The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-01-15
Key West Will
Miss Ralph
|Hartenstine
Said To Have Done
More For Tennis
I'm Island City Than
Anyone Previously

extended active duty and sum-
married. his Key West sports ca
reer. HartenStine's tennis activI-
ties, were so manifold, however.
and unfolded so endlessly during
his four years here, that any one
summary is bound to be ln"Om-
nlete. On request of the fans,
this continuation is presented)
In the second half of 1850, the
champion placed on court sew
eral small boys matches between
ST. Joseph's School and Truman
Elementary. (After he had
taught these sprites how to
swing without missing) This was
the first official small boys ten
mis- ever played here. One of his
rroteges, Bobby May, entered the
u. S. l.. T. A. tourney in Miami
Beach and stroked his way to
the finals. On this Miami Beach
junket Mr.. and Mrs. HartenStine
chaperoned Eleanor Cato. June
Yates, Barbara Twiehaus, Caro-.
Caruthers, Don Cruz, John Cruz,
and eleven-year May in
what was the first USLTA event
entered by Key West youngsters.
In l949, he arranged the first
matches with outside senior
! teams, staged both here and in
Miami and including such first
rate outfits as Coconut Grove.
Miami Beach, and Miamfs Jun
ior Davis Cup team. In Septem-
Der, l949 he cut through the OBJ
stacles to international play and
took an Island team to Havana
to engage the best varsity Cuba
could place on courts of Vedado
Club. Through his diplomacy fl
nal arrangements are now beng
! made to institute twice-a-year
matches between Key West and
the Cuban capital. Ralph placed
the University of Miami on the
Conchs' schedule in 1850, and
last April, following the second
match in Miami, he brought the
UniverSity-then National Inter
collegiate Championships to
the Casa Marina Hotel for re-
turn match.
Former national champion Sa-
rah Palfrey Cooke came to the
Casa Marina as professional dur
ing the 1949 season, and Harlem
slime will be remembered for his
exhibition matches there with
such internationally kn O w n
players as Elwood Cook, Sydney
! Wood, Pauline BetZ, Igor and
Oleg Cassini, and Prince Hohen-
lobe. These matches were played
&. before galleries of around "A
| thousand.
High among Hartenstine'S
court performances are his vic
tories over the finest eX-Anna-
polls aces the Navy could place
| against him in the series of Key
West-Navy encounters. These in
cluded such powerful Navy aces
and Leech Cup performers as 1t.
Nicholas Smith, 1t. Walter Pate,
1t. E. A. Hamblen. and LIZ
Thomas Tiff. 1t was rumored
that the Navy sent Tiff to Key
West on detached service for the
prime purpose of squelching
Hartenstine.
Last summer, Ralph instruct
ed, organized and placed on court
! the first women's tennis teams
seen here when the Navy wives
and the Key West women played
each other and the Convent girls
in a series of matches. The stage
is now set for the City'S first
Women's Championships in 1882.
In June, 1850, he brought ten
mis- to the Convent of Mary Inn
maculate, whose girls then had
no competitive sports program.
Last September. with the school
still lacking a tennis coach, he
worked with Athletic Director
Wahneta Kovash and the Sister
Superior in launching the Con-
vents visiting teacher program
which has brought the Islands
foremost adult players onto the
camrus To instruct. This pro-
gram will continue through the
present school year. With Mrs
Fausto Rendueles and Eloina Ga
to he spearheaded the drive for
a new Convent court from par
ents' and church leaders con-
tributions, and in March of this
year, the new court will be in
stalled
One of the champions methods
| of mass instruction was his
weekly column. Tennis Vol
! leys", that has appeared so often
in The Citizen In these he took
one stroke or phase of play at q
time and broke il down into
words that youngsters could
translate into action.
| Today's High School tennis
aces may perhaps recall in flu
ture years, Hartenstine's house
toulouse struggle to insure
enough of pay increase for
Coach Van to entice him into
returning to Key West in Sep
TENDER. This came after the
I.nnnt hnA ....Ai.nf.. - !