This is one of those unbelievable true stories that you hear and think, “why didn’t I know about this, before?”
The public radio show, “The World” had an absolutely fascinating interview with Marshall Jon Fisher, author of the new book A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever.
No, this isn’t about Federer vs. Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final (that book is coming out soon!). It’s about another match that was played on Wimbledon’s Centre Court: the decisive fifth rubber of the 1937 Davis Cup semifinals between the American Don Budge and Germany’s Gottfried von Cramm.
The author makes this comparison between these two famous matches:
“Last year there was an incredible tennis final, the Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal. And for pure tennis, it was just as good (as Budge vs. von Cramm). But what was it? It was a couple of millionaires playing for their own glory. The stakes weren’t nearly as high.
So let’s get to the stakes:
In 1937, Davis Cup was an international sensation, and the match, on the eve of World War II, was said to “slow down Wall Street” when it was broadcast over radio. Don Budge was the World No. 1 player, he’d beat von Cramm in both the Wimbledon (see above photo) and U.S. Open finals that year. Von Cramm was considered the most popular tennis player in the world, a handsome, blonde gentleman with two French Open titles. This match was such a big deal that Hitler supposedly called von Cramm moments before the match for a last minute pep talk.
Budge later described von Cramm’s reaction to that call: “(He) came out pale and serious and played as if his life depended on every point.”
Maybe because it did. Von Cramm was gay, and he knew that bringing glory to his Fuehrer was the only way he’d be tolerated.
Von Cramm played well enough to win the first two sets against Budge, and was up 4-1 in the fifth set. But the World No. 1 made a come back, winning the match 6-8, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 8-6 and securing the tie for the U.S.A. For Don Budge it was a legendary victory, but for von Cramm it was much more than a tough loss. The Gestapo imprisoned him in 1938.
Oh, and the third extraordinary man referenced in the book’s title is Big Bill Tilden. The all-time great acted as the German team’s unofficial coach that year. He was also a homosexual.
Here are Don Budge’s comments about the match (from the Authentic History Center). Click here to hear Budge tell the story in his own words:
As Cramm and I were leaving the locker room, the telephone rang and Cramm was called back, and it was Hitler calling him to wish him good luck, in this particular match. Of course it was quite exciting because the fellow who had charge of getting the players out on the court on time had both of us by the arm, he wouldn’t let Cramm go, and Cram was saying, “Yes Mein Fuehrer,” this and that, and it got to be quite a tense moment. However, we finally did get out on the court. And I managed to win the 3rd and 4th, and right away I was down 4-1 in the 5th set. I decided I had to get the net position away from him in the worst way. So with this in mind I made up my mind I would try to return his serve and go in behind it. Well as luck had it I did manage to get my returns in, get in to the net and make some winning volleys. I broke his serve and from there on it went to 6-all. Finally at 7-6 I broke his serve, and after 6 match points, finally won the thing, after a great struggle–falling down on the ground on my last point–but making the shot nonetheless. But as we shook hands at the net, I’ll never forget what Cram said, he said, “Don,” he said, “I’m very happy that I played so well against you, whom I like so much, and it was the best tennis I’ve every played in my life, so congratulations to the best man on this particular occasion.”
But guess what – the book’s author has reason to believe that Don Budge was fibbing. Von Cramm (who survived his time in jail) said later that the phone call never happened, and no other evidence exists to support Budge’s recollection. Just another intriguing and strange anecdote from this amazing story. . .
I’ve embedded the audio from The World’s interview with Fisher above. But I urge you to click here to visit the show’s website. Besides the interview, it has a wonderful audio slide show featuring photographs of both the players (Gottfried was the era’s Feliciano Lopez) and the times they played in.
Click below to order the book A Terrible Splendor from Amazon.
And big thanks to Alice Marble (the GTT commenter, not Budge’s mixed doubles partner!) for forwarding this story to me.
Photos from Jon Marshall Fisher via The World website.
Tags: 1937, Davis Cup, Don Budge, Gottfried von Cramm, Hitler, Nazi Germany, tennis, Wimbledon
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I just finished the book last night and it was great. And I’m with you on the “How did I not know about this before?” reaction.
Hey C Note! Very cool. I’m looking forward to reading it, too. Between this one, Jon Wertheim’s new book, “Levels of the Game,” and a “Handful of Summers” I may as well be taking an extension course in Tennis Lit.
I heard this on the radio yesterday. It was seriously awesome.
Hi jfk! So had you heard about the match before?
I’d never even heard of Gottfired von Cramm!
“The once famous “tennis baron” is scarcely remembered today. When Boris Becker won his first Wimbledon, he announced in all the innocence of his 17 years that perhaps his victory would give the sport a needed boost in his country, because “in Germany, we never had an idol before in tennis.” Becker’s victory came on July 7, 1985, which would have been Von Cramm’s 76th birthday.”
via http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138011/1/index.htm
I think this says it all. The article is from 1993. I found it a while ago.
There is currently no german book about Gottfried von Cramm available.
Loreley, thanks for sharing this fantastic article with us! I’m seriously OBSESSED over this unbelievable person. It’s a real shame that he isn’t one of the great heroes of sport – I hope this book and the buzz around it will bring him to prominence.
Maybe you should write the German book
Loreley, thanks so much for the link to that SI article. Like FF, I’m amazed at this man, and I’m so glad that thanks to NPR and you I’m getting to know him better.
Loved this quote from the article:
“At the ‘35 Wimbledon, Budge, who had admired the baron from afar, was eager to meet him.
Von Cramm, however, was not smiling when he introduced himself to Budge, and after congratulating him on his quarterfinal victory, the baron took the younger man aside for a serious chat. “Don,” Budge recalls him saying, “you were a poor sport out there today.”
Budge was flabbergasted. The baron was considered the arbiter of court etiquette, and Budge, like most players of the time, sought to emulate him. Budge couldn’t for the life of him imagine what he had done wrong. “Do you recall,” Von Cramm continued in his perfect English, “that when the linesman gave Bunny a bad call on a ball that clearly hit the chalk, you deliberately double-faulted to compensate for it?” Budge did. It was common then, at a time when linesmen’s decisions were seldom disputed, for a player to lose a point deliberately if he felt his opponent had been victimized by a bad call.
Mystified, Budge asked Von Cramm what was so wrong about that. “But you must see, Don,” the baron replied, “that by doing what you did, you embarrassed that linesman in front of 15,000 people. It is unthinkable.”
“After that,” Budge said later, “I played the game the way it was called.”
Oh, I do have to say that I had heard of The Count. My father-in-law saw many of the great ones in the 30s and 40s, and he always mentioned Van Cramm.
Great story and great addendum Mamafrites
Fascinating! Sign me up for the Tennis Lit. extension course!