A Terrible Splendor: Three
Extraordinary Men, a World Poised
for War, and the Greatest Tennis
Match Ever Played by Marshall Jon
Fisher
Excellent History And A Terrific Read
Before Federer versus Nadal, before Borg versus McEnroe, the greatest
tennis match ever played pitted the dominant Don Budge against the
seductively handsome Baron Gottfried von Cramm. This deciding 1937
Davis Cup match, played on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon, was a
battle of titans: the worlds number one tennis player against the number
two; America against Germany; democracy against fascism. For five
superhuman sets, the duo’s brilliant shotmaking kept the Centre Court
crowd–and the world–spellbound.

But the match’s significance extended well beyond the immaculate grass
courts of Wimbledon. Against the backdrop of the Great Depression and
the brink of World War II, one man played for the pride of his country while
the other played for his life. Budge, the humble hard-working American
who would soon become the first man to win all four Grand Slam titles in
the same year, vied to keep the Davis Cup out of the hands of the Nazi
regime. On the other side of the net, the immensely popular and elegant
von Cramm fought Budge point for point knowing that a loss might
precipitate his descent into the living hell being constructed behind barbed
wire back home.
Born into an aristocratic family, von Cramm was admired for his
devastating good looks as well as his unparalleled sportsmanship. But he
harbored a dark secret, one that put him under increasing Gestapo
surveillance. And his situation was made even more perilous by his refusal
to join the Nazi Party or defend Hitler. Desperately relying on his athletic
achievements and the global spotlight to keep him out of the Gestapo’s
clutches, his strategy was to keep traveling and keep winning. A Davis Cup
victory would make him the toast of Germany. A loss might be
catastrophic.
Watching the mesmerizingly intense match from the stands was von
Cramm’s mentor and all-time tennis superstar Bill Tilden–a consummate
showman whose double life would run in ironic counterpoint to that of his
German pupil.
Set at a time when sports and politics were inextricably linked, A Terrible
Splendor gives readers a courtside seat on that fateful day, moving
gracefully between the tennis match for the ages and the dramatic events
leading Germany, Britain, and America into global war. A book like no
other in its weaving of social significance and athletic spectacle, this soul-
stirring account is ultimately a tribute to the strength of the human spirit.
Personal Review: A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men,
a World Poised for War, and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever
Played by Marshall Jon Fisher
s a tennis history buff, I have always believed that a good tennis player
and fan should know something about the history of the game. This
includes the great champions and matches of the past because they
helped to lay the foundation for the modern game that we see today.

I recently read this masterful, well-researched and highly-praised book on
a riveting period of tennis and world history - the 1937 Davis Cup semi-
final match played at Wimbledon Centre Court between Germany and the
United States, as the world prepared for war.
Here's my detailed review:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------
Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, A World Poised for War, and
the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played. Marshall Jon Fisher, Crown
Publishers (April 2009). 321 Pages, 6 Chapters, 8 Pages of Black & White
Photos.
(*The book's title comes from a quote from Thomas Carlyle about "Fate
[which] envelopes and overshadows...[against which] human will appears
but like flashes [of] a brief and terrible splendor...")
Before Federer and Nadal, before Sampras and Agassi, before Borg and
McEnroe, the greatest tennis match of all, argues the book's author
Marshall Jon Fisher was probably the singles match of the 1937 Davis Cup
semi-final played at Wimbledon seven decades ago between the great
Don Budge for the USA (ranked number one in the world at that time), and
Baron Gottfried von Cramm for Germany (ranked number two).
Click here for a Photo of Budge and von Cramm:
[...]
The greatness of the match was based on more than pure tennis (though
the tennis was indeed extraordinary), but also the backdrop of impending
world war and the high stakes for all, especially von Cramm.
This match was a five set thriller before a raucous crowd on the edge of
their seats. It ended only after five match points in the fifth set, culminating
with a spectacular running forehand winner around the netpost, and after
both men were exhausted and tested to their ultimate limits. One man was
playing for the honor of his country - Budge. The other, Von Cramm, was
literally playing for his life (as he was targeted by the Nazi regime in his
home country for alleged offenses, and only his victory on the tennis court
assured him safety.) In that sense, the match became a metaphor for the
poignancy of the human battle and, in the words of the publisher, ultimately
the "triumph of the human spirit".
Against it all, Fisher also writes beautifully about the rising drums of war
across Europe and the world, interweaving the Budge-von Cramm match
with the story of a world on the brink of global conflict.
The three extraordinary men of the book's title are: Budge and von Cramm,
of course, and the third man - Bill Tilden, the great US tennis superstar and
champion of the 20s. Fisher makes many insights into their lives and inter-

