Noted tennis journalist Bud Collins dies aged 86

He died at his home in Brookline, Mass., at age 86.

Yet, Collins was best known for his work covering Wimbledon and the other three majors in tennis' grand slam. His longest and most visible venue on TV was at NBC from 1972 to 2007, notably with the "Breakfast at Wimbledon" broadcasts.

Mr. Collins also was a writer and senior editor at World Tennis magazine. But those who knew him best will remember that no one had a better friend than Bud Collins. He called himself a "scribbler and a babbler", according to an obituary in Globe .

Bud Collins attends the 2013 US Open.

Collins has numerous achievements to his name, getting inducted into both the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree from BALDWIN-WALLACE COLLEGE, and after a stint in the ARMY, he was accepted to BOSTON UNIVERSITY and began working part-time at the BOSTON HERALD. Our sport was most fortunate to be associated with a man of such character and class.... And no one would pay me to wear anything, and most people are surprised when I even pay for those creations'.

When asked how she would describe Collins, Adkisson said "he was a Bostonian who dearly loved his era and loved his sports".

Collins also wrote 2008's The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritive Encyclopedia and Record Book, widely regarding as the definitive history of the sport. Our network, televised tennis and sports coverage in general owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Bud's effortless blending of traditional newsprint storytelling with a then nascent television medium as it gained ever increasing importance on the American cultural landscape.

Klaussen said a memorial service is planned for June at Trinity Church, followed by a reception at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University, where his papers are held.