Arthur Worth (Bad) Collins Jr. ( Arthur Worth 'Bud' Collins-Jr .; June 17, 1929 , , Ohio - March 4, 2016 , Brookline , Massachusetts ) is an American sports journalist and sports historian. He is the author of a number of books on the history of tennis , a Red Smith prize winner ( Associated Press , 1999 ), a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 1994 and the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sports Commentators and Journalists since 2002 .
| Bad collins | |
|---|---|
| Bud collins | |
 | |
| Birth name | Arthur Worth Collins Jr. |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | Lyme , Ohio , USA |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | Brookline , Massachusetts , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Occupation | journalist |
| Spouse | Anita Claussen |
| Awards and prizes | International Tennis Hall of Fame |
| Site | www.budcollinstennis.com |
Content
Biography
Bad Collins was born in the town of Lyme (Ohio). Already in his childhood, he connected his life with newspaper business, first working as a peddler of the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, and then (from 1945 to 1949) as the editor of the sports section of the local weekly Berea Enterprise [4] .
After school, Collins entered Baldwin-Wallace College , where he played in the tennis team. After serving in the army, he continued his education at Boston University . At this time, he continued to perform in amateur tournaments on his own, and his highest achievement was the victory in 1961 in the US Indoor Court Championships in mixed pairs with one of the best tennis players of the USA at that time - Janet Hopps [5] . Collins himself recalls this as follows [6] :
She was one of the best in the world. I was one of many. But she dragged me.
Original textShe was one of the best in the world. I was just another guy. She carried me.
Collins worked for some time at the university sports information service, and then, while studying at Boston University, began working with the Boston Herald newspaper . Work in the Herald lasted from 1955 to 1963 [4] , and it was at this time that Collins was first tasked with covering the tennis tournament: in the late 1950s, the editor sent him to the US Championship in pairs. Collins recalls that he liked this work right away and suggested expanding the tennis section on the sports pages of the newspaper. While working at the Boston Herald, Collins also spent some time (from 1959 to 1963) as a trainer for the Brandeis University tennis team, where among his charges were future left-wing political activist Abby Hoffman (who, according to Collins, was talented, but exclusively uncontrollable as a player) and Bert Stragh, father of future Olympic gymnastics champion Kerry Stragg [5] .
In 1963, Collins moved from the Herald to the Boston Globe , with which he has continuously collaborated since then. In addition to working in the newspaper, he also began to appear on television during these years - first on the Boston educational channel WGBH, later on the channels of the so-called Eastern Educational Network [5] and finally, on 1968 , on national television where from 1968 to 1972 he worked on the CBS channel [7] . During his time on television and at the Boston Globe, Collins covered various sporting events in more than 50 countries [8] , including the Olympics , but paid special attention to tennis and boxing . In particular, he was a commentator on almost all matches involving Muhammad Ali from 1961 to 1974, including a world championship match with George Foreman in Zaire [4] [9] . He also cites reports from the Vietnam War as his pride, where he participated in the combat landing of marines and in bombing raids [4] .
In 1974, Collins' permanent contract with the Boston Globe expired, and he focused on television journalism [4] , although he continued to subsequently collaborate with the newspaper. For 35 years, until 2007, NBC remained its main employer (he was dismissed at the age of 78, cost-cutting reasons were declared the reason for dismissal [10] ). Since August of the same year, Collins has been collaborating with ESPN [7] .
During his journalistic career, Bad Collins has published a number of books on the history of tennis, including the repeatedly published since 1980 (other editions 1994, 1997, 1998, 2003) Tennis Encyclopedia, written in collaboration with Zander Hollander. He also contributed to writing biographies of Rod Laver and Yvonne Gulagong-Cowley . His other books are My Life with the Pros (1989) and Ten History from Bad Collins ( The Bud Collins History of Tennis , 2008).
Rewards
- 1994 - Member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- 1999 - Red Smith Prize (awarded by the sports editorial of the Associated Press "for his great contribution to sports journalism") [4]
- 2002 - Member of the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sports Commentators and Journalists ( Eng. National Sportcasters and Sportwriters Association )
Style
Bud Collins is distinguished by an original reporting style. This includes his extravagant appearance and well-aimed nicknames that he gives athletes.
Collins says in an interview with ProTennisNews that he was advised by the tailor at the Cambridge wardrobe store in Massachusetts to give his flashy-colored trousers. These were red-and-white checked trousers, and in them Collins broadcast the Davis Cup match between the national teams of the USA and Mexico. His appearance was greeted with whistles and sarcastic comments, and, as Collins recalls, at first he wanted to disappear, but then he got a taste and has since been constantly appearing in trousers of the most bizarre colors. One of the couples was cut out of matter depicting Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, and in this pair he came face to face with Joe Fraser , who did not fail to announce that he hates both. One of the pairs of Collins trousers was displayed in the window of the International Tennis Hall of Fame after his election; it was subsequently replaced by the Collins typewriter [9] .
Among the nicknames of puns that Collins gave to famous tennis players were “Barcelona Bumblebee” (“Barcelona Bumblebee” - Arancha Sanchez ), “Iva the Diva” (“Diva Iva” - Iva Mayoli ) [5] , “Belle of Belgrade” ( Belgrade Beauty - Elena Jankovic [10] , Chris America (Chris America - Chris Evert ), Fraulein Forehand (Fraulein Open Racket - Steffi Graf ) and Sisters Sledgehammer (Sisters of the Sledgehammer) - Venus and Serena Williams ) [4] .
Notes
- ↑ Collins B. The Bud Collins History of Tennis : An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book - 2 - New York City : New Chapter Press , 2010 .-- P. 561. - ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0
- ↑ 1 2 Encyclopædia Britannica
- ↑ http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/03/04/bud-collins-tennis-authority-print-and-dies/9Yl6HbTvGJrEQB4IRT20vL/story.html?s_campaign=bostonglobe%3Asocialflow%3Atwitter
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shira Springer. 'Biggest honor' for Globe's Collins (inaccessible link) . Associated Press Sports Editors (July 13, 1999). Date of treatment March 22, 2012. Archived on February 28, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Karl Miller. Bud Collins: Tennis' Storyteller (part 1 ) . Pro Tennis News (January 13, 2009). Date of treatment March 22, 2012. Archived September 15, 2012.
- ↑ Bad Collins: Biography Facts at Tennis-Prose.com
- ↑ 1 2 Collins to be reunited with Enberg on ESPN's tennis coverage , ESPN (August 7, 2007). Date of treatment March 22, 2012.
- ↑ Bad Collins Archived June 8, 2012 on the Wayback Machine on the website of the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sports Journalists and Commentators
- ↑ 1 2 Karl Miller. Bud Collins: Tennis' Storyteller (part 2 ) . Pro Tennis News (January 22, 2009). Date of treatment March 22, 2012. Archived September 15, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 Charles Bricker. NBC fires Bud Collins . Sun-Sentinel (July 2, 2007). Date of treatment March 22, 2012. Archived September 15, 2012.
Links
- Official website
- Arthur W. Collins at the International Tennis Hall of Fame website
- Bad Collins: biography facts on Tennis-Prose.com
- Bad Collins on the website of the National Association of Sports Commentators and Journalists Hall of Fame