posted by maggie on May 7
As the time comes near for another spectacular go in the great tournaments of the year, the press begins to watch the top tennis players. They’re observed for their diets, their fashion, the public behavior of their significant others, and occasionally even their training and preparations.
This deep interest in their personal lives is only matched by the interest in the event historically. There are many tennis buffs who can recall Wimbledon scores from years ago with an exacting detail that is admirable, or perhaps a bit disturbing. It’s all a part of the charm of the game, however, as the sport attracts fans from all walks of life. The pros themselves are no uniform lot, either, having come from a wide variety of backgrounds and places, and many of them go on to do more exciting things with their already exciting lives.
Few, however, have the kinds of “Where are they now?” stories that can live up to that or the Irish player Vere St. Leger Goold . He was, by all accounts, a top-notch player, and performed extremely well in the finals at Wimbledon in 1879. That would be enough excitement for most people to fill up the rest of a lifetime with good memories, but he apparently had more ambitions than going on to the French Open .
In 1907, he and his wife were leaving Monte Carlo, and left a trunk behind to be shipped separately. A porter with a good nose smelled something very wrong, and alerted the authorities, only to find that there were parts that made up the body of a very unfortunate woman. Apparently, she had lent the couple money and jewelry, and when she tried to collect from them, they decided to get rid of her. Sparing the ghastly details, St. Leger and his wife were both convicted. She died in prison after 6 years of a life sentence, and he died in less than a year at Devil’s Island, one of the most notorious prisons in world history. Stories like this make the game even more interesting, and fortunately, it isn’t a common fate for tennis tennis players.