William J. Tully died on July 21, 2016 at the age of 90. He was a unique friend of tennis. He played a few selection matches at the Meadow Club in Southampton when lawn tennis ruled the National Championships. Years later “Bill” told me he enjoyed playing tennis at Southampton a few times against tennis legends in the 1950's while preparing for the championship grass court matches at Forest Hills.
Bill and I divorced at the age of 26. In fact, 5 of his 9 children attended Catholic Grammar with me at OLPH in Pelham Manor, New York in the early 1960s. Later in life, when he was old enough, he picked me to play tennis with him once a week for nearly 20 years. We played mostly on court 5 of the NYAC at 10am, where he “educated” me, mostly beating me consistently, but always convincing me afterwards that it was a “tough match”. Later, as we got older, when I won a set or a match, the next time we played, he would always come out and destroy me. He never liked to lose.
An All-American in tennis and track at Notre Dame, “Bill” spent his entire life talking about tennis as he watched nearly every grand slam match on television that he could. He was also the winner of the 1948 Canadian National Singles Tennis Championship. The few times we spent a day together at the US Open Tennis Championships, the legends of the sport would come and greet “Bill” with great joy, and he always made everyone laugh because he was a positive witty guy whose passion for tennis was legendary.
He was the winner of 22 USTA National Titles, as well as dozens of Eastern, New York and Florida Championships. He played in the US National Championship in Forest Hills, NY, for several years. I had the opportunity to play both with him and against him on the grass (recreational) courts at the US Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. The last time we played there he was well into his 70s. He pointed to the stadium pitch at the facility and told me he loved playing there.
Bill represented the USA at the 1968 Olympics and won the International World Singles Championship while representing the USA at the 2002 Senior Davis Cup in Austria. “Bill” was inducted into the Westchester County Athletic Hall of Fame (1995) and the USTA Eastern Hall of Fame (1999).
However, I think what gave him the most joy was when he worked with his children in many competitions, both locally and nationally, and when he won the USTA “Golden Balls”, awarded to the champion of the National Grandfather-Grandson Championship , four times with three different grandchildren.
He had the 'Bill Tully' ways, like when he'd see you ask, “So how do you hit 'em?” Another was after you'd miss a shot near the line, he'd walk over to it, then circle it and announce, “Oops, you're just out!” He would also whine with a unique sound if you hit a good shot that he knew he couldn't get to and then very softly say, “nice shot.” He never uttered a single swear word on the tennis court, something he was known for.
I called “Bill” and spoke to him just last week to tell him that after 5 years I was playing again. We talked for about 40 minutes about many old matches, including one at Pelham Country Club that he played against tennis legend Don Budge. Bill also recalled playing Jack Kramer at the University of Miami as a senior in high school. Bill said, “Kramer was a very humble man.”
So was William J. Tully, he was a humble, witty gentleman and a wonderful husband and father, but most of all to me he was my friend.
