American tennis player
Beals Coleman Wright
(December 19, 1879 ? August 23, 1961) was an American
tennis
player who was active at the end of the 1890s and early 1900s. He won the singles title at the
1905 U.S. National Championships
. Wright was a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and the older brother of American tennis player
Irving Wright
.
[3]
[4]
Biography
[
edit
]
Beals was born in
Boston, Massachusetts
, on December 19, 1879, to
George Wright
, the shortstop for the
Cincinnati Red Stockings
and founder of the sporting goods store Wright & Ditson.
[5]
Beals was the brother of
Irving Wright
, the 1917 and 1918 U.S. Championship mixed doubles champion. Together they won the men's doubles title at the Canadian Tennis Championship four times (1902, 1903, 1904, 1905).
[6]
Beals was the nephew of baseball pioneer
Harry Wright
.
In 1899 Beals Wright traveled with his father to California where he played at the Delmonte Tennis Championship in
Monterey
. George Wright managed the team the same year he coached at Harvard. Two Harvard University players participated in the DelMonte Tournament-the first time east coast players took on California tennis champions.
[
citation needed
]
Wright played at the
1904 St. Louis Olympics
and won gold medals in both the singles and doubles competition.
[7]
He also won three consecutive singles titles (1904?1906) at the tournament now known as the
Cincinnati Masters
, and reached the doubles final (with Edgar Leonard) in 1904.
Wright won the
Canadian International Championships
, played in
Niagara-on-the-Lake
, in 1902, 1903 and 1904.
[6]
In 1902 he won the
Niagara International Tennis Tournament
, also played in Niagara-on-the-Lake, by defeating
Harold Hackett
in the final in five sets and the default of
Raymond Little
in the challenge round.
[8]
Wright's most important victory came in 1905 when he won the men's singles title at the
U.S. National Championships
by defeating reigning champion
Holcombe Ward
in the Challenge Round in straight sets 6?2, 6?1, 11?9.
[9]
In 1915 he was hit by an errant baseball during a baseball game.
[10]
In 1921 he was arrested following a car accident.
[11]
Beals Wright was inducted in the
International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1956. He died in
Alton, Illinois
, on August 23, 1961.
[2]
[3]
Playing style
[
edit
]
In their book
R.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903)
multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Lawrence Doherty described Wright's playing style:
Beals Wright is certainly the best in America at low volleys, and is very good overhead. His volleying is distinctly superior to his ground strokes, and his forehand somewhat stronger than his backhand. He has a good service, which he follows up to the net.
On Lawn Tennis
- 1903
[12]
Grand Slam finals
[
edit
]
Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)
[
edit
]
Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)
[
edit
]
Result
|
Year
|
Championship
|
Surface
|
Partner
|
Opponents
|
Score
|
Loss
|
1901
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Leo Ware
|
Dwight Davis
Holcombe Ward
|
3?6, 7?9, 1?6
|
Win
|
1904
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Holcombe Ward
|
Kreigh Collins
Raymond Little
|
1?6, 6?2, 3?6, 6?4, 6?1
|
Win
|
1905
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Holcombe Ward
|
Fred Alexander
Harold Hackett
|
6?4, 6?4, 6?1
|
Win
|
1906
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Holcombe Ward
|
Fred Alexander
Harold Hackett
|
6?3, 3?6, 6?3, 6?3
|
Loss
|
1907
|
Wimbledon
|
Grass
|
Karl Behr
|
Norman Brookes
Anthony Wilding
|
4?6, 4?6, 2?6
|
Loss
|
1908
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Raymond Little
|
Fred Alexander
Harold Hackett
|
1?6, 5?7, 2?6
|
Loss
|
1918
|
U.S. National Championships
|
Grass
|
Fred Alexander
|
Vincent Richards
Bill Tilden
|
3?6, 4?6, 6?3, 6?2, 2?6
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Beals Wright:Career match record"
.
thetennisbase.com
. Tennis Base
. Retrieved
November 3,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Hall of Famers - Beals Wright"
. 1 International Tennis Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
May 21,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"Beals C. Wright, 82, Former Tennis Star"
.
The New York Times
. August 24, 1961.
- ^
"Beals Wright"
.
Olympedia
. Retrieved
February 21,
2021
.
- ^
Baltzell, E. Digby (2013).
Sporting Gentlemen: Men's Tennis from the Age of Honor to the Cult of the Superstar
. Somerset, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 67.
ISBN
978-1412851800
.
- ^
a
b
"Wright Brothers Win at Tennis"
(PDF)
.
The New York Times
. July 13, 1902.
- ^
"Beals Wright Olympic Results"
.
sports-reference.com
. Archived from
the original
on February 1, 2014
. Retrieved
January 28,
2014
.
- ^
Ohnsorg, Roger W. (February 2011).
Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion
. Victoria, BC: Trafford On Demand Pub. p. 339.
ISBN
978-1-4269-4514-4
.
- ^
Collins, Bud (2010).
The Bud Collins History of Tennis
(2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. p. 456.
ISBN
978-0942257700
.
- ^
"Beals C. Wright Injured"
.
The New York Times
. July 25, 1915.
- ^
"Beals C. Wright Arrested. Ex-National Tennis Champion Bumps Motor Car And Carriage"
.
The New York Times
. June 21, 1921.
- ^
Doherty, R.F. (1903).
R.F. and H.L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis
(1st ed.). London: Lawn Tennis. p. 63.
External links
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