| It is quite
amazing how many members of the Henri Milano clan have
turned to tennis as their favorite sport. The patriarch,
Henri, (Hank) began playing in Salt Lake City, Utah, before
attending high school. Once he enrolled in West High,
Floyd Romney became his tennis coach. Henri and his partner,
George Morris, were his favorites so he worked with them
after school hours at Pioneer Park. Consequently, they
went on to become champions even though George could not
play on Saturdays because he had to shine shoes to earn
money for his Greek father.
During this
time, Henri and his family were living in the Elms Hotel
located at 329 S. W. Temple in downtown Salt Lake City,
Utah, (phone Wasatch 7359). While his father, Francesco,
worked for Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, his mother
operated the hotel. Times were lean in those days; the
top price for a room was a dollar a day. There was no
inside plumbing. Tenants shared a community bath and a
community toilet. Little round, white, chamber pots sat
under each bed. It became Henri's job to empty and sanitize
them. Rooms were kept warm by small gas stoves that required
lighting.
It was good news when a well-off chauffeur offered to
rent a room for 6 months.
Hank was thrilled to learn the man was not only adept
at tennis but also a piano player. Hank's mother had a
piano moved up the stairs and into his room. He owned
one of the exclusive tennis rackets of that time: a Top
Flight. It was a real rarity with its genuine gut strings
and sold new for the (then) huge sum of $15!
 When
the man got ready to leave, he asked Hank if he would
care to have his racket, which was slightly cracked by
then. "1 sure would!" Hank responded, and went
on to enjoy this prize for several years. Tennis balls
were costly so it seemed like they had to be used forever.
Restringing a racket was much too expensive, so Francesco
taught Henri to do a masterful job using a vise and an
ice pick. Though it was tedious, it was sturdy and stood
up well.
In 1935, Henri
moved into the Proctor Hotel on 9th Street in Los Angeles,
California, bringing along his racket and his accordion.
He worked for Howell-Aretta Conservatory of Music, where
he met and married Elma Allen who was not only a musician,
but unbeknownst to him, had also taken up tennis.
It was not
until a year after their wedding that they resumed their
favorite sport. When they did so, Hank paid for private
lessons which improved his backhand. He and Elma rode
their bicycles from their home-studio at Olympic and Crenshaw
Boulevards, past the La Brea Tar Pits, to tennis courts
10 miles north, which were nestled among the movie studios
in Hollywood. Here Hank played all day while Elma sat
cheering him on as she attempted, in vain, to acquire
a tan.
After being
inducted in the army during World War II, it wasn't until
he was stationed at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, that Hank
played tennis again for a short while. Soon thereafter,
he experienced his final move to Camp Roberts, California,
to be discharged. Afterwards, they decided against living
in Los Angeles again.
They settled down in Mesa, Arizona, and established a
music business while raising their six children. During
this time, Hank played tennis with Linwood Noble, Dr.
Neff, Dick Moody, Worth Phelps, and Dean Larsen and won
many awards.
In 1961, while
living in Utah, he teamed with Dick Young and won the
Salt Lake Senior Doubles Championship. After this, he
put his racket away until he was 70-years-old, when he
hit a few balls with his son, Frank, who was visiting
from Arizona.
Elma, the matriarch of the family, began her tennis playing
while still attending 8th grade in La Canada, California.
She doesn't remember taking any lessons but she does remember
playing tennis after school and then walking 3 miles home.
Her father probably acquired her racket from one of his
generous friends, because, until Elma became a professional
accordionist, she never remembers having a dime of her
own.
Once she began
performing, she was soon making more money than any of
her other friends. From then on, she never had a minute
to even think about tennis: she arose at 6:00 a.m., walked
3 1/2 miles to attend Eagle Rock High School, walked 3
1/2 miles home ( uphill), another 1/2 mile back to the
end of the streetcar line (at times, carrying her accordion),
rode to downtown Los Angeles where she walked two more
blocks to Howell-Aretta at 215 W. 9th Street, climbed
two flights of stairs and acted as a receptionist until
time to borrow a car and drive to her destination where
she donned her heavy accordion and strolled about, many
times performing until 2:00 a.m. (No wonder she developed
such stamina!)
In 1950, when
Elma designed their home in Mesa, Arizona, she did so
with the Frank Lloyd Wright functional style in mind.
In so doing, she put a closet just inside of the garage
so they could store their well-worn tennis gear. Their
accordions were kept in their bedrooms.
 In
1961, after Elma and Hank were divorced, she once again
began playing tennis very early on week mornings before
the children were awake (it was safe in those days). Dashing
around and bashing the ball was therapeutic as she released
the tensions built up from trying to operate the music
store while raising six children by herself. She always
maintained that if she won, she was playing too much tennis.
Eventually, she did manage to win a few matches and generally
won in their daily mixed doubles.
When their
son, Frank, reached 28-years-of-age, he too, took an interest
in tennis. He mentioned this to his mother who gave him
a couple of lessons before he took off on his own. He
played more as a means of keeping physically fit than
as a means of winning.
When Frank takes an interest in anything, he usually keeps
going and going until he feels satisfied. With tennis,
his interest peaked when he owned a tennis shop called,
"Racquet Warehouse" located where Linton Milano
is now housed, at 45 West Main in downtown Mesa, Arizona.
He still has an obsession with athletic shoes of which
he has acquired a goodly number which are worn for most
all his occasions.
In 2003, at
fifty-seven-years-of-age, Frank stays physically fit by
going to Mesa Country Club twice a week and paying his
coach, Mike Van Zuphen, by the hour to run him around
the courts.
 Frank's
sons, Mike and Jeff, were the first of the next generation
to show an interest in tennis. Jeff has maintained the
most interest, perhaps because people are always telling
him he looks like a clone of the world champion, Andre
Agassi?
The next athletes
on the courts were Margaret and Dennis' two daughters,
Mila Marie and Marianne. They not only won tennis matches,
but went on to coach summer classes for youth. Dennis
also had two sisters, Sue and Diane Palmer, who were tennis
champions.
Ida's husband,
Brad, plays a fine game of tennis and their eldest son,
Devin, played on the Mesa High JV team. Their eldest daughter,
Katy , played on the Taylor Jr. High team.
To add a bit
of trivia to the above account, let us consider our 92-year-old
neighbor, a retired minister, who was 85-years-old when
he finally hung up his racket!
Even though
we know that God is ultimately in control, we have to
think about the fact that both Hank and Frank's heart
murmurs did not slow their tennis down, and that it took
a heart attack before Elma retired from the courts at
sixty. Let us hope that our Milano Family Tennis
Tradition has contributed to our overall longevity
and well being!
P.S. Hank
has done a splendid job of preserving a treasure chest
of awards in tennis, printing, and art, for his posterity
to enjoy. Thus, when proof of the family tennis tradition
is needed, the proof wiD be available; folks won't blame
his tales of victory on his old age (ha!).
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