Frank Parker

For other people named Frank Parker, see Frank Parker (disambiguation).

Frank Parker

Full name	Frank Andrew Parker
Country	United States
Born	(1916-01-31)31 January 1916 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Died	24 July 1997(1997-07-24) (aged 81)
Int. Tennis HOF	1966 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1948, John Olliff)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	W (1948, 1949)
Wimbledon	SF (1937)
US Open	W (1944, 1945)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	W (1949)
Wimbledon	W (1949)
US Open	W (1943)
Last updated on: August 21, 2012 by Asmazif.

Frank "Frankie" Andrew Parker (born Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski of Polish immigrant parents on January 31, 1916 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA – July 24, 1997) was a former World No. 1 American male tennis player. He was coached by Mercer Beasley.

Career

Parker is one of the few Americans to win both the French Championships (1948, 1949) and the U.S. Championships (1944, 1945). Others have been Don Budge (1937), Don McNeill (1939-'40), Tony Trabert (1953-'54), Andre Agassi (1994, 1999).

Parker also a singles champion (1941) and four-time singles finalist at Cincinnati, and won the Canadian title in 1938. He was ranked World No. 1 in 1948 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph.

Writing about Parker in his 1949 autobiography, Bobby Riggs, who had played Parker many times, says "Parker is a tough man to get past. Equipped with a wonderful all-court game, he plays intently and with classic form. His footwork is marvelous. You never see Frankie hitting the ball from an awkward position." Jack Kramer, however, writing in his own autobiography, says "...even as a boy [Parker] had this wonderful slightly overspin forehand drive. Clean and hard. Then for some reason, Frankie's coach, Mercer Beasley, decided to change this stroke into a chop. It was obscene." It also impaired his game, particularly in preventing him from getting to the net, and Parker dropped in the rankings. A few years later, however, he worked hard to regain his original forehand and, according to Kramer, did indeed greatly improve his stroke. But it was never again as good as it had once been.

Parker was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960.

Parker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1966.

Major finals

Grand Slam tournaments

Singles: ( titles, runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1942	U.S. Championships	Grass	Frederick Schroeder	6–8, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 2–6
Winner	1944	U.S. Championships	Grass	William Talbert	6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	1945	U.S. Championships	Grass	William Talbert	14–12, 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	1947	U.S. Championships	Grass	Jack Kramer	6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 0–6, 3–6
Winner	1948	French Championships	Clay	Jaroslav Drobný	6–4, 7–5, 5–7, 8–6
Winner	1949	French Championships	Clay	Budge Patty	6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4

External links

• International Tennis Hall of Fame

Sources

• Tennis Is My Racket, by Bobby Riggs, New York, 1949
• The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis, Jack Kramer with Frank Deford, New York, 1979
• How to Play Tennis, by Mercer Beasley, 1935