Dick McCarthy, A Man For All Seasons

While making a trip to L.A. in 1996 to attend the premiere of the movie I was in, I took a sentimental journey back to Oxnard, where I had spent a good deal of my youth. There I was to meet up with my old friend and classmate Pat McCarthy for a rousing bit of tennis with his brothers, Frank and Mike.
I had been spending a little time exploring the halls of my old grammer school, Santa Clara Elementary, when I realized that I had to get over to The Oxnard Tennis Center and change in twenty minutes. I arrived only to see Frank McCarthy come through the door at almost the same time. We shook hands and while waiting for the others we hit a few to get warmed up. Mike and Pat arrived and we set the teams; Pat and Mike versus Frank and me. We proceeded to have a fiercely contested three set match with both sides having match points at one time or another. I recalled back to 1989 when I had made a similar sojourn through town and was lucky enough to play a doubles match with Dick McCarthy, the father of these fine men.
Dick was still playing tennis back then but with some difficulty. His hips were giving him trouble and every now and then I'd notice him wince in pain when he had to reach for a shot. This was a far cry from the tennis player that he was in his youth. He was still good mind you, but he could tell you stories about when he faced Bobby Riggs a couple of times and really gave him a scare in their second match, taking him to three sets but eventually losing to the craftier Riggs. Later on he would be one of the driving forces in the creation of The Oxnard Tennis Center.
After the doubles Dick went and sat in the umpires chair to watch but I could tell that he really wanted to be in there playing. He had the heart of a lion but his legs couldn't keep up anymore. When I saw him sitting there watching the match, I realized that I was looking at a reflection of myself and what I would be like forty or so years from then. Dying to get into the game but only able to watch from the sidelines.
That was back in 1989 and since then Dick had hip replacement surgery and no longer plays the game but at least now he can still walk with the aid of a cane. He can still tell you some great stories though. I just feel privileged to have played with the Great One, Dick McCarthy. And by the way, the team of Dick and myself was victorious over Pat and Scott Borchard. Score one for the old man and keep those stories coming.