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Sunday, July 11, 1999 By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
The Pittsburgh Parks Championships may be on the last legs, but thanks to Paul Sullivan the once-flourishing tournament at least is limping into its 68th year this week.
Sullivan will be the coordinator and lifeline for the event for the 67th time. He missed it in 1946 when he was in the Navy.
"Believe me, it's not a joy and delight to do it, but you're giving a good many people a chance to have some fun and that's the way it's supposed to be with tennis," he said from his Downtown law office. "Plus there's a sense of accomplishment."
The tournament, open to players of all ages, has one of its smallest fields ever, attracting only a handful of women. Fewer than 50 entrants paid the $2 to play singles and $3 for doubles.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Sullivan had to cut the draw off at 128. Despite the decrease, Sullivan said he plans to schedule men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles, with the finals set for next weekend.
"I don't think the tournament is going to fade away, but it's fading down," Sullivan said. "I'd be delighted to have someone ready to take it on. I'm 95, for gosh sakes, and I can't figure on doing it for many more years."
But as long as Sullivan is the director, the tournament won't have a corporate sponsor or age-group categories and the entry fees will remain the same as always.
"I wouldn't volunteer to run a tournament if it was sponsored by a company," he said. "And I've never had any respect for age groups. I played in men's singles until my 70s and I'd still be playing now if I could get anybody my age to practice with.
"Tournaments, in general, are not drawing as well as they used to."
Sullivan thought for a moment and then added, "What happens to all those kids who played high school tennis? What are they doing when they're 25? They don't show up for tournaments."
Sullivan will show up for the night matches during the week and the afternoon finals, armed with bracket sheets and a rule book that often comes in handy.
The tournament must go on.
"Of course there will be a tournament," he said. "There always is."
If you can't get out to the Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center or want to see the action in the National Collegiate Clay Court and West Penn Championships for a second time, tune in to WBGN-TV, which will broadcast four championship matches on a same-day delayed basis.
The women's singles and doubles will be aired July 25 and the men's singles and doubles will be carried July 26. Both broadcasts will begin at 9 p.m.
The announcers will be Ray Goss, the voice of Duquesne University basketball and a top over-50 tennis player, and Whitney Snyder, the tennis pro at Butler Country Club.
"The television will expose the tournament to more people than ever, reaching 850,000 potential viewers in a 60-mile radius," said Don Mercer, the tournament director.
A 20-minute video, "Tennis-Sport for a Lifetime," will be shown between matches each night. It will feature players from tots to 80-year-olds demonstrating different aspects of the game that are appropriate for their age group.
The video will be produced by Whit Productions, with Dave James as the narrator. John Mercer, assistant coach of Marshall's women's team and pro at the Pittsburgh Field Club, will comment about the variety of strokes and drills and what is available for players at each age.
Bo Weigand, a graduate of Shady Side Academy who is headed to Harvard this fall, recently finished second at the invitation-only USTA Middle States 18-under masters tournament in King of Prussia, Pa.
The top 32 ranked 18-under juniors from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New Jersey competed.
Weigand qualified for the U.S. Claycourt Championships that begin Saturday in Louisville and the U.S. Hardcourts in Kalamazoo, Mich., Aug. 5.
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Lights, camera ...