RARE Unique Historic Robert Kelleher Tennis Hall of Fame Signed Letter RARE

Description

"Every professional tennis player living should thank Robert Kelleher.”...Billie Jean King, at the Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Robert Kelleher.
Monumentally historic and unique signed document by the man considered by many to be most responsible for ushering in the "Open Era" of tennis.
Signed letter, written in 1981, in which Robert Kelleher (HOF, 2001) describes, first hand, how the Open Era of tennis came to be in 1968. This is basically the "inside" story of the successful birth of the open era of tennis, resulting from the unanimous approval vote for Open Tennis at the ILTF Paris 1968 special meeting, told by the very man who many consider most responsible for this critical revolution in the sport. The letter is to Allison Danzig who was the first journalist inducted into the  Tennis Hall of Fame (1968) and who is widely considered the most prominent tennis writer of the 20th century.
Danzig was responsible for popularizing \ coining the terms "Grand Slam" to describe the four tennis major championships and "ace" for an untouched service.
The letter came to be after Danzig had earlier shown Kelleher a "press book" or advance copy of an article that he had written on the birth of the "Open Era".
Kelleher, who was busy as a presidentially appointed Federal Judge at the time, delayed in getting back to Danzig regarding his initial review of the piece. In the letter Kelleher reviews in meticulous first hand detail ( begining with his arrival in Paris) the true inside story regarding the diplomatic strategy and behind the scenes efforts which immediately preceded and ultimately won the day at the ILTF (International Lawn Tennis Federation) special meeting in Paris in March 1968. These efforts subsequently resulted in unanimous approval by the ILTF, ushering in tennis' Open Era in 1968 and changed tennis into as we know it today.
The letter itself is three type written pages ( 7.5" x 10.5") on Judge Kelleher's personal stationary. It is signed neatly in pen by Kelleher.
I have taken many photos, and on which I
hope you will be able to read all the historic content.
The letter is in good condition for age with some light to moderate general wear.
Likely destined for a home in the finest of collections of vintage tennis related signed documents.
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Below is a brief biography compiled from a few internet sources.
Robert Kelleher, the man who ushered tennis into the modern era, was born in 1913. While in college he won both the New England Intercollegiate and Eastern Collegiate Doubles Championships. Along with his wife Gracyn Wheeler Kelleher, the pair won the Canadian mixed doubles championship in 1947. He was a three-time U.S. Hard Court 45s doubles champion.
Administratively he served as the U.S. Davis Cup captain in 1962 and 1963, leading the U.S. to a 1963 championship over Australia.
A graduate of Harvard Law School in 1938 Kelleher was, arguably, the leading activist in bringing tennis into the Open Era.
As the principal United States Lawn Tennis Association delegate to the International Lawn Tennis Federation, Kelleher fundamentally helped make Open Tennis a reality in 1968.
Kelleher had been elected president of the USLTA in 1967. After his two-year term ended and his mission to establish the "Open Era" in tennis accomplished in 1968 he returned to practicing law and was subsequently appointed to the federal bench by then-President Nixon in 1970.
Kelleher was introduced at his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame by Billie Jean King who addressed the crowd saying that, “every professional tennis player living should thank Robert Kelleher.”