Biography
James Henry Van Alen (commonly known by his nickname "Jimmy") was born on September 19, 1902 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He was the son of James Laurens Van Alen (1878 - 1927) and Margaret Louise Post Bruguiere (1876 - 1969).
He graduated in 1924 from Cambridge University. He was an avid tennis player and was a national singles and doubles champion in court tennis.
He helped found the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1954 at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. One of his contributions to the game was the development of the Van Alen Streamlined Scoreing System (VASSS) which, among other elements, advocated a sudden-death tie breaker to end prolonged sets and matches. Van Alen actively promoted his system and in 1970 the U.S Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce, on an experimental basis, the tie-break. Initially it was a best-of-nine-points, sudden death tie-break which made it possible to have simultaneous match points for both players. Via a few intermediary steps this would evolve into the current best-of-twelve-point tie-break.
He was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1965.
He was a great fan of Clement C. Moore's famous poen A Visit from Saint Nicholas which is more commonly known as Twas the Night Before Christmas. He purchased and restored the Clement C. Moore house on Catherine Street in Newport, RI and would make an annual public reading of the poem to children during the Christmas season.
He died after striking his head in a fall at his home on July 3, 1991. He is buried with his wife at the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery at Saint Columba's Chapel in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Read more about this topic: Jimmy Van Alen
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West [Cicily Isabel Fairfield] (1892–1983)
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“A biography is like a handshake down the years, that can become an arm-wrestle.”
—Richard Holmes (b. 1945)