Rosewall, Seixas, Hoad, Trabert in perfect clarity..

[stotty]

This is 3mins 30 seconds of four of the finest players of the 50's. See Rosewall hitting his backhand in slow motion...and frozen at the point of impact...all up close and in excellent clarity.

I had never seen Seixas play before...nor had I ever seen Trabert's famed backhand...strange shot...how he lifts his elbow to initiate the backswing.

Is Hoad hitting the serve at the apex in these clips? Look at the long follow throughs on their backhand volleys.

This is my best find so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7kvBGntW8

[johnyandell]

That is absolutely phenomenal. Best slow mo footage ever of Rosewall's backhand! And the other guys. equally wow.

[don_budge]

1954 Davis Cup...My Favorite Year!

This is my best find so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR7kvBGntW8

It may be your best or one of your best...but you have had some awfully good ones. It's hard to say.


On March 13, 1954 don_budge arrived on the scene!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkKt6zz6mws

Born in the 50's...The Police

We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

My mother cried
When president Kennedy died
She said it was the communists
But I knew better

Would they drop the bomb on us
While we made love on the beach
We were the class they couldn't teach
'Cause we knew better
We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

They screamed
When the Beatles sang
And they laughed when the King fell down the stairs
Oh they should've known better
Oh we hated our Aunts
Then we messed in our pants
Then we lost our faith and prayed to the TV
Oh we should've known better

We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

We freeze like statues on the pages of history
Living was never like this when we took all those G.C.E.'s
Oh, you opened the door for us
And then you turned to dust
You don't understand us
So don't reprimand us
We're taking the future
We don't need no teacher
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties


1954 Davis Cup...Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Tony Trabert and Vic Seixas.

1954...my favorite year. It was the year that I was born...I know it sounds like a long time ago but believe me some people will tell you that it was just the wink of a young girls eye. Myself...it seems like centuries. But I am no worse for wear. “My Favorite Year” was a movie that starred Peter O’Toole and it took place in 1954...about an aging drunk and rascally actor playing out his final scenes on the big stage...of life.

Four players all using wood racquets and all clad in all white clothing. I would bet that most of the younger people viewing such a video find it rather strange looking at this in black and white. But with all of the change that has taken place in the last 59 years it seems very normal to me...and very elegant. This is the way that tennis was meant to be played...from the beginning. This was evolution without infringing on the integrity of the traditions.

Lew Hoad...just take a look at those mechanics. From his service motion and his smash in the the overhand techniques to his volley action with the big backswings and follow throughs. The narrater observes his superb combination of pace, depth and placement. Fundamentally he was structured but he was feeling it his way.

Ken Rosewall...The 5’ 7” diminutive “Muscles”...the same thing as Hoad. The few shots of him hitting the famous slice backhand gives one the impression that he could hit it from virtually any position while still maintaining his balance. Some good views of his grips too. The grip on the backhand seems a little bit stronger than the continental...he does something with his hand in the beginning of his backswing as he regrips the racquet.

Tony Trabert...talk about muscles, this guy looks to be in excellent physical condition. Ready to go five sets if need be in the Australian heat on the grass. His forehand volley looks to be the soundest fundamentally speaking of all of these four based on the backswing and the footwork. The narrater refers to his backhand as unorthodox but this is something that I don’t understand. He apparently thinks that his stronger grip and early contact are the anomalies. It turned out that Tony was very good at making a living as a tennis commentator. Very astute and observant. Attributes that he learned from years of tennis training no doubt.

Vic Seixas...to me his form appears to be the best of all...particularly on the volleys. Nice smooth service motion without any superfluous activity. The beautiful smash and overhead technique. Why is he standing so far behind the baseline when he serves? Don Budge won the Senior Doubles at Wimbledon with Vic Seixas in 1973 I believe. They beat Jaroslav Drobny and Lennart Bergilen in the finals. Budge was using me to practice his return of a left handed serve anticipating a meeting with Drobny. I was 18...and had legs like a stallion. Still do.

The narrater makes a couple of interesting points in this short clip. Something to consider when trying to compare the days of yesterday with modern day tennis. He mentions at one point...”let youngsters mold their own games and advise them how to fix faults.” And right at the conclusion of the clip he says...”four players, each with a very different style...”.

His point about the youngsters was very interesting and he wasn’t talking about six year olds. Then he was probably referring to boys of 16 to 18 years old when player were beginning to come into their own. Nobody was speculating about the future of six year olds in those days...and correctly so. Plus these days nobody is letting youngsters mold their own style...they are being trained to play robot tennis. Video tennis. Strong gripped forehand and two hand backhand equipped with a service motion that is designed for brute power. His comment about the different styles brings back to mind a post from the past on this forum. It was a post about style in the modern days of tennis when I was asserting that the modern game really lacked true “tennis style” as it used to be referred to...the way it is referred to by this narrater. These days there is only one Roger Federer.

