(This original article is reposted here with permission from the author, Dr. Rey E. De La Cruz, via "Positively Filipino". Originally published in Filipinas Magazine, Oct. 2000. Photos courtesy of Lito Ampon)
Tennis, as we know it today, was developed from lawn tennis by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield of Wales in 1873., The sport is played outdoor on any of three surfaces: concrete, clay, and grass. Because it slows the speed and makes the ball bounce higher, the clay court is considered the most difficult surface on which to exercise power and control.
In the late 1930s, tennis seemed out of place in the Philippines. At the time, the country was still under American occupation. With its all-white color scheme, tennis was considered a colonial sport. It was also viewed as an elite sport; only the wealthy had the leisure time and money to indulge in the expensive game.
The social, racial, physical, and political barriers that surrounded the sport were broken by Felicisimo H. Ampon, who placed the Philippines on the world map of tennis and is thought of as the greatest Filipino tennis player, if not athlete, of all time. He is included in tennis literature, including Bud Collins’ Tennis Encyclopedia, the bible of the tennis world.
Who would have thought that a Filipino, standing just a shade above five feet tall and coming from the working class, would bring the tallest and strongest tennis players of the world to their knees and on clay courts at that?
Ampon’s height and build did not matter because he was difficult to vanquish on the tennis court. Sportswriters dubbed him “Mighty Atom,” “Brown Doll,” and “Giant Killer.” But he was more popularly known as “Mighty Mite,” a moniker given by Jimmy Lacsamana, sports editor of Manila Daily Bulletin during Ampon’s heyday.
Early Lessons
Ampon’s metamorphosis into a great tennis player did not
happen by a miracle.
When he picked up a racket at age 12, he realized that tennis was not just a game, but an art that had to be constantly perfected.
His father, Felix, who was a self-taught tennis player and a national singles champion in the Philippines in 1931, encouraged him to play tennis primarily because it is an individualized sport. Ampon eventually fared better by himself, rather than on a team. Also, his father taught him how to turn his weaknesses into strengths.
In a 1979 interview with Go, a sports and leisure magazine in the Philippines, Ampon recounted how he learned to compensate for his small size: “My father taught me to use the power of my opponent. He knew as well as I did that I could not drive as hard and powerfully as many players. Thus, he told me to perfect my return shots and wear my opponent down.”
Tennis was a family affair. Ampon’s sister, Desideria, was a national tennis champion in her day.
Conquests and Challenges
The Manila-born-and-bred Ampon first garnered victory at
18 when he won the national tennis singles championship title in 1938.
During the period in Asia, the Japanese had the upper hand in tennis. But in 1940, at the Far Eastern Athletic Games in Tokyo, Ampon beat Fumiteru Nakano, the Japanese master of the clay court.
Except for a few times, Ampon was the winner of the national singles championship title in the Philippines for nearly three decades between 1938 to 1968.
Traveling extensively and participating in numerous competitions, Ampon played against the tennis aces of the world, including Pancho Gonzales, Jack Kramer, Bob Lutz, Bobby Riggs, Vic Seixas, and Tony Trabert of the United States; Rod Laver, Frank Sedgman, and Ken Rosewall of Australia; Jaroslav Drobny of Czechoslovakia; Lennart Bergelin of Sweden; and Manuel Santana of Spain.
Throughout the memorable match, which he won, Ampon controlled the clay court with remarkable agility. The championship established him as a world-class tennis player, “pound-for-pound or inch-for-inch” as described by the media at the time. Ampon came home to a hero’s welcome; immediately, he became a household name in the Philippines. Up to this day, the surname Ampon is synonymous with tennis.
Skills and Charm
What made Ampon a powerhouse on the tennis court?
What was his allure on the tennis court, especially in the United States?
In the autography of Pancho Gonzales, entitled Man with a Racket, and as told to Cy Rice, it was pointed out that the generally fair-minded American audiences tended to root for pint-sized and underdog players like Ampon.
Although he accumulated at least 200 trophies in his lifetime, playing good tennis was Ampon’s only focus throughout his career.
“I couldn’t keep track of my father’s archives,” according to Lito, one of Ampon’s sons. “He competed with famous people, but he forgot many of them. He didn’t care about celebrities. All that mattered was his performance on the court.”
Royal Encounters
In 1948, while playing in Sweden, an elderly gentleman
seated near the court repeatedly cheered for Ampon, shouting in English: “Nice
going, young man! Keep it up!” Ampon felt glad that somebody spoke in a
language that he understood. He acknowledged the gentleman’s cheers by smiling
at him.
Later at a cocktail party given by the Swedish tennis committee, the gentleman shook hands with Ampon and said: “I congratulate you on your victory. I hope I shall be able to play tennis with you someday.”
“Thank you, sir. It will be a pleasure to play with you,” Ampon replied.
Ampon led a quiet life outside the tennis court. He
coached tennis enthusiasts on the side. The Far Eastern University accounting
graduate worked for Philippine National Bank as an officer. He was also sports
director at one time. His last position was assistant manager of the bank’s
branch in Chicago until 1985.
Ampon married Angeles Arceo of Batangas City, Batangas. They raised one daughter, Pet Mallari, who resides in the Philippines, and three sons, who are all in the United States.
Tennis is clearly in the genes. In 1971, Ampon’s three sons swept all age categories at a competition sponsored by the Philippine Lawn Tennis Association: Felix II won in the 18-year-old-and-under group; Mel, 15-year-old-and-under; and Lito, 13-year-old-and-under.
Educated by Benedictines at San Beda University in Manila, the three sons excelled in tennis in grade school and high school. They graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, on tennis scholarships. Felix II works as an engineer in the Detroit area. Mel and Lito are tennis instructors at tennis clubs in the Chicago suburbs.
The senior Ampon spent his retirement years in Highland Park, Illinois. He is included in Estrella Ravelo Alamar and Willi Red Buhay’s book: Filipinos in Chicago. When not on the tennis court, he traveled and doted on his grandchildren.
Ampon died at 76. In an obituary on October 12, 1997, the Chicago Tribune described him as “a world-class tennis player whose short stature earned him the nickname ‘Mighty Mite’ … an ambassador for Philippine sports nearly 30 years until his retirement in 1968.”
His wife, Angeles, said, “He never forgot his beginnings.” Ampon was buried in the Philippines, the country that he elevated in the world of sports through his tennis prowess.
The Philippine Sportswriters Association cited Ampon as one of the greatest Filipino athletes of the 20th century in a ceremony held in January 2000.
The author wishes to thank Dexjordi Lyle Sison for his assistance in the photos. Originally published in Filipinas Magazine in October 2000.
(POSTSCRIPT: Alex D.R. Castro extends his thanks to Dr. Rey de la Cruz for granting permission to re-post his article in this blog which aims to consolidate features and photos of our sports greats of yesteryears. His contribution is much appreciated)
