Pancho Gonzalez: The Latino Legend of Tennis Trailer

[burnley5960]

The greatest of them all

[theloya1965]

Latino legend?, no dumbasses greatest of all!!!

[BloodyBrain4]

That has gotta be Olmos narrating.

Where can I find this documentary on DVD?

[AdrienneAXK]

I was living in Compton and dating my tennis coach at the time when he surprised me with tickets to watch Pancho play Rod Laver at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in L.A. I don't think I blinked during the match. He was amazing.

[TheLeilisa]

Who is the tallest Tennis player?

[josemezatorrez]

Sports Illustrated article about the magazine's 20 "favorite athletes" of the 20th century said about Gonzales (their number 15 pick): "If earth was on the line in a tennis match, the man you want serving to save humankind would be Ricardo Alonso Gonzalez." Very happy to se a fellow Mexican-American be a great success in tennis.God bless America.

[advantage73]

It is trully amazing how this world can at times bend your spirit...but as long as we continue to summon our internal will power we CAN overcome and achieve!!! !!!!!VAMOS!!!!! Gonzalez!!!! You are a true pioneer!!!! Thanks for the post! :)

[nevo138]

pancho is my fiances great grandfather and he is a remarkable man that showed every latino out there know u can become what ever you want even if you didnt have much to start out with!

[omess1980]

Is the documentary available for sale somewhere? I would like to buy it

[dperezhge]

Yes, you can go to highergroundentertainment and click on the banner on the upper right hand side. Enjoy!

[kjetin99]

Sorry you are wrong! He had a fantastic serve! Ive seen it live many times!

[cafoxp]

shhhhhh

[vanpampus]

I still wonder why there isn't a court under his name, like Rod Laver Arena...

I mean being possibly the best player of all times

[EricTheRed03]

maybe because no one likes him. He's an ass according to the various stories I read about him.

[cjb761]

Still today I use an old Spalding Pancho Gonzalez Signature model.

[tennisschools106]

i can only imagine if he had the tech of the racquets today to show what a true serve and volleyer could mean to the "modern game"

[cafoxp]

u know what tech are modern racquets made of? GRAPHITE. Thats it.

[Cervicconstruction]

I didn't see him play till 71 or 72 or so at the La Costa club where Pancho Segura was the head pro.He was giving a playing lesson to the then 18 and under champion.A real joy to watch even though he was giving 20 plus years away he hardly worked up a sweat.I was friendly with the pro at the courts on Draper in La Jolla Bob Perry who had won the french open doubles in 56.He was ranked as high as 5th in the US.He was a fine serve and volley player but had lost to him 2 n 0 in 70 at the LA indoor.

[robinho1979]

Rod Laver and Federer I rate higher then Pancho.

[zzzzsh]

federer is not even close. fed has a hard time beating his main rival rafa. Pancho had a winning records against all his main rivals. shows what u know about tennis.

[zzzzsh]

dude.. federer may be the most talented till now, but doesnt make him the greatest?? if he is, how come he has trouble beating his only true rival?? how come fans get the feeling that nadal has the edge?

[zzzzsh]

i posted on ur channel.

[pmo1983]

Nadal is better on Clay. Thats all.

Fed is better. you are an idiot

[slamminadam85]

Pancho Gonzales was a player before his time! he changed the game of tennis and doesn't get the recognition he deserves as an all time great!

[beanbrown84]

Viva Richard gonzales!!!!! this bro was so good they changed the rules of tennis just so he could give other players a chance to compete. for a while he was not allowed to volly after his serve. he still would win now only from the baseline. Not only was that rule unfair it showed how good Richard was. The best ever.

[zzzzsh]

he wasnt allowed to volley..wat year was that?

[preciousjey]

doesn't boris becker use to land on his righty after sserve, just notice it with gorgo

[Jeannasellshomes]

So quick to judge. He was who was because the way he was! Does that make sense to you? He had self respect & didn't kiss anyone's ass to get what he wanted. He was an amazing person & athlete. Made his way to the top despite ALL the obstaces he over came. He may have died, "broke & pennyless". Who cares you can't take it with you. He told me before he died, "I have lived a full life,gone everywhere I've wanted to go & do everything I've ever wanted." How's that for broke & pennyless?

[scheissdreckhass]

the hole life i am a big fan of the sport of tennis-now while following the us open i got to know about Pancho Gonzales for the first time-after learning about his life there is only pure admiration for him-there is no doubt he is the most outstanding sportsman i ever learned so far in my life ever and i am really interested in many categorries of sports- what you wrote about him is great thank you - it shows the real values of a proud lifetime

from germany

[TheJaguarKnight]

when people talk about how gonzales had a short temper, they seldom take into account the circumstances in which he played. discrimination and stereotypes targeted at mexican americans were rampant back then. "pancho" isnt even his birth name, it was given to him by people in the tennis establishment simply because he was of mexican descent and the mainstream media made up rumors about him being involved in gang knife fights as a youth because he had a scar on his face.

[TheJaguarKnight]

his ex wife also described how gonzales had once stopped by a restaurant while traveling through the southwest. the owner looked at the well dressed gonzales and said "we dont serve mexicans here, especially not the kind that wear yellow sweaters" as you can imagine, gonzales didnt take kindly to that remark. the two were about to exchange blows when a black man pulled gonzales aside and warned him that his life was at stake "I know who you are, but he doesnt".