It’s a nice find licensedcoach. Keep up the good work!

[stotty]

It may be your best or one of your best...but you have had some awfully good ones. It's hard to say.


On March 13, 1954 don_budge arrived on the scene!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkKt6zz6mws

Born in the 50's...The Police

We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

My mother cried
When president Kennedy died
She said it was the communists
But I knew better

Would they drop the bomb on us
While we made love on the beach
We were the class they couldn't teach
'Cause we knew better
We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

They screamed
When the Beatles sang
And they laughed when the King fell down the stairs
Oh they should've known better
Oh we hated our Aunts
Then we messed in our pants
Then we lost our faith and prayed to the TV
Oh we should've known better

We were born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties

We freeze like statues on the pages of history
Living was never like this when we took all those G.C.E.'s
Oh, you opened the door for us
And then you turned to dust
You don't understand us
So don't reprimand us
We're taking the future
We don't need no teacher
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties
Born, born in the fifties


1954 Davis Cup...Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Tony Trabert and Vic Seixas.

1954...my favorite year. It was the year that I was born...I know it sounds like a long time ago but believe me some people will tell you that it was just the wink of a young girls eye. Myself...it seems like centuries. But I am no worse for wear. “My Favorite Year” was a movie that starred Peter O’Toole and it took place in 1954...about an aging drunk and rascally actor playing out his final scenes on the big stage...of life.

Four players all using wood racquets and all clad in all white clothing. I would bet that most of the younger people viewing such a video find it rather strange looking at this in black and white. But with all of the change that has taken place in the last 59 years it seems very normal to me...and very elegant. This is the way that tennis was meant to be played...from the beginning. This was evolution without infringing on the integrity of the traditions.

Lew Hoad...just take a look at those mechanics. From his service motion and his smash in the the overhand techniques to his volley action with the big backswings and follow throughs. The narrater observes his superb combination of pace, depth and placement. Fundamentally he was structured but he was feeling it his way.

Ken Rosewall...The 5’ 7” diminutive “Muscles”...the same thing as Hoad. The few shots of him hitting the famous slice backhand gives one the impression that he could hit it from virtually any position while still maintaining his balance. Some good views of his grips too. The grip on the backhand seems a little bit stronger than the continental...he does something with his hand in the beginning of his backswing as he regrips the racquet.

Tony Trabert...talk about muscles, this guy looks to be in excellent physical condition. Ready to go five sets if need be in the Australian heat on the grass. His forehand volley looks to be the soundest fundamentally speaking of all of these four based on the backswing and the footwork. The narrater refers to his backhand as unorthodox but this is something that I don’t understand. He apparently thinks that his stronger grip and early contact are the anomalies. It turned out that Tony was very good at making a living as a tennis commentator. Very astute and observant. Attributes that he learned from years of tennis training no doubt.

Vic Seixas...to me his form appears to be the best of all...particularly on the volleys. Nice smooth service motion without any superfluous activity. The beautiful smash and overhead technique. Why is he standing so far behind the baseline when he serves? Don Budge won the Senior Doubles at Wimbledon with Vic Seixas in 1973 I believe. They beat Jaroslav Drobny and Lennart Bergilen in the finals. Budge was using me to practice his return of a left handed serve anticipating a meeting with Drobny. I was 18...and had legs like a stallion. Still do.

The narrater makes a couple of interesting points in this short clip. Something to consider when trying to compare the days of yesterday with modern day tennis. He mentions at one point...”let youngsters mold their own games and advise them how to fix faults.” And right at the conclusion of the clip he says...”four players, each with a very different style...”.

His point about the youngsters was very interesting and he wasn’t talking about six year olds. Then he was probably referring to boys of 16 to 18 years old when player were beginning to come into their own. Nobody was speculating about the future of six year olds in those days...and correctly so. Plus these days nobody is letting youngsters mold their own style...they are being trained to play robot tennis. Video tennis. Strong gripped forehand and two hand backhand equipped with a service motion that is designed for brute power. His comment about the different styles brings back to mind a post from the past on this forum. It was a post about style in the modern days of tennis when I was asserting that the modern game really lacked true “tennis style” as it used to be referred to...the way it is referred to by this narrater. These days there is only one Roger Federer.

It’s a nice find licensedcoach. Keep up the good work!

Yes this was quite a find. The Youtube title didn't betray what was hiding in the
footage. Something I'm finding happens quite a lot. Lots of good stuff is hidden behind lousy titles on Youtube and other video websites.

I love the forehand volleys of Rosewall/Trabert. Ploughing (is that plowing in yankee speak?) the right shoulder into the ball...absolutely love that lost art and could watch it all day. The shoulder-high backhand volleys of all the men have wonderful follow throughs. The s/v split step of Seixas...

Glad you popped in, don_budge. The other half of the reason of posting these clips was to smoke you out...so glad you took the bait...your observations are as sharp as ever.