"I want to help people who need a limb. There's so much an amputee can do. I want to encourage." ~ Dennis Ralston
One of America's most prominent tennis personalities of the 1960's and 1970's is displaying an admirable positive attitude as he rebounds from the biggest blow of his 68-year-old life.
Our friend, Dennis Ralston, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since 1987, had his left leg amputated nine inches below the knee June 29 in Los Angeles, and will receive his customized prosthetic leg in the next ten days.
Talking on the telephone with Denny last night as he relaxed at his home in Indio, California with his supportive wife, Linda, he spoke of his desire to continue teaching and coaching tennis "anywhere." He said, "I can move and get around."
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Ralston, who was the number 1 ranked men's tennis player in the U. S. for three consecutive years in the 1960s, won 27 national singles and doubles titles. A native of Bakersfield, California, and a star at USC where he won two NCAA singles and two NCAA doubles trophies, Denny was a five-time winner of Grand Slam doubles crowns. His first came when he was 17 as he missed his highschool graduation to team with Rafael Osuna and capture the 1960 Wimbledon title. He recalled for me having to win the opening match, 17-15 in the fifth set.
Ralston paired with Chuck McKinley to win the U.S. National Doubles championships in 1961, 1963 and 1964. In 1966, he and Clark Graebner captured the French Open laurels, routing Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac in the final. Dennis was beaten in the 1966 Wimbledon singles final by Manuel Santana. He was rated as high as fifth in the world in singles at one time, and had one of the best forehand volleys in tennis.
Ralston played on our Davis Cup teams from 1960 to 1966, then served as the coach between 1968 and 1972, before taking over as the captain between 1972 and 1975. He later coached several star players, including Chris Evert, and was the SMU tennis coach for over a decade.
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When we came to California 44 years ago, the Ralstons were our neighbors. One day, our dog was hit by a car while I was at work, and Denny rushed him to the veterinarian, probably saving his life.
This has been a tough year for the tennis great. There was the January 14 operation on his left leg, and after a severe staphylococcus infection, two more surgeries before the amputation. Denny does not have diabetes and it was not poor blood circulation in his case. He says his problems occurred when multiple staph infections spread, causing osteomyelitis.
Osteomyelitis is an acute or chronic bone or bone marrow infection. The infection may also spread to a bone from infected skin, muscles, or tendons next to the bone as it may appear under a chronic sore. It can also start in another part of the body and spread to the bone through the blood. Surgery may be needed to remove dead bone tissue if the infection does not go away.
Ralston has begun light workouts and is swimming. He'll have a "trial" leg for six to nine months, will walk at different speeds, and then be given a "permanent" leg for three years. His biggest challenge will be keeping his balance.
Denny is already looking ahead. He will attend a tennis clinic in Ashland, Oregon in late September, then go to Austin, Texas in October for an event he couldn't make last year. It's a tournament for amputees, and his friend, Fernando Velasco, the host pro, says Ralston's inspiring appearance will "have a lot more meaning and credibility" considering what has happened in the last two months.
Ralston reports he has gotten a "great deal of support" from Linda's friend, Donna Pace, in the Palm Springs area. Donna is a double amputee She has told Denny, "I don't allow myself to think negatively."
Dennis Ralston is a man of faith whose loving wife is by his side. It will be "Game, Set, Match" for him.
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Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle and 16-year major league pitcher Rick Rhoden both suffered with osteomyelitis.
As a youngster, Mantle was kicked in the shin during a football game, and his leg soon became infected with osteomyelitis. A midnight drive from his home in Commerce, Oklahoma to Tulsa enabled Mickey to be treated with newly available penicillin, saving his leg from amputation. But, he suffered from the effects of osteomyelitis the rest of his life, leading to many other injuries which prevented the Yankee superstar from setting numerous records in baseball history.
Rhoden grew up in Boynton Beach, Florida, and when he was nine, slid down a slide in his backyard. Lodged in the grass was a pair of scissors with the sharp edges up, and Rick suffered a severe gash in one leg. That led to osteomyelitis, and he wore a brace until he was 12. Rhoden went on to win 151 games in the major leagues, and after retiring, became a pro golfer. He has earned the most money ever on the Celebrity Golf Tour, and won the prestigious event at Lake Tahoe to determine the best celebrity golfer eight times.
