The Life of Tony Trabert
Part 2
Mark Winters
Because the US was involved in the Korean War, Trabert was drafted in September 1951. He spent nearly two years in the US Navy, most of it on the Coral Sea, an aircraft carrier that cruised the Mediterranean for six months during his time with the Navy.
He worked as a Captain's Talker on the bridge relaying orders but was given liberty to compete at Roland Garros in 1952. Though he hadn't been playing, he was the No. 5 seed. In the fourth round, he faced Felicisimo Ampon, who supposedly was 5 feet 3 inches tall, but in reality, was barely five feet. Nonetheless, the No. 12 seed from the Philippines was a dogged competitor and rarely missed. That day, he didn't, and he won, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.
In late June, Trabert had hoped to play The Championships in London. The Naval Department gave him permission, but the captain wouldn't grant him liberty. Trabert later said that the Coral Sea captain wanted to make sure it was known who was in charge of the ship. During his time in the Navy, Trabert missed nine of the eleven Grand Slam tournaments that were played.
He was granted a 30-day furlough during the winter of 1952 to play Davis Cup. In the Inter-Zonal final, played on the grass at White City Stadium in Sydney, December 18-20, Trabert, along with Vic Seixas and Richardson, defeated Italy, 5-0. In the Challenge Round against Australia, it was a completely different story. At Memorial Drive Park, December 29-31, at the grass court complex in Adelaide, the Australian standouts Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman throttled Trabert and Seixas, 4-1.
This past April, Fred Stolle talked with me from his home in Florida about Trabert, his close friend. "I first met him when I was 13 at the Davis Cup," he said. "I was one of the ball boys and was small, barely came up to the top of the Davis Cup. He always had a kind word for us. He took care of us and even hit a few balls with the kids." Stolle had turned 13 on October 8th that year.
At the time, the youngster who went on be nicknamed "Fiery Fred" by his Aussie mates because of his outspoken competitiveness, had no idea that he would have a superlative career that would earn him International Tennis Hall of Fame recognition in 1985.
In the spring of 1953, Trabert was waiting anxiously to be discharged from the Navy. While "counting down the days" he focused on doing everything possible to prepare for his return to tennis.
Since he was based in San Diego, he was able to garner leave to play "The Ojai" tournament, the oldest tennis competition to take place in one location in the US. It has been staged since 1896 in a picturesque valley filled with orange and avocado groves. Ojai is north of Los Angeles and inland from the coastal town of Ventura.
Trabert added his name to an illustrious list of Men's Open Invitational Singles winners that included Bill Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Jack Kramer and Richard Gonzalez. He defeated Herb Flam then teamed with Bill Crosby to down a brothers' tandem, Clyde and Glenn Hippenstiel in the Men's Open Invitational Doubles final. In 1971, he staged a home coming of sorts when he established the Tony Trabert Tennis Camp at The Thacher School in Ojai.
Two months later, he was granted leave to participate in the USLTA National Men's Hard Court Championships, June 7 – 13, at the Salt Lake Tennis Club. Unranked in 1952 because his military obligation didn't allow him to play many tournaments, Trabert defeated US No. 8, Tom Brown in the singles final, 6-4, 11-9, 6-4. The two then teamed up to win the doubles.
Not only was he a winner on court, he enjoyed more success off it. As a long time friend of mine explained, "I was running the tournament . We had asked girls from the University of Utah, to be hostesses and ushers. Shauna Wood, whom I only knew to say 'hi' to at the University, had just become Miss Utah. She would go on to represent the state in the Miss Universe contest. I seized the opportunity to get a publicity picture and arranged for a photo of Tony and Shauna, which I still have, with the caption 'Mr. International Tennis player meets Miss Utah'. It was love at first sight."
My friend continued, "There were rain delays during play, so they had time to visit and talk. After the tournament and dates with Tony over that weekend, she began calling me asking what I knew about Tony and about tennis.
"They saw each other again in Long Beach where the Miss Universe contest was held. Shauna talked her chaperon into letting her eat alone with Tony. Their telephone calls started.
The next time I saw Tony, after he had been discharged, was in Chicago at the 1953 USLTA National Clay Courts Championships in August. That was when I learned he had invited her to come to the tournament in New York. Her father said she could go, but only if I went with her. I did not know Shauna that well until that time."
The USLTA National Championships was played at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York from August 29th until September 7th. Trabert realized his "release from the Navy goal" by being ready for the nationals. In the men's final, he defeated Seixas, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles trophy.
My friend added, "Their telephone courtship started at the end of July. They got engaged at the Nationals in New York and were married October 26th at the Salt Lake Country Club. The reason for the quick wedding was because Tony was going to Australia for the Australian Championships (January 22 – February 1) and if they were not married, they would have been apart for months."
The fact he finished the year No. 1 in the Men's US rankings made 1953 even more special and established a high level of expectation for the coming season.
