William Larned

Charles Dixon vs. William Augustus Larned on September 9, 1911

William Augustus Larned (December 30, 1872 – December 16, 1926) was an American tennis player who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. He won seven singles titles at the U.S. National Championships.

Biography

Larned was born and raised in Summit, New Jersey, on the estate of his father, William Zebedee Larned, a wealthy lawyer and a major landowner in Summit. Stoneover, the manor house in which he grew up, today houses the administrative and faculty offices of the Oak Knoll School. Larned Road in Summit honors both father and son; Brayton School in Summit was named in honor of his younger brother Brayton, who died at age 15. He came from a family that could trace its American roots to shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower. In 1890 he came to Cornell University to study mechanical engineering. He first gained fame in his junior year, when he became the first (and to this day, the only) Cornellian to win the intercollegiate tennis championship.

An all-around athlete, Larned captained the St. Nicholas Hockey Club in 1896–97 and was also a horseman, golfer, and rifle shot. He invented the steel-framed racquet in 1922 and founded a company to manufacture it.

Larned won the title seven times, as did Richard Sears before him and Bill Tilden after. Larned was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team in 1902–03, 1905, 1908–09 and 1911–12. Larned achieved a career-high U.S. ranking of No. 1. He twice participated in the Wimbledon Championships, in 1896 and 1905, but could not match his success at home, losing on both occasions in the quarterfinals.

Larned also won other tournaments multiple times including the Longwood Challenge Bowl eleven times (1894–1897, 1901, 1903–1909), the Middle States Championships six times (1894–95, 1897, 1899, 1906–1907), and the Southampton Invitation three times (1902, 1904, 1906).

He was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1956.

Larned in 1898 had served in the Spanish–American War as one of Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. While serving in the war, Larned developed rheumatism in Cuba; rheumatoid arthritis later deteriorated his health forcing him to retire from tennis after losing the Davis Cup challenge round in early 1912. Partially paralyzed by spinal meningitis, he was unable to do any of the activities he loved most, and became depressed. On the evening of December 15, 1926, inside the private chambers of the exclusive Knickerbocker Club in Manhattan, the 53-year-old Larned committed suicide by shooting himself.

Playing style In their book R.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903) multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Laurence Doherty described Larned's playing style:

On Lawn Tennis - 1903

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 9 (7 titles, 2 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1900 U.S. National Championships Grass Malcolm Whitman 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 2–6Win 1901 U.S. National Championships Grass Beals Wright 6–2, 6–8, 6–4, 6–4Win 1902 U.S. National Championships Grass Reginald Doherty 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 8–6Loss 1903 U.S. National Championships Grass Laurence Doherty 0–6, 3–6, 8–10Win 1907 U.S. National Championships Grass Robert LeRoy 6–2, 6–2, 6–4Win 1908 U.S. National Championships Grass Beals Wright 6–1, 6–2, 8–6Win 1909 U.S. National Championships Grass Bill Clothier 6–1, 6–2, 5–7, 1–6, 6–1Win 1910 U.S. National Championships Grass Tom Bundy 6–1, 5–7, 6–0, 6–8, 6–1Win 1911 U.S. National Championships Grass Maurice McLoughlin 6–4, 6–4, 6–2

Performance timeline

Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist