Rick Vetter can still rattle off all the bold-faced names he saw as a teenage fanatic on the tennis courts at The Town Club back in the late 1960s.
“You had guys like Cliff Richey, Nancy Richey, Stan Smith, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Fred Stolle,” Vetter said.
In an often-overlooked bit of Milwaukee sports history, the club in Fox Point played host to the United States Clay Court Championships from 1966-68. It was a big stop during a very different era of tennis.
It certainly made a big impression on Vetter, who grew up in Elm Grove. Now 75, he’s done a little of everything in tennis. He played at Michigan State. He’s been teaching for the last 53 years. He owned the Mequon Racquet Club and Fitness Center for 27 years. He coached two squads in World Team Tennis. In a full-circle moment, he was the tennis director for over a decade at The Town Club on those same clay courts on which he watched those larger-than-life players.
“It’s fantastic,” Vetter said. “It’s an inspiration because you’re seeing some of the best players in the world.
“So as a kid when you’re playing the game and you see this, it’s very motivating and exciting. You want to go back on the court and think that you’re them. I want to play like them. It was very motivating and I’m sure it was for a lot of kids.”
Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King played in Milwaukee in pre-Open tennis era
Milwaukee got the United States Clay Court Championships for those three years because of … well, beer, of course.
The tournament had been around since the early 1900s, moving around before finding a home at the River Forest Tennis Club in suburban Chicago for most of three decades.
But Schlitz Brewing Company and its president, Robert Uihlein Jr., guaranteed the United States Lawn Tennis Association $10,000, much more than it got from River Forest.
So The Town Club was awarded the tournament in January 1966, and prepared to host it that July. Bleachers were expanded to hold 3,000 fans. Three more clay courts were added to the original six.
In 1966, 64 men and 32 women made up the draw. Brother-and-sister duo Cliff and Nancy Richey claimed the titles. Nancy’s three wins in Milwaukee capped her run of six straight U.S. Clay Court titles.
This was near the end of the amateur reign in tennis. Major tournaments were only open to non-professionals, who only received travel expenses, until 1968 when pros were allowed to compete in Grand Slams to start the “Open” era.
Ashe didn’t compete in Milwaukee in 1966 because he was busy as an Army lieutenant and also working for tobacco company Phillip Morris International. Ashe was at The Town Club the next two years, winning the championship match in 1967 over Marty Riessen. Clark Graebner won in 1968.
In 1967, the Milwaukee Journal’s “Society Editor” ran a long feature story ahead of the tournament on Billie Jean Moffitt King, who was a newly minted star after two straight Wimbledon titles, but it focused mainly on King’s relationship with her then-husband Larry.
Players stayed at the homes of Town Club members.
A vastly different era, indeed.
“(Tennis) did have a pro circuit, but that was separate,” Vetter said. “Where guys like (Rod) Laver and (Ken) Rosewall, those guys of that era, they ended up playing the pro circuit. Jack Kramer ran a circuit.
“But pretty much it was amateur. But I think they probably got paid under the table as far as draw and expenses and stuff like that.”
Schlitz decided after its three-year commitment to not put up the money anymore, and the U.S. Clay Court Championships moved on. Since 2001, the men’s tournament has been in Houston. The women’s event ended in 1986.
The Town Club in Fox Point still boasts clay courts
Local tennis aficionados can still play on The Town Club’s clay courts just like Ashe and King did.
“The first six (courts) right next to the swimming pool at the club, they’re original and and they’re in unbelievable shape,” Vetter said.
“Technically a lifespan of a clay court is about 25, maybe 30 years if you’re lucky. And those courts, they’ve been there for over 50 years now. They’re in amazing shape. But they’ve been taken care of by the staff and the club.”
Off the top of his head, Vetter could only think of one other Milwaukee club that still has clay courts. He loves teaching on clay because the surface lends itself to longer rallies.
“The only difference is you people have to learn how to slide,” Vetter said. “Clay is a phenomenal teaching surface from a tactical standpoint where kids, adults, players have to be more patient.
“They have to learn to construct the point. Where on a hard court, sometimes if you hit a hard shot, it’s a winning shot. On a clay court, it’s not. It slows down. The ball slows down.”
The Town Club has 15 clay courts. They are different than the red-clay ones found at the French Open.
“The green clay is probably a little bit faster,” Vetter said. “The ball skids through it a little bit more.
“Where the red clay, it’s a little heavier and the ball sits up a little more. The surface is a little bit slower.”
Roland Garros’ courts also hold a lot of history.
So do The Town Club’s.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee once drew Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King to clay-court tourney
Reporting by Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
