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Literally and figuratively at 784 pages, the just-released The Bud Collins History of Tennis is the big book of the game. Between its soft covers awaits a prodigious compilation of historical tennis information, including year-by-year recaps of every tennis season, biographical sketches of every major tennis personality, as well as stats, records, and championship rolls for all the major events. The back jacket even sports a color photograph of the flamboyant Collins in his signature rainbow pantaloons just to round out the comprehensive treatment of the game. Tennis journalist, broadcaster and personality, Collins is also the longtime columnist for the Boston Globe and a 1994 inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Born in 1929, Collins has fluttered around the courts for decades and counts among his friends the greats of the game. These personal relationships with major tennis stars offer insights into the world of professional tennis found nowhere else and give vibrancy and life to the reams of statistical data he provides in The Bud Collins History of Tennis. Little surprise, then, that Hall of Famer Billie Jean King is among both Collins' most captivating chapters and praising critics. “We can’t move forward if we don’t understand and appreciate our past. This book not only provides us with accurate reporting of the rich tennis history, it keeps us current on the progress of the sport today," wrote King on the release of the book by New Chapter Press. The chronological photographic framework of the book also underpins the fashion and equipment history of tennis. A 1925 portrait of Rene Lacoste and Suzanne Lenglen in the wake of their French Open and Wimbledon victories leaves one wondering what such athletes could have done with today’s Nike garb and gear. Collins knows the game on all sides. After his first visit to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island he vowed that he would return as something more than a wide-eyed spectator. Enthralled, I wanted to come back. I wanted to play on those courts. Fortunately, I did (losing, of course, in the first round of the U.S. Amateur Grass Court Championships in 1976). Often I have returned to the elder among the world’s tennis parlors, to absorb the atmosphere so pleasing and curative to a tennis degenerate. Sucking up the sea breeze, I walk where great champions have roamed and been enshrined, commune with their ghosts, explore the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s museum, examine the artifacts and displays in the treasure trove of memories. In short, Collins' tome is for everyone whose taste is tennis. For the novice, the book presents the perfect marriage of both data and personality. For the expert, Collins knows more about the game than anyone – hands and rackets down.
John Budris is the editor of HOFN.com. He can be reached at
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