History of Tennis in Delta, Colorado

Sisters Thelma & Clara Howard of Read finishing a match at the Cleland Park Tennis Courts, circa 1929.
Photo courtesy Howard Family Archives/Matthew Soper.

Tennis, a popular aerobic game, traces its origins to the Middle Ages. The Medieval form of tennis was called Real Tennis and was played throughout European royal courts. The first organized professional tennis tour began in 1571, from a charter granted by King Charles IX. England’s King Henry VIII loved tennis and played with much gusto at his court at Hampton Palace. William Shakespeare even references tennis in the play “Henry V.”

In 1874, British Major Walter Wingfield patented a game with an 8-page rule book called “Lawn Tennis.” In 1877 the first Wimbledon Championship was played, and by 1881 the first US Open was played in New York.

The Paris Conference (1913) of developed nations created the International Tennis Federation (ITF), which established, in 1924, a uniformly accepted set of rules for playing tennis. Remarkably, these rules have changed very little over the years.

The Roaring 20s saw prosperity and forward thinking. In 1924 the Delta City Council purchased a 7-acre parcel of land to be developed as a city park, which was named Cleland Park in 1951. The Young Mens’ Civic Club (YMCC) was formed to convince the city council to build a tennis court. Al Swaim, the Club’s first president, lobbied relentlessly until the city constructed a cinder based court in 1929. The YMCC organized tennis socials and tournaments.

In 1931, the club’s second president, a young lawyer named Allen Brown, successfully convinced the city to build two more cinder courts. After long summer days in court, Mr. Brown and other members of the bar enjoyed the relaxation of match play on the courts. By the mid-1930s, YMCC began lobbying the city to pave the courts and install lights for playing in the evenings.

In 1940, as tennis continued to thrive in popularity, the City of Delta paved the courts and added lights for night time play. During these early years of tennis in Delta, the community saw two exceptional players – Ellsworth “George” Waddle and Melton “Red” Crawford. These two athletes were truly exceptional, winning tournaments in Grand Junction and as far away as Denver. George Waddle even travelled to Saint Louis to win a tournament, by staving off a tough challenger. By 1957, the city reconditioned the courts, added six-foot tall fences around the courts, and replaced the lights.

The 1960s saw the arrival of a former Kansas State College tennis coach, Elmer “Crummie” Crumpacker. He had been a star tennis player at Kansas and was listed in Tennis World. Prior to 1968, professional tennis players were under contract with a promoter, much like boxing, where pros played in “invitation only” tournaments and head-to-head challenges. Crummie never was free to compete with the pros. This all changed in 1968, when professional tennis was opened to non-contract players. Crummie coached locals who wanted to improve their game.

Delta businessman, Mel Davis, inspired by Waddle, Crawford, and Crumpacker, went before the District 50-J School Board on May 20, 1974 to ask them to add tennis as a varsity sport. The School Board agreed to add tennis, as long as the city of Delta would add two more courts, bringing the total to six. The city council drug their feet and it took Davis two years of pestering before the city granted a budget of $28,900, which was awarded to Corn Construction of Grand Junction to build six brand new courts where Riley Zoo had been located.

During America’s bicentennial, Cleland Park’s new courts were dedicated and school children began court play. By 1982, Delta High School’s Tennis team was considered one of the best in Western Colorado. In 1988, after a 60 year hiatus tennis was re-introduced as an Olympic sport at the Seoul games. American tennis popularity was at an all-time high with US legends Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Michael Chang dominating the ATP, and Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and later the Williams sisters dominating the WTA.

The Cleland Park Tennis Courts were resurfaced in 1992 at a cost of $16,600, with $7,500 coming from a contribution of the Delta County District 1 lottery fund.

