„Time travel in the realm of imagination is nothing less than crossing the boundary between the possible and the impossible. With every moment, we recreate the past and the future, while soaring through the present.”
We packed more than a hundred years of events into a single bag and asked the hand of chance or fate, depending on one’s taste to draw one for us.
I must admit, I have my fears about this series, for the deeper or farther we reach back into history, the scarcer the documentation becomes, and the greater the effort required to uncover events. Since I am neither an investigative journalist nor a historian, and my toolkit is far from resembling a grand archive that guards all the world’s secrets, this is no easy task.
And if we happen to draw from the modern era, then it’s the abundance that might overwhelm me for here we no longer have data merely about the cobblestone paths of the past, but about the cracks between the stones themselves.
My goal is to be an observer: to choose a single point that serves as perspective, and to travel the path between the observed reality and the observer.
Now let’s dive in and set our time machine to July 1955, like when we’re still just exploring from above in Google Earth, with the area around the Berlin Wall beneath us, the world watching tensely the standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States, while Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” is still the music of the future, but his hit “Baby Let’s Play House” (1955 Elvis Presley – Baby Let’s Play House) is already becoming the anthem of youth. The world does not yet know satellites, but the smoke of nuclear tests is already rising, and the space race is still only a distant dream. In the air lingers the desire for postwar reconstruction, and the future appears as a rocky yet thrilling horizon.
Wimbledon 1955 – Men’s Singles
Our first stop takes us to Wimbledon, where on the first of July the men’s singles final was held.
It is astonishing to think that by 1955 the tournament already had a 78-year history. If Wimbledon were measured in human years, by then it would have been a kind old gentleman or a sweet elderly lady.
The match was won by the American Tony Trabert, then in his mid-twenties, defeating Kurt Nielsen by 6/3 7/5 6/1, and he completed the tournament without losing a single set, a feat that since then has only been matched by three others: Chuck McKinley in 1963, Bjorn Borg in 1976, and a certain Roger Federer in 2017.
Even then, Wimbledon was more than just a tennis championship. For British society, it symbolized stability and unity, embodying everything we associate with English gentility, the very essence of immaculate Englishness distilled into sport.
Let’s not forget, the war had ended not long before; the traces of dark times still lingered in people’s hearts. And though tennis had never truly been a sport of the “common folk,” it nonetheless proclaimed the calm of bygone days and the constancy of the Nation.
People dressed up, wore straw hats, stood tall with pride and poise as they ate strawberries and drank tea, while members of the royal family sat among the spectators.
[The rule of wearing white at Wimbledon dates back to the 1870s, as a symbol of tradition, purity, and elegance. The color white reflected the refinement of Victorian society while concealing perspiration, and to this day it remains one of Wimbledon’s most iconic traditions, highlighting the tournament’s spirit of cleanliness and unity.]
1955 was undoubtedly Tony Trabert’s strongest year. Alongside Wimbledon, he also won the US Open and the French Open, his star shining at its brightest.
If we highlight only his Grand Slam achievements, he had already won the US Open in 1953 and the French Open in 1954. Beyond his singles results, he was also a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles.
Trabert’s tennis career was interrupted during the Korean War, from 1950 to 1953, when he enlisted in the Navy and served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, which was part of the U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea.
In the autumn of 1955 he turned professional, and at that time professional athletes those who made a living and earned money through competition were not yet allowed to participate in Grand Slam tournaments. This takes us back to the romantically idealized world of sport, where, at least in theory, everything was still about the love of the game. Before the Open Era, this was a frequent dilemma for the best players.
After retiring from tennis in 1963, Trabert became a popular television commentator and worked for CBS Sports for decades as a tennis and golf analyst until 2004. Thanks to his insight, expertise, and charming personality, he became a beloved voice of the sport.
Trabert also served as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team from 1976 to 1980, and as a coach he had a significant impact on the development of American tennis.
There was some tension between him and McEnroe; Trabert considered some of the rebel’s outbursts unfit for the tennis court. But that is hardly surprising on one hand, McEnroe embodied rebellion in tennis to its fullest extent, and on the other, few generational divides in history are as deep as the one between those who lived through the war or grew up during it and, let’s say, the children of the Woodstock spark.
In 1970, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, recognizing his outstanding contribution to the sport.
Wimbledon 1955 – Women’s Singles
The 1955 Wimbledon season belonged to the Americans, and having already talked about Tony Trabert’s victory, it is only natural to speak about the ladies as well.
On the day after the men’s final, Saturday, July 2, the women’s singles final was held, in which Louise Brough triumphed over her compatriot Beverly Fleitz in a close battle, 7–5, 8–6, securing the fourth Wimbledon title of her career.
At 32 years old, Althea Louise Brough could rightfully be called a legend of the sport. To name just a few of her achievements, in addition to her six Grand Slam singles titles, she also won 21 in doubles and 8 in mixed doubles.
She was an outstanding player at the net, with an excellent serve-and-volley game. It was said that despite her quiet nature, she possessed a killer instinct on the court. Her serves were powerful and bounced high, making the return game a torment for many of her opponents, especially when facing her backhand shots.
Louise Brough’s legacy represents one of the defining chapters of tennis’s golden era. Through her dedication and sportsmanship, she became a role model for young players, particularly in the United States.
In 1967 she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
July 3, 1955. The stadiums have emptied. After the tournament, the scent of the trampled grass still carries strong memories of battle. I imagine that by now everything was quiet, but the sounds drifted away into infinity.
Fate has strange backhands of its own, unpredictable and sometimes weaving connections between people and events as if an artist were creating them merely for amusement. The Wimbledon champions of 1955, in both the men’s and women’s singles, Tony Trabert and Louise Brough, were both world number ones, both members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, pioneers of their sport, role models, coaches, ambassadors.
