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Frank Deford
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Big Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and the Tragedy (Hall of Fame Edition) Paperback – January 1, 2004

by Frank Deford (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 48 ratings
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The American tragedy of Big Bill Tilden is illuminated in a fresh portrait of the tennis star who dominated the sport from the 1920s through the 1950s but died alone in abject poverty, a long-time social outcast who preferred the company of boys. Reprint.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Sportclassic Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1894963245
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1894963244
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sportclassic Books (January 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1894963245
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1894963244
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 48 ratings

About the author

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Frank Deford

Frank Deford

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The author of more than fifteen books, Frank Deford (b. 1938) is one of the nation’s most prominent sportswriters. In his nonfiction he has chronicled everything from roller derby to the Miss America pageant, while his novels have used sport as a background for historical fiction and explorations of what athletic competition can mean. Two of his novels, Everybody’s All American and The Life of a Child, have been made into motion pictures, and he also wrote the screenplays for Trading Hearts and Four Minutes. A senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, Deford also appears on NPR’s Morning Edition. A member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and its Hall of Fame, Deford has been named Sportswriter of the Year six times. His most recent book is Bliss, Remembered, a novel set during the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
48 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Ken Givich
5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest ever Tennis star now forgotten
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
Excellent biography of one of sports best athletes who is now forgotten or scorned. Tennis phenom in 1920's who won every contest for many years and was the expert in the game that everyone tried to emulate. I admit that I had not known of this man before reading the book as I am not a big sports fan.
Tragically for the subject of the book, Bill Tilden went from hero to hated due to his homosexual orientation.
Must read for those who appreciate history and the changing mores of our society.
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Tom K. Larson, Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars Tragic Tale of Supper Tennis Player
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2016
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As a boy I read Bill Tilden's books. It is tragic tale of a super tennis player.
One person found this helpful
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Bob Drake
5.0 out of 5 stars Deford Shows Reverence for the Tilden Legacy
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2010
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Thirty plus years ago I read two articles in Sports Illustrated by Frank Dedford that stunned me. The subject was the man voted the greatest athlete of the first half of the twentieth century, tennis player Bill Tilden, and I had never heard of him. When I saw the play Big Bill at Lincoln Center years ago, written by A.R. "Pete" Gurney, I already knew many of the details. Yet it was only recently that I decided to buy this book.

This book is an expanded version of those two Sports Illustrated articles, and is written with Deford's care and wit. I can almost hear him reading it to me, like one of his commentaries on NPR. Mr. Deford brings Big Bill back to life, describing his ego as well as his intellect and style. None of Tilden's tennis books are in print, but used copies are available here at Amazon. Mr. Deford gives as a motivation for Tilden's pursuit of boys in later life as a search for the son he could never have.

There is no memorial to this athlete who out-polled Babe Ruth, and his small, flat, rectangular gravestone in the Ivy Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, states, simply, "William T. Tilden 2nd, 1893-1953." There is no mention of tennis. Actually there is a memorial to Bill Tilden, THIS BOOK. And we can thank Frank Deford for that.
15 people found this helpful
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charles Novo
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2017
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Sad, effective bio.

C J N
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emp5433
5.0 out of 5 stars Tilden deserved to be ostracized
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2014
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DeFord has written a very sympathetic biography of a child-molester vermin who happened to be a great tennis player. I purchased the book because in the past 10 years a concerted effort has been made to rehabilitate Tilden’s reputation, and I trusted Frank DeFord’s journalistic credentials to produce the facts on Tilden’s dark side. He does. Tilden-advocates deceitfully assert that he has been slighted by tennis historians because of his sexual orientation (which, for the most part is false) or are too stupid to differentiate a homosexual from a pedophile. As DeFord points out, Tilden didn’t seek sexual relationships with men, he craved boys – which is a crime -- and it’s why he did two stints in jail. As with OJ Simpson, anything Bill Tilden accomplished in sports is rightfully overshadowed by his criminally repugnant behavior in his private life. Whatever triumphs he had in tennis mean nothing compared to the boys lives he destroyed.
8 people found this helpful
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desertwiffie
2.0 out of 5 stars Poor, poor Big Bill Tilden
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2013
Verified Purchase
I wish this were "about the man" but I don't feel like I now know Bill Tilden. The author seemed determined to defend the things he did, calling child molestation a "seduction by the young man" (who was a 14 year old boy). It finally started to grate on my nerves. The book wanders around in time and then suddenly, in the middle, it becomes Part 2, and we're back in Tilden's childhood. Naturally, the writer then offers this up as another reason poor Mr. Tilden wanted to "mess around" with little boys. Very strange book, very strange man, and though I believe the writer is entitled to his take on all of it, that felt very strange to me, too. I was disappointed.
3 people found this helpful
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BW
3.0 out of 5 stars He was a great tennis player and this bio makes that clear with ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
A lot of cute talk and theorizing on Tilden's attraction to teen males. He was a great tennis player and this bio makes that clear with loads of examples. Apparently an arrogant man, Tilden helped those he found attractive and worthy. Hmm, sounds like a great many other "great" people since time began.
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joe kopsick
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2016
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Great read, but depressing at the same time. A tortured soul
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

T Brian
4.0 out of 5 stars An aptly entitled book about a forgotten champion in the history of tennis.
Reviewed in Canada on May 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
The titular character proves to be ultimately both admirable and somewhat pathetic in this well-written and aptly entitled tale of tragedy and triumph. I found, as a tennis player and openly gay man, Bill Tilden's legacy one which was vitally important to know of and was riveted by Frank Delford's work in the telling of his story.
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Harlequin
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating account of a lesser-known tennis legend.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a fascinating account of the life of Big Bill who dominated men's tennis in the earlier part of the 20th century. What is amazing is how few people these days know his story - a story of triumph and tragedy which makes for an enthralling read. It is also a sad reflection on human reactions to human frailty in others.

Full of detail which will interest today's tennis fans and fill in some gaps in their knowledge of the game's history. I must admit to feeling quite sad as I finished the story of Big Bill. It seems many great and talented people have feet of clay and often have to battle with an inherent weakness in their natures which mars an otherwise successful life. You will find out what Bill's achilles heel was as you read. How you, the reader judges him at the end, is your challenge.
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