Gottfried von Cramm
Encyclopedia
Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt Freiherr von Cramm (7 July 1909, Nettlingen
– 8 November 1976) was a German amateur
tennis
champion and twice French Open champion.
) von Cramm, and his wife Jutta née von Steinberg, Cramm was born at the family estate near Nettlingen, Lower Saxony
, Germany
. The family title, which was bestowed upon his paternal grandfather in 1891, was inherited in 1936 by von Cramm's eldest brother, Aschwin.
competitor for his country and immediately won the first of four straight German national championships. During this time he also teamed up with Hilde Krahwinkel to win the 1933 Mixed Doubles title at Wimbledon. Noted for his gentlemanly conduct and fair play, he gained the admiration and respect of his fellow tennis players. He earned his first individual Grand Slam title in 1934, winning the French Open. His victory made him a national hero in his native Germany; however, it was by chance that he did so just after Adolf Hitler
had come to power. The handsome, blond Gottfried von Cramm fit perfectly the Aryan race
image of a Nazi
ideology that put pressure on all German athletes to be superior. However, von Cramm steadfastly refused to be a tool for Nazi propaganda. Germany effectively lost its 1935 Davis Cup Interzone Final against the US, when von Cramm refused to take match point in the deciding game, by notifying the umpire that the ball had tipped his racket, and thus calling a point against himself, though no one had witnessed the error.
For three straight years he was the men's singles runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships, losing memorable matches in the finals to England's Fred Perry
in 1935 and again in 1936. The following year he lost in the finals to American Don Budge
both at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open. In 1935, he was beaten in the French Open finals by Perry but turned the tables the following year and defeated Perry for his second French championship. In an attempt to get von Cramm on side, the Nazi regime punished his insubordination by not allowing him to compete in the 1937 French championship even though he was the defending champion.
Despite his Grand Slam play, Gottfried von Cramm is most remembered for his match against Don Budge during the 1937 Davis Cup. He was ahead 4–1 in the final set, when Budge launched a comeback, eventually winning 8–6 in a match considered by many as the greatest battle in the annals of Davis Cup play and one of the pre-eminent matches in all of tennis history. In a later interview, Budge said that von Cramm had received a phone call from Hitler minutes before the match started and came out pale and serious and had played each point as though his life depended on winning.
. After being hospitalized for a nervous collapse after his arrest, he was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment on 14 March for his relationship with Manasse Herbst, a young Galician Jewish actor and singer, who had appeared in the 1926 silent film Der Sohn des Hannibal. Von Cramm admitted that the relationship, which lasted from 1931 until 1934, began shortly before he married his first wife. He was additionally charged with sending money to Herbst, who moved to Palestine
in 1936. According to a 15 May 1938 report about the trial in the New York Times, the judge stated that "Baron von Cramm had alleged that his wife, during their honeymoon, had become intimate with a French athlete. The court held that this experience had unsettled the young tennis star and had resulted in his seeking a perverse compensation for an unhappy married life."
Von Cramm was released after 6 month of imprisonment because of his "good behaviour" on 16 October 1938.
His international tennis friends were outraged, and Don Budge collected the signatures of high-profile athletes and sent a protest letter to Hitler. After being released in October 1938 on parole, in May 1939 von Cramm returned to competitive tennis but the extremely tense political climate caused problems when he went to play in England
. Nevertheless, von Cramm was allowed to compete at the Queen's Club tournament in London
where he won the event by beating American Bobby Riggs
6–0, 6–1. The officials at Wimbledon reportedly refused to let him play in the championships, using the excuse that he was a convicted criminal and therefore unfit; The New York Times, however, quoted Wimbledon sources as saying that von Cramm would have been welcome to participate, had he submitted an entry. The U.S. rejected his temporary-visa application that same year, citing his morals-charge conviction; he had intended to play at the U.S. Open in September.
A further humiliation was Germany's 1940 decision to recall von Cramm from an international tennis tournament in Rome before he had a chance to play. The New York Times reported that his abrupt departure "was attributed to the German authorities' desire to prevent the former champion from meeting Henner Henkel
, Rolf Goepffert, and other German players ... Berlin decided it would be embarrassing if von Cramm beat his compatriots..."
, von Cramm was drafted into military service in May 1940 as a member of the Hermann Goering Division. He saw action on the Eastern Front
and was awarded the Iron Cross
. Because of his previous conviction he was dismissed from military service in 1942.
