The early years
Ireland · born Dublin, 1867 · died 1939 · twice Wimbledon doubles champion with Joshua Pim, and an Ireland rugby international
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2
Wimbledon doubles titles with Joshua Pim, 1890 and 1893
5
Irish Championships doubles titles with Pim, 1890 to 1895
4
Northern Championships doubles titles, 1890 to 1894
5
Rugby caps for Ireland, 1886 to 1891
6 ft 1½ in
Height; he weighed over 13 stone
Francis Owen Stoker was born in Dublin on 29 May 1867, the son of the surgeon and anatomist Edward Alexander Stoker. He played rugby as a forward for Wanderers in Dublin and won five caps for Ireland between 1886 and 1891, including a match against the New Zealand Natives touring side in 1888. At tennis he first played doubles with his brother Ernest, then found a new partner in Joshua Pim, a fellow member of the Lansdowne club.
Pim and Stoker won the Irish doubles title at Fitzwilliam five times between 1890 and 1895, the Northern Championships in 1890, 1892, 1893 and 1894, and Wimbledon in 1890 and 1893. In 1891 the Yorkshire Post called them the finest combination the world had ever seen; they lost both their Northern and Wimbledon titles that summer, then won them back. Stoker was also a capable singles player, a winner of the County Dublin Championships and the Fitzwilliam Purse, and he represented Ireland against England in 1893, 1894 and 1896.
He qualified in medicine in 1892, studied dentistry at Guy's Hospital in London in 1893 and 1894, and then set up as a dentist at 23 Westland Row, Dublin. He did not defend his Wimbledon title in 1894 and gave up serious tennis after the 1895 Irish Championships. He married Margaret Maunsell in 1899; their daughter Norma became an international in tennis, badminton and hockey. He died at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, on 8 January 1939.
| Wimbledon 1890 | Won the All-Comers final with Pim against George Hillyard and Ernest Lewis 6-0, 7-5, 6-4. The holders did not defend, so the title came without a Challenge Round. It was the year Irish players won all three Wimbledon events |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1891 | Lost the Challenge Round with Pim to the Baddeley twins, Herbert and Wilfred, 1-6, 3-6, 6-1, 2-6 |
| Wimbledon 1893 | Beat the Baddeleys in the All-Comers final 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, then beat the holders Harry Barlow and Ernest Lewis in the Challenge Round 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 |
| Singles | Runner-up to Pim at the 1891 Northern Championships. Through the whole of 1892 he was the only player to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion, Wilfred Baddeley. His best Wimbledon singles result was the second round in 1893 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Men's doubles | with Joshua Pim |
| 1893 | Men's doubles | with Joshua Pim |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1890 | Men's doubles†| with Joshua Pim |
| 1891 | Men's doubles†| with Joshua Pim |
| 1893 | Men's doubles‡ | with Joshua Pim |
| 1894 | Men's doubles†| with Joshua Pim |
| 1895 | Men's doubles†| with Joshua Pim |
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
The person behind the player.
Greystones, 1886
Playing with his brother Ernest in a doubles semi-final at the Greystones tournament, the last set was, in the words of the Dublin Daily Express, "entirely won by the place-volleying and smashing of Frank Stoker who scarcely allowed a ball to pass him at the net". The brothers lost the final.
Source: Wikipedia, citing the Daily Express, Dublin, 21 August 1886Lansdowne Road, 1886 to 1891
He played for Wanderers from 1883 and captained the club. He won five caps for Ireland as a forward, the first against Scotland at Raeburn Place in February 1886 and the last against Wales at Llanelli in March 1891. In 1888 he played against the New Zealand Natives, a touring side made up mostly of Maori players.
Source: Irish Heritage NewsFamily
The Irish Times described him as a cousin of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. The family link was real but distant: his Wikipedia entry notes that they were not first cousins.
Source: The Irish Times, 2020Dublin, 1894
He was admitted a Licentiate in Dental Surgery in May 1894. Aged 27 and keen to start practice without delay, he chose not to defend his Wimbledon doubles title that summer.
Source: Wikipedia, citing the Irish Independent, 3 July 18941894
The Freeman's Journal wrote that his "tremendous service, his hard driving and accurate placing" made him dangerous to anyone, and that he combined volleying of a high order with "quickness which is quite remarkable in a man of his size". He stood 6 ft 1½ in and weighed over 13 stone.
Source: Wikipedia, citing the Freeman's Journal, 4 June 1894Westland Row
His daughter Norma won the Irish ladies' doubles six times and represented Ireland at badminton and hockey; she also played golf and croquet. Stoker himself played off a low golf handicap at Portmarnock and Royal Dublin.
Source: Irish Heritage NewsFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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