FRANCIS X. SHIELDS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED CIRCA 1934 - HFSID 275204
Sale Price $378.00
Reg. $420.00
FRANCIS X. SHIELDS
High-living amateur tennis star, grandfather of Brooke Shields, rates his
rivals.
Autograph Letter signed: "Francis X. Shields", 1p, 5½x3. Place and
date supplied (unknown hand): "2-7-34 - N.Y., N.Y." To "Dear Jimmy",
in full: "I believe Perry or Crawford are as good as any player in the
world. Sincerely". Francis X. Shields (1910-1975) was a highly rated
tennis star of the early 1930s, famous for his hi-jinx off the court. He
never won a Grand Slam tournament, but reached the finals of the US, British
and French Opens. Shields, whose son and biographer William X. Shields
called him "the heavyweight champion of the nightclub brawl," failed
to show up for his scheduled final match at Wimbledon, either because of an
injured leg or because of a romantic rendezvous, depending on which story you
believed. The handsome, 6'6" Shields, grandfather of actress Brooke Shields,
failed in his own bid for movie stardom, but made Hollywood friends like
Errol Flynn and Johnny Weissmuller. The tennis players praised in Shields'
letter were Australian Jack Crawford, rated #1 in the world in 1933, and
Englishman Fred Perry, who occupied the top spot for five consecutive years
(1934-1938). Mounting taps at corners. Unevenly toned. Overall, fine
condition.
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