The amateur years
United States · born Cincinnati, 1918 · died 1999 · four times US doubles champion with Gardnar Mulloy
All playersBack to the rankings
8
US doubles and mixed titles, 1942 to 1948
2
US singles finals, 1944 and 1945
9-1
Davis Cup playing record
1954
Davis Cup won as captain, in Sydney
Born in Cincinnati on 4 September 1918, Talbert was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 10 and became one of the few diabetics to compete at the top level of sport. He was ranked in the US top ten from 1941 to 1954 and reached No. 3 in the world in 1949. He lost the US singles finals of 1944 and 1945 to Frank Parker, won the US doubles four times with Gardnar Mulloy and the mixed four years running with Margaret Osborne, and took the 1950 French doubles with his protégé Tony Trabert. He played Davis Cup from 1946 to 1953 and captained the United States from 1952 to 1957. Later he was tournament director of the US Open, an NBC commentator and the author of several books. He died in New York in 1999.
| Major singles finals lost | 2: US 1944, US 1945 |
|---|---|
| Other grass singles titles | 5: Newport 2 (1942, 1948); Southampton 2 (1945, 1949); Seabright (1945) |
| Major doubles titles | 4 doubles (US 4), 4 mixed (US 4) |
| US singles finals | 1944: lost to Frank Parker 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. 1945: lost to Parker 14-12, 6-1, 6-2 |
| US doubles partners | With Gardnar Mulloy: champions 1942, 1945, 1946 and 1948; finalists 1950 and 1953. Mixed with Margaret Osborne: champions 1943 to 1946; finalists 1948 and 1949 |
| Wimbledon | Singles quarter-final 1950; mixed doubles semi-final 1950 |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships | Singles champion 1944, 1945 and 1951 |
| Davis Cup | Played for the United States 1946 to 1953, record 9-1; captain 1952 to 1957, including the 1954 win over Australia in Sydney |
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Men's doubles | with Gardnar Mulloy |
| 1943 | Mixed doubles | with Margaret Osborne duPont |
| 1944 | Mixed doubles | with Margaret Osborne duPont |
| 1945 | Men's doubles | with Gardnar Mulloy |
| 1945 | Mixed doubles | with Margaret Osborne duPont |
| 1946 | Men's doubles | with Gardnar Mulloy |
| 1946 | Mixed doubles | with Margaret Osborne duPont |
| 1948 | Men's doubles | with Gardnar Mulloy |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1944 | Men's singles | |
| 1945 | Men's singles | |
| 1951 | Men's singles | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1942 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| 1948 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| Southampton (Meadow Club) | ||
| 1945 | Men's singles Southampton Invitational | |
| 1949 | Men's singles Southampton Invitational | |
| Seabright Invitational | ||
| 1945 | Men's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"Billy was the greatest doubles player we ever had."
The person behind the player.
Australia 1953
Before the tie with Belgium in Australia, a Melbourne newspaper portrayed the American players as nightclubbers more interested in gin rummy than tennis. Talbert denied it and pinned up a call in the locker room: "Let's go, boys. Let's show 'em." Australian bookmakers still made his team 3-1 outsiders for the final.
Source: TimeDavis Cup 1953 · v Belgium
After Vic Seixas lost his opening singles, Talbert, a 35-year-old outside the US top ten, left him out of the doubles and played alongside Tony Trabert himself. Time described him bounding all over the court. The pair won the point, Seixas recovered the next day and the United States won the tie 4-1.
Source: TimeSydney 1954
A year after the Belgian tie, Talbert's team beat Australia in Sydney to take the Davis Cup. It was the high point of a captaincy that had begun in 1952, and he had also played in that 1953 doubles beside his protégé Trabert. Talbert captained the United States until 1957.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameUS Championships 1943 to 1946
With Margaret Osborne he won the US mixed doubles four years running, from 1943 to 1946, and they reached two more finals in 1948 and 1949. In the same years he and Gardnar Mulloy won four US men's doubles titles, so that from 1942 to 1948 he collected eight national doubles titles.
Source: WikipediaNew York 1977
With Bruce Old he wrote The Game of Doubles in Tennis, published in 1977, and it became a best seller. It was one of several books he wrote on the game, alongside his work as a commentator for NBC Sports.
Source: WikipediaForest Hills to Flushing
As tournament director of the US Open from 1971 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1987, Talbert argued for the sudden-death tiebreak and helped move the championships from the grass of Forest Hills to Flushing Meadows. As a player he had reached two singles finals there, in 1944 and 1945.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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