General Constantine Gene (Gene)
Mako
Male
United States of America
1916-01-24
Budapest, Hungary
2013-06-14
Los Angeles, Ca., United States of America


About

His father, Bartholomew Mako graduated from the Budapest Academy of Fine ArtsUniversity of Fine Arts Budapest
The University of Fine Arts Budapest is the central Hungary art school, in Budapest, Andr?ssy Avenue. It was founded in 1871 as Hungarian Royal Drawing School and is called University of Fine Arts since 2001....
in 1913. After World War I, he left HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
with his wife and only son traveling first to ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
and stopping for three years in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of the R?o de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent....
, ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
, before settling in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
.


Tennis champion
In 1934 he won the NCAA singles and the doubles championships while playing for the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
where he lettered at USC for three years (1934-36-37).

Mako was especially successful as a doubles player with his partner and friend Don BudgeDon Budge
John Donald Budge was an United States tennis champion who was a World number one male tennis player rankings player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional....
. They competed in 7 Grand Slam finals, 4 of which they won. In 1936 Gene Mako and Alice MarbleAlice Marble
Alice Marble was a World No. 1 United States tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam championships from 1936 through 1940. Five of those championships were in singles, six were in women\'s doubles, and seven were in mixed doubles....
won the finals at the US Mixed Doubles ChampionshipsU.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open tennis tournament is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, first contested in 1881. The tournament is chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament each year....
against Sarah Palfrey and Don Budge (6:3 and 6:2).

From 1935 to 1938 Mako was member of the United States Davis Cup team, which this team won in 1937 (against the United KingdomGreat Britain Davis Cup team
The Great Britain Davis Cup team represents the United Kingdom in Davis Cup tennis competition and is controlled by the Lawn Tennis Association....
) and in 1938 (against AustraliaAustralia Davis Cup team
The Australian Davis Cup team is the second most successful team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted title on 23 separate occasions, second behind the United States Davis Cup team with 32....
).

Mako was in the U.S. Top Ten in 1937 and 1938 (No. 3), and No. 9 in the world ranking of 1938. That year he reached the U.S. final at Forest HillsForest Hills
Forest Hills may refer to:...
versus his double partner, Don BudgeDon Budge
John Donald Budge was an United States tennis champion who was a World number one male tennis player rankings player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional....
, who was in pursuit of the first Grand Slam. Unseeded, Mako reached his only major singles final on victories over sixth-seed Frank Kovacs and the third and first foreign seeds, Franjo Puncec and John Bromwich.

During the Second World War Mako served on the United States NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
. He continued to play tennis at that time. He also played professional basketball while stationed in NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying Counties of England in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and with Suffolk to the south....
, VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the \"Old Dominion\" and sometimes as \"Mother of Presidents\", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
.

In 1973 Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of FameInternational Tennis Hall of Fame
File:ITHF.jpgThe International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit tennis hall of fame and museum at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island, USA....
. In 1999 he was elected to the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private university, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park, Los Angeles, California neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, California, United States....
(USC) Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mako has a long-time interest in art as evidenced by his Gene Mako Galleries, Los Angeles, CA



Media


Archive statistics 1931 - 1954
9
215
131


Tournament wins 1939 - Colorado Championship (Amateur)
1934 - Indiana State (Amateur)
1934 - Ambassador Hotel Invitation Tournament (Amateur)
1934 - Los Angeles County Championships (Amateur)
1934 - Intercollegiate Championships (Amateur)
1933 - Southern California Championship (Open)
1933 - Michigan State Championship (Open)
1933 - Ohio State Championships (Amateur)
1933 - Illinois State Championship (Open)


Tournaments US Pro Championships - 1954 US Pro Championships - 1950 US Pro Championships - 1946 California Professional Championships - 1946 US Pro Hardcourts - 1946 Tucson Pro Indoors - 1946 Southern California Pro Championships - 1946 New England Pro Championships - 1946 San Francisco Pros - 1946 US Pro Hardcourts - 1945 Santa Barbara Pro Invitational - 1945 US Pro Championships - 1943 US Open - 1941 Eastern Clay Court Championships - 1941 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1941 Seabright Invitational - 1941 Southern California Championship - 1941 Cincinnati - 1941 US Clay Courts - 1941 New York State Championships - 1941 Atlantic Coast - 1941 Triple A - 1941 Heart of America - 1941 US Open - 1939 Colorado Championship - 1939 Kentucky State Tournament - 1939 Longwood Bowl - 1939 Miami-Biltmore Tournament - 1939 Southern California Championship - 1939 Spring Lake Invitation Tournament - 1939 US Clay Courts - 1939 US International Indoor Championships - 1939 Dixie Championships - 1939 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1939 Florida State Championship - 1939 Palm Beach Invitation - 1939 Triple A - 1939 South Florida - 1939 Heart of America - 1939 Australian Open - 1938 Wimbledon - 1938 Roland Garros - 1938 US Open - 1938 Newport Casino - 1938 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1938 Sugar Bowl - 1938 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1938 Czechoslovakian International Championships - 1938 US vs. Australia exhibitions - 1938 Triangular Exhbitiion - 1938 Palm Springs - 1938 Beverly Hills - 1938 Wimbledon - 1937 US Open - 1937 Victorian Championships - 1937 Newport Casino - 1937 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1937 Queens Club Tournament - 1937 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1937 Wimbledon - 1936 US Open - 1936 Mason & Dixon Tournament - 1936 Newport Casino - 1936 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1936 United North and South tournament - 1936 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1936 Wimbledon - 1935 US Open - 1935 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1935 Palm Springs - 1935 Ojai Championships - 1935 US Open - 1934 US Clay Courts - 1934 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1934 Ambassador Hotel Invitation Tournament - 1934 Indiana State - 1934 Los Angeles County Championships - 1934 Eastern Intercollegiate Championships - 1934 US Open - 1933 Illinois State Championship - 1933 Michigan State Championship - 1933 Southern California Championship - 1933 US Clay Courts - 1933 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1933 Ohio State Championships - 1933 Los Angeles Metropolitan - 1933 Southern California Indoor Championships - 1933 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1932 California Mid-Winter - 1932 Northwestern Championships - 1932 San Marino - 1932 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1931

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