In the past year, Alfred C. Liggins III and his Lanham-based company, Radio One Inc., have taken on much larger rivals, such as Clear Channel Communications Inc. and Viacom Inc. He has beefed up Radio One's presence in several cities by buying more stations and has entered the crowded field of cable television by joining Comcast Corp. to launch TV One, an upstart rival to Viacom's BET.
But Liggins, 39, says that competitive streak is found mainly in the boardroom.
Alfred C. Liggins III
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Case in point: In July, while attending Herb Allen's annual Sun Valley media conference, he paired off against BET founder Robert L. Johnson for a game of doubles.
The winner?
"I honestly can't remember," Liggins said.
(Johnson recalled that his team won.)
On a recent Thursday afternoon, Liggins met up at Hains Point with a friend he's known from his days at St. Johns College High School in Washington. The two played singles on the school team for one year.
Liggins said he has been socking tennis balls since he was about 10 years old. He plays about twice a month in Rock Creek Park or at Hains Point, usually with friends.
On Thursday, the hour-long session didn't end with a score. Liggins preferred to trade baseline strokes. Occasionally, he sliced a ball with his one-armed backhand. Mostly, he relied on his best shot -- a solid forehand. Luckily he didn't have to catch up with too many drop shots.
"I'm not much on going to the net," he said.
And while legions of executives sign up for golf clinics the way they would for an MBA, Liggins isn't about to pick up a 9-iron just so he can hang with Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, an avid golfer.
The mere mention of golf elicited a half-snort from Liggins, as in, "Not for me, thanks."
He's not much into mixing business and sports, anyway. And so far, he seems to do just fine without worrying about his handicap or his serve.
Tennis, he said, "is a recreational way to get exercise so I don't get bored to death on the treadmill."
-- Annys Shin
