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William Clothier (tennis)

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This article is about the tennis player. For the cinematographer, see William H. Clothier.
William Clothier
Full nameWilliam Jackson Clothier
Country (sports) United States
Born(1881-09-27)September 27, 1881
Sharon Hill, PA, United States
DiedSeptember 4, 1962(1962-09-04) (aged 80)
Philadelphia, United States
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF1956 (member page)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 4 (1906, ITHF)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon4R (1905)
US OpenW (1906)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenF (1912)

William 'Bill' Jackson Clothier (September 27, 1881 – September 4, 1962) was an American tennis player.

Biography

William J. Clothier was a top American tennis player in the early 1900s and reached the singles final of the United States Championships three times. In his first final appearance in 1904 he lost in three straight sets to compatriot Holcombe Ward. Two years later, in 1906, Clothier achieved his greatest success by emphatically beating Beals Wright in the final in three straight sets at the Newport Casino. This despite breaking his pelvic bone in a riding accident earlier that year.[2] His last appearance in the final came in 1909 when he lost in five sets to William Larned who claimed his fifth singles title.[3]

Clothier won the intercollegiate tennis singles and doubles championship in 1902 playing for Harvard, where he was a three sport athlete and also played hockey and football.

He was a member of the winning USA Davis Cup Team in 1905 and 1909 and won both his singles matches in the 1909 final against the British Isles.[4]

Together with his son, William J. Clothier II, they two won the national father-son title held at Longwood Cricket Club twice in 1935 and 1936.[5]

Clothier was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956 and was elected its first President in 1954, a position he held until 1957.[1]

Clothier also played amateur ice hockey from 1900 to 1904 with the Quaker City Hockey Club in Philadelphia and the Harvard Crimson intercollegiate team in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Clothier is interred in the family plot at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Summit Section, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Playing style

In their book R.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903) multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Lawrence Doherty described Clothier's playing style:

Clothier has copied Whitman, but is not so good. His twist service is much the same as Whitman's, and he always follows it up to the net, He volleys well, and is especially severe overhead. His volleying is considerably superior to his ground strokes.

On Lawn Tennis - 1903[6]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1906 U.S. National Championships Grass United States Beals Wright 6–3, 6–0, 6–4
Loss 1907 U.S. National Championships Grass United States William Larned w/o
Loss 1909 U.S. National Championships Grass United States William Larned 1–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–1, 1–6

Mixed doubles: (1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1912 U.S. National Championships Grass United States Eleonora Sears United States Mary Kendall Browne
United States Richard Williams		 4–6, 6–2, 9–11

References

  1. ^ a b "Hall of Famers - William Clothier". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Clothier Beats Wright for the Tennis Title" (PDF). The New York Times. 30 Aug 1906. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Champion Larned Retains his Title" (PDF). The New York Times. 28 Aug 1909. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Davis Cup - Profile William Clothier". ITF. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  5. ^ "William Clothier, 86, Spy and Tennis Star". The New York Times. 3 Nov 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  6. ^ Doherty, R.F. (1903). R.F. and H.L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis (1st ed.). London: Lawn Tennis. pp. 62–63.
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