There are few roles in the tennis world more prestigious than refereeing Wimbledon. Alan Mills, who has died aged 88, served in this role with quiet distinction for 23 years, from 1983 to 2005.
If this indicates a career that will sail smooth seas, this impression would be wrong. Being the final referee in a fierce two-week sporting event in the midst of global attention rightly means a job with greater turbulence. When you factor in personalities brimming with talent and temperament like John McEnroe, Ilie Năstase, Boris Becker and others with equally unbridled ambition, it becomes clear that one’s own special qualities are required to prevent the Championship from imploding.
“But he did it with a calming effect of his own,” said Jim Courier, a four-time Grand Slam champion and Wimbledon finalist who freely admits he wasn’t always the easiest player to deal with himself. “Referees in major championships work in this unstable atmosphere where players and managers react explosively to winning or losing… Of the referees I have known, Alan was the best.”
Mills earned the nickname “Rain Man” for the familiar sight of him scanning the sky from his corner on Wimbledon Center Court, walkie-talkie in hand, sometimes under an umbrella, before deciding whether conditions were suitable to be called a “game”. Mills would say with his little ironic smile: “I’m the playboy in the gray suit.”
Meteorological duty, with fingers itching at the rackets in the locker room, was not without its stress. But Mills rarely showed that, even when faced with the difficult problem of trying to calm an incandescent McEnroe after he put the phrase “You can’t be serious” into global circulation during a rant against Wimbledon umpire Ted James. Mills also faced the unhappy task of having to default on young Tim Henman in 1995; The English player accidentally hit a ball girl in the face with an uncontrolled kick with the ball.
In addition to being responsible for the order of the game and supervising the field officials or umpires, a referee’s job includes numerous duties, including looking after the welfare of the players.
Bill Norris, the ATP Tour’s physiotherapist for more than 30 years, spoke fondly of how much he learned from Mills. “We had long discussions about how to handle medical time out, the need for optimum rest for players to perform at their best, and little details the public never hears about. He was always approachable, always charming and understanding.”
Mills was born in the Lancashire town of Stretford. His father was a railroad controller and his mother was a railroad clerk. After the family moved to Formby, Merseyside, Alan attended Waterloo primary school near Liverpool and left at 16 to become an apprentice electrical engineer.
He had started playing tennis at a young age and was already a county champion when he went to the RAF for his national service and soon won the RAF Tennis Championships.
When he joined the amateur circuit he found the competition tough because England at the time had good players like Mike Davies, Billy Knight and Bobby Wilson. Their presence limited Davis Cup opportunities, but he was part of the squads that took Britain to the semi-finals in 1959, 1961 and 1964.
In the first year of 1959, in the spa town of Mondorf-les-Bains in southern Luxembourg, Mills achieved a feat unique at that time in Davis Cup history; He won the singles 6-0, 6-0, 6-1. 0 in 34 minutes. His unfortunate opponent was Luxembourg’s best player, Joseph Offenheim.
Although he did not have the big shot needed to win major titles, Mills reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1959 and reached the doubles semi-finals with Mark Cox in 1966. Overall, Mills finished his career with an impressive record of winning 31 championships. and a win/loss record of 324 to 178.
He turned professional, first working as a tennis professional at a hotel in the Bahamas, then working at an Ohio tennis club, followed by a year coaching at Millfield school in Somerset and in Wales. In 1977 he was appointed assistant referee at Wimbledon.
Mills took the top job in 1983 but did not limit his umpiring skills to Wimbledon. He responded to a call from American Butch Buchholz to take charge of a major event, originally called Lipton, now called the Miami Open. Buchholz created this event in 1985 with the aim of making it the fifth largest event in the world, one of the few events in the world. Contains great giveaways for both men and women.
“When I was looking for a referee, I didn’t think about anyone else,” Buchholz said. “We had some storms where tents were destroyed and programs were ruined, but Alan handled it all with aplomb.” Mills remained with the event until 1993.
In 2005, a year after his retirement, the Lancastrian was appointed CBE to continue his MBE. His memoir, Raising the Covers, was published in 2005.
In 1960 Mills married British table tennis champion Jill Rook. She and her children, Barry and Penny, survive.
• Alan Mills, tennis referee and player, born 6 November 1935; Died January 18, 2024