Dwight F. Davis was an American tennis player and politician best known for creating the Davis Cup. He was the first to recognize that an international team competition would be beneficial for tennis. He also donated the trophy associated with the competition.
Dwight Davis: The Man and the Cup by Nancy Kriplen is a three-part biography. The first part is about the tennis player who was the captain of the Harvard University tennis team and won the intercollegiate singles and doubles championships in 1899. He also won the American intercollegiate singles championship in 1900. Dwight Davis played on the US team that won the first Davis Cup competition at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston in 1900.
The second part of the biography is about the Davis Cup itself. In contrast to the Wightman Cup, which was purchased off the shelf by Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, Davis commissioned the trophy for the competition. This book details the artistic workmanship that went into the silver cup. It also tells the story of how some early victors found it awkward to display in their homes due to the sheer size.
The final part of the book interweaves the political and diplomatic career of Dwight Davis with what was going on in Davis Cup competition during his lifetime. He first served as the public parks commissioner in St Louis from 1911 to 1915. This book details his innovative ideas about public parks that resulted in a great expansion of the park system in that city. He also expanded athletic facilities, including public park tennis courts.
Dwight Davis had a distinguished political and diplomatic career. He was the Assistant Secretary of War under Calvin Coolidge from 1923 to 1925, and the Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929. He subsequently served as the Governor General of the Philippines from 1929 through 1932.
Dwight Davis: The Man and the Cup is the first and apparently only full-length biography of the founder of the Davis Cup. Author Nancy Kriplen does a masterful job describing his life of public service in parallel with the evolution of the Davis Cup competition.
I recommend this book as an in-depth primer on the historical origins of international cup competition in tennis. It is also an inspirational story of someone who improved both tennis and the world around him.
Dwight Davis : The Man and the Cup (Sponsored Link)
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Fiend At Court participates in the Amazon associates program and receives a paid commission on any purchases made via the links in this article. Details on the disposition of proceeds are available on the “About Fiend at Court” page.
