Tilden, William Tatem, Jr. Known as “Big Bill.” 1893-1953. American tennis player who dominated the sport in the 1920s, winning the US men’s singles championship seven times (1920-1925 and 1929) and the Wimbledon championship three times (1920, 1921, and 1930).American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.