The early years
United States · born Syracuse, New York, 1862 · died 1949 · right-handed · US champion in 1888 and 1889, the first after Richard Sears
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2
US singles titles, 1888 and 1889, both at the Newport Casino
4
US singles finals in a row, 1887 to 1890
2nd
Man to win the US singles, after Richard Sears
51
His age at his last US Championships, in 1913
1892
First of two years as president of the US national association
Henry Warner Slocum Jr. was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1862, the son of the Union general Henry Warner Slocum. He played football and tennis at Yale, graduating in 1883, and made his first appearance at the national championships at Newport in 1884, when by his own later account he was a very inferior player. By 1887 he had won the All-Comers, beating Howard Taylor 12-10, 7-5, 6-4, but Richard Sears beat him in the Challenge Round 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.
In 1888 Sears was injured and could not defend. Slocum came through the All-Comers, beating Taylor 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 in the final, and took the title when Sears defaulted, becoming the first holder of the association's new challenge cup. He kept it in 1889, beating Quincy Shaw 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, and that July won the national doubles with Taylor at Staten Island. In 1890 Oliver Campbell beat him in the Challenge Round 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Slocum wrote Lawn Tennis in Our Own Country, published by A. G. Spalding & Bros. in 1890, part coaching manual and part history of the American championships. He was treasurer and vice-president of the US National Lawn Tennis Association before serving as its president in 1892 and 1893. He kept playing for 29 years and entered the national championships for the last time in 1913, aged 51. He died in New York in January 1949 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955.
| US Championships singles | 1887: won the All-Comers final against Howard Taylor 12-10, 7-5, 6-4, lost the Challenge Round to Richard Sears 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. 1888: beat Taylor 6-4, 6-1, 6-0 in the All-Comers final and took the title when Sears defaulted. 1889: beat Quincy Shaw 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in the Challenge Round. 1890: lost the Challenge Round to Oliver Campbell 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 |
|---|---|
| US doubles | 1889 champion with Howard Taylor at Staten Island, beating the holders Valentine Hall and Oliver Campbell 14-12, 10-8, 6-4 without losing a set in the event. Runner-up in 1885 with W. P. Knapp, losing to Joseph Clark and Richard Sears, and in 1887 with Taylor, losing to James Dwight and Sears |
| Other titles | Rockaway Hunting Club invitation three times, 1886 to 1888, and the Wentworth tournament in New Hampshire and the Staten Island invitation in 1887 |
| Ranked first | His own order of merit for 1889 put him first, ahead of Shaw, Campbell and Taylor; he noted that nine of the ten men he named were college men |
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1888 | Men's singles | |
| 1889 | Men's doubles | with Howard Taylor |
| 1889 | 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
"I never do it myself, except by way of experiment; and at the risk of running counter to the opinion of more experienced players than myself, I should advise you never to attempt it."
The person behind the player.
Newport, 1884
Writing his own history of the championships, Slocum described the first appearances of R. L. Beeckman and himself in 1884 without false modesty: Beeckman was "a most promising" player and Slocum "a very inferior player". Four years later he was champion.
Source: H. W. Slocum Jr., Lawn Tennis in Our Own Country (1890)Newport, 1888
In his own account of 1888 he beat C. A. Chase in the preliminary round but "played in such miserable form that there was apparently no chance of his winning the tournament". He then beat Clark, Dwight and Campbell in quick succession and won the final against Taylor easily.
Source: H. W. Slocum Jr., Lawn Tennis in Our Own Country (1890)Hartford, 1883
At the first intercollegiate tournament in June 1883 he represented Yale in the doubles with W. C. Camp, "the famous Foot-Ball player". The matches were played on the grounds of the Hartford Retreat for the Insane, and Slocum recorded that many of the patients watched and appeared to enjoy the play.
Source: H. W. Slocum Jr., Lawn Tennis in Our Own Country (1890)Family
His father, Henry Warner Slocum, was a Union general in the American Civil War and later a member of the US House of Representatives from New York. The Hall of Fame suggests the son's competitive streak came from football at Yale and from that inheritance.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameStaten Island, 1889
The 1889 doubles were delayed a week by a violent storm. In the final Slocum and Taylor beat Hall and Campbell in three sets, but 44 games were needed to settle the first two. Slocum called it perhaps the most interesting match in the history of the doubles championship.
Source: H. W. Slocum Jr., Lawn Tennis in Our Own Country (1890)1884 to 1913
He played the national championships for the last time in 1913, aged 51, 29 years after his first appearance.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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