William “Slew” Hester Jr., the incoming United States Tennis Association President, spotted the enormous expanse of land on a flight into La Guardia Airport. It was actually just across the boardwalk from Shea Stadium, where the New York Mets played baseball and the Jets played football. The facility – the Singer Bowl/Louis Armstrong Stadium – was in disrepair. But, Hester, who was a bear of a man in size, with a charming Southern drawl that seemed like it was right out of the movies, had a captivating personality, and in truth was a visionary. A successful oil investment executive, and an outstanding tennis player, he managed to convince New York City officials that the stadium and surrounding land would be the ideal new home for the US Open.
Now called the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the initial ten-million-dollar investment fostered by the cigar smoking libation loving Hester, (which was the reason that “Slew’s Place”, a cozy little bar, was part of the facility’s initial ambience), turned the site of the 1964 World’s Fair into a major tennis venue. In the last year at Forest Hills, 218,480 spectators were on hand. The first year at new facility, attendance jumped to 275,300. Proof positive that it was a good deal, all the way around.
Guillermo Vilas became the first Argentine to win the US Open in 1977. It was played on Har-Tru (clay) for the third consecutive year, after having been a grass court event since 1915. Vilas downed Jimmy Connors 2-6, 6-3,7-6, 6-0 in the trophy round. Chris Evert claimed her third consecutive singles title, overwhelming Wendy Turnbull of Australia, 7-6, 6-2. The doubles provided the last Forest Hills double-double. Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillian of South Africa were the men’s champions. The women’s final was more noteworthy because Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve of the Netherlands defeated Renée Richards, who had to sue the USTA to get into the tournament, and her partner, Betty-Ann Stuart, 6–1, 7–6. McMillian and Stöve scored a “double” escaping with a three-set mixed win over Vitas Gerulaitis and Billie Jean King, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
The horseshoe stadium at Forest Hills, when grass was the surface, had enough space to hold three courts that were used alternately to save on surface wear. It seated 13,500 but was deemed too small for a tournament of the magnitude of the US Open. The Louis Armstrong Stadium had room for more than 20,000 spectators, and also had the Grandstand, a demi-bullring court attached on one side, that had room for 6,000 fans.
Looking back, there is a smorgasbord of recollections from the last year at Forest Hills and the first year at Flushing Meadow, (It didn’t become Meadows until the “s” mysteriously appeared after a number of years.), Corona Park in Queens, New York.
One of the highlights was standing in front of the Forest Hills clubhouse one afternoon, talking with Tony Trabert, the former tennis icon, and Pat Summerall, an ex-New York Giants football star, who were handling the television commentary for CBS. Dick Savitt, the 1951 Australian and Wimbledon winner, was there too, and so was his girlfriend at the time. Renée (French for “reborn”) Richards, who we had known until recently as Richard Raskind, approached. He was a highly successful ophthalmologist before transition surgery. Actually, it was what had made the chat memorable.
A top intercollegiate tennis player at Yale University and good enough to play Forest Hills, in her pre-surgery days, she sued the USTA and after Judge Ascione stated, “This person is now a female”, had her entry in the tournament accepted. Richards moved from individual to individual, greeting each of us with “air” kisses. Savitt was at the end of the line and as she approached, he tried to ooze further away from the group. Richards, who is an adept conversationalist and a delight to chat with, picked up on Savitt’s “slip away” attempt. She walked up to him and gave him a solid kiss. Savitt looked as if he had had a heart attack.
Michael Fishbach is another “last US Open at Forest Hills” remembrance. He was a journeyman, a player who earned a place in the game’s history when he debuted a double-strung racquet which allowed him to put excessive spin on his shots. Australian Barry Phillips-Moore was the first to use a racquet strung in this manner. The “spaghetti” strung racquet (as it was called) enabled Fishbach to upset Billy Martin and Stan Smith. He lost to John Feaver of Great Britain, who admitted that the ball coming off his opponent’s racquet looked like it was an egg.
