Talk:Mercer Beasley

All of the below is source material that I may use to expand the article

email from Brook:

Vines wrote an article titled "The Insignificant Cause of Our Davis Cup Defeat?" for American Lawn Tennis (August 5, 1933 p11) in the same issue Wilmer Allison that wrote "The Indictment of 'Over-Training'" (17) in response to the unfortunate Davis Cup result.

This is by Vines:

"To say our captains don't know their tennis is rot. We players have every confidence in them and they themselves are old time players" and blames the loss on "the most obvious of all reasons...the French are great players. Why not give them their due credit? It has not been the ball, the court, the gallery, the training methods that have beaten us, but the players themselves....You may call it an upset if you wish, but we were beaten through superior play." (11)

Vines never mentions Beasley.

This is by Allison:

"This year's Davis Cup Committee and especially its chairman, Mr. Prentice, left no stone unturned to see that we arrived at the Inter-Zonal final in perfect physical and mental condition...Things were nearly as perfect as it was possible for Captain Prentice and Mr. Lawrence Baker to make them, and yet we were beaten decisively. Neither Vines nor I were able to win a singles match. The more one looks at it and tries to analyze it, the more convinced one becomes that we were beaten purely and simply because Perry and Austin were better tennis players." (17)

Again, no mention of Beasley.

The following is from the September 5, 1933 edition (one month later):

"Report of Davis Cup Committee". American Lawn Tennis. Bernon Prentice, Chairman [italics given]. September 5, 1933. (26)

"As to the coaching of our team, Mercer Beasley went to France as a correspondent of an American newspaper syndicate. He was not officially attached in any way to our team. Both Vines and Allison urgently asked to have him go with us to France, which we found impossible; and they were pleased to hear that he was to make the trip independently. He made himself available at all times to them when called upon". (26)

Note from BZ: Tilden offered his services as well, to which Prentice thanks him for his "kind offer and the spirit in which it is given". (26)

Prentice continues: "the boys will have all the tennis they should have prior to the Challenge Round, should we be lucky enough to qualify for it. They will probably want to play very little during that period anyway". (26)

Was Davis Cup double elimination back then? (Allison mentions losing to the Brits while Vines mentions the French).

Who, I wonder, is Mr. Lawrence Baker?

So Beas, though apparently influential, is off officially off the hook. But how deep was Beasley's involvement with the team, you gotta wonder? And what the dialogue was like between Beasley and Prentice? Or Baker?? Was any official agreement reached regarding Beasley and working with the team? This is such a weird story!!

Oh…can Citizendium mention Ruth Aaron Hughes in connection with Beasley's book? She's in the Table Tennis Hall of Fame, and writes that she learned to play the game by applying the principles in Beasley's book to the table.

Beasley wrote the model for disciple Barbara Breit-Gordon's wonderful, Socratic instructional series "Lessons from the Master" for World Tennis. For my money Breit's series rates among the best of all time. The note introducing the series says "For 'Teacher' in this article substitute 'Mercer Beasley'". ("Carol Learns to Watch the Ball". Barbara Breit-Gordon. World Tennis, April 1971. 70-72) Breit wrote the series which appeared quite regularly quite a few years, beginning in April, 1971 and going until at least May, 1977..

Beasley's precursory instructional series for American Lawn Tennis was called "Phil Brady, Club Player". I don't know how long it lasted (it was not as long-lived as Breit's column) but it was a dialogue between his coach and, of course, Phil Brady….club player.

Overall, it's looking like Beasley's contribution to tennis letters is significant. From what I could glean out west from he was a frequent contributor to American Lawn Tennis especially from 1948-1951, writing instructional columns, tournament summaries and analyses, tennis items and an array of series, like the one on "Phil Brady". There is another really cool and doubtless important series on the health and prosperity of the sport as it existed in the public parks. See for example: "Public Park Survey: New York City" (American Lawn Tennis, August 15, 1949 (22-23) or "Public Park Survey: Philadelphia" (American Lawn Tennis, September 1, 1949 12-13).

Like grandfather, like grandson

It would seem that courts are a unifying principle. --Howard C. Berkowitz 04:25, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Dunno about the son in between, however -- mebbe he wuz a Court Jester (subject of an article?) Hayford Peirce 04:30, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Perhaps the son had an unfortunate confusion between the chalice from the palace with the vessel with the pestle? --Howard C. Berkowitz 04:42, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Get it? Got it! Good! Hayford Peirce 04:44, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Hayford, you've created a gem here. Very interesting reading. Chris Day 22:57, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

wait'll you see my 1924 NYC aerial photo of the Notlek courts! (maybe -- it's hard to distinguish, but if the address is correct, it has to be them.) Thanks for the kind words! (there's a website with 1924 NYC from the air!) Hayford Peirce 23:38, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Definite Midge info

Married

Midge Gladman Van Ryn to Richard Buck on March 1, in Chula Vista, CA. Midge was first married (and later divorced) to Davis Cupper John Van Ryn. Richard's first marriage also ended in divorce. Midge is best knwon for her doubles prowess and attended college at the University of Southern California. 1947

from http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?t=398117 Hayford Peirce 01:53, 5 March 2010 (UTC)