Both lived to the age of 90, and both passed away on February 3.
Formula 1 World Championship
Juan Manuel Fangio, also known as “El Chueco” and “El Maestro”
Before delving into Fangio’s third world championship title, won on July 16 at the 1955 British Grand Prix, it is impossible not to mention one of the greatest tragedies in the history of car and motorsport — the Le Mans disaster.
Neglected safety measures, a burning car flying into the crowd, unprepared staff, incomplete protocols, decapitated spectators and trampled children — this is how the tragedy can be described, one that forever changed the approach to safety for both the sport’s organizers and the nations hosting such events. Some countries even banned racing for a time; Switzerland, for instance, maintained this stance all the way until 2022.
On July 11, 1955, the direct and indirect participants of the accident were Mike Hawthorn, Lance Macklin, Pierre Levegh, and Juan Manuel Fangio.
A little over two hours had passed in the 24-hour race when Hawthorn noticed too late that he was being called into the pits. He swerved to the right and braked sharply, causing Macklin to be unable to slow down properly. Macklin was forced to swerve aside while behind him came Pierre Levegh and Juan Manuel Fangio.
Levegh pulled to the left to avoid the Austin-Healey, but in the narrow main straight there was not enough space. The Mercedes ran up the steep rear of the Austin-Healey, which acted as a ramp and launched the Mercedes into the air.
The car rose at nearly 240 km/h, began to spin, and then came down nose-first. It flew over the embankment and crashed into the concrete barrier, breaking apart as debris rained down into the crowd.
During the impact Levegh’s body was thrown onto the track, and he died instantly.
The special fuel used in the car spilled out and ignited upon contact with the hot parts. The wreck of the car turned into a giant fireball, and the magnesium body burned with a blinding intensity.
As a consequence of the accident, circuit racing was banned in several countries, and the Mercedes factory team withdrew from motorsport for more than thirty years.
Levegh lost his life in the crash and was considered to be the one responsible, although in the official investigation no one was held accountable. It was simply easier to place the blame on someone who could no longer defend himself.
According to the official report, the tragedy claimed at least 84 lives and left 120 injured, though other sources mention even higher numbers.
Despite the severity of the accident, the race was not stopped, as spectators leaving the track would have obstructed the rescue operations.
This decision was later heavily criticized, and many questioned its morality.
Fangio often said that he owed his life to Levegh. Before the collision, he saw Levegh raise his hand, signaling danger and warning him to slow down. He always believed that it was this gesture that allowed him to react in time.
Le Mans Motor Racing Disaster (1955) | British Pathé
Those cars were beautiful, but when we try to imagine that kind of speed, what comes to mind is a torpedo loaded with a human payload. At such velocity there is no tomorrow, a single small bump or a fallen piece of debris on the track can plunge the future into darkness, while the machine soars as if it were a tiny titmouse defying the very laws of gravity.
As a result of the events, the world championship season was shortened. At the British Grand Prix Fangio finished only second, but his points lead was already unassailable, making him world champion once again, before returning to the throne two more times in 1956 and 1957.
Juan Manuel Fangio’s name will surely appear again in our pages, for his personality, extraordinary life story, and achievements are impossible to overlook. He eventually passed away at the age of 84, though not in a way directly related to motor racing.
The stars of talent, instinct, and luck all shone brightly upon him, for anyone who chooses to become a racing driver , and especially in that era, dances with death.
Countless times he sat behind the wheel of those adrenaline-fueled, almost bizarrely magnificent four-wheeled coffins, and to stay with the metaphor, he danced that waltz flawlessly every time.
I would like to say farewell to the traces of asphalt the Master left behind in 1955, though these marks were not left on the highway, but in history itself.
As Ayrton Senna once said:
“What he did in his time is something that was an example of professionalism, of courage, of style and as a man, a human being. Every year there is a winner of the championship, but not necessarily a world champion. I think Fangio is the example of a true world champion.”
US Open – Women’s Golf
July 2, 1955 – The eyes of the sports world turned to the U.S. Women’s Open, where a woman from Uruguay forever etched her name into the great book of golf. Fay Crocker, born in Uruguay, won the championship with boundless determination and finely honed skill, becoming the first foreign winner in the history of the event. Her victory went far beyond the fairways and greens, marking the beginning of a new era in what had long been an American-dominated tournament. Fay, who learned the fundamentals of the game from her father, a former golf champion, never feared crossing boundaries — whether geographical or symbolic. With her triumph, she embodied not only her own dreams but also the hopes of an entire continent.
Louise Suggs and Mary Lena Faulk, the pride of the American field, also commanded respect with their strong performances. Although they had to settle for second place this time, their achievements remained a cornerstone of women’s golf and its continuing growth.
British Open – Men’s Golf
July 9, 1955 – Just a week later, history was written once again in the world of golf, this time on British soil, where during the renowned British Open, Peter Thomson, the pride of Australia, successfully defended his title. With a two-stroke lead over Scotland’s John Fallon at the St. Andrews links course, he claimed his second consecutive Open victory. Thomson’s triumph was not only the result of his talent and strategic maturity; it also signaled a changing of the guard, as international players began to expand the global boundaries of the sport.
At just 25 years old, Thomson’s career had reached its peak. The Australian, whose humble upbringing forged his iron will, had shown from childhood that his passion for golf could overcome any obstacle. St. Andrews, the sacred home of golf, once again bore witness to the birth of a legend.
Well, thank you for joining me in this brief look back. We are moving so quickly toward the unknown, walking across a snow-covered field, stopping now and then, looking back, and our footprints remind us of the road we have traveled.