[Ads-l] Antedating of "Grand Slam" (Tennis/Golf Sense) (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill CIV (US)]

CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

> 
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Antedating of "Grand Slam" (Tennis/Golf Sense)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The OED's first use for "grand slam" sense 1.c. (winning all the major championships in 
> a calendar year, particularly in tennis or golf) is
> dated 1948.  Wikipedia cites an earlier usage:
> 
> Gould, Alan (18 July 1933). 'Sports Slants: {subsection} Tennis "Grand Slam " '<
> https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=3D1955&dat=3D19330718&id=3Dc3gzA=
> AAAIBAJ&sjid=3DDeIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3D2327,2495314>. The Reading Eagle< https://e=
> n.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reading_Eagle> (Reading, PA). p. 10
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 

Alternatively,
_Christian Science Monitor_ 18 Sep 1930 p 7 col 5 (ProQuest)
"In the three championship tournaments which he has already won, Jones has played
championship golf and he will start at Merion next Monday with splendid prospects of 
making a grand slam."
[note that Bobby Jones did go on to win the Amateur Golf Championship, and became 
the first and only golfer to complete a Grand Slam]

I could be convinced that both of these are in fact examples of sense 1.b., which 
coincidentally happen to refer to tennis and golf in a single year.  Note that the use 
in both cases is "a grand slam," not "the Grand Slam" (1.c. calls for "Usu. with capital initials").
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED

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