Bud Collins is the walking, and forever talking, tennis encyclopedia of our era.
His knowledge is as easy to access as the public library through his columns, books and television commentary with wit, wisdom, interesting storytelling and flamboyant deliveries.
Born in 1929 in Lima, Ohio, Collins grew up playing baseball, basketball and football, with a smattering of tennis when the game was played only three months of the year.
He didn’t set out to become the only person in the world of tennis who covered the game on every front from the early 60’s to present, but as he says, “It was purely by accident.”
After graduating from Baldwin-Wallace College with a degree in journalism, going in the Army (Korea) and after getting out, Bud decided to attend Boston University graduate school.
Working as he went through college, he started writing for the Boston Herald as a sports writer and then later for the Boston Globe. He covered boxing, (where later Howard Cosell said, “I made it possible for Bud to have a career.”), baseball, hockey, dog shows and the Vietnam War.
While at the Globe, Collins was also asked to cover tennis and due to his background (he also coached tennis for Brandeis University from 1959 to 1963) he liked the assignment.
During this same time frame, the Boston Public Broadcasting Service outlet, WGBH decided to cover the U.S. Championship Doubles held in Boston and asked Bud if he’d try being the commentator. He said yes, and that was the beginning of a new career that by 1968 became his life with CBS, later NBC and PBS and today ESPN, The Tennis Channel and XM Satellite Radio.
As a sidebar to Bud’s interesting life there are a few things you may not know about him. He ran for Mayor of Boston (1967); was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (1994); perfected the art of wearing bow ties and “loud” pants (his trademark); has hosted dog shows; is a pretty good player in his own right, winning the U.S. Indoor Mixed Doubles Championship in 1961 and a finalist in the French Senior Doubles (1975); and has authored numerous books.
Having pioneered television tennis coverage through trial and error and commentating most every Grand Slam event from 1968 to present, who’s more versed than Bud Collins to have an encyclopedia of tennis memories and solid tennis opinions? He’s a virtual one-man tennis institution.
He made some remarks to me last week that you might find interesting.
Collins truly respects Roger Federer as one of the greatest players ever, but doesn’t consider anyone the greatest player of all time: “Each player has to be rated based on the era they played.”
He loved to watch Laver, Navratilova, the Williams’ sisters and especially Billie Jean King. “She had style, was peppy and always at the net.”
As for who has done the most to help the game gain the status it holds today, “Jack Kramer was to me the most important figure in the game of tennis. As a player, promoter, organizer, head of the ATP, a good announcer. He was always willing to talk with anybody. He had everything going for him and for the game.”
“And Billie Jean, her life in tennis has been immeasurable in accomplishments in so many ways. And don’t forget Gladys Heldman who started the magazine World Tennis, she was certainly in the mix of moving tennis along.”
If Collins could make some changes in the game of tennis, he’d “standardize professional racquets to be made of wood, 27 inches long and no wider than nine inches. He’d also rule out the new strings that help allow the amount of topspin players are able to produce today. “The baseball and cricket people were smart by keeping wood.”
He’d make the players keep one foot on the ground while serving. “This would slow the speed of serves and make the game more exciting.”
He added: “Hawkeye right now is a side show and it slows the game down. Why not have a screen on the umpires chair and let them make the correct call if it was made wrong. We have the technology, we should use it better.”
His favorite Grand Slam to attend? “The Australian because it’s easy to walk to the stadium and it has a special spirit, but each of them is appealing in their own way.”
One of the reasons “The Bud Collins Tennis Encyclopedia” was written was so he could carry just one book to reference to while commentating and traveling.
He said he has one last major goal, and that is to be in attendance of the 100th anniversary of Wimbledon's Center Court being built which will be in the year 2022. Bud, all of us that have enjoyed you for so many years hope to see you with a mic in your hand for many years to come!
Chris Howard is a USPTA Tennis Professional with over 35 years in the racquet and fitness industry. He can be reached at 928-445-1331 or choward4541@q.com