July 9, 1877: The 1st Wimbledon Championships

Spencer Gore

July 9, 1877: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club holds its 1st tennis tournament. Spencer Gore wins "gentlemen's singles" at what will eventually be called "The Wimbledon Championships," for its neighborhood in South London.

Spencer Gore was born on March 10, 1850 in Wimbledon. The 1877 win was his only title, as he never competed again. He ran a property advisory firm, and died in 1906.

Norman Brookes, of Australia, was the 1st non-British native to win, in 1907. Bill Tilden was the 1st American to win, in 1920. The most wins have been by Roger Federer of Switzerland, 8.

"Ladies' singles" were first competed in 1884. Maud Watson won the 1st title. Born in 1864 in Harrow, North-West London, she won again in 1885, and lost the Final in 1886. She received an OBE for her work as a nurse during World War I, and lived until 1946. In 1976, having been named Sportswoman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine, Chris Evert appeared on the cover, in a copy of Watson's 1884 Wimbledon outfit.

Maud Watson

In 1907, American May Sutton became the 1st non-British citizen to win ladies' singles at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova, the Czech defector to America, has won the tournament the most, 9 times.

The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1918, due to World War I; from 1940 to 1945, due to World War II; and in 2020, due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Other than that, it's been held every year. The main stadium, Centre Court, opened in 1922. Tired of rain delays pushing matches back, the All England Club added a retractable roof in 2009.

Centre Court

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July 9, 1877 was a Monday. The only professional sports league in North America at that point was baseball's National League. But no games were played that day.