While war robbed von Cramm of some of his best years for tennis, he still won another German national championship in 1948 and was already forty years old when he won it for the last time in 1949. He played Davis Cup tennis until retiring after the 1953 season and still holds the record for most wins by any German team member.
Following his retirement from active competition, von Cramm served as an administrator for the German tennis federation and became successful in business as a cotton
importer. In addition, he managed the farm property he had inherited from his father at Wispenstein in Lower Saxony.
-Wilmersdorf, site of the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club
, was given his name.
Von Cramm was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in Newport, Rhode Island
in 1977.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer
, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Gottfried von Cramm in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.
French Championships
Wimbledon
U.S. Championships
Söhlde
Söhlde is a village and a municipality in the district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Hildesheim, and 10 km northwest of Salzgitter.- References :...
– 8 November 1976) was a German amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
champion and twice French Open champion.
Birth
The third of the seven sons of Burchard Baron (FreiherrFreiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
) von Cramm, and his wife Jutta née von Steinberg, Cramm was born at the family estate near Nettlingen, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The family title, which was bestowed upon his paternal grandfather in 1891, was inherited in 1936 by von Cramm's eldest brother, Aschwin.
Athletic career
In 1932, von Cramm earned a berth as a Davis CupDavis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
competitor for his country and immediately won the first of four straight German national championships. During this time he also teamed up with Hilde Krahwinkel to win the 1933 Mixed Doubles title at Wimbledon. Noted for his gentlemanly conduct and fair play, he gained the admiration and respect of his fellow tennis players. He earned his first individual Grand Slam title in 1934, winning the French Open. His victory made him a national hero in his native Germany; however, it was by chance that he did so just after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had come to power. The handsome, blond Gottfried von Cramm fit perfectly the Aryan race
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
image of a Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
ideology that put pressure on all German athletes to be superior. However, von Cramm steadfastly refused to be a tool for Nazi propaganda. Germany effectively lost its 1935 Davis Cup Interzone Final against the US, when von Cramm refused to take match point in the deciding game, by notifying the umpire that the ball had tipped his racket, and thus calling a point against himself, though no one had witnessed the error.
For three straight years he was the men's singles runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships, losing memorable matches in the finals to England's Fred Perry
Fred Perry
Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row...
in 1935 and again in 1936. The following year he lost in the finals to American Don Budge
Don Budge
John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional...
both at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open. In 1935, he was beaten in the French Open finals by Perry but turned the tables the following year and defeated Perry for his second French championship. In an attempt to get von Cramm on side, the Nazi regime punished his insubordination by not allowing him to compete in the 1937 French championship even though he was the defending champion.
Despite his Grand Slam play, Gottfried von Cramm is most remembered for his match against Don Budge during the 1937 Davis Cup. He was ahead 4–1 in the final set, when Budge launched a comeback, eventually winning 8–6 in a match considered by many as the greatest battle in the annals of Davis Cup play and one of the pre-eminent matches in all of tennis history. In a later interview, Budge said that von Cramm had received a phone call from Hitler minutes before the match started and came out pale and serious and had played each point as though his life depended on winning.
Imprisonment on morals charges
Despite his enormous popularity with the public, on 5 March 1938, von Cramm was arrested by the German government and tried for homosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. After being hospitalized for a nervous collapse after his arrest, he was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment on 14 March for his relationship with Manasse Herbst, a young Galician Jewish actor and singer, who had appeared in the 1926 silent film Der Sohn des Hannibal. Von Cramm admitted that the relationship, which lasted from 1931 until 1934, began shortly before he married his first wife. He was additionally charged with sending money to Herbst, who moved to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1936. According to a 15 May 1938 report about the trial in the New York Times, the judge stated that "Baron von Cramm had alleged that his wife, during their honeymoon, had become intimate with a French athlete. The court held that this experience had unsettled the young tennis star and had resulted in his seeking a perverse compensation for an unhappy married life."
Von Cramm was released after 6 month of imprisonment because of his "good behaviour" on 16 October 1938.
His international tennis friends were outraged, and Don Budge collected the signatures of high-profile athletes and sent a protest letter to Hitler. After being released in October 1938 on parole, in May 1939 von Cramm returned to competitive tennis but the extremely tense political climate caused problems when he went to play in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Nevertheless, von Cramm was allowed to compete at the Queen's Club tournament in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he won the event by beating American Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
6–0, 6–1. The officials at Wimbledon reportedly refused to let him play in the championships, using the excuse that he was a convicted criminal and therefore unfit; The New York Times, however, quoted Wimbledon sources as saying that von Cramm would have been welcome to participate, had he submitted an entry. The U.S. rejected his temporary-visa application that same year, citing his morals-charge conviction; he had intended to play at the U.S. Open in September.
