The Washington herald., 1922-07-19
"Keen Gauger."
Dear Sir:

Keen Gauger,
Dear Sir:
In The Herald of July IL you
make certain comment on the re-
cent tournament for the tennis
championship of the District.
wish to commend your remarks as
being sapient and true.
Not since the days when Connie
Doyle held the championship has
there been any real tennis played
in the finals of these tournaments.
incidentally there have appeared in
ments to the effect tina. Charest
was the first player to win the
championship for two years in sue
cession. Did not j. c. Davidson
throughout the nineties win the
championship year after year with
monotonous regularity? II my
memory serves me well, he was
beaten but once during a period of
from six to ten years.
Shortly after that Connie Doyle.
then only a youngster. beat the
veteran. and from then on held the
championship until he got tired of
1t. Finally he withdrew from these
tournaments. like the sportsman he
is, and gave others a chance. This
gave his brother Lou a chance, and
II l mistake not, AL Howard SUBJ
sequently won the championship.
Charest is not the first one-armed
man to hold the championship
since Howard was under the same
disability.
During all of these years the title
of champion of the District of Co.
lumbia has been an empty honor
since Connie Doyle could at any
time have recaptured 1t. That con-
dition still exists. Doyle is In a
class by himself so far as this sec
tion Is concerned. On clay courts
ne has beaten such players as Wal
lace johnson, twice runner-up for
the national championship. Touch
ard once ranked as No. or 4, and
George NJ. Church also once
ranked as No. 3 in the United States.
Since Watson NJ washburn is
locator in the District. some enter
prising club could stage a real
match if he and Doyle could be
brought together.
! am also heartily in sympathy
with your views on boys and
junior tournaments for the District
of Columbia. 1t seems a pity that
such tournaments for this year have
not already been held. 1t is not too
late to hold these tournaments al
though it is too late to send the
winners to the national boys and
Junior tournaments. 1t Is quite an
honor to a boy to be known as the
hov champion of the District of
Columbia. and it is an equal honor
to win the junior championship of
the District of Columbia. 1t seems
a shame that none of our clubs
have shown sufficient interest in the
developments of the youngsters to
stage such tourney. 1t is from
these kids" that the clubs must
recruit their ranks in the not dis
tant future. Many clubs are al
ready making use of boy and junior
players to enable them to hold
their own with competing clubs.
Why could not the Dumbartor Club
or the Suburban League take
charge and run off such a tourra-
ment beginning about August Is or
September 1?
1t is also true that our young
sters get very little. IL any. in
struction at the hands of the vet
Grams In Washington. Lou Doyle.
of course, has served long and
faithfully at this sort of thing, but
his time is limited and he can't do
1t all. There are few wiser heads
in the game today, and very few
who have the same ability to i'm
part their knowledge of the game
to others. But certainly there are
some in each club who could give
the boys some pointers.
There are more boys now play
ing tennis in the District of Co.
lumbia than ever before. many with
a great deal of natural ability, and
with a little coaching and en-
couragement it would only be a
question of time before we should
develop here a national boys or
junior champion.
While on this subject I wish to
offer the further suggestion that
one of the local clubs put on a
father and son tournament. En-
trance fees could be charged to