Between the wars
United States · born New York, 1894 · died 1981 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion with Vincent Richards and Bill Tilden
All playersBack to the rankings
5
Major titles, all won on grass, 1924 to 1929
3
Major singles finals: Wimbledon 1923, US Championships 1928 and 1929
12-0
Sets won with Elizabeth Ryan in the 1927 Wimbledon mixed
1924
Olympic doubles gold in Paris with Vincent Richards
No. 4
World ranking in 1929, by A. Wallis Myers
Francis Townsend Hunter, known as Frank, was born in New York on 28 June 1894. At Cornell he captained the tennis team, won the university title in 1915 and 1916 and played ice hockey. In the First World War he served in the US Navy and was aboard Admiral Beatty's flagship when the German fleet surrendered.
He reached the Wimbledon singles final in 1923, losing to Bill Johnston, and the next year won the Wimbledon doubles and the Olympic doubles gold in Paris with Vincent Richards. In 1927 he won the Wimbledon and US doubles with Bill Tilden and the Wimbledon mixed with Elizabeth Ryan, and he played Davis Cup for the United States from 1927. He lost the US singles finals of 1928 to Henri Cochet and 1929 to Tilden, both in five sets, and won a second Wimbledon mixed title with Helen Wills in 1929.
Hunter was also a businessman. He published the Daily Press in White Plains, New York, turned professional with Tilden in January 1931 and reached the US Pro final in 1933. He co-founded 21 Brands, a wine and liquor importer, and was its president until 1963; he also ran coal mines in West Virginia. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1961 and died in Palm Beach, Florida, on 2 December 1981, aged 87.
| Wimbledon doubles finals | 1924 with Vincent Richards: beat Watson Washburn and R. Norris Williams 6-3, 3-6, 8-10, 8-6, 6-3. 1927 with Bill Tilden: beat Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet 1-6, 4-6, 8-6, 6-3, 6-4, after facing two match points at 4-5 in the third set |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon singles | 1923: lost the final to Bill Johnston 6-0, 6-3, 6-1. 1927: led Henri Cochet by two sets in the quarter-finals and lost 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3; Cochet came from two sets down in each of his last three matches to win the title |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1927 with Elizabeth Ryan: beat Leslie and Kathleen Godfree 8-6, 6-0 in the final, without losing a set in the event. 1929 with Helen Wills: beat Ian Collins and Joan Fry 6-1, 6-4 |
| US Championships | Doubles 1927 with Tilden: beat Bill Johnston and R. Norris Williams 10-8, 6-3, 6-3. Singles finals: lost to Cochet in 1928, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and to Tilden in 1929, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Men's doubles | with Vincent Richards |
| 1927 | Men's doubles | with Bill Tilden |
| 1927 | Mixed doubles | with Elizabeth Ryan |
| 1929 | Mixed doubles | with Helen Wills Moody |
| US Championships | ||
| 1927 | Men's doubles | with Bill Tilden |
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
"Love of the game has always been my motive."
The person behind the player.
Cornell, 1915 to 1916
Hunter captained the Cornell tennis team, won the university championship in 1915 and 1916 and played ice hockey as a sophomore and junior. He graduated in 1916 and was elected to Cornell's athletic Hall of Fame in 1979.
Source: Cornell Athletics Hall of FameNorth Sea, 1918
In the First World War Hunter served as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy and was on Admiral Beatty's flagship when the German fleet surrendered. He later wrote a book about his service under Beatty.
Source: OlympediaNew York, 1920
In July 1920 Hunter set a one-day record by winning five singles matches, all in straight sets, at two New York tournaments.
Source: Wikipedia, citing The New York Times, 6 July 1920Davis Cup, 1927
According to Time, Hunter had never been ranked above fifth in the United States before he began playing with Bill Tilden, who improved his game considerably. In 1927 Tilden overruled the Davis Cup Committee, which had wanted to leave Hunter out of the team.
Source: TimeWhite Plains, 1931
When Hunter followed Tilden into the professional game in January 1931, he was the publisher of the Daily Press in White Plains, New York. Time reported that the promoter Jack Curley had made him an offer "too attractive to be refused".
Source: TimeNew York, 1930s to 1963
Hunter co-founded 21 Brands, a wine and liquor importer and distributor, and was its president until 1963. He also operated coal mines in West Virginia and owned newspapers in Westchester County, New York.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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