As the story goes, not long after the late Ben Haden came to Chattanooga in 1968 to pastor First Presbyterian Church, he dropped by Manker Patten Tennis Center armed with a suspect backhand and a checkbook in hopes he could convince club pro Tommy Bartlett to improve his struggling game.
After watching Haden swat a few into the net, Bartlett reportedly returned the check and wryly observed, “You have such a unique game, I don’t want to mess with it.”
It might have been the only time in a Hall of Fame coaching and playing career that covered both basketball and tennis that Bartlett failed to hugely improve the athletic skills of those who played beside him or were under his watch.
Or as Essie, his bride of 64 years, said following the 88-year-old Bartlett’s death last week: “If it was a round ball and bounced, Tommy was in.”
They came by the hundreds to First Baptist Church on Monday to celebrate the late coach and athlete’s remarkable life.