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General First nameGeorge Allan
LastnameWorthington
GenderMale
CountryAustralia
Date of birth1928-10-10
Place of birthMarrickville, Sydney, Australia
Date of death1964-12-08
Place of deathWestminster, London, England


About

From The Times, 9 December 1964

Obituary – Mr George Worthington

Mr George Worthington, the All England Lawn Tennis Club coach, and coach of the British Davis Cup and Wightman Cup teams, died in a London hospital yesterday, after a long illness. He was 36. An Australian, he represented his country in the Davis Cup from 1950 to 1952 and in 1955 was a Wimbledon doubles semi-finalist with Mervyn Rose. He became a professional in 1955, when he was appointed coach to the All England Club.

Our lawn tennis correspondent writes: George Worthington’s strength lay in his character and gentle authority. Modest, quiet and with a sharp sense of humour, his responsibilities went far beyond the coaching of players and the laying of tactics. Few events in sport exert a greater strain on a man than a singles match in the Davis Cup. This was where Worthington showed his deep value as guide, friend and philosopher to every one of the players who passed through his hands and lived through the lonely fires of such a tense contest.

Worthington, indeed, was more than just a fine lawn tennis player who represented his native Australia at the highest level. He was a psychologist, smoothing away the cares of his men, making them fear neither defeat nor victory. Many and varied were the temperaments he had to deal with: for each he had his own, and often the correct, approach.

That Britain should reach so many semi-finals and finals of the European zone of the Davis Cup, and indeed become European Champions in 1963 for the first time in thirty years, was but a measure of the reward he deserved. Yet nothing stood higher than the affection and esteem in which he was held universally.

Media


Archive statistics Career1945 - 1965
Tournament wins42
Matches398
Match wins294


Tournament wins 1964 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1962 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1962 - Slazenger Professional (Professional)
1961 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1960 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1959 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1958 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1957 - Slazenger Professional (Professional)
1956 - British Professional Championships (Professional)
1955 - City of Perth (Open)
1955 - Harpenden (Amateur)
1954 - Central Western Plains (Amateur)
1954 - County of Northumberland (Aus) (Amateur)
1954 - City of Orange (Amateur)
1954 - Central Northern Championships (Amateur)
1954 - Wagga District Championships (Amateur)
1954 - Manly Seaside Tournament (Open)
1954 - County of Cumberland (Amateur)
1954 - Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney (Amateur)
1954 - New South Wales Hard Court Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Western District Championships ()
1953 - North Western Championships AUS ()
1953 - Kent Championships (Open)
1953 - New Zealand Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Guildford Hardcourts (Amateur)
1953 - Surrey Championships (Amateur)
1953 - Australian Capital Territory Championships (Amateur)
1951 - St. Joseph's Open (Amateur)
1951 - Sydney Metropolitan Hard Courts (Amateur)
1951 - Darling Downs (Amateur)
1951 - Central Northern Championships (Amateur)
1950 - New Zealand Championships (Amateur)
1950 - Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney (Amateur)
1950 - Colac Australia Day ()
1949 - East of England Championships (Open)
1949 - City of Perth (Open)
1948 - Central Northern Championships (Amateur)
1948 - Central Western Plains (Amateur)
1948 - Brisbane Exhibition (Amateur)
1948 - Sydney Metropolitan Hard Courts (Amateur)
1947 - North Western Championships AUS ()
1946 - Riverina ()


