“It consumed so much of my time, you have no idea,” Einwick said the other day, dropping his guard ever so slightly, “It was a labor of love, no doubt about that.”)

In February of 1972, Einwick’s tournament left the Arena after six years to join hockey’s Richmond Robins as the Coliseum’s only permanent tenants. It was a logical upgrade and, for the most part, he has good recollections of the place. Oh, there were some glitches, don’t kid yourself. “Our major problem was putting the court down over the ice. One time we had to put it down, take it up, then put it down again,” said Einwick, who turns 84 in less than a month.

Then there were comparatively small but none the less irritating things, like the well-known local politician going on a rant when he was stopped at the door of the Coliseum’s restaurant for not having the proper credential. He was told, politely, that he could get one at Einwick’s office which was about 30 long strides away. That didn’t stop him from carrying on and, in the process, put his hands on the young lady serving as security. I watched the entire ugly don’t you know who I am? scene. Of course, there were large, more important things, like when rain water came trickling down in 1976, only five years after the doors opened.

“The roof sprung a leak during some doubles the night before the final. It was a mess,” Einwick recalled. “I was so angry … I called the city manager at 1 a.m. We finally got it fixed in time for the final.” Talk about a major sigh of relief. Richmond’s own Arthur Ashe beat Brian Gottfried.