This week's Throwback Thursday from the Wimbledon Museum goes back to the beginning of all things. With Spencer Gore and the first Championships.
Are you ready to delve once again into Wimbledon’s history? To kick-start the new year, we'd like to start at the very beginning with the first Championships and first Gentlemen’s Singles Champion.
Cast your mind back to Wimbledon in 1877. Due to the rapidly growing popularity of the new and exhilarating game of Lawn Tennis, the committee of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club decided to host a public meeting, inviting players to compete in a Gentlemen’s Singles event. The first Championships took place over four days between the 9th and 19th July, with a scheduled break in the middle so as not to clash with the annual cricket match between Harrow and Eton – an event that was high on the annual sporting agenda. Twenty two gentlemen paid a guinea each to enter the tournament, with a mere 200 spectators watching.
One of the competitors in attendance was a 27-year-old named Spencer Gore. Born in Wimbledon in 1850 and schooled at Harrow, Gore was an avid cricket, rackets and lawn tennis player. His playing style was unlike that of his fellow competitors. He was the first player to use the technique of volleying. Throughout the tournament, Gore played by striking the ball before it bounced and sometimes before it even crossed the net. Having been postponed by four days due to heavy rain, the final between Spencer Gore and William Marshall.was was eventully held on the 19th July. After 48 minutes, Gore defeated Marshall 6-1 6-2 6-4 to become the first Wimbledon Champion – only losing a set in two rounds throughout the tournament.
Although he was the first Champion and a keen sportsman in general, he did not think much of lawn tennis. He later commented:
‘That anyone who has really played well at cricket, tennis, or even rackets, will ever seriously give his attention to lawn tennis, beyond showing himself to be a promising player, is extremely doubtful; for in all probability the monotony of the game as compared with others would choke him off before he had time to excel in it’.
Gore did return to Wimbledon the following year to defend his title, but he was defeated by Frank Hadow.
He would probably be surprised to see how that small tournament he won has grown into the global Grand Slam it is today.