A further humiliation was Germany's 1940 decision to recall von Cramm from an international tennis tournament in Rome before he had a chance to play. The New York Times reported that his abrupt departure "was attributed to the German authorities' desire to prevent the former champion from meeting Henner Henkel
Henner Henkel
Henner Henkel was a German tennis player.He was the second German to win the singles title at the French Championships in 1937. The same year, he and Gottfried von Cramm also won the Roland Garros doubles title.Henkel was killed in action at Battle of Stalingrad.- External links :* *...
, Rolf Goepffert, and other German players ... Berlin decided it would be embarrassing if von Cramm beat his compatriots..."
Wartime service and postwar career
After the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, von Cramm was drafted into military service in May 1940 as a member of the Hermann Goering Division. He saw action on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
and was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
. Because of his previous conviction he was dismissed from military service in 1942.
While war robbed von Cramm of some of his best years for tennis, he still won another German national championship in 1948 and was already forty years old when he won it for the last time in 1949. He played Davis Cup tennis until retiring after the 1953 season and still holds the record for most wins by any German team member.
Following his retirement from active competition, von Cramm served as an administrator for the German tennis federation and became successful in business as a cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
importer. In addition, he managed the farm property he had inherited from his father at Wispenstein in Lower Saxony.
Marriages
Gottfried von Cramm married:- Baroness Elisabeth "Lisa" von Dobeneck (1912–1975), a daughter of Robert, Baron von Dobeneck and his wife, the former Maria Hagen, and a granddaughter of the Jewish banker Louis Hagen; they married on 1 September 1930 and divorced in 1937. Lisa von Cramm later married the German ice-hockey star Gustav JaeneckeGustav JaeneckeGustav "Justav" Jaenecke was a German ice hockey player who competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics, in the 1932 Winter Olympics, and in the 1936 Winter Olympics, and tennis player who played in five International Lawn Tennis Challenge ties for Germany.He was born in Berlin, German Empire and died in...
.
- Barbara HuttonBarbara HuttonBarbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
, an American socialite and an heiress to the WoolworthF. W. Woolworth CompanyThe F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
five-and-dime fortune; they married in 1955 and divorced in 1959.
Death
While on a business trip, Von Cramm and his driver were killed in an automobile accident near Cairo, Egypt in 1976 when the baron's car collided with a truck. In his honor, the Gottfried-von-Cramm-Weg in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Wilmersdorf, site of the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club
Rot-Weiss Tennis Club
The Lawn Tennis Turnier Club Rot-Weiß is a tennis club located in the Grunewald district of Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1897, and has been the venue of the German Open WTA Tour tournament since 1979. The club has 16 clay courts. A 7,000-seat stadium court was built in 1996, and was...
, was given his name.
Von Cramm was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
in 1977.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer
Jack Kramer (tennis player)
John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the father and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours...
, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Gottfried von Cramm in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.
Grand Slam record
Australian ChampionshipsAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
- Doubles finalist: 1938
French Championships
- Singles champion: 1934, 1936
- Singles finalist 1935
- Doubles champion: 1937
Wimbledon
- Singles finalist 1935-37
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1933
U.S. Championships
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
- Singles finalist 1937
- Doubles champion: 1937
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1934 | French Championships |  Jack CrawfordJack Crawford (tennis player) ----John Herbert Crawford was an Australian tennis player of the 1930s. He was the World No. 1 player for 1933.Crawford was born in Urangeline, near Albury, New South Wales... |
6–4, 7–9, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 |
| 1936 | French Championship (2) |  Fred PerryFred Perry Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row... |
6–0, 2–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–0 |
Runner-ups (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1935 | French Championships | Fred Perry Fred Perry Frederick John Perry was a championship-winning English tennis and table tennis player who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slams and two Pro Slams. Perry won three consecutive Wimbledon Championships between 1934 and 1936 and was World No. 1 four years in a row... |
6–3, 6–1, 6–3 |
| 1935 | Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
Fred Perry |
6–2, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 1936 | Wimbledon | Fred Perry |
6–1, 6–1, 6–0 |
| 1937 | Wimbledon |  Don BudgeDon Budge John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional... |
6–3, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1937 | U.S. Championships U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
Don Budge |
6–1, 7–9, 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 |
Further reading
- Fisher, Marshall Jon (2009). A Terrible Splendor: Three Extraordinary Men, a World Poised for War and the Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played. ISBN 9780307393944