I have no idea of how many pieces of clothing I’ve had over the years with the iconic laurel leaf emblem of the Fred Perry Company upon it, but I have had plenty.

I distinctly remember it being worn by my dad and his mates when they were on holiday at holiday camps and caravan parks, as slowly, sportswear became casual wear.

The polo shirts were a staple during my latter school years. I left in 1979 and by then the Fred Perry polo was pretty much everywhere I looked.  They were readily available. Smart, practical and historic.

Much like the story of another clothing favourite, Lacoste, the tale behind it, involves a savvy sportsman, looking to the future, once his playing career had finished.

Frederick John Perry was born in Stockport in 1909. He was the son of a future Conservative MP, though the family were of working class stock.

He began to play tennis aged 9 in Ealing, on municipal courts near to the housing estate the family had moved to. Fred had excellent hand to ball eye co-ordination and he went on to win the world table tennis championship aged just 19.

Urged to move on from playing in smoky sports halls, to the fresher air of outdoor tennis courts, was not that easy.  The All England Club at Wimbledon denied him entry at first, with a working class bias suspected.

When finally allowed to compete in amateur competitions, his more aggressive behaviour on court, in contrast to the then more normal genteel manners expected at that time, marked him out from the crowd. This pipe smoking teetotal, certainly ruffled feathers from the start then.

The disapproval of his antics, instead of holding him back, actually inspired him. He would become the world number one in the mid 1930s, picking up consecutive Wimbledon titles in 1934, 35 and 36 as he did so and at just 26, he won the grand slam of all four major titles, the first man to do so.

Fred became professional in 1936, deciding to leave the UK for the more lucrative US circuit.

Off the courts, Fred, an handsome man in his heyday standing at 6ft tall and weighing around 12 stone, had an eye for the ladies, eventually marrying 4 times. In between times, rumours abounded around Hollywood, where he was a familiar face of affairs and relationships with the likes of Marlene Dietrich, Jean Harlow and Bette Davis. Not bad for a boy from Stockport and Ealing.

However, as a result of leaving our shores, Fred was at first refused entry to the major tournaments, which were still amateur in nature back then. He also stayed in the US when the Second Word War broke out and that decision is thought to have cost him a knighthood in later life.

Meanwhile, Perry and future business partner Theodore ‘Tibby’ Wegner invented the first sweatband in the 1940s and then launched a polo shirt made from a knitted white cotton pique, at Wimbledon in 1952. It was instant success and the Fred Perry Company took off.

Fred retired from playing in 1956, though he kept his hand in the game of tennis through broadcasting.

He was finally fully welcomed back to the fold in the UK in 1984 when the All England Club unveiled a bronze statue of the great man to mark the 50th anniversary of his first Wimbledon win in 1934. As they say, sometimes resistance is futile.

Fred Perry reached the grand old age of 85 and died in Melbourne, Australia in 1995.

The Mumper of SE5