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“The Walter Elcock Service Award”

For Extraordinary Service to Longwood
The Board of Governors in 2012 announced the creation of The Walter Elcock Service Award given to a member who has served Longwood for many years and contributed significantly to our club. It is named after Walter Elcock to honor his memory and his achievements while a member of Longwood. It is only fitting that a part of Walter’s legacy has been the love of tennis and Longwood that he has passed on to his children – three of whom have served on the Board of Governors.Ted and Jim and currently Michael Elcock as 2nd VP.

Walter Elcock was born and raised in Brookline. A successful businessman, he and his wife Ellen raised a family of eight children – all of whom spent many a summer day enjoying Longwood to its fullest. He served on many Brookline town committees including a longtime position as the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation. His local political experience proved immensely helpful in navigating the (Byzantine) town bylaws and regulations, and ultimately securing permission for Longwood to hold the US Pro and Davis Cup tournaments.

During his tenure at Longwood, Walter was the only person to achieve the “triple crown” of tennis executives as he was President of Longwood, President of the USTA and President of the ITF at different times of his long tennis career. Highly influential in the world of tennis, Walter helped to make the US Pro tournament a great success – helping to negotiate the sport’s first television fees, and bringing equal prize money to the Woman’s tour for players like Billie Jean King. Walter was well regarded not only by tennis officials, but agents and top players as well, and was inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001.

Walter’s crowning achievement was to successfully bring the Centennial Davis Cup to Longwood in 1999. His personal efforts on the club’s behalf made Longwood the center of the tennis world in the late summer of 1999 as the US team played (and lost to) Australia in the sweltering heat of our stadium courts.

Walter’s memory (he died in 2004) and his legacy with the achievements of Walter Elcock Award recipients. Walter Elcock and the recipientsof the award – dedicated their time and a tremendous commitment and effort and have been instrumental in making Longwood the revered club of tennis enthusiasts that it is today, and for that we are most grateful.

Axel Kaufman

Longwood’s True Renaissance Man
Axel Kaufman's wide range of accomplishments showed true skill in many fields. In no particular order, Axel epitomized the best of the best:
  • A family man with wife, daughter, son in law and grandchildren who are Longwood members.
  • A member of Longwood since Harry Truman was President (1950).
  • A talented artist and cartoonist.
  • A gifted poet and author of “Which Way to the Finals, Please”. (On sale in the Pro Shop)
  • A former tournament tennis player who still wields a mean racquet.
  • A noted architect.
  • A past Longwood president from 1989 to 1991.The Cricketeer was born during his presidency.
  • A current advisory Longwood board member.
  • A former member of many committees – too numerous to mention.
The reasons why he was chosen as the Elcock award winner were his lifelong commitment to excellence at Longwood as a board member, member of the Grounds, House and Long Range Planning Committees as well as being our architectural consultant for the many expansion and rehabilitation projects at the club. For over half a century Axel was the point person whenever any building or landscaping project has been contemplated – no matter how large or how small. He gave the club countless hours of his time without complaint. Always willing to listen and offering his expertise in the planning and execution stages of a project, Axel was truly one of the major reasons why our club is as beautiful as it is.

The Board and club membership sincerely appreciated Axel's years of selfless labor and love of Longwood.

Marvin Schorr

Marvin Schorr: Walter Elcock Award 2013
Marvin Schorr was recognized for his long-term contributions to Longwood as the second recipient of the Walter Elcock Award for Service to Longwood. The award was presented to Marvin on Monday, August 26, 2013 at the USTA 85/90 Tournament dinner.

Marv was a leading member of the Grounds Committee for many years, working with our former Head of Grounds, Mike Humphrey, and serving as a mentor and educator to club members about this important committee. Marv was an outstanding board member for many years as well, offering sage counsel and often mediating when board members disagreed on difficult issues. As a voice of reason, he was always courteous yet firm when the situation required it.

