IMAGINE PLAYING FOR YOUR LIFE: GOTTFRIED VON CRAMM 1936

Before being escorted onto Wimbledon's famous Centre Court, Baron Gottfried von Cramm was told that he needed to take an urgent phone call.

After the call, von Cramm again joined his opponent, Donald Budge of the US, and quietly informed him, "It was Hitler; he wanted to wish me well."

Only moments after his phone call with Adolf Hitler, 

Gottfried von Cramm (left) and Donald Budge enter 

the Centre Court at Wimbledon for what was 

to be "...the most beautiful match."

Cramm started well in the match, leading Budge by 2 sets to love. But Budge managed to work his way back into the game by returning serve well to take the 3rd set and won a tight 4th set that could have gone to either man. 

Now it was all tied up at 2 sets all, and they were into a deciding 5th set.

The German shrugged off the loss of the previous 2 sets and again started to dominate in the 5th set, breaking Budge's serve and taking a 4-1 lead. Many watching thought the match was virtually over. Budge thought otherwise.

The American began to mount a heroic comeback in the deciding 5th set and eventually came back to lead 7-6. Cramm approached the net on match point on a wide approach shot to Budge's forehand. Only just able to reach the ball, Budge threaded a down-the-line passing shot that von Cramm could do nothing about. The match was over.
After the match, William Tilden described it as...

 "... the most beautiful match of tennis ever played"

In contrast to the beginning of the match Gottfried von Cramm
leaves the center court deflated after his epic five-set battle with Budge

 

Shaking hands at the net after the match, von Cramm told Budge, "That was the greatest match of my life. I am glad I lost to a man like you."

It's tough enough to play an important match with so much riding on the result. But imagine the extra pressure involved when, based on the match's outcome, you know that the rest of your life will change forever.

The consequences of losing this match against Budge were enormous for von Cramm. If he had won, von Cramm would have become an unwilling role model for German youth and the Nazi regime. Having lost the match, he was now labeled disloyal and had left himself vulnerable to the whims of Hitler.

Gottfried von Cramm and Don Budge played each other again a few months later at Forest Hills (then the site of the US Open Championships), with Budge winning once again. Gottfried von Cramm was now a liability to the Nazi regime, an embarrassment, and Hitler acted swiftly.

Hitler wanted to use von Cramm as a role model, but unfortunately
his loss to Budge at Wimbledon and later to him again at Forest Hills
meant that von Cramm was vulnerable to the nazi regime, and they were
swift to act.

Accused of homosexuality and helping Jews, von Cramm was sent to prison for one year.
On his release from prison, Gottfried von Cramm was shunned by the tennis establishment, who did not want to antagonize a Germany that was not yet at war with Europe. Even Wimbledon would not accept his entry, fearing Hitler's disapproval. 

Ironically, a few short months later, German aircraft were bombing London and the hallowed Centre Court at Wimbledon.

With the help of the few tennis friends that remained loyal to him, Gottfried von Cramm did play the tournament at Queens Club that year, which was held 2 weeks before Wimbledon. 
During Queens, Cramm beat the American Bobby Riggs 6-1 6-0. Riggs took out the Wimbledon Singles, Men's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles titles two weeks later.

But by now, Gottfried von Cramm's tennis career was being manipulated by the Nazi regime. He was never able to demonstrate his full talent to the world. 

On July 20th, 1944Von Cramm was involved in the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler, which failed to kill him. If the plot had succeeded, the plan was for Von Cramm to later go to Sweden and negotiate a surrender with the British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden. 

When the war ended, Gottfried von Cramm returned to tennis. He won the German National Championships in 1948 and again in 49 at 40 years of age. Von Cramm holds the German record for most wins in the Davis Cup competition and served as an administrator of the German Tennis Federation for many years. Later, he became a successful cotton importer.
In November 1955, he married Babara Hutton, an American socialite, and heiress to the Woolworth fortune. 

Baron Gottfried von Cramm died in a car accident on November 8th, 1976, on a desert road in Egypt.

His place in tennis history will always remain. Especially that one match at Wimbledon against Donald Budge, which von Cramm himself had described as "...the best match of my life."

The Stranger at Courtside: Tokyo 1988