The early years
United States · born Geneva, Switzerland, 1891 · died 1968 · right-handed · Titanic survivor who won the US title twice and the 1920 Wimbledon doubles
All playersBack to the rankings
2
US singles titles, 1914 and 1916
1920
Wimbledon doubles champion, with Chuck Garland
5
Davis Cup wins as a player, 1913 to 1926
4-0
Davis Cup doubles record
36
His age when he won Merion for the third time, in 1927
Richard Norris Williams II was born in Geneva on 29 January 1891 to Philadelphia parents and grew up in Switzerland, where his father coached him. In April 1912 the two sailed for America on the Titanic; his father died in the sinking and Williams survived after hours in the water. That summer he won the US mixed doubles with Mary Browne and the Pennsylvania title on grass at Merion, beating Wallace Johnson in the final.
At Harvard he won the intercollegiate singles in 1913 and 1915. He lost the 1913 US final to Maurice McLoughlin, then beat him 6-3, 8-6, 10-8 for the title at Newport in 1914, and won again at Forest Hills in 1916, beating Bill Johnston in five sets. He served in France with the American Expeditionary Forces as an artillery captain and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'honneur.
After the war he won the 1920 Wimbledon doubles with Chuck Garland, reached the Wimbledon singles semi-finals and the doubles final in 1924, and won the US doubles with Vincent Richards in 1925 and 1926. He won Olympic gold in the mixed doubles with Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman in Paris in 1924 and played on five Davis Cup winning teams; The New York Times recorded that he captained the team from 1921 to 1925 and again in 1934. He was an investment banker in Philadelphia and for many years president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He died at Bryn Mawr on 2 June 1968.
| US Championships finals | 1913: lost to Maurice McLoughlin 4-6, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6. 1914: beat McLoughlin 6-3, 8-6, 10-8. 1916: beat Bill Johnston 4-6, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon doubles | 1920: with Chuck Garland beat Algernon Kingscote and Cecil Parke 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in the All-Comers final; the holders did not defend. 1924: with Watson Washburn lost the final to Frank Hunter and Vincent Richards 3-6, 6-3, 10-8, 6-8, 3-6 |
| Merion | Pennsylvania champion on grass in 1912, beating Wallace Johnson; in 1914, beating Bill Tilden; and in 1927, aged 36, beating Manuel Alonso in four sets |
| US doubles finals lost | 1921 and 1923 with Washburn, 1927 with Bill Johnston |
| Davis Cup 1913 | His first year in the team; his only singles defeat of the season came against Cecil Parke of the British Isles. Davis Cup record 10-3, with 4-0 in doubles |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Men's doubles | with Chuck Garland |
| US Championships | ||
| 1912 | Mixed doubles | with Mary Browne |
| 1914 | Men's singles | |
| 1916 | Men's singles | |
| 1925 | Men's doubles | with Vincent Richards |
| 1926 | Men's doubles | with Vincent Richards |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| 1914 | Men's singles | |
| 1927 | Men's singles | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1915 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| Longwood Bowl | ||
| 1923 | 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
"At his best he was unbeatable, and more dazzling than Tilden."
The person behind the player.
Titanic, April 1912
After the collision he and his father found a steward trying to open a cabin door behind which a passenger was trapped. Williams broke it open with his shoulder, and the steward threatened to report him for damaging White Star Line property.
Source: Encyclopedia TitanicaTitanic, April 1912
His father was killed when the forward funnel collapsed. Williams reached Collapsible A and clung to its side, later writing to Colonel Archibald Gracie: "I was not under water very long, and as soon as I came to the top I threw off the big fur coat." The coat was found in the abandoned boat a month later by the Oceanic and returned to him.
Source: Encyclopedia TitanicaCarpathia, April 1912
The doctor on the Carpathia recommended amputating both his legs. Williams refused and exercised every day until they recovered. Within months he had won his first US title, in the mixed doubles.
Source: Encyclopedia Titanica; International Tennis Hall of FameLongwood, July 1912
Twelve weeks after the sinking he met Karl Behr, another Titanic survivor, in the fourth round at Longwood. Williams took the first two sets 6-0, 9-7 before Behr won the next three. The Boston Globe wrote that "if one of the 1,500 spectators went away dissatisfied, he was indeed hard to please"; no one mentioned the Titanic.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFrance, 1918
He served as a captain of artillery and as an aide to Major General John Harbord, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'honneur for his service in the second battle of the Marne.
Source: OlympediaWimbledon, 1920
His partner Chuck Garland was a Yale man. Olympedia records them as the only Harvard and Yale pairing ever to win the Wimbledon doubles.
Source: OlympediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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