Tennis anyone?
A Shawsheen Village 100 Story
One of the many features of William M. Wood’s new planned community of Shawsheen Village was community sports fields.
The Village included the Bowling Green, tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, a running track, and more. Shawsheen Village residents formed a Civic Association that had various subcommittees including the Athletic Committee that planned field days, tournaments, and contests.
ACHC #1982.042.2.9, Bowls match on the Bowling Green
In May 1922, the Athletic Committee announced a grand Field Day to be held on Fourth of July that year. The Bowling Green Club would play a match against the Boston Bowling Green Club. Baseball games, tennis matches, and many other sporting events were planned.
Sadly, July 4, 1922 was a rainy day and many of the planned activities had to be postponed, including the opening match in the Shawsheen Village Tennis Tournament. The Shawsheen Villager section of the Andover Townsman followed the Tennis Tournament all summer long, including a six-week hiatus because one of the two finalists would be out of town.
ACHC #2019.164, Balmoral Tennis Courts
The Balmoral Cup
On September 15, 1922, the newspaper announced that William M. Wood had donated the “Balmoral Cup” to be awarded to the winner of the tournament.
“It is to be known as the “Balmoral Cup” and must be won three years in succession to become the property of the winner. The winner will have his name engraved on the cup and may hold it until it is again competed for when it is returned to the tennis committee. Within a few days the cup will be on display at the Balmoral Spa.”
ACHC #1988.032.5
The trophy cup in the history center’s collection fits this description, including the winners’ names.
Winners inscribed on the cup are:
Copland M. Draper 1922
Wm. McGrath Jr. 1923
Wm. McGrath Jr. 1924
Loring Higgins 1925
Malcolm Ruhl 1926
Fernand Bernardin 1927
Malcolm Ruhl 1928
Malcolm Ruhl went on to win the 1929 tournament as well, but his name is not inscribed on the cup. As the first person to win three tournaments – although not in succession – Ruhl became the owner of the cup. It isn’t known why his name isn’t inscribed on the cup. Modesty? Time? The start of the Great Depression? The last time the tournament was held was September 1929 a few weeks before the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
Malcolm Ruhl was a 1923 graduate of Punchard High where he was known as “Books,” the genius of their class. He also played baseball and managed the football team. In 1928 he graduated from Harvard University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Back home in Andover, he served on the Board of the Andover Cooperative grocery store.
He donated his tennis trophy to the history center in 1988, the year before he died.