Tennis Anyone?
The Trafford Tennis Association was organized in March 1910 under the direction of Edward D. Seitz, a prominent citizen in Trafford’s early history. The tennis courts and a clubhouse once sat up on the hill behind the present-day Rutledge Auto Service & Collision, the access road called Marmold Drive.
If you are standing on the path of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, behind the collision center, you can still see the remnants of a retaining wall that once held a large fence at the corner of the courts. The original clubhouse (photo 1911) underwent multiple renovations and last served an apartment building. The structure was razed after it was destroyed by fire, and the clay courts are also long gone and nature has reclaimed the grounds.
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In November 1916, the magazine “Country Life in America” highlighted the work of Edward D. Seitz and his techniques to properly build a clay-court. The article reads in part, “The construction and maintenance of the clay tennis courts present difficulties of which the average tennis player knows little or nothing. The great majority of clay courts are constructed in a rather haphazard way and with little or no thought of permanency. After years of experience, Mr. Edward D Seitz, president of The Trafford Tennis Association of Trafford Pa., has developed a system of clay-court construction which has proven eminently satisfactory in every way. The six courts of this association, which were constructed by Mr. Seitz are considered to be equal, if not superior, to any courts in the Pittsburgh district.”
Edward D. Seitz (1876-1955) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and began his early career in the railroad industry, first working for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In 1903, while working as secretary to George C. Smith, Vice President of the Security Investment Company of Pittsburgh, Seitz was promoted to Assistant Secretary of this company. His connection to Trafford would come when he was appointed as Assistant Secretary and Assistant Treasurer of the East Pittsburgh Improvement Company.
Seitz served as President of the Trafford Water Company, was a member of the Trafford School Board, and once served as President of Trafford Board of Trade. He was also Vice President of the Allied Board of Trade of Turtle Creek Valley, and a member of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce. As one of the founders of the Holy Name Association of Pittsburgh, he was influential in the organization of Saint Regis Catholic Church in Trafford. Seitz would later serve as President of Penn Township Good Roads Association, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Irwin Good Roads Association. During WWI, Seitz was appointed a position on the local defense committee by Pennsylvania Governor Martin Brumbaugh. When Trafford celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 1929, Burgess Elmer Henderson presented a key to Edward D. Seitz acknowledging him as one of Trafford Borough's founders.
Be sure to check out the photo here with the clubhouse in the background of the Linde Air Company postcard - you can just make out two women in white dresses playing tennis. Another photo of the clubhouse reveals the renovations being made to the second story. If you have any photos of this building (any time period), the Trafford Historical Society would like to see them.
While the photographs shared here indicate the location of the former Trafford Tennis Association, please do not explore this area as it is located on private property. Thank you.
