STAND!’ shouts an older fan in the Wimbledon lobby, spotting a tall, smartly dressed man in his 60s. Passing gracefully between the courts of the All England Club, his face hidden under a panama, he merges with the other customers. They may be old friends.
A security guard ushers the gentleman into a members-only area and he climbs the stairs. Sunlight catches the Stan Smith branding on the back of his shoe and suddenly it makes perfect sense.
Back in the media work room, I tell two colleagues that I just saw the Stan Smith. Their eyes light up, for different reasons. ‘No way, look, I’m wearing his sneakers!’ said the younger of the two, who is in his twenties. The older colleague in his 50s is gripped by a moment of nostalgia, his thoughts going back to the day Smith beat Ilie Nastase in the 1972 final.
Wimbledon champ turned global fashion icon, Smith wears two distinct identities. He agrees to meet outside the media center at 1:30 p.m. the next day and, bang on time, shows up with a new pair of his sneakers.
“I’ll be in the Royal Box on Sunday and then I’ll go to Scotland to play a bit of golf. I don’t know who will be there but they always invite a lot of men’s champions for Sunday. Guys like Jan Kodes, Rod Laver, Neale Fraser.
Stan Smith (pictured) made a name for himself during a successful 16-year tennis career
Last year marked 50 years since Smith won Wimbledon, one of his two Grand Slams
What about the royal family? ‘Kate should be here. I gave him shoes several times, for his children. I didn’t know if it was allowed or not, but I gave it to George and Charlotte three years ago. Two years ago, I gave Louis a little baby shoe. They’re probably out of them by now. I’m going to have to ask her if she has other children!
Smith wears the anniversary shoe from last year. One of four pairs he packed when he left his home in South Carolina. July 9, 1972 is printed inside, marking 50 years since his Grand Slam victory.
“In 1965 I played in the qualifiers and lost to a guy named Geoff Bluett. His name was pronounced ‘fuck it’ and I lost after being two sets so that was appropriate. I ended up being a lucky loser. One of my four goals was to win Wimbledon, so that was a step in the right direction.
“In 1965 a guy from the US Tennis Association was giving us £12 a day until you lost.”
Smith stayed at a bed and breakfast up the road. There was no official car contract, so a random vehicle turned up outside each day to drive him to the meeting point at the secretary’s office. On one occasion he remembers being picked up in a Rolls-Royce. On another, a Bentley.
By the time he was crowned champion in 1972, he had visited London enough times to make a few friends in the area. An American couple, the Catos, took him under their wing and put him up in their guest room for the duration of the competition.
“I was with them for four or five years, before I got married,” says Smith, still looking huge at 6-foot-4. “I stayed in their youth bed which was about six feet long and that wide [stretching out his arms] when I won Wimbledon in 1972.
Smith stayed at a bed and breakfast near Wimbledon early in his career
“Our match ended up raining so it was the first time the men’s final had been played on a Sunday. The year before I had lost in the fifth set of the final to John Newcombe.
“Against Nastase, I lost the first set like the year before, I won the next two sets like the year before, I lost the fourth set like the year before, then I had the Match point at 5-4 I didn’t break and he was ahead 40-love at 5-6 After a few returns it was two and I hit a winner to get back to match point.
“I had a good return, he half volleyed and came to the net then I tried to lob over his head. He went on the backhand and he hit the spike, the net wobbled for about two seconds and the ball went down his side. All of a sudden it was over and I threw my racket about 40 feet in the air.
With his success on the pitch, life began to change. Smith has become more than just a tennis player. Looking to secure a sponsorship deal with adidas for racquets, apparel and footwear, he ended up cashing in on one of the biggest endorsements in sports history.
“It was around the time I won Wimbledon that we made the shoe deal,” he says. “It was just before, in Paris, where it started. Horst Dassler, who was the son of Adi Dassler, wanted to meet at noon. I told my agent I had a game at two o’clock and didn’t want to meet right before a game, but it turned out that Horst wanted to meet at midnight! He was one of those guys who worked 24 hours a day.
He’s become a fashion icon since earning one of the biggest endorsements in sports history with Adidas.
“Our first meeting was at a nightclub called Elle et Lui. It was a men’s imitation club, where the women wore tuxedos. He liked that place so that’s where I met him.
“We were a group wearing a tennis shoe with Robert Haillet’s name on it. They wanted a stronger presence in the United States and Haillet, who was the No. 1 French player, was not well known in the United States. So for about four or five years they had my picture on their tongue and Robert’s name on the side. Eventually, they removed his name.
“Once we had a big party in Paris and the Guinness Book of Records arrived. They gave a certificate for 70 million pairs sold, or something like that. Robert was there, as well as his son, who was a few years younger than me. He knew the whole story. He was unlucky, in a way…’
Smith inadvertently became one of the most recognizable names in the apparel industry, selling 100 million shoes and counting. About 100 of these pairs are in Smith’s personal wardrobe. Not bad for someone who claims he “wasn’t really into fashion.”
“It was weird to play matches and look at my picture when I went back to duty. The ATP had an agreement with adidas, so about 80 players received free clothes and shoes. This shoe was the first shoe of leather sneakers, so it was a big deal and a lot of players wanted to wear it.
“A guy liked my shoe, but he had a deal with another company, so he crossed out my logo with a Sharpie and took inspiration from his own company.”
Smith gives Catherine, Princess of Wales a signed ‘Stan Smith’ baby trainer in the Royal Box
Smith says Hugh Grant told him he was wearing Stan Smith sneakers while kissing a girl for the first time
These days, the Stan Smiths are a beacon of pop culture. Worn by David Bowie and featured in the lyrics of multi-platinum Jay-Z albums. They are usually white leather with a touch of green.
He recalled: “I didn’t know if he knew me, but Hugh Grant leaned back in the royal box a few years ago and said, ‘The first girl I kissed, I was wearing your shoe,” he says with a smile.
“What’s great is that people wear it because they like it. They don’t get paid to wear it. It was fun to see Barack Obama wearing the shoe, Melania, Donald Trump’s wife , Princess Di, Kate.
“My book is called ‘Stan Smith: Some People Think I’m a Shoe.’ I should change it so most people think I’m a shoe! The average person under 40 would have no idea I was a tennis player. Sometimes I see someone wearing my shoe and wonder how they keep their shoes so white. They look at me thinking, “Who is this idiot?
But at Wimbledon, Smith will be remembered for his exploits with a racket. Trainers are banned in the Royal Box, anyway.