John Albert Kramer was an American
tennisTennis 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 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the
fatherA father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours. He was a relentless advocate for the establishment of Open Tennis between amateur and professional players. Open Tennis lost by five votes in 1960, but became a reality in 1968. In 1970, he created the Mens Grand Prix points system. In 1972, he helped found the
Association of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) with
Donald DellDonald Dell is an attorney and was a professional tennis player, U.S. Davis Cup captain, and administrator. Dell was one of the first professional sports agents, having represented professional tennis players Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl during pro tennis' golden age...
and
Cliff DrysdaleCliff Drysdale is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed World Championship Tennis group...
, and was the first
Executive DirectorExecutive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
. He was unpaid at his request. In that role, he was the leader of an ATP boycott of Wimbledon in 1973, for the banning of
Nikola PilićNikola "Niki" Pilić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight.-Biography:...
from the tournament. Tall and slim, he was the first world-class player to play "the Big Game", a consistent serve-and-volley game, in which he came to the net behind all of his serves, including the second serve. He was particularly known for his powerful serve and forehand, as well as his ability to play "percentage tennis", which he learned from Cliff Roche, a retired Railroad Engineer, at the
Los Angeles Tennis ClubThe Los Angeles Tennis Club is a private tennis club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue. It is the home of the Southern California Championships....
(LATC). This strategy maximized his efforts on certain points and in certain games during the course of a match to increase his chances of winning. The key was to hold serve at all costs.
John Albert Kramer was an American
tennisTennis 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 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the
fatherA father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours. He was a relentless advocate for the establishment of Open Tennis between amateur and professional players. Open Tennis lost by five votes in 1960, but became a reality in 1968. In 1970, he created the Mens Grand Prix points system. In 1972, he helped found the
Association of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) with
Donald DellDonald Dell is an attorney and was a professional tennis player, U.S. Davis Cup captain, and administrator. Dell was one of the first professional sports agents, having represented professional tennis players Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl during pro tennis' golden age...
and
Cliff DrysdaleCliff Drysdale is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed World Championship Tennis group...
, and was the first
Executive DirectorExecutive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
. He was unpaid at his request. In that role, he was the leader of an ATP boycott of Wimbledon in 1973, for the banning of
Nikola PilićNikola "Niki" Pilić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia. He was one of the Handsome Eight.-Biography:...
from the tournament. Tall and slim, he was the first world-class player to play "the Big Game", a consistent serve-and-volley game, in which he came to the net behind all of his serves, including the second serve. He was particularly known for his powerful serve and forehand, as well as his ability to play "percentage tennis", which he learned from Cliff Roche, a retired Railroad Engineer, at the
Los Angeles Tennis ClubThe Los Angeles Tennis Club is a private tennis club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue. It is the home of the Southern California Championships....
(LATC). This strategy maximized his efforts on certain points and in certain games during the course of a match to increase his chances of winning. The key was to hold serve at all costs.
Personal life
Kramer was the son of a blue-collar railroad worker for the Union Pacific railroad. As a boy he was a fine all-round athlete, particularly in basketball and tennis. When he was 13, the family moved to
San BernardinoSan Bernardino, California is a large city in the Inland Empire Metropolitan Area of Southern California.San Bernardino may also refer to:-Landforms:*San Bernardino , a torrent that flows through the Italian province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and after seeing
Ellsworth VinesHenry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
, then the world's best player, play a match. Kramer decided to concentrate on tennis.
In 1944, he married Gloria, and they had five sons: Bob, David, John, Michael, and Ron. They lived in Bel Air, California.
He invested in the Professional Tennis Tour, two golf courses at the Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills, CA, and race horses. He was extremely successful. Starting in 1948, the Jack Kramer Autograph tennis racket from Wilson Sporting Goods became the most popular selling racket of all time, over 35 years. (Wilson Sporting Goods-1984)
Career
He began his tennis career by taking lessons from legendary teaching professional,
Dick SkeenDick Skeen was a U.S. professional tennis player. He was runner up to Fred Perry in the Men's Singles in the 1941 Professional Tennis Championships, and was ranked No. 2, behind Perry....
