EVERY game of tennis starts with love…and that was the case in more ways than one for Foster Henry Garton.
As a young man, while walking through his local park in Middlesbrough, he took a shine to a girl playing tennis.
Foster challenged her to a game and, though he lost, the encounter in Pallister Park was the beginning of a love affair with the girl, called Betty, and a sport he hadn’t previously considered.
The couple went on to be married for nearly 60 years, and Foster became so hooked on tennis that his vision, as the founder of Tennis World, transformed participation in the sport across Teesside.
“He was an incredibly generous man with a gift for making everyone feel they were better players than they really were,” says his son, Nigel.
“He used to buy rackets for those who couldn’t afford them, and the messages that have poured in show how many lives he touched.”
Another example of Foster’s kindness was paying for Middlesbrough football legend Wilf Mannion to have Sky TV, so he could watch matches at home.
That commitment to Middlesbrough and its people was rooted in his childhood, growing up in Peel Street as the son of Archibald and Ruby Garton, who had a corner shop in Borough Road.
An only child, Foster went to Ayresome Street School, where his first sporting love was football.
His talent attracted telegrams from Arsenal and Celtic, inviting him for trials, but his dad wanted him to be a musician, so the invitations were secretly thrown on the fire.
Instead, Foster played drums in local dance bands from the age of 13.
After his school days, he landed an office job with engineering firm, Head Wrightson, and qualified as a draughtsman.
Sunderland FC wanted to sign him but he decided he should stay as a draughtsman before becoming a pneumatic tools salesman with Ingersoll Rand.
Foster quickly saw more potential than sales, so he employed a mechanical fitter to work from his garage, overhauling valves and fixing tools.
From there, he expanded into an old farmhouse, near Guisborough, before launching Foster Garton Ltd in Skippers Lane, at South Bank.
The business employed more than 100 people in its prime, and Foster’s management style was to make his employees feel empowered.
“He had this amazing way of making people feel special, always giving them credit for ideas to improve the business,” recalls Nigel.
In the meantime, Foster and Betty had joined Middlesbrough Tennis Club, in Highfield Road, and teamed up for mixed doubles in the Middlesbrough Championships in Albert Park.
Eventually, the invitation came and they passed a compulsory test to show they were good enough to be members.
The couple became stalwarts of the club. Betty, a teacher, was ladies’ captain, and Foster served for years on the committee.
When it was decided the Linthorpe Tennis Club site should be sold for housing, Foster became the driving force behind the move to Tennis World.
With the help of John Foster, CEO of Middlesbrough Borough Council, the club acquired land at Prissick Base, at Marton, and built six outdoor courts in 1984, the year Foster sold his business.
Under his leadership, the site grew, with four indoor courts being added in 1986, and the outdoor courts being increased to nine.
“As a businessman, he always said he would never have done it, but he wanted to give something back to Middlesbrough,” said Nigel, who became Tennis World’s head coach and manager while also working part-time for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) as county performance officer.
Former Mayor of Middlesbrough, Ray Mallon, recalls how Tennis World was the catalyst for the Middlesbrough Sports Village on adjacent land.
The state-of-the art Marton Road complex – featuring a sports hall, gym, running track and velodrome – overcame initial controversy to replace the ageing Clairville Stadium in 2015.
“Foster Garton was a man ahead of his time, always thinking out of the box,” said Mayor Mallon.
He recalls attending a meeting with Foster, Nigel, LTA chief executive Roger Draper, and Tennis World chairman Mark Foster – ironically, the son of the council’s CEO – when the ambitious idea for the sports village was first aired.
“Foster was a rare breed – a businessman who understood social responsibility,” added Mr Mallon.
“The sports village was the highlight of my time as Mayor because I listened to their vision. We made it happen and the impact has been huge.”
Like so many other grass roots sports clubs and centres, Tennis World has faced its challenges over the years.
Through years of Government austerity, global financial crashes, and a pandemic, the game looked like it was up more than once, and yet it survived.
Several Tennis World players have represented their country, while countless others have simply discovered a lifelong love of the sport and forged enduring friendships.
In 2018, Foster was a special guest when current Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, unveiled the start of a £200,000 investment in Tennis World, with resurfaced courts, new function room, and LED lighting.
Today, the business is in good shape, with six outdoor courts, four indoor courts, the function room, and two covered padel courts.
Tennis World was ahead of the curve in introducing padel, the world’s fastest growing sport, and the move has helped increase profits significantly.
Foster’s youngest grandson, Theo, 21, is a full-time professional padel player, sponsored by Soul Padel, and ranked fourth in the UK.
As well as Theo, Nigel and his wife, Jenny, have another sporting son, 29-year-old Foster junior, who is a talented footballer in the Northern League.
Sadly, Betty passed away at 85, but Foster was able to go on leading a comfortable, independent life, with the family indebted to his carer, Sharon.
Incredibly, he was still playing tennis at 95, and was often courtside, watching the sport he loved, until his final few weeks.
Foster Henry Garton’s funeral will take place at Middlesbrough Crematorium at 1.30pm on August 11, when his favourite song, My Way, will capture the spirit of his life.
Afterwards, family and friends will gather at his beloved Tennis World – where else? – and remember a man whose strong service helped him play a blinder for his hometown.
