Summer Premier Auction 2014

Bill Tilden’s 1921 U.S. National Tennis Championship Men’s Singles 15K Gold First Place Medal The 1921 U.S. National Championships, now known as the U.S. Open, was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the 41st staging of the U.S. National Championships and the third Grand Slam event of the year. The men’s competition was held between September 9 through 19 and one local player from Philadelphia took center stage: W. T. “Bill” Tilden. A gifted player who grew up playing on the Germantown grass courts, Tilden was the defending men’s singles champion and was virtually unstoppable once more. He took the men’s singles title with a convincing 6-1. 6-3, 6-1 straight set victory over Wallace F. Johnson. The victory would mark Tilden’s second of six straight U.S. National Championships. A backcourt specialist, he was considered the best player of his generation. For his efforts in ’21, Tilden received this 15K gold first place medal. It’s a small, cast gold award medal with design in relief on front and back. The front bears the image of a kneeling woman, holding Nike in her left arm and a crowning globe with laurel with her right arm. The cast inscription around the front edge of the medal reads: “World’s Lawn Tennis Championships on Grass.” The engraved inscription on the back of the medal, which is framed by a wreath of laurel and flowers, simply reads: “W.T. Tilden Men’s Singles Champion 1921.”

Includes a Letter of Provenance from the Helms Athletic Foundation/LA84 Collection