The Bow Brook Club has a long history in Concord. Every year, except during breaks during both world wars, it has hosted a citywide men’s tennis tournament on red clay.

This year was no exception with the 99th edition underway.

On Wednesday evening, on the back court shaded by trees that lined the club, Steph Williamson and Romit Humazai played a match as part of the Men’s A tournament.

Plastic chairs were set up in the shade, and a large sheet with a massive letter A hung from the fence. Players and spectators pulled into the dirt drive in the back of the club — located on the corner of Warren St. and Westbourne Road across from Concord High School — to watch.

Formerly a club for doctors, lawyers and up-and-coming young men of the area, it has lost some of its prominence among the hustle and bustle of the city.

A small booklet printed in 1962 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the club, survived and offered a snapshot into life at the club in the early 20th century.

However, as interest in tennis declined with the excitement of other sports, the clubhouse — like the booklet — remained somewhat stuck in time.

“It was a massive social magnet for the community, I think also, probably, closed in a way I wouldn’t like,” said Michael Lewis, a tournament organizer, .

Lewis, who works as a lawyer in Concord, has kept the tournament alive for another year. He joined around 10 years ago and began to play with former champions and older men who were at the top of the games for their age groups nationally.

“A bunch of guys who were about 30 years older than I was and were like, ‘Oh yeah, come play,’ I was like, ‘I'm gonna destroy these dudes,’ ” he said. “You know, some of them were actually national age group champions, like Bill Simonton.”

For this year’s tournament, Lewis bought tennis balls, Gatorades to store in the clubhouse’s fridge, and shirts with a letter A on the front and a phrase from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter,” that read: “On the field sable, the letter A, gules.”

Now, Lewis and other members want to bring new faces into the club and get more people onto the courts.

A few years ago, they tried organizing a women’s tournament but didn’t receive much interest. It has also been a few years since the last father-son tournament was held, but maybe one day it will.

The clubhouse has a badminton court turned pickleball court, framed pictures of Muhammad Ali and Bobby Or, and a taxidermied moose head hanging from the wall. It seems straight out of a movie from the 1940s, albeit with some traces of modernity scattered throughout.

The courts are pretty much always available, at least one of them on most nights, according to Lewis. The big draw is the ability to play on clay courts, which are fairly rare in New Hampshire. The club had a surprisingly long season last year as they stayed open from April to November.

Lewis’ main goal is to turn the Bow Brook into a place where anyone can join, play on the courts and enjoy the social aspects of tennis — talking rackets, grips, playstyles and life on the other side of the fence.

The Men’s B tournament for players who have not won either the A or B tournament, and with a USTA rating of 3.5 or lower, will begin on Monday. Registration is still open until Friday night, and all sign-up requests must be made to tournament organizer Rob Normandin (robnormandin@msn.com).

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.