Alice Marble

              Figure

ALICE MARBLE



HOBBY … Tennis VOCATIONS … Designing Sports Clothes Writing … Singing … Lecturing





Miss Marble Serving …



Of course, there's her tennis.  In 1939 she romped off with the U. S. National Women's Singles Championship title, the Women's Doubles and the Mixed Doubles.




And in 1939 she breezed into the England of tennis players and while still holding the triple crown of the U. S. A. took the triple crown of England.




Rated in 1938 as one of the ten outstanding women in America, informed people say that Alice Marble would rate high if she had never held a tennis racket in her hand.




Her accomplishments off the courts, though less newsworthy than her tennis victories, reveal a versatility and a personality that makes Alice Marble a woman to see … a woman to hear … a woman to meet.




Alice Marble sings and millions thrill to her voice on the radio.  Alice Marble designs sports clothes and style-conscious women wear them when they want to look chic.  Alice Marble writes for leading publications and her readers ask for more articles.




When you see her charm, her grace, her impeccable taste in clothes, it is hard to believe that in her younger years she was every bit of a 
tomboy
.  Alice Marble preferred boys' games to girlhood diversions.  Her greatest fondness was for baseball and at the age of 13, whenever the chance arose, she was in the outfield of the San Francisco ball park 
shagging
 flies.  She was a 
ball hawk
.  Her speed enabled her to cover tremendous territory and she could rifle a ball back to the plate like a veteran of diamond wars.




As she was nearing her fourteenth year her brother Dan suggested, 
You ought to take up tennis
.




But I like baseball better
, protested Alice.




Yes, I know
, answered Dan, 
But girls just don't play baseball—not when they are growing up into young ladies.  Tennis is a good game for young ladies.  Yes, you'd better go in for tennis now
.




So Alice took up tennis.




In 1933 Alice Marble was entered in a tournament.  The officials were eager to have it completed on schedule.  The day for the final play was terrifically hot, terrifically humid.  Only the bravest dared the blistering sunshine of that afternoon and the match might well have been called off because of the danger of sunstroke and exhaustion.




But the committee ordered, 
Carry on
, and before twilight she was forced to play the unheard of total of 108 games—in blast furnace temperature.




She met one opponent after the other, broke them down, swept them out of her path.  She played until the last ounce of energy had gone from her body and when still more was demanded of her, she played with all that was left—fierce determination, flawless courage.




At the end she collapsed of sunstroke.




They sent her back to her San Francisco home where she lay for many bleak and desolate weeks, broken, emaciated.




But in 1934, Alice Marble, still very ill and still very weak, went back into action in Paris—and quickly collapsed.  She went back home and when she reached San Francisco her doctors were almost hopeless of any full recovery.  She seemed destined for a life of invalidism and was sent to Palm Springs where, after a lapse of months, she became the forgotten girl of tennis.  She was, it seemed, just another who flared brilliantly and collapsed on the threshold of fame.





But four years later Alice Marble met Kay Stammers in the finals at Wimbledon on a drizzling wind-swept July afternoon and fairly blasted her into oblivion in world's record time.




At the end the British tennis experts, after regaining their voices that had failed them during Alice Marble's awesome display, said, 
No woman ever played like that before, none ever can duplicate this astonishing performance.  This was the ultimate in perfection
.




Alice Marble is a champion.  Twice she came back from serious physical collapse to confound those who declared that she was too ill ever to play tennis again.




In her lectures this golden haired beauty from Plumas County, California, tells the exciting story of her career, offering a brilliant, human, personal resumé of what it takes to be a champion.  The philosophy that pulled her through her dark days and enabled her to make one of the most startling comebacks that the world has ever seen will help each one of her hearers.  She has prepared two talks.  The first, 
THE WILL TO WIN
 has a great inspirational value as Alice Marble does not feel that her career has been so exceptional.  Anyone can do anything that he or she really wants to do badly enough and Miss Marble, a living example of this theory, is proof.  The second, 
THE WOMAN IN SPORTS
, is an evaluation of the place of sports in the life of women … how sports will benefit them … how it has benefited others … who the great figures are in this field … who will be next years champions.




