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04/23/2005 |  Richard Pancho Gonzales; never heard of the guy? Not too surprising. He was only quite likely the greatest tennis player of all time. Still not impressed? Well there's more. Pancho, the son of working-class immigrants from Mexico(as a child, his father Manuel walked with his dad 900 miles from their hometown Chihuahua to Arizona, eventually settling in South Central L.A.) learned to play the sport on the public courts of Los Angeles. He grew to love the game so much that he could not even stand to attend school. Truency officers were constantly searching for him, but he outfoxed them with the help of several sympathetic scouts he had around the city's courts. During this turbulent period growing up, Pancho also had a huge appetite for drag racing and gambling (figuratively as well, getting busted for burglarizing houses at the age of 15, he then spent a year in juv. detention), but nothing rivaled his love for tennis. When Pancho quit school altogether he was officially banned from competing in all sanctioned tournaments. Shortly thereafter, he joined the military for 2 years (1946-7), barely picking up a racket during that time. After earning a bad conduct discharge in 1947, at the age of 18 he came home. On the upside, however, Pancho was now eligible to finally compete in tournament play once again. Despite so little recent training, incredibly, he was ranked #17 in the country by the end of the year. The following year he captured the U.S. Nationals (later called U.S. Open) and was now the #1 amateur player in the world. Gonzales repeated this feat again the following year...The history of tennis is rather complex. Before 1968, the sport was divided into amateur and professional ranks. If one stayed an amateur they could compete in the likes of Wimbledon and other Grand Slams, yet one could barely eke out a living doing so. For players such as Gonzales, this was not an option due to his obligations as husband and father. Thus, after two years as world #1 in the amateur division, he decided to turn pro. Therefore, from 1950-68, Gonzales could not to compete in Grand Slam events. Instead, after dominating the amateur circuit for two years, Gonzales went on a tear, completely ruling the pro circuit for 10 staight yrs. During this period, Pancho could simutaneously punish a tennis ball, an opponent, an umpire and audience; he didn't take crap from anyone, sugarcoat the truth, or suffer fools gladly...in the 1950's he turned a genteel, civilized, leisurely sport into a streetfight and never looked back. After conquering everything there was in the pros, he retired on top in 1960, yet several years later he returned again, reaching the top once more in 1964. He not only defeated, but dominated, all opponents before/during this period: Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Lew Howd, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Segura, Alex Olmedo and countless other victims in his path. With the dawn of Open tennis in 1968, pros could now play in all events and prize money was officially sanctioned, Pancho, now 40, not only competed, but regularly defeated, the new crop of top pros from Rod Laver to John Newcombe. Legendary broadcater Howard Cosell once stated, Next to Jackie Robinson, Pancho Gonzales was the most competitive athlete I've ever known. In a June 24, 2002 Sports Illustrated article on Gonzales by S.L. Price entitled The Lone Wolf, the author writes: Pancho Gonzales may have been the greatest tennis player of all time...Jack Kramer rates Gonzales a better player than Sampras or Laver. Arthur Ashe called Gonzales the only idol he ever had. Pancho Segura, Alex Olmedo and Dennis Ralston say Gonzales was the best player in history. Jimmy Connors said once that if he needed someone to play for his life, he'd pick Gonzales. Charlie Pasarell agrees: 'He was the toughest competitor who ever played. He just fought and fought until he died...[in 1971] the 43-year-old Gonzales beat a 19-year-old Jimmy Connors from the baseline at the Pacific Southwest Open. In 1981, Jack Kramer stated, Gonzales had the heart of a lion. At 5 all in the fifth set, there is no man in the history of tennis that I would bet on against him. In the year 2000 (5 years after Pancho's death), Gonzales's brother Ralph stated, He was in the top ten for over 25 years and never had a tennis lesson. Suffice it to say, Gonzales didn't need a tennis lesson. He taught the sport itself something, and left future fans startled at his legendary feats and accomplishments. Number one in the world for 14 years (vs 7 years for Sampras) and at or near the top of the game for 4 different decades. He played and ruled everyone from Tilden to Budge to Kramer to Laver to Connors, all the while being the sport's first genuine anti-hero or heel. For more on the legendary Pancho Gonzales, check out his 1959 autobiography, Man With a Racket or David Hernandez's outstanding article on Gonzales's career at www.tennis4you.com.
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