The successor to YMCC, the Delta Tennis Club, was led by Mel Davis, Jack Jordan, Gerry Morris, Judy Thomas, Chuck Soper and others. Brad Davis, son of Mel, recalled homemade ice cream was served by his dad, every Monday night after rounds of doubles. One evening, the topic of conversation turned to politics. His father, being a well-known Republican, got into a heated debate with Jack Jordan, a Democrat. Chuck Soper interrupted the argument to ask for another helping of ice cream. That lightened the mood.

The Delta Tennis Club dominated in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1996 and 1997, the Delta Tennis Club was so successful that they qualitied for the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Mountain West Championships in Keystone, Colorado. Delta also competed in Quad City, a series of tournaments organized among Delta, Montrose, Grand Junction, and Glenwood Springs. The Delta Tennis scene in the 1990s was so popular that players would drive down from Montrose and Grand Junction just to partake in the Sunday Tennis Socials.

In 1994 Bill Heddles Rec Center was built as part of a massive urban renewal project which turned the old Holly Sugar dump into Confluence Park. By 1996, the City of Delta built four, unlit courts next to the Rec Center. Cleland Park courts have continued to be popular because the hill and trees protect the courts from wind, which is a frequent complaint at Confluence. Cleland Park has lights for nigh play and the fencing and bleachers are better for viewing matches.

By 1999, the City of Delta spent $100,000 to completely resurface all six courts at Cleland Park.

With these improvements, the Doris Danker Wheelchair Tennis Tournament relocated to Delta, attracting nearly 100 players and a couple hundred spectators. The tournament, no longer hosted by Delta because of a lack of six courts in one location, is a qualifier for the US Open. Vietnam veteran, Rick Isom, qualified and competed in the US Open at Flushing Meadows. Isom was paralyzed from the waist down when his helicopter was shot-down. Isom led a robust sports career as a paraplegic, organizing Delta’s USTA One-up, One-down league, and he even invented an improved chair for tennis, basketball, and skiing.

In 2004, Delta High School eliminated men’s varsity tennis, but kept ladies varsity tennis. A renewed effort by parents to re-introduce men’s tennis has been met with the age old argument of budget constraints. Men’s and women’s high school tennis programs in Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, and Paonia have continued. Improvements to Cedaredge and Paonia tennis courts are planned for 2016.

Gene Caballero of Delta’s Tennis Club won the Men’s Singles Title at the Taco Bell Western Slope Open in 2010. The Taco Bell Open is the largest annual tennis tournament between Denver and Salt Lake City and attracts players from all over the western US.

Delta native, Jim Heaps, played both college basketball and tennis at Central Arizona College and later Mesa State College. Heaps went on to coach college basketball, and is currently assistant athletic director at Colorado Mesa University. During the summer tennis leagues, Heaps drives down from Grand Junction to play as a ‘ringer’ for Delta’s Tennis Club.

The City of Delta closed the Cleland Park Tennis Courts indefinitely in October 2015, citing safety concerns. The city plans to replace the six tennis courts at Cleland with four new tennis courts, which it believes will accommodate current usage. The 2016 budget will include $350,000 for replacement, but the city anticipates the bulk of the cost will be funded through grants. Parks director, Wilma Erven, said she expects the restrooms to be upgraded at the same time, and it's possible a second pavilion could be built, depending on funding.

Mrs. Erven said the tennis courts will likely be closed all of 2016, due to the length of time it will take for design, bid and construction of the replacements. The closure will force the Delta High School tennis team to find a new host site.

After nearly 40 years of there being six courts at Cleland Park, the City will reduce the number to four beginning in 2017. It is amazing how costs have increased over the years from a total budget of $28,900 to build six courts in 1976 to a total budget of $350,000 to build four courts in 2017. In 2016, the USTA estimated the average cost of a public court to cost between $50,000 and $80,000 to construct.

The Delta County Tennis Club is excited to be able to return to Cleland Park, the favored tennis courts since 1929. By the end of the 2015 tennis season, around 200-300 kids and adults played on the Cleland Park Courts per week.