A few days ago, I read a press release that stated, “Virginia beats Texas, 4-3, in the NCAA Division One Tennis Championships in Athens, Ga.”
This caught my attention for one reason. The location of Athens, Ga. Been there and done that.
When I was playing for Indiana many years ago, we would take a trip South to get ready for the Big Ten season. In our era, there were extremely few indoor tennis courts, and I never saw one in Bloomington. These trips were a great experience, and one of the schools we played at each year was the University of Georgia, because they were accommodating and competitive. The coach was Dan Magill.
Two years after my last match there, I was assigned to the Navy Officer Supply Corps School on Prince Avenue, Athens, GA, for six months of business training. One of my first stops was at the tennis courts, and I met with Dan. For the next seven months, he was so helpful to me.
He let me practice with the Bulldog’s team. And they had some good players, including Lindsey Hopkins, #1 from Atlanta. They had some city, team, and regional tournaments. The facility had five Har-Tru courts, popular at the time.
One memorable trip with the Bulldog team was to The Masters Golf Course Tennis Courts, but the most amazing was to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary to play the inmates. Walking in and hearing those very large gates close is a sound you will never forget. The tennis courts were red clay and were probably the best I have ever played on. The opponents had some good players. I had to ask someone what my opponent had done, and he answered that he and his crazy brother robbed trains.
The Bitsy Grant Tennis Center in Atlanta (four years old at the time and big) also had tournaments. Dan and I played together in a couple of double tourneys there.
Tennis was not Dan’s only job at U of G. He was also the Sports Information Director and Press Box Coordinator. In that capacity, he allowed me to sit in the Press Box at Football Games, and to be legal, I was a “tackle counter”. And I saw him one day (in a dress shirt and pants) having a kicking contest with the Bulldog Punter.
The next time I heard about my friend was when the Dan Magill Tennis Center was dedicated in 1972. Twelve outdoor tennis courts, six indoor courts, and seating for 5,000. (BTW, the six indoor courts are named after the former number one player, Lindsey Hopkins.) Did I forget to say that his family owned most of Coca-Cola? The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships have been held there for many, many years. It has become the go-to place for NCAA tennis. Mainly due to the efforts of Dan Magill. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 93. At the time, it was said of him, “He was one of the most influential people ever involved in collegiate sports”. I was impressed that he got me into a SEC Press Box and into the Atlanta Prison, and that he could out-punt a SEC punter in his street shoes at age 35. Yes, he was one of a kind, and I am sorry that our paths never crossed again. He was a true Icon. Thanks, Dan, you were a wonderful man, and I appreciated so much getting to spend a summer with you and your team.
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