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Let's get your thought son Peter Underwood's article, "The Forgotten Era of Tennis: Bill Tilden Part 1"
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Great article. I always love to read about Tilden and the early pro tour years. Stuff now long forgotten, as Roger Federer and Nadal will be a 100 years from now. I loved the way Tilden took 6 months out to remodel his backhand, which inspired Pancho Gonzales to do the same years later, in 1958, to combat Lew Hoad. Today's players during COVID-19 should be doing the same. Tsitsipas ought to remodel that serve, for sure.
It's remarkable to think that Bill Tilden's career and zenith was a 100 years ago. His career is a remarkable story and much of what we know about Tilden is to attributed to his biography written by Frank Deford. I didn't like Deford's book that much. I found it a poorly structured and choppy to read...but it is a goldmine of information. The picture I have of Tilden is of someone who people loved to dislike, an irritatingly conceited person. On the other side of the coin he doubtless made for compelling viewing and could pack a stadium, rather like Pancho Gonzales could, or Roger Federer today. I think you'd call that star quality.
Another extraordinary thing is the money Bill Tilden earned. I used an inflation calculator to workout what his earnings would be in today's money, and it was in the millions.Stotty
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