Gilbert Shea

Gilbert James Shea (5 October 1928 - 23 December 2020) was an American tennis player.

Although born in Oregon, Shea and his family moved to California when he was three years old. He started playing tennis when he was around eight years old. Big serving Shea was ranked as high as number 4 in the U. S. in 1957.

Making his Grand Slam debut at the U. S. championships in 1948, Shea lost in round three to Jaroslav Drobny. In 1949 he lost in round two to Edward Moylan and in 1950 lost in round one to Hugh Stewart. At the 1952 U. S. Championships, Shea lost in round three to Mervyn Rose. At Wimbledon, he lost in the last 16 to Rex Hartwig. At the U. S. Championships, he beat Luis Ayala before losing in round three to Moylan. Shea lost in round two of Wimbledon. He reached the last 16 at U. S. championships, losing to Fraser. He won the Ojai Tennis Tournament in 1955, 1956, and 1957. Shea won the Shadow Mountain tournament at Palm Desert, California in 1955, defeating Art Larsen and Herb Flam in the final two rounds.

Shea then lost in round one of Wimbledon 1958 and round two at U.S. championships in 1959 and then retired. In later life he played a lot of golf recreationally.

He died aged 92 on 23 December 2020.