His off the court "activities" were apparently even more than would be acceptable today.
He liked the boys, and he liked them young.
Tilden is considered by many the first superstar of men’s tennis. That he was a known homosexual was probably one of the reasons a lot of people, like my father, thought it was a sissy sport. Of course many of the types who thought it was a sissy sport most likely never played it. Or couldn’t play it very wel. But while Tilden never admitted to being a homosexual, his public mannerisms left little doubt. Even Ty Cobb saw him play one time and exclaimed “who is this swish?”