CONTENT IN ANONYMITY
The Miami Herald
Monday, July 1, 1996
MERI-JO BORZILLERI Herald Sports Writer
Doris Hart overcame a knee infection that limited her range of motion to become one of the greatest players in women's tennis history.
Now, 45 years after she captured Wimbledon singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles -- all on the same day -- longtime Coral Gables resident Hart, 71, shuns most public appearances.
Over the years, she has given away, sold or thrown out most of her trophies. The only one displayed in her Coral Gables high-rise: the Wimbledon ladies championship silver plate, won in 1951.
Hart donated one of her trophies, won as a player at the University of Miami, to the school. It's presented to the most valuable player on the women's team each year. Hart gave a speech at last year's ceremony, but didn't attend this year.
When the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce wanted to induct her into its Sports Hall of Champions in April -- along with Dan Marino and Joe DiMaggio, among others -- she chose not to attend.
She buys tickets every year to the UM Sports Hall of Fame banquet, but doesn't go.
"It just doesn't appeal to me," said Hart of banquets and inductions honoring her. "It's not for me. I know deep down what I did, and it pleases me."
Her story ranks as one of the most remarkable in Miami sports, yet it's known by precious few: tennis insiders, a few close friends and members of local clubs like the Riviera Country Club in Coral Gables, where Hart plays golf regularly.
"You mention Doris Hart and they say, 'Who?' " says Hart contemporary Gardnar Mulloy. "It disturbs me, because she's a great gal and was a great champion. But she's done her own thing."
One of them was letting a 14-year-old Mary Joe Fernandez in on a little secret. Fernandez was practicing at a Miami club when Hart pulled her aside.
"I'll never forget it. She said 'Mary Joe, the most important shot in women's tennis is the drop shot,' " said Fernandez, now a 10-year veteran on the pro tour. "I was too young, I really didn't think about it. But she's right. It is."
Fernandez, a 1995 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, finishes every practice with a drop shot drill. She's passed on that wisdom to fellow pro Lindsay Davenport, who used it to upset Kimiko Date and reach the French quarterfinals last month.
It's appropriate that Hart, whose disfigured knee kept her from running at a full sprint, discovered that tennis' most delicate shot could be its most effective weapon. She made a career of enveloping a weakness with a strength.
An infection suffered at age 1 nearly forced amputation of her right leg and left her limping through childhood. Hart discovered tennis at age 10 when she was hospitalized after a double-hernia operation. Bored in her room at Victoria Hospital in Miami, Hart would stare out her window overlooking Henderson Park's tennis court.
"Soon I had a fairly good idea of how the game was played," Hart writes in her book Tennis With Hart, published in 1955. "Before long my imagination took over, and I was mentally racing over the courts, swinging away at a little white ball."
Her brother, Richard "Bud" Hart, was a former UM men's tennis captain and was once ranked No. 17 in the United States. Until his death in 1995, Bud was Hart's coach and lifelong closest friend.
To compensate for her weak knee, he taught his little sister to hit strong and deep. Early in her career, Bud Hart would draw a box seven or eight feet long and two feet deep at the opposite baseline and have her hit it. Long drives would keep opponents on their heels. The reasoning: make them do all the running.
"I would never say she limped or was lame in any way," said Julian Eaton, whose family donated $170,000 to the University of Miami this year for a perpetual student-athlete scholarship in Hart's name. "She adapted herself to move."
Because of failing health, Hart hasn't played tennis in a couple of years. But she picked up golf. A member at Riviera, Hart plays about twice a week.
"I'd like to play more," says Hart, who suffers from a collapsed disc in her neck.
Hart, who taught at Hillsboro Beach's Hillsboro Club for 28 years after leaving competition, never married. She fills her time with golf, quiet lunches with friends, reading and crossword puzzles. Some women she plays with at Riviera have no clue they're playing with a legend.
Said Hart: "I don't say anything about it."
Hart rides a cart with a handicap flag at Riviera. The flag lets her drive up to the tee and close to the green. She has trouble walking because of her knee and is bothered by a persistent smoker's cough and the flu, which struck twice this winter.
But those who played tennis with her, and now golf, agree on one thing: Hart's enjoyment is infectious.
Said Marlene Angulo, one of Hart's regular golf partners: "Doris is competitive in the most delightful way possible. You challenge her, and she'll beat you. And she'll giggle while she's doing it."
Opponents liked her. Doubles partner Shirley Fry lost to Hart in the Wimbledon final, 6-1, 6-0, in a record 34 minutes. How bitter was Fry? She made Hart godmother to one of her children.
Fans liked her too.
"I had just won the French in 1951," said Fry, who lives in Farmington, Conn., and calls Hart weekly. "And here we were at Wimbledon, and everybody was coming up to her saying they were hoping it was her year to win."
Hart is one of just 12 players to have won each major -- Australian, French, Wimbledon, United States, at least once. She hasn't been back to Wimbledon since 1976. Too much fuss. Wimbledon treats its former champions the best -- with limos, free accommodations and long memories.
"They just remember," Hart said. "But I'm not into all that . . . entertainment. I'd love to go incognito."
THE ESSENTIAL DORIS HART
* Residence: Coral Gables
* Born: June 20, 1925 in St. Louis.
* College: Played for University of Miami (1946-48), Barry University (1943-45).
* Honors: International Tennis Hall of Fame (inducted 1969), UM Hall of Fame (1989, charter member), Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Sports Hall of Fame (1996), Metro-Dade Tennis Hall of Fame (1988, charter member).
Women's Grand Slam titles leaders
Player Career Majors 1. Margaret Smith Court 1960-75 62 2. Martina Navratilova 1974-95 56 3. Billie Jean King 1961-81 39 4. Doris Hart 1948-55 35 5. Helen Wills Moody 1923-38 31 Others
9. Pam Shriver 1981- 22 10. Chris Evert 1974-89 21 10. Suzanne Lenglen 1919-26 21 10. Darlene Hard 1958-69 21 13. Steffi Graf 1987- 20 13. Maria Bueno 1958-68 20 Major singles titles
* Australian Championships -- 1949
* French Championships -- 1950, 1952
* Wimbledon -- 1951
* U.S. Championships -- 1954-55
Note: Australian, French and U.S. championships became exclusively open tournaments in 1969, '68 and '70, respectively.
Other accomplishments
* With Court, the only two players in history -- male or female -- to win all 12 (singles, doubles, mixed) major titles at least once. Also one of only 12 to win all four singles majors.
* With partner Shirley Fry, won the French women's doubles a record five straight times beginning in 1950.
* Starting in 1946, ranked in the world's top 10 for 10 consecutive years, including No. 1 in 1951.