Friedrich Becker Standing in uniform (middle of picture)at Bad Homburg Tennis club.
This is the short version of the story.I know I read about it in one of my tennis books.The problem is I can't find it.I tried.
Grass courts didn't do as well in the German climate as in England so they went for hard courts.
The hard courts used at the Uhlenhorst club don't sound very pleasant.
The courts were described as "..a surface which consisted mainly of the black rub-off of imperial cobblestone roads and a finishing cover of fine gravel."The lines were sheets of iron painted white.
Friedrich Becker (circa 1898) was the Groundsman at the Bad Homburg club.These dark gravel courts had a repution for getting the players clothes dirty.Particularly the long skirts of the ladies.When it rained,no doubt it was worse.
The story is that Becker walked past a place where they made clay flower pots.He had an idea that the red clay would make a good court surface.He gave it a try,and the rest is history.
*See "Tennis.A Cultural History" by Heiner Gillmeister
Page 252,Note 209,Figure 98
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