James Elsman, the Birmingham lawyer who has made a championship name for himself in Michigan tennis circles over the past 50 years, announced his retirement recently, after winning the 2015 Michigan 75 Men’s Olympic title in Rochester Hills on August 13.
During his college days, Elsman was editorial director of The Michigan Daily in the late ‘50s, then the largest college paper in the country with a circulation of 30,000.
He trained one of the “Chicago 8,” Tom Hayden, who later married Jane Fonda, not so affectionately known as “Hanoi Jane” for her outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War.
While he was editor of The Daily, Elsman “got two separate entrepreneurial stories which attracted the CIA” to him, as he had studied Russian and Chinese. First, he was a “Freedom Rider,” three years before the “Riders.” In the fall of 1957, after President Dwight Eisenhower had sent the U.S. Airborne to guard Little Rock (Ark.)
High School from violence upon the first “forced integration,” Elsman snuck into the school for The Daily. There he snapped a prized picture of Jefferson Thomas, one of nine black students who were attempting to integrate the all-white school. Elsman sold the photo to Time/Life, using the proceeds to start a scholarship fund at the school.
In the spring of 1958, Elsman used his vacation to travel to Cuba in an attempt to interview Fidel Castro, a young revolutionary who was attempting to lead an overthrow of the Batista regime. Elsman was arrested by Batista troops before he could get to the mountains where Castro was holed up, staring down the barrel of a Thompson sub-machine gun. He was imprisoned in the infamous “Moncado Barracks,” where Castro, himself, was once jailed.
Q: Why are you retiring?
A. I have other priorities, after 50 years straight of competitive tennis, never missing a year due to injury or excuse. I try to be a fighting champ.
Q. What are these priorities?
A. Well, when death creeps closer by natural causes, you think about eternal things the more. Where will you end up after you die? Plus, anyone can meet God at the next red light.
Q. We noted that you were a minister when you attended grad school at Harvard Divinity, between your undergrad and law school at Michigan (‘62). Are you going back to being a minister or rabbi, like 55 years ago?
A. Oh, goodness no. I just wish to change my idols away from yellow tennis balls. However, I do try to cover my bases – while I was rocked in a Methodist cradle, my wife is Catholic and I support Ave Maria, founded by Tom Monaghan, and helped launch Catholic Street Evangelism. As far as Judaism, I support IDF and wear the bracelet always; buy a few bonds; and support Israeli Tennis Centers in Israel, all of which is unusual for a Gentile of the Goyim. Every Friday, the Chabad boys visit me, as I give to such a fine school in Oak Park, and have flown privately to their annual meetings in Brooklyn.
Q. Will you still practice law?
A. “Practice” is the correct word for it. As we get older, we conclude we know less and less.
Q. Are you proud of the legal profession?
A. No. It is full of conformity to a sick society. Every local, state and national bar association thinks they can cure society with “diversity,” which means “favoritism.” We will soon learn that only an “even playing field” will work.
Q. Don’t you own part of a luxury tennis club in the inner city, which trains black youth to get college scholarships?
A. Yes, there are a few bright spots, but my original partners are all deceased, and one of their widows is the backbone of the Metro Tennis Club at 6 Mile and the Lodge – Mrs. Crosby, over 80 in age. We hold more tournaments than any club in the Midwest. She is amazing, and works 7/365 amidst boarded-up houses and barred-businesses behind plastic. She refuses help or any government assistance. She cleans the luxury clay courts all by herself and will not tolerate any help.
Q. How about the legal profession itself?
A. It is a disaster and nobody is happy. Big-firm lawyers are paid to screw the lower and middle classes, but are overworked for their salaries. General practitioners cannot compete with the big-firms and try to pay all the costs of an office, online research, etc. Many practice out of their homes, some still trying to pay off debts from law school. We may need a state-run insurance system to pay legal bills for middle and lower classes, as such people cannot afford to pay a lawyer $300-plus an hour – and contingent fees don’t cover all areas, plus advertising for cases has gone overboard. Some of those guys have never tried a case!
Q. Now, let’s return to tennis. Will you play any tournaments next year, or are you done at 80?
A. I may play some for fun and exercise, but the will-to-win hath departed me. My ranking for calendar 2015 was No. 1 in Michigan’s SEMTA, Men’s 75. For 2016, I will be No. 2 in SEMTA and yet No. 1 in the whole Midwest Region – figure that out. I am getting more competition as the years go by, and many can beat me. There are less players, but the survivors are better, as they live the more on S.S., and play all the time, while I am a dormant trial lawyer, sitting all day long, pumping a little iron at Power House, when I have time.
Q. What do other lawyer/tennis players say about your game?
A. The guy I play the most is Bill Dobreff, J.D., of Mount Clemens. Says Dobreff:
“I am half Elsman’s age; I have played him indoors and outdoors; in rain and sun – I may win a set or two, but he always wants to play more. And, the longer we play; the better he gets. He can analyze your game and figure out ways to win, and his anticipation is incredible. He can serve underhanded; he can drop shot to keep you off balance. For him, it is just exercise, but, for me it is agony to play him. We both agree we need the exercise for a tense professional life. He is 80, going on 40. One thing – he always calls fair lines. And, after the matches, we both give glory to the Lord that we are able to play so hard. Then, we shake at the net, and forget it until next time.”
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