General William Augustus (Bill)
Larned
Male
United States of America
1872-12-30
Summit, New Jersey, United States of America
1926-12-16
New York, United States of America


About

Larned was born and raised in Summit, New Jersey on the estate of his father, William Zebedee Larned. Larned Road in Summit honors both father and son. He came from a family that could trace its American roots to shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower. He was the eldest child of a wealthy lawyer and his wife.

In 1890 he came to Cornell University to study mechanical engineering. He first gained fame in his junior year, when he became the first (and to this day, the only) Cornellian to win the intercollegiate tennis championship.

An all-around athlete, Larned captained the St. Nicholas ice hockey team in 1896-97 and was also a fine horseman, golfer, and rifle shot. He invented the steel-framed racquet in 1922 and founded a company to manufacture it.

As one of the "Big Three of the U.S. men's championship", Larned won the title seven times, as did Richard Sears before him and Bill Tilden after. When he won the last of those prestigious championships, he was 38, establishing himself as the oldest man to realize that significant feat.

With ground strokes that whistled down the line and crosscourt, and an attitude which left no room for compromise, Bill Larned remained at or near the top of American tennis for two decades, capturing seven U.S. National Singles titles early in the twentieth century. While his forehand was the stroke that made him a champion, he was formidable off both sides, and an obstinate competitor.

Larned was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team in 1902-03, 1905, 1908–09 and 1911–12. Larned achieved a career-high U.S. ranking of No. 1.
He twice participated in the Wimbledon Championships, in 1896 and 1905, but could not match his success at home, losing on both occasions in the quarterfinals.

Larned was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956. Buried at Green Wood cemetary in Brooklyn



Media


Archive statistics 1890 - 1921
28
298
222


Tournament wins 1911 - US Open (Grandslam)
1910 - US Open (Grandslam)
1909 - US Open (Grandslam)
1908 - US Open (Grandslam)
1907 - US Open (Grandslam)
1907 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1907 - Middle States Championships (Amateur)
1906 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1903 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1902 - US Open (Grandslam)
1901 - US Open (Grandslam)
1901 - Canadian International Championships ()
1897 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1897 - Middle States Championships (Amateur)
1896 - Norwood Park Lawn Tennis Cup (Amateur)
1895 - Canadian International Championships ()
1895 - Middle States Championships (Amateur)
1895 - Seabright Invitational (Amateur)
1895 - Norwood Park Lawn Tennis Cup (Amateur)
1895 - Southampton Invitation (Long Island) (Amateur)
1895 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1894 - Southampton Invitation (Long Island) (Amateur)
1894 - Seabright Invitational (Amateur)
1894 - Longwood Bowl (Amateur)
1894 - Middle States Championships (Amateur)
1893 - Southampton Invitation (Long Island) (Amateur)
1892 - Intercollegiate Championships (Amateur)
1891 - Montclair (Amateur)


Tournaments US Open - 1921 US Open - 1914 US Open - 1913 US Open - 1912 US Open - 1911 Davis Cup - Final - 1911 Davis Cup - Challenge Round - 1911 US Open - 1910 US Open - 1909 Davis Cup - Final - 1909 Bergen County - 1909 US Open - 1908 Middle States Championships - 1908 Davis Cup - Final - 1908 US Open - 1907 Longwood Bowl - 1907 Middle States Championships - 1907 US Open - 1906 Longwood Bowl - 1906 Wimbledon - 1905 US Open - 1905 Queens Club Tournament - 1905 Davis Cup - Final - 1905 Davis Cup - Challenge Round - 1905 US Open - 1904 US Open - 1903 Longwood Bowl - 1903 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1903 Nahant Invitation Tournament - 1903 Davis Cup - Final - 1903 US Open - 1902 Canadian International Championships - 1902 Longwood Bowl - 1902 Davis Cup - Final - 1902 US Open - 1901 Canadian International Championships - 1901 US Open - 1900 Canadian International Championships - 1900 Middle States Championships - 1900 US Open - 1899 Longwood Bowl - 1899 Middle States Championships - 1899 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1899 Longwood Bowl - 1898 US Open - 1897 Longwood Bowl - 1897 Middle States Championships - 1897 Wimbledon - 1896 US Open - 1896 Longwood Bowl - 1896 Middle States Championships - 1896 Irish Championships - 1896 Queens Club Tournament - 1896 West of England Championships - 1896 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1896 Middlesex Championships - 1896 Blackheath - 1896 Fitzwilliam Plate - 1896 Fitzwilliam Purse - 1896 Norwood Park Lawn Tennis Cup - 1896 Wyandot Lawn Tennis Club - 1896 US Open - 1895 Canadian International Championships - 1895 Longwood Bowl - 1895 Middle States Championships - 1895 New England Championships - 1895 Seabright Invitational - 1895 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1895 West Newton - 1895 Tuxedo Tournament - 1895 Norwood Park Lawn Tennis Cup - 1895 Newton T.C. Invitation amateur Indoor Tournament - 1895 US Open - 1894 Longwood Bowl - 1894 Middle States Championships - 1894 Seabright Invitational - 1894 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1894 Norwood Park Lawn Tennis Cup - 1894 US Open - 1893 Longwood Bowl - 1893 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1893 Narragansett - 1893 Intercollegiate Championships - 1893 West Newton - 1893 Tuxedo Tournament - 1893 US Open - 1892 Middle States Championships - 1892 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1892 Intercollegiate Championships - 1892 Tuxedo Tournament - 1892 US Open - 1891 Middle States Championships - 1891 New Jersey State Championships - 1891 Montclair - 1891 Intercollegiate Championships - 1891 New Jersey State Championships - 1890

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