Chuck McKinley
Encyclopedia
Charles Robert "Chuck" McKinley Jr. (5 January 1941 – 10 August 1986) was an American men’s amateur tennis player of the 1960s. He is remembered as an undersized, hard working dynamo, whose relentless effort and competitive spirit led American tennis to the top of the sport during a period heavily dominated by Australians.
McKinley won the 1963 Men's Singles Championship
at Wimbledon
, and as a result was ranked the number one player in the world. He paired with his college rival, Dennis Ralston
, to win the 1963 Davis Cup
, the only interruption in eight unbroken years of Australian dominance. He also paired with Ralston to win the U.S. men’s doubles championships three times, in 1961, 1963, and 1964.
, the son of a local pipe fitter, and grew up in a “rough neighborhood” on the north side of town. As a boy, McKinley used to drop by the local YMCA
where he was taught table tennis by volunteer instructor Bill Price. Eventually Price, who was also a tennis professional, took McKinley and some of the other boys to the public tennis courts. McKinley soon became so good that Price advised him to quit all other sports and concentrate on tennis.
McKinley was small for a tennis player, as a grown man he stood only 5’ 8” tall and weighed 160 pounds. But unlike Bobby Riggs
, the “Junk Champion,” and other short men of the era, McKinley did not use off speed shots but relied instead on a power game. He was able to do this because of an all-round athletic ability that would have allowed him to star in almost any sport. To succeed at tennis McKinley combined this athleticism with an all out style of play and an unquenchable desire to win. According to a contemporary Sports Illustrated
article, “Not in years has an American fledgling combined so much box-office appeal with so much pure ability – or crashed the tight little world of big-time tennis with so much confidence. 'If I didn't think I could be the best tennis player in the world,' Chuck McKinley says, 'I don't think I'd want to play.'" Bill Talbert
, a former U.S. doubles champion described the young McKinley by saying, “There is nothing he can't do on the court. He has all the strokes. He's fast. He's strong. He has marvelous reflexes. He has the eyes of a hawk—sees the ball as well as anyone in the game.”
In 1960 McKinley enrolled at Trinity University
where he joined another leading American player, Frank Froehling
, under the tutelage of coach Clarence Mabry, who also coached John Newcombe
and other professionals. This gave Trinity arguably the best collegiate men’s tennis team in America. However, during this period Trinity never won the NCAA championship because the NCAA scheduled the championship tournament opposite Wimbledon, and both McKinley and Froehling chose to participate in Wimbledon rather than the collegiate tournament. (Trinity would win the NCAA Division I championship of men’s tennis in 1972 with Dick Stockton
as captain.)
McKinley’s decision to play Wimbledon was justified when in 1961, as a college sophomore
, he reached the Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals
. In the finals, however, he was defeated by Rod Laver
, arguably the best player of all time, in straight sets
. He would also win the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
in 1962 and 1963.
His intense desire to win, his habit of screaming, “Oh Charley, you missed that one,” at himself after a bad shot, and the fact that he drew a four month suspension for heaving his tennis racket into the crowd at a Davis Cup
match, gave him the reputation of the, “bad boy of international tennis.”
But McKinley refused to be defeated. In 1963
, with Laver safely in the professional ranks, McKinley won Wimbledon without losing a set
. He was helped in this by the fact that favorite Roy Emerson
was eliminated by little known German, Wilhelm Bungert. After McKinley eliminated Bungert the press asked the German if he had been tired. “I was tired,” said Bungert, “Tired from those five set matches earlier. And tired from watching McKinley run.” According to Time Magazine, McKinley played the tournament, “with an astounding lack of grace. He leaps, he lunges, he scrambles, he slides, he falls, he dives, he skins his elbows and knees, and he flails at the ball as if he were clubbing a rat. His nerves are as taut as the strings of his racket.”
In the finals McKinley met big server Fred Stolle
who had beaten McKinley four out of six previous meetings. But when Stolle tried to blow McKinley off the court this time, "He knocked it down my throat," groaned Stolle. "In the end, I didn't know where to serve
or what he was going to do."
