Bill Tilden

William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 - June 5, 1953), often called "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a wealthy family, he was a "Junior" at birth but changed his name to "II" when he was in his mid-20s.

Tilden's personal life

Born to wealth, Tilden lost all of his immediate family in a very short period of time during his boyhood and was raised by a maiden aunt. The loss of his father apparently marked him deeply and he spent all of his adult life attempting to create a father-son relationship with a long succession of ballboys and youthful tennis protégés, of whom Vinnie Richards was the most noted. He had no relationships with women at all and apparently very few sexual encounters with members of his own sex until he was well into his 40s and becoming increasingly effeminate in his mannerisms, particularly in the more liberal atmosphere of 1930s Europe.

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Although Tilden almost never drank, he smoked heavily and disdained what today would be considered a healthy life style for an athlete; for most of his life his diet consisted of 3 enormous meals a day of steak and potatoes, with, perhaps, the occasional lamb chop.

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