1877 Wimbledon Championship header "Lawn Tennis Championship": The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, propose to hold a lawn tennis meeting, open to all amateurs, on Monday, July 9th and following days. Entrance fee, £1 1"s" 0"d". Names and addresses of competitors to be forwarded to the Hon. Sec. A.E.C. and L.T.C. before Saturday, July 7, or on that day before 2.15 p.m. at the club ground, Wimbledon. Two prizes will be given – one gold champion prize to the winner, one silver to the second player. The value of the prizes will depend on the number of entries, and will
Henry Jones (writer) for playing lawn tennis, which proved to be a significant step. In 1877, Club Secretary John Walsh proposed that a lawn tennis championship be held, and "Wimbledon" was born. Jones and two other prominent men, Julian Marshall and John Moyer Heathcote, formed a sub-committee to frame the rules, many of which survive today, and Jones was referee at The Championships from 1877 to 1885. The only tournament of the inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship was the Gentlemen's Singles, which was won from a field of 22 competitors by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player. The final attracted a crowd of