Joseph Clark (tennis)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Sill Clark, Sr. (November 30, 1861 - April 14, 1956) was a champion American
tennis player. Clark won 1885 U.S. National Championship in doubles, partnering with Dick Sears. He was also the inaugural singles and doubles national collegiate champion, in 1883. When he died in 1956 he was Philadelphia's oldest practicing attorney.
on November 30, 1861, to a family of bankers and financiers. His father, Edward White Clark
, was a partner in the family firm, E. W. Clark & Co.. Clark's brother, Clarence Munroe Clark would also become a tennis player of note.
As a student at Harvard University
, Joseph Clark won the U.S. intercollegiate singles and doubles titles in its inaugural staging, in the spring of 1883. In the singles, he defeated fellow Crimson player Dick Sears.
In 1885, he took the U.S. National lawn tennis doubles title, and also became champion of Canada, the first American to be so.
Clark was also a three-time semi-finalist in U.S. National lawn tennis singles, in 1885 through 1887. He captured the first two U.S. National mixed doubles championships in 1888 and 1889, partnering with Marian Wright.
He served as president of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association from 1889 until 1891.
Clark married Kate Richardson Avery on November 26, 1896, on Avery Island, Louisiana
.
He was the father of two sons: future Philadelphia mayor and U.S. Senator Joseph Sill Clark, Jr. and Avery B. Clark. He had at least three grandchildren: Clark Jr.'s children Joseph S. Clark III and Noel (Clark) Miller (née Clark), and Avery's daughter Kate Avery Clark.
Clark was inaugurated into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
in 1955. He died April 14, 1956 in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tennis player. Clark won 1885 U.S. National Championship in doubles, partnering with Dick Sears. He was also the inaugural singles and doubles national collegiate champion, in 1883. When he died in 1956 he was Philadelphia's oldest practicing attorney.
Biography
Clark was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaGermantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
on November 30, 1861, to a family of bankers and financiers. His father, Edward White Clark
Edward White Clark
Edward White Clark was the head of E. W. Clark & Company, a prominent financial firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:...
, was a partner in the family firm, E. W. Clark & Co.. Clark's brother, Clarence Munroe Clark would also become a tennis player of note.
As a student at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Joseph Clark won the U.S. intercollegiate singles and doubles titles in its inaugural staging, in the spring of 1883. In the singles, he defeated fellow Crimson player Dick Sears.
In 1885, he took the U.S. National lawn tennis doubles title, and also became champion of Canada, the first American to be so.
Clark was also a three-time semi-finalist in U.S. National lawn tennis singles, in 1885 through 1887. He captured the first two U.S. National mixed doubles championships in 1888 and 1889, partnering with Marian Wright.
He served as president of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association from 1889 until 1891.
Clark married Kate Richardson Avery on November 26, 1896, on Avery Island, Louisiana
Avery Island, Louisiana
Avery Island is a salt dome best known as the source of Tabasco sauce. Located in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, it is about three miles inland from Vermilion Bay, which in turn opens onto the Gulf of Mexico...
.
He was the father of two sons: future Philadelphia mayor and U.S. Senator Joseph Sill Clark, Jr. and Avery B. Clark. He had at least three grandchildren: Clark Jr.'s children Joseph S. Clark III and Noel (Clark) Miller (née Clark), and Avery's daughter Kate Avery Clark.
Clark was inaugurated into 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...
in 1955. He died April 14, 1956 in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...
.
Grand Slam record
- U.S. championshipsU.S. Open (tennis)The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
- Doubles champion: 1885
- Mixed doubles champion: 1888, 1889