It was the summer of 1957, and kids are out playing with the new high-tech flying devise from Wham-O called the Frisbee! Chevrolet is trying to keep up with production of its latest release…the 57' Chevy, and Elvis is settling into his new home at Graceland. But all eyes turn toward England in late June to see if the worlds #1 tennis player can capture the title at the All England Club, and become the first black tennis player to hoist the Wimbledon trophy.
In 1956, Althea Gibson had become the first African American tennis player to win a Grand Slam title, by winning the French Open in Paris. Althea’s graceful style and athleticism make her the one to watch at the 1957 Wimbledon Championships. The energy surrounding the tournament is electric, as this years tournament is destined to be remembered for many years to come.
While Althea was getting the headlines in her quest for tennis’ most coveted title, there were many other players at the Championships, fulfilling their dreams of playing on the historic lawns just southwest of London. One of those players is Robert Vincent Sherman, an American from Alhambra, California, who at the age of 37 is making his Wimbledon debut. Sherman, an extremely talented athlete, who had been a track and field star, and former professional basketball player, had just picked up tennis at the advanced age of 30. Now just 7 years later, he is playing on the sports biggest stage. But with the big names of tennis filling the main show courts, Sherman is locked into a battle on one of the outer courts, with British hopeful, and future International Tennis Hall of Fame member, John Barrett.
As can be expected, the largely partisan crowd is overflowing the area surrounding the court and letting it be known that they want to see the British #5 player advance to the second round. But what unfolds that afternoon is not exactly what the crowd had expected. It seems that this older bloke from the colonies is holding his own against the 25 year old Barrett. This is not going to be a walk in the park!
Sherman, who had made his way through the qualifying tournament, is off to a good start by winning the first set 6-4. Once described as a Gazelle with tennis shoes and a racquet, the nimble Sherman is all over the net with his serve and volley assault. The pro-Barrett crowd is perplexed, as they witness the events unfolding on court. This Sherman guy is not the villain they had hoped for. He seems to relish the opportunity to interact with the crowd, and seems to carry on a continuous dialogue with both himself and anyone in attendance who is willing to take up the conversation.
The second set is a topsy-turvy affair, as both players dig in for a battle. With the score knotted at 10 games all in the set, Sherman catches Barrett off guard with his patented “popcorn” shot, which is similar to today’s “tweener”, hit with back towards the net. In this case, the miracle shot produces the only break of the set, which allows Sherman to hold serve in the following game to take the set 12-10. Sherman now leads 2 sets to love, but nobody is moving from their seats. In fact, more seem to be filling in any space available.
A somewhat dejected Barrett, continues to hope that he will find a way past the hard charging Sherman. Lifted by the supportive crowd, Barrett finds his chance with Sherman serving at 5-6. On break point, the tennis gods seem to smile down on the British player as his service return clips the top of the soft net, and rolls over on Sherman’s side without a reply. Barrett claims the third set 7 games to 5. Word has spread around the grounds that an epic battle is taking place. The crowd gets even bigger and louder!
Early in the fourth set, Barrett, now brimming with confidence, begins to show why he is one of Britain’s top hopes for going deep into the event. He breaks Sherman’s serve early on in the set and holds out to win the fourth set 6-3, to even the match at 2 sets all. The hour is now late, even by London summer standards. So most spectators remaining on the grounds have huddled around the Sherman v Barrett match in the fading light.
The famous Wimbledon Queue, as spectators wait to be allowed on the grounds.
Meanwhile, Althea Gibson is resting comfortably, preparing for her upcoming match the next day. Trying to stay fresh and focused on the task in front of her, she isn’t aware of the epic struggle still taking place on the outer courts of Wimbledon. She always makes a point to follow the results of her fellow Americans, so will check the draw closely the next morning.
As the fifth and final set gets underway, it is clear that Sherman is struggling. This 37 year old Gazelle is now beginning to show his age against the much younger Brit. But adversity is not something that Robert V. Sherman has shied away from during his life. In fact, he has found a way to deal with the most difficult situations with a smile and a sense of humor.
Robert was the youngest of three children in the Sherman household, living in the Los Angeles area. His father was a rug maker, who was a strict task master when it came to dealing with his children. Young Robert, seemed to be impervious to the pressures of growing up during this challenging time. The Great Depression hit when Sherman was just 9 years old. Without a “pot to piss in”, the Sherman family made due with what they had, with the youngest member of the family spending most of his time playing any sport he could.
The conversation with himself and the British crowd has now been going on for nearly 5 hours, as play continues into the fifth set. The once lopsided crowd is now remarkably cheering on both players! It is clear at this point that the American has given everything he has to this point, so the crowd is showing their respect in the only way they can. They now see that the nearly forty year old is living out his dream of competing in the most important tournament in the sport. And compete he surely did!
Both the remaining daylight and the final set go fairly quick, as it’s nearly dark by the time Barrett prevails 6-1. As the players embrace at the net and the crowd stands in full appreciation of both athletes, Robert V. Sherman is already planning his next move. Never one to focus on a loss, he is thinking about the summer ahead. As a school teacher, his summers are now spent traveling the planet in search of tennis tournaments. His young tennis career is just beginning.
As June stretches into July the once green grass courts, have now turned brown. Althea Gibson makes history by besting Darlene Hard for the Women’s Championship. The very next day, in an all-Australian men’s final, Lew Hoad beats Ashley Cooper for the title. That same day, July 6, 1957 in nearby Liverpool, Paul McCartney meets John Lennon for the first time. But that’s another story...
John Barrett could not recover from his first round battle, and lost his next match to future legend Roy Emerson. In total, John competed at Wimbledon for 18 years and became the sports top historian, entering the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Sherm’s white sideburns! Circa 1970’s
As for Robert V. Sherman, he qualified again for the Wimbledon main draw 2 years later at the age of 39, this time losing yet another epic battle of over 5 hours, losing to Alan Bailey of Australia 8-6 in the fifth set! But once again, Sherman was looking to the future. And what a bright future it would be. Before his tennis career was over, The Sherm would end up winning more National Championships than any male tennis player ever…EVER! 125 national titles. Not bad for a track running, basketball scoring school teacher who took up tennis at 30.
Ten years after his epic battle with John Barrett, Robert V. Sherman married my mom…I was 5 years old. Many of the details of their match reported in this story are based upon watching the Sherm play tennis for many years. He was never one to talk about past matches…always moving forward. So, we never really talked about the match. If he were alive today, I would love to hear him talk about his match and his life back in the summer of 1957.
This past month would have been the Sherm’s 100th birthday. He passed away a few weeks shy of his 97th birthday, but was still on the tennis court up to the very end. We had our last hit just a month before he died, during our Thanksgiving holiday visit. As always, he was still enjoying his time on the court. Still encouraging my own play, and wanting to know about my next tournament. Typical…always looking forward!
The teacher and the student!