February 10

Events

1893 - A different kind of double fault - William "Big Bill" Tilden was born in Philadelphia on this date. He was one of the greatest tennis players of his generation and almost as popular as Babe Ruth at his peak of fame. Tilden won ten Grand Slam singles titles, the fifth most of all time. All that faded to insignificance when he was found with an adolescent boy. Tilden was first arrested on Nov. 23, 1946 on Sunset Boulevard for sexual involvement with a teenage boy. He could have been charged with a felony ("lewd and lascivious behavior with a minor"), but was charged only with a misdemeanor ("contributing to the delinquency of a minor"). He was sentenced to a year in prison and served 7 1/2 months. He was arrested again on Jan. 28, 1949, after picking up a 16-year-old hitchhiker and making advances. The new charge could have been prosecuted as a felony, but the judge merely sentenced Tilden to a year on his probation violation and let the punishment for the new charge run concurrently. He served 10 months. After being released, Tilden found himself even more shunned. More tennis clubs wouldn't let him teach and fewer students came his way on public courts. Tilden died in 1953. Half a century later, there is no other monument in the world for the man who was possibly the greatest American tennis player ever.

1999 - Like removing the stake from its heart... - The British Board of Film censors lifted a 25-year ban on the video version of The Exorcist on this date, more than a quarter century after its theatrical release.. In a statement, the Board noted that the film had been shown in British theaters the previous year without incident and that there was "little, if any, hard evidence" that the video had harmed viewers who had seen it in Europe, where it was been available for many years. During the film, 12 year old Regan MacNeil (played by Linda Blair) tells the priest "Your mother sucks cocks in Hell!", yells "Let Jesus fuck you, let Jesus fuck you! Let him fuck you!" while masturbating with a crucifix, and yells "Stick your cock up her ass, you motherfucking worthless cocksucker!"

2001 - Who was that masked man? - The Michigan Internet Minimal Identifiers Act was drafted by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. The act required all free ISPs operating in Michigan to identify their subscribers by verifying customers' phone numbers or credit card information. The department said it needed the information to prosecute pedophiles. On this date, Wired magazine printed a story harshly critical of the act. Wendy Wagenheim, public education director of the Michigan Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, was quoted saying "This bill stifles anonymous speech, which has long been protected by the First Amendment. The Internet allows the controversial views to be expressed freely, and that’s a good thing, not a bad thing." Another free speech advocate was quoted saying "These kind of solutions are shortsighted and over-excited."

2002 - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...." - The Observer revealed in an article published on this date that Chris Denning, the former Radio 1 disc jockey and convicted pedo, was writing a book in defense of his relationships with under-aged boys. Despite the protests of friends, who feared they would be implicated, he planed to publish the book in Europe and hoped it will also be distributed in Britain. He has convictions in the UK for sexual assault, gross indecency and child porn, dating back over three decades. He also served three-and-half years in prison in the Czech Republic for sex with young boys. Denning is the man credited with the discovery of 70s pop group the Bay City Rollers and was a best friend of record producer Jonathan King. King's name was mentioned by one of the boys involved in the Czech prosecution, which led to the investigation of King by Surrey police in 2001. King was convicted for sex with boys in the UK in 2002.