Former tennis star Von Cramm dies

Baron

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) Gottfried von Cramm, German tennis star of the 1930s, died in an automobile accident Tuesday on a desert road on a return trip from Alexandria. He was

66.

The

West

Germany Embassy, reporting the tragedy, said Von Cramm's car col-

lided with a truck about three miles Von Cramm outside Cairo. The (1943 photo) driver of his car also was killed. There were no other immediate details.

Von Cramm, from a prominent German family, rose to prominence during the latter part of Bill Tilden's career and had the misfortune of reaching his peak at the same. time as Britain's Fred Perry and America's Donald Budge.

Three times he was runnerup at Wimbledon, in 1935 and 1936 to Perry and in 1937 to Budge. He never won a Wimbledon singles title

although he was one of the premier international players of the era.

A match with Budge in 1937 in the inter-zone Davis Cup competition at Wimbledon is regarded by historians as one of the greatest tennis duels of all time.

At the time war clouds were hovering over Europe. In Germany, Adolf Hitler was flexing his country's military muscles and proclaining the superiority of the Aryan race. World War II was imminent.

In the best-of-five series. Von Cramm and his teammate, Henner Henkel, had scored singles victories over Bryan "Bitsy" Grant, the Atlanta back-court retriever, and Budge had tied the score by beating Henkel and joining Gene Mako to win the doubles.

The match thus hung on the final singles between Budge and Von Cramm.

Moments before he took the center court, someone tapped Von Cramm on the arm and said he had a long-distance telephone call in the club house.

The royally-born German emerged 15 minutes later, his lips drawn tight and his face pale.

It was not until years later, after the war had ended, that Von Cramm disclosed the nature of the call. It was from the Fuehrer himself, who reportedly spent 10 minutes extolling the virtues of the Aryan race and impressing on Von Cramm the necessaity of measuring up to his heritage.

"All Germans go out and expect you to win for the Fatherland." Hitler was said to have demanded.

The large British gallery was not aware of this conversation as the two players went at each other like a pair of heavyweights. Von Cramm, playing brilliantly, won the first two sets but Budge rallied to win 6-8, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 8-6.

Budge fell behind in the fourth set and the match after Von Cramm had fought off five match points. It was a classic match.

Von Cramm's tennis deteriorated after the war. He married Barbara Hutton, the five-anddime store chain heiress, and became a member of the social set. Friends said he had gone to Alexandrai to complete a cotton deal.

"Gottfried was an impeccable dresser, superb on the court, beautiful strokes, every inch a sportsman," said Budge. "Yet he was one of the unluckiest men I know.

"He was crucified by Hitler and Nazi Germany."

While he was anti-Nazi, he was a

German sports hero and a clos friend of Reichsmarshal Herman. Goering. The Nazis never were abl to break down his resistance.

"Although he had a reserve offi cer's commission, Gottfried wa sent to the Russian front as a bucl private. On the Stalingrad siege, h personally held off the Russian with a machine gun while permit ting 200 German soldiers to escap. He didn't care whether he got kille or not.

"Returning to camp, he wa awarded the German Iron Cross of the spot by the general, who wa. not aware of his political persua sion. It was reported that Hitler and Goering were livid."

Later von Cramm was jailed, b the Nazis on a morals charge, a blc on his record that pursued him th rest of his life although he becam a wealthy cotton dealer and the hus band of heiress Barbara Hutton

"Goering told von Cramm tha there had been reports that he wa homosexual." Budge related. “‘H suggested that Gottfried plea guilty to a morals charge rathe than face action for being anti-Naz. He promised von Cramm that h would serve only six months instead of the four to five years for th more serious charge.

"Gottfried agreed. He was ac cused because he had been befriend ing a Jewish boy who had fled th country. The Nazis said he wa being blackmailed by the youth which wasn't truc. But the stigm. stuck."