Gene Scott

Eugene Lytton Scott (December 28, 1937 – March 20, 2006) was an American tennis player, tournament director, author, and publisher. His active tennis career lasted from the 1950s to mid-1970s. Scott's highest U.S. ranking as an amateur was No. 4 in 1963, and he reached as high as World No. 7 in 1967.

Early years and education

Gene Scott was born in New York City to Meredith Sullivan and Lytton Scott. He was the maternal grandson of Dr. Eugene C. Sullivan, one of the inventors of Pyrex heat-resistant glass and chair and president of Corning Glass Works.

He graduated with a BA in history from Yale University in 1960, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and lettered in tennis, ice hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. After passing the bar, he practiced law as an attorney at the Wall Street law firm of Burke & Burke, while simultaneously playing on the international tennis circuit.

Tennis career Scott's highest U.S. ranking as an amateur was No. 4 in 1963, and he reached as high as World No. 7 in 1967.

Scott made it to the quarterfinals of the French Championships in 1964, defeating Antonio Palafox and Marty Mulligan in a close five sets, but losing the quarterfinal to eventual finalist Pierre Darmon. Scott won the Southampton Invitation (Long Island) at the Meadow Club, defeating Michael Sangster, Dennis Ralston, and Charlie Pasarell in long close matches.

In 1967 Scott won the Eastern Indoor Championships at Waldwick, N.J. defeating Frank Froehling in the final in three straight sets. That same season he won the Long Island Championships at Great Neck, N.Y. defeating Dick Stockton and Peter Fishbach. At the 1967 U.S. National Championships Scott defeated Tom Gorman, Ron Holmberg in a close five sets, and Owen Davidson in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal he lost to the eventual champion John Newcombe.

Later, Scott remained among the best players in the world in his age group. He won the USTA Men's 65 Clay Court Championships held at New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club in 2002. He won the USTA Men's 65 Grass Court Championships in September 2004 and the International Tennis Federation's Men's Super-Seniors World Individual Championships in the 65 division a week later. Scott also played real tennis at New York City's Racquet and Tennis Club.

Scott grew up in St. James, New York and played varsity hockey, track, soccer, and tennis at St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts. In 1990, he was asked to start up the Kremlin Cup, an ATP event in Moscow, with a remit to produce with $1 million in sponsorship in nine months. With some assistance from the Kremlin, when Boris Yeltsin became president of Russia, Scott came up with Bayer as his first title sponsor and the tournament, played inside the vast Olympic Arena, immediately drew some of the largest crowds on the ATP tour.

In 1987, Gene Scott joined the board of directors of the USA based China Tennis Foundation in America, Inc. (CFTA Inc.). He was instrumental in helping the People's Republic of China start to consider world championship tennis tournaments. He traveled to China and met with the Davis Cup players, and government officials that loved playing tennis including then the Vice Premiere Wan Li. (Other top officials involved included Li Peng, General Lu Zheng, Hu Qili and Deputy Mayor of Beijing Zhang Bei Fa.) Gene Scott was joined by Oto Merunka, a former Czechoslovak Davis Cup tennis player that had played tennis in China many years before, and worked for the CFTA Inc. and resided in the US. The founder of CFTA, Inc. an Asian-American, perky female who was the daughter of Hong Kong's L.K. Lau from the Golden Harvest films that produced some of the Bruce Lee martial arts films. During this time, China was just known internationally for table tennis, not tennis, and Gene Scott helped to provide a how-to international tourney infrastructure guide to build on in order to create a more dominant international tennis scene in China.

Death and legacy Scott died of amyloidosis at the age of 68. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) in 2008 in the "contributor" category. Since 2006, the ITHF annually presents the Eugene L. Scott Award to an individual who "embodies Scott's commitment to communicating honestly and critically about the game, and who has had a significant impact on the tennis world." His career-best Grand Slam performance came at the 1967 U.S. National Championships, where he reached the semifinals before falling to eventual champion John Newcombe.

Career tournament finals In his career, Scott won 16 singles titles across amateur and professional draws. Among them were his titles on grass and indoor circuits across the Northeastern United States.

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score 1963 Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) Grass Marty Riessen 6–1, 6–3, 6–4 1964 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) Grass Dennis Ralston 6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 11–9, 8–6 1967 Eastern Indoor Championships (Waldwick) Indoor Frank Froehling 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 1967 Long Island Championships (Great Neck) Outdoor Dick Stockton 6–2, 8–6