Nathaniel Niles

Nathaniel William "Nat" Niles (July 5, 1886 – July 11, 1932) was an American tennis player and figure skater who competed in single skating, pair skating, and ice dancing between 1914 and 1932. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Niles won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in men's single skating three times and nine national pair skating titles with his partner Theresa Weld Blanchard. Blanchard and Niles also won a five national titles in ice dancing.

Nathaniel W. Niles also excelled at tennis, and was inducted into the New England Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. While a student at Harvard, he was an NCAA champion for the sport. He competed in 23 successive U.S. National Championships. With Edith Rotch, he won the 1908 mixed doubles title, and in 1917, he reached the singles final, losing to Robert Lindley Murray in four sets. He also reached the semifinals in 1913 and the quarterfinals in 1904, 1911 and 1918.

Niles died in 1932 at the age of 46. His last figure skating competition, with Blanchard, had been the pairs event at the 1932 World Figure Skating Championships earlier the same year.

Figure skating results

Singles career Event 1914 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Olympic Games 6th 6th 15th World Championships 10th North American Championships 2nd U.S. Championships 3rd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd WD 2nd 1st 2nd 1st

Pairs career (with Theresa Weld Blanchard)

Event 1914 1918 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1932 Olympic Games 4th 6th 9th World Championships 7th 6th 8th North American Championships 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd U.S. Championships 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd

Tennis Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1917 U.S. Championships Grass Robert Lindley Murray 7–5, 6–8, 3–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles (1 title)

ResultYearChampionship SurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1908 U.S. Championships Grass Edith Rotch Louise Hammond Raymond Raymond Little 6–4, 4–6, 6–4

Tennis performance timeline

Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist Note: The U.S. National Championships from 1908 to 1914 had 5 rounds before the quarter finals.