Richard Gonzalez:
U.S. National Champion

Doreen Gonzales

In 1947, Gonzalez defeated the Czech Jaroslav Drobny, then the number 5 player in the world.

In September 1947, Richard Gonzalez made his first appearance at the United States National Championships. This tournament was played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. The top-seeded player there that year was Jack Kramer. Frankie Parker was seeded number two and Gardnar Mulloy number three. In his premier outing at the U.S.'s most prestigious amateur tournament, Gonzalez played so well that he almost beat Mulloy.

When Gonzalez returned to Los Angeles, he played in the Pacific Southwest Tournament. There he defeated Czechoslovakian Jaroslav Drobny, the number-five-ranked player in the world, and Parker, the number three-ranked. But in the next round, Gonzalez lost to Ted Schroeder.

Gonzalez's successes brought him new attention. With this attention came closer scrutiny and tennis fans soon saw that he was different from other players. First of all, he was Mexican-American. Second, he was not the socially sophisticated young man that many people assumed tennis players to be. Gonzalez smoked cigarettes and played poker. He often stayed out until the early hours of the morning. He enjoyed an occasional beer. At times, he seemed a little too relaxed as he sat courtside waiting to play.

Sports reporters noticed Gonzalez, too. They wrote about his cannonball serve, his dynamic play at the net, and his attacking style in conquering an opponent. They also reported that Gonzalez had an easygoing, relaxed outlook on training. Some people saw these comments as thinly disguised references to the "lazy Mexican" stereotype. Whether these were racist comments or not, Gonzalez found himself in a world where his ethnic and working-class background stood out.

Was Gonzalez too "relaxed" for the tennis establishment and sports media?

Gonzalez later recalled that it was at this point that he began seeing the subtle but definite edges of racism. For example, he often heard spectators commenting about the deep scar on his cheek. Many people assumed it had been caused in a knife fight. According to Gonzalez, some people believed that "a knife scar and a Mexican American youth go hand in hand." In fact, one radio program even broadcast an entirely made-up skit in which Gonzalez was in a fight and received this scar from a knife wound.

At the time, African-Americans often encountered more direct forms of racism in tennis. Many were openly barred from tournaments, no matter how talented they were. For example, although Oscar Johnson had won the Pacific Coast junior title every year from 1946-1948, he was told he could not play in a St. Louis tournament because he was an African-American.

When Johnson and his lawyer challenged the decision, he was admitted. Even so, excluding African-Americans from tennis tournaments remained a common practice across the U.S.

By the end of 1947, Gonzalez was ranked the seventeenth best player in the U.S. He had earned this ranking by playing well in ten different tournaments around the country. Unfortunately, Gonzalez had unknowingly broken a United States Lawn Tennis Association rule.

The USLTA (predecessor to the modern USTA) was the organization that regulated amateur tennis in the U.S. It allowed American amateurs to accept expense money for only eight tournaments a year. Any more than that would make a player a professional. The distinction between amateurs and professionals was an important one.

In 1947, Perry Jones defended Gonzalez to the USLTA.

Amateurs were not allowed to make money from tennis. They could not win prizes, endorse products, or give lessons. The only money amateurs could receive for tennis was the money it cost them to attend tournaments. Professionals, on the other hand, could make money from the sport. They could earn championship purses, be paid to advertise products, or coach.

In the era before open tennis, being a professional had huge drawbacks. Professionals were not allowed to enter the Grand Slams or compete in Davis Cup.

In 1947, the USLTA board met to decide on Gonzalez's amateur status. Perry Jones went to the meeting to defend Gonzalez. He described him as a wonderful and dignified young man. Jones convinced the board that an appropriate penalty for Gonzalez would be suspension from tournament play from February to June of 1948.

Richard and his first wife Henrietta, secretly married without telling either family.

Gonzalez's penalty would keep him out of tennis for several months. However, the most important U.S. tournaments were held after June, and Gonzalez would be allowed to participate in these. Of course, Gonzalez did not sit around waiting for his suspension to end. He practiced daily. He also developed a new interest. Her name was Henrietta Pedrin.

Gonzalez met the seventeen-year-old at one of his sister's parties. The five-foot one-inch, ninety-eight pound beauty made his heart pound. Gonzalez took Henrietta on a date the very next evening, and from then on they were constant companions. Each afternoon Henrietta watched Gonzalez practice tennis. At night they went dancing.

Two months later, Gonzalez asked Henrietta to marry him. She said yes. But both knew their parents would be against the marriage. Henrietta was very young, and Gonzalez was supposed to be giving tennis his full attention. So one day in March, the two drove to Arizona where they were married quickly and quietly. They kept their wedding a secret and returned to their parents' homes as if nothing had changed.

