Frank Shields
Encyclopedia
Francis Xavier Alexander ("Frank") Shields, Sr. (November 18, 1909, in New York City – August 19, 1975, in New York City) was an amateur American tennis
player of the 1920s and 1930s.
in 1931, 1932, and 1934, winning 19 of 25 matches. He was left off the team for his erratic playing in 1933. Shields was the non-playing captain in 1951, when the team won four matches.
Shields had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol. In the late 1930s, Shields was known for making fun of the US tennis star Bryan Grant, the smallest American to win an international championship, saying "the little shaver" was hiding behind the net. Once a drunk Shields held Grant upside down, outside a hotel window.
In 1951 he was at the center of a controversy that resulted in Dick Savitt
, reigning US singles champion, quitting competitive tennis at the age of 25 after Shields snubbed him by failing to let Savitt play for the U.S. Davis Cup team. Savitt had played and won his three early 1951 Cup matches, winning 9 of 10 sets, en route to leading the American team into the championship round against Australia. Shields did not permit Savitt to compete against the Aussies whom, only months earlier, Savitt had dominated at Wimbledon and in Australia. Savitt had trounced Australia’s top seed Ken McGregor
in three straight sets to win at Wimbledon and won the Australian Singles championship, becoming the first non-Aussie to win that title in 13 years. Ted Schroeder, who had lost every one of his Davis Cup matches the year before and was in semi-retirement, was chosen instead. Without Savitt playing singles, the United States lost the 1951 Davis Cup to Australia.
The controversy spilled over into the next year, at the annual meeting of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association when the national rankings were discussed. In its tentative rankings the U.S.L.T.A. put Savitt at number 3. As it was reported, "the loudest talker was Frank Shields, non-playing captain of the losing U.S. Davis Cup team. Shields had ignored Savitt in the Davis Cup matches, had put his confidence in aging (30) Ted Schroeder ... who turned out to be the goat of the series. Shields was intent on keeping Savitt ranked ... at No. 3. Cried Shields: 'Never once in the past three months has Savitt looked like a champion. Not only that, but he was not the most cooperative player in the world while we were in Australia, and his sounding off brought discredit to the game. He was not a credit either as a player or a representative of America.' Shields's outburst brought a tart answer from Don McNeill
, onetime (1940) national champion. Amid resounding applause from the assembled delegates, McNeill pointed out that players are ranked on their tennis ability, and personal prejudice should have nothing to do with ranking. The ranking committee, ignoring Shields's remarks, proceeded to raise Savitt from No. 3 to 2. After the heated session, one of the longest (five hours) in U.S.L.T.A. history, President Russell B. Kingman tried to restore a touch of dignity to tennis. Choosing his words with due care, Kingman called Shields's outburst 'most unseemly.'
His second wife, whom he married in 1940 and later divorced, was Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi
, a daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th prince of Civitella-Cesi
and the American heiress Mary Elsie Moore
(1888–1941), and a sister of Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi
, the husband of the Spanish Infanta Beatriz de Borbón. Shields had two children by Marina Torlonia: son Frank Xavier Alexander, Jr.
(the father of actress-model Brooke Shields
), and daughter Cristiana Marina Shields. After their divorce, Marina Shields married Edward Slater.
His third wife, whom he married in 1949, and also later divorced, was Katharine Mortimer
, a daughter of financier Stanley Grafton Mortimer, Sr., and the former wife of Oliver Cadwell Biddle. By his third marriage he had three children, Katharine Shields, William Xavier Orin Hunt Shields, and Alston Shields. He also had a stepdaughter, Christine Mortimer Biddle.
taxi. He was the grandfather of Brooke Shields
, Morgan Christina Shields, and Holton Joseph Shields.
in Newport, Rhode Island
in 1964.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player of the 1920s and 1930s.
Tennis career
Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked eight times in the U.S. Top Ten, reaching Number 1 in 1933, and Number 2 in 1930.Davis Cup
He competed for the Davis CupDavis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
in 1931, 1932, and 1934, winning 19 of 25 matches. He was left off the team for his erratic playing in 1933. Shields was the non-playing captain in 1951, when the team won four matches.
Shields had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol. In the late 1930s, Shields was known for making fun of the US tennis star Bryan Grant, the smallest American to win an international championship, saying "the little shaver" was hiding behind the net. Once a drunk Shields held Grant upside down, outside a hotel window.
In 1951 he was at the center of a controversy that resulted in Dick Savitt
Dick Savitt
Richard "Dick" Savitt is a 6’ 3" and 185-pound right-handed American male former tennis player.Savitt was ranked 2nd in the world in 1951. That year, at the age of 24, he won both the Wimbledon Singles Championship and the Australian Singles title...
, reigning US singles champion, quitting competitive tennis at the age of 25 after Shields snubbed him by failing to let Savitt play for the U.S. Davis Cup team. Savitt had played and won his three early 1951 Cup matches, winning 9 of 10 sets, en route to leading the American team into the championship round against Australia. Shields did not permit Savitt to compete against the Aussies whom, only months earlier, Savitt had dominated at Wimbledon and in Australia. Savitt had trounced Australia’s top seed Ken McGregor
Ken McGregor
Kenneth Bruce McGregor was a former tennis player from Australia who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952. He and his longtime doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally considered to be one of the greatest men's doubles teams of all time...
in three straight sets to win at Wimbledon and won the Australian Singles championship, becoming the first non-Aussie to win that title in 13 years. Ted Schroeder, who had lost every one of his Davis Cup matches the year before and was in semi-retirement, was chosen instead. Without Savitt playing singles, the United States lost the 1951 Davis Cup to Australia.
