Long before John McEnroe created magic and madness on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, he conjured shock and awe playing small ball on New York City’s famed lawn.

A four-year-old McEnroe was so skilled whacking whiffle balls pitched by his father on Central Park’s great lawn, impressed New Yorkers not only stopped to watch—some assumed he must be a midget or a circus performer because surely no normal child had such acute eye-hand coordination.