• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Women Athletes: Fighting Their Way Into Recognition An Interview with Pauline Betz Addie Interviewer: Brynn Jacoby America in the 20th Century World Mr. David Brandt February 13th 2008 Table of Contents Interview Release Form ……………………………………………………………. Statement of Purpose ………………………………………………………………. 1 Biography ………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Historical Contextualization ……………………………………………………….. 4 Interview Transcription ……………………………………………………………. 13 Time Indexing Log ………………………………………………………………… 47 Interview Analysis …………………………………………………………………. 48 Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………. 52 Works Cited ………………………………………………………………………… 55 Statement of Purpose The purpose of this Oral History project is to better understand the progression of women in sports throughout the last century. Through an interview with tennis grand slam champion, Pauline Betz Addie, this project provides a clearer understanding of the experiences of women athletes during 1940’s. Addie, one of the first women to win an athletic scholarship, played tennis at the collegiate level and later went on to win five grand slam titles. As Addie talks about her college years on the men’s team, playing for war relief in Europe, as well as her suspension from amateur competition, this interview provides a unique perspective of women athletics throughout the twentieth century. Biography Pauline Betz Addie was born in 1919 in Dayton, Ohio. At a young age, she and her family moved to Los Angeles, California. Her mother, a high school physical education teacher, encouraged her to play tennis from a young age. Addie graduated from L.A High School and won a tennis scholarship to Rollins College in California in 1939. Proud of her accomplishments, including the rare women’s sports scholarship, Addie became a member of the Rollins men’s tennis team. One of the few women playing at a collegiate level, Addie played with many prominent tennis stars. Known for her incredible speed, Addie won the U.S Open at Forest Hills four times, all during the 1940’s and partially while she was still at Rollins. She then went on to win Wimbledon in 1946, not once losing a single set. As a result of considering the option of going professional, Addie and good friend Sarah Palfrey Cooke were suspended from amateur competition by the U.S Lawn Tennis Association. Soon after, in 1947 Addie made the decision to become a professional. During this time she toured with Cooke, Jack Kramer, “Gussy” Moran, and many others. While on the road, Addie met her husband Bob Addie, a Washington Post sportswriter. Pauline Betz and Bob Addie were married in 1949 and started a family soon after. The first of their five children was born in 1951. Although she still took occasional tours, Addie began to settle down in Washington, D.C. She loved coaching and worked at various schools in the Washington metropolitan area including Foxcroft in Virginia and Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Visitation both located in D.C. Addie worked as the tennis pro at Edgemoor Tennis Club in Bethesda, Maryland for around twenty years. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of fame in 1965. She now resides in Potomac, Maryland. Historical Contextualization Women Athletes Fight Their Way Into Recognition When champion tennis player Pauline Betz Addie was asked what she received when she won the U.S Open in the 1940’s she responded “Not much, probably a trophy” (Borda A20). Today, the prize for that same finals match, is approximately 1.5 million dollars not including previous matches won and other endorsements (www.usopenseries.com). Women athletes in the early twentieth century were presented with numerous stereotypes as woman. As a result of these stereotypes, women were often at a disadvantage to men. Largely spurred by World War II, women were given many more opportunities one of which was sports. The fact that women could not obtain athletic scholarships only one-hundred and fifty years ago proves that the last two centuries have played an enormous part in the growing women’s athletic movement. The accomplishments and struggles of women playing sports in the past have paved the way for women today. The history of women in sports is truly a story of women’s liberation (Smith ix). While women began playing sports when the country was founded, women only started to become recognized athletes in the mid-twentieth century. Therefore, in order to better understand the perspective of Pauline Betz Addie, a Wimbledon champion in the nineteen-forties, one must be informed of the discrimination women athletes endured in the nineteen-thirties and forties as well as the evolution of women in sports over the course of the last century. From as early as sixth century A.D, hundreds of Greek men athletes are accounted for while only around one dozen female athletes of the time are known (Guttmann 7). While women have participated in sports in ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, they have not