The early years
United States · born San Francisco, 1892 · died 1970 · left-handed · US champion at Forest Hills in the war years 1917 and 1918
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2
US singles titles, 1917 and 1918, at Forest Hills
6-3, 6-1, 7-5
His 1918 final win over Bill Tilden
1
US ranking in 1918
3
Sets lost in seven rounds in 1918
6 ft 2 in
A tall left-handed serve-volleyer
Robert Lindley Murray was born in San Francisco in 1892. At Stanford he captained the tennis team, ran track, won the Pacific Coast intercollegiate title in 1913 and graduated in chemistry that year, adding a master's in chemical engineering in 1914. He went east and in 1914 won the New York Metropolitan title, beating Fred Alexander, and the Meadow Club Cup at Southampton, beating Watson Washburn, to finish fourth in the US rankings.
In February 1916 he won the national indoor title at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York and joined Hooker Electrochemical in Niagara Falls. Bill Johnston beat him in the 1916 US semi-finals 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. In wartime the championships at Forest Hills became the National Patriotic Tournament, with no trophies and entry fees given to the Red Cross. Murray, reluctant to leave war work, was persuaded by his employer to play, and won in 1917, beating Nat Niles 5-7, 8-6, 6-3, 6-3, and in 1918, beating Bill Tilden 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. He was US No. 1 in 1918 and fourth again in 1919.
He then gave his career to the company, rising to president and chief executive of Hooker Electrochemical and retiring as chairman in 1961. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1958 and died in January 1970.
| US Championships finals | 1917: beat Nathaniel Niles 5-7, 8-6, 6-3, 6-3. 1918: beat Bill Tilden 6-3, 6-1, 7-5, losing only three sets in seven rounds |
|---|---|
| US Championships 1916 | Semi-finalist; lost to Bill Johnston 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 |
| Grass tournaments 1914 | Won the Meadow Club Cup at Southampton, New York, beating Watson Washburn in straight sets, and the New York Metropolitan title, beating Fred Alexander in five sets |
| The Patriotic Tournaments | Both his titles came at the wartime National Patriotic Tournaments at the West Side Tennis Club, where no trophies were awarded and entry fees went to the American Red Cross |
| US Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Men's singles | |
| 1918 | 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
"My strong points were a vicious serve, a quick dash to the net, and the ability to volley decisively anything that came near me."
The person behind the player.
Forest Hills, 1917
Murray was hesitant to take time away from Hooker Electrochemical, believing his skills were needed in wartime, and entered the championships only after the company's founder, Elon Hooker, encouraged him. He won with little preparation. Roger Ohnsorg's 2011 biography is titled Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameForest Hills, 1917
His opponent in the 1917 final, the Bostonian Nat Niles, was better known as a figure skater, a three-time national champion. Murray beat him in four close sets.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameStanford, 1913
Among Stanford's earliest great players, he captained the tennis team in 1913 and also ran track on the Farm. His biographer describes him as a middle-distance runner and a Phi Beta Kappa chemical engineer.
Source: Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame; Roger Ohnsorg (2011)Niagara Falls, 1919
According to his biographer, Murray and his Hooker colleagues started the Industrial Tennis League in 1919, the year after his second title.
Source: Roger W. Ohnsorg, Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion (Trafford, 2011)New York, 1916
His first national title came indoors, in February 1916 at the Seventh Regiment Armory in New York, where he beat Alrick Man 6-2, 6-2, 9-7 in the final.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame; WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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