Perhaps Marv’s most important contribution, over the course of some 20 years, was his service as the Chair and Tournament Director for the Men’s 85-90 National Grass Court Championships (formerly known as the Rogers Bowl). He worked behind the scenes throughout the year to ensure that we attracted the top competitors for the tournament, and during the tournament itself (5-7 days), he also helped the tournament referees maintain order during the matches. He spent long hours at the club each day working with our volunteers to assure that the players and their guests were comfortable and to handle any special requests that might arise.

Marvin Schorr enjoying playing tennis on a regular basis (mostly on the grass) until infirmities finally took their toll, but he remained active at the club into his 90’s. His devotion to the club and to the game of tennis never faltered and his contributions will be long remembered and are sorely missed. 

Peter McLaughlin

Peter McLaughlin:  Walter Elcock Award 2021
Former Club President Peter McLaughlin was honored by the LCC Board in January of 2021 as the third recipient of the Walter Elcock Award for Service to Longwood. A longtime member of the Club, Peter, whose sponsor was none other than Walter Elcock, joined LCC in 1965.  Over the years, he has served in many capacities, in addition to his important role as President from 1985 to 1987. He instilled a love for the club into his entire family as evidenced by his son Jim’s service as Club President from 2018 to 2020.

After his presidency, Peter remained involved in club matters, and in two major areas where his support and expertise were key: in the discussions from 1996 to 1999 regarding the future of the US Pro Tournament at LCC, and in the long-range planning committee (LRPC)’s activities from1998 to 2001.  
 
The US Pro Tournament
When the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York, lost the US Open to the new Flushing Meadows facility, the club suffered substantial financial losses, a situation from which it did not recover for many years. Learning from what West Side experienced, the LCC Board (and with Peter’s counsel) spent many long nights and weekends in discussions with lawyers, potential sponsors, ATP officials and others, and concluded that our club could no longer host the US Pro tournament profitably and that we needed to look to the future without that regular source of income. Logistical issues and a lack of sponsor financial support contributed to the decision to withdraw from the pro tour. Our last US Pro Tournament at Longwood was held in 1999.
 
The Long-Range Planning Committee was responsible for creating the master plan that resulted in major changes at the club: removal of the stadium structure; transition of the stadium hard courts to clay courts; configuration of the new parking lot and walkways; installation of a heated pool, a new clubhouse interior and a new pool patio. Peter was a key player in these wide-ranging discussions, and while many were not always pleasant and did not always reach consensus, Peter’s advice and experience were brought to bear on the ultimate decisions.
 
As we look at the club now we can appreciate how important it was to have made those difficult decisions. Peter’s efforts contributed mightily to our long-term financial stability and to the introduction of several new member amenities. 
 
Lest we forget: Peter has been a fearsome competitor on the courts in both singles and doubles. A fine athlete with sometimes unorthodox shots, he often turned what appeared to be a winning shot from his opponent into a winning point for his team. His appearances on the courts and on the porch have always been welcomed as his sense of humor and insights into the tennis world make post-match interludes a pleasure.
 
Congratulations to Peter for his tireless years of dedication to LCC.  The awarding of the Walter Elcock Award for Service to Longwood is more than well-deserved.

 

Recognition of Service

Tony Bush
25 Years of Service
Tony was born in Sarasota, FL and attended high school in the area. After graduation Tony was “challenged in a dare” to come up to Boston. He spent a short amount of time up here and felt that Boston was not “his cup of tea” and returned to Florida to work on a golf course construction project. When Tony arrived in Florida he found out that the project had shut down and at that point Tony decided to return to Boston.

Upon returning to Boston, Tony began working in food service at Boston College and attended college at nights. Tony then started a catering business with some friends. Longwood was one of the catering firm’s first accounts. After two seasons as a contractor Tony became an employee at Longwood.

Tony ran the food service at the Club during the years the Pro tournaments were held at the Club and also was in charge of food service during the Davis Cup. Those of you who were members at Longwood during those years know how busy the food service was during those tournaments.

Tony has the ability of meeting to meet the needs of the membership by his willingness to adapt to tastes that can range from the “grilled cheese sandwich set” to the food that we are enjoying at the party tonight. Tony’s goal of meeting the needs of the membership is demonstrated in how he is willing to adapt what is offered to individual needs.