In December of 1963 McKinley and Dennis Ralston, who was both McKinley’s rival, as captain of the University of Southern California
tennis team, and his doubles partner at the U.S. Championships, played all of the matches for the U.S. in winning the Davis Cup from Australia. The Australians had not lost the cup for four years and would not relinquish it again for another four. In the decisive match McKinley defeated a young John Newcombe.
After graduation from Trinity, McKinley elected not to go into professional tennis and became a stock broker
in New York City. He died in Dallas, Texas
in 1986 of a brain tumor
at the age of 45. McKinley has been elected to the Trinity University Hall of Fame and to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
.
McKinley won the 1963 Men's Singles Championship
1963 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles
Chuck McKinley defeated Fred Stolle 9–7 6–1 6–4 in the final to win the Gentlemen's Singles title at the 1963 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, and as a result was ranked the number one player in the world. He paired with his college rival, Dennis Ralston
Dennis Ralston
Richard Dennis Ralston is an American former professional tennis player. He attended the University of Southern California and won NCAA championships under their legendary coach, George Toley. He was coached in his earlier years by the legendary tennis player, Pancho Gonzales...
, to win the 1963 Davis Cup
1963 Davis Cup
The 1963 Davis Cup was the 52nd edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 44 teams would enter the competition, 28 in the Europe Zone, 9 in the Eastern Zone, and 7 in the Americas Zone....
, the only interruption in eight unbroken years of Australian dominance. He also paired with Ralston to win the U.S. men’s doubles championships three times, in 1961, 1963, and 1964.
Biography
McKinley was born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, the son of a local pipe fitter, and grew up in a “rough neighborhood” on the north side of town. As a boy, McKinley used to drop by the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
where he was taught table tennis by volunteer instructor Bill Price. Eventually Price, who was also a tennis professional, took McKinley and some of the other boys to the public tennis courts. McKinley soon became so good that Price advised him to quit all other sports and concentrate on tennis.
McKinley was small for a tennis player, as a grown man he stood only 5’ 8” tall and weighed 160 pounds. But unlike Bobby Riggs
Bobby Riggs
Robert Larimore "Bobby" Riggs was a 1930s–40s tennis player who was the World No. 1 or the co-World No. 1 player for three years, first as an amateur in 1941, then as a professional in 1946 and 1947...
, the “Junk Champion,” and other short men of the era, McKinley did not use off speed shots but relied instead on a power game. He was able to do this because of an all-round athletic ability that would have allowed him to star in almost any sport. To succeed at tennis McKinley combined this athleticism with an all out style of play and an unquenchable desire to win. According to a contemporary Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article, “Not in years has an American fledgling combined so much box-office appeal with so much pure ability – or crashed the tight little world of big-time tennis with so much confidence. 'If I didn't think I could be the best tennis player in the world,' Chuck McKinley says, 'I don't think I'd want to play.'" Bill Talbert
Bill Talbert
William Franklin "Billy" Talbert was an American tennis player and administrator.He was ranked in the U.S. Top 10 13 times between 1941 & 1954. He won nine Grand Slam doubles titles, and also reached the men’s doubles finals of the U.S. National Championship nine times. mainly with favorite...
, a former U.S. doubles champion described the young McKinley by saying, “There is nothing he can't do on the court. He has all the strokes. He's fast. He's strong. He has marvelous reflexes. He has the eyes of a hawk—sees the ball as well as anyone in the game.”
In 1960 McKinley enrolled at Trinity University
Trinity University (Texas)
Trinity University is a private, independent, primarily undergraduate, university in San Antonio, Texas. Its campus is located in the Monte Vista Historic District and adjacent to Brackenridge Park....
where he joined another leading American player, Frank Froehling
Frank Froehling
Frank Froehling is a former American tennis player.Froehling recorded a 46-5 career in singles matches and won nine singles titles during college career at Trinity University. He was also runner-up at U.S. National Tennis Championships in 1963. That year Froehling was named No. 6 player in the...
