scoring fifteens (15, 30, 40) adopted.
the first player win 6 games wins set sudden death occurring @ 5 games except final, when lead of 2 games in each set necessary.
players change ends @ end of set unless otherwise decreed umpire.
the server have 2 chances @ each point deliver correct service , must have 1 foot behind baseline.

these rules, drawn club initial tournament, adopted entire sport and, slight modifications, have retained validity. matches during tournament played best-of-five sets.

play

in accordance england regulations management of prize meetings, draw 22 entrants made on saturday, 7 july 1877, @ 3:30 p.m. in club s pavilion. h.t. gillson had distinction of being first player in history of modern tennis drawn tournament. posts, nets , hand-stitched, flannel-covered india-rubber balls tournament supplied jefferies & co woolwich, while rackets used adaptation of used in real tennis, small , lopsided head. ball-boys kept tennis balls, 180 of used during tournament, in canvas wells. umpires provided matches sat on chairs in turn placed on small tables of 18 inches height give them better view of court.

the 1877 wimbledon championship draw

the tournament began on monday, 9 july 1877, @ 3:30 p.m. , daily programmes available sixpence. on first day, in sunny weather, ten matches played, completed first round. full match scores published on notice board inside pavilion. f.n. langham, cambridge tennis blue, given walkover in first round when c.f. buller, etonian , well-known rackets player, did not appear. julian marshall became first player win five-set match when fought being 2 sets down against captain grimston. spencer gore, 27-year-old rackets player wandsworth , @ time land agent , surveyor profession, won first round match against henry thomas gillson in straight sets. 5 second-round matches played on tuesday, 10 july, again in fine weather. charles gilbert heathcote had bye in second round. j. lambert became first player in wimbledon championships history retire match, conceding l.r. erskine after losing first 2 sets. julian marshall again won five-set match, time against f.w. oliver, while gore defeated montague hankey in 4 sets.

the quarter-finals played on wednesday, 11 july, before larger number of spectators had attended previous matches. start of play delayed scheduled 3:30 p.m. due strong winds. gore defeated langham in 4 sets, william marshall beat erskine, in 4 sets, , julian marshall, injured knee during match after fall, lost heathcote in straight sets. quarter-final matches left 3 players, instead of four, in draw semi-finals scheduled thursday. solve situation lots drawn , marshall, 28-year-old architect , cambridge real tennis blue, given bye final. opponent gore, defeated heathcote in straight sets in semi-final played. when semi-final stage had concluded on thursday, 12 july, play suspended until next monday, 16 july, avoid clash popular annual eton v harrow cricket match played @ lord s on friday , saturday.

the final postponed scheduled start on monday @ 4 p.m. until thursday, 19 july, @ 3:30 p.m. because of rain. on thursday still showery, causing final further delayed hour. began on dead , slippery court in front of 200 spectators. there temporary three-plank stand on 1 side of court offering seating thirty people. marshall won toss, elected serve first , broken gore. after first set won gore, started rain quarter of hour; further softened ground , affected quality of play. final lasted 48 minutes, , spencer gore won inaugural championship against william marshall in 3 straight sets of 15, 13, , 20 minutes respectively. en route title gore had won 15 sets , lost 2 , won 99 games loss of 46. gore, volley specialist, had beaten baseline player, @ time when volleying considered unsporting. tried outlaw volley , discussion on merits took place in field weeks after tournament.

the final followed play-off match 2nd place between marshall , heathcote. players not fix date match , decided play straight away. agreement, match limited best-of-three sets. marshall, playing second match of day, defeated heathcote in straight sets, in front of diminished crowd, , won silver prize of 7 guineas.

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