Gussie Moran

Gertrude Augusta "Gussie" (or "Gussy") Moran (September 8, 1923 – January 16, 2013) was an American tennis player who was active in the late 1940s and 1950s. Her highest US national tennis ranking was 4th. She was born in Santa Monica, California and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 89.

Moran entered several amateur tennis tournaments in California in her early career. In March 1949, she defeated Nancy Chaffee in straight sets in the final of the US Indoor Championships singles event, played at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. She also won the doubles title, partnering Marjorie Gladman, and the mixed doubles event, together with Pancho Gonzales.

1949 Wimbledon controversy Her results made her eligible to play at Wimbledon in 1949. Preparing for that appearance, she asked the official Wimbledon host Ted Tinling to design her outfit. She asked for one sleeve to be one color, the other sleeve to be another color, and the skirt to be a third color. Because of the tournament rule that all outfits had to be white only, he declined, but later agreed to design an outfit that complied with the rule. Her outfit, a short tennis dress with ruffled, lace-trimmed knickers, was short enough for her knickers to be visible during the match, a first for any tournament. In a tennis documentary on ESPN about Wimbledon and the requirement to wear white, long-time tennis analyst Bud Collins remarked about the "naughty" Gussie Moran wearing frilly lace panties at Wimbledon.

Her outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her "Gorgeous Gussie", and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace. The event scandalized Wimbledon officials, prompting a debate in Parliament. Moran, who was accused of bringing 'vulgarity and sin into tennis' by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club,

For a 1988 story and interview that reported on the 1949 Wimbledon incident Moran spoke about the event: Wimbledon officials went mad, and Moran, shocked by the reaction, went into a shell. The first and only time she wore the outfit on court, she walked with her racket in front of her face. "I was embarrassed...because they were putting so much adulation on the character, 'Gorgeous Gussie'. You know, I was really never anything to write home about. I was a plain girl. But Life magazine ran a picture calling me Gorgeous Gussie, and the British picked it up and did a real job with it. Then people would see me and I'd hear them say 'I've seen better-looking waitresses at the hot-dog stand.' I just went to pieces. Emotionally, I couldn't handle it." where she was seeded seventh and made it to the quarterfinals, Moran's amateur career ended in September when she began to tour as a professional with Pauline Betz, using the dress incident as the main draw.

Her popularity led her to a cameo appearance (as herself) in the 1952 sports-oriented American movie Pat and Mike, which featured Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

One of the last tournaments Moran competed in professionally was the 1971 U.S. Open, where in the Women's Singles draw, she was eliminated at the first round. In the same tournament, she partnered with Chuck Diaz in mixed doubles.

Later life In 1951, Moran began working for Los Angeles television Channel 4, doing a 15-minute interview with Bob Kelley, the voice of the Rams. In 1955. she became a sports newscaster at WMGM in New York City, a position which lasted until 1961. After leaving WMGM, she and a partner became active in manufacturing and selling her own line of tennis clothing (that business closed on 21 November 1963). She then returned to California and became hostess of a racket club in Palm Springs, California. The hostess position did not last long, and she became co-host (with Tom Kennedy) of a daily TV interview show in Hollywood titled Sundown. She was fired after 11 weeks (the show was to run for 13 weeks) when she referred to the Catholic religion as a political party. but with her mother's death, she was unable to pay the property taxes, and was evicted on 26 April 1986. She then moved to a series of small apartments in the Los Angeles area.

Personal life Moran was married four times. Her first marriage, at age 19, was to an ex-Royal Air Force pilot; that marriage later was annulled. All of her subsequent marriages ended in divorce. Her second marriage, at the age of 30, was to Eddie Hand, a transport firm executive, also known as Mr. Y in the book Beat the Dealer by Edward O. Thorp. In 1956, she was married for three days to New York City-based private investigator and intelligence asset Thomas Corbally, who was Hand's best friend. Her final marriage, at the age of 37, was to Frank "Bing" Simpson, a Los Angeles lawyer-yachtsman. Moran had no children.

According to Jack Kramer, Moran "always preferred to be known as 'Gussy' not 'Gussie'". This is how she was referred to in her Los Angeles Times obituary., although other obituaries retained the more commonly used spelling.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1949 Wimbledon Grass Patricia Canning Todd Louise Brough Margaret Osborne duPont 6–8, 5–7

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1947 U.S. Championships Grass Pancho Segura Louise Brough John Bromwich 3–6, 1–6