Tony and his wife Linda have two children, Jenna who is finishing her first year at Stonehill College and Dillon who just graduated from high school. Outside of Longwood, Tony volunteers at an animal shelter and each fall goes shrimping with some of his friends in South Carolina.
Paul Noonan
30 Years of Service
Paul was born and raised in the Boston area. Paul excelled in track in high school and broke 5 minutes in the mile.

After high school Paul worked for the Boston Public School system. Paul was a basketball referee in high school games, a gym director and also served in other capacities during the era of the “Bussing Crisis”.

After leaving the Boston school system Paul began work at the B & T. Paul had been at the B & T for five years when Paul was approached by Chris Creelman and several other Longwood members about working at Longwood.

Paul started at Longwood in 1984 assuming the role of tennis host.

Paul in many respects is the glue that binds the tennis experience. Paul works closely with Mike Buras and Larry to manage the activity on the courts. Paul is as adept as a juggler in finding games for members and pairing people up when it is busy. His concern for Longwood and its members is an obvious guide for Paul and is demonstrated by the universal respect that the members have towards his decisions.

In addition to Longwood, Paul has been the manager of the Covered Courts for the past 16 years. Paul is an avid bicyclist, who often goes on long rides.
Johnson Barlett
(Known to all more as Charlie Bartlett)

32 years of service
Charlie - Although he may now seem the picture of stability, Charlie Bartlett arrived at Longwood 32 years ago after a number of other aborted career attempts. He had worked, by the age of 23, at a resort in Santa Fe, as a maid in a motel, in a factory in Allston, as an intern at a tree forestry in South Africa, insulating houses, as a carpenter’s assistant in New Orleans, among others. When he responded to former head Groundskeeper Mike Humphrey’s ad in the Boston Globe in 1981, he didn’t realize he’d found his career, but he did know he enjoyed the colorful cast of characters he’d landed in.

“We had a lot of different types of people in those days: younger kids, non-English speakers, the occasional ex-convicts,” Charlie says. “Humphrey and I used to love those guys. The more eccentric the better and we have the pictures to prove it.”

Charlie has changed a lot in 32 years and so have Longwood and the entire grass court and country club industry. Technology and turf science have advanced and become more complex and so are more interesting and challenging. This has coincided with Charlie’s growth professionally and personally and is one of the main reasons he’s still here. It’s been nice to see the grass become healthier and thicker even as his hair has gone in the opposite direction.

The tournament was also one of Charlie’s favorite parts of the job. It epitomized everything he liked about Longwood – the festive communal atmosphere while keeping the courts in unparalleled condition for the second largest tournament in the US, and supervising a crew of over 20 for 18 hours a day. Of those tournament days, Charlie says “those matches could go on way past midnight and the crowd could get pretty rowdy. One year the East Stands would start chanting my name every time I stepped onto Center Court to sweep the lines, trying to get me to do a little dance, which I would gladly oblige.”

Nowadays things are a lot tamer for Charlie and the Club and the most interesting and rewarding part of the job for him is trying to keep the grass alive in July and August, and he’s grateful to work outdoors in such a beautiful place where people just come to relax and have a nice time.

Club Tournament

(By Axel Kaufmann)

My joys complete and heaven –sent
I’ve entered the club Tournament!
The past is past – my slate is clean
My shots the best I’ve ever seen

I want to put them to the test
I’m set to go; bring out the best!
My shape’s superb, my mind is clear,
There is not a player whom I fear

My heart is full of sportsmanship
I’ll stay on top and never slip
My confidence is at its high
I care not whether seed or bye

At last I’ve mastered every stroke
The inner game, how not to choke
How to ignore a call that’s missed
How to stay cool, how to persist

How to dismiss a rotten bounce
How to make placements when it counts
How to win crucial points in style
And walk off with a winner’s smile !

I’ve played and lost – my will is spent
When is the next Club Tournament ?!?