Wimbledon'i tetting is an ivy-covered
stadium with ivy-covered tradition.
THE
WHIMS OF
WIMBLEDON
Even the rigid
rules of the world's most snobbish tennis
tournament can't repress players with
penchants for such things as gorgeous
golden panties By BILL SURFACE
An edie of Karol Fageros' golden panties is visible
beneath white ones Wimbledon decreed she must wear.
In a world that is increasingly fa
miliar with fast-moving change, one
of Great Britain's hallowed traditions
continues supreme the snob appeal of
a very special tennis tournament cur
rently being played in the London sub
urb of Wimbledon.
Officially named the All-England Tennis Cham
pionships, Wimbledon is governed by rules so
rigid that Gertrude "Gussie" Moran (of lace
panty fame) calls the 95-year-old tournament
"czaristic and a blow to democracy."
Players' uniforms have been checked for prop
er starch, and newspapers have been advised to
capitalize the "T" in The Wimbledon Champion
ships. Even today, the 500 invited tennis players
are chauffeured in Rolls-Royces during the tour
nament to insure dignity.
British society, from Queen Elizabeth down,
finds attendance a must. Places near the royal
area in the 17,000-seat ivy-covered concrete sta
dium are immeasurably precious. Box-seat tick
ets are included in wills, and prices are listed on
the London Stock Exchange.
But the pomp of Wimbledon's annual two
weeks of tennis is always enlivened by the wild
capers of devil-may-care players. As historians
note, the first tournaments at Wimbledon's pres
ent arena were "defaced by scandals." An Amer
ican, John Hennessey, was threatened with expul
sion for wearing "shocking striped pants" in
stead of the standard white ones. Randolph Ly
cett, an Australian star who did not like the tea
stands, planted a pint of gin on the side lines and
grabbed snorts between sets.
Jack Kramer, a Wimbledon champion, says:
"There are two groups that make Wimbledon
such a good side show the headline hunters and
those hit by stage fright. Tennis players aren't
used to such crowds, let alone the king or queen
out there inspecting them.
"Just as we began playing in the 1947 finals,
my opponent and I were told that King George
was coming out to see us and to stop the instant
we heard the signal. I was so electrified that I
couldn't have played worse if I was handcuffed.
But it didn't keep me from winning; my oppo
nent was scared, too."
One of the most embarrassed players in Wim
bledon's history was Nicola Pietrangeli. In
1960, Nicola became so excited after upsetting
Barry Mackay of the United States (making him
the first Italian to reach Wimbledon's finals) that
he threw his racket high in the air, shook Mac
kay's hand, and as he pivoted toward the audi
ence, his racket fell right on his head !
Wimbledon's most recent problems have been
good-looking girls and the revolution in tennis
clothing. That fad began in 1949 when Gussie
Moran 19, shapely, and courting a movie ca
reerappeared in a tight tee shirt and white lace
panties under a short ballerina skirt. When an
entry clerk questioned her lace, she said: "People
here see your underwear for two weeks,' so you
might as well have them see something with lace
on it Besides, it helps my tennis."
In Wimbledon's bylaws, there was no restric
tion against lace panties, and Gussie became an
overnight celebrity. The fans enjoyed it, but it
was understood that Queen Elizabeth" (now the
Queen Mother) would not attend during the
"panty scandal." Gussie wore plain panties dur
ing the Queen's attendance. And she lost
In 1958, Karol Fageros, a tall blonde from Mi
ami, entered Wimbledon as the self-styled "Gold
en Goddess of Tennis." A better model than play
er, she wore a tight knit jersey and gold-lame
panties trimmed in black lace.
The panties were promptly banned. But there
was no way to stop rumors that Karol, playing
in white-lace panties, would do a strip tease in
retaliation. Karol didn't, but she shocked some
tennis people much more: she won a match. Her
opponent, Silvana Lazzarino, blamed the loss on
the fuss created by photographers taking pic
tures of the anticipated "show."
Last year, after two female players tried to
outdo Karol's costume by wearing leopard skins
and mink trimmings, Wimbledon finally an
nounced that only plain white uniforms would be
allowed. But the whims of Wimbledon probably
will never cease. Gardnar Mulloy, a star of llhjv
1940s, had his jacket monogrammed: "If You
Can't Beat Me, You Need Lessons." And an
American girl wore plain white panties with a
Confederate flag sewed on the seat
COVER
Jack Zehri snapped a young tennis player
at the high point of elation after she de
livered a smashing forehand drive. For a
look at the wacky world of tournament
tennis, see the Wimbledon story ubove.
Family
WecJcly
I.
June 30. 1MJ
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