The controversy spilled over into the next year, at the annual meeting of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association when the national rankings were discussed. In its tentative rankings the U.S.L.T.A. put Savitt at number 3. As it was reported, "the loudest talker was Frank Shields, non-playing captain of the losing U.S. Davis Cup team. Shields had ignored Savitt in the Davis Cup matches, had put his confidence in aging (30) Ted Schroeder ... who turned out to be the goat of the series. Shields was intent on keeping Savitt ranked ... at No. 3. Cried Shields: 'Never once in the past three months has Savitt looked like a champion. Not only that, but he was not the most cooperative player in the world while we were in Australia, and his sounding off brought discredit to the game. He was not a credit either as a player or a representative of America.' Shields's outburst brought a tart answer from Don McNeill
Don McNeill (tennis)
William Donald McNeill was an American male tennis player. He was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma and died in Vero Beach, Florida, United States....
, onetime (1940) national champion. Amid resounding applause from the assembled delegates, McNeill pointed out that players are ranked on their tennis ability, and personal prejudice should have nothing to do with ranking. The ranking committee, ignoring Shields's remarks, proceeded to raise Savitt from No. 3 to 2. After the heated session, one of the longest (five hours) in U.S.L.T.A. history, President Russell B. Kingman tried to restore a touch of dignity to tennis. Choosing his words with due care, Kingman called Shields's outburst 'most unseemly.'
Marriages
His first wife was Rebecca Tenney (1910–2005). They were married in 1932 and divorced in 1940, on the grounds of his "habitual intemperance and cruelty." In 1947, she married lawyer Donald Agnew.His second wife, whom he married in 1940 and later divorced, was Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi
Donna Marina Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi
Marina Torlonia, Princesa di Civitelli-Cesi was an Italian-American socialite and aristocrat best known as the paternal grandmother of the actress and model Brooke Shields.-Family:...
, a daughter of Marino Torlonia, 4th prince of Civitella-Cesi
Marino Torlonia, 4th prince of Civitella-Cesi
Marino Torlonia , the 4th Prince di Civitella-Cesi, duke of Poli and Guadagnolo, was an Italian nobleman.-Biography:...
and the American heiress Mary Elsie Moore
Mary Elsie Moore
Mary Elsie Moore was an American heiress who married and divorced Italian prince Don Marino Torlonia, 4th prince of Civitella-Cesi.-Early life and education:...
(1888–1941), and a sister of Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi
Alessandro Torlonia, 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi
Don Alessandro Torlonia was the 5th Prince di Civitella-Cesi.He was the son of Marino Torlonia, 4th Prince di Civitella-Cesa and his American wife, Mary Elsie Moore...
, the husband of the Spanish Infanta Beatriz de Borbón. Shields had two children by Marina Torlonia: son Frank Xavier Alexander, Jr.
Francis Alexander Shields
Francis Xavier Alexander Shields was an American businessman and an executive at Revlon in New York, but is perhaps best known as the father of the actress Brooke Shields....
(the father of actress-model Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
), and daughter Cristiana Marina Shields. After their divorce, Marina Shields married Edward Slater.
His third wife, whom he married in 1949, and also later divorced, was Katharine Mortimer
Katharine Mortimer
Katharine Mortimer, was an American socialite.She was one of the six children of the stockbroker and U.S. amateur court tennis champion Stanley Grafton Mortimer and Kathleen Tilford...
, a daughter of financier Stanley Grafton Mortimer, Sr., and the former wife of Oliver Cadwell Biddle. By his third marriage he had three children, Katharine Shields, William Xavier Orin Hunt Shields, and Alston Shields. He also had a stepdaughter, Christine Mortimer Biddle.
Later life
In his later years he was frequently drunk, at which times he became destructive and bullying with his strength. After two heart attacks and a stroke, he died at 65 of a third heart attack, in a ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
taxi. He was the grandfather of Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, Morgan Christina Shields, and Holton Joseph Shields.
Acting career
Shields appeared in the following films:- Murder in the Fleet – 1935 as "Lieutenant Arnold"
- I Live My LifeI Live My LifeI Live My Life is a 1935 film, starring Joan Crawford, Brian Aherne, and Frank Morgan, and is based on the story Claustrophobia, by A. Carter Goodloe.-Plot summary:...
– 1935 as "outer office secretary" - Come and Get ItCome and Get It (film)Come and Get It is a 1936 American drama film directed by Howard Hawks and William Wyler. The screenplay by Jane Murfin and Jules Furthman is based on the 1935 novel of the same title by Edna Ferber.-Plot:...
– 1936 – as "Tony Schwerke" - [The Affairs of Cappy Ricks – 1937 – as "Waldo Bottomley, Jr."
- Hoosier Schoolboy – 1937 – as "Jack Matthews. Jr."
- Dead EndDead EndDead End is a 1937 crime drama film. It is an adaptation of the Sidney Kingsley 1935 Broadway play of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, and Sylvia Sidney...
– 1937 – as "well-dressed man" - The Goldwyn FolliesThe Goldwyn FolliesThe Goldwyn Follies is a 1938 Technicolor film written by Ben Hecht, Sid Kuller, Sam Perrin and Arthur Phillips, with music by George Gershwin, Vernon Duke, and Ray Golden, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Some sources credit Kurt Weill as one of the composers, but this is apparently incorrect...
– 1938 – as "assistant director"
International Tennis Hall of Fame
Shields was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of FameInternational Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
in 1964.
Career highlights
- CincinnatiCincinnati MastersThe Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
Singles Champion, 1930 - US Open Singles finalist, 1930
- US Open Mixed doubles finalist, 1930
- WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
Singles finalist, 1931 - US Open Doubles finalist, 1933
- United States Davis Cup team member 1931–32, 1934