Herbert Flam
Encyclopedia
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Herbert Flam (November 7, 1928 – November 25, 1980) was an American tennis
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.

Considered to be one of the best male Jewish tennis players in history, he was ranked World No. 5 by World Tennis Magazine in 1957.

Tennis career

Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, Flam's tennis success began in 1943, when he won the United States Lawn Tennis Association's
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...

 (USLTA) 15-year old boys singles championship.

In 1945, as a high school junior, he won both the USLTA interscholastic 18s singles and doubles (with Hugh Stewart) titles.

In 1946, he repeated as both singles and doubles (again, with Hugh Stewart) champions.

In 1948, while attending the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Flam was the school's top tennis player and reached the USLTA singles championships semifinals as an unseeded player, defeating the third and sixth seeds along the way.

In 1950, Flam was the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) single's and doubles (with Gene Garrett) champion. He led UCLA to its first-ever NCAA team championship

Flam then became the first Jewish player to advance to the final at the U.S. Championships, losing in five sets to Art Larsen
Art Larsen
Arthur David Larsen was an American male tennis player best remembered for his victory at the U.S. Championships in 1950 and for his eccentricities...

 in 1950.

The following year, he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The 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...

, losing to fellow American Jewish player 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...

. He was ranked World No. 6 in 1951. He also reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1952.

One of America's best players in the 1950s, Flam was ranked in the U.S. top 10 nine times in an 11-year period (1948–1958) and was ranked second three times (1950, 1956, and 1958). Although he served in the Navy in 1953 and 1954, Flam quickly returned to the top of his game, winning the U.S. Hardcourt Championship in 1955 and the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....

 in 1956.

In 1957, Flam reached the final at the French Championships, where he lost in three sets to Sven Davidson
Sven Davidson
Sven Davidson was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957...

. That year, he was ranked World No. 5 by World Tennis Magazine, his highest ranking ever.

During his career, Flam reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon three times and the quarterfinals at the U.S. Championships six times.

Davis Cup

As as a member of the U.S. Davis Cup
Davis 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...

 team from 1951 until 1957, Flam won 12 of the 14 matches he played, all of which were singles matches on grass.

Style of play

Flam was a fast and "very resourceful" player. According to both the 1959 United States Lawn Tennis Association
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...

 Yearbook and 1959 U.S. Championships program, Flam succeeded by being aggressive and exploiting his opponents' mistakes. Because of his playing style, he was often called a "retriever", but Flam resented the negative label.

Halls of Fame

The International Tennis Association elected Flam to the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

Flam was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....

 in 1992.

Flam was inducted into the University of California at Los Angeles Hall of Fame in 2006.

External links

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