Throwback Thursday: Deck the halls with tennis balls
As theWimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is gearing up for Christmas, we thought we would bring you a festive Throwback Thursday by pulling out a selection of Christmas cards from the Museum Collection...
1. Sent to a close friend by the 1924 and 1926 Ladies’ Champion Kathleen ‘Kitty’ Godfree, this card depicts her being awarded with a commemorative vase at the Ladies’ Championships Centenary in 1984.
2. A card sent out by the museum team in 2009. The card depicts a section of snow covered steps on the AELTC grounds on 2nd February of that year. The museum had 14 visitors that day, with 10 of them braving the weather to go on a tour of the grounds. Not surprisingly, the visitors were Swiss, German and Swedish.
3. A humorous ‘Deck the halls with...tennis balls’ card. This one made the list purely for its witty caption!
4. A card sent by the 1947 Ladies’ Champion Margaret Osborne (du Pont). She was the oldest player, man or woman, to have won a Wimbledon Championship – at the age of 44; she won the Mixed Doubles title with Neale Fraser in 1962. Her record stood for 40 years until Martina Navratilova won the Mixed Doubles title in 2003 at the age of 45.
5. A card sent by the 1931 Gentlemen’s Champion Sidney Wood. His card is decorated with two black and white images of himself with the French player Rene Lacoste. One image was taken at their first meeting in 1927, with Sidney dressed in outstanding knickerbockers! The other was taken in 1977 – the year the card was sent.
6. And finally, a card sent to the museum by Ted Tinling – perhaps the most prominent figure in the world of fashionable tennis attire. He designed outfits for top ranking players such as Virginia Wade and Billie Jean King.
Until next year, from everyone at the Museum – have a SMASHing Christmas and a LOVEly New Year...