relationships, traces their seminal tennis contributions and even touches
on their personal demons.
Budge and von Cramm were good friends on and off the court, who
genuinely liked each other. Budge and Tilden naturally had the greatest
respect for each other and their respective abilities. Tilden said of Budge in
a comment published later: "I consider him the finest player, 365 days a
year, who ever lived." Tilden was a visitor many times to Germany and, in
an interesting twist, unofficially coached the German Davis Cup team,
including von Cramm and was rooting for him at the Davis Cup match, to
the obvious dismay of American fans.
Bill Tilden
----------
The first great tennis superstar, who transformed the sport from a gentile
country club pastime to an arena for world-class athletes where winning
was the ultimate goal and aim. Tilden in his prime simply was tennis. As
sports writer Frank Deford wrote: "It was Tilden and tennis, in that order."
From 1920 to 1926, Tilden never lost a match of any consequence, a
record unequaled even to now. He won 10 lifetime major championships.
He was also a talented writer and a brilliant student of the game. His 1925
classic book Match Play and the Spin of the Ball was studied by
generations of tennis students. Consider what he wrote in his book about
the "all-court player", almost a premonition about the game's future:
"What is the future of the tennis game? ... As one of the champions of
today, I see vistas of progress ahead, of which I glimpse only a bit, but
which the champions of tomorrow will have explored and developed.
Where are these lanes of progress? Not from the backcourt. Not from the
net. It is rather in the use of the forecourt for sharp angled shots, in the use
of the mid-court volley, the half volley and rising bounce shots, that future
progress lies. Every player who desires to succeed in the future must
equip himself with every shot in tennis and then strive to explore the
mysteries of the forecourt."
And Tilden was a consummate showman and entertainer. And he lived a
flamboyant and extravagant lifestyle. He was famous for a reputedly
150MPH cannonball serve - with the wood rackets of old. Witnesses at
matches, including Gene Mako, recalled that he could take 4 tennis balls in
one hand - one between each finger and thumb and serve up 4 aces on
command!
Tilden boasted a long career, playing on the pro tour well into his 40s and
even 50s. In his late 40s, when he once beat Budge on the pro tour, Budge
remarked that Tilden taught him a lesson, playing "the greatest tennis I
have ever seen." At 53, Tilden could beat much younger stars Fred Perry
and Bobby Riggs. It was said he could still be the best in the world for one
set. "All they can do is beat him", wrote columnist Al Laney, "they cannot
ever be his equal."

In 1950, a AP Sports Writers poll, without any real dissent, voted Bill Tilden
the greatest player of the half-century.
(Oddly enough, Tilden shares a birthday with me - February 10, and
comes from the same hometown - Philadelphia. I have even played at the
Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia where he learned to play.)
Tilden sadly carried a dark secret from the public until the end of his days.
He was a homosexual, and was charged late in his life of corrupting
teenage boys. He was ostracized in public but always his tennis
accomplishments were honored. He died of a heart attack in his hotel room
at the age of 60.
Don Budge
----------
Budge was the skinny, red-haired kid from Oakland, California, son of a
truck driver, who learned the game at Bushrod public court. Later, he
justifiably became "Mr. Tennis", literally inventing the "Grand Slam" by
intentionally planning and winning all four majors in 1938. (In Budge's day,
a sea journey to Australia to compete in
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War, and the Greatest
Tennis Match Ever Played by Marshall Jon Fisher 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest
Price!