, under the tutelage of coach Clarence Mabry, who also coached John Newcombe
John Newcombe
John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...
and other professionals. This gave Trinity arguably the best collegiate men’s tennis team in America. However, during this period Trinity never won the NCAA championship because the NCAA scheduled the championship tournament opposite Wimbledon, and both McKinley and Froehling chose to participate in Wimbledon rather than the collegiate tournament. (Trinity would win the NCAA Division I championship of men’s tennis in 1972 with Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton (tennis)
Dick Stockton , was a professional tennis player from the United States. He is currently the head coach of the men's tennis team at the University of Virginia....
as captain.)
McKinley’s decision to play Wimbledon was justified when in 1961, as a college sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
, he reached the Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals
1961 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles
Rod Laver defeated Chuck McKinley 6–3 6–1 6–4 in the final to win the Gentlemen's Singles title at the 1961 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
. In the finals, however, he was defeated by Rod Laver
Rod Laver
Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...
, arguably the best player of all time, in straight sets
Tennis score
A tennis match is composed of points, games, and sets. A match is won when a player or a doubles team wins the majority of prescribed sets. Traditionally, matches are either a best of three sets or best of five sets format...
. He would also win the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....
in 1962 and 1963.
His intense desire to win, his habit of screaming, “Oh Charley, you missed that one,” at himself after a bad shot, and the fact that he drew a four month suspension for heaving his tennis racket into the crowd at a Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
match, gave him the reputation of the, “bad boy of international tennis.”
But McKinley refused to be defeated. In 1963
1963 in sports
1963 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 29 – First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced* AFL Eastern Division Playoff – Boston Patriots win 26–8 over the Buffalo Bills...
, with Laver safely in the professional ranks, McKinley won Wimbledon without losing a set
Tennis score
A tennis match is composed of points, games, and sets. A match is won when a player or a doubles team wins the majority of prescribed sets. Traditionally, matches are either a best of three sets or best of five sets format...
. He was helped in this by the fact that favorite Roy Emerson
Roy Emerson
Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
was eliminated by little known German, Wilhelm Bungert. After McKinley eliminated Bungert the press asked the German if he had been tired. “I was tired,” said Bungert, “Tired from those five set matches earlier. And tired from watching McKinley run.” According to Time Magazine, McKinley played the tournament, “with an astounding lack of grace. He leaps, he lunges, he scrambles, he slides, he falls, he dives, he skins his elbows and knees, and he flails at the ball as if he were clubbing a rat. His nerves are as taut as the strings of his racket.”
In the finals McKinley met big server Fred Stolle
Fred Stolle
Frederick "Fred" Sydney Stolle is an Australian tennis player. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle....
who had beaten McKinley four out of six previous meetings. But when Stolle tried to blow McKinley off the court this time, "He knocked it down my throat," groaned Stolle. "In the end, I didn't know where to serve
Serve (tennis)
A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite backside box without being stopped by the net. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side...
or what he was going to do."
In December of 1963 McKinley and Dennis Ralston, who was both McKinley’s rival, as captain of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
tennis team, and his doubles partner at the U.S. Championships, played all of the matches for the U.S. in winning the Davis Cup from Australia. The Australians had not lost the cup for four years and would not relinquish it again for another four. In the decisive match McKinley defeated a young John Newcombe.
After graduation from Trinity, McKinley elected not to go into professional tennis and became a stock broker
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
in New York City. He died in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
in 1986 of a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
at the age of 45. McKinley has been elected to the Trinity University Hall of Fame and to the International Tennis Hall of Fame
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
.
Grand Slam singles finals
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 1961 | Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
Grass |  Rod LaverRod Laver Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970... |
6–3, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 1963 | Wimbledon | Grass | Fred Stolle Fred Stolle Frederick "Fred" Sydney Stolle is an Australian tennis player. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle.... |
9–7, 6–1, 6–4 |