Evening star., 1932-07-10
YOUNGSTER TOUTED
BY GREAT TEACHER
Mercer BeaSIey, DiScoverer
of Ball Boys Talent,
Is Bold Prophet.
BY LAWRENCE PERRY.

n IEW YORK, July e.-In the
N face of Ellsworth Vines
/ stunning exhibition of ten
mis- in the singles finals at
Wimbledon, where he crushed
Bunny Austin of England. the
statement of Mercer Beasley that
young frankie Parker will be
greater even than the present
American champion gains added
significance.
1t will be recalled that Beasely, who
is coach at Tulane in Winter and De-
troit tennis club in Summer-he was
in the East last week with the Texas
boys competing in the Jersey cham
pionship-taught Parker to play tennis
and also was instrumental in pointing
out certain flaws in Vines game notably
a tendency to weakness against softly
delivered balls.
DECENTLY in Texas, as also will be
N recalled, frankie Parker defeated
George Lott, No. ranking Amer
lean singles player, and later won the
Western singles title at Chicago, beat
ing Lott again. and. among others, Gil
bert Hall, Junior Coen and Lester
Stoeffen Of California.
In casting about for information con-
cerning this amazing boys Background
the writer was able to find little other
than that he was product Of Mil
waukee. Even the u. S. L. T. A. ON
cials knew nothing about him beyond
his championship record of achieve
ment in boys lawn tennis.
Now. however-thanks to the editor
Of Alger's Newspaper, a Washington
publication devoted to the interests Of
the boys and girls Of the United
States-the writer is able to submit to
the tennis enthusiasts Of the country
great deal of detailed intelligence about
this youngster.
THE editor in question, Jay Jerome
i Williams holds brief for Amer
ican youth. and in his Sanctum
his penetrating and comprehensive blue
eyes scan the Nation, ever seeking for
boys and girls who have done extraordi-
nary or interesting things And so 1t
was when Parker defeated George Lott
in Texas few weeks ago the all-seeing
eye spotted him, and now behold
Frankies own story.
From this simple and modest nara
tive we learn that at the age of the
lad first went onto tennis court-as q
ball boy, which, as he points out, cor
responds to a caddy in golf. Every
week he took home to his mother the
money he had earned shagging balls for
the big tops Of the town club in Mil
waukee.
One day Mercer Beasley arrived at the
town club, having been engaged to put
Milwaukee on the tennis map. The
coach was nice to the little ball boy
and finally, while waiting for pupils,
Beasely let the kid hit balls to him, the
coach showing him the fundamentals OF
all strokes. f BFE
TT was not long before Beasely saw
i that he had a real prospect in the
youngster He began to concentrate
on him, with the result that at the age
Of IL Frankie was ranked No. in the
national boys list.
At the age Of IL Beasely was certain
that the boy would go to the top, and
this confidence was justified three years
later-last AuguSt--when he became
the national boy champion. Previously
he had shared in the national indoor
and outdoor boys doubles.
So now, having the western senior
title. Frankie next August will set sail
for the national junior title, which he
seems practically certain of winning.
Tennis. Frankie says, pulled a funny
one on hirl-the phrasing Is his. Be-
fore he began to learn tennis he was
poor student in school, but coneentra-
ton on the game taught him to con-
centrate on his studies; so now at
Fortier School, in New Orleans, he is
fine student.