. Within a year, he was playing junior tournaments. Because of his obvious ability and his family's lack of money, he came under the guidance of Perry T. Jones. at the
Los Angeles Tennis ClubThe Los Angeles Tennis Club is a private tennis club opened in 1920 at 5851 Clinton Street, between Wilcox and Rossmore, one block south of Melrose Avenue. It is the home of the Southern California Championships....
(LATC). Jones was the President of the Southern California Tennis Association (SCTA). Kramer traveled many hours each day from his home in
Montebello, CaliforniaMontebello is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the southwestern part of the San Gabriel Valley. It is located on of land just east of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities, and the city is a member of the Gateway Cities Council of...
, to play tennis at the LATC and the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. He was able to play against such great players as
Ellsworth VinesHenry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
,
Bobby RiggsRobert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, and
Bill TildenWilliam Tatem Tilden II , nicknamed "Big Bill," is often considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. An American tennis player who was the World No. 1 player for seven years, he won 14 Majors including ten Grand Slams and four Pro Slams. Bill Tilden dominated the world of...
. He was the National Boys' Champion in 1936, and the winner of the 1938 National Juniors Interscholastics. He competed occasionally in men's tournaments on grass courts in the East. He won matches against nationally ranked men such as
Elwood CookeElwood Thomas Cooke was an outstanding amateur tennis player in the 1930s and 1940s....
. He also played with high school teammate, George Richards, who later was nationally ranked. Lost tournaments to
Arthur MarxArthur Julius Marx was an American author, a former ranked amateur tennis player, and son of entertainer Groucho Marx and his first wife, Ruth Johnson....
, son of Groucho, in the Juniors.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Kramer served in the
United States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
, but continued to win prizes in the United States, since the war had effectively put an end to international tennis. He turned professional to play
Bobby RiggsRobert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
on December 26, 1947 at Madison Square Garden, after winning Wimbledon and the United States Championships in 1947. 15,114 people showed up for the match in one of the worst snow storms in New York history to watch Riggs win. Kramer went on to win the tour with Riggs and became the top professional for the next six years. He retired in 1954 to promote his Pro Tour.
In his 1979 autobiography, The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis, Kramer calls
Helen Wills MoodyHelen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
the best women's tennis player that he ever saw. "She was the champion of the world when I was 15 and played her -- she won seven Forest Hills and eight
WimbledonsThe 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...
.... I beat her, but Helen played a good game." Bobby Riggs and Kramer convinced
Gussie MoranGertrude "Gussie" Agusta Moran is a retired American female tennis player who was active in the 1950s...
and
Pauline BetzPauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player.She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody.-Early life:Betz attended Los Angeles High...
to turn professional and play matches prior to their main contest.
This is how he ranked the best possessors of tennis shots as of 1979:
- First Serve: Ellsworth Vines
Henry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
had the finest serve, along with Pancho GonzalesRicardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...
- Second Serve: John Newcombe
John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...
by far
- Backhand: Donald Budge, Frank Kovacs
Frank Kovacs was an American tennis player in the mid-century; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics but was a good enough player to be each year from 1940 to 1951 one of the best five in the world. He stood 6 ft 4 inches tall and had a backhand as good as...
, and Ken RosewallKenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...
were the best
- Return Of Serve: Don Budge
John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional...
the best
- Forehand Volley: Wilmer Allison
Wilmer Lawson Allison, Jr. was an American amateur tennis champion of the 1930s...
and Budge PattyJohn "Budge" Edward Patty was an American male tennis player. He was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States.1950 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles...
.
- Backhand Volley: Close among Don Budge
John Donald Budge was an American tennis champion who was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional...
, Frank SedgmanFrank Arthur Sedgman, born 29 October 1927, in Mont Albert, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, was a tennis player who was arguably the world No.1 in 1952. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Sedgman in his list of the 21...
, and Ken RosewallKenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...
, with Sedgman having the edge
- Overhead: Ted Schroeder
Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American player in 1942 and the No. 2 for 4 consecutive years, 1946 through 1949...
, the best
- Lob: Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, of course
- Half-Volley: Pancho Gonzales
Ricardo Alonso González , generally known as Richard "Pancho" Gonzales was an American tennis player. He was the world no. 1 professional tennis player for an unequalled eight years in the 1950s and early 1960s...
and Ken RosewallKenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...
