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General First nameDwight Filley
LastnameDavis sr
GenderMale
CountryUnited States of America
Date of birth1879-07-05
Place of birthPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date of death1945-11-28
Place of deathSt. Louis, Missouri, United States of America


About

He reached the All-Comers final for the Men's Singles title at the US Championships in 1898 and 1899. He then teamed up with Holcombe Ward and won the Men's Doubles title at the championships for three years in a row from 1899 to 1901. Davis and Ward were also Men's Doubles runners-up at Wimbledon in 1901. Davis also won the American intercollegiate singles championship of 1899 as a student at Harvard College.

In 1900 Davis developed the structure for, and donated a silver bowl to go to the winner of, a new international tennis competition designed by him and three others known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge, which was later renamed the Davis Cup in his honor. He was a member of the US team that won the first two competitions in 1900 and 1902, and was also the captain of the 1900 team.

He participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the second round of the singles tournament. In the doubles tournament he and his partner Ralph McKittrick lost in the quarter-finals.[2]

Davis was educated at Washington University Law School, though he was never a practicing attorney. He was, however, politically active in his home town of St. Louis and served as the city's public parks commissioner from 1911 to 1915. During his tenure, he expanded athletic facilities and created the first municipal tennis courts in the United States. He served President Calvin Coolidge as Assistant Secretary of War (1923?25) and as Secretary of War (1925?29). He then served as Governor General of the Philippines (1929?32) under Herbert Hoover. His first wife, Helen Brooks, whom he married in 1905, died in 1932.[3] He married Pauline Sabin in 1936. He wintered in Florida from 1933 until his death, living at Meridian Plantation, near Tallahassee.[4]

Davis died at his home in Washington, D.C. on November 28, 1945, after a six-month illness.[3][5]

Media


Archive statistics Career1895 - 1904
Tournament wins5
Matches95
Match wins66


Tournament wins 1904 - Louisiana Purchase amateur Championships (Amateur)
1900 - Massachusetts State Championships (Amateur)
1900 - Magnolia Tournament (Amateur)
1899 - Magnolia Tournament (Amateur)
1899 - Intercollegiate Championships (Amateur)


Tournaments Olympics, Olympic Games - 1904 World's Fair amateur Championships - 1904 Louisiana Purchase amateur Championships - 1904 US Open - 1902 Longwood Bowl - 1902 US Open - 1901 Irish Championships - 1901 Kent Championships - 1901 US Open - 1900 Middle States Championships - 1900 Massachusetts State Championships - 1900 Davis Cup - Final - 1900 Magnolia Tournament - 1900 US Open - 1899 Longwood Bowl - 1899 Middle States Championships - 1899 Massachusetts State Championships - 1899 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1899 Magnolia Tournament - 1899 Intercollegiate Championships - 1899 US Open - 1898 US Open - 1897 Canadian International Championships - 1897 Longwood Bowl - 1897 Middle States Championships - 1897 US Open - 1896 Longwood Bowl - 1896 New Hampshire Championships - 1896 Maine State Championships - 1896 Niagara International Tournament - 1896 Wentworth Invitation - 1896 Buffalo - 1896 Toronto City Championships - 1896 US Open - 1895 Wentworth Invitation - 1895