Ham Richardson

Ham Richardson
Ham Richardson in 1955
Full name Hamilton Farrar Richardson
Country (sports)  United States
Born (1933-08-24)August 24, 1933
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Died November 5, 2006(2006-11-05) (aged 73)
New York City, U.S.
Turned pro 1950 (amateur tour)
Retired 1969
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
College Tulane University
Singles
Highest ranking No. 3 (1956, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open QF (1953, 1954)
French Open SF (1955)
Wimbledon SF (1956)
US Open SF (1952, 1954)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open W (1958)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1954, 1958)

Hamilton Farrar Richardson (August 24, 1933 – November 5, 2006)[2] was an American tennis player, who was active in the 1950s and 1960s.

Life

Richardson was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics at Tulane University, where he won two NCAA Singles Championships (in 1953 and 1954). He was named a charter member of the Tulane University Athletic Hall of Fame.

He was named a Rhodes scholar and earned a master's degree at Oxford University during which he achieved the U.S. No. 1 ranking, both in 1956 and 1958 (Richardson was also ranked in the U.S. Top 10 in nine other years). Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph ranked Richardson the World No. 3 in 1956, No. 6 in 1958, No. 7 in 1955 and No. 10 in 1954.[1]

Richardson reached four Grand Slam singles semi finals. At the French championships in 1955, Richardson beat Herbert Flam before losing in the semi finals to Tony Trabert.[3] In 1956 Richardson reached the Wimbledon semi finals (beating Neale Fraser before losing to Lew Hoad). [4] At the U. S. championships, Richardson reached the semi finals in 1952 (losing to Gardnar Mulloy) and 1954 (beating Hoad before losing to Vic Seixas). In 1958, he won a U.S. National doubles title in 1958 with Alex Olmedo, and reached the mixed doubles final at the Australian National Championship with Maureen Connolly.

At the Cincinnati Masters, Richardson reached two singles finals, losing in 1950 to Glenn Bassett and in 1953 to Tony Trabert, and won two doubles titles, in 1950 with George Richards, and in 1953 with Trabert. He played on seven U.S. Davis Cup teams, including the winning Cup teams of 1954 and 1958. He was 20–2 in Davis Cup play.

After retiring from tennis, he founded Richardson and Associates, a New York investment and venture capital firm.

Personal life

Richardson had three children from his first marriage, which ended in divorce. He was later married to author and editor Midge Turk Richardson from 1974 until his death from complications from diabetes in 2006.[5]

Grand Slam finals

Men's doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up1956U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Vic SeixasAustralia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
Winner1958U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Alex OlmedoUnited States Sam Giammalva
United States Barry MacKay		3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Rankings

Richardson's Top Ten U.S. Rankings[1]

  • 1951 – 9
  • 1952 – 7
  • 1953 – 6
  • 1954 – 3
  • 1955 – 7
  • 1956 – 1
  • 1957 – N/A
  • 1958 – 1
  • 1959 – N/A
  • 1960 – N/A
  • 1961 – N/A
  • 1962 – 3
  • 1963 – 7
  • 1964 – 7
  • 1965 – 6

References

  1. 1 2 3 United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (1st edition), pp. 413-427.
  2. ↑ "Former tennis star Richardson dies at 73", ESPN November 8, 2006.
  3. ↑ "French Open 1955". www.tennis.co.nf.
  4. ↑ "Wimbledon 1956". www.tennis.co.nf.
  5. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (2006). "Ham Richardson, 73, a Star in Tennis Despite Diabetes, Is Dead." New York Times, November 8, 2006.
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