Budge Patty

Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He was the second American male player to win the Channel Slam (winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year) and one of only four as of 2024 (the others were Don Budge, Tony Trabert and Andre Agassi).

Early life Edward John Patty was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on February 11, 1924. His grandmother was born in France, while one of his grandfathers was Austrian. His family relocated to Los Angeles during his childhood, and he attended Los Angeles High School. He was nicknamed "Budge" by his brother, who perceived Patty to be lethargic, resulting in a "failure to budge".

Patty started playing tennis as a child, and practised with Pauline Betz every Saturday morning when he was a junior player. Patty became the second American man – after Don Budge in 1938 – to win the Channel Slam. Since then, only Tony Trabert in 1955 has achieved the feat among male players from the US.

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1957 Wimbledon Grass Gardnar Mulloy Neale Fraser Lew Hoad 8–10, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4Loss 1957 U.S. Championships Grass Gardnar Mulloy Ashley Cooper Neale Fraser 6–4, 3–6, 7–9, 3–6

Mixed Doubles (1 title) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1946 French Championships Clay Pauline Betz Dorothy Bundy Tom Brown 7–5, 9–7

Performance timeline Source:

Personal life Patty moved to Paris after World War II and became fluent in French. They remained married until his death. Together, they had two children: Christine and Elaine.

Publications