New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Big Increase in Number
OF Boy Tennis Player,
Myrick an,
Saunders Deserve Praise
Should Be More C;rle'
Journeys
By Fred Hawthorne

upon three or TOUR men IN this csy
rests the credit for the tremendon. :.
crease in the number Of schoolbov La.
tennis players of quality in the rn;...
States during 1917. Frederick A.
ander, former national doubles c,.-
pion and Davis Cup star; Julian
Myrick, acting president of the Unit
States National Lawn Tennis Assoc.
tion; II. r. Saundcrs. Of this cj.v 49,,
his son. Goddard Weld Saunders
junior player Of much promise. ara q.
particular individuals we have in u;,s
1t was Alexander who initiated ~.
junior tennis tournaments in a..
metropolitan district some two or .b,a.
years ago. Not only did the faroorJ
internationalist get the boys Inc COM.
to play on, bur he devoted his tim,
continuously TO the tournaments wb;.
they were in progress, umpir;ng all Tho
important matches and taxing ~,
sonal interest in the young PLAYER,
With such master OF court craft >,
direct them, it is no wonder the bor.
went ahead with great strides.
Myrick's influence was more gensrs,
but none the less fully a. i.nportan,
He it was who conceived me idea NJ
forming "tennis centres" in fortv.sv,
different cities between the Atap,;.
and Pacific coasts, and it was throu,l
this method that hundreds Of Inv.
took up the game in earnest and Do.
veloped their skill rapidly.
Trophy Aroused Interest
Mr.. Saunders, through his son. added
great impetus to the movement bv
the offering Of the Goddard Weld
Saunders championship bowl, massive
silver tropy. gold iined. that is to re.
main IN perpetual competition. Since
1915, when this bowl was first played
Tor, IN the Junior metropolitan cham
Ilonshlp Of that year, the names o.
Harold a. Throckmorton. former ma.
uonal lnterscholasti champion. and
Charles S. Garland - +s5GrgA have
been engraved on it's sidea.
After Throckmortu.. ctorv il was
decided to offer the tropay for com.
petition in the annual NAT onal iunior
championship singles on outdoor
courts, and in 1916 and 1917 Garland
came through strong fields to win.
Last August, on the West Side Tennis
Club courts, at Forest Hills. Long Isl.
and, Garland ou.classed his rivals and
took the title with ease. H will still
be under the junior age limit of nine.
teen years when the next cham ponshp
tournament is played next August ana
1t would not De surprising TO see hin
capture the honors once more.
But it is also probable that Garhzd
Will face sterner opposition when y.
defends his title next summer. Their
are several junior players who shoua
be quite capable Of extending him On
that occasion, boys who were lacking
bit in experience the last time.
Edmund II. Hendrickson. national in
door Junior title holder; Vincent Rich
ards. who won the boys championshi,
at Forest Hills last August; Harold L
Taylor, OF Brooklyn. runner-up TO Hen
erickson, and possibly little Cecil Don
aldson. who is only fourteen years old
ray prove stumbling blocks in Gar
lands path toward another champion
ship. not to mention Gerald Emerson
OF East Orange. youngster os the
Gashing, hard-hi.ting type. who only
needs to gain control to be dangerous
to any CT the younger players
We are referring only to boys right
here in the METROPOLITAN district. It Is
not improbable that the rest of the
country viii have developed some bud
Ding genluses Of the courts in the
meantime.
An Encouraging Change
II is all a wonderful and an encour-
aging charge from conditions tat pre-
vailed five wears ago. There are Ter
scho olboy players today capable Of
r!aylng on efen terms With some of
the ranking men OF the country, CON-
pared to one in 1872 And this increase
in the number OF first class riayers is
bound to continue in the years 70 come
BY the time the Davis Cup matches are
resumed and grant that It may be
soon !-America viii be able to put
forth team capable of holding its
own with any aggregation in the world
Would it not be splendid hing to
start movement similar TO this among
the feminine players OF the landf
There are many more women players
Of the first rank in England than there
are in this country, and il IS because
the game is played far more extern
sively there among the girls ard women
than on this side Of the Atlantic
There are nos enough tournaments
for the women over here. The fairsr
and the weaker sex do not ge. enough
consideration from the CLUBS. and it is
only recently that women tourns-
ments have been regarded with the
proper appreciation
Let some pioneer start nationwide
series OF tournaments among the girls
o. the United States, and In q surprs-
lngly short time we would boast fifty