It was with great sadness that laid down my iPhone this weekend and reflected a while on our company.
I had just received word that our founder, Robert “Bob” Lee (pictured right) had passed at the age of 85. Bob was a real leader in the tennis industry. In 1964 he left the Har-Tru Corporation to start Lee Tennis here in Charlottesville, VA. As the story goes, he would often travel US Rt. 29 South from Har-Tru’s headquarters in MD on route to points south in Virginia, the Carolina’s and Georgia. During those lonely and lengthy drives in the 50’s and 60’s, Bob would notice that the asphalt roads in and around Charlottesville, VA were of a green hue. From that, he concluded that there must be a natural green stone source in the area, and after a little research, discovered a green basalt quarry owned by Luck Stone Corporation existed just miles from Thomas Jefferson’s home at the base of Monticello Mountain.
The found knowledge of another greenstone quarry, that much closer to the ever-growing coastal markets for clay court tennis in FL, GA and SC forced Bob to consider branching out on his own and away from the Har-Tru Corporation where by the early 1960’s he had advanced the role of Vice President. So by 1964, Bob, armed with a little money, a few potential customers, and a handshake agreement to supply him Greenstone from the Luck family, started the Robert Lee Company (it later became Lee Tennis Products). He then pieced together a small plant to screen fines out of the ¼” minus material Luck was already producing in their Shadwell Quarry and within a decade was a real player in the tennis surfacing business.
Over the next 34 years, Bob saw Lee Tennis grow into the largest clay court materials supplier in the US…overtaking the crown from the leading brand, and his previous employer Har-Tru. His commitment to quality, his work ethic, and his integrity, made him a man that most wanted to do business with.
Even though Bob retired in 1998 and sold the company to Luck Stone, his impact on the industry is still felt today. In fact last December, he and a handful of other gentleman were awarded the American Sports Builders Association Industry Merit award for their visionary efforts in starting the then, United States Tennis and Track Builders Association back in the 1960’s. And it wasn’t but a few weeks ago, at the USTA’s Annual Meeting that I had no less than 5 or 6 people ask how Bob was doing and how much they missed seeing him.
If you ever sat down and listened to Bob, you are smarter for the time spent. I, like many, will miss Bob. I will miss his commitment for not taking short –cuts, his can-do attitude, his assuredness, and his humor…and all that great stories of barnstorming the US in the early days of the tennis construction industry.
Bob, rest in peace old friend…you will be missed by many.
Randy Futty - GM, Lee Tennis Court Products
