General John Alfred Thomas
Horn
Male
Ireland
1931-11-06
Plaistow, London, England
2001-08-26
Dublin, Ireland


About

From The Irish Times, 29 August 2001:

Obituary

John Horn, arguably Ireland’s first known professional tennis coach, has died at the age of 69. He enjoyed a huge influence on generations of Irish tennis players from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. Born in London on November 6th, 1931, Horn was an outstanding prospect as a junior player, a fact illustrated by his back-to-back successes at Junior Wimbledon in 1948 and 1949. Despite winning a plethora of titles at local level, he never quite fulfilled that potential and in the mid 1950s he came to Ireland, foregoing a playing career for that of coaching.

Horn was widely sought after by both clubs and individuals and coached at two of the top tennis schools of that era, Gormanston and Our Lady’s, Rathnew. He coached most of the top of Irish players before the American College scholarships lured a generation.

Horn was a very personable and easy-going character, noted for his constant good humour. He did not completely turn his back on playing: indeed he represented Ireland at veterans’ level and was a formidable doubles player. A younger generation would have recalled his sharp and incisive anaylsis as part of RTE television’s Wimbledon commentary. His quiet voice was a reminder of byegone summers.



Media


Archive statistics 1949 - 1967
24
160
100


Tournament wins 1967 - Slazenger Professional (Professional)
1956 - North of England Hardcourts (Open)
1955 - Moffat (Amateur)
1955 - Southport Hardcourts (Amateur)
1954 - Worcestershire Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Cheltenham (Amateur)
1953 - Worcestershire Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Durham County Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Moseley (Amateur)
1953 - Framlingham (Amateur)
1953 - Falmouth (Amateur)
1953 - Winchester (Amateur)
1953 - Glamorgan (Amateur)
1953 - Nice LTC Winter Cup (Amateur)
1953 - Tunbridge Wells (Open)
1952 - Lee-on-Solent (Open)
1952 - Budleigh Salterton (Amateur)
1952 - Falmouth (Amateur)
1952 - Herga Club (Amateur)
1952 - Harpenden (Amateur)
1952 - Worcestershire Championships (Amateur)
1951 - Falmouth (Amateur)
1950 - Cromer Covered Courts (Amateur)
1949 - Buxton (Amateur)


Tournaments Slazenger Professional - 1967 Slazenger Professional - 1966 Slazenger Professional - 1961 Wembley Professional Championships - 1959 Slazenger Professional - 1959 Slazenger Professional - 1957 Wimbledon - 1956 North of England Hardcourts - 1956 Slazenger Professional - 1956 Guildford Hardcourts - 1956 Wimbledon - 1955 Moffat - 1955 Southport Hardcourts - 1955 Cheltenham - 1954 West of England Championships - 1954 Northumberland Championships - 1954 British Covered Court Championships - 1954 International Club Matches - GBR - 1954 Winchester - 1954 Surrey - 1954 Glasgow Exhibition - 1954 Worcestershire Championships - 1954 Wimbledon - 1953 Cannes Carlton - 1953 Cheltenham - 1953 West of England Championships - 1953 Championships of Wales - 1953 Cannes Gallia - 1953 San Remo - 1953 South of England Championships - 1953 Menton - 1953 Glamorgan - 1953 Durham County Championships - 1953 Tunbridge Wells - 1953 Winchester - 1953 Surrey - 1953 Sutton Coldfield - 1953 Moseley - 1953 Worcestershire Championships - 1953 Brussels Cup - 1953 Falmouth - 1953 Nice LTC Winter Cup - 1953 Framlingham - 1953 Wimbledon - 1952 British Hard Court Championships - 1952 Kent Championships - 1952 Surrey Championships - 1952 Essex Championships - 1952 British Covered Court Championships - 1952 Palace Hotel - 1952 Herga Club - 1952 East of England Championships - 1952 Cumberland Hard Courts - 1952 London Hard Courts - 1952 Lee-on-Solent - 1952 Budleigh Salterton - 1952 Surrey - 1952 Sutton Coldfield - 1952 Harrogate Hard Courts - 1952 Worcestershire Championships - 1952 Carmarthenshire Championships - 1952 Bedford - 1952 Falmouth - 1952 Harpenden - 1952 Wimbledon - 1951 Roland Garros - 1951 Queens Club Tournament - 1951 Cumberland Hard Courts - 1951 Surrey - 1951 Shirley Park - 1951 Falmouth - 1951 Southport Hardcourts - 1951 Harpenden - 1951 Wimbledon - 1950 US Open - 1950 US Clay Courts - 1950 South of England Championships - 1950 Paddington - 1950 Asian Championships - 1950 Cumberland Hard Courts - 1950 Cromer Covered Courts - 1950 British Hard Court Championships - 1949 Kent Championships - 1949 North of England Championships - 1949 Essex Championships - 1949 Buxton - 1949 Budleigh Salterton - 1949

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