Judy's Memorabilia July 16, 2021

Photos: Judy Dalton’s Original 9 Archive

Australian Judy Dalton won't be at this weekend’s induction of the Original 9 into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. But her collection of memorabilia, built over five decades, is a reminder of what this trailblazing group meant to the game.

01 /15

Knowing the pandemic would likely prevent her from traveling to Newport for enshrinement weekend, Judy Dalton brought her tennis archive to the Australian Open so that it could be shared with a wider audience.

Tennis Australia

02 /15

Pictured from left, with only Billie Jean King missing from the nine: Kristy Pigeon, Julie Heldman, Peaches Bartkowicz, Nancy Richey, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Philip Morris chief Joseph Cullman III, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton and Kerry Melville Reid.

WTA

03 /15

Unsurprisingly, tennis was a feature of early Original 9 gatherings and Dalton took to the court with Cullman, who was a keen tennis player as well as a pivotal commercial backer of women’s professional tennis.

WTA

04 /15

Dalton has kept many items of correspondence, including this note of thanks from Cullman after their hit.

WTA

05 /15

She didn’t take up tennis until she was in her 20s, but trailblazing magazine publisher and promoter Gladys Heldman loved the game, and became very good at it.

WTA

06 /15

From left, standing: Tour umpire and referee, Lee Jackson, Ziegenfuss, French star Francoise Durr, King, Ellen Merlo, Nancy Richey, Ted Tinling, Bartkowicz, Pigeon. Seated, from left: Dalton, Melville Reid, Casals, Heldman.

WTA

07 /15

As these messages from her Original 9 colleagues indicate, Dalton was affectionately known as “Old Fruit” during her days on the tour – and beyond.

WTA

08 /15

Some of Dalton’s memorabilia has already been installed in the Hall of Fame’s exhibits ahead of the Original 9’s induction on July 17.

ITHF

09 /15

Dalton provided a mint-condition tournament flyer from the groundbreaking Virginia Slims Invitational held in Houston in September, 1970 – now taking pride of place in a display cabinet alongside a dress from the era.

ITHF

10 /15

Other items kept by Dalton for 50 years include a ticket purchase form for the first event of the new women’s circuit in 1971, held in San Francisco.

WTA

11 /15

Dalton’s collection also includes copies of letters sent between key protagonists in the complicated tennis politics of the time.

ITHF

12 /15

The United States Lawn Tennis Association took a hard line against the Original 9, but the US Open was the first Grand Slam to award equal prize money just a few years later.

ITHF

13 /15

Dalton’s treasure trove includes a signature-maroon Virginia Slims sweater that was still in its packaging.

ITHF

14 /15

A Virginia Slims Circuit press kit cover highlights media interest in the burgeoning women’s tour – and the controversial part played by a tobacco company.

WTA

15 /15

Dalton is the only member of the Original 9 still in possession of the dollar bill she held in the group’s iconic photo from 1970; this note, signed at a reunion held in Charleston in 2012, is on display at the Hall of Fame.

ITHF

Photos: Judy Dalton’s Original 9 Archive

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