- Forehand: Pancho Segura
Pancho Segura, born Francisco Olegario Segura , was a leading tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, both as an amateur and as a professional. In 1950 and 1952, as a professional, he was the World Co-No. 1 player...
and Ellsworth VinesHenry Ellsworth Vines, Jr. was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 for four years in 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1937.-Biography:...
Kramer's serve and forehand were equal to the best players in the game, but he would not talk about his own strokes.
Kramer attended
Rollins CollegeRollins College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Winter Park, Florida , along the shores of Lake Virginia....
in
Winter Park, FloridaWinter Park is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,090 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006 estimates, the city had a population of 28,083. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and he played on the tennis team in the 1941 and 1942 seasons.
Pauline BetzPauline May Betz Addie was an American professional tennis player.She won five Grand Slam singles titles and was the runner-up on three other occasions. Jack Kramer has called her the second best female tennis player he ever saw, behind Helen Wills Moody.-Early life:Betz attended Los Angeles High...
was there at the same time.
Kramer retired from competitive tennis permanently in 1954 due to arthritic back problems. He worked for the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as a commentator on the
Wimbledon ChampionshipsThe 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...
during the 1960s, a role in which he was very popular because of his intimate off-court knowledge of most of the players. He was paired with
Dan MaskellDaniel "Dan" Maskell was an English tennis player, who later became even better known as a radio and television commentator on the game, and was known as the BBC's "voice of tennis"....
in the commentators booth. However, he was dropped by the BBC in 1973 because of his role in the boycott of the Championships by the professional players.
The following tennis notables worked for Kramer on his Pro Tour:
John GardnerJohn Champlin Gardner, Jr. was an American novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. He is perhaps most noted for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth from the monster's point of view....
, Olen Parks,
Vic Braden-Biography:Braden was one of eight children born to Victor and Mildred Braden ; both were natives of Claiborne County, Tennessee....
, and Myron Mc Namara.
Death
Jack Kramer died from a soft tissue
cancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on September 12, 2009 at his home in Bel Air,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Awards and honors
Kramer was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of FameThe 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 IslandNewport 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 1968. The Los Angeles Tennis Open was known for several years during the 1980s as the "Jack Kramer Open" -- the only World Tennis Tour event to be named for a player.
Grand Slam record
Wimbledon
- Singles champion: 1947
- Men's Doubles champion: 1946, 1947
U.S. Championships
- Singles champion: 1946, 1947
- Singles runner-up: 1943
- Men's Doubles champion: 1940, 1941, 1943, 1947
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1941
- Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1940
Grand Slam singles finals: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome |
Year |
Championship |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| Runner-up |
1943 |
U.S. ChampionshipsThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
(1) |
Grass |
 United States Joseph HuntJoseph "Joe" Raphael Hunt was a champion American tennis player of the late 1930s and early 1940s from Southern California. He became a lieutenant in the U.S...
|
6–3, 6–8, 10–8, 6–0 |
| Winner |
1946 |
U.S. Championships (2) |
Grass |
United States Tom Brown Thomas P. "Tom" Brown, Jr. was an American tennis player. He died at the age of 89. In the 1940s he was one of the best amateur players in the world, losing to Jack Kramer in the finals of both the U.S. Open in 1946 and Wimbledon in 1947...
|
9–7, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Winner |
1947 |
Wimbledon |
Grass |
United States Tom Brown |
6–1, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner |
1947 |
U.S. Championships (3) |
Grass |
United States Frank Parker ----Frank "Frankie" Andrew Parker was an American male tennis player. He was coached by Mercer Beasley....
|
4–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–0, 6–3 |
Sources
- The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979), Jack Kramer with Frank Deford (ISBN 0-399-12336-9)
- Tennis is my Racket (1949), Bobby Riggs
- Man with a Racket (1959), Pancho Gonzales
- Big Bill Tilden, The Triumph and the Tragedy (1979), Frank Deford
- Tennis Players are Made, not Born (1976), Dick Skeen
- Little Pancho (2009), Caroline Seebohm
- The Factory System (August 1950), Perry T. Jones in Life Magazine
- Mental Tennis (1994), Vic Braden
- As It Was (2009), Gardnar Mulloy
- Los Angeles Tennis Club
- Jack Kramer Club
- Never Make the First Offer (2009), Donald Dell
External links