Court Life

by Eliott Grover '06

Tracing the history of Tabor’s tennis courts offers a microcosm of the school’s evolution. The first court was located behind the original Academy Building on Spring Street. It saw plenty of recreational action from students and local residents, earning a mention in an 1895 Boston Post article.

When the gravitational center of campus shifted to the waterfront, tennis followed. Shortly after the construction of Hoyt Hall in 1928, four courts were built behind Bushnell House. These courts allowed tennis to be offered as an interscholastic sport for the first time in school history. Its popularity skyrocketed through the middle of the twentieth century. In 1958, seven additional clay courts were built along the harbor to the south of Lillard Hall.

The construction of the Howard Johnson Arena created a space for four covered tennis courts to be used outside of hockey season. In 1986, another generous gift from the Howard Johnson Foundation provided for improvements that specifically targeted the arena’s tennis capabilities. On the old courts, a Log writer noted, “The ball takes an abnormal bounce on the concrete, which happens to be slippery and hazardous to players.” The writer happily reported that the improved courts would feature a painted, textured surface.

Tabor’s tennis facilities entered a new chapter in 1987. In a land swap between the school and two Marion families, Tabor received acreage on upper Spring Street in exchange for the tennis court parcel beneath Lillard. As part of the deal, Tabor agreed to remove the waterfront courts and restore the land to a preserve.

The following spring, the Hutchinson Tennis Courts were given by the parents of the class of 1988 in honor of Tabor’s longtime coach E. Leighton Hutchinson. These courts are still in use today.

RELATED ARTICLE: Read more about improvements to today's courts in Building a Better Tabor, Part 1: Showing the Tennis Courts Love.