Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.
Don’t think the excitement has gone out of Carol Baily’s life because she no longer plays tennis.
Just the other day when she returned home to Steamboat Springs from a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., she found a 150-pound mountain lion at her backdoor. The beast was dead, having succumbed to the effects of devouring a porcupine. But it still was scary.
By living on a 62-acre plot in an Aspen forest outside of town, Baily has many dealings with wildlife. Having seen evidence of a suspected pack rat in the yard, Baily set a trap in hopes of catching the varmint so it could be moved elsewhere. It turned out to be a western jumping mouse.
“I didn’t know what it was,” Baily said. “I saw this thing jumping around in the trap, and they told me later that it was a rare sighting. I was just glad to see it.”
With more time away from the tennis courts, Baily has picked up the pace on finishing a log house she started to build 25 years ago.
“I had somebody put up the logs, but I’ve done all the rest,” Baily said. “When I started, I thought it was a pretty large house. But in today’s standards, it’s more like a cabin. I did everything, the hardwood floors, the walls, everything. When I’m finished, it’ll be time to remodel. Nobody could afford to hire me. I work too slowly.”
But next month, the wildlife and all the building work will take a back seat to tennis once again. Baily is being inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. The topic won’t be about a western jumping mouse, but stories of playing Billie Jean King and being ranked 51st in the world at 31 years of age in 1981.
“Thirty-one is over the hill these days,” Baily said. “Players today are peaking at 18 and 19.”
Her match against King is one she remembers.
“I was leading in both sets, but lost 6-4, 6-4,” Baily said. “I started looking at the scoreboard and wondering why I was ahead. She was very personable and started to talking to me on the crossovers. After the match, she said I shouldn’t have talked to her during the match, but who was I not to talk to Billie Jean King?”
Baily ruled women’s tennis in Colorado for years and won a combined 41 singles and doubles titles in the state’s three major tournaments. She continued on in senior age-group tennis and won 28 national championships.
“I had the most fun playing in the national grass-courts tournaments in the senior division,” Baily said. “I loved playing on the grass. I played a fast, quick game that was something most women weren’t used to seeing.”
Her tennis travels took her to Germany, Austria, England, Ireland, Italy, Uruguay, Argentina and Australia, where she won a world championship.
Baily credits her mother, Edie Morris, with getting her started in tennis.
“She was a very good player and would take me with her to her matches,” Baily said. “I got interested that way. I don’t think I could beat her until I was 16.”
Phyllis Lockwood, another tennis stalwart in Colorado in her time, and Rich Berman, an instructor in Boulder, also were pivotal in Baily’s development.
“Rich taught me more of the modern game of tennis,” Baily said. “I began hitting the ball with more topspin.”
Lockwood became her mentor when Baily was 10 years old. Her teacher gave her the nickname “Tiger.” In her first tournament victory, the 12-year- old Baily teamed with Lockwood to win the Boulder Open doubles.
Baily grew up in Boulder, but moved to Carbondale and attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School in her junior and senior years in high school. There were no indoor courts then, so to play tennis, Baily helped shovel snow off the outdoor courts. She played one high school match as a member of the boys team and won. She went on to Arizona State and was a member of two national championship teams.
She jokes with brother Jim Baily that he got the brains and she got the athletic ability.
“I’m glad she credited me with something,” Jim Baily said. “She’s a natural athlete. She plays a good game of golf or whatever she does. We’re all proud of her for her achievements.”
Besides tennis, Baily was on a state championship softball team as a third baseman. And in 1975, when she moved to Steamboat Springs, she won a state racquetball title just days after playing the game for the first time.
At 56, Baily is recovering from the rigors of long years of playing tennis. She has had a shoulder rebuilt, a partial knee replacement and is facing a full knee replacement. The injuries have curtailed her teaching schedule as well.
“I think I’d still be playing if it weren’t for the injuries,” Baily said. “But now it’s definitely time to cross country ski and walk with my dogs.”
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