played a significant part in the history of women in sports. As early as 1542, Mary, the Queen of Scots was recognized as the first female golfer (Saari 361). Over two hundred and fifty years later in 1804, an American, Alicia Meynell, became the first female jockey. She raced in York, England. In 1887, Lottie Dod become the first female tennis prodigy, but tragically died at the young age of fifteen. Finally in 1893, Margaret Scott became the first woman to win the British Ladies’ Golf championship (Saari 362). Over a span of three-hundred and fifty years there were an extremely low number of women’s “firsts” in athletics. Women really started to get involved in sports in the early nineteenth century when athletics were considered an opportunity to socialize. The sports they played included fishing, boating, sleighing, ice-skating, and horseback riding. These traditional activities are not necessarily what society thinks of when considering sports today. During this time women were deemed homemakers and the strain of any physical exertion was by no means promoted. By the mid-nineteenth century, it became acceptable for women to watch sports and some doctors began to advocate exercise in moderation for women. Being allowed to watch sporting events eventually prompted women to become interested in competing (Woolum 4). As a result of women’s increasing roles during the Civil War, women became more involved in women related organizations, further establishing themselves in society. During this time, they helped the soldiers, but their new roles eventually evolved into the increase in women’s sports. Despite their presence in the sporting world, it was often still considered “unfeminine” for women to run after balls, let alone break a sweat. Women’s participation in sports continued to grow throughout the century and by 1877, the Ladies Club for Outdoor Sports was created. Continuing the new trend of women athletes, the United States Lawn Tennis Association opened its membership to women in 1889 (Woolum 5). Opportunities for women athletes continued to become available. Physical education programs began to blossom throughout the nations colleges and universities allowing women to become involved in sports. Some of these programs were even required (Woolum 7). The American Physical Education Association (APEA) formed a Committee on Women’s Athletics (CWA). These organizations were created to solve the problems women and girls faced in sports (Woolum 8). The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), originally formed in 1888 to promote men’s amateur athletics, took an interest in women’s competition after World War One. By 1923 AAU was sponsoring at least nine women’s sports (Woolum 9). Women first began to make their presence known in sports in the twentieth century. Defeating Doris K. Douglas in 1905, the British May Sutton Bundy became the first woman to win a singles tennis title at Wimbledon (Saari 362). Five years later in 1910, American Eleonora Sears became the first woman to play against men in a polo match. African American women also began to establish themselves in sports, which was an extremely incredible task at the time. Not only did they suffer from racial oppression, but they also had to struggle as women to create a place for themselves in sports. Lucy Diggs Slowe became the first African-American woman to be a United States national champion when she won the all-black American Tennis Association championships in 1917. In 1923, Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, an American tennis player, established the Wightman Cup, the first international women’s tennis competition (Saari 365). In 1924, American swimmer, Sybil Bauer became the first woman to win an Olympic gold in medal in the one-hundred meter backstroke. During the first year when the competition was open to women, Bauer broke the existing men’s world swimming record. In 1928, Lina Radke, a German runner became the firth woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the eight-hundred meter track and field. Like in Bauer’s case, this was the first year that competition in this event was open to women. Subsequently, the event was not open again to female competitors until 1960 (Saari 366). Women continued to make their presence known in the 1940’s. American swimmer, Ann Curtis, became the first woman to win the James E. Sullivan Award of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and Gretchen Fraser became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in skiing (Saari 369-370). In 1950, African-American tennis player, Althea Gibson broke the color barrier when she played in the U.S Open at Forest Hills. She would also become the first black female to play and win at Wimbledon (Saari 371). Tenley Albright became the first woman to win the World Figure Skating Championship in 1953. In that same year, American tennis player Maureen Connolly became the first woman to win all of the grand slams which include Wimbledon, the Australian, French, and the U.S.

Load more

  59

Copy Link