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Gertrude Augusta " Gussie" (or "Gussy") Moran (September 8, 1923 – January 16, 2013) was an American tennis player who was active in the late 1940s and 1950s. Her highest US national tennis ranking was 4th. She was born in Santa Monica, California and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 89.
Moran entered several amateur tennis tournaments in California in her early career. In March 1949, she defeated Nancy Chaffee in straight sets in the final of the US Indoor Championships singles event, played at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York. She also won the doubles title, partnering Marjorie Gladman, and the mixed doubles event, together with Pancho Gonzales.
Her outfit drew considerable attention; reporters covering the event began calling her "Gorgeous Gussie", and photographers fought for positions where they could get low shots of Moran, with the hope of glimpsing the lace. The event scandalized Wimbledon officials, prompting a debate in Parliament. Moran, who was accused of bringing 'vulgarity and sin into tennis' by the committee of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, later reverted to wearing shorts. Tinling, who had acted as official Wimbledon host for 23 years, was shunned for 33 years following the incident (he was invited back to Wimbledon in 1982).
For a 1988 story and interview that reported on the 1949 Wimbledon incident Moran spoke about the event:
Wimbledon officials went mad, and Moran, shocked by the reaction, went into a shell. The first and only time she wore the outfit on court, she walked with her racket in front of her face. "I was embarrassed...because they were putting so much adulation on the character, 'Gorgeous Gussie'. You know, I was really never anything to write home about. I was a plain girl. But Life magazine ran a picture calling me Gorgeous Gussie, and the British picked it up and did a real job with it. Then people would see me and I'd hear them say 'I've seen better-looking waitresses at the hot-dog stand.' I just went to pieces. Emotionally, I couldn't handle it."
Her popularity led her to a cameo appearance (as herself) in the 1952 sports-oriented American movie Pat and Mike, which featured Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. It also allowed her to adorn magazine covers worldwide, and her name was given to a racehorse, an aircraft and a sauce. She even posed in her frilly kit in department stores.
One of the last tournaments Moran competed in professionally was the 1971 U.S. Open, where in the Women's Singles draw, she was eliminated at the first round. In the same tournament, she partnered with Chuck Diaz in mixed doubles.
Moran then returned to giving tennis lessons at a Lake Encino racket club, remaining there for two and a half years. In 1969, she became advertising manager for World Tennis magazine.
In 1970, she participated in another USO tour, this time to Vietnam War. While she was there, her helicopter was shot down, and she suffered several broken and dislocated bones. After recovering from this accident, she obtained a radio sports director position in Los Angeles at station KFAC in 1972, but left after a short stint. She then freelanced for a fabric manufacturer and wrote columns for Tennis magazine. She worked for Tennis Unlimited, a promotional company.
Moran was living at the family's Santa Monica home, a Victorian structure with an ocean view, but with her mother's death, she was unable to pay the property taxes, and was evicted on 26 April 1986. She then moved to a series of small apartments in the Los Angeles area.
According to Jack Kramer, Moran "always preferred to be known as 'Gussy' not 'Gussie'". This is how she was referred to in her Los Angeles Times obituary., although other obituaries retained the more commonly used spelling.
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