James Dwight

James Dwight
Dwight (before 1903)
Country (sports)  United States
Born July 14, 1852
Paris, France
Died July 13, 1917(1917-07-13) (aged 64)
Mattapoisett, MA, USA
Turned pro 1876 (amateur tour)
Retired 1913
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 1955 (member page)
Singles
Career record 87-30, (74.3%) [1]
Career titles 9 [2]
Highest ranking No. 9 (1885, Károly Mazák)[3]
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon SF (1885)
US Open F (1883)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon SF (1884, 1885)
US Open W (1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887)

James Dwight (July 14, 1852, France – July 13, 1917[4]) was an American tennis player.

Biography

Sometimes called the "Founding Father of American Tennis", James Dwight won the first recorded tournament in the U.S. (and probably in the world, before the first Wimbledon Championships) played in August 1876 on the property of his uncle, William Appleton, at Nahant, MA. After graduating from Harvard in 1874, he traveled in Europe, saw the new sport of lawn tennis being played, and brought the necessary equipment home. Then he persuaded his uncle to mark out a court on his smooth front lawn so he could play a game with his cousin, Fred Sears.

That first attempt was disappointing. Dwight later wrote, ". . . we voted the whole thing a fraud and put it away." About a month later, they tried again, as a way of passing time on a rainy day. This time, tennis seemed much more interesting, even though they were wearing rubber boots and raincoats. The 1876 tournament was a neighborhood affair : "it was played on handicap on a round robin basis. There were two players on scratch, James Dwight and Fred D Sears Jr., each of whom played against 11 other players until a final between them. Rackets scoring was used ... Dwight beat Sears 12–15 15–7 15–13.[5] By then, Dwight and Sears had taught the game to a number of people, including another cousin, Richard Dudley "Dick" Sears, who went on to win the first seven national singles championships.

Dwight was one of the founders of the U. S. National Lawn Tennis Association in 1881, and he served as its president for twenty-one years. He never won the singles championship, but he reached the tournament final in 1883 losing to Richard Sears, with whom he did team to take five national doubles titles, from 1882 through 1884 and from 1886 through 1887. In a very rare transatlantic trip in those days, James Dwight entered the 1884 and 1885 Wimbledon tournaments, reaching the semi finals in 1885 (losing to Herbert Lawford).[6]

He was inducted to the Tennis Hall of fame in 1955.[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up1883U.S. National ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Richard Sears2–6, 0–6, 7–9

Doubles (5 Titles)

Year Championship Partner Opponents Score
1882U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Richard SearsUnited States Crawford Nightingale
United States G M Smith		6–2, 6–4, 6–4
1883U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Richard SearsUnited States Alexander Van Rensselaer
United States Arthur Newbold		6–0, 6–2, 6–2
1884U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Richard SearsUnited States Alexander Van Rensselaer
United States W.V.R. Berry		6–4, 6–1, 8–10, 6–4
1886U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Richard SearsUnited States Howard Taylor
United States Godfrey Brinley		6–3, 6–0, 6–2
1887U.S. ChampionshipsUnited States Richard SearsUnited States Howard Taylor
United States Henry Slocum		6–4, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–3

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Player – James Dwight". www.tennisarchives.com. Harlingen, Netherlands: Idzznew BV. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Nieuwland, Alex (2017). "Player – James Dwight". www.tennisarchives.com. Harlingen, Netherlands: Idzznew BV. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Mazák, Károly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 13.
  4. ↑ Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Volume 20, 1917 (retrieved 13 April 2015).
  5. ↑ The Guinness book of Tennis Facts & Feats, 1983 edition, page 11, by Lance Tingay
  6. ↑ "Wimbledon 1885". www.tennis.co.nf.
  7. ↑ Grasso, John (2011-09-16). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810872370.
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