Frank Parker (tennis)
1937, 1948 ) |
Frank Andrew Parker (born Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski, January 31, 1916 – July 24, 1997) was an amateur & later professional American male tennis player of Polish immigrant parents who was active in the 1930s and 1940s. He won four Grand Slam singles titles as well as three doubles titles.
Early life
Parker was born on January 31, 1916, in Milwaukee as Franciszek Andrzej Pajkowski and had three brothers and a sister.
Career
Parker is one of the few Americans to win both the French Championships (1948, 1949) and the U.S. Championships (1944, 1945).[a][10]
Parker became the singles champion at
Writing about Parker in his 1949 autobiography,
Parker took part in the 1968 US Open at the age of 52, becoming the oldest player to compete in the US Open men's singles.[14] He also had the longest span in Grand Slam men's singles history (36 years from his first appearance at the U.S. Championships in 1932 to his last appearance in 1968).[15]
Between 1937 and 1948, Parker took part in seven
In October 1949, Parker signed a one-year contract with Bobby Riggs to become a professional tennis player.[18]
Parker was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1960.
Parker was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1966 and into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.[19]
Personal life
On March 17, 1938, Parker married Audrey Beasley who previously divorced Parker's coach Mercer Beasley.[4][20] She became his adviser and tailored his tennis wardrobe.[4] His wife died in 1971, and in 1979, Parker retired from his position of salesman for a corrugated box company.[3][4]
Grand Slam finals
Singles (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1942 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Ted Schroeder | 6–8, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 2–6 |
Win | 1944 | U.S. Championships | Grass | William Talbert |
6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Win | 1945 | U.S. Championships | Grass | William Talbert | 14–12, 6–1, 6–2 |
Loss | 1947 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Jack Kramer | 6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 0–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1948 | French Championships | Clay | Jaroslav Drobný | 6–4, 7–5, 5–7, 8–6 |
Win | 1949 | French Championships | Clay | Budge Patty | 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
Doubles (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1933 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Frank Shields | George Lott Lester Stoefen |
13–11, 7–9, 7–9, 3–6 |
Win | 1943 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Jack Kramer | David Freeman |
7–5, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1 |
Loss | 1948 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Ted Schroeder | Gardnar Mulloy Bill Talbert |
6–1, 7–9, 3–6, 6–3, 7–9 |
Win | 1949 | French Championships | Clay | Pancho Gonzales | Eustace Fannin Eric Sturgess |
6–3, 8–6, 5–7, 6–3 |
Win | 1949 | Wimbledon | Grass | Pancho Gonzales | Gardnar Mulloy Ted Schroeder |
6–4, 6–4, 6–2 |
Performance timeline
Parker joined the professional tennis circuit in 1949 and as a consequence was banned from competing in the amateur Grand Slams until the start of the Open Era.
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
(A*) 1-set matches in preliminary rounds.
1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962-1967 | 1968 | SR | W–L | Win % | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Slam tournaments | 4 / 24 | 86–20 | 81.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not held | A | A | A | A | Not eligible | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |||||||||||||||||||
French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not held | A | A | W | W | Not eligible | A | 2 / 2 | 12–0 | 100 | |||||||||||||||||||
Wimbledon
|
A | A | A | A | A | SF | A | A | Not held | A | A | 4R | QF | Not eligible | A | 0 / 3 | 12–3 | 80.0 | |||||||||||||||||||
US Open | 3R | 3R | QF | 4R | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | QF | QF | F | QF | W | W | QF | F | QF | SF | Not eligible | 2R | 2 / 19 | 62–17 | 78.5 | ||||||||||||||
Pro Slam tournaments | 0 / 9 | 3–13 | 18.8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Pro | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | 5th | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | QF | A* | A | NH | 0 / 9 | 3–13 | 18.8 |
French Pro | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | Not held | A | NH | A | A | A | A | A | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |||||||||||||||||
Wembley Pro
|
NH | NH | A | A | NH | A | NH | A | Not held | A | A | A | A | A | NH | NH | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||||||||||
Win–loss | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 10–2 | 2-1 | 3-1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 12–2 | 14–2 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0-1 | 4 / 33 | 89–33 | 73.0 |
Notes
- Don McNeill (1939-1940), Tony Trabert (1953-1954) and Andre Agassi(1994, 1999).
References
- ^ a b "Frank Parker: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. TennismemSL. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 426.
- ^ a b c Kenan Heise (July 25, 1997). "Wimbledon Doubles Titlist Frank Parker". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ a b c d Richard Goldstein (July 28, 1997). "Frank Parker, U.S. Tennis Champion, 81". The New York Times.
- ^ "Mercer Beasley". Sports Illustrated. July 29, 1957.
- ^ "Frank Parker Wins National Boys' Tennis Title". The Milwaukee Journal. August 16, 1931.
- ^ "Frankie Parker Seen As Future Davis Cup Hope". Berkeley Daily Gazette. July 7, 1933.
- ^ "Parker Beats Mako for National Clay Court Title". The Milwaukee Journal. July 10, 1933. p. 4.
- ^ "Polish Youth Tennis Champ". Spokane Daily Chronicle. July 10, 1933. p. 11.
- ^ "Frank Parker Wins National Tennis Title". The Milwaukee Journal. September 5, 1944.
- ^ Tennis Is My Racket, by Bobby Riggs, New York, 1949, page 58.
- ^ The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979), Jack Kramer with Frank Deford, page 48
- ^ "Frank Parker". www.tennis.co.nf.
- ^ "Frank Parker, Early Tennis Professional, Dies at Age 81". Los Angeles Times. July 26, 1997.
- ^ "Grand Slam Tennis Statistics". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- ^ "Critics Agree That Frank Parker Exhibited Nearly Perfect Tennis". The Milwaukee Journal. July 28, 1937.
- ^ "Davis Cup – Player profile". International Tennis Federation (ITF).
- ^ "Frank Parker Abandons Amateur Tennis Career". Star-News. October 17, 1949.
- ^ "Inductees – Frank Parker". National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.
- ^ "Net Start, Ex-Wife Of Coach, Married". Berkeley Daily Gazette. March 17, 1938. p. 9.
Sources
- Tennis Is My Racket, by Bobby Riggs, New York, 1949
- The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis, Jack Kramer with Frank Deford, New York, 1979
- How to Play Tennis, by Mercer Beasley, 1935
- Frank Parker: Champion in the Golden Age of Tennis, by Cynthia Beardsley, 2002