Butch Buchholz

Earl Henry "Butch" Buchholz, Jr. (born September 16, 1940) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Butch Buchholz
Full nameEarl Henry Buchholz, Jr.
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceWestport, Connecticut
Born (1940-09-16) September 16, 1940
St. Louis, MO
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro1961 (amateur tour from 1954)
Retired1970
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record66–42
Highest rankingNo. 5 (1960, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1969)
French Open2R (1969)
WimbledonQF (1960, 1968)
US OpenSF (1960)
Professional majors
US ProW (1962)
Wembley ProSF (1962, 1963, 1965)
French ProSF (1965, 1966)
Doubles
Career record14–15
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonQF (1968)
US OpenQF (1969)
Team competitions
Davis CupF (1959)

Tennis career

Juniors

Buchholz was an outstanding junior, winning all three of the Boys' Singles slam titles in a row during 1958–1959:

French Open: W (1958)
Wimbledon: W (1958)
Australian Open: W (1959)

Note: The US Open was the last Grand Slam event to add a Juniors Championship, waiting until 1973 to finally do so.

Amateur/Pro Tour

Buchholz was ranked by Lance Tingay the World No. 5 amateur player in 1960, and was ranked four times in the US Top 10.[1] He played for the US in the Davis Cup from 1959–60. Buchholz reached the semi finals of the U. S. championships in 1960, losing to Rod Laver in five sets.[2]

Buchholz turned professional in 1961. He won the United States Pro Championship in 1962, by beating Pancho Segura in the finals. Buchholz was an original member of Lamar Hunt's Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis (WCT) group.[3]

Retirement

Since retiring as a player, Buchholz has served tennis in many professional and administrative capacities. He has been the Commissioner of World Team Tennis from 1977-1978, an Executive Director of the Association of Tennis Professionals from 1981-1982, and member of the men's pro council from 1981-1983.

In 1985, Buchholz founded the Lipton International Players Championships (now known as the Miami Masters), which is now a leading event on both the men's and women's tours.

Buchholz helped create Altenis, a management company which oversees tennis tournaments in Latin America. He also helped secure the continuation of the Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament, a prominent international junior event in Florida. In 1992, Buchholz teamed-up with Arthur Ashe to found the 'Good Life Mentoring Program', benefiting hundreds of elementary and middle school children in the greater Miami area.

In 2005, Buchholz was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

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References
  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  2. "U. S. Open 1960". www.tennis.co.nf.
  3. Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.
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