Sidney Wood
| Full name | Sidney Burr Wood Jr. |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Born | November 1, 1911 Black Rock, Connecticut, USA |
| Died | January 10, 2009 (aged 97) Palm Beach, Florida, USA |
| Turned pro | 1927 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1956 |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HOF | 1964 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (1938, A. Wallis Myers)[1] |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | 3R (1928, 1932) |
| Wimbledon | W (1931) |
| US Open | F (1935) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| French Open | F (1932) |
| Team Competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (1934) |
| Last updated on: December 19, 2012. | |
Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player.
Wood was born in Black Rock, Connecticut. He won the Arizona State Men’s Tournament on his 14th birthday, which qualified him for the French Championship and led to him earning a spot at Wimbledon [2] He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where he created the tradition of "J-ball." In the 1927 Wimbledon Championships, Wood became the youngest competitor in the Men's Singles at 15 years 231 days and the Men's Doubles at 15 years 234 days.[3] He was the third youngest winner of the Wimbledon Championships, which he won in 1931 at the age of 19 after Frank Shields withdrew due to an ankle injury. Shields did so on on request of the U.S. Davis Cup Committee, "Frank wanted to play me and it was an insult to Wimbledon and the public that he didn't" recalled Wood.[4] Wood is the only uncontested winner of a Wimbledon final.[5] He also reached the finals of the Mixed Doubles of the French Championships in 1932, the Davis Cup in 1934, and the U.S. National Championships Men's Singles in 1935. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and 1934 and No. 5 in 1938 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.[6][7][1]
Wood is credited with inventing, designing and patenting Supreme Court, a synthetic playing surface used for indoor courts. It was used by the World Championship Tennis tour from 1973 to 1978. He was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.[8]
Contents |
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals (1-1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1931 | Wimbledon | Grass | Frank Shields | w/o |
| Runner-up | 1935 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | Wilmer Allison | 2–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
[edit] Family
Wood's uncle Watson Washburn was a Davis Cup team member. He credited his uncle with introducing him to tennis.[2]
Wood was the father of David, Colin, Sidney III and W. Godfrey Wood. Sidney Wood III, a Yale tennis player, died at the age of 22 in an early morning car accident in a car driven by a tennis teammate on a North Carolina highway in 1961;[9]
Wood is survived by his other three sons. Colin Wood is the subject in Diane Arbus' famous 1962 photograph Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.[10]
David Wood lives in New York and works for a law firm.
W. Godfrey Wood lives in Maine and still holds the collegiate season record for lowest goals against average (1.21 GAA, in 1962), as a goalie for Harvard's hockey team. His save percentage of .945 ranks second in all time NCAA standings (only .001 behind .946). He also started the Hartford Whalers and the Portland Pirates.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Bromwich Placed Third", The Sydney Morning Herald, 5th October 1938.
- ^ a b Tennis Master Sydney Wood Dies Southampton Press, January 15, 2009.
- ^ "Wimbledon Records & Statistics". Event Guide - History. AELTC. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
- ^ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed. ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780942257700.
- ^ Richard Goldstein (January 14, 2009). "Sidney Wood, 97, only Wimbledon winner by default". NY Times. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
- ^ Béla Kehrling, ed. (1 November 1931). "Külföldi hírek" [International news] (PDF). Tennisz és Golf. III (in Hungarian) (Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda. Könyv- és Lapkiadó Rt.) 20: 16–17. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Myers Seeds Fred Perry No. 1; But Three Yanks Place", The Lewiston Daily Sun, 13th September 1934.
- ^ Tennis Great Sidney Woods Dies Associated Press, January 11, 2009
- ^ Father & Son Time Magazine, March 31, 1961
- ^ Diane Arbus' Photos and the Stories Behind Them Mental Floss, July 26, 2008
[edit] External links
- Sidney Wood at the Davis Cup
