Pancho Gonzalez: Transitions

The Gonzales Brothers racing team qualified for the 1958 Nationals. Professional tennis kept Richard Gonzalez on the road much of the time. When he was at home, he enjoyed pool, poker, bowling, and hunting. He also still liked car racing. In fact, he and his brother, Ralph formed a drag-racing team called the Gonzales Brothers. Richard tuned the dragster and Ralph drove it. The Gonzales Brothers was one of the top teams around. They qualified second at the 1958 U.S. Nationals and even broke a few speed records. Henrietta, Richard’s wife, was not impressed. Gonzalez was in perpetual motion, and she wanted him to spend more time with his family. Although Gonzalez said that he loved his wife, he knew he could not be the kind of husband she wanted. In December of 1958 the two were divorced. In the meantime, Gonzalez worked with a writer named Cy Rice preparing his autobiography. The book was called "Man With a Racket," and it was published in 1959. Francisco "Pancho" Segura wrote the book's introduction, noting that Gonzalez was like a hurricane with one exception. As Segura put it, "Weather is fairly predictable." In many ways, though, Gonzalez was entirely predictable. While...