Phil Neer

Philip F. Neer (December 24, 1901[1] in Portland, Oregon – December 1989[2]) was NCAA champion and a top-ranking amateur tennis player in the 1920s.

Early career

Neer, a native of Portland,[2] was one of the first male tennis players from the west coast to achieve national tennis success. He and partner Don Gilman won the Oregon state doubles championship in 1918,[3] and in 1919, was the national junior doubles runner-up and the Pacific Northwest singles champion.[4] A year later, he won the British Columbia men’s singles championship[4] and the Oregon state singles championship.[5]

College and senior career

Neer attended Stanford University and in 1921, became the first player from a western U.S. university to win the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship.[6][7] A year later, Neer and partner Jim Davies won the NCAA doubles championship, the first team from a non-Ivy League school to do so.[7]

As a professional player, Neer won back-to-back doubles championships at the Pacific Coast Championships (now the SAP Open) in 1932 and 1933.

On January 28, 1933, Neer, who was ranked #8 in the United States at the time, played his friend and occasional mixed doubles partner[8] Helen Wills Moody in an exhibition match in San Francisco. Moody, who was the reigning ladies' Wimbledon champion, defeated Neer 6–3, 6–4.[9][10] This match predated the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King "Battle of the Sexes" by 40 years.

Honors

Neer was inducted into the United States Tennis Association Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame in 2003,[4] and is a member of the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.

Personal

Neer's brothers, Jacie and Henry, were also prominent in Portland tennis, as well as his nephew (Jacie's son) Jack Neer.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Birthdate obtained from Social Security Death Index.
  2. 1 2 Eggers, Kerry (May 6, 2003). "Parrott serves notice he's real". Portland Tribune. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Oregon State Tournament Men's Doubles Champions". Oregon Tennis Historical Committee. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 "USTA Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame Inductee Bios". United States Tennis Association. Archived from the original on May 18, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Oregon State Tournament Men's Singles Champions". Oregon Tennis Historical Committee. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Oregon Tennis History: College Tennis". Oregon Tennis Historical Committee. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  7. 1 2 "Men's Tennis: Past Champions". NCAA. Archived from the original on April 18, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament Mixed Doubles Champions". Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. Archived from the original on February 28, 2005. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  9. ↑ Fein, Paul (April 2006). "Who is the greatest female player ever?". Inside Tennis. Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  10. ↑ "This Day in Sports: January 28". USA Today. January 31, 1999. Archived from the original on June 6, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Phil Neer profile". Oregon Tennis Historical Committee. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
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