Longwood Cricket Club
Encyclopedia
Longwood Cricket Club is a tennis
and former cricket
club
based in Chestnut Hill
, Massachusetts
, United States
. It is the site of the first Davis Cup
competition.
. Located near Fenway Park
on the outskirts of Boston, cricketers and baseball players put Longwood on the sports map. Specifically, Harry Wright
, first player-manager of the Boston Red Sox
, played cricket for the United States, as did his brother George Wright. George Wright combined with tennis pro Charlie Chambers in league games throughout New England and played at Longwood against Lord Harris' XI in 1891. George Wright was the co-proprietor of Wright and Ditman, purveyor of fine sports goods. Wright brought the first tennis gear to Boston on his return from a baseball-cricket tour of England in 1874. Wright also taught tennis to Harvard students and toured with them in California in 1890. It was George Wright who deserves the credit for Longwood's broad-based sporting tradition, having excelled in baseball and cricket as a paid professional and at tennis as an imaginative promoter of the game. A lawn tennis
court was laid in 1878, two years after the organization of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
at Lord's Cricket Ground
in London. On January 5, 1888, Longwood member and US cricket team captain C.L. Bixby led the team to a win over the West Indies cricket team at the Bourda
ground in Georgetown
, Guyana
. Richard D. Sears, who won seven United States Championships
, would soon become a club member as well.
The club's first tennis tournament was held in 1882. The Eastern Championship for doubles tennis was held in 1890. The following year saw the first Longwood Bowl tournament, attracting top American players. It would continue to be held annually until 1942. Cricket was last played at Longwood in 1933 before a one-off game was held in October of 2008 between the Faded Blues CC and St. Columba's Cricket Club from Newport, Rhode Island.
, then a fourth-year student at nearby Harvard University
, arranged for a British team to visit Longwood and compete for what became the first Davis Cup, branded the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3–0.
In total, 15 Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles
defeated the Americans 4–1 in the 1903 final. The 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score. The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team. 1914 saw Australia defeat Britain 3–0 in a semi-final. 1922 through 1925 saw a tie played a year with Australasia defeating France 4–1 in a quarterfinal encounter in 1922, Australia beating France by the same score in a 1923 semi-final and in 1924, but by a 3–2 scoreline, and Australia defeating Japan 4–1 in 1925. After France swept Japan 5–0 in a 1927 semi-final, the Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, with Australia defeating Nazi Germany 5–0 in the 1938 semi-final. A further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3–1. In 1957, the U.S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5–0 in a 3rd round tie. Two years later saw Australia dispatch with India 4–1 in the penultimate round.
Another 40 years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt
defeated the U.S., led by Pete Sampras
, 4–1 in a quarterfinal tie played on hard courts. This was the last time a top-flight professional tennis match was played at Longwood.
professional tennis tournament was contested annually at Longwood from 1964 to 1999, when it was discontinued, with the exception of 1995, when the tournament was rained out and 1996, when it was not scheduled.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and former cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
based in Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the site of the first 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...
competition.
History
A club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood Estate, a place named after the house Napoleon Bonaparte stayed at while exiled to Saint HelenaSaint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
. Located near Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
on the outskirts of Boston, cricketers and baseball players put Longwood on the sports map. Specifically, Harry Wright
Harry Wright
William Henry "Harry" Wright was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings...
, first player-manager of the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, played cricket for the United States, as did his brother George Wright. George Wright combined with tennis pro Charlie Chambers in league games throughout New England and played at Longwood against Lord Harris' XI in 1891. George Wright was the co-proprietor of Wright and Ditman, purveyor of fine sports goods. Wright brought the first tennis gear to Boston on his return from a baseball-cricket tour of England in 1874. Wright also taught tennis to Harvard students and toured with them in California in 1890. It was George Wright who deserves the credit for Longwood's broad-based sporting tradition, having excelled in baseball and cricket as a paid professional and at tennis as an imaginative promoter of the game. A lawn tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
court was laid in 1878, two years after the organization of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club , also known as the All-England Club, based at Aorangi Park, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis event still held on grass...
at Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
in London. On January 5, 1888, Longwood member and US cricket team captain C.L. Bixby led the team to a win over the West Indies cricket team at the Bourda
Bourda
The Bourda is a cricket ground in Georgetown, Guyana, used by the Guyanese cricket team for matches with other nations in the Caribbean as well as some Test matches involving the West Indies. Located in Bourda in Georgetown, Guyana, between Regent Street and North Road, it is home to the Georgetown...
ground in Georgetown
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. Richard D. Sears, who won seven United States Championships
U.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...
, would soon become a club member as well.
The club's first tennis tournament was held in 1882. The Eastern Championship for doubles tennis was held in 1890. The following year saw the first Longwood Bowl tournament, attracting top American players. It would continue to be held annually until 1942. Cricket was last played at Longwood in 1933 before a one-off game was held in October of 2008 between the Faded Blues CC and St. Columba's Cricket Club from Newport, Rhode Island.
Davis Cup
In 1900 Dwight DavisDwight F. Davis
Dwight Filley Davis was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition.-Biography:...
, then a fourth-year student at nearby 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...
, arranged for a British team to visit Longwood and compete for what became the first Davis Cup, branded the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3–0.
In total, 15 Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
defeated the Americans 4–1 in the 1903 final. The 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score. The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team. 1914 saw Australia defeat Britain 3–0 in a semi-final. 1922 through 1925 saw a tie played a year with Australasia defeating France 4–1 in a quarterfinal encounter in 1922, Australia beating France by the same score in a 1923 semi-final and in 1924, but by a 3–2 scoreline, and Australia defeating Japan 4–1 in 1925. After France swept Japan 5–0 in a 1927 semi-final, the Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, with Australia defeating Nazi Germany 5–0 in the 1938 semi-final. A further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3–1. In 1957, the U.S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5–0 in a 3rd round tie. Two years later saw Australia dispatch with India 4–1 in the penultimate round.
Another 40 years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
defeated the U.S., led by Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras
Pete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
, 4–1 in a quarterfinal tie played on hard courts. This was the last time a top-flight professional tennis match was played at Longwood.
U.S. Pro Championship
The U.S. Pro Tennis ChampionshipsU.S. Pro Tennis Championships
The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was the oldest professional tennis tournament played until its final year of 1999 and is considered as a part of the professional grand slam from 1927 - 1967 until the advent of Open Era...
professional tennis tournament was contested annually at Longwood from 1964 to 1999, when it was discontinued, with the exception of 1995, when the tournament was rained out and 1996, when it was not scheduled.