Osteomyelitis affects two out of every 10, 000 people.
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Furyk missed his 7:30 a.m. tee-off time in the pro-am. He set a wake-up call on his mobile phone which he uses as an alarm clock, but the power ran out during the night. Jim was five minutes late and had no way to be on the 11th tee when his group took off. The PGA tour has a strict rule regarding pros participating with amateurs the day before a tourney. Only an injury or a family emergency is acceptable as an excuse.
The top 54 available players on the points list are required by the PGA Tour to compete in pro-ams of tournaments in which they have entered. The Players Championship is the only one without a pro-am. It's understandable why they have this rule.
A major portion of the annual charitable proceeds come from the revenue a pro-am brings. These amateurs pay a lot of money to have the right to play 18 holes and ride in a golf cart with a professional this one day. It's five hours or more of personal contact with a sports celebrity, and that is not usually possible except in golf.
Furyk said, "I've got no one to blame but myself. The rules are rules. I'm kicking myself."
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However, the number 2 ranked golfer in the world, Phil Mickelson, was sharply critical, calling the rule "inherently unfair." Mickelson said, "If you're going to have a rule that does not apply to everybody, because not everybody played the pro-am, you cannot have it affect the competition. It's got to be a different penalty. It's not protecting the players or the sponsors. I cannot disagree with it more. I have no idea how the commissioner let this rule go through. It's ridiculous."
Over the years, there have been numerous cases where professional golfers have been penalized.
The most infamous occurred in the final round of the 1968 Masters. Roberto De Vincenzo made a birdie 3 on the 17th hole, but his playing partner Tommy Aaron put down a 4. Neither man caught the mistake and when the Argentine signed his incorrect scorecard, he missed a chance to be in a playoff for the green jacket.
Not using the proper golf ball has cost several tour players. In 1996, Greg Norman was using a legal ball at Hartford, but for the lack of one digit, a zero, on the balls he had used in the first two rounds, he disqualified himself. There was a different stamping on his golf ball. Attempting to qualify for the 2009 PGA tour, J. P. Hayes discovered that on two shots on one hole, he had unwittingly used a prototype golf ball not approved for competition. No one would have known and a full-time spot on the tour was on the line, but J. P. turned himself in and was disqualified. In June of 2009, Paul Azinger disqualified himself for playing a nonconforming ball due to a label issue. The ball had become nonconforming only a few days before.
Television viewers have been responsible for disqualifications. In 1987 at San Diego, Craig Stadler had a shot land against a tree trunk on muddy ground. In order to take the shot, Stadler needed to get down on his knees. He laid a towel on the ground and kneeled on it. That constituted a breach of USGA Rule 13:3, which prohibits a player from "building a stance." A fan reported the violation from his home, and Craig learned after signing his scorecard that he had not finished second. It cost him $ 37, 000.
In 1991, another TV watcher turned in Azinger for moving a loose impediment while in a water hazard at Doral. That was Rule 13-4 (c), and only a slight variation on Dustin Johnson's recent mistake which cost him a place in the PGA tournament playoff. Johnson twice tapped the earth in a beaten-down scrub brush on the 18th hole, breaking the rule which states, "The player must not touch the ground in the hazard."
Lady professionals are not immune to alert watchers of the tube. A week ago last Saturday, a fan watching an LPGA event in Oregon e-mailed tournament officals that Juli Inkster had committed a violation.
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The 50-year-old Hall of Famer was disqualified for using a weighted device to warm up while waiting at the 10th tee. Rule 14.3 bars the use of practice devices during rounds, specifically weighted "doughnuts." Inkster was three strokes behind as she made a bid to become the oldest golfer to win an LPGA tournament.
Veteran PGA tour professional Tom Kite once commented about self-imposed disqualifications. "I don't think you'll see that in other sports. People set those standards long before us, and it's expected of us. And we expect it from the younger players."
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