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Show pi FRANK K. BAKER fcAwJ I i ' TtUOAMSPORTt,IDITOIL, ' Fred Perry, former kingpin of England's Davis cup forces who will make a tennis appearance at the Deseret gym here March 2 with Ellsworth Vines, is the only player from overseas to win the American tennis championship title three times. Rene Lacoste of France won it twice, in 1028 and 1927; Henri Cochet once, in 1928, and Hugh L. Doherty of England In 1903. Perry, however, carried off the crown in 1933, 1934 and 1938 and thereby earned permanent possession of the challenge trophy. Had It not been for the injury which befell him in the first aet of his semifinal match with Wilmer Allison in 193S, he might have won the championship that year, too. With the exception of William Tilden, Perry is the only player to win the British championship at Wimbledon three times since 1913, when Anthony Wilding of Australia was crowned for the fourth year in a row. Perry became the Wimbledon Wim-bledon champion in 1934, and he hung onto the title in 1935 and 1938. Unlike Vincent Richards, Susanna Lenglen, Henri Cochet, Bene Lacoste and Betty Nuthall, Perry was no schoolboy wonder er child prodigy. Perry has played before a great many crowned beads. He baa gained financial stability and has learned te feel at kerne iw the palaces and most palatial mansions the world ever, but Perry has not been a child of wealth. His father was a half-timer la the cotton mills at Stockport, Cheshire, England, and young Perry did not even own a racquet until he was 18. Without money and without guidance from coache er players of experience, Perry became a world's champion cham-pion almost entirely through his own efforts and perse, erance. England loves to call him a self-made player whe became sold on the game from the time he first caught tight of it through the knothole in a fence .unwinding the courts at East port, where Charles Kingsley was playing play-ing in 1924. In 1927 Perry won hit first recognition, a junioi title at Northwood, and he joined the Herga club at Harrow, Har-row, where he met Frank Wilde, with whom he teamed in doubles. Perry qualified for Wimbledon in 1929 and reached the third round before losing to John Ollif f. The death of his mother In January, 1930, was a tremendous tremen-dous blow to the 21-year-old youth and doctors urged him to play more and more tennis in the hope that he would lose himself him-self In the game and overcome the nervous gloom caused by his mother's death. Young Perry took their tip and devoted more attention to his game, advancing to the finals of the hard court championship before losing to Bunny Austin in five sets. In the Wimbledon championship that followed he defeated defeat-ed Baron de Morpurgo of Italy and British net authorities began be-gan to take notice of him for the first time. Satisfied that Perry was one of the leading prospects in their hope of recouping English tennis prestige, the tennis fathers selected him as a member of a team to go to the United States and South America, Amer-ica, and he vindicated their confidence by winning the championship cham-pionship at Buenos Aires. In the spring of 1831 he took part in trials for the Davis eup team and was selected, along with Austin, Pat Hughes and Kingsley. Thus did Perry seven years after he had first seen game of tennis earn a place among the leaders of his country. Within two years mere Perry waa defeating Cachet to end the long blight of his country's Davis cup hopes and 1 years after he bad peeked through the knothole be was acclaimed ac-claimed aa the first fc-lton te win the championship of his country la a quarter of a century. That victory established hurt at the pinnacle of the tennis world, at the inheritor of the mantle that had been worn br Tilden, Cochet, Vines, and as the greatest player produced in England since the days of the Dohertys, almost al-most 30 years before. But Perry did not stop thereFor the last three years he has ruled the amateur courts with a record surpassed in our time only by Tilden. His triumph oyer Jack Crawford Craw-ford at Forest Hills in 1933 stopped the Australian in his effort to score a "grand slam" after he had won the British, Brit-ish, French and Australian titles. Since then Perry has been almost invincible in championship cham-pionship play. He has won the title at Wimbledon three times, he has won eight successive singles matches in four Davis cup challenge rounds, he has carried off the championships cham-pionships of France, Australia, Argentina and other countries coun-tries in Europe all in addition to being the only player from abroad to ever win the American crown three times. Without doubt, Perry is one of the greatest sports attractions attrac-tions today, and his appearance here with Vines, Bruce Barnes and George Lett promises the greatest tennis program ever held in the state. The junior chamber of commerca is to be congratulated con-gratulated for arranging to bring the attraction here. At the aama time, it is undertaking a gigantic responsibility in arranging arrang-ing a "million details' so that the exhibition will really please the fans. Harry Wills is about to start his twenty-fifth annual starvation starva-tion diet ... in which he gets no nourishment except water for month ... Barry says Joe Louis will never be champion "until he changes his style and his complexion.' |