Tournaments Western Province - 1965 British Professional Championships - 1964 Slazenger Professional - 1964 British Professional Championships - 1962 Wembley Professional Championships - 1962 Slazenger Professional - 1962 British Professional Championships - 1961 Wembley Professional Championships - 1961 Scandinavian Professional Championships - 1961 British Professional Championships - 1960 Slazenger Professional - 1960 French Professional Championship - 1959 British Professional Championships - 1959 Wembley Professional Championships - 1959 Slazenger Professional - 1959 French Professional Championship - 1958 British Professional Championships - 1958 Wembley Professional Championships - 1958 Slazenger Professional - 1958 Wembley Professional Championships - 1957 Slazenger Professional - 1957 English Amateurs vs. Professionals - 1956 British Professional Championships - 1956 Wembley Professional Championships - 1956 Slazenger Professional - 1956 Australian Open - 1955 Wimbledon - 1955 Roland Garros - 1955 Queens Club Tournament - 1955 Italian International Championships - 1955 South African Championships - 1955 Essex Championships - 1955 Conde de Godo - 1955 International Club Matches - FRA - 1955 City of Perth - 1955 Florence International - 1955 Harpenden - 1955 Australian Open - 1954 Victorian Championships - 1954 New South Wales Championships - 1954 Queensland Championships - 1954 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1954 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1954 New South Wales Hard Court Championships - 1954 Manly Seaside Tournament - 1954 New South Wales vs. Victoria - 1954 County of Cumberland - 1954 County of Northumberland (Aus) - 1954 Wagga District Championships - 1954 Central Northern Championships - 1954 City of Orange - 1954 Central Western Plains - 1954 Wimbledon - 1953 Victorian Championships - 1953 New South Wales Championships - 1953 New Zealand Championships - 1953 Canadian International Championships - 1953 US Clay Courts - 1953 Western States Championships - 1953 Queens Club Tournament - 1953 International Championships of Egypt - Cairo - 1953 International Championships of Egypt-Alexandria - 1953 Championships of Berlin - 1953 Queensland Championships - 1953 Kent Championships - 1953 Surrey Championships - 1953 Washington City Championships - 1953 Australian Capital Territory Championships - 1953 Napoli - 1953 Guildford Hardcourts - 1953 North Western Championships AUS - 1953 Western District Championships - 1953 Australian Open - 1952 County of Cumberland - 1952 Australian Open - 1951 Victorian Championships - 1951 New South Wales Championships - 1951 US vs. Australia exhibitions - 1951 Darling Downs - 1951 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1951 New South Wales Hard Court Championships - 1951 Sydney Metropolitan Hard Courts - 1951 City of Perth - 1951 Eastern Suburbs Hard Court Championship - 1951 Central Northern Championships - 1951 Brisbane Exhibition - 1951 St. Joseph's Open - 1951 Australian Open - 1950 Wimbledon - 1950 Roland Garros - 1950 US Open - 1950 Victorian Championships - 1950 New South Wales Championships - 1950 New Zealand Championships - 1950 Queens Club Tournament - 1950 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1950 Darling Downs - 1950 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1950 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1950 Manly Seaside Tournament - 1950 County of Cumberland - 1950 Eastern Suburbs Hard Court Championship - 1950 Colac Australia Day - 1950 Australian Open - 1949 Wimbledon - 1949 US Open - 1949 Victorian Championships - 1949 New South Wales Championships - 1949 Queens Club Tournament - 1949 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1949 South African Championships - 1949 Queensland Championships - 1949 East of England Championships - 1949 Australia vs. South Africa team match - 1949 Australia vs. South Africa team match 2 - 1949 Bastad - 1949 City of Perth - 1949 Australian Open - 1948 Victorian Championships - 1948 New South Wales Championships - 1948 Queensland Championships - 1948 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1948 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1948 Tasmanian Championships - 1948 New South Wales Hard Court Championships - 1948 Sydney Metropolitan Hard Courts - 1948 Metropolitan Cricket (MCC ) Autumn Tournament - 1948 Central Northern Championships - 1948 Brisbane Exhibition - 1948 Central Western Plains - 1948 Australian Open - 1947 New South Wales Championships - 1947 Queensland Championships - 1947 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1947 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1947 New South Wales Hard Court Championships - 1947 Western Australia Championships - 1947 Central Northern Championships - 1947 North Western Championships AUS - 1947 Victorian Championships - 1946 New South Wales Championships - 1946 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1946 Sydney Metropolitan Hard Courts - 1946 Riverina - 1946 New South Wales Championships - 1945