[TheJaguarKnight]

if i had to live under those circumstances, i'd be pretty ticked off too. yes, gonzales may have been a temperamental and tenacious guy both on and off the court but we wouldnt have ever heard of him if he wasnt. he was a completely self taught player who wasnt even allowed to compete in tournaments as a teen because he "came from the wrong side of the tracks" as the clip mentions. that aspect of his personality may not have endeared him to the public but it did make him great

[ozdawg2127]

He played in the 60's right? Thats not that long ago. It just seems that other sports like Basketball, Baseball, Football even Golf honor their all-time greats a lot more regardless of what era they played in. Thanks for the the response!!

[ozdawg2127]

I dont follow tennis too closely but I was just wondering why no one ever really talks about Pancho as one of the best. You always hear about Conners, Sampras, McEnroe, Agassi. Was Pancho comparable to these guys? Was it because he was Mexican-American?

[s2sung2s2]

conners mcenroe agassi are legends but aren't considered the greatest. Federer, Sampras, Rod Laver - yes

[ozdawg2127]

Thanks, but that really didnt answer my question

[zzzzsh]

and lendl and pancho

[ozdawg2127]

*kjetin99* Thank you very much for taking the time and answering my question. Very imfortmative.

[Alzapur]

vic braden said it best when he said that gonzalez had a bad day it seemed every day when dealing with the public. does being a champion mean you can also be rude and offensive. i think he was a great tennis player but in no way would i suggest you think of him as a role model.

[tennisschools106]

he was the greatest of all time ... the only tennis player ever to be ranked in the top 10 in the world in three different decades, 40's 50's 60's ... and as the video states he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, while still playing, and playing at a high level ... no tennis player since has had such an honor ... he is also Andre Agassi's brother-in-law ... though Pop Agassi was never thrilled with such

[BennoFletcherBorges]

an aztec playing tennis? is this a joke?

this is so pathetic and cheap

a disgrace to this man, who never promoted himself as a mexican, a chicano, a latino or an aztec wearing plastic feathers in his ass. he is turning in his grave seeing how his image has been prostituted by these opportunistic whores for a buck. really sad

[Boudosaved]

A buck may be right. I mean who has seen this film? It came out in 2006. Considering the foregoing, I think that while Pancho may never have promoted himself for his ethnic background and geographic boundaries are man-made, it still may be inspiring to someone who considers their ethnicity important but needs a self-confidence booster. There can be good from this video. Pancho was probably the best tennis player ever.

[ozdawg2127]

Relax dude

[bassidol]

Pancho was one of the best "old" players ever - he was still among the world's best players when he was 40 years old, right when the Open era began. Congratulations on the video - it is great to put Pancho in not only a sports context but in general historical terms.

[N0Cover]

this guy held me on his lap when i was 2 years old

[dlightman1978]

so where can you get the whole video ? is it really worth it ? can we see a few games of pancho playing ?

[4fabiola]

Will be great tof Pancho Gonzales playing.

[nickathas]

He was a troubled man, difficult to get close to but consider the world he lived in. He was the most talented player in a sport that like golf was closed to all but the country club crowd. He was one of first persons of color to challenge the racist attitudes that were openly promoted in tennis. He was not Jackie Robinson. He was angry and paranoid but ask yourself how you would have handled fame poisoned by ignorance and irrational fear.

[JackNeworth]

@nickathas very well put. I'm email buds w/ Allen Fox, former 3-time Davis Cupper for the U.S. who idolized Pancho and, at age 16, often played 3 out f 5 sets with Pancho for new tennis balls.

[Yazidmanou]

Thanks for posting ! I discovered the great Pancho Gonzales in the amazing Dick Cavett DVD "Rock Icons" as he was Dick's guests on july 13, 1970 with Debbie Reynolds and...Sly Stone(d)!

[nickathas]

Yes, I saw the Cavett interview. We were considering using it in the film.

[JackNeworth]

@nickathas Is the interview on the net anywhere?

[JackNeworth]

@JackNeworth by "interview" I meant Pancho on the Dick Cavett show

[enri42]

Excellent video!! I live in Mexico City, where or how can I get the full documentary? Thank you very much in advance.

[chapaev36]

Too much talk, not enough Pancho.

[nickathas]

My friend this is only the trailer. The full 57min. documentary has a lot of never seen before footage of Pancho. Remember Pancho played before the modern media saturated era and we spent 4 years looking for footage of Pancho. Check out the complete film you can buy it for 25 dollars. Let me know if your interested.

Nick Athas

[chapaev36]

I wouldn't mind seeing more. Pancho footage is very rare. I've never seen any matches - only clips. It's remarkable to see some footage in colour here. Also I like that last shot of the young Pancho at the end. A good touch.

[kjetin99]

I would like to buy the film if possible! What about the Cavett interview ? Do you have that too? Thanks for the clip on YouTube?

[dperezhge]

Yes, go to highergroundentertainmnet website. add 'net' at the end of address, my comment won't post if I put it on there. And of course the 'dot' before it.

[dperezhge]

@kjetin99

Yes, go to highergroundentertainmnet website.

[beanbrown84]

viva pancho!!! why cant i fink this movie anywhere?? i want to see the entire doc.

[jeromedemontpellier]

Thanks for posting this video. It's a shame that Pancho Gonzales has been almost totally forgotten by the tennis world. People only remember the "open circuit" players nowadays. Pancho Gonzales is a GIANT.

[kjetin99]

He would probably have won Wimbledon 5-6-7 times if he had been allowed to play!

[Boudosaved]

He was allowed to play but he chose to play on the professional circuit rather than the amateur and at that time only amateurs could play Wimbledon.

[is2150]

can you please post the rest of this video? i cant find it anywhere, and it looks awesome.