John McEnroe, who had reached the Wimbledon semifinal as a qualifier earlier in the summer, plays a role in the lookback. At 18, he made his tournament debut. As did 14-year-old Tracy Austin. McEnroe’s third-round night match against Eddie Dibbs, the No. 9 seed, was filled with New York “action” (It must be remembered that these were the days and nights of “Son of Sam”). The contest was interrupted by a gunshot that was fired from outside the grounds. The bullet wounded a spectator. Being a Douglaston, New York native, the young McEnroe was inured to the “turmoil”. Dibbs, who was known as “Fast Eddie”, cared about nothing more than getting out of there alive. He still lives, but he lost to McEnroe.
Connors, one of the most crassly behaving individuals to ever play, was in “Jimbo Form” in the semifinals against Corrado Barazzutti. The Italian challenged a line call, but before the chair umpire could extricate himself from his seat to check where the ball had landed, Connors, being true to his competitive dysfunction, sprinted around the net, went to the mark and quickly erased it with his tennis shoe.
The move to the sixteen-acre Flushing Meadow location was like having been a college student living in a dorm room for years, then taking up residence in a large house. It was “freeing”. Having regularly covered the US Open at Forest Hills, the new site was spacious. Initially, it seemed that a map would be needed in order to keep from getting lost just walking around the grounds.
Size aside, mention of the 1978 US Open immediately brings about memories of the flooding that happened. There was so much rain that, at times, it seemed practical to visit the locker room on the lower level of the Louis Armstrong Stadium wearing scuba gear. Because of the just finished construction, the drainage system didn’t do its job. I recall walking into the area where the photographers had storage lockers and realizing that a huge amount of very expensive equipment had been damaged or destroyed.
But, the multi-level press center tower dwarfed the “water park” memory. The press seating area, which had been miniscule at Forest Hills, was massive. There were descending rows of writing desks. They weren’t actual desks, but rows and rows of wooden planks with barstools to sit on. The layout, which on first sight appeared sizeable, was actually claustrophobic. It was almost like spending the day working at Slew’s Place but without the ambience. It was cramped, and it was in the days before everyone used a laptop. Even worse, late in the afternoon the sun blazed on the gigantic aquarium-like window facing the center court below. It was similar to trying to write a story in a sauna, which made staying hydrated essential.
Even in the pre-Nadal days, there were complaints about the Deco Turf II hard courts. Those whose careers were founded on their Terre battue (or Har-Tru) accomplishments believed the new surface was too quick. The unhappiness reached a crescendo thanks to the La Guardia and Kennedy Airport “fly overs” that regularly disrupted matches. (Former New York City Mayor David Dinkins [who is a tennis fan extraordinaire] stepped up and was able to have flights re-routed during the tournament.) As a group, though, the players were impressed by many of the amenities offered including the fact the locker rooms, dining areas and spots to relax were larger and all contained in one building. In short, the space provided a comfortable spacious atmosphere.
It was almost fitting that Connors, a fan favorite to many, after losing to Vilas the year before, picked up his third US Open title (on the third surface that the event had been played on) defeating Bjorn Borg of Sweden, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. The women’s final was an unveiling long before “the future is now…” concept had legs. True, Evert claimed her fourth consecutive championship, 7-5, 6-4, but the focus was on Pam Shriver, a lanky 16-year-old amateur, whom she defeated. Shriver, the youngest tournament finalist, was the “surprise” of the championships after defeating Navratilova in the semifinals. Playing only her second Grand Slam tournament, she drew even more notice using the oversized Prince racquet. Bob Lutz and Stan Smith earned the doubles crown, and King and Navratilova took women’s honors. McMillian and Stove continued their dominance, winning yet another mixed doubles final.
From a personal standpoint, Forest Hills was an elegant, historic location that wasn’t suited to host a later day US Open. Initially, Flushing Meadow wasn’t either but look at it now. “The House that Slew Built” has become a mansion.
