Nickname
The Ghost
His dashing style on court contrasted with a pale, almost translucent complexion, which earned him the nickname "Ghost" Hamilton.
Source: The Irish TimesThe early years
Willoughby Hamilton
Ireland · born Monasterevin, County Kildare, 1864 · died 1943 · first Irish winner of the Wimbledon singles, 1890
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1890
Wimbledon champion, the first from Ireland
2
Renshaw brothers beaten on successive days to win the 1889 Irish title
3
Welsh Championships in a row, 1888 to 1890
3
Irish doubles titles in a row, 1886 to 1888
1885
Year he played football for Ireland against Wales
Playing career
James Willoughby Hamilton was born at Monasterevin, County Kildare, in December 1864, one of nine children of a Church of Ireland clergyman, and grew up in Dundrum, County Dublin. He captained the cricket and football teams at Loughborough Grammar School, went on to Trinity College Dublin and later worked as a stockbroker. He played association football for Dublin University and Dublin Association, and in 1885 played for Ireland against Wales; his brothers also played sport for Ireland.
He first played the Irish Championships at Fitzwilliam in 1884 and reached the final in 1886, losing to Herbert Lawford, and again in 1888, when Ernest Renshaw beat him in five sets. In 1888 he also beat William Renshaw at Wimbledon on rain-soaked courts and won the Northern title at Liverpool and the Welsh title at Penarth. In 1889 he beat William Renshaw and then Ernest Renshaw on successive days to become Irish champion, won the Irish mixed with Lena Rice, and kept his Northern and Welsh titles.
In 1890 he won Wimbledon, beating Harry Barlow in a five-set All-Comers' final and then William Renshaw in the Challenge Round from two sets to one down. Lena Rice won the ladies' singles and Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker the doubles, the year Irish players took the main titles at Wimbledon. He did not defend his title in 1891; several accounts blame blood poisoning. Wikipedia gives his last tournament as the Netherlands championships of 1899. He died at Dundrum in September 1943, aged 78.
On grass
| Wimbledon 1890 | All-Comers' final: beat Harry Barlow 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Challenge Round: beat William Renshaw 6-8, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1888 and 1889 | 1888: beat William Renshaw on heavy, rain-soaked courts, then lost to Ernest Renshaw, who won the title. 1889: beat Ernest Lewis, then lost a five-set semi-final to Harry Barlow |
| Irish Championships singles | 1886: lost the final to Herbert Lawford, who won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. 1888: lost to Ernest Renshaw, who won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. 1889: beat William Renshaw in the All-Comers' final and Ernest Renshaw 12-10, 6-1, 6-3 in the Challenge Round. 1890: lost his title to Ernest Lewis, who won 3-6, 3-6, 9-7, 6-4, 7-5 |
| Other Irish titles | Fitzwilliam Club Championships five times, 1886 to 1890; East of Ireland at Howth four times, 1886 to 1889; West of Ireland three times; South of Ireland twice |
Every grass title: 11
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1890 | Men's singles | |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1886 | Men's doubles | with Herbert Knox McKay |
| 1887 | Men's doubles | with Tom S. Campion |
| 1888 | Men's doubles | with Tom S. Campion |
| 1889 | Mixed doubles | with Lena Rice |
| 1889 | Men's singles | |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1888 | Men's singles | |
| 1889 | Men's singles | |
| 1890 | Men's singles | |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1888 | Men's singles | |
| 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
"To Mr. Hamilton, however, must be awarded a nominal precedence, the Irish, Welsh, and Northern Championships having all fallen to his share."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Dublin, 1889
Friday and Saturday
No Irishman had won the Irish title since Vere Goold took the first one in 1879. In 1889 Hamilton beat both Renshaws, and the Irish Times reported: "Hamilton beat William Renshaw on Friday and Ernest Renshaw on Saturday!" Pastime called the result "contrary to universal expectation".
Source: The Irish Times; The Badminton Library, 1890Howth, 1889
Owing fifty
In the final of a handicap at Howth he was made to owe 50 and also give his opponent 15 and a bisque. The score was several times called 40 to owe 50, so to win a game he had to win seven points running. He did it more than once and won the match.
Source: The Badminton Library: Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets, Fives, 1890Wimbledon 1888
Rising above the rain
Incessant rain delayed the Championships by three days and ruined the courts. William Renshaw, tired by a long match against Harry Grove the day before, lost to Hamilton, whose "extraordinary power of rising superior to adverse circumstances was never more conspicuous", in the words of the Badminton Library.
Source: The Badminton Library: Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets, Fives, 1890Football
Two sports for Ireland
Five years before his Wimbledon title he won a cap for Ireland at association football, against Wales in the 1885 British Home Championship, with his brother William in the side.
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Where they won on grass
- All England Club, Worple Road, Wimbledon
- Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin
- Northern Championships, Liverpool
- Welsh Championships, Penarth
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Sources
- "1890: The year that Ireland ruled at the All England Club", John O'Sullivan, The Irish Times, 2020
- The Badminton Library: Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Rackets, Fives, lawn tennis section by C. G. Heathcote, 1890, Internet Archive
- Willoughby Hamilton, Wikipedia
- Irish Open (tennis), Wikipedia
- 1890 Wimbledon men's singles, Wikipedia
- "Remembering 1890, the year of the Irish at Wimbledon", Newstalk
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
