GENE WASH:  LONG LIMBED, BLOND NET STYLIST 
4/17/06
by Sara James

Some people live life on a grander scale.  These are people you'd want to be with, if stranded on a deserted island.  The number of stories they can tell you is endless, and each one is more entertaining than the next.  The downside is, at the end of a story, you think to yourself, wow--that is a fantastic tale!  But is it true?

Gene Wash is a teller of such tales, and whether or not they really happened, I couldn't tell you.   But I'll tell you some of them, and you can be the judge.

This is a story about a boy who could have played football, basketball, baseball or probably any sport, but he particularly liked tennis. A skinny, long-limbed young man who came to win the city tennis title and many more trophies before and after.  At the age of ten, he started playing the game at Byrd Park under the tutelage of Sam Woods.  Previous city champions played at private schools. Gene - who came from a more middle class upbringing- went to Albert Hill middle school.  

"I was what you would call a natural athlete," said Gene recently.  "I could kick a football 60 yards, pass about as far too and think nothing of it.  I could run extremely fast."  After playing tennis a few times, he entered his first tournament at Byrd Park, where he won a silver-plated tray presented by Mr. Woods.   "Nobody thought much about it at the time," he said.

After winning more trophies and tournaments in junior high, Gene joined a new crop of kids training with Mr. Woods at Thomas Jefferson High School.  At Tee-Jay, Gene played #1 all four years and never lost a match.  He played varsity basketball, and punted with the football players for awhile.  "The coach saw me kick a football and he said 'man, why don't you come out for the team?  I said, Coach, I'm too skinny, I'd like to keep my legs on my body.  At the time I was 6' 3" and could suck in and touch my backbone with my belly button. Well, he convinced me to be a kicker/punter, so I put on all the equipment for the first game.  I looked like a dwarf.  It was time to kick an extra point.  I said to the place-setter, "I got to let these guys know to stay away from me, I don't want to be killed.  I'm gong to kick the ball all the way over the brick wall at the end of the field.  He said, yea, try it.  I did.  I kicked it way over the wall every single time." 

He pitched on the baseball team, and would leave the field to go practice tennis on the hardwood floors at the Howitzers' Armory.  Gene arranged his study hall to be 6th period, and he spent that hour training with Coach Woods.  One year, he went to the National Indoor Tennis Championships in St. Louis. 

"We stayed at the Parkview Hotel.  Now Bobby Payne, he would come over to knock on my door, just as I was trying to go to bed.  I'd get up, and go to the door, but he'd be gone.  This went on and on.  Well, after a few times of that, I didn't bother to put my clothes back on.  I stood by the door and waited for him to knock.  All I had on was a t-shirt, literally, nothing underneath....when the door knocked, I immediately threw open the door.  It was the maid, of course, asking me if I needed anything.

"Oh, Bobby and me - we had a great time."

While Gene was playing high school tennis, Jimmy Mitchell wrote about him in his newspaper column: "Wash is the best natural prospect I've seen here since Bobby Leitch was approaching his stride.  His chief fault is that he occasionally misses the easy shots."  Mitchell hinted that Wash's strong backhand and forehand driving shots left little to be desired.  

Wash & Payne became the top doubles combo in the state, with a perfect blend of games.  Each had a strong serve, good volley shots and fine overheads, according to reports at the time. City reporter Bill Deekins wrote:  "There aren't many 'sure things' left in sports these days.  In city sports circles, the closest thing probably would be a bet that Bobby Payne and Gene Wash figure prominently in the State Group I singles and doubles finals......The chances of Payne and Wash winning are so good that many observers figure the playoffs are a mere formality."

Sam Woods, the Byrd Park teaching legend, credited the improvement of his young stars to a "willingness to pursue a steady diet of practice." (Richmond News Leader).  Newspaper articles wrote of the 'grinding practice work' undertaken by Woods' high school proteges..."two hours of work every day for the past 45 days".  Nowadays, many young players might smile at those seemingly easy hours.  But practices 60 years ago weren't done on pleasant clay or rubbery indoor courts, but on ancient hardwood floors with lighting that was less than spectacular.

In 1949, Sam Woods asked Gene to go up to the northside to play and practice with some kids there. Gene and Bobby Payne and Bobby Bortner went, and they broke into three groups, about ten to a group, to practice forehands, backhands and serves.  "There was a kid there, about 10 to 12, who was doing really well, and having lots of fun.  He had a beautiful game. A wonderful disposition. It was Arthur Ashe of course. 

"We ended up being really good friends.  I helped him and followed his game... He called me on the phone as he moved out west and we carried on like brothers."

After high school, Gene married the love of his life, Nancy.  They were married for over 50 years and had 4 children:  Barry, Betty Jean, Dabney and Harrison. Gene was drafted into the army, where he continued to play tennis and accumulate more stories.  After winning the Far East Championships (military tennis competitions), Gene was asked by General Charles Christenberry --"I called him Chris at the time since we were good friends"-- if he was interested in having a career highlight.  Gene soon found himself playing in a tennis exhibition at Emperor Hirohito's palace.  "The ball boys were actually Geisha Girls.  They'd take those tiny steps running to get the balls, and their  robes would sweep the courts clean behind them." Gene said there was a movie made about it; I had to tell him no when he asked if I had seen it.

After serving for two years, Gene found that many of his tennis buddies went on to the University of North Carolina, which at the time boasted the best tennis talent on the East Coast.  Gene stayed in Richmond, and attended RPI (now VCU).  During his college years, he claimed four state championships.  In 1955, he walked onto Court 1 at the Country Club of Virginia to play his good friend Bobby Bortner for the Richmond City tennis title.  "It was hot.  I won the first set and he won the second.  The match was like that, we were exchanging sets.   A storm came up.  Bobby said, 'We have to get through this thing.  Well, I was in much superior shape, so I wasn't too worried about it."

Bobby Bortner said this of Gene. "He was truly the most gifted natural athlete I have ever seen.  There was absolutely nothing athletically that he could not do.  He was amazing."

After college, Gene went to work at the State Highway Department, where among other things, he made the blueprints for the Hampton Roads Tunnel.  He didn't stop playing tennis.  In the 1970's, Gene helped his old friend and mentor, CCV tennis pro Jimmy Mitchell, with lessons in a semi-assistant capacity.  Gene said he didn't accept money, but Jimmy kept his racquets strung for free as payment.   

Gene's wife passed away in November, 2005.  He keeps his favorite photo of her, taken in 1979 for a Kings Dominion passport, in his wallet.  If you run into Gene, ask to see some of his photos, and maybe he'll tell you a story or two.  The one about Frank Sinatra and Robert Goulet is especially good.

Gene Wash, 2006

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NEXT:  Amanda Tevepaugh Macauley