A legacy for Libby

Terminally ill tennis champ 'pays it forward' by renovating courts

Writer and champion tennis player Herb Neils has made it his final goal to renovate the courts of his former Libby Racquet Club for the community's use.

Now diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, Neils, along with his wife Pat, watched this week as contractors put the finishing touches on the first three courts located over the bridge across from J. Neils Park in Libby.

"They will be first-class courts," Pat Neils said.

In a phone interview from the Neils' home in Libby, she said they have raised about $8,000 of the $40,000 required for this first phase of the Herb Neils Memorial Courts. The couple needs an additional $100,000 to renovate the other three courts.

To make certain the most deteriorated courts were upgraded, the couple mortgaged their property with the hope of gathering additional donations. Herb also has pledged the profit from his new book, "The Greatest Trophy," to the project.

"It was Herb's hope that he could sell enough books to get it done," she said.

When Neils, 82, learned of his tumor in May, he decided he needed to move ahead with the rebuilding. He suffers from malignant glioma, the same type of brain tumor afflicting Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Doctors described Neils' tumor as very malignant, but his exceptional good health otherwise makes his prognosis better than 99 percent of patients with the same kind of tumor, according to his wife. He recently completed surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to slow progression of the disease.

His attitude remains extremely positive in the face of a dire diagnosis.

"He's kind of an amazing guy," his wife said.

HERB NEILS represents the third generation of a pioneer Libby family. His grandfather, Julius Neils, established J. Neils Lumber Company, a major economic force from the turn of the century until 1959.

His father, Walter Neils, became a community leader and philanthropist. His good deeds in Libby ranged from donating land for recreation areas to providing money for a hospital and church.

Neils was born into the family during a February blizzard in Libby in 1926. He was an athletic from an early age, making his tennis debut on his family's homemade clay court at just 5 years old.

After serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II, he attended the University of Montana, where he played tennis under coach Jules Karlin. He returned to Libby and worked at the family mill in several different capacities.

His vision for the Libby Racquet Club began with acquiring land on the north side of town in 1960. By the time he finished, the facility included the six tennis courts as well as a competition-size indoor swimming pool.

Because the rural town was populated by many low-income people, the club offered most of the swimming and tennis lessons for free, often taught by Neils himself. He went beyond the call of duty to provide access.

"Herb bought a bus and personally transported swim and tennis students to his facility and neighboring communities for competitions," his wife said.

NEILS WORKED with tennis legend Billie Jean King as part of her Tennis America business from 1965 to 1975. For that program, he trained with world-renowned teacher Dennis Van Der Meer to become a certified tennis pro under the United States Professional Tennis Association.

During those 10 years, students came from across the U.S. to train at the Libby facility, which operated as one of several summer tennis camps. It was the heyday of the Libby Racquet Club.

With acres of surrounding lawn and a wind screen of large trees, the courts were reputed to be some of the best in Montana. Tennis players also had use of the adjacent swimming pool, which included showers, a dressing room and sauna, as well as a restaurant.

As with all glory days, the racquet club's heyday ended when hard times hit in 1975.

Tennis America dissolved and the lumber mill, by then under new ownership, went out of business. Herb reached into his own pocket to pay the Libby coaches when Tennis America did not.

He was forced to close the swimming pool because he could no longer subsidize the operation.

Although economic hardship continued to dog the community as well as Neils from 1975 to 1995, he continued giving lessons and giving schools access to his tennis club. He was a hands-on guy for local racquet malfunctions.

"Only one other person in town knew how to re-string a racquet," his wife said.

He also put on a nationally sanctioned tennis tournament each year during the third weekend in July. Players came from the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain Districts of the United States Tennis Association as well as Northern California and Canada.

The couple estimate that hundreds if not thousands of students learned tennis at the Libby Racquet Club, along with good character and manners. One student, Travis Johnson, made a career as a tennis pro.

OVER A 50-year period, Neils won numerous tournaments in his age division in competitions throughout the Intermountain Section, Pacific Northwest, California, Hawaii, Europe, Canada and Mexico.

He also taught tennis internationally in China, gave children free lessons in Western Samoa and Palau and directed an international tennis tournament in Nairobi, Kenya.

For his many contributions to the game, Neils was awarded the USTA Intermountain District David Freed Individual Lifetime Service Award.

"Billie Jean King made a DVD for him honoring his life and legacy," Pat Neils said.

He received the award in ceremonies in March held in Las Vegas, and learned of his brain tumor diagnosis just a few weeks later on May 19.

As a last service to the game that so enriched his life, Neils jumped into refurbishing the Libby courts with the help of several contractors providing discounted materials and labor.

The project was plagued by a steep rise in the cost of asphalt due to the run up in the price of oil. But Neils' meticulous building of the original courts saved the day.

"The original base was so solid that they were able to use two inches of asphalt instead of four," his wife said.

Friends, neighbors and others have begun buying "The Greatest Trophy," adding $20 with each sale to the Herb Neils Memorial Fund at First National Bank. He drew on his long experience as a worldwide big-game hunter to craft the tale that takes place in Africa around 1900.

The novel is his second book, following "A Hunt for the Great Northern," an adventure story set in Montana.

To order "The Greatest Trophy" directly from Neils or to make a donation, call (406) 293-7965. Copies also are available at Snappy Sports Senter in Kalispell.

If book sales and donations allow, the couple will work on resurfacing the other three of the six-court complex located at 1333 Montana 37.

According to Pat Neils, the tennis courts will serve an area with the greatest concentration of high-school students. A bike path now leads directly to the courts.

"It's a very sports-oriented area and it's one of the fastest growing areas of Libby," she said.

Over the years, she estimates that Neils has put $1 million into the facility, not to mention hours and hours of time teaching generations of students. A contractor recently asked Neils why he has given so much.

"Let's just call it paying it forward," he said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com