LEGENDS: WHO'S THE BOS? 

By Sam Blair

Nothing matches the enthusiasm Bill Bos has for tennis.

Bill Bos’ wife Sally calls him “the Billy Graham of tennis.” And when he moved to Brookhaven Country Club near Dallas in 1977, the gregarious pro found his ideal pulpit. A gifted teacher and athlete, Bos achieved amazing results in 12 years at Brookhaven, just as he had at Dallas Country Club from 1963 to 1976, and the previous four years as tennis coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, where his pupils included future Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach.

Lynn Fry, who joined Brookhaven as general manager shortly after Bos became director of racquet sports, found a tireless worker who was supervising a major expansion in the facilities while telling everyone he met that life was not complete without tennis.

“Once Bill Bos touches your life, you’ll always remember him,” says Fry, who is now a consultant. “Brookhaven expanded to 41 tennis courts and he had those filled so quickly it made me dizzy. He’s a wonderful goodwill ambassador for the sport.”

Throughout his Super Bowl championship career with the Dallas Cowboys and beyond, Staubach loved playing tennis with the old Navy coach, who also coached Heisman Trophy winners Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker during his career. “If I called Bill at 3 a.m. to play, he’d say, ‘Where do you want to meet?’ ” Staubach recalls. “I’ve never known anyone who had more enthusiasm for his job.”

Bos shared that enthusiasm with everyone who stepped on a tennis court at Brookhaven, whether they were celebrities such as actor Charlton Heston, comedian Bill Cosby, singer Kenny Rogers, or neighborhood youngsters.

“When a pro says he doesn’t want to work with little kids, that’s not being a pro,” says Bos, now 73 and a free-lance teacher. “You plant the seed. I believe in this game. I live it seven days a week.” ©©

Sam Blair, a newspaperman for more than four decades, is the author of nine books and several hundred magazine articles. If you know a club legend, we’d like to hear the story. E-mail your suggestion to privateclubs@clubcorp.com.