NEW YORK – Frank Shields, the grandfather of actress and model Brooke Shields, is prominently featured in the new book “THE WIMBLEDON FINAL THAT NEVER WAS.” The book is the memoir of Shields’ great friend and U.S. Davis Cup teammate Sidney Wood and also features incredible stories that connected the Hollywood lives of such stars as Grace Kelly, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Charlie Chaplin, Groucho Marx to those of tennis.
Brooke Shields
THE WIMBLEDON FINAL THAT NEVER WAS ($15.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com), which will be published June, 2011, details the life and times of Wood with a focus on one of the most unusual episodes ever in sport when he won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in a default – the only time in the history of The Championships that the men’s singles final was not played. Wood, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 97, tells the story of how he won the title over Shields, his school buddy, doubles partner, roommate and Davis Cup teammate when Shields was ordered by the U.S. Tennis Association to withdraw from the final to rest his injured knee in preparation for an upcoming Davis Cup match for the United States. He then discusses his “private understanding playoff” that saw his match with Shields at the Queen’s Club tournament final in London three years later be played for the Wimbledon trophy.
Wood, who could be called the greatest story teller tennis ever had, also relates fascinating anecdotes and stories that involve famous personalities from Hollywood and across the globe. Stories include his romance with Grace Kelly, his qualifying for the modern day US Open doubles championship with Errol Flynn, his on-court tennis joking with Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx among many others.
David Wood of Queens, N.Y., the youngest son of Wood, serves as contributor to the volume.
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press is also the publisher of Tennis Made Easy by Kelly Gunterman, by Rene Stauffer (www.RogerFedererBook.com), The Bud Collins History of Tennis by Bud Collins, The Education of a Tennis Player by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf (www.CliffRicheyBook.com), Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), The Lennon Prophecy by Joe Niezgoda (www.TheLennonProphecy.com), Bone Appetit, Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog by Susan Anson among others.
People and places mentioned in the book include Andre Agassi, J.P. Allen, Wilmer Allison, Arnold Palmer, Arthur Ashe, Helen Astor, Bunny Austin, Babe Ruth, Flo Baker, Maud Barger-Wallach, Boris Becker, Berkeley Bell, The Beverly Hills Tennis Club, Harold Blauer, Bjorn Borg, Ray Bolger, Jean Borotra, Henry Breck, John Bromwich, Louis Brough, Don Budge, Jacques Brugnon, Eddie Burns, Jr., Bob Burton, Dick Button, Eddie Cantor, Oleg Cassini, Michael Chang, Charlie Chaplin, Ty Cobb, Henri Cochet, Junior Coen, Bud Collins, Harry Cohn, Henry Cole, Ian Collins, Jack Condon, Jimmy Connors, Ashley Cooper, Gary Cooper, Rocky Cooper, Jim Courier, Noel Coward, Jack Crawford, Joan Crawford, Glen Cunningham, Kevin Curren, Lili Damita, Alison Danzig, Mike Davies, Dave Chasen, Raul Barrelet de Ricou, Jack Dempsey, Babe Didrickson, Wally Dill, Joe Dimaggio, Bill Doelger, Robert Donat, Jaroslav Drobny, Stefan Edberg, Roy Emerson, Bob Falkenburg, Roger Federer, Bobby Fischer, Doug Flutie, Errol Flynn, Frank Froehling, Clark Gable, Neal Fraser, Althea Gibson, Pierre Gillou, Keith Gledhill, Paulette Goddard, Sam Goldwyn, Pancho Gonzales, Jeff Gordon, Bill Graham, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Sam Hardy, Gil Hall, Anna Harper, Rex Hartwig, Charles Hayden, Mary Heeley, Lew Hoad, Al Horowitz, Harry Houdini, Dick Hoyt, Patrick Hughes, Lamar Hunt, Patrick Hughes, Goran Ivanisevic, Bill Johnston, Bobby Jones, David Jones, Perry Jones, Grace Kelly, John Kelly, Billie Jean King, Russell Kingman, Vernon Kirby, Frank Kovacs, Richard Kraijcek, Jack Kramer, Ferdinand Kuhn, Rene Lacoste, Pierre Henri Landry, Rod Laver, Gertrude Lawrence, Ivan Lendl, Rod Laver, Alan Little, George Lott, Francis Gordon Lowe, Barry MacKay, Enrique Maier, Gene Mako, Gregory Mangin, Rocky Marciano, Roger Maris, Groucho Marx, Louis B. Mayer, Mark McCormack, John McEnroe, Viv McGrath, Chuck McKinley, Don McNeill, Aimee Semple McPherson, Andrei Medvedev, Fritz Merker, Doris Metaxa, Helen Wills Moody, Archie Moore, Carlos Moya, Phyllis Mudford, Audie Murphy, Rafael NAdal, Ilie Nastase, John Newcombe, Yannick Noah, Paavo Nurmi, Betty Nuthall, Alex Olmedo, Rafael Osuna, JAnita Page, Ray Palmer, Arnold Palmer, Gerald Patterson, Budge Patty, Pele, Fred Perry, Yvon Petra, Mark Philippoussis, Walter Pidgeon, Gary Player, Prince Rainer, Roger Pryor, Dennis Ralson, Rosser Reeves, Carolyn Reybold, Malcolm Reybold, The Shah of Iran, Joan Ridley, Vinnie Richards, Bobby Riggs, Marcelo Rios, Andy Roddick, George Rogers, Millicent Rogers, Herbert Roper-Barrett, Ken Rosewall, Stanley Rumbough, Greg Rusedski, Pete Sampras, Manolo Santana, Jiro Satoh, Dick Savitt, Ted Schroeder, Pancho Segura, Vic Seixas, Monica Seles, Dave Selznick, Nigel Sharpe, Dorothy Shepherd-Barron, Brooke Shields, Josane Sigart, Wallace Simpson, Horton Smith, Stan Smith, Ann Sothern, Boris Spassky, Lester Stoefen, Fred Stolle, Ed Sullivan, Clifford Sutter, Tommy Suffern Tailer, Roscoe Tanner, Robert Taylor, Ted Bates, Margaret Thatcher, A.K. Tigrett, I.B. Tigrett, Bill Tilden, Ashley Tinnen, Ion Tiriac, Tony Trabert, Twiggy, John Van Ryn, Guillermo Vilas, Ellsworth Vines, Gottried von Cramm, Bob Wagner, Jack Warner ,Watson Washburn, Pauline Washburn, Johnny Weissmuller, Jack Welch, Grover Whalen, John Hay “Jock” Whitney, Eileen Whittingstall, Dick Williams, Colin Wood, Edith Wood, Godfrey Wood, Patricia Wood, Tiger Woods, Fay Wray, Lefty Wright, Jiro Yamagishi and Alvin York.
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