Then one day Henrietta's mother decided that her daughter was spending too much time with Gonzalez. When Gonzalez came to pick her up, Mrs. Pedrin informed him that her daughter was staying home. Gonzalez was so upset he let the secret out. He told Mrs. Pedrin that he had a right to see his own wife.

In 1947 Jack Kramer made a monumental announcement.

The newlyweds then moved into a small apartment and lived on expense money Gonzalez had saved from his tennis travels. The money did not go far. So when the Mexican government approached him with a unique offer, Gonzalez was interested.

Mexican officials wanted Gonzalez to play tennis for Mexico. If he would become a Mexican citizen, the officials told him, the government would pay for a college education and give Gonzalez money to travel around the world to play tennis.

Furthermore, the government would guarantee Gonzalez a lifelong job at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles. This was an attractive offer to a young man who knew he wanted to spend his life playing tennis but had no way to finance this dream.

Gonzalez thought about the offer for several weeks. Then a friend inadvertently helped him make up his mind. The friend asked Gonzalez if he would rather be on a Mexican or United States Davis Cup team. Suddenly, Gonzalez's answer was crystal clear. There was only one nation he wanted to represent in international play--the United States. That settled the matter.

Ted Scrhoeder’s boastful attitude had an effect on Richard.

As soon as his suspension was lifted, Gonzalez was back on the courts in tournament action. In Chicago, he walked away with the first place trophy in the National Clay Court Championships. Next he won the state championships of both California and New Jersey.

At the end of 1947, Jack Kramer had made a monumental announcement--he was turning professional. This news sent the amateur world scrambling. With Kramer out of the picture, there were several players capable of winning the 1948 U.S. Championship, and Richard Gonzalez believed he was one of them.

Throughout the summer, Gonzalez had been watching the other top players closely. He had made mental notes of their weaknesses and mentally filed the information away. He hoped he would get a chance to use it at the U.S. National Championships in September. But most people were betting on Ted Schroeder to win the title. Schroeder had won the U.S. Championship in 1942, and many felt he was reaching his peak.

Gonzalez had already lost to Schroeder several times in various tournaments. According to Gonzalez, Schroeder had a psychological hold over him. Whenever the two met in a locker room before a match, Schroeder's boastful remarks to Gonzalez deflated his morale. Gonzalez claimed this made him play poorly. He knew that Schroeder would be an obstacle to his dreams of glory at Forest Hills.

Frank Shields: Gonzalez only friend at the U.S. Championships.

Then Schroeder decided not to enter the 1948 national tournament. Now Gonzalez was positive he could take the title.

Not many people agreed. Most tennis experts were accustomed to watching their stars grow from childhood. This was only the second season Gonzalez had played in major competition, so to them he was a novice. Talented or not, many believed that it took years for championship players to develop. Few believed that Gonzalez would even make it to the final match.

Tournament officials seemed to feel the same. They seeded Gonzalez at only number eight. But all the experts in the world could not stifle Gonzalez's burning ambition. He left for Forest Hills in September, confident that he would return to Los Angeles as the U.S. amateur tennis champion.

Gonzalez was on his own at the national tournament. He had no coach telling him what to do and no trainer overseeing his conditioning. He could practice or not, develop a strategy or not, the choice was his.

Richard Gonzalez: U.S. National Champion, 1948.

The only advice he received came from his new friend, Frank Shields. Shields told Gonzalez to play hard for every point. He did. In the quarterfinal round Gonzalez beat the number-one seed, Parker, a former U.S. and French champion.

He then advanced to the semifinals where he would meet Jaroslav Drobny. The other semifinal match was between South Africa's Eric Sturgess and Herbie Flam. Gonzalez believed that he could beat Flam if the two met in the final. First, though, Gonzalez had to beat Drobny. Drobny played well and won the first set, 10-8.

But then, in what one writer called a dazzling exhibition of speed and power, Gonzalez won the next three sets to win the match. In the meantime, Sturgess beat Flam setting up a final round match between Richard Gonzalez and Eric Sturgess.

Spectators packed the stadium at Forest Hills on September 19, 1948, eager to witness the Gonzalez-Sturgess match. Gonzalez stepped onto the court hungry for victory. He took the first set, 6-2. Then he won the second set, 6-3. Gonzalez and Sturgess exchanged leads several times in the third set until the score was 13-12, Gonzalez.

As evening descended on the court, officials decided it was getting too dark to play. They told Gonzalez and Sturgess that they could play one more game. If this did not decide the contest, the match would be finished the next day. A proverb flashed through Gonzalez's mind. "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today." Gonzalez won the next game to claim the third set and the United States National Championship!