How the Pro Tour
Really Began
Mark Winters
In January 2022, I received an email from Tom O'Neal wishing me a Happy New Year and adding, "I trust you are still writing about tennis. Please give me a call at your convenience as I had a thought that might be of interest to you."
O'Neal is a Renaissance Man when it comes to his approach to life and to tennis. He has traveled widely and has a diverse corporate executive background. He has also worked at every level of the game which has given him an appreciation of what has taken place and more important all that was required to see a project to fruition.
The Tour Is Born
After our telephone visit, he emailed saying, "As I mentioned, I thought the signal advancement of pro tennis in the 1960's was moving from the one-night stands format in numerous cities to a series of weeklong tournaments. Butch Buchholz explained that Jack Kramer decided in the early 1960's to try a series of five or six weeklong tournaments, like the golfers had in those days.
"Signing Rod Laver to the group was a key. Then Butch managed to get a sponsorship commitment from a St. Louis Volkswagen dealer. They leveraged this sponsorship to secure five or six more and the tour was born."
The first incarnation was a summer circuit with $80,000 in total prize money. The year was 1964.
Who Was Buchholz?
Who was Butch? In the late 1950s, Butch Buchholz had been one of the best juniors in the world. He was the boys' singles titlist at Roland Garros and at Wimbledon in 1958. The same year, he doubled at the US Boys'18 Championships, winning the singles and the doubles with fellow St. Louisan, Chuck McKinley.