Few women, indeed, are better equipped to speak on these subjects.



Figure




In Just One Year
 ALICE MARBLE



• was voted outstanding woman athlete of 1939 by the Associated Press Poll.


• rated second to Joe Burk, amateur sculler, as outstanding athlete, man or woman, in amateur poll of the Associated Press, 1939.


• was placed by King Features among the ten outstanding women of 1939.


• was one of the few women of such youth ever to achieve listing in 
Who's Who
.


• became the only woman tennis player to have ever won all six major championships in one year (1939)




WIMBLEDON (WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIPS)



Women's Singles


Women's Doubles with Sarah Fabyan


Mixed Doubles with Robert Riggs





CHAMPIONSHIPS IN AMERICA



Women's Singles


Women's Doubles with Sarah Fabyan


Mixed Doubles with Harry Hopman





CHAMPIONSHIPS OF IRELAND



Women's Singles


Women's Doubles with Susan Noel (
England
)







Quotes
 on Alice Marble



Writes Ernest Betts, London Daily Mail Theatre Correspondent:


Miss Marble has a deep magnetic voice and knows how to use it.




Writes “Women's Newspaper”, London:


One of the ten leading women in England in 1939 is Alice Marble, brilliant young tennis champion, for her grace, charm and great ability as an athlete.




Writes Gordon Wesley, Sports Writer, Sunday Dispatch, London:


Never has there been such a wonderful exhibition of women's lawn tennis on the Centre Court since the days of Suzanne Lenglen and I doubt if that famous player ever excelled Alice Marble's magnificent display today.




Writes Fred Stowe, Sunday Chronicle, London:


Queen Mary watched the tennis with great interest and said 'Miss Marble, I thought your play fascinating today'.




Writes Stanley Doust, London Daily Mail:


Miss Marble gave what I consider the finest exhibition of women's lawn tennis I have ever seen.




Writes Walter Winchell:


Alice Marble, the tennis champ, demonstrated she is the most indestructible of newspage beauties.  She can face a camera after a stiff tennis tourney and look as fresh in the snapshots as the movie queens do after the best surgery from a roomful of Westmore's.




Writes Dorothy Killgalen, New York Feature Writer:


Alice Marble is not by any means a Kirsten Flagstad but she is most pleasing and can hold an audience.




Writes Mary K. Brown, Internationally Famous Tennis Teacher, Golfer, Artist and Writer:




Alice Marble is a great champion.  She is not only a technically perfected, colorful player, but an American personality whose courage and successful fight against the ravages of illness have won her a place in the hearts of the American people who applaud such will to win.  Alice Marble brings the whole of herself to her game, great power and finesse yet retaining with disarming effect a refreshing femininity, pride in appearance and an orderly mind.  She has a great deal to contribute to the young people of her generation.




Writes Frank Menke, Sports Writer:




I nominate Alice Marble for the outstanding athlete of 1939 because; 1—she is good looking; 2—she won everything possible in tennis in 1939; 3—she is extra-special good looking.




Writes The New York Times:


Alice Marble wins distinguished honor of being voted the outstanding woman athlete of 1939
 (by Associated Press poll).




Writes Harry Grayson, Feature Writer of NEA:




In a career as illustrious as any girl could hope to have, gracious Alice Marble has always been a regular fellow … has masculine imperturbability when the going is tough … would still be a swell person if she'd never seen a tennis racket.




Writes Richards Vidmer, Sports Columnist, New York Herald Tribune:




After hearing Alice Marble in her debut as feature singer in the Sert Room of the Waldorf-Astoria I was enthralled by her performance; she has poise, charm and a pleasing deep contralto voice.  It is difficult now to decide whether I would rather watch her spectacular tennis game or hear her sing.




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